#Which makes sense if they only went off SPRITES

[princescar]

It's so jarring just how big she is

This is her next to a standard funko pop (say hi paimon)

[noxiatoxia]

is komaeda as self deprecating in japanese as he is in english? in his introduction he’s moreso humbly denying hope’s peaks offer than saying he wasn’t worthy. so i was wondering if komaeda comes off as incredibly humble more than self deprecating. or if the translators just really went ham on the self deprecation and got rid of any nuances

Hi! Thank you for the ask and I'm sorry it took so long for me to get to it! I had actually written a reply a few days ago, but Tumblr deleted it...😭 I was too mad to re write it then and there lol. But also, I think I could have been more clear (I wrote it while still recovering from being sick), so I'll try my best this time.

Firstly, if I'm understanding right, you're wondering if Komaeda is NOT self-deprecating, but instead just humble. There's a short answer and a long answer. The short answer is no, he does just blatantly put himself down in the text. The long answer is it may not be as bad as it is at certain parts. So now, I'll explain.

Firstly, let's re-visit the prologue. I've spoken about this specific line more than once.

KOMAEDA: Um, honestly, at first...I was humbled, but I refused. But, well, they wouldn't stop insisting on it…

In this scene, yes, Komaeda isn't putting himself down...necessarily. So, the word in question being used here is 恐れ多い. This word seems to give translators trouble. Back before there was an official SDR2 translation, there was a fan-translated version on the SomethingAwful forums by user orenronen.

Generally, I consider orenronen's translation to be more faithful at times. But NISA actually was closer in this case.

恐れ多い literally translates to "extremely scared", but it's really not used in that way. Think of it like any phrase or idiom...."You can't have your cake and eat it too" isn't meant to be literal. It's just a way to say "you can't have both things at the same time".

恐れ多い is a common phrase in Japanese when declining a big offer. For example, your boss gave you the chance for a big promotion, but you declined. You would use 恐れ多い. It can be used to indicate you feel you aren't good enough for the position - this is not a weird thing to say, as being humble is a core part of Japanese culture.

However, at it's core, 恐れ多い just means "I'm very sorry, but no, thanks".

Back to that example. Your boss gives you a chance for big promotion. You would take it, but your boss needs you to move cities for it. You don't want to move. So, you say, "Oh...Thank you so much, but I must humbly decline."

In the past, I explained this phrase kind of poorly and made it sound like it's only used to say you feel you don't deserve the position...what I meant to say was that the word gives the feeling of you not feeling good enough to accept, but that doesn't mean you actually don't feel good enough. Does that make sense? It's like saying "Sorry" as a courtesy when you do something wrong, but maybe you don't actually feel sorry.

In short, this line is ambiguous. The text literally says, 恐れ多いって断ったんだよ, which means (literally) "I refused by saying "No, thanks (humbly)"." Komaeda tells us what he told HPA verbatim, but he doesn't elaborate on why he said that. Did he decline because he did feel undeserving? Maybe he actually was scared to accept, maybe because of his luck? Or did he simply have no interest, and declined without much thought? - It's left to the player to speculate on his reasons.

This is a big part of Komaeda's character, I think. As discussed, he speaks very softly - sounding unsure, or making his statements sound less forceful. The SDR2 artbook itself states that they went back and redid all of his sprite work to make his emotions appear more ambiguous. It's very apparent that not knowing what Komaeda is truly thinking or feeling is a big part of his character. Hinata himself laments about this in many FTEs with him.

I think the writers simply took advantage of the humble culture in Japanese to drive this home. Is he simply humble, or does he really mean what he says?

Now...don't get me wrong: Komaeda does go beyond being humble. He does outright insult himself in a way that is unmistakably not humble.

Take the chapter 1 Trial:

KOMAEDA: ボクは決定的に最低で最悪で愚かで劣悪で、何をやってもダメな人間なんだ。 KOMAEDA: I am, without a doubt, an awful, horrible, ignorant*, inferior, worthless person, and that will never change no matter what I do.

*Komaeda isn't calling himself stupid necessarily. I don't really know how to put it, but it's like...you do stupid things, but you yourself may or may not be intelligent. It's kind of like no matter how smart you get, you will always make dumb mistakes. I hope that makes sense.

This is not being humble. This is very self-deprecating stuff and things nobody would (or should) say about themselves in any sort of casual setting. This is a very shocking turning point because, up until now, Komaeda was just humble. Putting himself down lightly, saying his talent "isn't much" and that he's not as important as the Ultimates sound reasonable, sounds humble. This isn't reasonable or humble, and he says it with very strong assertion, indicated by なんだ and the end.

Also, he never says he's "made peace" with it (which I take to mean he's okay with it?) but that may have been this NISA translators' answer to the なんだ at the end, as it makes Komaeda sound like he's stating a fact. I don't agree simply because I feel like his feelings should be left ambiguous as said earlier...but I understand the mindset.

By the way, before that...the team totally mistranslated a line that had me tilting my head for five minutes trying to figure out how the two connected.

KOMAEDA: 夢や希望を持つのもおこがましいほど・・・努力をするのもずうずうしいほど・・・

I couldn't quite figure out why the NISA translation felt so off to me but the Japanese didn't, and it took me a bit of thought but I figured it out. It's because NISA got the topic of the conversation wrong.

See...Komaeda never says "I'm" in this sentence. It's normal not to say "I'm" in Japanese, though. Topics can be inferred. But then, the next line, where he talks about how he's awful, horrible, etc., he does start with "I am" (ボクは) indicating a change in topic. Meaning the topic of the sentence before it is not about him but about the subject of having dreams and hopes/trying hard.

That might sound confusing, but let me write what this line should look like:

KOMAEDA: It'd be pretentious of me to have hopes and dreams...it'd be audacious of me to try and work hard...

Basically, Komaeda is saying having hopes and dreams is too good for someone like him, and that him working hard to strive for something would be an insult to others.

This definitely makes sense for the next line, where he then says this will never change no matter what he does.

The official English gets it backwards, and now it sounds like he's too...good for these things? To me, at least.

To be fair, because of how it's written, it's easy to make that mistake. But I feel like they should have realized it makes no sense translated that way. Hm...

Anyways, as you can see, Komaeda does say things that are not merely being humble. He truly does have awful opinions of himself, or at least states them in a very pointed, factual manner.

You can argue that his humbleness is an extension of his self-deprecation...or maybe he's just both at the same time. Up to the audience to think.

Lastly, Komaeda often times says ボクなんか or ボクなんて (boku-nanka and boku-nante), which translates literally as "someone like me". It puts yourself down, like, "Someone like me can't be in such a cool club..." or something. This can be humble as much as it can be self-deprecating. It depends on the context of its usage, which I think does hit home with that ambiguous vibe.

I think that's it...I really hope this answered your question! Thank you for the patience!

[maleyanderecafe]

Phytocidal (Visual Novel)

Created by: chemicahl

Genre: Romance/Historical

This game is pretty fun since you can actually choose between three designs of knights and you can choose the gender of your knight as well. Of course, since this is a male yandere blog, we'll be sticking with the idea that the knight is a male. There are four different endings to this game.

The story starts out with Amore at a ball, dancing around. They don't seem to really want to be there, but they eat and chat normally. They eventually see their knight, Kaine from across the ballroom. The two of them chat, and Amore wonders about their father, before Kaine goes to check in on him. After chatting with some guests about their brother, Olric, who is missing from this ball, they go to find Kaine so that they can dance with him. Upon reaching there though, they hear the sound of glass breaking, only to find that Kaine has stabbed and kill Amore's father, the king. Kaine tries to defend his actions, stating that he was only trying to protect Amore, and we get a flashback to how Amore and Kaine met. Amore's father, King Castellan, basically found Kaine off the streets, and trained him to be Amore's personal guard, basically owning him. After we see the two first meeting up, we come back to the present day of the king's dead body.

If we hear out Kaine, he will explain that when going over to where the king was, he heard him talking while he was drunk. While drunk, he hears the king ramble about marrying Amore off to another kingdom, even talking about how Olric was gone. Kaine talks about how he was going to be separated from Kaine, and thanks to the way that the king treated Amore, Kaine ended up killing him. Initially, Amore can't believe this, but finds an official paper from their father. They find that their father was actually planning to marry them off to someone but was also going to annul it soon after. Amore then finds out that their brother has died and this was something that was kept away from them. We get another flashback of Kaine and Amore on the riverside, as Kaine rows the two in the lake. The two chat leisurely until Kaine suggests that the two could one day run away from the castle, stating how he sees how the king treats them and that he promises to keep them safe. With these options, Amore and Kaine run away together, leaving their duties behind.

If Amore instead comes to berate Kaine, Amore doesn't find out about the marriage, the death of their brother or why Kaine killed the king, with Kaine instead killing Amore by accident. In an attempt to be together forever, and not wanting to part, Amore instead stabs himself with his own sword, lying and dying next to Amore.

If Amore decides to be with the kingdom, they will decide to choose to lead over saving Kaine, leading to Kaine being thrown into jail. While Amore becomes busy with new responsibilities, they would occasionally sneak down to meet with Kaine, the two of them not regretting their decisions.

Finally, Amore can decide to lead with Kaine instead of running away. During the new inauguration, Amore decides to keep as their right hand man and becomes the new ruler.

I think since this game was made for the Josei Jam, Amore is implied to be female or at least femme leaning, but since I think that Amore could probably be any person, I just went with how I usually describe these games. In any case, this game is pretty fun in seeing how Amore and Kaine interact with each other. I think it's very neat that you can choose the gender/pronoun for Kaine but also that there are three different variety of sprites for the knights. A good addition to the game overall since there are also different cgs for each version.

The premise of the game is simple yet effective: Amore's reaction to Kaine killing their father, the king and their relationship with Kaine himself. It is mentioned multiple parts that Kaine has an unnatural obsession with Amore, which does make sense as their right hand man. This is mostly showcased in the ending where Amore is killed by Kaine, and then commits suicide soon after and he doesn't want to live in a world without them, but also in the act of killing their father, especially after learning that he would have separated him and Amore since Amore would have been married off. Like a proper knight, Kaine will follow Amore no matter what their decision is, even when he is sent to the dungeon after Amore takes over the kingdom, I still feel he has loyalty towards them. It is really interesting seeing how Amore's father treated them and how Amore responds to this, whether it's to abandon the kingdom, now that they know their brother and father are dead, to take on the crown despite the abuse they faced from their father or to get so angry and in denial that Kaine ends up accidentally killing them. Kaine is definitely a very overprotective yandere, as would be characteristic of a personal knight towards the person they are protecting. It would have been nice to see more development of how the obsession grew though, as we only see two past events, when Amore and Kaine first met and the romantic boat ride the two take.

Still, for a short game, it is a very nice one. I think it's really nice being able to have the level of customization and the various CGs that we see in the game. The yandere moments were also nice as well, ranging from a more tragic scene with the two to a more hopeful one, whether it be running away from the kingdom or taking it over.

[five-rivers]

providence 8

[Prompts used are from @kinglazrus@lexiepiper and @ash-rabbit. Special thanks to @jackdaw-sprite @datawyrms and Lexie for beta and encouragement! You can read the full fic here. Just one more chapter after this!]

Danny wasn’t interested in another round of verbal sparring with the Observants.  Riling them up was fun, but interacting with people who looked down on him that much was exhausting.  It wasn’t like he had extended conversations with his parents while in ghost form, either.  

So, it was time to use Clockwork’s trick.  

Danny floated over the sands of the Great Desert of Time and closed his eyes, reaching for the feeling of falling between and beyond, the feeling of stepping back, past the moment of notice and recognition.  

He’d been practicing.  But he still couldn’t do more than touch that feeling.  He wasn’t going to be able to keep it up the whole way to the Observant’s headquarters.  

He flew away from the desert, then back through the Time Locked Lands.  He stopped by Dora’s island again to orient himself, and let her know he’d gotten what he needed.  Then, he angled himself in the direction of the Observants and shot off, fast as he could, pausing every so often to hide himself again.  

His work paid off when the Observant didn’t come out to intercept him when he neared the building.  The other Observants didn’t seem to see him, either, which was delightful.  Seeing stuff was their whole thing, and they couldn’t see him.  It made him want to giggle.  

He didn’t.  He didn’t think that this trick covered sound.  Although maybe it did.  Sound occurred in time as much as light.  But ghost stuff didn’t always follow what Danny considered logical sense.  

He reached the doors, waited for an Observant to fly through, opening it for him, and slipped in.  Now, where to drop it where the Observants could find it?  Should he stick a note on it?  Or, ooh, he could do some spying.  A bit of payback for how they’d been watching him literally all the time.  

The decor in the halls was eye themed, of course.  The doors had eye shaped windows and keyholes.  The moulding on the walls was sculpted to resemble eyes.  There were actual eyes set into the walls at regular intervals.  They moved, following the Observants as they flew up and down the corridor.  

He trailed after some of them, wanting to see what they were doing, but backed off when they went through doors.  The front door had enough traffic that he could be reasonably sure he could get out, but the smaller doors in the hallways were different.  He didn’t want to get stuck.  

But he did look, leaning around Observants to peer in.  Most of the rooms were quite boring.  Offices, basically.  A small library that Jazz or Ghost Writer probably would have been interested in.  

Other rooms were interesting, if not horrible.  A room full of faintly glowing green and red orbs floating in jars - that Danny only later realized had been solid-colored ghost eyes.  A sort of reverse waterfall.  A series of rectangular pools.  

Most interesting to Danny was a room with a pair of Observants taking notes in front of a time viewer.  The scene on the time viewer was frozen, but Danny could see Clockwork talking to a group of Observants on it.  But that’s all he could see before the door was closed.  

Then, Danny heard raised voices.  Curious, he followed them to a closed door.  

“Clearly not!  If you were, you would still have your eye on him!”  

There was a pause, and Danny wasn’t sure if the person who spoke next was one of the previous speakers or a new one.  Danny might be able to tell the Observants apart by sight, but they all sounded the same to him.  

“This– This idea was doomed to fail from the beginning.  Using the Phantom, the very thing that caused the damage in the first place, is absurd.”

“It is working.  We need only the sand, and there will be a new tool in our hand, one to rival the timekeeper!  And every error we made in making him, we can learn from!”

Danny frowned.  They made Clockwork.  Was he hearing that right?

“We can bind Phantom so thoroughly that he will never rebel as the timekeeper does, and considering the timekeeper’s attachment–  I see him!”

Danny had slipped, falling back into normal, visible, noticeable time, and in the second it took him to realize that the Observants had started converging.  

Naturally, Danny fought.  Dodging, punching, phasing, ice, ectoblast, shield push, swipe, punch, shield again, more ice, invisi– Didn’t work against these guys at all, drop that.  He used the thermos until it was full.  He wailed until he was on the brink of collapse.  He even threw the sand at them and phased through a bunch of walls in human form.  But there were just so many Observants.  

Danny’s head cracked against the hallway floor - which was, oddly enough, linoleum - as Observants piled on top of him.  He snarled and twisted, but he’d been fighting for forever and he couldn’t get free.  He was stuck.  

“How did he sneak past us?”

“How did he sneak past you?  It was your duty to watch him!”

Danny felt a clawed hand pull first at his hair, then his clothing, and he rolled his eyes back as far as he could to see the blurry outline of an Observant -  a new one - poking and prodding at him.  

“Time sand,” said the new Observant, “and the timekeeper’s meddling.  He teaches things he has no business dealing with at all.”

“Look,” said one of the Observants, louder than the others, “my fellows, Observe!  Will we really reject what has been delivered to us, with every component in our hands?”

There was an overwhelming chorus of nos and Danny was carried off.  

.

Danny was stupid.  This was a fact.  He was stupid.  The biggest, dumbest idiot in the entire universe.  Because only a complete moron would have missed that their own name was on the list of things to fetch for the Observants to make their tool.

Not that they’d actually needed anything to make Danny their tool or their fool.  

He twisted in their grip, trying to either break it or bite one of them.  “Let me go!”

“After you agreed to deliver yourself to us?” asked one of the Observants.  “There are few means by which we can affect the world.  We will not so easily give one up.  Especially not when we can remove a danger to the timeline at the same time.”

They entered a room that immediately pinged on Danny’s radar as a torture chamber.  Or, maybe, a vaguely medieval rendition of his parents’ lab.  There was a table in the center, made of stone, with a gutter around the edge that led to the floor and another gutter there, to deal with any liquids that might result from whatever was on the table.  One side of the room was taken up with a sort of forge.  On the walls were racks of implements: knives, scissors, tongs, hammers, saws, straps, wedges, bottles, hammers, and dozens of other things.  The jars Danny had gotten from Pandora rested on a table to the side, along with shining ingots of brass, and the coil of chain he’d put together.  Then, in the corner was something that looked like either a spinning wheel or a hand-crank generator…  With electrodes with hand grips.  

The Observants held Danny down on the table and wrapped the chain around him and the table, securing it through some mechanism Danny couldn’t see– Probably hooks.  He tried to dissolve the ice that held the different segments together, but it didn't respond. Not even when the Observants forced a length of chain between Danny's teeth. 

“A chain,” the Observants intoned, all together, “forged by your own hand, to hold you down.”  

Except, it wasn’t entirely forged by him.  It was mostly made by Clockwork, or if not by him, at least someone other than Danny.  Maybe he could use that.  He started to push the chain around with his tongue, trying to get a weaker link between his teeth.

As he thought that, one Observant flew forward, the box the Skeleton Key was in held in its arms.  Another one, this one with golden trim on their robes, opened the box and took out the key.  They held it in the air, the body of the key parallel to the ground.  

“They Key that can open any lock or door or chest, free any prisoner, pass any test,” intoned the Observant.  “Or close them.”  They twisted the key, and the chains shuddered, shifting, tightening, changing.  

The chain links in his mouth smoothed, flattened, curved, fitting to his teeth and mouth, holding them still.  A similar process occurred where the chains looped around his arms, legs, and neck.  A gag.  Cuffs.  And, although Danny couldn’t see from this angle, from the crunching sounds he suspected that the chains had anchored themselves more firmly in the table, too.  

Well!  This was bad.  

He squirmed and tried to yell, but the chains had much less give in them, now, and the gag meant that he couldn’t manage anything coherent.  

Meanwhile, the Observants were organizing themselves.  The gold-trimmed Observant caught the elbow of one.  Not a random one.  The Observant who had been assigned to Danny.  

“Fetch the viewer,” said the gold-trimmed Observant.  “We will need it for reference.”

“But I am needed here,” protested the first Observant.  

“You have done enough damage.”

“We would not have even had him if not for me!”

“But we do have him.  And so, that part of the task is done.  Go, fetch our reference, so that we can do our work.”

The first Observant grumbled, but left in a swirl of robes.  

There was a burst of heat from near the forge area, and Danny rolled his eyes back to see that the Observants there had poured the water from the Phlegethon into the forge, lighting it.  The jar with the water from the Styx was nearby, the lid still closed.  

As Danny watched, the Observants fed small pieces of wood into the fire with tongs, then, when they were burnt into charcoal, pulled them out to lay them on a nearby table.  Then, he flinched as another Observant started to spin the hand generator, the contraption making a terrible whirring noise.  

After that, though, his attention was taken by Observants closer to him.  They had picked up scissors from the rack of tools, and they started to cut away Danny’s clothes.  He fought this, too, of course he did, flickering from ghost form to human form and back to try and stymie them, but that just prolonged the process.  Eventually, he was left naked on the stone slab, the scar across the center of his chest, the starburst Lichtenberg figure he’d gotten from the Accident, easily visible.  

Then, the first Observant wheeled in the time viewer Danny had seen earlier, still fixed on the scene of Clockwork speaking to a group of Observants, and everyone in the room paused, looking at it.  The gold-trimmed Observant flew over to it and made a few adjustments, making the scene move, then fast-forward, until it was flying by faster than Danny could process.  It slowed again to show Danny a room not unlike the one he was in, with one important difference.  

It was Clockwork on the table.  

It was Clockwork, a past Clockwork, one who didn’t have a clock in his chest or a scar over his eye.

As Danny - and the Observants - watched, the Observants in the time viewer took the charcoal from their fires, crushed it, and mixed it with a little of the water from the Styx before using it to paint symbols on Clockwork’s skin.  The Observants in the room - the real, current Observants - started to do the same thing.  

Except, of course, that after they dipped their brushes in the simple ink, they painted the symbols on Danny’s skin.  He shivered away from their touch.  The better portion of the ink had just been in a fire.  It shouldn’t be so cold.  

He kept an eye on the viewer.  It only gave him a few minutes of warning, but that was better than nothing.  

Or, maybe it wasn’t, as he saw the Observants put the electrodes from the hand crank generator on the top of Clockwork’s head and on the corner of his jaw, and shock him again, and again, and again, until the fractal scar across his face and through his eye was etched deep and black.

 An Observant moved into his line of sight, jar of time sand in hand, and sprinkled a pinch of it into each of his eyes.  They rubbed it in with their thumbs, despite Danny's thrashing.

“Across the chest for this one, I think,” said the gold-trimmed Observant.  

“But–” started the first Observant.  

“It is not traditional,” said the gold-trimmed Observant, “but it will intersect his death scar, and the mechanism.  We will have more control.”  He gestured to someone behind Danny, all the other Observants stepped away, and that was all the warning he got before one cold electrode touched his shoulder, and the other touched his hip.  

Danny was no stranger to being electrocuted. The blast that had half-killed him in the portal had been mostly electricity.  Vlad, Skulker, and Technus all liked using electrical attacks.  For that matter, so did Valerie.  Getting strapped into an electric torture machine by your ex was sure an experience. 

But all of those experiences, bad as they were,  had the advantage of being short.  This wasn't. It went on, and on, forcing Danny's back to arch and jaw to clench until he was almost glad for the gag, because it meant that instead of his teeth cracking, the metal did. 

He lay on the stone table, panting, not seeing, not hearing.  Observants rushed around him, painting lines and symbols on his skin.  

The metal had cracked. 

Surreptitiously, hoping the Observants wouldn't notice, Danny rotated his wrist, feeling for the nearest chain.  Yes, here, too, a weaker link was beginning to separate under the strain.  

If he could pull harder–

He flinched at the sound of a hammer coming down behind him, and the world rushed back in.  The Observants were talking to one another, and while their voices still sounded distant and muffled, he was able to catch snippets.  They were starting to melt the sand into glass and make gears from the metal Danny had provided.  He could hear the hissing steam of the individual gears being quenched and the roar of the fire.  

Danny tried not to think about it.  He had to focus on getting away, because with the cracks in the metal, Danny could get away.  He had a plan.  He'd pull the chains until they snapped, lunge for the time viewer, turn the dial that changed the time - he was pretty sure it was set to follow Clockwork, so he wouldn't change that - and then jump through.  

(It wasn't a very good plan.)

The Observant holding the now mostly-empty jar of sand returned, and sprinkled the remnants all over Danny's body, where the grains stuck in his sweat and tears.  Another followed behind them, making precise measurements of Danny's chest.  The hammering continued, rhythmic, steady. 

Danny bit at the gag and pulled at the chains.  He had no idea how much progress he was making, and could only hope that the Observants wouldn't notice. 

The hammering stopped.  Danny glanced up at the viewer to see that Clockwork's chest had been opened, and the past Observants were busy filling him with gears. 

He wasn't anywhere near ready to break away yet.  The chains still held strong.  He still tried.  The Observants didn’t even notice.  

Danny wondered, which of the knives would they use to cut him open?  There were so many options, and he hadn’t seen what they used on Clockwork.  

The gold-trimmed Observant held the Skeleton Key again.  But he wasn’t holding it steady in the air.  No, he had it perpendicular to the ground and over Danny’s chest, centered on his scar.  

His scar, which was now struck through by a new lightning bolt, which had been painted with strange lines and what looked troublingly like a keyhole.  

The key touched ink and charred flesh, then sunk in.  There was resistance.  His bone and muscle moved oddly as the key passed through, as if his body were trying to provide a real, functional lock for the key to open.  A white line of pain crawled along his skin, describing a rectangle, then pierced deep into his flesh.  The sound that came out of Danny's throat wasn't human, but that was honestly the most normal thing about the situation. 

The Observant turned the key, and bone tumblers fell into place.  Danny's chest opened.  

(This was only a few steps removed from Danny's worst nightmare.  If the people involved were only a little different–)

(Small mercies.)

He needed to–  He needed–  He needed to keep pulling on the chains, needed to break them, so he could get away, but opened like this, he’d gone limp, his muscles refusing to clench.  

But he had to.  He had to.  

(They were doing something inside his chest.  Moving things.  Putting things in.  Cold things.)

(He couldn’t pay attention to that now.)

He needed to bite, to pull, to hide those movements as general arching away from pain, and there was certainly a lot of that.  

He needed, he needed–

The metal of the gag creaked, and then gave, all at once, the snap loud enough to be heard over the murmuring conversation of the Observants.  

The room went silent.  

Danny, operating on instinct and suppressed panic, swung his hand up, and that weakened link broke with a tiny tink.  The– the door the Skeleton Key had turned the front of his chest into flapped sickeningly as he rolled to pull his other arm free.  Before he could get his feet loose, the Observants pushed him back to the table, but a gear, heavy, metal, and about an inch wider than his spread hand, fell out of his chest, and Danny grabbed it, cracking the nearest Observant across the face.  

The Observant screamed, clutching their eye, and Danny could somehow feel their time unraveling, unwinding.  It wasn’t a good feeling.  

Danny brought the gear down on the chains at his feet, and they snapped with a shower of sparks.  He threw himself at the time viewer, and smacked another Observant with the gear (should he be touching it, if it was doing something like that to them?) when it got in his way.  

Something struck him against the back of his head, and he started to slump, before rallying.  He wouldn’t have another chance.  He knew that.  He grabbed the edge of the time viewer with one hand and pulled himself through.  

(He’d forgotten something in his plan, he was sure.  He just wasn’t sure what.)

[sagegreenprose]

Here are some OFF headcanons centered on elsens that nobody really requested but my friend and I wanted me to write teehee ^_^

Elsens in Zone 2 are really nosy and gossip-prone. However, it isn't malicious-- it's more oriented towards keeping the community safe and alert. In fact, almost all of Bismark is aware of who has damaged what books, besides the Librarian of course-- the culprits are already at risk of getting themself papercuts, it would be so cruel to also get them in trouble too.

Elsens in Zone 3 have a very competitive and toxic work environment. When one elsen succeeds, another elsen is punished. Rations certainly aren't coming out of Enoch-- no, Enoch has it arranged that for every percent increase in rations that one elsen earns, there's a percent decrease for a less productive elsen.

Elsens in Zone 1 have a very cooperative and supportive work environment. The success of one elsen in a district is treated as an inspiration and something to model for the rest of them-- especially if that success gets noticed by Dedan. Dedan might be a loud asshole, but he knows how to make a productive work culture at least-- if only there were clones of Dedan like there are of elsens, he'd be a lot less stressed and pissed off. And unlike in Zone 3, Zone 1's elsens have some days off.

Elsens under the effects of sugar are referred to as "glazed," as opposed to "high" or "stoned." Additionally, that one elsen in Area 1 of Vesper whom we see looking out over the plastic sea was definitely glazed.

I see a lot of people think that wearing the necktie made The Batter be visually perceived as another elsen, but I disagree. The Batter didn't trick the elsens of East Bismark into thinking he's an elsen by wearing a necktie per se; what wearing the necktie really did was give them a sense of security in thinking that somebody there knew the Batter personally and let him borrow their necktie as a way of vouching for him to travel through. That vouching went right out the proverbial window the moment that the Batter began making the elsens there feel ill at ease though.

As a follow-up to the previous headcanon, I also like to think that-- although the valzong-burnt sprite and the overworld elsen sprite stay generic-- there wasn't actually a real prize to winning the Balloon Game in Zone 2's Theme Park, but the elsen in charge of the game knew that prizes were typically rewarded upon completion of those sorts of games, so he'd take off his necktie everytime he had to work the booth just to fix it onto the balloon in the middle. He never imagined that somebody would actually win that prize though, which is another part of why he was so freaked out (and the sound of the balloons popping certainly didn't help his nerves either, even he did know the source.)

Liquid plastic is occasionally referred to as water by the elsens-- primarily the ones of Zone 2 who've read about water in certain books, and then related the concept of water to the liquid plastic that they've got instead. Liquid plastic is not something you want to get on your skin though, and even less, ingest. But you'd find it in the same places you'd find water, so it works out. Reading about touching or ingesting water in books freaks elsens the fuck out though-- combined with the fear of ripping pages, the library might as well be considered full of horror novels.

Elsen clothing is all made of polyester. Thankfully, elsens don't really emit body odor (even when they sweat), though they can accumulate a general funk from where they've been, which they do wash off with a nice metal dust bath. The exception to this is that elsens under immense stress and on the verge of going burnt do have a very slight smell of caramel about them. Burnts themselves have a very strong smell of charred caramel. On that note, the air in Zone 3 can be like a horrible punch to the nostrils to anybody not from there-- especially the farther North in Vesper you get. Sugar consumption can make the sugar smog more tolerable though.

Most elsens do their laundry communally, but some (mostly in Zone 2) prefer to do their laundry themselves and at their own pace. Honestly, everything happens at its own pace in Zone 2, besides trade with the other zones.

Most residents of the Zones, including elsens, make up for a general lack of water by getting all their hydration needs met through consuming meat... Somebody ask me my thoughts on Zone 1 cows please.

Zone 1 elsens tend to stay in their assigned districts for long periods of time, with various promotions scattered throughout. However, if an elsen is starting to become disillusioned or even burnt out with their current stations, there is a process for them to start anew in a different district (though it is lengthy)... Unless they're in Alma, but who would want to leave such a good job?.. Under normal circumstances, your average Shachihata worker can take years to become truly worn thin by their job, but in Alma, it usually only takes a month for the disillusionment and anguish to set in. This is why everybody but those who actually work in Alma sing Alma's praises so high: dead men tell no tales. And a month is not long enough for an elsen to completely deconstruct their preconceived views on Alma (and warn others of the pipedream)-- they'd much sooner just straight-up burn from the sudden influx in disappointment and doubt.

Also, this is not my own headcanon, not at all, but I am 110% a believer in that all the elsens originate from the giant elsen in the Room, forming on that guy like fungus on a log and then falling off... Onto something a bit more original to that though: the other elsens we see in the Room are in direct contact with the big elsen and-- along with having very streamlined, simple routines-- that's why they're so steady and confident. Meanwhile, the vast majority of elsens elsewhere had been taken from their progenitor so quick they can't even remember him, and they remember the Room just barely. So they couldn't even develop that essential part of identity that comes with having a connection to any sort of nurturing figure, though many in Zone 1 have imprinted on Dedan. A few in Zone 3 exalt the Director like that too, though much less directly, and it's almost always from those who have never met the Director. But then you've got the elsens in Zone 2 who've got no guardian that they know of-- no protection nor leadership... Japhet, unlike Dedan and unlike Enoch (who views the elsens more like peons), returned the feeling of kinship though-- which is not so much headcanon as it is canon actually haha.

[slimeboiss]

I'm bored and with more Hundred Line news slowly dripping out I figured that I'd give my impressions on all the characters we've seen so far.

TAKUMI SUMINO

The protagonist himself, and probably the one guy we know the most about, even if most of that is just standard protagonist stuff. Kodaka's protagonists pretty must just follow the same archetype - relatively normal character among a cast of far more talented and impressive psychopaths, which usually leads to him developing a complex about it. And from what we've seen so far... Takumi seems to pretty much fit the bill to a T. Will he probably subvert expectations? Most likely - we've seen it with Hajime and Yuma from Rain Code before. There's definitely more to him than meets the eye, but I highly doubt that he's gonna be anything more than an average guy at the beginning, the straight man for the more unhinged characters around him.

He *does* seem to have an edgier look than every other protag we've seen so far. The rest of his look is pretty background character coded, which fits, but his hair makes him a dead ringer for Yomi from Rain Code. Which if you still remember that game, is a pretty far cry from "just an average guy". 50 percent chance that this is some sort of stylistic choice or if it actually means something about his personality - maybe he's a lot more rebellious than he seems from a first glance? Hard to say.

From the earlier promo art from before we knew what this game was supposed to be, the two "protagonist" characters had the same red hair and black color scheme, plus the katana that Takumi uses in battle. It looks like these traits were carried over to the final design at least - an interesting tidbit, even if it meant that we lost another potential female protagonist. This time with glasses, even!

DARUMI AMEMIYA

The second character we know the most about so far, and she's gotta be one that sticks out the most. When the trailer first dropped in June I swear like half of all discussion was just talking about her - more specifically, her design.

On first appearances, she very much reminds me of like a Kokichi-esque character, you know the one character in every game that just exists to make trouble and make the game more interesting when Monokuma's not around. She's a murder game fanatic, she has a bunch of crazy sprites, and also fights with floating knives. She's like if you asked an AI image generator to create THE danganronpa character.

She's not the first female character to be like *this* in Kodaka's works - Junko, Genocider Syo, Shinigami, etc, etc. - but exactly WHAT her role is is hard to pin down. She's been a lot more prominently advertised than other characters, so part of me believes that she has to have a significant participant in the game. Whether or not she's THE designated problems clown that every Danganronpa game, 90 percent chance she's going to be like top five most popular characters to come out of this game. hundred percent guarantee.

As a bonus note, I wonder if she was based on this character from the old promo art before the game was retooled entirely? I have nothing else to go off besides similar vibes - but it was a thought I had nonetheless. Probably the only other character from these early images that I can see carrying over to the final game besides Takumi, so this is the last time I'll bring it up, promise.

EITO AOTSUKI

TV Tropes says that he's supposed to be an apprentice astronaut - I have no idea where they got this from, but it would make him design make more sense. Plus his last name also means "blue moon", for what it's worth.

On the surface this guy seems like a coolheaded nerd. That was my first impression anyway. Someone said early on that he had Nagito vibes, and well... yeah I can definitely see that. Pretty boys in Danganronpa are hardly ever sane, and aside from his massive forehead he is definitively a pretty boy. Of course, this was before Tokyo Game Show came and went and...

Well, you've all seen that screenshot by now lmao

So yeah he's definitely gay. And gay for Takumi, no less. And if we know anything about characters that gay homoerotic tension for each other in Kodaka games (and Uchikoshi games to some extent), is that they're NEVER unproblematic. Just look at his face in that CG - he's definitely a freak.

As a side note, when the trailer first dropped I was under the impression that his weapon was a huge ass wizard staff, which fit with his whole nerdy vibe. I then realized it's actually supposed to be a big ass scythe - so make of that what you will.

HIRUKO SHIZUHARA

I fucking love tall women with long hair and glasses. Anyway, she's the cold, serious type with a penchant for bloodlust. She has a giant axe and admits to getting excited cutting down monsters. She's a freak yeah, but at least she does that while looking hot.

A lot of people have compared her to Peko for obvious reasons, but honestly, she's like a pretty direct copy of Martina Electro from Rain Code to a T. A statuesque woman with glasses with a lust for blood? Yeah that sounds familiar. For how much of a clone she is, the one thing that differentiates the two is that, for all her presence, Martina was ultimately submissive towards the far more problematic Yomi (the guy I said is identical to Takumi, ironically) - while Hiruko hasn't really given off those vibes so far. Wouldn't be surprised if Kodaka doesn't somehow work that in though. Disappointed, but not surprised.

TAKEMARU YAKUSHIJI

I don't have good quality shots of him on hand so enjoy this crusty cropped screenshot of grumpy Takemaru.

Not much to say about this guy so far. From what I've gathered from his intro, he's a rough and tumble type of guy, a delinquent who still believes in justice. And he used a motorcycle in battle. Sound familiar?

I can see him being a standard "jerk with a heart of gold" - he doesn't seem to be quite as violent as a certain other motorcycle riding delinquent, but who knows. He's one of your starting party members, so I'm guessing he has some early prominence in the game.

KAKO TSUKUMO AND HER BROTHER

Putting these two together since they seem to be a package deal - and to be honest we're reaching the point where I don't have a lot to say about most of them.

Kodaka has NOT had a great track record with brother sister relationships - yes, not every brother sister relationship he's written has devolved into incest, but when Kako is saying "dearest brother" and seems to practically joined at the hip... can you really blame me for being a bit hesitant? There are of course ways that this doesn't end up being gross, and I sure as hope this doesn't turn out to be another Junko/Mukuro in DR3/Kiyo Chapter 3 situation.

OKAY, my fear from first impressions aside, Kako seems to be the meeker, quieter of the two, while her brother acts as her assertive protector. I don't think there's a scene where they've been apart so far... take that as you will.

Kako mentions that the two of them havent graduated junior high yet (im assuming that means theyre ninth graders, around 15 years old) - so they're presumably in the same grade. Maybe they're twins? It's hard to tell with same-face syndrome and all, but hair style aside they do have similar faces. Which does lead me to wonder... what if they're identical twins, but Kako's brother is transmasculine. This is just my pipe dream honestly - Kodaka hasn't been great with LGBT rep before, buuuuut he's improved... somewhat? Uchikoshi, on the other, is pretty good on LGBT issues - famously good even, especially in Somnium Files. It's hard to tell what influence Uchikoshi has had on the game aside from the branching paths approach to storytelling, but I have a little bit more confidence in the LGBT rep in this game if Uchikoshi is on the team.

Don't have much else to say about them, other than I'm CROSSING my fingers that they don't turn out to be weird. On my knees even.

ANGIE YONAGA TALENT SWAP

I know it's kinda cheap to do the whole "this character looks like this character" shtick because Komatsuzaki's style has had sameface syndrome since the very beginning, but coome ooooon, if you're going to give her the same skin tone-hair color combo then it's going to be impossible not to notice.

Anyway that aside, I can't really say much else about her. We hit the point where these character's dont have names yet so I'm going in blinder than blind. Out of all the characters, she seems like she could be a Danganronpa character the most - her outfit very clearly communicates a "talent", I'm guessing mechanics.

She gives me tomboy vibes. Like, she's also one of the only girls in the entirety of Kodaka's games to wear full-length pants as far as I'm aware.

THE TOKEN THING

Im still not sure whether or not this is a boy or girl. I'm leaning towards boy, but I'm only like 80 percent sure that's right.

He's the token character with the cartoony design that's inevitably going to rank at the bottom of every popularity poll regardless of whether they're actually a good character or not. Character-wise, they come off as a shy fifth grader - Chihiro level shy, not whatever Mikan had going on.

not much else to contribute to my opinion other than that their design is definitely just a retooled beta ryoma

THIS GUY

Exaggerated screaming sprite? Cartoon character on shirt? Fuckass hair cut? Yeah this guy's a fucking nerd. He's going to be Takumi's annoying "best male friend" character who you either love despite his eccentricities or want to shove off a building. Or both depending on which day you're on.

Flip of a coin that he's also the token pervert character.

-

Aaaaand those are the first ten characters. There are still five more characters to go through (plus the mascots), but I wanted to ask why the characters were split up this way. Why don't the other five guys show up at the beginning? My current working theory is that they're part of a separate class, perhaps one that gets the rest of their students massacred, leaving these five as their sole survivors. There is ONE character that could be an exception to this, but we'll get to her when we get to her.

GUY WHO LOOKS LIKE HE SELLS KNIVES

Yeah you can probably find better higher quality images somewhere else.

This dude... he's edgy. He's like someone's Tokyo Ghoul OC. He gives me Korekiyo vibes, but like, in the first impressions kind of way. He seems like a laidback kinda guy that would still stab you in the throat when you look away. And it looks like he's threatening the bowl cut nerd with a knife in at least one route, so that's not far off the mark.

His design also feels kinda traditional japanese mixed with modern gothic elements - the blue hair and eyepatch. The eyepatch also has an eye symbol on it, so symbolism yay.

SAMURAI GIRL

A real prim and proper girl. Highly traditional. Nothing much else to say, she has a cool design. That's not always an indicator of a "good" character in these types of games, but one can hope.

GREEN TOMATO GIRL

Hard to imagine this character isn't going to be a chuunibyou. Or at least, very difficult to take seriously. The creepy smile reminds me of a jack-o-lantern... wait is that the intent?

Not a lot to go off on rn, but she's definitely one of the characters I'm more interested in finding out about, if only to learn why she wears a mask with a smile for hours at a time. What's the mask for? What is the point of the mask?

ABSOLUTE UNIT

When I first saw this character from behind on the cover art, I thought she was chubby. Turns out she's actually just jacked. She's cute! She looks like a jolly character, just a ray of sunshine. It's nice to get female characters that don't just fall into the same body type.

As a side note - this isn't as blatant as Ryoma's design, but she does remind me a bit of one Sakura's beta designs, which gave her a more traditionally cute face to contrast with the rest of her body.

Her more cartoony face also reminds me of Ibuki's beta design too, although hers doesn't look *quite* as stylized based on the few brief glimpses we've gotten of her.

KARUA KASHIWA

One of the more mysterious characters so far - Takumi's childhood friends that Takumi tried to protect from the monster invasion. We don't actually know what happened to her after that - she;s not with Takumi when he wakes up, but she appears alongside the rest of the cast with a different outfit.

I know danganronpa same face syndrome is insane, but its hard to imagine that we're not at least meant to assume that these two are the same character

Theres zero chance that there isnt a huge twist regarding her, but what exactly she is or what role she plays is anyones guess because there hasnt even been an english trailer since what? June? Oh, speaking of June-

Both Kodaka and Uchikoshi have a habit of introducing female characters to be pseudo-love interests/close confidants. Think Kyoko, Chiaki, Kaede in Kodaka's case, and June, Phi, Iris, Mizuki in Uchikoshi's case. As far as characters we've seen so far, she fits the bill the most so far. She's the childhood best friend with a ton of mysterious circumstances surrounding her! She has white hair and purple eyes!

However because she's so obviously suspicious and close to the main protagonist, that also means that the likelihood of her actually being the "mastermind" is close to zero. So congrats Karua fans!

SIREI

Serves the same basic role as Monokuma but instead of Monokuma's gimmick of having the voice of a children's mascot, he instead has a deep sexy voice. I don't know whether or not he's supposed to be the antagonist or moreso a morally unhinged mascot character ala Shinigami, but idk both seem just as likely.

I would have a plushie of him.

NIGOU

ninety percent chance this thing is literally just comic relief who cares

IN CONCLUSION

I spent an hour typing this out and embarassed myself in front of my mutuals by revealing that im invested in how danganronpa 4 turns out.

[candysweetposts]

MCL NG Ep 9 edit (pt 1)

For a second I forgot what happened in this episode :)).

HC time (long af):

Well, Elizabeth doesn't have siblings but she sure has cousins. One of them is Théa, who basically acts as Ysaline's little sister. She's a bit of a girl with an attitude (maybe I'll make a sprite of her if I remember). She and Elizabeth have a bit of a feud for some reason, constantly making comments about each other. Théa asked for help with her internship and Elizabeth obviously refused.

At work, things mostly went like in the actual episode. Elizabeth meets Devon's little brothers and she thinks they're nice kids and tries to guide them as best as she can. She also acted a bit awkward around her co-workers since she hasn't forgotten the Roy incident. She's still very mad but tries to keep her emotions down and yes the others also feel awkward around her since she gives them side-eyes whenever she can.

She chose to take care of the new interns alone and only talked about work.

After work, Elizabeth receives a call from her cousin who informs her about where she went and that she has to come and sign some papers because her parents are busy and she's closer to the location (she did that to piss her off mostly). Of course she denied it at first but was slowly convinced since she wanted to see Jason.

At Jason's office, he is surprised to see her since he didn't know she was Théa's cousin. So Elizabeth asks how Théa did and Jason sensing the tension between them says that she did very good with a smik. Théa also sensed the tension between Elizabeth and Jason wanted to stir some drama and asked "Are you sleeping with this guy?" to which Elizabeth trying to save face made a joke and said "Yes, so what?.... joking. Why do YOU care?" and then Théa didn't say much and left feeling a bit awkward.

Jason also felt... something but brushed it off and talked more about Théa and how good she did and from here they had the same conversation as in the episode leading to Jason talking about his father and Elizabeth proposing to steal a boat. They talked some more on the way and it seemed like they were actually having a normal conversation. Elizabeth felt bad for Jason and tried to comfort him as best as she could and even talked about her own father who lost his father figure when he was very young (17 to be precise) and was left by himself mostly.

They seem to bond over this and they had a sweet moment on the boat where Elizabeth was talking way too much and Jason listened but he enjoyed it nevertheless. He almost felt comforted by Elizabeth's words and how she seemed to be able to talk about it so freely and understandably. She even patted his shoulder and told him that it's ok and that he seemed so strong for going though this and not breaking down.

After that Jason took Elizabeth home and they said goodbye to each other. She immediately entered the house feeling all warm and fuzzy.

Here's the outfit:

I really like this outfit. It's very fitting Elizabeth's style.

[redheadspark]

Ascend

A/N - I got an idea for this one shot from a TikTok I saw that showed, drones flying through beauty oceans and scenery. I hope you like it!

I was inspired to write this to the song Runaway by AURORA. I highly advise you listen to the song as your read this!

Summary - Druig's curiosity leads him to something that would change his life forever.

Warnings - A small hint of Angst but mostly fluff!

If there is one thing Druig loves, it's a good mystery.  

The mystery of the human race, for example.  He was always curious about the fragile and yet ever-evolving species, from the moment his eyes opened in the Domo so long ago.  The humans were always intriguing, infuriating when it came to conflict, filled with joy and soul that would stretch out and be boundless like the sea, and yet there was always more to learn from them.  It seemed to be like he was peeling back layer, after later, and finding more and more things about the humans that entranced him.

But it wasn't just the humans that were a mystery to him: his fellow Eternals were also.

No matter the years they spent together, Druig would find things to question about each of his Eternal Family.  From their Leader Ajak and her blinding allegiance to Arishem to Ikaris and his cockiness in needing to be second in command constantly.  Even Sprite and her moods and the sarcasm that was laced in her rants, Druig kept learning new things from each of them.  Some of them are shocking, like learning of Kingo's favorite snack. Or memorable, like how Gilgamesh was light on his feet and knew how to dance well.

But with you, you were a genuine mystery to the Mind Controller. 

You were someone who could fly, just like Ikaris, thanks to the use of the element of wind on your side.  Being able to bend the wind to your will to have you fly amongst the clouds and cut through the sky above you.  You were just as fast as Ikaris, if not faster, and with the Eternal's strength on your side, you were a fierce fighter against the Deviants.   

Off the battlefield, you were more secluded than anything.  Not that you were a loner, but you weren't a social butterfly either. Druig would see you sneak off on your own from time to time after a meeting or during a feast that the humans would hold for the Eternals, slipping out the door without anyone else noticing your absence.  Perhaps you were no fan of feasts, much to Druig's amusement since most of the others were fans.  Or maybe you didn't like a massive social gathering, which could make sense to Druig since they were mostly rowdy to begin with.  

Druig was kind to you, he made sure to be kind to you.  He could tell you had a good heart for the humans and cared for the planet.  You reciprocated that kindness back to him, you two would chat every once in a while and were courteous to one another. There was always mutual respect, and Druig's curiosity and intrigue with would only grow over time. 

"She likes to be alone," Then explained to Druig once when he asked casually, seeing you once again make your way out of the Domo right after another meeting that Ajak conducted.  Druig has been puzzled where you were going off on your own, it was festering in his mind for the past month or two.  Ajak never reprimanded you when you exited, which made his curiosity spike even more.  So Druig went to the only other Eternal that you would talk to: Thena.  

"Some of us strive to be in the spotlight," Then explained, gesturing to Kingo across the way in the Meeting Room who was conducting a story with some of the others who were listening on batted breath, "And there are others who need a moment of peace,"

"I take it you're the latter these days?" Druig asked with a smirk, Thena quietly laughing as she shoved her shoulder against his own.

"As of late, yes.  But with her," She explained, mentioning you to Druig, "She prefers to have some peace and wait sometimes.  Especially with us all together," 

Makkari was in the same boat as Thena when Druig asked her the same thing about you.  Druig and Makkari were close, very close, but Druig also knew you were close to Makkari as well.  Makkari was close to everyone on the ship.  There wasn't a being on The Domo that would rub Makkari the wrong way, including you.  So Druig had to ask the Speedster about you. Who gave him an amused look and huffed at him as she popped some fruit in her mouth while sitting Indian Style on top of Phastos's lab table.

"Leave her alone," She warned him with her fingers as Druig cocked a row at her, "The last thing anyone needs is a moody Mind Controller spying on them,"

"I'm not going to spy!" Druig rebuked and signed, Makkari raising a brow at him unconvinced as Druig kept going, "Haven't you ever wondered where she would wander off to?"

Makkari paused, her face seemed unchanged as she held up three fingers to sign the word "No". Before she could sign anything else, Phastos walked into his lab and saw the speedster sitting on top of his chest.

"Off of my desk, NOW!" He yelled, Makkari spewing off within a mili-second with a laugh on her lips as the papers flew in different directions.  

You were still on his mind, the possibilities of locations you would sneak off to would flood Druig's mind, even late in the night when he would try to sleep.  It was itching at his brain, the need to know a pinch more about the mysterious Eternal was gnawing at the back of his mind and it was growing by the day.  He knew enough about it, up until this point.

He wanted to know more about you.  Plain and simple.

He finally went with his gut one summer afternoon, the Eternals were sharing a meal at the Domo. The day was already busy, taking on at least 2 Deviants that were out in the North.  You went to fight beasts with Ikaris and Thena, leaving the others behind in the city in case the Deviants would come near the humans. But you all were sitting together for dinner, chatting together about the events of the day.

Drug was seeing you sitting across from him, talking to Sersi and Thena at the same time about the Deviant fights.  Although he couldn't hear the entire conversation arm his spot near Gilgamesh and Kingo, he could tell from the look on your face you were showing in how you were re-telling the story.  He had no idea if it was the glimmer of light that shined over your head to highlight your hair, how the fluid motions of your fingers almost made it look like a dance as you were recounting every moment with your friends who wrestle listening on bated breath. 

But something shifted inside of Druig that scared the shit out of him.

No one has ever made him feel like this, not even Makkari.  You were the very first being to make Druig second guess his feelings.  He was always sure in all his choices, never needing to pause and rethink something concrete in his mind.  Whether it was his own beliefs and Arishem and the outlandish philosophy the Celestial had, or the ever-evolving human race that seemed to be more important to Druig than ever before.  His foundation was never moved or never once shifted, until now.

Until you.

Druig saw you walk out of the Meeting Room a month later, making that his opportunity to follow you since there would never be a better time.  He moved before anyone else in the room noticed, though Druig was not fast enough to be avoided by Makkari, who grinned at the sight of the Mind Controller chasing after you.  Although she warned him about giving you space and not chase after you, she still thought of it as cute.  

Something she could use against her best friend down the road whenever he would get cheeky on her. 

Druig kept his ongoing distance behind you as he was watching you walk along the dirt path, your eyes were dead head with no signs or indications that you knew you were being followed.  You had a pep in your step while you strolled along the path, something that was new for Druig to see.  Not that you were. A killjoy, you did smile and you enjoyed yourself from time to time.  But this,  seeing you almost glide as you went through the forest, your hair swaying in the wind and your limbs loose, Druig was taken aback by the view.  The last thing he wished to do was break that spell as he kept his distance and remained on your tail.  

The walk itself was a good 15 minutes, cutting right through the thick trees and amongst the pristine foliage.  Druig caught on that you were heading to the cliffs that overlooked the sea, a gorgeous view that was far enough away from the city but still close enough by walk. He's gone to the cliffs only a few times, not being able to go constantly since he was busy helping the humans.  But seeing the bright blue ocean in front of you, past the tall pine trees and the sweet smell of the ocean mist coming through the branches. 

Finally, you broke through the last line of trees into the opening that was in front of the cliffs, massive cliffs that were towering over the beach below and casting a shadow over some of the rock formations that were in the ocean waves.  It was such a view to see, Druig losing his breath himself as you were walking along the grassy ground before standing a few feet away from the edge of the cliff.  You were still then, though your hair was dancing in the wind as your backside was to Druig. He stayed along the tree line, his eyes on you to see what you were going to do next. 

He saw your shoulders droop and relax within seconds, no longer hunched up or stiff like they would be most of the time.  Your entire body was loose and calm, nothing making you stiff or rigid.  The way you stood even was calm and relaxed, and Druig could see you take a few deep breaths to perhaps breathe in the ocean air.  He watched on bated breath as you took another step towards the edge. 

Druig started to feel a hint of concern then, knowing full well you were an Eternal who could take care of herself.  But then again, being that close to the edge, it was sending off warning alarms in his mind.  Why was he panicking over you?  You knew how to fly and the last thing you would ever do was fall from a slip.

But your toes were on the edge, and you simply leaned forward and you fell.

Druig bolted out from the forest, his mind going on overdrive and his heart falling to the stomach.  There was no way he was imagining what he just saw, it could not be a trick of the mind.  You simply fell over the edge, almost like you were in a trance of sorts and you were no longer in sight.  What drove you to do that?  Why would you do something as insane as this?

But as soon as he slid to a halt in front of the very spot where you descended, he was shocked at the sight in front of him.

You were actually flying, but in a way he's never seen before.  Your arms were along your sides, out barely like they were a small pair of wings as you were weaving in and out of the massive rock formations, making it look so smooth like a dance or even water.  Like the very water that you were flying over, almost like you re morphed into a bird.  Druig was speechless, watching in fascination and awe as you were flying all around the coast.  Zipping through the holes in the rock formations, hovering over the top of the ocean with the water barely touching your armor, and with a massive smile on your face.

He saw you fly in combat, you were swift and smooth in how you would soar and dip and gain speed.  But you had to be quick.  Here, amongst the water and rocks, you were slower and almost at ease.  A rolling sensation as you were ascending and descending, like the waves themselves.  Druig could only watch with wide eyes how you were both embracing the wind around you to guide you and carry you, and drink in the very notion of nature to shut everything else out around you.  

The sun danced in your hair, along with some of the spray of the ocean along your skin to make it glisten, your armor shined from the light and the reflection of the water as you were making your flight patterns with your eyes closed.  You must have flown out here so many times you knew when to turn or where to shoot up or down with no need to look.  

Druig realized what it was: you were free.  Utterly free.

He was never free with his mind-controlling, he never felt like he was.  He would always use his powers on the humans to help him or make them safe, also sensing and reading the minds of others.  But he had to use them for others, not for himself.  Not that he would complain about it, he would do it in a heartbeat for the fragile species that they swore to protect.  But there was never a moment that he could simply turn his mind off, let it be at rest.  He wanted it, so badly he wanted to rest his mind and rest what was crawling in the part of his brain.

Seeing you free, beyond free, he was envious.  

Minutes came and went, you clearly had no idea Druig was watching you, nor was Druig caring he was out in the open and watched you in adoration and utter amazement.  It seemed like time stood still for the both of you, nothing else mattered and nothing else needed your attention.  Druig finally sat down on the edge of the cliff, his feet dangling and his hair flicking in the ocean air as his eyes were trained on you intensely and with love laced there as well. 

Druig suddenly realized that he could watch you fly for hours on end and not lose focus or have any boredom. His heart flickered against his chest and his pulse quickened, a sensation he never had before on Earth.  Nothing else excited him or made him smile, he would turn away any kind of earth possession or substance that could substitute.  What he was feeling, and experiencing, seemed more organic and pure.  All from watching you be free in your skin, being free and sensationally beautiful in his eyes.

It hit him sideways, he was in love with you.

You flew up along the cliffs, up in his direction and you finally saw him. Gasping, you flew past him, the force enough to make him fall on his back onto the grassy floor and look up in the pink and purple sky with a gasp on his lips and his eyes wide.  You landed instantly, standing right above his head and perching over him with your head tilted at him and your hands handed at your side.  Druig saw the look on your face, shocked mixed in embarrassment.  Your hair surrounded your head like a halo, hiding you from the world as Druig blinked at you.

"What are you doing?" You asked out of breath, some anger in your tone as Druig found his voice.

"I was—" he was about to say when you huffed.

"Watching me?  When I wanted to be alone?!" You asked, interrupting him as you clenched a fist at your side.  Druig could see how hurt you must have been, needing this time alone and it was taken because of him.  Seeing that anger with a mix of pain in your eyes as you spoke again, "I wanted to be alone, Druig,"

"I...I know," he replied, sitting up and turning to face you thought you were on your feet and he was still sitting on the ground, "I was curious as to where you were going every night,"

"You were looking to pry," You countered, Druig hearing the bite in your tone as he flinched as you glared, "I don't want anyone to pry with me and follow me here!"

You turned on your heel and walked away from him to head back on the worn that would go back into the forest.  Druig's heart dropped, the spell you were once under that was free and open was long gone and was filled with bitterness.  He knew it was his doing, and he wished to fix it as he scrambled to his feet to go after you.

"I didn't mean to pry, you know!" He called out to you as you were still walking, "I was merely curious is all since you go off on your own every night,"

"It's for a good reason," You replied over your shoulder, "Not that you need to know the reason,"

"You're right, I don't," he agreed, "I don't need to know the reason at all.  But you should know that what I saw just now was beautiful.  Beyond beautiful….and you looked like—"

You whirled around, eyes wide at him with some anger flickered in your eyes as you stared into his blue eyes, "Like what?!"

"An Angel,"

You stood still, looking at him with softer eyes now as you both were standing in front of each other mere feet away from one another at the very edge of the forest.  Never once in your time on Earth did you hear something like that about your Eternal Ability.  It touched deep, in the darkest corner inside of you that you never shared or rarely showed.  It made you release all of your breath as Druig kept his eyes on you.  His bright blue eyes you always admired and wished you had.  The same eyes that saw through the flaws and pain of others and never once judged them.  

"I know Angels are a thing amongst humans and their religions," Druig explained, taking another step towards you since he saw you were not walking away from him anymore, "Angels are pure beings, filled with happiness, and are rare beauties.  I…I think that's you when you fly,"

Your heart swelled from what he proclaimed, your ear burning red at the tips.  Druig was always truthful in what he would say, maybe sarcastic or aloof, but he would never lie.  You hearing that from him, in such a truthful manner and with softness laced there too, it made you look at new in a new way as well.  

"I…I fly like Ikaris," You tried to reason with him since it felt like your flying was nothing really special to be praised for.  Druig shook his head at the mention of Ikaris, almost disgusted by the comparison as you were still gazing at him in disbelief.

"He flies like a machine," Druig explained, taking another step to him as he searched your eyes.  He was finally close enough for you to see the blue specks in his eyes and for him to see the freckles on your nose, his fingers reaching down to lace yours with his with gentleness like you were made of glass, "You fly like an Angel,"

You both watched each other for a few seconds, not letting each other go.  You drank in what he said, never once hearing something like this or any of the others, or anyone in that general.  It moved you, truly moved you, since you felt like you had to hide how you wished to fly all this time. But for Druig to see it, and admire you in how you wished to soar and glide with no sign of negativity, you finally smiled.  Druig smiled in return, then cleared his throat and looked down for a moment at his boots.

"I won't tell anyone else where you go, I won't do that to ya," he explained, you watched as he shifted on his feet and still looked at the ground, "And…I won't come back out here if you don't want me to—"

"Druig," You hummed, Druig's eyes going to yours instantly and you saw the smile still etched on your lips.  This close, he saw so much warmth on your face, heard it in your tone, and felt it in your hand that was still holding this.  You looked like an Angel then, the sun setting though still radiating off your face and armor as he felt like his heart skipped another beat.  

"I…I don't mind you watching me," You reasoned, Druig's eyes widened as you kept going, "You're beyond kind to say such things about me—"

"Truthful things," he interrupted as you nodded.

"You wouldn't lie, and I know you won't say anything, to anyone," You went on, Druig nodding in agreement as you spoke again, "And….I don't mind sharing this place with you if you wish to come out here.  As long as it's between us, just us.  Deal?"

For you to offer him your sacred place, a place no one knew or wouldn't never dare to find, it moved Druig in more ways than he could ever imagine.  He knew what it was like to have a place to be at peace, to not be guarded in, and he felt honored that you were willing to share that small piece of yourself with him. 

"Just us," he repeated, your smiled growing, and he felt his heart burst all over again from your smile.

That cliff would be sacred to both yourself and Druig from then on out for the next 2 years you were there.  

You both would escape there almost every night, walking side by side and talking about the day and all that happened.  It was nice to have another person to talk to, at least for you, and Druig would sit on the cliff's edge as you flew.  Knowing that he as kept an eye on you as you were soaring and gliding, weaving in and out and dancing amongst the wind, your little world was a pint bigger now.  Druig loved watching you fly, fly in such a way that seemed so open and bare.  

It moved him the most that you were flying that just for him, no other audience present.  He would watch you for hours and hours on end, some days were joyous and you were speeding with ease.  Other days were hard, you were still with grief or stress.  You would escape to that place and simply fly to be out of your mind so to speak.  

Druig would feel the same, needing to be out of his head or cry from not being able to help the humans.  One night, months later, you stopped flying to see him weeping on the cliff with his head in his hands.  It scared you, wounded you even since you never saw him cry in such a way before.  This was not the Druig you knew, who would make you laugh or smile from his jokes or make you think about the humans so highly.  

So you flew to hover in front of him, gathering him in your arms as he cried in your embrace.  

You both fell in love with time, centuries coming and going but your love was never fleeting.  You found new places to fly when you would move to another part of the planet to hunt Deviants, Druig right behind you to watch you be free.  Having that time with Druig, away from others, was what you craved every day.  Even sharing your first kiss with you hovering in the air and Druig on his tiptoes to try and kiss you a bit bolder and for a pinch longer.  The first kiss, his hand on your jawline and a smile against yours was just as thrilling as flying in itself.  You pulled away as he tried to chase your lips, you laughing as you flew up in the sky in bliss and Druig watching with adoration and affection in his eyes.  

You both grew to accept one another and never let the other go, even when he fled from the family in the Amazon after witnessing a Genocide.  You went with him, realizing he was the other half of your soul and you couldn't survive without him.  Those first few years were hard for the pair of you, being away from the family you've been with for centuries and attempting to protect a village of humans.  Wars and famines, life and death, it was all wrapped in one for you two to navigate.  Especially Druig, who would fight tooth and nail to keep those humans alive.  But he did, and you loved him all the more for it.  

Just like before, he would watch you fly and dance amongst the tops of the jungle trees, considering himself lucky to have someone like you love someone like him.  

And now, years and years later in South Dakota, right after the near Emergence and with the world safe you were sitting on the rooftop of Ajak's farmhouse, watching the scattered stars on the black sky in silence.  You were thinking of Ajak and Gilgamesh and how you missed them, you were thinking of Ikaris and his betrayal against the family, and you were thinking about your husband and how he was almost taken away from you.  

Druig found you there on the rooftop, after discussing with Phastos and Thena with what would come next.  He knew you needed time away from all that happened, that time alone.  Everything within the last several hours seemed so fragile and frazzled, all over the place, and for you to have your alone time was essential.   He crawled out of the open window and sat next to you, wrapping you in his arms You tucked your head against his own as he rubbed your arms.

"Don't ever scare me like that again," you muttered to him as he kissed your hair, "I can't be in this world without you,"

"I would never dare," He vowed into your locks, "We are meant to be together in this life. You're my Angel, remember?"

His pet name for you ever since he used that term on you centuries ago.  He would use it casually during his day to say actives or chores just to make you smile, or privately when you would be in bed and he would bring you to the brink of pleasure. To him, it was more just a pet name.  It was who you were to him: pure, filled with happiness, and a rare beauty.

"I'll always be your Angel," You vowed in return.  And as he let you go flying amongst the stars high above him, Druig was inwardly glad that he followed you that day.  His curiosity led him to years of blissful happiness and joy.  His intrigue led him into the arms of someone who saw him as more than a Mind Controller.

He watched his Angel fly with ease, a big smile on his face.

The End.

Tagged - @a-lumos-in-the-nox @hottpinkpenguin @virtueassassin @heartofwritiing @valeridarkness @ethereal-athalia

[sandyca5tle]

Slime HRT - 18 Months

Another few months, another update, this one’s been interesting.

First, the general progress update: I’m down to just bones in my body, no more muscles or organs, the latter of those hurting a lot as they were each dissolved and absorbed. My stomach was the first notable one to go, and that hurt like all hells. It initially felt like a horrible stomach ache, and when I looked (‘cause enough of my musculature had dissolved that I could see my internal organs) I saw that a hole had been punctured in the side of it and acid was leaking into my body, which was why it was hurting. I did call the doctor, and apparently it’s normal, and in fact is how my slime will be able to dissolve things in itself. So that went on for about a week, which sucked, but once the acid had all leaked out, true to what the doctor had said, I found that things I put in myself would dissolve.

I’d be lying if I said that reaching this stage wasn’t euphoric, or that I may have put a few random pieces of crap I had laying around into me to watch and feel it dissolve. At first, I could really only dissolve cardboard and similar things like that, but recently I’ve been able to eat some plastics - which is really useful for reducing waste. It is a little weird to be able to kinda feel things dissolving within me, but at the same time it’s kind of cool. It typically feels kinda bubbly if I had to describe it, like Sprite or something, but wherever I’ve put it. Which is another thing worth noting, the acidity kinda spread - from my stomach to the rest of my body.

The only drawback with this is that a) I can’t store stuff inside myself any more, and b) I do have to be a little careful hugging people - while my outer membrane keeps my insides safe from the outside, and vice versa, apparently it can be a bit of an irritant to sensitive skin. Fortunately, apparently, I can learn to control it, both the location and strength of the acid - so hopefully hugs will be back on the table soon! I’ve just got to work out how…😅

Another benefit of the acid is that I don’t have to clean lint out of myself any more, I can just let it dissolve in my acid and add to my mass, it’s really convenient, although I do miss the satisfaction of pulling it out of myself. 

The other thing I’ve begun to notice, more so now that my acidity is up, is that I’m occasionally getting some strange cravings, for things like metal and stuff, and I couldn’t help but notice it’s for denser things. Unfortunately most of those things are used in stuff, so I’ve had to find similar, disposable objects to quell the cravings… really hoping they go away eventually, as fun as it is eating all this new stuff.

An extra note worth adding is that I can’t really taste what I eat unless I ingest it through my mouth, which makes sense, given that’s where my tongue is. Certain things I think get passed up through my body - metal is definitely one of them, can usually taste that at least a little when I absorb it.

The other organ I noticed changing was my lungs (surprisingly most of the others went without any issue - not sure what to make of that). Initially it started as a pain across my lower chest, which I naturally investigated, seeing that my lungs were kind of peeling apart. The pain continued to get worse over the weeks, more and more of my lungs peeling as the acidity of my body ate away at them. It was excruciating towards the end, until one day, I suddenly felt what could only be described as a stabbing pain in my lungs. Naturally I tried to inhale from the pain, only for it to not work. As I struggled to breath I looked at my lungs and found that they now had holes in them - which explained the troubles I was having with breathing. It didn’t take long after that for me to pass out.

When I came too - which at the time I was a little surprised about - I naturally tried to breathe trying to recover after what had happened… except it felt off. I kept breathing, going from short, panicked breaths to deeper, more controlled ones. It didn’t take me long to work out what felt off - my chest didn’t move when I breathed; it didn’t rise and fall with my breath. I looked down , inside my chest, only to see that my lungs had mostly dissolved - just a small part of the top remained, and I could still feel a tingle where my acid was eating away at it.

In some respects I had been prepared for this - when my lungs first started hurting, I knew this was coming - I just hadn’t expected it to hurt so much, nor leave me unconscious. I did wonder how long I had been out, and upon checking, it had been around 2-3 hours (I hadn’t exactly checked the time before I lost one of my vital organs) which only added to my curiosity as to how I survived. 

I tested my primary theory, holding my breath and waiting, quickly noticing something else off - I didn’t feel the kind of build up of pressure that humans got when they held their breath. The longer I held my breath the more it became evident as I never felt any kind of push from my body to start breathing again. I did find a small instinct that told me that I should breathe soon, but with no alerts from the body signalling the same, I continued regardless. After a little while I was getting antsy, mostly at staying still so long, so I stopped holding my breath, and despite my mind waiting and expecting it, I didn’t take a deep breath in after, I just kinda kept breathing as if I had never tried to stop myself.

All this to say: I no longer need to breathe! And it really is breathing  - I tested putting my head in water to much the same effect, I could keep my head under there for as long as I liked, although trying to open my mouth did lead to issues with my remaining human biology. So I’m pretty sure I now absorb air through my slime, passively as I walk around. I think was only breathing at the start because of 20 of years of muscle memory and instinct, but it wasn’t long before I did that thing where you forget to breathe for a little, but instead of suddenly taking a large gulp of air, I just… genuinely didn’t notice for a while, and when I did, I wasn’t entirely sure when I stopped. Since it’s happened, some people have noticed something ‘off’ about me, which I quickly learnt was the lack of breathing - apparently humans find it a little unnerving when animate creatures don’t visibly breathe. While I’m not super worried about that, I have worked out how to imitate breathing, chest movements and all, to help quell that unease (of course some people just find my general existence uneasy, but I’m not spending time worrying about that…). It is really neat not having to breathe anymore, and it’s another very affirming change - breathing feels like something very human, even if it’s something many organisms do, so to no longer need it gives me that distance from humanity, and greater closeness to slime…ity? slimeness? Whatever it’s called. Basically not having to breathe makes me feel less like a human, and more like a slime, which just makes me really happy. 

Between my lungs and stomach, I have noticed that the process seems to need to absorb certain organs before the slime can begin to mimic their function e.g. I definitely still had to breathe before my lungs went, and the change is even more pronounced with my stomach and new digestive abilities. It does make me wonder how that’ll work with the remaining organs in my head.

One thing that has me a little concerned now is how exposed my spine - and thus a core part of my central nervous system - is. With all my musculature and organs gone now, I just have the bones in my torso floating around in there (pelvis is pretty much gone), so my spine is kind of very exposed. My slime does provide a general cushion, but my back is still very sensitive now, and I’m just worried about some lasting damage happening while I wait for it to dissolve.

The other thing about the torso bones is that they seem to move less than the rest of my bones did - with my arms and legs I could push the bones around and rearrange them, but I can at most wiggle my ribcage a little, but nothing much beyond that. Nothing really to note about that, just an observation I made.

While all this was happening in my torso, my slime also made some progress on my head, having gotten as far as the skin, so the muscle is visible now beneath the thin layer of slime. A little bit of my nose has gone, as well as my ears, although neither sense has been affected just yet. Surprisingly my eyes have been untouched, although there is a slight pain in them - which I’m guessing is from the acid now in my slime. It could be worse, and I don’t notice it if I'm distracted, but it is a little painful when I do. 

The other funky thing around the eyes is my eyelids - while they’re still there, they’re now translucent, which, uh, means that I can’t really close my eyes in the same way anymore - I’m still able to see through them when I close them. It’s made sleeping a little harder, more just ‘cause it’s unnerving to be kinda able to see while I’m falling asleep, despite having my eyes closed… really hoping that something happens or that I can do something about it ‘cause it really is a pain.

Interestingly, while the inside of my mouth has changed to slime (not sure quite how far/much, but lips have and the mouth I can see in the mirror) my tongue hasn’t, which is another weird experience - meat tongue in slime mouth. My teeth also haven’t changed, which mostly looks weird rather than feeling weird like my tongue, but they’re still there.

I will add though that now that my skin is slime, my hair isn’t as cold against my face, and there’s no real difference in ‘wetness’ now, so that’s a pro.

Lastly, and more lightly since this has been a kinda heavy entry, even if the end results on the whole have been super euphoric for me, I’ve continued to mess around with shaping my slimy body. I can now firmly say I have a tail! Interestingly, it seems easier to hold that than it did to reshape my legs and arms - I’m guessing ‘cause they already had existing forms, while the tail is completely new. I imagine the phantom tail I’ve been able to feel for a while helped too - gave me a mental template to build too. I decided to go with a long, medium-width tail shape, with a horizontal fin on the end - I always liked how aquatic designs looked - mermaids and dragons - so I decided to try it out myself. Combined with the claws and talons, and you know, the general sliminess, I definitely can’t be mistaken for human any more. Only con of the tail is it’s a lot harder to hide how I feel - when I get happy, my tail wags, and sad, it droops - it’s honestly a little embarrassing, but I do still like it, and it’s not like I particularly want to be hiding my feelings anyways. Although in the early days of having a tail, wagging would occasionally send blobs of slime launched off the end of the new limb - or the end of the tail itself, which was very embarrassing, but I think I’ve got it under control now.

Anyways, I think that’s everything I’ve got to write about this time, was a painful few months, but the payoff has still been worth it, so I ain’t stopping anytime soon! See ya in the next one, goobye!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Might be a little while til the next update, but working on another thing in the meantime

First - Prev - Bonus - Next

[theharmonious13]

Trial of the Pheonix

Watari's death sprite being coloured a dark red... aww

~~~

The way the trial room people are set up there's two opposing sides with no gaps between them:

Wada, Ojima, Hiroaki and Tamba in one corner

Mai, Yanagi and Hama in the other (+Hasegawa but he's standing between two deceased students)

IT BETTER NOT BE HASEGAWA BASED OFF OF THE VISUAL SET UP-

~~~

Hiroaki saying tell em' Yanagi is the new Byakuya saying 'Tell them Naegi' 😭😂

Obviously Watari didn't write the notesTM

If Hiroaki is the first sused out person it probs means he wasn't the killer, there goes 1/2 of my predictions 😩

I hate every time lack of supporting emotive evidence or evidence that isn't easily accessible pushes back the trail... it makes sense but irks me to no end 😩

Friends don't kill friends and that's final gdi (ignore Chapter 2 😭)

Oh wait I just realised, Yanagi's concussion finally went away, yay! 😂

Mai wants to look after Yanagi 🥺

Switching podiums doesn't matter? Omg they could've been with their friend groups this whole time 😭😂

Gdi Hiroaki don't accuse Wada just because he likes computers 💀

Omg I only just looked at Okazaki's face sprite, that's crazy disturbing/cool 😳

Mai logic vs Hama emotion - the saga (I love it sm but also Hayashi please defend Watari my shipper ego needs it 😭)

I accidentally spoiled myself on which half of the cast definitely survives, goddamnit Tetro thumbnails/YouTube algorithm 💀

It's either Mai, Wada, Hama, Tamba or Watari, I'm praying it's my dumbass Tamba theory 😭

Hama and Wada are fighting noooooo, it's like Haishigeki all over again 😭

Wada is mute because he's terrifiedTM

Hiroaki defending Hasegawa is peak 🔥

Everyone cornering Hasegawa is giving me anxiety for some reason? 😭

HASEGAWA SELF HARMED FOR LIGHT? 😭

Bruh they DIDN'T CHECK THE BUNSEN BURNERS OMG 😭

Tamba shut tf up, stop blaming other people

Tamba was on the move and tried to lie? 👀

Why is it Tamba and now Hiroaki saying 'you're not being risky Mai, you're letting us down' -_-

Thank you for shutting them up Hama

Ojima IS GOING THROUGH IT, he wouldn't have a testimony anyway 😭

Ojima does hurt himself though... zoinks

Ojima is REALLY anxious damn

Why is he saying that...? This is so ominous I'M SCARED

Oh it's about Hasegawa reading the profiles

Hiroaki being so soft and gentle with Ojima right now 🥺

Poor Yanagi... he's like a hurt puppy rn 😭

Why are we CONVINCED it was Watari's writing? Why CAN'T someone else have sneaked in to place the note? I want her to not be incriminated so bad

Trial intermission is fast approaching I'M SCARED

The way Hiroaki says Tamba x6 is iconic

Poison is back on the table baby, lmao

Poor Yanagi...

HASEGAWA HOW HAVE WE BEEN LOOKING AT THIS WRONG?

Bro NO WAY THAT'S SO SMART HASEGAWA

I'm so done with Tamba in these trials 💀

Everybody about to freak tf out over the arsenal, and we thought Okazaki having a gun was bad 😭

Waiting for Hama to leave is DIABOLICAL

IF EVERYONE'S ALIBI IS SO SUS WHY DO WE STILL THINK WATARI DID ALL THIS?

Wait was she suicidal and wanted to help everyone out? She would get executed for property damage anyway right...?

Mai is referencing Spicy with such sombreness oh my heart can't take this

OH SHOOT THE FIRE DANCE HINT I CAN'T EVEN

Oh Watari's talent... workstation... oh no...

THE SUS PIECE OF METAL THAT WADA AND YANAGI FOUND-

WAS SHE HIDING BEHIND THE DOOR!?

It was darkTM

I want exploding paper now too Tamba lol

Wait Hasegawa what?

Oh buddy Hiroaki, that makes ALOT OF SENSE

Hasegawa relating so hard to wanting to die for someone else...

My heart is sinking NO WAY HAMA GETS EXECUTED IF HE WAS SET UP

THAT SCARED SPRITE HAS ME TERRIFIED THOUGH

PLEASE DON'T DO THIS TO ME

9 Volt BATTERY IS THIS PROJECT EDEN'S GARDEN THE SECOND TIME? WHERE WERE THE BATTERIES AGAIN???

MY HEART IS ATTACKING ME

WAS THE BATTERY ON THE DOOR!?

NO FUCKING WAY HAMA GETS SET UP

I KNOW I SAID JUST BECAUSE HAMA'S FRIENDS DIED DIDN'T MEAN HE WAS SAFE BUT COME ON MAN

Oh

Hasegawa shut up?

This is HEART BREAKING

My heart is SINKING

WAIT NO THIS CAN'T BE FINAL

HAMA DON'T GO, THIS IS FUCKED UP

Wait so she wanted Mai to die as well? She made a sacrificial choice?

WATARI I WISH I COULD REVIVE YOU, THIS CHAPTER SHOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED

HARADA AND HAMA GOING OUT THE SAME WAY

HIROAKI LET HAMA LIVE LONGER PLEASE

WAIT OMG SIBLING SYMPATHY

Hama praying on the way out THIS IS SO CRUEL

MAI REALLY LOVED HAMA PLATONICALLY TOO

YANAGI SENSES THE UNFAIR JUSTICE AS DID OJIMA

WE LOSE SO MANY WONDERFUL CHARACTER DYNAMICS WITH HAMA GONE

WHOEVER MADE THE TETRO AFTERLIFE AU THE SOFT ANGST IS GOING TO BE SO REAL BETWEEN WATARI AND HAMA

He has to convince himself he killed Watari right then and there after being in such crucial denial of his involvement and Watari's actions THIS HURTS SO MUCH

I DON'T WANT HAMA TO BE EXECUTED

MAI AND WADA, AM HURTING SO MUCH

HIS POOR FAMILY

CHIBA MENTION 😭😭😭

THIS VOICE ACTING FROM HAMA IS SO AMAZING AND PAINFUL

GIVE HAMA HIS MUM BACK

[kimberlyeab]

Undertale Yellow - Thoughts

Do you ever touch a piece of media and it hits you so hard that you just decide to drop all your artistic responsibilities for a day and write something to get your thoughts down into a single coherent place.

Well, uh… let’s talk about Undertale Yellow.

Please avoid if you intend to play and do not want spoilers as this delves heavily into topics laid down in the pacifist route. Also please note this contains content warnings for child death, so don’t touch if that ain’t your cup of tea. Like all Youtubers would say, please play the game before you read this, because this experience is best enjoyed in its original form.

The first issue i am struck with before getting too deep into this topic is that this is a fan project. While i, as a fan creator, enjoy feedback on my work; even if it is a little biting at times, i don’t know the pulse of the team in this regard. After all, this had no price tag and was purely a labour of love with seven hard years of development behind it.

i also don’t know how the development of this project was handled and if it was a collaborative effort from start to finish or different teams worked on different sections with an overarching goal. All i have is my own experience of modding for Hearts of Iron IV where my efforts were focused on singular nations and not overarching plots. If different sections were handled by different teams, please don’t take a critique or praise of any singular section as a slight against your work, it was all fantastic just some areas were more fantastic than others.

i enjoyed the mod, immensely, it stuck with me to the point that i had to come here and discuss it for what seems to be close to 2000 words. This project is something truly special, not only in terms of a fan game, but as a piece of media in general. It managed to make me feel that sense of magic I felt two years ago when i first played Undertale. And i can’t think of a higher praise than saying that.

The sprite work was amazing. The battles were fun and just the right amount of challenging… except Axis… fuck Axis. The music was a genuine banger to the point where i even liked some of the songs better than some of Toby’s work (i’m looking at you, the person who composed A Mother’s Love, that Hopes and Dreams drop ruined me emotionally for the rest of the run and i hold you and the writing team responsible for that).

And the story, gosh the story was just a real treat.

The mod in general is a bit slow to start, i’ll be honest, i did enjoy the tease at the beginning with Toriel and i think it was genius to cut us off from her entirely at that point. To me, a Undertale mod doing the ruins is like a Batman movie watching Bruce’s parents get gunned down. So, getting something refreshing here was a great foot forward.  Actually, I think that the fact that this mod does not use the OG cast as a crutch is an all-around strong point that i really appreciate and helps set it aside as its own independent thing, different from Undertale. Even though I did find myself craving at least a cameo at times.

On my first day of playing, i witnessed everything that the ruins and Snowdin had to offer. i enjoyed Dalv and Martlet immensely. As I went into the start of the Wild East, I was having a lot of fun. Yet, something felt off, something wasn’t quite sparking the magic i felt with Undertale. So, I left off my first session in the Oasis, having beaten the third boss. All in all, an enjoyable time but not quite clicking.

i couldn’t describe why the game felt off up to this point. Until i watched a friend stream xeyre own first run of the game.

Xey said something during it which made me realize what the issue with these first three areas was. They felt safe, they felt fangamey. These were fun experiences with great atmosphere and enemies but Dlav and Martlet (up to that point) were not characters who grabbed me and made me feel as invested in them as say Toriel, Sans, Papyrus, and Undyne (all characters we would’ve met at a similar point in OG Undertale). Sure, they were nice, and were immensely fun, but i didn’t feel that drive to get to know them better and care about their greater story. These were not the characters of ask blogs and video essays.

At this point, i went to bed, content to get back to it tomorrow but still very much feeling like “this is a fangame.”

Then i woke up…

And let me telling you about Starlo and the town on the edge of the Wild East.

This is where Undertale Yellow grabbed me, this is where the story became something special. This wonderful cast of six unique characters who left me wanting to consume every piece of dialog they had available. These six characters managed to crackle to life that little fanfiction voice in the back of my brain. It was these characters that planted the seed of this sprawling text i am currently writing.

Starlo, himself, is a wonderful character, very fun, very well written, just a treat to experience and spend time with. His missions were comedic gold to a degree where I was cackling in VC because of how good they were. And the fights, oh jeez, the two fights in that area are where the mod really showed off what it could do when it came to combining fun gameplay, great music, and just top tier sprite work that helped give these characters so much substance and life.

And it was also in this section where i started to get invested in the characters. This is where the fangame vibes withered away and gave birth to that same experience i had playing Undertale for that very first time.

It was hinted at with Starlo, a monster putting on a façade to hide from the cold reality of being a member of a broken species living in an equally broken land. His reasoning is so tragic, yet through the tragedy, he is just trying to distract people and bring them whatever joy he can manage. His methods are faulty but his goal is good.

And Ceroba is just amazing, as well, hinting at something darker in the narrative, weaving her story into OG Undertale by experiencing loss to the same experiments that would haunt Alphys. She is something familiar, a mother in pain like Toriel, but also someone who didn’t let that pain keep her in hiding. She uses that pain to try and help this world. And it plays on me so well, making me genuinely ache as my mind idly wonders which amalgamation in the lab was once this monster’s little girl. I wanted to know her story and experience it.

Then the game was all high points from here.

The adventure in the Steamworks where we see the remains of a shattered legacy and the pain that Ceroba goes through when she realizes that her husband was never respected in life. It resonates as we learn how much he just wanted to help Monsterkind and his legacy was just thrown away and left to rot. It made me hate Asgore.

And then comes the plot twist, the moment the shoe drop, as we approach Hotlands and Starlo confronts us. He knows Ceroba’s secret and is there to keep us safe. I had never been so invested in finding out what any of this meant, craving to know what could possibly bring these two into conflict with one another after being so close just two sections prior.

And that’s when we go to Ceroba’s home. That’s where we experience the empty abode that used to house a family. It’s where we learn how this tormented world of captivity that broke them, one by one, killing father, daughter, and yes, even the mother. It’s where we learn about Chujin, a figure of mythos, this mod’s Asgore in a way. A man who knew that escaping the Underground wasn’t the end goal unless Monsterkind could assert itself and prove that it had a right to exist upon the surface. This moment was so compelling, asking questions that fans have had for years and answering them in a way that felt downright satisfying.

And it put a fire in my breast going forward. i feel bad for the individuals who wrote dialog for optional areas after this reveal because i was a woman on a mission at this point. There was no endearing encounter, no fun moment that would distract me from finally finishing this with Ceroba.

And as we reach New Home and face the enemy, a mother who has lost everything, with our friends by our side, that’s when we play the best boss fight, I’ve had the privilege of enjoying in a very long time. It was the right amount of difficult with perfect music, amazing phases and forms, and a wonderful use of the yellow soul to its full capacity. It was long and slogged out, fought tooth and fucking nail, all while the music perfectly weaves together Ceroba’s struggle with the adventure we’ve been on and also a little nostalgia just to remind you what’s at stake. i have slept and i still remember her piano bits combined with those little western twangs, bringing together two childhood friends before dropping Hopes and Dreams just to show you how epic it is. It is… HOLY SHIT… it is something.

And with every phase we see a little more of what this monster lost. We watch her husband wither away, we see her risk her daughter and fail, and we see every last thing this obsession has cost her. And we know that this is a family broken by a collective scar left upon a whole species. We know that humanity is at fault, subjecting a whole race to torment for something that’s generations old. This family is just one of many who our species has wronged, just one trauma on a whole ledger.

And as we finally dispatch her and feel victorious, the reality of the situation slowly settles in.

This is a prologue… we know how this ends.

Asgore has five souls right now. Yet, by the events of Undertale, he has six.

i knew on a logical level that this would happen but the mod still managed to destroy me with the reality. As our friends try and figure out a way to keep us safe, we, the Spirit of Justice, a child with a pure heart, know that we can’t let this slide. We saw what humanities punishment has done to this species and we know that we can help them.

So, Clover sacrifices their Soul. And its at this moment that i started bawling like a child, watching their friends bargain with them, then plead, then seeing them slowly come to terms with it. And the game slowly ends from there, watching our hero make this sacrifice and then send away their friends so they don’t have to see them die. It’s just us, alone, knowing that we did the right thing and it cost us everything. It’s beautiful and tragic, the perfect ending that still chokes me up thinking about it.

And it pays off as the credits role and we get an epilogue that shows all the monsters we’ve touched and made their lives better.

It was special.

This was the special that i felt after Undertale.

And like Undertale, i will never touch it again (unless i speedrun it). The story was completed and the sacrifice was beautiful. It would be wrong of me to erase the deeds that i’ve done to better these lives. i don’t want to erase their happy ending just to tinker around and extract every ounce of life from this game.

So uh, yeah, sorry to the people who worked on geno-run. i’m sure you did a great job but i can’t bring myself to hurt these characters.

All-in-all, sitting there in a VC, bawling at 3:30 in the morning, i knew this was unique and I knew that i wanted to share my thoughts with the fandom and maybe even the developers if they get around to reading this.

Dear devs, if you read this, you created something out of this world, thank you.

Sincerely, thank you.

Would I recommend this mod?

Let me tell you what I said after the credits rolled.

“Fuck this mod.”

Err… text kind of loses the translation of those words being spoken through the warble of a tear-stricken voice that was fresh from sobbing for ten minutes straight.

So, uh…

Yeah, it was alright!

Hey, y'all should join my Discord! It's multifandom and queer as fuck (Please be 18+ though).

Visit my website to see where else you can find my work, follow my socials, or support me!

[ninjagirlstar5]

It's about time I did Akane, huh?

Okay, first things first: I wasn't the only one who didn't realize that her OG design had a ponytail, right? Right? Like, sure, her overworld sprite makes it pretty clear that she has a ponytail but if you're only paying attention to the character sprites themselves, the shape of her hair makes it look like she has a bob-cut of sorts, not a ponytail. I didn't even realize her hair is a ponytail until I saw the CG cutscene of Kiyoka's death and went, "Wait a minute. That's a ponytail." So the first thing I did was make her ponytail a bit more obvious. Her hair ribbons also just, blends in with her hair due to having the same tone. If you look hard enough or once you notice them, you'll see them in her design, but that's still a poor choice in shade if you can't see that piece of accessory at first glance. So I brightened up the red color of the bows to make them stand out more. Especially in her hair/headdress. Aside from that, the rest of her OG design was pretty good. Akane takes her job as a maid very seriously, to the point that she doesn't like it when she's compared to those fake maids from maid cafes. So it'd make sense that she'd wear a formal maid outfit. All I did was make my own interpretation of her design. I covered up her chest as she's the kind of person to put emphasis on her professionality on being an actual maid and not one of those "wannabe maid cafes" that she so detests. So she'd cover her skin a lot more, even when she does have a, uh, more sultry side to her that she keeps under wraps. (Which she chose not to filter as a Despair.) I made her dress a little longer, her sleeves reaches her elbows now but they're rolled up a bit for convenience, changed the designs of her apron and heels, and replaced her collar necklace with a bow cause I couldn't make the necklace look good with the type of collar I gave for her top. And with her Despair form, I just removed what she already took off in that OG sprite: the bow, the apron, and let her hair down, which I made her fringe slightly more messy. I always found the...middle part?? Of her dress looked weird, so I had it stop around her waist instead. I kept her color palette the same as black, white, and red are a great color combo and ties into her connection to Monokuma as the mastermind. Not only that, white is most prevalent in her color palette in her Pre-Despair form, to emphasize "purity" and "good", but once the apron is removed in her Despair form, black overtakes the white, which can symbolize evil, misfortune, and even bad luck. Bad luck in the context of how screwed everyone was upon realizing who the mastermind is, anyways!

I love Akane. I can fix her, I swear- (I'm joking, I'm joking-)

[noxiatoxia]

Recently, I found a very strange Naegi sprite, and it's got me thinking a lot about the DR1 Sprite process.

It's from the promotional picture announcing Danganronpa Unlimited Battle, a now defunct iOS/Android game from 2015.

To some this sprite might look normal, but it is assuredly not. Also, Kirigiri's is off, too. But for the sake of the kind of discussion I'm heading, I'm only going to focus on Naegi for right now.

It's very difficult to navigate the game's files, but I *was* able to pull a clean version of the sprite.

This sprite is weird for so many reasons. I can't tell if it's even a beta sprite or not. If it is, it looks closer to an SDR2 beta.

To illustrate what I mean, please look at this infograph from a different post of mine, about the standard Naegi default sprite.

What sticks out to most people, I think, is how different each sprite is (with exception to the last two). The style itself seemed to change, and considering Danganronpa's history, this makes sense. DISTRUST, as it was once called, was going to look and play very differently. It is then no surprised the sprites went through a very different creative process than, say, the SDR2 sprites - when by that point, the team had a clear idea of what the Danganronpa art style was to look like.

For comparison, here's a linear look at how SDR2 sprites are largely created.

Please excuse the messiness of the chart.

What's notable is the most basic form of these sprites lack line weight. A pen with 0 pressure is used to draw the outline, then the illusion of pen pressure is added by erasing some of the ends. It's an incredibly interesting way to stylize the artwork.

Kuzuryuu is a great example as we have 3 main points in this specific graph: the "draft", the "beta" and the "final". But, as I've covered before, there is sometimes possible other sprites between these 3 points. Think of it like v.1.0, v.2.0, v.3.0 - while all the minor renditions (that, for some reason, Spike keeps around and keep accidentally misusing) are akin to v.1.1, v.2.1, v.2.2, etc...

And while I still believe my original theory I posed about SDR2 sprites being a 3-step-process is mostly true, I do think specific sprites or characters have more or less steps in between each "level".

For extra reference, here is some other sprite comparisons:

So, with all of these examples, I think you can see a clear process within SDR2's sprites.

Back to Naegi, and what confuses me...

I made a chart for this specific sprite.

This graph shows a clear, logical timeline from point A to B, to C.

Now, let me compare the Naegi from Unlimited Battle to the final, finished sprite.

It's very different, but in ways that don't make sense. His hand is completely different from all versions of the Naegi sprite we've seen. As well, why does this sprite have lower hair, when none of the Naegi sprites in that timeline do? His hoodie zipper, also, is different from all 3 sprites. If this was a beta of the v.2.0 sprite, why is the nose in the correct position as the 3.0 sprite? Or why is the right eyebrow cutting through the hair shading, like the 3.0 sprite? If this were earlier, should it not look closer to the 2.0 sprite?

So...I don't think it makes sense to be a beta sprite, despite the outlining looking like an SDR2 beta. Then what is it?

That, I have no clue. But I have some ideas.

Firstly, this may be a sprite made only for this game. I have 0 clue why this would be, or where it would be used in-game, as the game is unplayable these days. Why this sprite only, though? The SDR2 cast was featured prominently in this game, too, and Hinata did not get any re-drawn sprites. Why did Kirigiri randomly also have a redrawn sprite?

But, stuff like this has happened before. the Danganronpa LINE stickers have many redrawn sprites. Not all of them are weirdly, but that only makes it share more in common with this game which also has non-redrawn sprites.

But if not redrawn for this specific game, what else could it be?

Well...I only have 1 other theory.

1・2 Reload (the Vita remaster of DR1&SDR2) was released late 2013, while Unlimited Battle was released early 2015. The Vita version of DR1 did something interesting that the Vita version of SDR2 did not do: go back and touch up sprites.

I'm still in the midst of finding all the characters who were edited, but the most noticeable and abundant is Kuwata's.

I'll cover this more in-depth once I get to my "DR1 PSP -> PSVita Revisions" post, but the change is clear. They added much thicker outlines to Kuwata's sprites - almost all of them. This is clearly a purposeful change and not them reusing betas on accident, as Kuwata's actual beta sprites (observed in the DR1 Demo version) lack these bold outlines.

So...what if everyone was going to get this treatment? It may be a stretch, but it's the only thing that makes sense to me. Perhaps everyone's sprites were going to be heavily edited to look more like SDR2 sprites, and perhaps this process was even started before they gave up for one reason or another. So, we only have a few characters who ever got this treatment...and then some of those sprites were accidentally used in this iOS game.

Of course, that's only my theory. There could be a million other reasons for why this Naegi sprite exists - along with Kirigiri's and...Oogami.

Yes, in the files, I also found an odd Oogami sprite with the same quirks to it as Naegi's and Kirigiri's. I'll make gifs for them both now.

All I can say is this is really strange. I wish I had a more definitive answer for what's going on here.

[tearfallpixie]

Make Mama Happy - Chapter 3

Tags: @nerdraging4point0 @thesazzb @synthetic-wasp-570 @circle-with-me @beaker1636 @itsjustemily @witchyweeb34 @agravemisstake @cookiesupplier @cncohshit @faceless-mirror @nonamessblog @yournecessaryevil @black-damask1999

@lyschko666 @vinyardmauro @skulliecadaver-blog @some-daniela @latenightmusiclover

I pouted in the back seat while simultaneously glaring at the driver of the vehicle. Heather had convinced me with her stupid puppy dog eyes to tag along to Vinny's place with her and Rick to watch a movie. I didn't know how I would survive tonight, but at least it was just the four of us instead of a party.

"Oh, come on. It won't be so bad. I promise, Chole," Heather tried to appease me. Ricky had apologized for what he said, and I could tell he was sincere, so I forgave him, but it didn't make us buddies.

"One night. And then never again," I declared, crossing my arms and resigning myself to the impending social gathering. I didn't share with Heather the information about seeing Vinny at the winery, so as far as she was aware, the last time I had seen him was at the party.

We all walked up to Vinny's door, which he opened before we stepped onto the porch. The atmosphere felt tense, and I couldn't shake the feeling that this movie night might not be as uneventful as Heather hoped.

"Hey guys, come on in," Vinny greeted us, his gaze lingering on me before turning his attention to the group. We walked in, and I couldn't help but feel the weight of his scrutiny as we settled on the couch. Ricky and Heather claimed one side, leaving only two spots available, forcing me to sit next to the drummer.

Vinny had chosen an action movie that Heather and Rick had shown interest in, and I found it mildly intriguing. I decided to tag along because it had only recently been released, and I hadn't had a chance to watch it yet. As we settled in, I tried to focus on the movie, but the tension in the room was palpable. I could tell that we were all tense, expecting someone to pop off at any moment.

"Do any of you want popcorn?" Vinny asked, pausing the movie. We were only about 20 minutes into it and had forgotten to consider the snacks beforehand.

"Oh, that sounds delicious! Please?" Heather cheered. Vinny stood and padded to the kitchen quietly.

"Oh, I need something to drink. Anyone else?" I asked, taking the opportunity to escape the tense atmosphere on the couch. Once I took their orders, I followed the drummer into the kitchen. "Just need to get some drinks," I mumbled.

I reached into the fridge and pulled out two water bottles and a Sprite before turning to Vinny. "Do you want me to grab one for you since you'll have your hands full with the popcorn?"

"Sure," he said after a moment of silence. "A Sprite is fine. Thank you." I nodded, sensing the awkwardness but choosing to maintain a level of courtesy. There was the sound of the door opening, prompting us to perk up. Vinny grabbed the bowl and stepped back into the living room to see an older woman standing there holding a comically large box. "Mama? What are you doing here?"

"Well, I forgot to bring over that statue you asked for last week. So I thought I would stop by on my way home today. Hello, Richard and Heather. It's always good to see you," she greeted warmly.

I exchanged a surprised glance with Heather and Rick, Vinny’s mum’s arrival seemed to catch everyone off guard, and I couldn't help but glance over at Vinny. He had a guarded expression on his face so I couldn't tell what he was feeling.

"Hello, Mama Mauro. Looking beautiful as always," Rick flirted, earning an eye roll from me as I went over to set the drinks on the table. Vinny followed me, setting the popcorn down too.

"I don't believe we have had the pleasure of meeting yet," Mrs. Mauro said, holding out her hand. I shook it, introducing myself. 

"I'm Nichole."

"Kyle said my Vincenzo had a girlfriend. I didn't know you would be so pretty," she remarked, casting a discerning eye over me. I glanced at Vinny in alarm, a sentiment mirrored in his expression, but there was an underlying look of pleading in his eyes.

"I wasn't aware that Kyle had said anything," Vinny spoke up, wavering a bit.

"You flatter me, Mrs. Mauro," I mumbled, attempting to maintain a bashful tone. I felt Vinny move into my space, a hand touching the small of my back. Glancing at Ricky and Heather, who looked confused, I silently pleaded for them to keep their mouths shut.

"I'm sorry I didn't introduce her sooner, Mama. We just wanted to make sure it would work before we told anyone," Vinny explained, a hint of unease in his voice.

"How did you two meet?" Mrs. Mauro pressed, her curiosity evident.

"He came by my winery a few weeks ago for a tasting with Kyle. We started talking then and just never stopped," I smoothly replied, sticking to the fabricated story.

"How sweet. You know, Vincenzo used to be such a play—"

"Mum, let me take that from you," Vinny cut her off, stepping forward and taking the box from her. "I will see you at family dinner this weekend." His interruption distracted her from her thoughts and I couldn't be more grateful.

"Of course, baby. Nichole, you must come. I insist. I won't take no for an answer," Mrs. Mauro demanded, her determination clear.

"Mum, I'm sure she has her own plans," Vinny tried to interject.

"Nonsense. She's family now. I'm sure she can arrange her schedule," she insisted. Vinny looked at me for help, but I couldn't come up with a convincing excuse.

"I don't mind," I conceded, realizing that it might be the path of least resistance.

"Wonderful! I will see you both Saturday," Mrs. Mauro declared, bustling out of the house and leaving all of us in stunned silence.

"What the fuck just happened?" Ricky asked, his confusion mirroring my own.

"Well, it seems as if Nichole and Vinny started dating, and we weren't aware," Heather giggled, seemingly entertained by the unexpected turn of events.

"No. I still hate her. But my brother fucked me over, and if I don't do this, my mum will start setting me up on blind dates," Vinny muttered, stepping away from me quickly, making it clear that this was nothing more than a charade to appease his mother. I couldn't help but feel a mixture of surprise, confusion, and a hint of amusement at the absurdity of the events.

"Well, you're in for it now, so you better start playing nice," Ricky teased, adding a touch of humor to the situation. Vinny and I took our places on the couch again, both of us lost in thought about the impending friday dinner.

"Do my eyes deceive me, or is Ricky Olson being nice to my best friend?" Heather snickered, noticing the change in Ricky's demeanor.

"I'm just here to watch her fail," the guitarist shrugged, maintaining a facade of indifference. His girlfriend swatted his chest and scowled, signaling a playful reprimand.

"I only just forgave you. Don't be stupid," Heather scolded Ricky before turning back to us. "You two need to practice before you go on Saturday. You will need to actually look like a couple." Both Vinny and I exchanged glances, our reluctance evident. Neither of us wanted to pretend, but we also didn't have a choice now.

"I'm sure we can fake it well enough," Vinny protested. "Only need to stay together for a little while. Then we can break up and forget about each other."

"You can't do that to Mama Mauro. You'll have to be together for a few months at least. Now cuddle. I want to see how you two look together," Heather insisted, determined to make her point. I knew she was right, but I didn't want to get closer to the drummer than necessary. Glancing at him, he shrugged, equally annoyed. I scooted closer to him, and he reached around me to drop his arm across my shoulders.

"God, you two are so stiff," Richard spoke up, expressing his discomfort with the situation. "I don't like this, but I'm going to help you two out. Look at each other and try to relax." As I sat there, curled awkwardly in the drummer's arms, I glanced up at him to see his hazel eyes staring back down at me. Initially filled with curiosity at the request of the guitarist, his gaze softened to something almost kind as we held eye contact. I felt his arm grow heavy on my shoulder, and surprisingly, I found myself relaxing into his side.

"That's a little better. Now kiss," Richard suggested, adding a touch of mockery to the situation. Our eyes snapped over to him, anger filling my bones as he made light of the entire predicament. 

"Like hell!" I snapped in response to Ricky's suggestion.

"You'll have to eventually. Might as well get the first awkward one out of the way so you are used to it later," Ricky shrugged, seemingly unperturbed by my resistance. I looked back up at the drummer, and although he looked unhappy, both of us knew that he was right. He sighed, leaning down to peck my lips.

"No, stupid. Kiss her properly," Ricky insisted, pushing for a more convincing display. The tension in the room increased as I hesitated, grappling with the discomfort of the situation.

"Make it deep, sweet, soul-stealing," Heather ordered.

"Oh, come on! We will never have to kiss in front of his parents. It's not that big of a deal," I protested, trying to reason with them. However, neither of the others would have it. I glared at them hard until a hand took my chin and turned me to face Vinny.

His lips met mine again in a longer kiss this time, one that truly took my breath away. His lips were soft, and they tasted of movie theater butter from the popcorn we had in front of us. He must have snuck some before we left the kitchen. As his lips moved against mine, we both relaxed further into each other, and his arms found their way around my waist. He pulled me into him for a moment before letting go and pulling away.

"Now that's more like it," Heather declared, seemingly satisfied with the performance. I snapped away from his gaze and looked at my best friend. 

"Are we good?" I asked, breaking the silence that hung in the room.

"I think that's passable," Richard shrugged, offering a smirk. I scoffed and stood up.

"Cool. Enjoy the rest of your movie. Vinny, I guess I'll see you Saturday," I announced, ready to make my exit. I grabbed my jacket and headed toward the door when a hand grabbed my arm, turning me back around. Vinny was standing there, staring down at me, appearing like he wanted to say something.

"Yes?" I prompted.

"I- just- thank you. I'm sorry I dragged you into this," he mumbled, a hint of sincerity in his voice.

"It's whatever. I'll keep up appearances as long as you need me. I should go," I replied, deciding to keep my response casual. I exited the house, dropping into a squatting position on the porch for a few minutes to take a deep breath. I could handle this. It was going to be fine.

[hoenn-betadex]

Introduction

In October 2024, a massive data breach of Game Freak occurred, leaking tons of internal data for Pokemon, in what has been coined the "Teraleak".

As a big fan of beta/unused content in video games and Pokemon, I've always been extremely fascinated by the design work that goes behind each Pokemon, and how each generation seems to pick up its pieces a little differently.

In this blog, I'll be discussing each Pokemon in the Hoenn Pokedex, ordering and grouping them by their development history. We'll take a deep dive into each one, and hopefully we can learn more about the development of Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire together!

This blog is heavily inspired by the amazing Asmorano's blog about Pokemon Gold/Silver's beta dex, which you can find here.

I'd like to give a special shoutout to TCRF and /vp/ for sorting through this data.

Timeline

Since we'll be going over each Pokemon, it only makes sense to order them Chronologically. This will give us a good sense of which Pokemon were designed first, what types of changes they went through, and more.

January 26, 2001 (Trademark Era)

A short list of Pokemon names that were trademarked on January 26, 2001, predating all leaked development files. These Pokemon are especially interesting, as they were designed and finished very quickly to begin advertising the games.

There are also two Pokemon who are exceptions to this, Duskull and Wynaut, who went through a similar process later in development (September 25, 2001).

August 28, 2001 (Monster Era)

The earliest pieces of concept art for Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire. This collection of monstrous designs are mostly dated for July 29, 2002, but one of the images predates the rest by an entire year! This is almost certainly evidence that this entire batch are actually from August 28th, 2001, which would make sense considering the extreme art style difference.

November 1st, 2001 (Voting Area)

The first set of actual sprites for Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire. This is a "first draft" point in development, with many designs being unfinished. During this time in development, internal polls were conducted to see the opinions on designs, and some even include short notes about the Pokemon.

March 25-31, 2002 (Festa Demo)

The next batch of Pokemon is significantly smaller, with many Pokemon, both beta and final, being removed. While it's possible this is just an incomplete data set, it's more likely that this was an attempt to finalize a small roster to showcase at the Pokemon 2002 Festa Demo, which would go on to show off the games. Since this demo was shown off starting on June 10, 2002, it would make sense for them to be finishing off a set of Pokemon to prepare for the event.

It should be noted that this is still a work in progress roster, since Volbeat is missing, despite appearing in the Festa Demo.

July 2002 Scratchpads

This is a set of scratchpad files the developers used to draw up drafts of different sprites. By this point, the final Pokedex had been settled on (besides 5 cut Pokemon who only existed in the data briefly.)

Unfortunately, these files are missing dates, but we can assume they come from July-October 2002, considering these are later revisions than the Festa Demo, but still predating the final designs from November 2002.

The reason I suspect July is due to Pokedex files dated July 17, 2002 that has a nearly completed Pokedex, with only a few missing/changed Pokemon.

Since these are scratchpads meant for testing, there are usually multiple drafts, unfinished sprites, or even completely different Pokemon making appearances!

I'll be going through each era of the game's development, looking at each Pokemon from their initial draft up until their final designs.

I will be using the following format (shamelessly ripped from Asmorano) for each Pokemon. For Kecleon, we have the earliest version of the official artwork uploaded online, as well as every rendition of its sprite. The unused "Other" row will be used in case there's anything extra to put.

Hope you're all as excited as I am to go on this journey!

[zombeebunnie]

💜Trembling Essence:Happy spooky month + It's cabin time🧡

Helloo guys and welcome new followers, it's been a while! I'm still fairly busy so future game development posts will be every 1-4 weeks depending on how things go. :[]

Happy spooky month! >:]

We're finally back in the cabin!! You know what that means.. >;]

It is time to explain what will happen next!

Starting off with quality of life changes:

1. One of the main things I'm going to fix up is the different situations you can get depending on your interactions with Noah before he goes to bed.

As time went on it became difficult to keep track of everything since there's different ways to approach the cabin and interact afterwards. To remedy this I'm making a layout where your amount of closeness with Noah can place you into different categories instead of it all being under one scenario. I don't know how else to explain this without adding spoilers but hopefully this makes sense!

2. Another thing that needs fixing is what choices effects Noah's closeness with the player(Y/N).

I didn't mess with them in the [Extended Demo] to avoid breaking the game but there's some choices that will updated. Noah's reactions to some of the player(Y/N)'s decisions didn't line up well which caused him to lose closeness when he'd really be neutral instead.

3. The cabin is getting a update!? -Gasp- :[]

I can't say much due to spoilers but this originally wasn't going to happen until I started adding more depth to the story. It won't be anything drastic but for right now, only the living room is getting this.

4. But what about The Swamplands?! >:?

It's somewhat done outside of a few CG's but I need a break from cleaning it up. I'll fix it up again later. :,,D

5. Optimizations images! :[]

I found away to lower file sizes when making CG's / sprites / animations etc. There's certain parts of the game that will be animated and this is one of a few I really want to add without making the game file size too big. :,]

If you like what I create, please consider supporting what I do on kofi! All donations and tips help tremendously while I continue to work on the game. Thank you to those that optionally bought the [Extended Demo] and the March 2023 demo on itch.io. :,]

Q&A / Ask box is open:

To know and understand Noah through Asks and random posts about lore, they'll be under #Get to know: Noah ! :]

**Some asks won't be answered if it contains spoilers but I do appreciate what I receive. :,,]

If you have any questions about Trembling Essence/Noah feel free to ask here or on itch.io please. This makes it easier for me to see and answer accordingly! I enjoy hearing from you guys!

This update is getting a little too long so I'll stop here. Thank you to everyone for your continued encouragement and support and have a happy spooky month! >:]