#also could only use variations of orange and blue

[katshyperfixations]

Analogous color pallet with The Collector. First time using gauche paints so I had to figure it out a bit.

[voidpunker]

waaaahh thank you for tag!!!!

coughing wheezing sobbing even with only half the colours im fighting for my life to do my hair in picrews augh

also im counting last song as the one i was listening to when i saw post bc by now im at Two Wuv heehoo (of course it was gonna be chonny jash lol no one is surprised-)

um uhm any mutuals who see can join :'3 bc um idk whos chill w pings so im just gonna doooo a feww <3 (<== lying apparently i dont know what a few means)

@artemis-elaphaea @zapticuno @theshrimpgod (for when yall check tumblr again >:3ccc) @lumarys @littlechiphumanoid @pascll @animatroniclovingsylveon @mothgoop @kitkatisvibing @hailthedragonmaster

i found a cool tag game on twitter and i really wanna import it (o^ ^o)

this picrew + the last song you listened to :]

no pressure tags: @blood-loving-leech @overtaken-boredom @lesbianthatyaps @kameonerd566 @hexedvampire @laczki @anonymous-shxtposter @fleurafae @flovqy + anyone who wants to do it <3

[leidensygdom]

On neutral pronouns for people who have English as a Second Language

This has been bugging me for a bit so I thought I could try to explain exactly what's with pronouns and ESL (English as a Second Language) people. I will preface this saying that I'm a nonbinary person who uses they/them pronouns in English, whose mother tongues are Spanish and Catalan, since all of this will be relevant.

Now, I've seen a sort of general hostility towards people who use the wrong pronouns on nonbinary characters in fandom spaces. I'm not going to say that misgendering is fine. It isn't. But I want to give some context on why it happens, and to ask people to double-check where are people from before accusing them of enbyphobia, specially in the context of discussing media and such.

The experiences of ESL people who are starting to learn English can be really varied. In a few countries, English is taught pretty decently in school. In northern European countries (Finland, Norway, etc), English is spoken by about 70~80% of the population. In Spain, only about a 20% of the population does speak English- Which is much lower, comparatively. And I feel like my own knowledge of it had way less to do with what I learnt in school, and more about using English on my spare time to dwell around the Internet.

And my first experiences online were pretty clumsy. I first started using English to navigate some online adopt sites and to hang around in DeviantArt. DeviantArt was my first experience not only reading other English people, but actually commenting myself. See, it was crucial for me to make friends with the three other people who were drawing fanart of a character from a 1996 game that didn't even release in Europe. Now, thing was: I had no fucking clue of English, but the content I sought was only available in English. So, I did what many other people like me did back then: Grab Google Translator (which was much worse than it is nowadays), translate their comments, then use it to translate my own comments and post them.

It was messy, it was clumsy, my English was broken beyond belief, but people were patient and a semblance of communication did happen. And thankfully, people were very nice to my mistakes. Eventually, I'd slowly start actually learning English myself, comparing mistranslated pages between Spanish and English, then hanging out in streams where I couldn't rely on a translator, and joining English chatrooms, where I had to learn how to handle it way more fast than I could with a translator. I've been now grinding my English knowledge for well over a decade, and I feel like I have a decent grasp.

But now, onto the topic of neutral pronouns. Let's talk about translators. And let's talk about how Spanish, which (as other Romance languages), does not have neutral pronouns. None. Zero. Everything is gendered. Spoons are female. Dice are male. The ocean is male. The flesh is female. Adjectives are also gendered. If I say "el gato blanco", that's a male white cat. Every word in "el gato blanco" is gendered towards male. If I say "la gata blanca", now everything is gendered towards female. Now, let's see what happens when you put stuff on a translator.

I've highlighted in orange the pronouns in English that are neutral (both they/their/themself, as well as it). In green, words that are no variation based on gender. In blue, the words that are male.

As you can see, the translation has completely changed genders. Friend, a neutral word in English, is translated as male in Spanish. The several adjectives also become male. ("Es", "tiene" and such are verbs that already imply the person, which are not gendered). "Su", which is "their" is not gendered in Spanish, so that one doesn't become male. But then even with the cat- Even when I used a typically female name (Belle), even when I specified the cat is a calico (a typically female cat colouration), it all becomes male in the translation.

In Spanish, male is kinda the default you use when you don't know someone's gender. When using translators, most times, any neutral pronoun and word will automatically become male, even if it makes no sense for the context. Now, I think, you can see why ESL people who are learning English through online translators would start to struggle with pronouns.

Now, there are some attempts in Spanish to incorporate neutral pronouns. These are not official: They're mostly only seen in very specific queer circles. If we have él (him) and ella (her), the neutral one in Spanish would be elle (they). Adjectives that would be neutral would end in -e, instead of -o for male and -a for female (for example, amarille instead of amarillo or amarilla, meaning yellow). My closer irl friends have been using these for me and my partner, for example. Some of them are still struggling to learn them. Outside of that, I can't expect people to use these neutral words at all, as people would treat me like I grew up an extra head. I'd say these are neopronouns in Spanish but that isn't even the correct word, because gender in Spanish affects more than just pronouns, and I don't think we conceive neopronouns much to start with. (And as an addition, I have only heard passing comments about how to do neutral pronouns in Catalan. Never got to use them. I'd probably need to practice a bit before being able to do so.)

Now. Spain isn't even a particularly transphobic country. It is, in fact, one of the best places to be a binary trans person in. We have a solid framework against transphobic hate speech. We have self ID. We have public healthcare that covers HRT and gender affirming surgery. I could go tomorrow and start the paperwork to change my name and gender marker without even needing to get evaluated by a therapist. Yet, the language makes everything way more hostile to nonbinary folk. The more TERFy section in the government couldn't take down the Self ID part, but the one thing they managed to erase from the so-called Trans law was being able to have an "X" gender marker, because nonbinary people are barely recognized at all. All of this is to say: Language HEAVILY dictates gender. A language that doesn't make space for neutral pronouns will make it WAY harder for nonbinary people to get any acceptance.

And now, onto the topic of fandom. What happens when a piece of media that has a character that uses they/them gets translated into a language that does not have neutral pronouns? Most commonly, they will simply get either he/him or she/her. Whoever is doing the translation will often just see what's more comfortable to do and proceed to use that. There are rarely any explicit mentions of nonbinary characters discussing being nonbinary in media, so effectively, Spanish people will simply never get the information of a character being nonbinary unless they check English information about them.

I'm not sure if the games were translated any differently, but both Frisk and Kris in Undertale and Deltarune are treated with male pronouns in the main wiki. At least, for Kris, there's a brief mention of the nonbinary pronouns in English- But the wiki does no attempt to use the suggested neutral pronouns in Spanish. For the Owl House, the wiki page for Masha actually makes a bit of an effort to be neutral, but kinda uses plural verbs when referring to them (instead of using the suggested neutral pronouns). There is a few loose female adjectives used here and there. Raine's wiki page kinda shifts between trying to not use gendered words and (surprisingly!) a couple loose neutral pronouns. I think in the latino-american translation they got male pronouns, but it was rectified to not use pronouns later on.

All of this is to say: Non-English folk will not get explicit confirmation of nonbinary characters using neutral pronouns in a lot of instances. Most translators won't bother. THERE have been some attempts to use them- The one that comes to mind is Yao from Guild Wars 2, who is agender, and the Spanish translation IS the first time I ever saw actually (and confidently) using neutral pronouns for them. I remember one of GW2's translators mentioning they did explicitly try to make sure that the non-English translations respected their pronouns, which is huge! That isn't even a small indie game! And it's really nice we got that!

But that's rare. That's very rare.

All of this is to say: If you see people misgendering nonbinary characters in fandom, take a moment before thinking they're doing it out of malice. There is of course people who do it on purpose, and I'm not going to deny that. But fandom spaces are often very hard to navigate for ESL, because they're extremely Anglocentric, and people expect you to know things that (if you don't consume stuff in English to start with) you wouldn't even know. You can correct people when they use the wrong pronouns, just be polite about it. You're more than allowed to expect others to gender you correctly, of course. But try to be patient, and try to be aware of how pronouns work in other languages. It took me absolutely forever to learn about the mere concept of neutral pronouns in English myself, even when I am nonbinary. It isn't the kind of switch you can make in a night.

Anyhow, sorry for the long post, but I hope it does help explain a bit about how ESL people do sometimes navigate fandom. My experiences aren't global, and other languages have very different set ups for genders that may make things work much more differently. But I thought that explaining how it goes for Spanish vs English would be informative.

[wishfulsketching]

Get to know your mutuals!

Tagged by @kanskje-kaffe ! Thank youuu

What's the origin of your blog title?

Well. Woohee, so when I was in junior high or so, me and one of my friends made a dog comic/ OCs (Because of course, Ginga and all that). I really liked one of the side characters name and it translated to Wishing Urn. It...It was a whole thing. SO I started using variations of that as my name online. Now it's simply Wish and I just come up with names that have wish in 'em in some way to make it "mine".

OTP(s)+ shipnames(s):

Vander x Silco (zaundads) Oz x Ed (Nygmobblepot) Absolute wild cards: Ignis x Cladio Archie x Maxie (I just remembered them because I am playing pokemon ruby atm)

Favourite color:

Yellowish orange (gold-ish), bluish grey, pale blue

Song stuck in your head:

Shut Up and Dance by Walk the Moon. It's one of those cheesy songs I have given to my OC's (LM and LZ) so yea, its now in my head.

Weirdest habit/trait:

I love square things. But only specific kind. And I love how they feel, especially if they're chocolate bars. If the wrapping is made out of paper, it's heaven. I....can't explain this. I found a case to hold my jewelry and it's just nice, square and the fabric is great. I love it.

I don't collect them or anything. I just love having the little moment of "oh this is nice" whenever I found things like that

Hobbies:

Videogames, art, knitting, crocheting (rarely but a times), needle felting, reading...

If you work, what's your profession?

I have studied a lot, no job

If you could have any job you wish, what would it be?

I guess it would be a comic artist or well, hmm. Dunno, I would like to own a cafe or something that I could try to make a haven for people that need work but the capitalist work environment is not good for them. Them is me. I want that kind of place.

Something you're good at:

Adapting

Something you hate:

I will repeat @kanskje-kaffe and say purity culture. It's getting out of hands, guys.

Passive-aggressiveness. Cowards do this (media is different, we can enjoy it in media)

Something you collect:

Well, I used to collect stickers and sketchbooks.

Something you forget:

Everything. I have ADHD

What's your love language:

I wish I knew

Favourite movie/show:

My holy trinity: Hot Fuzz, Peking Opera Blues, Young Frankenstein.

Other mentions: The Mummy, Child's Play/Chucky Movies, The Road to El Dorado

For the shows: The Invisible Man (my feel good show), Ghosts (BBC)

((I have a lot more but can't think of anything atm))

Favourite food:

I do love beef. I guess. Hmm. I am a pastry lover, too.

Favourite animal:

Dogs, of course. Also, frogmouths/potoo.

BEARS!!!!!!!!!

What were you like as a child:

Not liked? And shy. I guess I acted on my adhd a lot more freely then. And I did not engage in petty drama in high school. People did not like that I didn't take sides.

Favourite subject at school:

History and art.

Least favourite subject:

Math and Swedish. I suck at math and we had the worst swedish teachers so

What's your best character trait?

If something has to be done, I will get it done. Like, I have social anxiety but I will be the one in the friend group to step up and be the most social if needed. I will adapt.

What's your worst character trait?

I am a good liar when it comes to myself, I guess. Your comfort is far more important than my current mental state. My parents don't even know I have like three diagnoses.

If you could change any detail of your life right now, what would it be?

I just want to do something meaningful

I'll tag @withercrown @teawithghosts

[yourstruly9489]

Distortion Fanart (michael centered)

(saturated version on the left, og on right)

This is long, so a break before closeups start!

Closeups:

Text reads "The Distortion" (the o has a spiral inside of it)

More closeups but the doors on the left page are open, left to right, top to bottom:

Text reads: That was very stupid

Text reads: I am the throat of delusion incarnate

Text reads: There has never been a door there, Archivist

Text reads: How would a melody describe itself, when asked?

Text reads: "MICHAEL" That is a real name

Text reads: Does your hand in any way own your stomach?

Text reads: My very existence, tied to my pointlessness

Text reads: Did you notice which door she left through?

Text reads: I am not a "who," Archivist. I am a "what"

And that's the end of the closeups :D

All the text inside the doors are quotes from Michael Distortion btw. The only exception being "MICHAEL" bc Jon says that, but Michael does respond by saying "That is a real name" so I think it counts as a Michael quote. At least enough to be included.

I'd also like to thank a couple members of the "michael enjoyers" community for helping me come up with enough quotes. I do not remember your names, but thank you :D

The decision to make this spread was fairly impulsive. It started by me doodling spirals on a scrap piece of paper while trying to design a birthday card for a family member. While doing so, I thought, "why not fill a full page in my sketchbook with spirals?" And that turned into "I could make it into a Distortion spread."

And so, we have ended up here with a full Michael Distortion spread.

It was lots of fun to do, and has possibly gotten me out of artblock. Although, trying to come up with 9 unique doors that weren't yellow was quite the pain. Alongside the 9 different spiral patterns inside said doors. (although a couple of the spirals are copies of another)

And now a couple fun facts.

I am currently listening to "More Doors For Me" by elybeatmaker. I thought the song would be fitting.

I have only watched the first 14 episodes of TMA, and none of the TMAGP episodes. Everything I know about TMA is from my sister and Tumblr. For this reason I did only Michael, bc I know him far better than Helen. (she appears less in fanworks)

This spread took me five days. This is because I was either busy, or didn't have the motivation to work on it. The doors took the longest.

There is so much tape. The black background on the left page is black construction paper taped in, the spiral patterns underneath the doors were taped in, the doors themselves were taped on, the yellow door was also taped in, along with the hand and the wrist, both separately taped. It's a good thing I want a thick sketchbook.

My sketchbook's paper is a bit thin, so you can see the spiral behind the yellow door on the back of the next page. (I have since drawn over it, so I don't have a pic)

Each door has a separate color chosen to be the main color of said door. The colors include: Pink, Red, Orange, Yellow, Lime, Green, Light Blue, Blue, Purple, and Brown. The only one that is a normal door color (brown) has Michael inside it.

If you look closely at the right page, you can see where the lines start to get uneven in the background spiral.

I really like the idea of showing someone this spread and have them randomly open the doors, just to see a surprise Michael. :)

Materials used: generic pencil (for the initial sketch) 05 Micron pen random Prismacolors a cool multicolored lead pencil I don't know the brand of kingart twin-tipped brush pens Sipa fineliner pens scotch tape X-acto knife kid scissors black construction paper yellow cardstock A5 Fabriano sketchbook that I hate with a burning passion

Since you read this far, have some bonus Michael doodles!

^This one was variations of a scene from a dream.

^This one is from a doodle page I have laying on my desk, hence the scribbles nearby. I did not color in the lines (yes, that is nendou from TDLOSK to his left) This was also the first time I ever drew him.

I love giving him spiral cheeks :)

[guavi]

I made Aziraphale’s waistcoat about two months ago and boy it was a journey

Rant about the process under cut!

First thing to do was pick a fabric. For the visible fabric on the front and collar, I knew I definitely wanted to use something piled. I also did not want to use a synthetic fabric, which would have been cheaper but miserable to wear. I settled on cotton velveteen which would be more comfortable, slightly cheaper and easier to work with than silk velvet, and generally less shiny than silk. I was able to order some beautiful cotton velveteen from someone local.

Unfortunately it was not even in the same ballpark as the color I needed. This was due to a combination of reasons including the lighting in the photos they had (they were online only and didn’t have a storefront I could walk into), piled fabric in general being nigh impossible to accurately photograph the color of, and probably also some variations between dye batches. This is why we buy swatches when we can, folks.

The fabric itself was absolutely lovely though. So. No biggie I’ll just dye this myself what could go wrong

The dark brown here is after the first dye; the scrap laying on top on the right is the original color; the beige coat underneath for color reference. Note that even the colors in this picture looked quite different from irl. I did dip a scrap in first to check the color, but because Dyeing Is Weird and also I made some mistakes the final dye did not end up the same. I can write several more paragraphs on why this probably happened. We’d be here for a while.

But maybe it’ll be fine right? The color’s not exact but not offensive, maybe I’ll just start sewing and it won’t bother me that much.

Here’s a bit of that process, where you can see the interior of the waistcoat with interlining and twill tape, following some 19th century construction techniques. Lots of tedious but relaxing hand sewing. (Also, real pockets!)

I chose broadcloth for the interlining rather than a more typical canvas, because I wanted a more soft and aged look rather than crisp and new.

(I made another mistake here using cotton twill tape straight off the roll, which shrunk later in the process. You can see this later in how the edges pucker a bit. Oops. Oh well.)

(I also have no other photos of this stage because I went into the hyperfocus zone and forgot about everything except the task in front of me)

Turns out I was not ok with the color. It bothered me a lot.

So I tried to bleach it a tad to lighten the color, but Bleaching Is Also Weird and doesn’t always give you back the same color but lighter.

I got back something extremely orange tones, which bothered me even more. Had a minor breakdown until reboot papped me and helped me talk through how to fix this.

This ended up going through another round of light bleaching, and two rounds of dyeing over with blue to cancel out the orange. Finally I got something I was happy with!

You can very clearly see the puckering here caused by the shrinking tape..thankfully a good steaming was able to get rid of the worst of it.

The color is also slightly uneven if you look very closely, because rounds of the dyeing/bleaching happened after it was sewn together rather than as fabric pieces. Oh well. I can chalk this up to an “aged” look.

Time to finish it off with some buttons and 19th century style hand-worked buttonholes! The buttons aren’t accurate but I just went for ones that were the right size and vibes.

Last step was to add the wear around the buttons, hem, and collar. I’m sure there’s some faster way to do this, but I did it with a pair of eyebrow tweezers to pluck out the pile and a bit of sandpaper to finish off.

And that’s it! For the waistcoat at least. I also made the outer coat, the bow tie, and the blue shirt because I couldn’t find one for purchase that fit me. I still need to make other things. But that’s for another time.

[riding-the-sunset-bird]

It's time for Step 4 Cove's posts, and first up is what choices change his look!

As before, my first post on Step 2 Cove's appearance modifiers will tell you a lot of what you need to know if you haven't already read it, but to summarize:

The things that your MC notices/favors/picks up/focuses on influence Cove's look, though there are some exceptions.

In some cases (though there are none in this step), a choice that changes Cove's appearance may also affect his coldness/warmness as well as his studiousness/sportiness. This is coincidental, so Cove's personality doesn't largely impact his look.

If you want a different Cove without using the Cove Creator, try choosing different aesthetic/taste-based options.

Specific to Step 4, however, there are a few key things to note.

Firstly, similar to Step 3 where some earrings would not be visible on Cove depending on what hairstyle he has, the same applies here. The black stud earrings will not be visible with the fluffy hair and the silver huggie earrings will not be visible with the tied-back hair. Ergo, Cove could be wearing earrings in one of your playthroughs if you have either hairstyle on him, but you just might not see them.

Also, the dark raspberry sleeveless shirt with the white anchor symbol and the yellow shirt with the orange flower pattern hide the silver ring necklace, so that's another thing to keep in mind.

Secondly, and I'll have to rip off the bandage for any poor person who wants their Cove to have a tattoo, but there are no choices that will give Cove a tattoo. It's something you can do only with the Cove Creator, which I imagine may be because one of Cove's tattoos can trigger people's trypophobia.

Third, it appears that the modifiers for Step 4 Cove's pants in Step 3 are not the ones actually used in Step 4. In all of my tests, Cove's pants always defaulted to the tan shorts with the gray trim and blue polka dots. If anyone has any evidence to the contrary, then I can test them out, but it appears that the plan was originally for Cove to have six different pairs of pants rather than four - with two of the pairs having color variation like Step 2 and 3 Cove have - but it was changed by the time Step 4 was made.

Below is what you would get if what I presume to be the original intent was kept in place:

Hang (Cove's Version)

If the MC decides to have a drink:

base flavor

An iced green tea. [Pants #4]

A black tea. [Pants #2]

A milk tea. [Pants #2 (Alternate Color)]

An iced coffee. [Pants #1]

A strawberry smoothie. [Pants #2]

A banana smoothie. [Pants #3]

A mango smoothie. [Pants #4]

A coffee frappe. [Pants #1 (Alternate Color)]

A vanilla milkshake. [Pants #1]

A chocolate milkshake. [Pants #1 (Alternate Color)]

mix ins & toppings

You chose to add whipped cream. [Pants #2 (Alternate Color)]

You chose to add chocolate syrup. [Pants #4]

You chose to add caramel syrup. [Pants #1]

You chose to add boba pearls. [Pants #3]

You chose to add condensed milk. [Pants #2]

-

There are two other types of pants - an alternate color version of both Pants #3 and #4 - but these aren't attached to any choices so they may have been scrapped even earlier.

In addition to this, though this is nothing the player themself needs to worry about, there is unused code in the game for Step 4 Cove's swimming trunks. This may have been for the scene where Cove strips down to his boxers to take a swim in the ocean, though he would've had swimming trunks on instead.

These are the choices that would've changed them:

Boating

If the MC was sick/scared and was brought downstairs by Cove, who asks if they want a drink (if non-Indifferent):

"Water?" [Swimming Trunks #2]

"Juice?" [Swimming Trunks #1]

"Seltzer water?" [Swimming Trunks #2]

"I don't want anything." [Swimming Trunks #1]

"I don't want you to go." [Swimming Trunks #2]

If the MC stepped up to make drinks for the group:

if the MC put only one ingredient in the drink

[Swimming Trunks #1]

if the MC's drink is "berry dominant" (meaning either the drink has two ingredients and all are berry - grape/cranberry/strawberry/mixed berry - juices, or if the drink has more than two but less than six ingredients and more than two are berry juices)

[Swimming Trunks #2]

if the MC's drink is "common" (meaning either the drink has two ingredients and all are common - apple/orange/pineapple/mango - juices, or if the drink has more than two but less than six ingredients and more than two are common juices)

[Swimming Trunks #1]

if the MC's drink is "uncommon/mixed" (meaning either the drink has two ingredients and there is only one or zero each of berry juice and common juice, or if the drink has more than two but less than six ingredients and there are no more than three each of either berry or common juice)

[Swimming Trunks #2]

if the MC's drink has more than five ingredients but less than ten

[Swimming Trunks #1]

if the MC used all the ingredients in the drink

[Swimming Trunks #2]

-

There are additional unused articles of clothing for Step 4 Cove, but these weren't attached to any choices (similar to the two pairs of pants mentioned above): two pajamas shirts and two pairs of pajama pants, as well as two formal shirts.

Cove also has code for a fourth pair of earrings, wristwear (for both wrists), and glasses, the latter two being connected to choices, but the game will simply change it to nothing. Cove's hair doesn't have an extra option exactly, but weirdly there are options to disable all of his hair (this won't give you a bald Cove, but default to the tied-back hair). I wanted to mark these just for the sake of being thorough, so if there's anything that says "[nothing]" rather than "[no change]" then just note that it's because the code is different for those options for the reasons above (so they might be calling for all hair to be disabled, for the fourth wristwear accessory, or fourth pair of glasses).

Keep all that in mind while checking out this list of chances you have to change Cove's look:

Step 3 Intro

After the MC's initial thoughts on Cove having to go away for a while almost every year (if not Indifferent by Step 1/2):

You sent him letters the entire time he was away. [rainbow shapes necklace]

Your moms helped you ship out care packages to him and his mom. [silver ring necklace]

You gave him special treasures to take with him before he left. [no necklace]

You kept an eye on his house for him while he wasn't there. [rainbow shapes necklace]

You were incapable of doing anything until he was back. [silver ring necklace]

If the MC decides that they want further education:

Attend a community college. [slim body type]

Attend a public university. [buff body type]

Go to a private college. [buff body type]

Join a trade school. [slim body type]

Take online classes. [slim body type]

If the MC decides that they want to work:

Find a company to work at. [buff body type]

Work online. [slim body type]

Do contract work. [slim body type]

Start your own business. [buff body type]

If the MC wants to do something that isn't school nor work:

Work on self-improvement on your own. [buff body type]

Take some time just to relax. [slim body type]

Try to figure out what you truly want. [buff body type]

When the MC can decide where they want to go when they move out:

Stay local. [buff body type]

Go to a different part of the state. [slim body type]

Go out of state. [slim body type]

Go abroad. [slim body type]

Travel around to different places. [buff body type]

Hang (Cove's Version)

If the MC decides to have a crepe:

base flavor

Plain. [white stringer shirt with purple pocket]

Strawberry. [blue flowery button-up over a white shirt]

Chocolate. [white stringer shirt with purple pocket]

Green tea. [dark raspberry sleeveless shirt with white anchor symbol]

Lemon. [yellow shirt with orange flower pattern]

fillings & toppings

Whipped cream. [yellow shirt with orange flower pattern]

Condensed milk. [dark raspberry sleeveless shirt with white anchor symbol]

Cream cheese. [white stringer shirt with purple pocket]

Chocolate chips. [blue flowery button-up over a white shirt]

Chocolate syrup. [blue flowery button-up over a white shirt]

Caramel syrup. [dark raspberry sleeveless shirt with white anchor symbol]

Powdered sugar. [white stringer shirt with purple pocket]

Strawberries. [yellow shirt with orange flower pattern]

Mango slices. [dark raspberry sleeveless shirt with white anchor symbol]

Mixed berries. [yellow shirt with orange flower pattern]

Banana slices. [blue flowery button-up over a white shirt]

Errands

When the MC spots a fudge stall at the market:

You got closer to the stall. [no change]

But soon your gaze drifted elsewhere. [sideswept hair]

(following above choice) If the MC chose to approach the fudge stall:

You didn't want to get any. [nothing (this will default to the tied-back hair in Step 4)]

You wanted to get yourself a box. [no change]

You wanted to get a box to share with everyone. [no change]

You wanted to get a box just for Cove. (if non-Indifferent) [no change]

And that was all. [no change]

If the MC chooses to get fudge for anyone:

Milk Chocolate. [sideswept hair]

Dark Chocolate. [middle-parted hair]

White Chocolate. [fluffy hair]

Cookies and Cream. [tied-back hair]

Caramel swirl. [fluffy hair]

Chocolate Peanut butter. [fluffy hair]

Dark Chocolate Mint.

○ (if buying for self/everyone who isn't Cove) [tied-back hair]

○ (if buying for Cove) [no change]

Red Velvet.

○ (if buying for self/everyone who isn't Cove) [middle-parted hair]

○ (if buying for Cove) [no change]

Maple Walnut.

○ (if buying for self/everyone who isn't Cove) [nothing (this will default to the tied-back hair in Step 4)]

○ (if buying for Cove) [no change]

White Chocolate Peppermint.

○ (if buying for self/everyone who isn't Cove) [tied-back hair]

○ (if buying for Cove) [no change]

Chocolate Toffee.

○ (if buying for self/everyone) [middle-parted hair]

○ (if buying for Cove) [no change]

Key Lime.

○ (if buying for self/everyone who isn't Cove) [sideswept hair]

○ (if buying for Cove) [no change]

When the MC can buy groceries:

Apples. [average red glasses]

Oranges. [nothing (this will default to no glasses in Step 4)]

Peaches. [no glasses]

Strawberries. [rounded gray glasses]

Onions. [rectangular brown glasses]

Peppers. [no glasses]

Lettuce. [average red glasses]

Tomatoes. [rounded gray glasses]

Cucumbers. [no glasses]

Carrots. [nothing (this will default to no glasses in Step 4)]

Lemons. [rounded gray glasses]

Limes. [rectangular brown glasses]

Spinach. [average red glasses]

Potatoes. [no glasses]

You didn't get anything. [no glasses]

When the MC can buy honey and/or jam:

Clover Honey. [rectangular brown glasses]

Orange Blossom Honey. [nothing (this will default to no glasses in Step 4)]

Spring Wildflower Honey. [no glasses]

Honey Butter. [average red glasses]

Strawberry Jam. [rounded gray glasses]

Raspberry Jam. [rectangular brown glasses]

Blackberry Jam. [no glasses]

Apricot Jam. [nothing (this will default to no glasses in Step 4)]

Blueberry Jam. [rounded gray glasses]

Plum Jam. [nothing (this will default to no glasses in Step 4)]

Rhubarb Jam. [rectangular brown glasses]

You didn't get anything. [no change]

Talks

[NONE]

Charity

[NONE]

Drive

[NONE]

Reflection

[NONE]

Late Shift

When the MC can order at the fast food place:

A hamburger. (if the MC is not vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian, or pollotarian) [layered blue and maroon bracelets on right wrist]

○ With cheese. [no change]

○ With no cheese. [no change]

A vegan veggieburger. [multiple colored bracelets on right wrist]

A chicken sandwich. (if the MC is not vegetarian, vegan, or pescatarian) [black bracelet on right wrist]

A spicy chicken sandwich. (if the MC is not vegetarian, vegan, or pescatarian) [no change]

French fries. [nothing (this will default to no wristwear on the right wrist in Step 4)]

Onion rings. (if the MC is not vegan) [no change]

A salad. [no wristwear on the right wrist]

Chicken nuggets. (if the MC is not vegetarian, vegan, or pescatarian) [layered blue and maroon bracelets on right wrist]

Jalapeno poppers. [multiple colored bracelets on right wrist]

A soda. [black bracelet on right wrist]

A milkshake. (if the MC is not vegan) [nothing (this will default to no wristwear on the right wrist in Step 4)]

A soft serve sundae. (if the MC is not vegan) [no wristwear on the right wrist]

A chocolate chip cookie. (if the MC is not vegan) [layered blue and maroon bracelets on right wrist]

An apple pie. (if the MC is not vegan) [multiple colored bracelets on right wrist]

Nothing. [no wristwear on the right wrist]

Serendipity

When everyone is discussing their plans for what sweet treat they want:

"A popsicle." [silver huggie earrings]

"An ice cream cone." [black stud & silver huggie earrings]

"An ice cream sandwich, too." [black stud earrings]

Boating

[NONE]

Happiness

If the MC decided to make food for Cove (if Shopping happened, Growing happened, or the MC bought fudge for Cove in Errands):

You chose to bake cinnamon rolls. (if Shopping happened) [nothing (this will default to no wristwear on the left wrist in Step 4)]

You were going to make banana, peanut butter, and honey sandwiches. (if Growing happened) [pale yellow watch on the left wrist]

You'd make him homemade fudge. (if the MC bought fudge for Cove in Errands) [ridged slate gray bracelet on the left wrist]

If the MC decided to get food for Cove that didn't require preparation:

(if Drive happened) [thick brown and tan bracelet with white helm on the left wrist]

(if Drive did not happen) [no wristwear on the left wrist]

Step 3 Ending

If the MC chose to make jewelry with Lee and the others:

"I wanna find some sea glass too." [nothing (this will default to no wristwear on the left wrist in Step 4)]

"I'm gonna hunt for a handful of shells to pick from." [pale yellow watch on the left wrist]

"I'm gonna look for some driftwood." [ridged slate gray bracelet on the left wrist]

"I wanna use some stones." [thick brown and tan bracelet with white helm on the left wrist]

"I'll just wait and see. I don't have a plan." [no wristwear on the left wrist]

-

Aaaand that's everything! It's really a shame about Cove's tattoos and pants, and I can't help being curious about the potential unused content (there aren't image files or anything for them, unfortunately), but I hope this helped anyway!

[imtrashraccoon]

My Soul Headcanons

There are two types of souls: Human and Monster. A Human soul is a thousand times more powerful than a Monster soul due to their naturally occuring determination. Monsters tend to be more in touch with magic as their forms are almost entirely composed of it but most Humans are able to learn how to use magic as well.

Monster souls are much different and almost never manifest a distinct trait like Humans do. It is said that Monster souls are made of love, hope, and magic. Generally, they are white and look like an upside down heart but their appearance can change if the Monster has accumulated LV.

While it is most apparent in Monsters, a soul that has accumulated too much LV becomes unstable and tends to "leak" excess magic. There doesn't seem to be a specific pattern for what a soul with high LV looks like since every soul is different. The colour and shape could change, it may appear "corrupted" from the inside, it may have a visible aura, etc. Because the soul is the culmination of one's being, an unstable soul often means an unstable individual, which leads to its own problems and makes it difficult to study.

A Human soul looks like a heart and can come in many different colours depending on their trait(s). There are seven documented Human soul traits and multiple variations of them as well. Generally, a Human will have a Primary, or dominant, trait and at least one Secondary trait. However this isn't the rule and occasionally there are Humans with only one Primary trait. They tend to be extremely powerful and many great leaders are believed to only have one trait. It's possible to have more than one Secondary trait but this is also rare.

The Primary & Secondary traits:

Determination: The drive to stick with a task or goal until a desired outcome is reached. This is an incredibly rare Primary trait to the extent that many believe there is only ever one soul with this trait at a time. Souls with this trait are bright red.

Ambition: The desire to achieve success. This is a common Secondary trait and is usually a purplish red.

Devotion: The compulsion to show deep commitment to something or someone. This is an uncommon Secondary trait and is usually is a pinkish red.

Bravery: The strength to remain bold in the face of resistance. This is a common Primary trait and most people can testify to knowing others who possess it. Souls with this trait are bright orange.

Fortitude: The mental or emotional strength to face adversity. This is a common Secondary trait and is usually a bronze colour.

Assurance: The ability to inspire confidence in others. This is an uncommon Secondary trait and is usually a soft orange.

Justice: The desire to treat everyone fairly and right wrongs. This is an uncommon Primary trait with many possessing it taking on important roles in society. Souls with this trait are a bright yellow.

Equity: The capacity to treat everyone fairly regardless of circumstances. This is a common Secondary trait and is usually a creamy yellow colour.

Sincerity: The ability to be genuine in one's actions and words. This is an uncommon Secondary trait and is usually a greenish yellow colour.

Kindness: The compulsion to help others whether they deserve it or not. This is a common Primary trait and most of the time there will be at least one in the room possessing it. Souls with this trait are bright green.

Empathy: The capacity to understand another person's feelings or emotions. This is an uncommon Secondary trait and is usually a teal colour.

Generosity: The willingness to give or share with others. This is a common Secondary trait and is usually a light green colour.

Patience: The ability to stay calm and think things through before making a decision. This is a common Primary trait although those possessing it may not stand out from the crowd so easily. Souls with this trait are cyan.

Endurance: The capacity to withstand hardship. This is a common Secondary trait and is usually a purplish blue.

Diligence: The wherewithal to carefully complete a task no matter how long it takes. This is an uncommon Secondary trait and is usually a soft blue.

Integrity: The willingness to stand for what one believes is morally right. This is an uncommon Primary trait but those who possess it tend to be well respected for their stances. Souls with this trait are dark blue.

Honesty: The desire to be honest whenever possible in life. This is a common Secondary trait and is usually a navy blue.

Loyalty: The ability to be faithful to commitments or a cause. This is an uncommon Secondary trait and is usually a grayish blue.

Perseverance: The stubbornness to stand strong in the face of adversity. This is a common Primary trait and is sometimes mistaken for Determination in those who possess it. Souls with this trait are bright purple.

Tenacity: The ability to relentlessly achieve one's goals. This is an uncommon Secondary trait and is usually a magenta colour.

Obstinance: The stubborn refusal to change an opinion or behavior. This is a common Secondary trait and is usually a soft purple.

There are also dark traits, although they are rare, and to be born with one is unheard of. They tend to be Primary traits but could be Secondary as well. Humans with dark traits have usually gone through hardships and changed as a result. These traits aren't necessarily evil but those possessing them may struggle to do the same good deeds as they could before. (This was inspired by listening to Vetrom on YouTube and I highly recommend their music, especially their Soul themes.)

Despair: The loss of hope or to be without hope. Souls with this trait are usually dull purple.

Fear: The lack of bravery or a response to danger. Souls with this trait are usually dark orange.

Vengeance: The act of repaying injustice with revenge. Souls with this trait are dark red.

Hate: The inability to show love or show kindness to another. Souls with this trait are usually black.

Apathy: The lack of emotion or motivation to accomplish something. Souls with this trait are usually gray.

Most of the time, Humans get their soul colour from their Primary trait but the Secondary trait can also contribute. Sometimes this looks like both colours combined, sometimes the colours don't mix together, sometimes only a small part of the soul has one colour, and sometimes only one colour is ever visible.

Soul traits can be passed from parent to child similar to how genes are passed along. Primary traits are more likely to get passed to the child over Secondary traits. Souls can also affect the child's appearance. For example, a person with only one Primary trait will likely have a matching eye and soul colour. This isn't limited to eye colour but is the most prevalent as the eyes are windows to the soul.

While rare in most universes, Humans and Monsters do have children together, which can lead to interesting results. Such unions rely heavily on magic and the child is almost always carried in one of the parent's souls until they are strong enough to separate on their own. (See my Monster Courting/Heats headcanon for more info.)

The hybrid child can take after either or both parents and their appearance can vary wildly depending on which is the case. The same is true for their soul. Most of the time, they will have either a Human or Monster soul but in rare cases, they could have one that is a combination of the two. In this instance, the soul could be shaped like a Human or a Monster soul and either have traits or none at all.

[thatguythatdrawsalot]

Here’s variations on a Ruby outfit:

The cloak was inspired by the Fixing RWBY redesign (made by the Sketchy Huntsman, specifically the wonderful @swirlmup and @butterflybluelady)! Is the emblem on her skirt and her cloak too much? I’ve always been interested in adding green to Ruby’s pallette (like the stem of the rose), but I’m always afraid she’ll end up looking like Christmas. How did I do? The yellow bow was a reference to Yang my previous Blake redesign. 

I feel like I was less experimental with her color palette than my recent Weiss redesign. But you can’t make her outfit too red because she has her giant red cloak. Ruby might become a big red blob with too much red, and the black works so well to emphasize the red. (I guess what ain’t broke don’t fix it?) Do you think making the black of her outfit a very very dark green or blue? Maybe I should have tried using dark brown as an accent color. I was also afraid of making Ruby less goth/emo since it’s a unique trait of hers that I like and differentiates her from other similar character types.

Have a great day!!!

You’re being too hard on yourself, these outfit variations are so good! First glance Ruby looks adorable, ready to fight and in character, something I struggle with when it comes to redesigning Ruby!

But let me gush about 1 and F as they’re my absolute favorite of the bunch.

Ruby Rose.

For 1, I wish Ruby got to wear yellow or gold for Yang, I really do because we see Yang wear orange for her which is a mix of red/yellow. I think it can work even if it means sacrificing silver which is also an important color to Ruby. As for the outfit itself I love it as she looks well protected for combat and even cooler with a different styled cape, you got her emblem shown three times which is fine, most characters only have their emblem displayed once than all over or sometimes not at all. I think the emblem works better on her shoes as a brooch doesn’t matter in the show canon despite what Volume 9 wants you to think.

And for F I love it more, much like with Yang it seems Ruby works best with the least amount of colors so don’t feel bad if you wanted a darker blue or darker brown to replace the black. The red is enough and much like her Ice Queendom look which I absolutely love, she doesn’t need the red cape to look good or reference Little Red Riding Hood. The outfit already looks like she’s going to take a stroll to Grandma’s house while also killing a monster on the way there. The silver makes her look sleek, and the outfit overall isn’t bad if she’s in Beacon, you could add a cape if you want to it but I would recommend a short cape so that there’s not a lot of red as there’s plenty of red without a cape already.

Overall I really like what you whipped up for Ruby, you kept her cute with some personality where she’s still trying to take her dream of being a huntress seriously.

I also see you played with green and silver more which are cool too! I like the idea of Ruby wearing green for a rose’s vine and for Oscar seeing as they’re close, I don’t think it’ll look Christmasy if you did put her in green. I see Oscar’s outfit and it doesn’t remind me of Christmas, but if you want maybe just add tiny bits of green to Ruby as an accent. Silver might just work best if it was a darker silver, the show kinda tends to put Ruby in light gray which clashes with her skin. You gotta make the silver really pop like the gold does.

[pillowspace]

I need to bother you for y/n design advice. Since my clone au is the first one I've really had that's mine, I don't really know what to do to make them more like. Approachable as a y/n? And your designs are so cool and distinct from each other so

help? any advice? 🙃

Something that might help is literally just scrolling through photos of people. That can range from fashion to just completely normal stock photos. It can make you go "oh, I forgot that clothing item even existed. I could use a variation of that." You can also keep in mind not only what would look nice, but what your character would want to wear.

I can walk through how each of them were designed if it gives you an idea of what I do at all

ADAD Y/N - my default design will always be a sweater. I love drawing sweaters. They're fun. If I think I can give a sweater, I will. Also, due to their "companion" characters being Sun and Moon, the colours I work with are red, yellow, and blue. So I just decide where I want that red, yellow, and blue to go, and what colour I want more of than the other. You'll see they all follow that line of thinking except for CSD

HD Y/N - it's wintertime!! This means I get to play with a scarf and jacket. Also a good time for a bit of floof, which is always fun to use. The fluff on the boots were intended to be similar to the way the DCA has bells on their shoes, so sometimes you can look to what the DCA has for inspiration. I felt that they needed a colour contrast from Sun and Moon that still went along with them well, so the jacket was made cyan. A lot of colour usage is just me going "what will look fine next to Sun and Moon?" OH, and I didn't use earmuffs even though I wanted to, because HD Y/N relies on their hearing. They wouldn't want to wear anything that could muffle that

CSD Y/N - can't go the red yellow blue route, this is a medieval peasant, so I shall combine colours. Can't combine red and blue, that's purple, and purple is typically for royalty if I'm not mistaken. I could combine yellow and blue for a dull green however. I will also google image search medieval clothing for inspiration

Pre Loops Y/N - out of curiosity, I googled "daycare worker" for this. Why are they literally all wearing the same exact kind of jacket sweater thing in every image...? Whatever, I'll have Y/N wear that, sure. I also looked up colour palettes, picked the nicest one, and adjusted the colours to my liking. This character is tidy, so they will have plenty of details that show they care about their appearance (brushes hair, puts on hat, buttons the middle of their jacket, wears a belt, tucks in shirt, tied shoes, well-written name.) The inner shirt will remain a slightly darker orange so that it can still work with Mid Loops's darker colours

Mid Loops Y/N - darker colours to fit better with their new character. More disheveled to show a lack of concern for their appearance. (Messy hair, doesn't bother with hat, unshaven facial hair, unbuttoned jacket, no belt, untucked shirt, untied lace, hastily scribbled name.)

Post Loops Y/N - what would this character want? Maybe they like to grow out their hair to feel the change. Maybe they've forgotten why they even bothered shaving, and like the hairs now. Maybe they want a large and floofy jacket because it's comforting. And to show the tiredness of this character, there is predominantly dark blue with the only red being much darker than previously, making the colours more relaxing.

[allyheart707]

So my sona hasn't really made an appearance due to me not being much of an artist or posting my own stuff very often, but the pfp on my writing blog is kind of an early version of her. She's a humanoid Gold Cross variation nine-tailed fox, (because Gold Cross foxes are gorgeous and I love them), and she has the ability to turn into a human when she needs to. This is the human:

Because of course it is I use her image for almost all my main characters because she resembles me so it's just easy. I'm also goth so of course she is too. When in human form her eyes are blue but in her fox form they're red-orange. She also usually only has one tail out unless she needs to use a lot of power for something and they all come out, and her eyes glow blue when she's using her magic in human form and red in fox form. And she can shrink down to a normal four-legged fox as well if she wants to. And she has mental powers because I love giving characters mental powers so at points where it seems like she knows what other characters are thinking it's because she actually does know. But she doesn't intentionally read minds unless given permission or prompted by a dire need. She just knows surface level thoughts because she can't control seeing those most of the time.

Anyway sorry for the info dump I just really love my girl and sorry this took me a bit I've had an interesting day. Here's my girl trying to rescue some turtle babies! Starting out in her human form because how else can she infiltrate a top-secret high-security government building?

"Well, I do love kids. And I have been told I'm good with them."

I turn away from the scientist to look in the window. The four mutant turtle children I was told about are bouncing around what looks like an interrogation room, climbing over the table and running around it. One of them is even making faces through the window.

"So, hopefully that'll work in my favor...." I'm suddenly concerned with the fact that these are actual children thrown into an interrogation room like crime suspects.

"Hopefully," the man rolls his eyes, moving past me to open the door. "We're running out of options here."

"Can I ask a quick question though?" This is a bad idea. I shouldn't do this.

He turns to me, glaring, obviously just wanting to get this "interview" over with.

"What?"

Just do your job, May.

"Is there possibly somewhere else I could take them? To make them feel more comfortable?"

Dammit.

He squints at me, not understanding why their comfort would even be a thought on my mind.

"This is an interrogation, not a playdate."

"They're children. What if a playdate is what it takes to get them talking?"

He thinks for a moment, glancing towards the kids in the window.

"Well, there's their bedroom, I suppose. They're not allowed many places. For obvious reasons."

Don't you dare ask.

"What if I took them around the facility?"

Stop it!

This earns me another glare as he whips his head back towards me.

"Why would you do that?"

"Well, they've gotta be curious, right? Don't worry! I won't be taking them anywhere they absolutely shouldn't go! Just, like, the hallways in the main area and places other agents don't frequent. And places they can't mess with or break anything important. They don't know what they're missing, right? Since they've never seen it before? So they won't know I'm not actually showing them anything important."

He ponders for a moment, turning the idea over in his head and going through all the pros and cons. He seems to be leaning towards a negative response when he suddenly sighs and shakes his head, clearing all the thoughts away.

"Fine. But remember, there are cameras everywhere. If you do anything against protocol or allow them to do anything damaging to the building or the project, you're fired."

"Of course! I would never."

He studies me again for a long moment before opening the door and motioning for me to enter the room.

"Hi boys!" I greet cheerily once I can see all of them. "How are you all doing today?"

"Great!" The little box turtle exclaims, jumping up onto the table. "I've never seen this room before!"

"You haven't?" I ask, patting his head, much to his delight. "What do you think it's for?"

"Games?" He asks hopefully.

"It's an interrogation room," the softshell states, sitting in a chair next to the table. "Like I told you. It's where they ask people questions."

The slider leans against the wall and crosses his arms with attitude.

"I'm not telling you people anything."

"Oh, I'm not here to ask those types of questions," I explain.

"What are you here for, then?" The softshell asks, skeptical.

"I'm your new teacher!"

The little turtle lights up at this, eyes growing as wide as possible as he leans forward in the chair. The others seem confused.

"What's that?" The snapper asks.

"A teacher is someone who helps you learn things you don't know," I explain. "We're in this room because they didn't have any other rooms prepared, but hopefully one day we can have an actual classroom!"

"Yes!" The softshell jumps up and down in excitement, waving his hands around. "And we can learn things properly, just like the people in my books!"

I have to smother a laugh at that. I wasn't expecting them to be this cute.

"Pft," the slider scoffs. "What can you learn from books? Can you teach us how to fight? That would be useful."

"I can," I lean down to his level and whisper in his ear. "I happen to be a very strong ninja who trained under the greatest ninja master of all time."

His eyes widen, and I see a glimmer of his own excitement shine in his eyes as he looks to me with a new sense of awe and admiration.

Straightening back up, I look around to all of them.

"Now! My name is May. Before we get started, I would like to know all of your names as well."

The box turtle and softshell give each other a strange look, but the snapper jumps forward excitedly.

"I'm Raph!" He answers me with his tail wagging happily behind him.

"Hi Raph," I pat his head, and he squeaks in delight.

"Heishi..." The slider says quietly.

"Nice to meet you, Heishi," I hold my hand out to him. After a quiet moment of staring, he tentatively takes it, shaking it slowly.

"We don't have names," the softshell tells me.

"Yeah we do!" The box turtle jumps back up from having sat down on the table. "Raph told us!"

"Shh!" The softshell scolds his brother, pulling his arm to have him sit again. The box turtle does so, pouting.

"If you don't want to tell me your names, how about I just call you Orange and Purple? Because of the colors of your markings."

The box turtle looks down at his arms as if he's never seen the spots before while the softshell scrunches up his nose.

"It's just for now, anyway," I reassure them. "Just until you're comfortable with telling me your names or you come up with your own."

The orange one turns to his brother with a questioning look, and receives a shrug in response. He then turns back to beam at me and nods.

"Alright then!" I clap my hands together. "Let's get started. Today, we're going on a tour of the facility!"

Why must I always try to rescue animals I find? I mean, I know these are kids, but they belong to the government and are kept in a high-security building.

The plan I have is a good one, but it could end up putting the boys in danger if it goes wrong.

Heishi lights up at the prospect of seeing the rest of the building. He turns towards the door and looks back to us over his shoulder.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Donnie was fairly certain that something was up, though he didn't have enough of the pieces to figure it out just yet. Why would they take them to a brand new room just to take them out again? And especially when they knew how much of a flight risk Heishi was.... was she trying to give them a chance to escape?

Well, he wasn't going to jinx it, so he simply followed behind her quietly as she led them out of the interrogation room classroom?

In the map he had studied during their first failed escape, he had learned that there were six halls- all with different purposes. Hall C, however, was reserved entirely for them. It was the only hall they had ever been in and it was so alluring to know that there were six whole halls that they had never seen.

And then, outside of those halls...?

Not that it really mattered, because unless their new escape plan worked out better, Hall C was all he would ever see.

"This room is-" "The testing room. We know." He mumbled, rolling his eyes- The only reason they were having the tour was for their new subjects. Him and Mikey new everything on this hall by heart, and there was no way this stranger would be approved to take them out of it. "Yeah, but please, bare with me on this. I promise this tour will be a lot more interesting soon." She asked kindly as her face scanned the hall, looking for... something? What was she looking for?

Her eyes seemed to light up as one of the scientists in the hallway walked by Dr. Meanie-pants, striking up a conversation.

It wasn't going to keep him distracted for long, but it seemed a few seconds was all she needed for... whatever her plan was.

"Okay, follow me. Oh, and uuuuh, be prepared to run." She winked at them as she pulled Mikey with her, speed walking down the hall, past the testing room, then the meeting room, and Hall C's storage-

wait

Were they leaving hall C?!

[obscurecharactershowdown]

Semi-Finals

[image ID: the first image is of Stag Malinay, a young man with auburn hair and yellow-orange eyes. he's wearing a black shirt, black pants, and black, lace up knee high boots with belt straps. he's sitting on a red and gold throne. beside him is written his name, "Stag Malinay." the second image is of Granger, a girl with green eyes and short, wavy or curly black hair. in her hair is a red hat or ribbon. she's wearing a black turtleneck sweater, blue overalls, and a green coat. end ID]

Stag Malinay

Very self confident, bisexual manwhore with a troubled background he doesn't like to talk about. Said past is the cause of all his anger issues which he regularly takes out on the MC, initially. They become friends later, so it's okay. Also, he has a Tumblr account! @stagmalinay, run by me, the author. Can't really get more obscure than only selling a few copies of my entire book so far. [additional propaganda 1] [additional propaganda 2] [additional propaganda 3] [additional propaganda 4] [additional propaganda 5] [additional propaganda 6] [additional propaganda 7] [additional propaganda 8] [additional propaganda 9][additional propaganda 10] [additional propaganda 11] [additional propaganda 12]

Granger

so granger is the main character of the indie game "NeverHome" Chapter one, which is only $1 on Steam, is called NeverHome: Hall of Apathy. if ur a fan of young protags being put in RPG maker horror games, then this is the game for you!! so granger is just that… she wakes up to find herself in a strange, hostile world. she, along with the friends she makes, must solve the various puzzles before them while creatures are out to kill them… and along the way they can uncover the secrets of these never ending halls… her dynamics with the cast is also super fun… each character gets their moment or moments with granger. and what's so cute is that there's unique art for each pair that highlights the fact you cant get through these halls alone!! she also has her own theme song!! here!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_vwtmIj5cw it's called cyclical tragedy AND HERE IS AN ANALYSIS OF THE THEME!! MUSIC THEORY!!! written by my good friend @HIEMIOLA "cyclical tragedy" embodies the protagonist, granger, through the music theory behind the track and ties itself back into the main track as well. to begin with an overview of the track, the key is D minor and hte time signature is 3/4. the piece begins with a broken minor third starting from the tonic. that is, it begins on the main note and moves along the main chord, D to F. the next set of notes are C to E, which is shifted down a step. the phrase repeats again, this time D to F, then G to E, which is an inverse movement from the original sequence. even in this first part, we could tell that the protagonist begins from square 1 with a simple pattern, then tries it again when it works. however, the inverse breaks that expectation of repetition, thus showing the diverse variations of solutions she comes up with using just the tools she has (the two notes moving in thirds). just like the game, she is given a handful of objects as well as a knife to defend herself and solve the mysteries of the world she exists in. with her creative uses of the items given to her, she continues on her way through the plot. we will keep moving. the melody begins. true to the title of the track, the melody cycles around the same beginning note, D, that she always returns to at her square 1. this is a nod to the save states she is allowed to keep to make sure that we the players don't lose the game, but it also references the health bar that appears as a circle around her avatar. the melody, mapped out, is also moving in an up-down wave movement across the sheet music. granger is creative with the knife she has and the quest items she obtains throughout the story, but she is not entirely reckless. rather, she knows when it is time to return to the safe rooms to rest. to time her returns requires skill because she must run to cover without being caught by varying her path so the enemies don't corner her as she tries to return to the room. most of the time, she is successful, shown through the consistent return to the beginning note. let's keep going. i would like to turn your attention to the main theme briefly. in the bass notes, you can hear arpeggios and outlined chords. this makes up the bulk of the accompaniment in the main game theme. [mod note: the rest of the essay, and some more propaganda, is continued under a cut because tumblr will not process more text than this in an indent. sorry to split it up, please continue below for the rest of the essay and additional propaganda!]

the third variation of granger's theme also has arpeggiated chords in the accompaniment while the melody features broken chords. at this stage, the pattern switches to eigth notes instead of the quarter notes at first. with greater movement and heightened senses, she runs throughout world and befriends other people, thus interacting further with the environment. while she isn't exactly someone we would call open, she is respectful to the people she first meets and has no problems with asking them for help when she needs it. because of her openness to working together, she speeds up her progress by asking for aid at obstacles that would be too difficult for her to overcome on her own, such as asking a teammate to break things, move things, or reach into smaller holes. fusing the main theme elements with her own theme marks this step as the inciting incident that sets her on the path to escape from this world. we'll continue.

continuing the same part, we hear some secondary fifths. i'm not entirely sure if this is what you call it, but it is a nod to the parallel key, D major. depending on what theory class you take, this could also be considered the other half of the key. i dont know how else to describe it, but i digress. these are glimpses to different dialogue options she could take, glimpses to a different key or a different ending. because this game only has one chapter ending so far, we are unsure of what other paths granger will end up in; we only know that there are certainly other endings she will experience, only to begin the cycle again when the save state is loaded for players to reach another ending. both A major and G major are chords that signify different choices that may lead her elsewhere only for her to return back to the tonic or main note, D. despite this, she keeps going, as will we.

at the midpoint of the track, we see a quick shift in patterns. instead of upward leaps in the notes, the melody falls in stepwise motion. true to the plot, this is another turning point of the game when she is forced to make a choice: continue or stop. after facing the spoiler event, her once determined personality is challenged as she struggles to keep herself and her team together. despite being the headstrong protagonist who spearheaded solutions, even now she finds herself doubting and taking smaller steps, smaller risks.

even after all of this, she rises to the challenge as the melody returns to its beginning sequence. true to a protagonist she gets up again despite the events that transpired and keeps her team moving in their lowest points. the thirds return as she finds more objects to solve more puzzles to open more rooms to save more friends. this repeating part of the track only solidifies her resolve as the piece ends with a broken chord in the main key, her key, of D minor. despite everything that transpired, she stayed true to herself."

the game is also so, so charming with the art, music, and story made by the same person… its so clearly loved and full of passion!! i love listening to the game's ost on occassion!! since it's all on youtube!

ok one last thing thing!! on may 8th, the game hit 100 downloads (on both steam and itch.io). you can see the creator of the game celebrate that with this lovely drawing of granger: https://twitter.com/NeverHome_Game/status/1655761270694633472

so at most, only a bit over 100 people have played the game… id like to say that makes it obscure!!

anyways granger and neverhome!! we love to see our protagonists put in horrific situations and isn't she super cute with a lil bow on her head? she is my daughter…

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[novinoviarts]

My Winx OC Desa!

All this info is from my script so its not cohesive or makes a lot of sense but i will update it later to make sense.

So, as I always do when I fall or re-fall into a fandom is create an oc that has lore that intertwines with some canon. 

Some. The lore is so messed up in winx anyway it doesn’t really matter. Honestly, I could make a random claim about some piece of lore or magic or whatever and I bet you there's a 50% chance it's actually real.

So let's get the backstory out of the way:

Desa was the younger sister of Scarlette, The fairy of Red. Scarlette was a member of The Rainbows, (creative i know) whose members were Her, Amber, Marigold, Forest, Celeste, Indi, and Violet. Each name is a shade of the respective ROYGBIV although I cheated with the last two. 

This group of fairies is responsible for all the colour in the world, Desa in particular would reflect that colour, her name being a shortened variation of Iridescent.

If any of the Rainbows or Desa were to die no heir, there is no colour. Objectively Desa would be the most important, as without her the colour could not spread at all. While a biological heir will only access their powers once their predecessor dies, the power can be passed onto another, non-direct heir through a very long ritual.

One of The Rainbows, unsure of who but not Scarlette, found a ritual that would guarantee all 7 of them eternal life. The key is word is “seven”, and it would require to strip Desa of not only her powers but her life force.

Once Scarlette became aware of this plan, she pretended to go along with it, as she didn’t know who in her group was aware of the plan, and who would oppose it.

When the group began the process of creating the rainbow as they usually did, the ritual began, and Scarlette made her move. Instead of funneling Desa’s lifeforce and magic into themselves, she funneled all of theirs into her.

It corrupted the rainbows, turning them into monsters that fled to all corners of the magical realm, and left her a sad, terrified, and very lonely fairy.

Scarlette made sure this was a public Rainbow, that all who had gathered would know it was Scarlettes fault, not her baby sister that she had already failed to protect.

Desa, now all powerful and immortal, was all alone.

So, if we get to season 1 episode 1, she would be around years old.

Desa, on most days, is fine. In the earlier years after all the magic was funneled into her, not so much. She was prone to magical outburst and general instability, and often found it feeling like her skin was stretched to tight and her bones rattle and her headaches-

It was a rough few decades until she was able to regulate it.

This has left her with a drawback that if she uses any other fairy form besides her most basic form, she can be left bedridden for days, if not weeks on a particularly bad run.

If she were to have a season, it would be about the winx finding and purifying The Rainbows, and them earning a Prismix form, one of each correlating with red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. Not sure where this would slip in between what season, but there it is.

Her “winx” form is the one she uses as it's the one with the least amount of drawbacks. Desa is basically a few steps away from being a god, but her body can’t handle it, and the stronger fairy form she uses, the worse and longer the drawbacks.

Her prismix form, which i am working on, has enough power to be realm ending. There's a very real chance that if she uses it, it could destroy her, regardless of her immortality. 

The season would end with all The Rainbows being saved, and some of Desa’s power being returned to them, although she still would retain most of them. In the season finale she would use her Prismix form to beat the main villain of the season, would barely survive, and then would go a loooong, well overdue vacation with her husband, appearing in later seasons as cameos and postcards she would send to Faragonda. 

Also, I ship her with a character I may or may not have had a crush on as a kid. And maybe, I found out that in the comics, he has a girlfriend. Something I didn't find out until writing this script. So yeah, in the cartoon version only they are married.

Personality wise: She is a bit on the motherly side, concerned about these 16 year olds being thrown into awful and dangerous situations over and over again. Also think of Rarity from mlp, and she is an actress, a model, anything she can do to maybe feel a little more put together. Desa has a lot of trauma from The Rainbow and this version of Desa is, and i'm hesitant to use this word, better? This is post-trauma, post-therapy, post-finally coming to terms with everything. She isn’t 100%, but more like 75%, 85% better? There are bad days, there always will be, but they’re less frequent.

Headcanon but also possibly canon that a fairies age is dependent on how often they use their final fairy forms. The less they use that form, the more they age. They still age in their base form, but stop once they reach enchantix, so long as they transform. In Desa’s case, even if she never transformed again, she doesn’t age.

She can sometimes be a little out of touch? Being alive for so long and so many trends coming and going that she loses track of what's relevant. She’s stopped caring but she might say outdated slang so that would be a humorous thing?

Anyway, now that all the lore is out of the way, time for the design details as I draw her in my style!

Desa was born with black hair, but the ritual that she was forced into to become the Fairy of Iridescence turned it white. I wanted to give her a bit of a regal-ish style, and wanted her to be someone who was confident, and give her a risque top, something that if it were in the actual show would just be a crop top but shows a little more in this art. Her jacket is supposed to be one of those semi-clear ones with a stained glass pattern. I couldn’t quite get it to look the way i wanted to and if-

-as i have a bad habit of creating oc’s drawing them once and then never again-

-I draw her again, I will try it again, with hopefully better results. Her “Winx” form wings are supposed to be stained glass like, with light filtering through to cast colorful shadows or something.

[spiritluxray]

Data Mind yap

Monstercat edition

I'm redoing my notes on Data Mind stuff so I can throw it all on here, let me know if you like it or if something doesn't make sense

First, the monstercat species originally belongs to Mugsymiik, shoutout to them for letting me use it for my AU :3

Monstercats are one of the most common wild animal species in Paradise. Appearance wise, they have a diamond shape head and neck fluff, short tail and legs, and chubby bodies. They're relatively big, around the size of a recycling bin (or maybe a little smaller). They have three colors in often a similar pattern, and can be any combination or variation of colors other than pure black or white. The colors are easy to manipulate, and tend to adapt with the environment.

Monsterkits, also known as young monstercats, take the colors of their parents, which can vary slightly or change with genetics of grandparents as well. These colors are dull, and in the first year of their life, they will change with their environment. For example, a monsterkit with blue and green colors like their parents could change to more of an orange and grey if in the volcanic region of Paradise. After around the first year, the fur color can't change much after as the coat is now fully grown in. The color may change slightly during shedding, but the colors won't chance drastically anymore.

Monstercats are often easy to train no matter the age, though it's normally easiest when they're young. They are often attracted to music, each seeming to have their own individual taste. Monstercats that have lived with shapes most or all of their life tend to get anxious when their shape is visibly hurt or distressed, and they often go looking for them if they're gone for too long (which is normally over a day). They have a very good sense of direction, their heightened hearing and small whiskers able to translate their surroundings, like specific shapes, plants, and corruption. Monstercats can be corrupted, but it doesn't seem to make them more hostile or aggravated like unnatural corrupted shapes. Corrupted monstercats seem to grow more anxious and disoriented, so it's always best to just keep them safe from getting corrupted.

With their heightened senses, monstercats make incredible allies. They can easily sense unnatural corruption from up to 1/4 of a mile away, and be able to track it too. They can sense other disturbances in the air, and have fast reflexes to react. Many shapes have used monstercats as a sort of compass, offering their companion a certain smell or sound specific to an area, and then the monstercat can go and find the area that matches that smell or sound. Unnatrual corruption may disrupt this though, if they're going off of a sound. They also aren't too strong, and aren't made for lifting or carrying. Several designs of small bags for monstercats have been discouraged for being too heavy for them, and having them do any heavy work is frowned upon in current times, since it makes the monstercat uncomfortable.

Because of how adaptable monstercats can be, they eat a large variety of food. Some eat meat, some thrive off vegetables, and some even eat certain rocks or crystals. River fish are a monstercat favorite, and it's common for playlists of monstercats to stay near rivers. When caring for a monstercat as a pet, it's advised to feed them a wide variety of food, and rotate through food groups. Along with that, monstercats can only often adapt to natural foods. Shape-made foods can sometimes upset their system. Every monstercat is different, but there's plenty common processed foods they can still eat in smaller amounts. However, it's advised to never feed monstercats sugary, fatty, or greasy foods.

Other small things:

- While they might not be too strong, they have VERY sharp teeth and WILL bite if threatened or scared

- They have very reflective eyes, and aren't often affected by bright lights

- Roughly 70% of all monstercats are female

- Monstercats can sense distress in shapes. Some get anxious or distressed themselves, while some take action and try to comfort the distressed shape

[gamerbearmira]

La Ballet Madrigal

Ok so I had this cute little idea that on Antonio’s birthday/ceremony he wanted to do a little something special for it and I decided to write it. 

-

It was hard to budge Alma into doing it but eventually she agreed. Ok it wasn’t that hard, Alma could only say no for so long until her ballet bebecitos made her crack. And technically it was his birthday and as the birthday boy he could do whatever he wanted with it. 

And that was doing a small show of what he had learned over the past year. It would be done on Mirabel’s stage, or technically the stage room. His abuela performed on a stage when she was eight, Mirabel performed when she was seven, and luisa performed when she was sixteen. Now at five years old it would be his turn. Kind of like a cute write-a-passage. 

His ceremony would still go on but everyone was invited to casita much earlier for his first performance. EVERYBODY had to come, that includes family so no one was in position for excuses. 

Antonio wore a navy blue button up shirt, baby blue vest with gold animal designs on it, and sky blue tights. He had asked Mirabel if he could wear the ballet shoes she wore for her ceremony and she gladly let him and casita made them smaller for him to wear. No resewing/resizing needed. 

He had also asked luisa if he could wear the feather headpiece she wore when she played the white swan and of course she said yes. Before he even asked Alma, she gave him a magenta beaded bracelet that was given to her by her mama. She had Mirabel wear it for her first performance, then Luisa, then of course, Antonio. 

It was so sweet that he wanted to wear little things from his primas and abuela’s, kind of like little tokens of luck. 

So now he was on the stage, doing the best he could of what he remembered. He was nervous of course, so many people had their eyes on him and expected him to do good, a lot of pressure for a five year old. 

But he stuck to his primas and abuela’s advice;

“Just focus on us and only us, and you’ll be ok”

Luisa’s second tip

“Just imagine everyone in silly costumes”

And he did just that, he only focused on his familia and that made him smile. Alma was right in center, looking as proud as any abuela could for her neito. On her left was his primas, who were silently cheering him on and giving him thumbs up as he went along. 

He tripped and stumbled once or twice but he got right back up and kept going like Mirabel and lulu told him. Apart from those times he kept up with the music and kept balance all the way through. He performed his first solo variation, Blue bird. 

The music had ended and the small boy huffed as he bowed.  The crowd and his familia cheered for him, as always Julieta pulled a bouquet of flowers out of thin air and threw it up to Antonio. The bouquet was an assortment of blue hydrangea and yellow begonias. He of course caught it and waved in the way Alma taught him too. The curtains closed and Antoio walked to the back of the stage and was immediately met with his family. 

Pepa and Felix were the first to give him a big hug, congratulating him, then Dolores and Camilo. After them was the blue family of course. Isabela congratulated him first with a hug and a sprinkle of orange flowers in his hair. Luisa picked him up in a tight hug, Mirabel and Alma following suit. 

“You were so amazing, tonito!” Luisa beamed as the boy giggled in her hug. 

“That was the best show I’ve ever seen, well, apart from Luisa’s” Mirabel chimed in, ruffling his hair and giving him a squeeze too.

“You did so well!” Julieta congratulated as well, but just as she did her daughters, she checked his body for injury too. After he and her daughter reassured her he’s fine she gave him a small peck on the forehead and an arepa.  

“Did I do good abuela?” Antonio looked at his grandmother expectantly as he held a big smile we all love so much. “I did all the turns and spins! And I did the right positions like you taught me!” 

“You did it perfectly just like your primas and me before you, and don’t you worry about your falls, you actually did better than I did for my first time.” Alma patted his head and gave him a forehead kiss. 

“Now, how about we get a picture, Casita!” Alma’s eyes glittered at the thought and Casita instantly brought the camera in for a picture. 

For Mira’s first variation she took a picture with Alma, Luisa did the same after her performance, now it was his turn and Antonio couldn’t be more happy. He always saw the two photos hanging up in the studio next to each other now he had the chance to be right next to them. 

The three four of them posed for a photo; Antonio in front, Alma behind him, Mirabel on her left, and Luisa on her right. 

“La Ballet Madrigal” Alma cheered

“La Ballet Madrigal!” all four of them posed and the picture was taken. 

Everything was perfect in that moment; it almost made you forget Antonio had a door to get to…but not too much. The ceremony went on as planned and the boy finally got his own room…time flies. But Antonio made sure to keep his abuela and Primas close to him all night until he slept…for emotional support. 

-

Also, I have a little question. I remember for a suggestion; you said Alma would indirectly pressure Mirabel into doing ballet more. and that had me thinking, would Alma pressure Luisa and Antonio into doing it more too or no?

Also, what would be Luisa and Antonio's favorite ballet shows? I have a little idea that maybe Casita has a way to show different plays such as;

The Nutcracker

Giselle

Swan Lake

Don Quixote

Romeo & Juliet

Little red riding hood

Beauty and the best

and probably many others

Maybe casita shows the plays through a projector of some sort?

SOBBING. CRYING SCREAMING. HE’S SO CUTE WHAT <3333

So funny that they. Literally have to go. Like Alma really got fed up huh 😭 ay but at least homeboy was ready. Just had stage fright but it’s cool. Gotta love Mirabel and Luisa for giving him tips to stay focused and not think about the crowd.

Also???? Loving the idea where for their first performance they wore the bracelet. I also find it funny that that bracelet is older than literally everyone in the family besides Alma. Like she kept it for so long, that it so sweet ‼️😮‍💨

I gave his vest a long tail and. And tried to make it look like feathers. You know so he’s look more like a bird. I think Mirabel would’ve made it. She makes hers, Luisa’s and Antonio’s outfits whenever they have shoes. (Especially Luisa because Mirabel is one of the few who can tailor outfits to fit Luisa).

So. For Luisa and Antonio, it’s not as much. But she is like “it’s a commitment, so you gotta keep it up”. She doesn’t pressure them, but she is like if you’re gonna do it, you gotta come and you gotta practice. For Mirabel, she likes doing it, loves it, but she does feel like she has to. Not on,y to make up for not having a gift, but also because it’s Alma lays her attention when she doesn’t. In the one year from her failed ceremony until she started ballet, Alma kinda avoided her.

So when Mirabel saw that ballet got her attention, she had another reason to continue. It got Abuela’s attention. She was noticed. She got praised. Luisa and Antonio, it’s more like a hobby. A side hustle. They love dancing, especially with Mirabel, so they, especially Luisa, will take time out of their day to go dance, but they doesn’t necessarily feel they have to.

As for favorites uhhhhh. Luisa likes the nutcracker. First time she saw it, she LOVED it, it was also one of Mirabel’s first major roles, she was young Clara. And when she started practicing, Luisa begged Alma to let her play the Sugar Plum Fairy. Of course Alma folded like a wet paper towel. Another Luisa likes is Coppélia. The thought of dressing up and dancing like that of a doll is just. So amazing to her, she loves it. She likes the music too.

Antonio likes Little Red Riding Hood. He unironically likes being the wolf. I’m so serious, he doesn’t care if he’s the youngest and shortest, he’ll still play the role, it never stopped him. His second favorite is Don Quixote.

[inksandpensblog]

AvA Sticktober 2023 | Prompt 1: Sticks

"And this," Orange proclaimed, flourishing the object in his hands, "is the master stick. Whoever picks this one up can use it to move other sticks during their turn. It also has the most points out of all the colors."

"Oh," Yellow's brow furrowed. "It's not just one point per stick?"

"I thought the colors were just so we could tell them apart," Red chimed in.

"Nope." Orange glanced at the rules. "It says that each individual stick has a set value of points, based on color: yellows are one, greens are two, blues are five, and reds are ten."

Yellow frowned, staring at the collection of sticks on the floor between them with a thoughtful hand held to his chin. 

Green seemed to be of a similar mind, pulling out his phone and swiping his hand across the screen. "Greens are only two?"

"Uh, yeah? Why?"

"Are you mad that yours aren't worth as many points?" Blue guessed, a smirk dashing across his face at Green's answering pout.

Orange stared. "What? They're not- the colors aren't assigned to players. Anyone can pick up any color; otherwise there'd be a way to eliminate players. And there aren't any orange sticks, so I wouldn't be able to play if—"

Orange cut himself off when Green scowled at his phone, swiping at the screen with more vigor.

Red leaned in, peeking over Green's shoulder. "Huh, different variations?"

Green pushed him lightly away. "Yeah, I was just checking the numbers. There's other versions of the game where the colors are a different amount of points."

"But it's the same order every time," Red persisted, trying to lean back in as Green kept shoving at him. "See, look, red is always the most, and—"

"Shush, you're ruining this!"

"Green does have a point," Yellow ventured.

"Yeah, I do!"

"No, he doesn't," Blue maintained. "You two are just grumpy that you aren't more points."

"Guys," Orange insisted, "the colors have nothing to do with you."

Yellow shook his head. "I didn't mean like that! I mean it doesn't make sense that some colors are worth more when the game has the same number of sticks in each color!"

"Oh," came the answering chorus, followed by everyone joining Yellow in squinting at the collection of sticks on the floor. 

"...huh, that is a good point..."

"Yeah, shouldn't the sticks that are worth more be rarer, or something?"

"That is odd..."

"...maybe we should just play it as one point per stick, then?" Blue suggested.

Orange scratched his head. "But where's the challenge, that way? If everything's worth the same value then there's no reason to not just go for the easiest ones every time." 

"And speaking of easy, what about all the ones that end up outside of the pile?" Red gestured at the floor around which the collection of sticks lay. "Whoever goes first can just sweep all of those up on their first turn, they'll have a head start." 

"Oh, we don't need to worry about that, actually." Green looked up from his phone. "This says that a lot of people have it so that those loose sticks are removed from play before the first player goes." 

Orange nodded. "Okay, I like that, we'll do it that way."

"Hey, what if we use that to determine the value?" Blue volunteered. "We look at those loose sticks that get removed from play, and measure the value of each color based on how much of each one got taken out?" 

"That...that could work, actually," Yellow mused.

Orange nodded again, a smile beginning to form on his own face. "We'll make it so that whichever color is present in the greatest volume is one point, next two, then five, and then the least-available color will be ten. If any of them tie, we can just re-drop the pile."

Green grinned. "Well, since you brought it up...this also says that there's a version where, on their turn, a player can decided to re-drop the pile instead of picking up a stick."

Orange froze. "Uh, I don't know if I want to worry about the value of each stick changing partway through the game."

"Oh, fine, play it safe."

"I'm not being safe, I'm trying to keep it fun for everybody. Including the scorekeeper."

"Eh, fair point."

"How many points is the master stick worth?" Blue piped up.

"None, right?" Yellow reasoned. "It helps you pick up more sticks; that's it's value. Oh, but wait," he frowned again, turning to Orange. "You said it had more points than the others, didn't you?"

Orange winced. "Yeah, actually. It's, uh, twenty-five."

"What?!"

"How is that fair?!"

"It's- it's not an automatic win! If it's at the bottom of the pile then—"

"But what if it isn't? What if it falls on the top?"

"Oh forget it just falling on top, what if it's one of the ones that rolls away? If we were keeping those in play, whoever had the first turn could sweep it up with the rest of 'em and then they'd have it for the whole game when they already have a head start!!"

"But we already decided we're not keeping them in play!" Orange raised his voice, waving his hands. "Why is it an issue then?!"

"Because points!"

"There's only one! It being more points is actually justified!"

"Maybe it would be, if that was all it did. But it also helps you pick up other sticks. Anyone who picks it up is already gonna be getting more points, even without it having twenty-five pre-attached! You have to admit, that's a little unfair."

"Well, I'm not hearing any better ideas! What, should we just set it aside and not have it in the game?"

"No, no!"

"What? Oh, no."

"No!!"

"Nobody's saying that."

Orange blinked at the sudden shift. "...no?"

"Yeah," Red insisted. "It's the only stick that can move the other sticks."

Green nodded. "Having it to obtain during the game is, like, it's own prize, regardless of who has the most points by the end. That's why we don't think it having its own points is fair."

Orange considered, taking a moment to breathe. 

"Okay...what, then? Should we just have it be worth no points?" 

They all spent a moment in thought.

"...what if we passed it around?" 

Everyone looked at Blue.

"You mean," Yellow inquired, "once it's picked up, it has to be passed to the next person at the end of the turn? That kind of takes away that challenge, if everyone has it. And the prize-aspect."

But Blue shook his head. "Not quite; I mean, what if it gets passed around every time another stick is picked up?"

There was a pause, then everyone leaned forward.

"That way, it can't be used on every turn," Blue elaborated, "so whoever picks it up first isn't just guaranteed an easier time picking up sticks as the game continues. It'll be up to chance, whether anyone has it when their next turn starts." 

"...I think...I like that," Orange murmured cautiously. 

Blue nodded excitedly. "It also means that whoever is holding it by the end of the game will also be up to chance."

Orange's eyes widened. "So, it could still have the twenty-five points?"

"And it wouldn't be unfair," Green caught on, "because it wouldn't go into effect until the game ends."

"You know, if the master stick is only passed along when a stick is picked up, then if someone holding it were to purposefully botch their turn, they could prevent the person next to them from having the aid of the master stick at the start of their turn..." Yellow grinned.

"Ooh," Red wondered, "what if instead it starts at no points, but then has another point attached every time it's used successfully?"

"Whoa," Blue marveled. "So you can botch your turn and keep the master stick from your opponents, or increase the overall value of the master stick as you pass it along."

Orange felt his own grin form. "Oh. I do like that. Alright, are we all agreed?"

The quartet nodded enthusiastically.

"There's just one more thing: we need to repaint it."

"Huh?" Orange looked at Green, then at the others, then down at the black stick still in his hand. "Repaint it?"

"Like you said," Green teased. "There aren't any orange sticks in this game. Let's fix that."