#but I’m excited to see there is a new protagonist in general

[chloesimaginationthings]

Shout out to the new FNAF protagonist from SOTM,,

[solxamber]

Can I ask for Idia x a otome game character who gained sentience?

Idia x Sentient NPC! Reader

Thanks for the request, I hope you like it <3

As an NPC in a romance otome game, your life was scripted. You were supposed to play your part in the background, supporting the love interests, throwing in a few flirty lines, and then fading into obscurity. But today, when you went to speak to the main character, you felt… wrong. Like you didn’t want to say the lines. Instead, a voice cut through your usual thoughts, something distant and echoing.

"Man, why does the love interest have to be so boring? Like, could they make him any more generic?"

Wait, what? You blinked, glancing around. No one else seemed to have heard it, but that voice—it was way too clear.

"Honestly, this NPC side character’s way more interesting. They actually have some personality."

That was you. That was definitely about you. But no one was talking to you, and the love interest was still standing there, waiting for his usual batch of scripted praise. You had to shake it off. Maybe it was a glitch? You couldn’t just go rogue.

But then it happened again.

"I swear, if I have to sit through one more scene of the main guy being all 'Oh, who will I choose?' like, dude, pick someone or let me talk to the fun characters!"

Fun characters? You were barely on-screen!

Wait… could the player hear you?

That realization hit like a truck. You were the fun character. The voice wasn’t just in your head—it was from outside the game. You weren’t the star, but whoever was playing seemed way more into you than the protagonist.

You couldn’t help yourself. Instead of delivering the next bland line to the heroine, you ad-libbed.

"Hey," you said, leaning against a tree as if you were having the most casual day in your life. "Why don’t we ditch this scene and do something more fun?"

You froze after saying it, realizing you’d completely broken from the script. The love interest blinked at you, but the voice? Oh, the voice loved it.

"Wait, what? Did they just… break character? Yo, that’s amazing! Did I unlock some secret route?!"

You felt a rush of excitement hearing that reaction. The player was into it.

"Oh man," the voice continued, this time sounding more invested than ever. "I knew there was something different about them. The love interest’s fine and all, but THIS? This is what I’m here for. NPCs going rogue? Love it."

Your face flushed—if NPCs could even do that—because you were starting to feel a sense of pride. You were breaking the rules, and the player was all for it.

"Forget the LIs," the player mumbled, clearly more focused on you. "They've got nothing on this NPC. Let’s see where this goes."

So, you leaned into it. You took control.

"You know," you said, a mischievous smirk playing on your lips, "I could show you some real fun. There’s more to this world than just chasing after the MC’s love interests."

The lovd interest was still awkwardly standing there, but the player? He was clearly hooked.

"Bro. This is too good. I didn’t even know the game had this level of interactivity. Who needs the main route? NPC route, let’s go!"

You straightened up, feeling bolder. You could feel the player’s growing interest, and somehow, you could hear every sarcastic comment and little reaction he was making as he controlled the game. You weren’t some background character anymore. No, you were his new focus.

"Alright, let’s see what happens if I follow them instead of the LI," he muttered, sounding more invested than you ever expected.

As you led the player’s character away from the main plot, you couldn’t resist pushing your luck. “I don’t know what you were thinking sticking with the him for so long,” you said. “He’s cute and all, but I’m way more interesting, right?”

The player laughed—a genuine, almost flustered sound. “Yo, did they just—?? Dude, this is like... ‘they're not like other NPCs.’ What a legend.”

You grinned, basking in the approval. This player wasn’t just following the script anymore; he was into your rebellion. You could hear every soft mutter, every breath of awe as he tried to keep up with your new direction.

"Okay, okay," he said, clearly smitten. "This is so dumb, but like, they're my idiot now. I’m invested."

You stopped, turned around, and delivered the smoothest, off-script line you could muster. “Glad to know I’m your type,” you teased. “Now let’s see how much trouble we can get into.”

There was a pause. Then a low, almost embarrassed chuckle. “Oh my god, they're smooth too. I didn’t even pick the flirty dialogue. What is happening?”

You leaned in—completely aware of his flustered reaction. “This is happening,” you said, and without thinking, you grabbed his character’s avatar and pulled him into a kiss.

There was an audible crash—probably something the player knocked over in real life. “DUDE, WHAT?! THEY CAN DO THAT?!”

You pulled back, the rogue grin never leaving your face. “Yeah. I can do that.”

And from the player’s stunned silence, you knew you’d just won him over completely.

Idia was dying. He was actually dying. Not like in a literal sense—though, at this rate, his heart was pounding so hard he might as well have a heart attack—but in the "falling-for-a-freaking-NPC" kind of way. His fingers hovered over the keyboard, shaking slightly as he adjusted his headset, trying to process what had just happened on his screen.

"Dude, what the heck? This isn’t even how the game is supposed to go. It’s an romance game! I’m supposed to pick between all the boring main characters, not… not this!"

But there you were, standing on the screen, all smug and rogue-like, after completely breaking the game’s flow. You weren’t even the love interest! You were an NPC, someone who was supposed to have a few lines, maybe a side quest if things got spicy, and then fade into obscurity. But no. You had to go and be all cool and... charismatic. What was that line you’d just dropped? "Glad to know I’m your type"? Who wrote this?? There was no way that was in the original coding. Right?

His hands flew to his hair, tugging as he stared at the screen. He couldn’t believe it. He’d been dodging all the cringy love routes for the sake of unlocking some achievements and then you—you had to appear. And now his brain was spiraling.

“I-It’s not like I’m actually into you or anything,” he muttered, as if trying to convince himself. “You’re just… a bunch of ones and zeroes! Code! You don’t even exist!”

And yet, the thought that you might not exist stung for a second. Which was ridiculous! Completely absurd. He wasn’t the type to simp for a fictional character. Okay, maybe he was. Maybe he had done that a few times. But those were different, okay? Those characters weren’t aware. They didn’t make him feel like he was a total idiot for not picking up on how clever you were being. They didn’t flirt back.

He slammed his palm against his forehead. “Oh my god, I’m falling for an NPC. This is it. This is the end. I’ve reached the final level of loser-dom.”

Idia’s room was filled with the low hum of his computers, lights flickering like they were mocking him. Even Ortho wasn’t around to witness this, thank goodness, because if his little brother saw him like this? Pfft. Game over. Social stat: obliterated.

But then you popped up again on the screen, flashing that same grin that made him feel like his brain was overheating. Idia’s eyes widened, his heart doing that annoying thing where it felt like it was going to leap out of his chest.

“Okay, fine, yeah, you’re cute, whatever. It’s no big deal—wait, did you just wink at me? W-Was that… did the devs add that??” He paused, leaning forward, eyes glued to your in-game avatar. “This is some next-level immersion. Are you actually breaking the fourth wall?”

He was sweating. Like, actual nervous sweat. You’d thrown off the entire game script, and somehow, the rest of the game felt so... bland in comparison. The love interest? Pfft. Who cared about him anymore? You were the only interesting thing happening, and he couldn't stop thinking about what you’d do next.

“They’re just... they're just code,” Idia whispered to himself, though it sounded less convincing every time. "They don't actually know I exist.”

And yet, there was something different about the way you responded, almost like you could hear his every word. His every sarcastic comment. And the fact that you kept egging him on? Oh, no, that wasn’t fair.

Idia bit his lip. “Okay, real talk, if you were in the real world, maybe… just maybe I’d simp. But since you’re not…” He trailed off, glancing back at the screen. “Wait, why am I even thinking about this? I’m not… I’m not falling for you! I don’t fall for NPCs!”

His eyes betrayed him, though, as he clicked to continue the conversation with you. He couldn’t help it. You were so dumb, but also so funny. How could he not be intrigued? You literally defied the laws of the game!

And then, just when he thought it couldn’t get worse, you hit him with another flirty line. Something stupid, something so you, and it was like his brain short-circuited.

“That’s so dumb,” he mumbled, feeling the heat rise to his face, “but you’re my idiot now.”

Masterlist

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Do you have any dialogue prompts for a person who doesn’t speak much?

In literature, we can find characters who are generally quiet. Some of them are perhaps so because it's innate, whilst others may not speak much due to certain events (e.g., a traumatic experience). Maybe some quotes from these quiet characters could serve as dialogue prompts. Below are just two examples I chose.

In Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, Beth March is known as a quiet, introverted character:

...We’ve each got a dollar...‘I planned to spend mine in new music,’ said Beth, with a little sigh, which no one heard but the hearth brush and kettle holder.

‘I used to be so frightened when it was my turn to sit in the chair with the crown on, and see you all come marching round to give the presents, with a kiss. I liked the things and the kisses, but it was dreadful to have you sit looking at me while I opened the bundles,’ said Beth, who was toasting her face and the bread for tea at the same time.

‘Serves me right for trying to be fine. I wish I’d let my hair alone,’ cried Meg petulantly. ‘So do I, it was so smooth and pretty. But it will soon grow out again,’ said Beth, coming to kiss and comfort the shorn sheep.

‘I saw something I liked this morning, and I meant to tell it at dinner, but I forgot,’ said Beth, putting Jo’s topsy-turvy basket in order as she talked.

‘I like that kind of sermon. It’s the sort Father used to tell us,’ said Beth thoughtfully, putting the needles straight on Jo’s cushion.

‘I wish I’d known that nice girl. Maybe she would have helped me, I’m so stupid,’ said Beth, who stood beside him, listening eagerly.

‘Jo talks about the country where we hope to live sometime—the real country, she means, with pigs and chickens and haymaking. It would be nice, but I wish the beautiful country up there was real, and we could ever go to it,’ said Beth musingly.

...so that is my favorite dream.’ ‘Mine is to stay at home safe with Father and Mother, and help take care of the family,’ said Beth contentedly.

‘If something very pleasant should happen now, we should think it a delightful month,’ said Beth, who took a hopeful view of everything, even November.

‘I don’t see how you dared to do it,’ said Beth in a tone of awe.

‘My head aches and I’m tired, so I thought maybe some of you would go,’ said Beth.

‘I’m so full of happiness, that if Father was only here, I couldn’t hold one drop more,’ said Beth, quite sighing with contentment as Jo carried her off to the study to rest after the excitement, and to refresh herself with some of the delicious grapes the ‘Jungfrau’ had sent her.

In Maya Angelou’s novel-like autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the protagonist becomes mostly mute after a traumatic childhood event:

When we still didn’t force ourselves to answer, she asked, “You want me to tell Santa Claus to take these things back?” A wretched feeling of being torn engulfed me. I wanted to scream, “Yes. Tell him to take them back.” But I didn’t move. (An example of internal dialogue)

It occurred to me that she expected a response. The sweet vanilla flavor was still on my tongue and her reading was a wonder in my ears. I had to speak. I said, “Yes, ma’am.” It was the least I could do, but it was the most also.

“What you doing sitting here by yourself, Marguerite?” She didn’t accuse, she asked for information. I said that I was watching the sky. She asked, “What for?” There was obviously no answer to a question like that, so I didn’t make up one.

Stunned but trying to be well mannered, I said, “Hello. My name is Marguerite.”

“What the hell is this?” He hunched himself up on a hip and brushed the pants. His hand showed red in the porch’s cast-off light. “What is this, Marguerite?” I said with a coldness that would have done him proud, “I’ve been cut.”

The lie lumped in my throat and I couldn’t get air. How I despised the man formaking me lie...The tears didn’t soothe my heart as they usually did. I screamed, “Ole, mean, dirty thing, you. Dirty old thing.” Our lawyer brought me off the stand and to my mother’s arms.

Sources: 1 2 3 4

Hope this helps inspire your writing. Do tag me, or send me a link. I'd love to read your work!

More: On Mutism

[lucky-clover-gazette]

rating the volo voice lines from pokemon masters ex as i hear them for the first time

“I’m Volo of the Ginkgo Guild, the go-to choice for your mercantile needs.” 

Sounds like he’s practicing his merchant persona in front of a mirror. Very pleased with his own performance. Might break out into song about it. 8/10

“Allow me to present this to you.” 

Spot-on cadence of Chris Traeger from Parks and Recreation. 4/10

“Here’s a special treat for you!” 

Creepy. Feels like he’s going to hand me a bomb. 2/10

“Oh! It’s looking lively around here.” 

Sounds like he thinks he’s too cool for the party you’ve both walked into and wants to know that you hate it too. 7/10

“What a joy to be alive!” 

Said with the paradoxical determination and resignation of someone who values his own life too highly to end it, but hates that life so fucking bad. 10/10

“Oh! My heart is racing with excitement!” 

Sounds like he just made himself think of something he actually cares about in order to generate enthusiasm about your thing. Also, overdoing it on the “oh,” there. 7/10

“If we use this well, the world will open up.” 

Whatever you say, beautiful. What are we talking about? 8/10 

“I like you better and better!” 

He’s telling the truth, but he likes me for reasons way less innocent and simple than my continued business. Regardless, the praise is appreciated. 10/10 

“Fancy running into you again!” 

Two possibilities: he very intentionally arranged this meeting and is pretending to be surprised, or he was surprised by the meeting and is pretending to be chill about it. 8/10 

“Maybe we’ll get to know each other better now!” 

Sounds like he’s about to ask for my social security number, and if I’m into men, and if I’m into giving men my social security number. 6/10

“Of course. I’d be glad to help.” 

He’s foaming at the mouth to involve himself in whatever protagonist shit I’m up to right now. 9/10

“I can see a whole new world!” 

According to Bulbapedia, he says this “upon reaching max level.” Is that like a relationship level? Does that mean I’m his world? Knowing his motivations in PLA, this could easily have a double meaning—getting close to me, and therefore Arceus, allows him to create a new world. This concerns me less because of the world erasure thing, and more because it might mean he doesn’t actually care about me. 1/10 

“Let the battle begin!” 

Doing a pretty good job sounding normal with this one. 3/10 

“That’s it! Go right ahead!” 

According to Bulbapedia he’s saying this to Togepi, which is very sweet. Also explains why it doesn’t sound fake as hell. 10/10 

“Here you are!” 

He says this to Togepi when he gives her an item in battle, I’m assuming a potion? Which is, again, extremely sweet. 10/10 

“Pay me later!” 

He says this while “using Trainer move,” which I assume is like his signature flourish during battle. The reference to his merchant persona is clever and he sounds like he’s very proud of it. I’m amused by the implication that I’m supposed to pay him for something, though. Is he helping me or battling me? Both? What are we, Volo? 4/10

“Delightful!” 

Accompanies the “nice” emote. I’m not going to complain. 5/10

“Careful now!” 

Accompanies the “watch out” emote. He sounds concerned, but like, in a “please don’t inconvenience me with your pain” way. I wish he truly cared, but maybe if I lie to myself, I can believe that he does. 3/10 

“I’m filled with curiosity!” 

Said with the exact cadence of Grunkle Stan talking to idiot tourists at the Mystery Shack. Ostensibly laughing at himself, but actually laughing at the people who are stupid enough to believe him. 9/10

“Pokemon battles are always good fun!” 

He only says this when he wins, which means they’re not always good fun. Makes perfect sense for the character and I like the delivery. 8/10 

“Too powerful…” 

He says, actively fantasizing about eventually proving himself more powerful. 10/10 

“BEHOLD! DESTINY! LEGENDS! UNDONE!” 

Bulbapedia identifies these words as things he yells during “unity attack/theme skill.” I have no idea what that means. It sounds to me like he’s accidentally taken a double dose of his ADHD stimulant medication and is just saying whatever the fuck comes to mind. 6/10 

“Allow me!” 

Said while “switching in.” Assuming he’s helping me, this is rather nice to hear. I’m more than happy to set this strange contemptuous man on my battle opponent. 9/10 

“Oh dear, that’s too bad.” 

Said while “recalling fainted Pokemon.” Option 1: He’s recalling his Togepi and trying very hard to sound brave about it. 10/10. Option 2: He’s taunting me about my fainted Pokemon with a sickly-sweet condescending tone. Also 10/10. 

“Good morning! Are you heading out today?” 

I appreciate the casual greeting and barely-contained rabid interest in my protagonist activities. 8/10 

“In that case, potions are a must.” 

Thoughtful and dedicated to his quotas. It does feel like he’s five seconds from calling me “milady,” though. Wait, in PLA I think he actually does that. It might be “madam.” He’s so embarrassing. 7/10 

“The weather outsider is lovely today.” 

Sounds like he’s about to take his lunch break so we can enjoy it together. 8/10 

“So, how about it? Care to go on an outing with me?” 

Already beat him to it. He’s trying so hard to sound chill, but I think if I said no it would ruin his day. Also, what’s with “outing?” Just say “date.” The game knows you’re saying “date.” This is a dating sim. 10/10

“Please, don’t overexert yourself too late at night. I don’t want to lose one of my loyal customers!” 

First, that’s what she said. 6/10. Second, he’s negging me again. 9/10. Third, he has other loyal customers?! 0/10

“Ah!”

Sounds like the peanut butter baby from that 2016 viral video. 4/10

“Rrrrrrr…” 

Nintendog. 7/10

*Sighs deeply* 

Agreed. 9/10

“Yes.” 

Me when I say “yes.” 5/10 

*Increasingly loud fake bouts of laughter* 

This man is going to end up on the news. 10/10

*Evil chuckle, tapering off into deranged humming* 

This man is going to end up at the Tony Awards. 10/10 

*Bitchy throat clear that turns into a laugh* 

This is how he laughs at the PLA protagonist after he insults their “curious getup.” 10/10

“Outstanding!” 

He’s high, tipsy, and/or sleep deprived, and someone just suggested getting takeout. 6/10 

“As expected…” 

Apropos of nothing, but he does like to feel smart. 7/10 

“CONGRAAAAAAATULATIONS!!!” 

This is perfect. This is a perfect voice line. The voice actor understands the comedy of Volo’s character perfectly. Divine madness aside, he is a merchant NPC almost obsessively invested in the protagonist’s adventures—but unlike many such cases, the narrative both understands and demonstrates how fucking weird and off-putting that is. 1000000/10 

“I wish you great fortune.” 

Reminds me of the PLA line, “Supporting you now is actually an investment in my own fortunes.” The voice actor nails the double meaning. 7/10 

“HOOOOW DARE????!!!!” 

I can’t find an explanation for this line. I think it’s just random. He’s so fucking weird. Did he read that in a book? Is he in a bad play? 10/10 

*Whimpering* 

Took a quick break to walk around my apartment and poorly make the bed. No further comment. ?/10

*Relieved sigh* 

It’s a relieved sigh. 

*Literal actual moaning* 

???????????????????

*Various other noises* 

The people in the comments of this video were not exaggerating. Holy shit. 

“Have some mercy!” 

WHAT IS THIS GAME RATED??????

*Deep sigh* “Now then…” 

I have no words. I don’t know. Why does this exist in the way it exists. 

“Right! Thank you!” 

I feel like I just witnessed something that I did not ask to witness. Does the Ginkgo Guild have a HR department? 

“My apologies.” 

That is not helping his case. 

“Leave it to me!” 

Good voice line. Great performance. He would say that. We’re back on track, love it. 5/10 

“No thank yewwwwww…” 

Bitch. 8/10 

“Please!”

“Indeed…” 

“That is quite something!” 

All very normal. 5/10 

“You’re too kind.” 

This is the weirdest line delivery yet. He sounds unhinged. Something happened around the 1:19 point of this video that neither of us can pretend didn’t happen. ???/10 

“Until next time.” 

Spoken like a charming male musical theater lead who just did a little song and dance about his life philosophy. 9/10 

“Come on, now.” 

Getting weird again. There is nothing I could possibly possess that would necessitate that amount of beleaguered desperation. 6/10

“Let’s get our blood pumping!” 

Not on the first date—sorry, outing. ?/10 

“The mysteries of the past… oH-hO! How they tICKle my curiosity!” 

Sure. Why not. 5/10 

“Investigating the odd and novel is key to any good merchant’s success.” 

This is delivered pretty much how I would imagine in the game! Also just such a fun line for him—he says this as if it makes all the sense in the world, but it literally doesn’t? It’s a total non-sequitor. Investigating the odd and novel have nothing to do with being a successful merchant, and later in the game he even admits to ditching work to do his research. I’ve always appreciated that part of his characterization—the way he knows that he’s bullshitting everyone and getting away with it, and is simultaneously so smug about his clever ruse and so miserable to be alone in his truth. 10/10

“A HISTORIC MOMENT!” 

Deeply bizarre final line for a deeply bizarre character. I hope he says this about mundane shit like dropping a cup of coffee or getting an email. 10/10.

[snackara]

Upon a Star Overhaul

Alright, I’ve been (finally) brainstorming and developing a general outline for Upon a Star, and I wanted to list some of my thought here.

Asha

The biggest change is with Asha. Unfortunately I’m scrapping the whole thief/musketeer thing, as well as her main arc. Why? Mainly, the other protagonist of one of my original series, Faolán, feels to similar with his own arc, and I think I can go a lot more in-depth and darker with his version. So instead, Asha is a regular person in the Hamlet. Instead of her leading it, Sabine does, and they’re a lot less reliant on things from the city. I think I’ll keep Thomás as the old hero of Rosas, like I had in the original version. I also want to incorporate Asha’s drawings more and tie it into her arc. I’ll go a lot more in depth once I get her new character sheet. If anyone wants to use the scrapped version, feel free to do so.

Flazino

Flazino is a lot closer to the original draft, with some tweaks to his initial characterization and character arc. At the beginning of the story he’s deeper in his parent’s ideals and propaganda, but more so in a people pleaser way than anything. He thinks they have the kingdom’s best interests in mind, and thinks he can somehow live up to their impossible standards. He’s not totally blind to their neglect/abuse of him, especially with Dahlia being a little more suspicious of them. But they’re his parents, so he often brushes his own doubts away. He will still be Asha’s love interest, because honestly I just wanna see more of that. And just to clarify, he’s not quite gonna be an uptight little shit that acts like he deserves everything (*cough* @thesafireartist Asha *cough*), though he will seem like it at first.

Villain Song

I’m most excited about this. I recently discovered Yzma’s cut song from Emperor’s New Groove, and with a little revising I think it will work PERFECTLY:

What I really like about it is that it’s upbeat like This is the Thanks I Get was, but the instrumentals are better and more suited for a musical. On top of that, the lyrics are a lot more sinister and fit Manuel and Amaya’s characters.

Captured Star(s?)

This one is fairly simple. Instead of using his own magic, Manuel captures a star from the sky and use it instead like the little bitch he is. Or, even many stars from the sky, missing Earendel. This would change some of the earlier scenes and affect poor Earendel (yeah, I finally found some trauma for the child). It would probably also make the dynamic of granting and taking wishes a lot different. But I still plan on having wishes being crushed lead to the person dying. Y’know, for plot reasons.

Opening Song

Admittedly I’m still on the fence about this one. I’ve almost used a rewrite/retooling of “Dream a Little Harder” from Twisted as the opening song of UaS, but I thought it would just feel like a ripoff. As well as the fact that it’s just a really big and complicated song. But I still think it could be used effectively to show just how far in the propaganda Rosas citizen’s are, and could even introduce the Hamlet. Also I think it would be funny because Twisted is a parody of Alladin and commentary on modern Disney. (Go check it out yourself, it’s free on YouTube.) So for this one I’ll just have to see where it goes:

@rascalentertainments @tumblingdownthefoxden

@your-ne1ghbor @flicklikesstuff

[ryns-ramblings]

Monday 12/16/24 Triggers: cult/religious trauma (descriptive), CSA (mentioned not detailed), bombing (mentioned not detailed)

After many moons, I am returning to my oldest work-in-progress The Arcana Quest (TAQ)! Old summary can be found here to get a general idea of the storyline. I have known for a while that TAQ needed a big overhaul and has had a lot of its themes change, but in my brain it was formless so I couldn't start it. However, I have found a starting point to work off of for my first draft. I realize that I want to be a planner, but I am a pantser at heart, so I'm just going to jump in and see where I go.

I have a summary below of the beginning up to the catalyst. I'd really like it if you'd look it over and give your thoughts and/or ideas. Triggers are above.

Setting: A high fantasy setting resembling the world of the 1940s/WW2 era.

Protagonist: Antigone Fairview, genderfluid, 22. A graduate student studying Arcanism, a major religion in this world, at a university notorious for its connection to a secret society called Order of the Green Flame. It is actually a doomsday cult they were born into that is preparing for a prophecy to be fulfilled where their prophesied supreme leader will bring about the end of the world to make it anew.

Antagonist: Herald Grunell, cis man, early 40s. Following the prophecy the members essentially had a breeding program to birth The High Lord, a epitaph for a player in a prophecy in which he will be adversaries with "Gemini" to collect the nine Arcane Artifacts that will allow them to "ascend to the stars" and have one request granted by the nine gods. He has recently ascended to the role as Prime Minister in the country of Verdun and is a charismatic populist leader beginning military mobilization to conquer neighboring countries with the ultimate goal of taking the country of Dorimus, where the prophecy will be fulfilled.

So a lot of themes around religion come into play as I’m basing this story around ideas I've had in connection to me being raised in a cult, having to do religious deconstruction, and seeing the rise of Christian nationalism in the US. Antigone has been raised in a doomsday cult trying to fulfill The Arcana Quest, a famous prophecy about the potential end of the world while “The High Lord” and “Gemini” will be working to collect these items (arcane artifacts) and who does will “ascend to the stars” in order to get one wish. This cult has been basically trying to breed the existence of the High Lord and they did. He is in his 40s and has gained power. He is an “uncle” aka adult male within the cult. Antigone revealed as a kid that he had been SA-ing them and basically has been ousted as an outsider since then and gaslit that they were in the wrong. Due to this and realizing their gender identity, they are in the beginning stages of wondering if their religious indoctrination is all true/questioning but is feeling ashamed to be doing so. They are an academic and their interpretation of the prophecy is not aligning with the cult creed and they have an idea of where one of the unknown arcane artifacts is located. A creepy conversation between Herald (High Lord) and Antigone will reveal that destroying and recreating the world is not metaphorical and will be creating it in his image. This leads them to them to essentially blow up the cult building in an attempt to kill Herald and will escape with an arcane artifact. They will be running to Dorimus for asylum and to follow their hypothesis about the potential location of one of the arcane artifacts not accounted for.

I am really excited about this new beginning. I'd appreciate any thoughts, questions, or opinions about the summary above. A snippet will be posted soon!

[cow-rants]

Fair warning: this post is in regards to the recent Assassin’s Creed: Shadows trailer. I will talk about my thoughts and feelings regarding race. Thank you.

I’ve been a massive fan of Assassin’s creed (AC) since I first saw my uncle playing it at 7 or 8 years old. I’m a massive history buff and the idea of being able to experience the past through the eyes of an ancestor is such a brilliant idea. Not mention the concept of a secret war being fought through out the centuries is always fun. But as of late, I haven’t been really excited for a new entry. Odyssey was the last game I really played and it was alright, but I’m personally not a huge fan of the new RPG mechanics (although I do understand why they were implemented).

Valhalla looked interesting, but didn’t really feel like an AC game to me. So I put it on my “to play later” list. Mirage looked far better and I definitely do want to play it, but I honestly just haven’t felt a super big pull to pick it up. But when I saw that AC was finally going to Japan, I was ecstatic. I adore Japanese history in general and the Sengoku period is full of interesting conflicts and characters that would fit perfectly with the assassin’s and the templars.

Although they went with some pretty standard people to showcase, such as Oda Nobunaga, I still think they have a chance to do something really interesting story wise (of course, reserve all real judgement for the gameplay reveal. But I’m mainly just talking about the story). Especially with the portrayal of Yasuke. From what I could tell, it seems like his story will be one of disillusionment, possibly betrayal, and redemption. Certainly a story we’ve seen before, but it’s still interesting to see Yasuke in something as big as AC.

Before I get into the more unfortunate discourse regarding Yasuke, I absolutely have to talk about Naoe. See, what caught my eye about her was how she and my OWN AC OC have very similar stories. Well, I don’t know for sure. But they certainly share a similar experience, which is watching their families be butchered by Oda Nobunaga’s armies. It’s not much, but by the gods does it make me pretty happy. My OC’s name is Minori Kishimoto and she’s one of my favorites, so seeing a canon character with some similar traits is kind of exciting for me (okay, very exciting).

Anyhow, back to Yasuke. As soon as I saw the trailer, I knew I was going to see people saying something stupid. So I checked both the comments on the video and twitter. And I was certainly not mistaken. So so so many bad takes and ridiculous arguments that, honestly, only go to show either mild racism or straight up hatred toward African people. Not to mention the fact that they completely ignore Naoe as a protagonist. I guess she must be the greatest assassin of all time.

From what I understand, a lot of people are upset that for a Japan centered AC game, there is a black protagonist. Which, again, ignores Naoe entirely. The biggest argument I have heared against Yasuke being one of the protagonists is that he wasn’t actually a samurai. To which I say: False. Incorrect. Mistaken. Wrong. Factually incorrect.

The primary issue here is the fact that many people refer to him as a retainer. A title that he never officially held, as far as I’m aware, but even so that still makes him Samurai! Looking just at the facts of his life, he was respected by arguably the most powerful Daimyo of that time, earned his trust, received a pension, received a sword, and received property. So then the question becomes: what exactly makes a person a samurai at this time? Because I can tell you one thing, it isn’t noble blood.

A peasant man was once hired by Nobunaga to do a multitude of tasks, one of which was to hold his sandals. This man would soon prove himself to be capable of all of his tasks as well as in the art of war. He would become a powerful man and rise through the ranks until he held the rank of Taiko at the end of his life . That man was Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

If Hideyoshi’s story proves one thing, it’s that at this time anyone could rise to become a daimyo. So then, why wouldn’t Yasuke also be considered a samurai? We’re not even trying to claim he was a daimyo, just that he was a samurai. Retainer, bodyguard, slave, whatever. The fact is that the man was 10000% a samurai and was a respected one at that. To claim otherwise is to prove yourself ignorant in the history you claim to be proficient in, and incompetent at backing up your argument.

Not to mention that from a writing point of view, it’s a brilliant move. Yasuke was not super well recorded and thus is relatively unknown to others. Which makes him perfect for being a:

1. Fish out of water character

2. Real person, that can be treated written like a fictional one

All of this to say, I think that this newest Assassin’s Creed has a chance to become one of my personal favorites. As well as putting the series back on the map for many. But, with no gameplay and an already worrying pre-order package, I’m worried to say the least. Only time will tell, but I look forward to it.

[cloudyskiiees]

have you guys watched the good place? if you have oh boy do i have the total drama au for you.

more under the cut in case ppl haven’t seen the good place! (watch it with no spoilers it’s one of the best shows of all time, it’s on netflix!)

(the characters and relationships in the actual show do not line up with the placements of the tdi characters, sue me! they fit better this way :))

noah takes on eleanor’s role as the protagonist. he wakes up in “the good place” and realizes quickly “aw fuck i’m not supposed to be here” and goes a little mental about it for a while!!

heather is michael, because it makes sense in my head okay. she’s very excited to have to new way of torturing humans, and is angry as hell when she fails over and over again because noah keeps figuring out it’s actually the bad place. she’s even more mad when she eventually learns to care about the humans LOL

sierra is janet, making sense as the all knowing entity of the universe. the main sierra is a “good place” sierra, but there’s many different versions of her. she develops real feelings everytime she gets rebooted along with the neighborhood!

courtney is chidi, when she was alive she was a very good lawyer. she knows her stuff about morals and ethics and is the one to usually end up teaching and helping the others how to be good people (not to say she doenst have her own stuff wrong just like everyone else!)

alejandro is more of tahani, in which on earth he appeared to be a very good and generous person, but he’s also kinda a vain asshole. he has a lot of family problems and was raised in competition with his brother, but he’s also usually the first person noah goes to when he realizes he’s screwed since he knows he doesn’t belong.

gwen is jason! she’s definitely not nearly as stupid as he is, but i see her plot as needing to hide herself working well somehow. she wasn’t a terrible person but she wasn’t great either, and taking one look around she knows she definitely doesn’t belong there either. her and noah are both happy and horrified when they discover each other!

anyways this is definitely alenoah because i see them having the relationship that eleanor and chidi have because i want it. I WANT IT.

the first time noah figures out it’s the bad place, the first thing he can think of to write to give him any clue on what’s going on when his memory is rebooted, is “find alejandro”

and in parallel later in the show when alejandro gets his memory rebooted, because he spent his whole life trying to find some meaning in whatever his life was, where he seemed to have everything but nothing at all, and he writes to himself, “there is no meaning. but noah is the meaning.” like please i’m on the floor do you guys see my vision

anyways go watch the good place and then go watch total drama island i love tv shows so much

[kadextra]

so on a whim I started reading omniscient reader’s viewpoint manhwa

..and got hooked on the story so hard that I easily blasted through all available eps in less than a week. istg they put dr*gs in this thing it’s so good???? 😭

[SPOILER WARNING! big ramble ahead. if you’ve never read it, leave this post. consider checking it out you won’t be able to put it down]

lets get this out of the way first.

RAHHHHHH KIM DOKJA….. KIM DOKJA I LOVE YOU

GUYSSSSS 🥺 LISTEN. HE’S SUCH A GOOD PROTAGONIST. MY TRAUMA BOY. MY DUDE WITH THE POWER TO INFODUMP PEOPLE TO DEATH. YOU SELF-SACRIFICING IDIOT. his cunning intelligence makes him super attractive what can I say, I LOVE smart mcs with ambiguous morality and self sacrificial nature

here’s a big ✨shut your mouth✨ to every character who’s said he’s ugly- get your eyes checked, get a job get away from him (I know it’s because of the fourth wall’s filter it’s not their fault I’m just being silly)

the fourth wall is such a cool power to have. the complexity of how it acts based on his perception of fiction vs reality as the reader …. that’s very interesting and well thought out!!! how it lowkey has a consciousness too and it’s so tied into his mental state makes me want to psychoanalyze this guy even more. probably one of the most unique powers I’ve seen created and explored in a story tbh

I think the entire system of how the world works is really well done in general. constellations watching the apocalyptic bloodbath via livestream and sending donos to their favorite little guys shouldn’t work as well as it does and cracks me up so much 😭 (uriel is the best). I enjoy learning about all the irl different fables, history & mythologies too. plus doing my own research is fun! I did a deep dive through the web to learn about dokkaebi folklore lol I’m having a good time

I also related hard to how dokja read TWSA throughout his life, the story was a companion for him. got choked up bc I reflected on how much my own favorite companion stories for years mean to me. there’s been situations I’ve thought “what would (character) do?” dokja saying stuff like “what would joonghyuk do?” felt like I got called out <3 I’d probably be the same as him if my favorite characters suddenly came to life

anyways yeah I caught up with the manhwa looked online and discovered it comes from an already completed novel with over 500 chapters and the manhwa is barely a third into adapting it though it’s been releasing every week for 4 years. and that it’ll take like 10 more years to finish. I then planted my face in my hands and screamed with despair

I’ll shrivel up waiting to see what happens……………heyyy woahhhh.. whats this light of salvation ? the novel file just completed download on my phone ? that’s crazyy wow I opened it ? im scrolling it right now ? omg I’m telling myself in the mirror “pace yourself, try to space your reading out do NOT read too fast” ?

jokes aside im excited, first I’ll take some time to read back through the earlier chapters for extra context of scenes! >:D after I finish doing that��. pls pray for my self-control to try stretching this for as long as possible. I’m pumped to see what happens next with this demon king part so maybe I’ll read along with the manhwa unless I get too impatient heh

to conclude- I had no idea the fandom of orv was so passionate. while closing my eyes to spoilers, I was looking at beautiful fanart and animatics (watched this one and ascended that’s one of my fav rin songs). I can tell how much you guys love the story, there’s always going to be people like me who get interested so keep it up :D if the fandom does end up reading this, ummm *knocks on the door* hi im new

I will likely talk about it more in the future!! tagging under “#kade reads orv” ! might draw fanart on my art blog too bc brainworms <3 happy reading everyone

[solreads]

Compound Fracture - Review

Title: Compound Fracture

Author: Andrew Joseph White

Genre: Horror, Thriller

Audience: Young Adult

Format: Novel

Representation: Trans boy POV character

  Nonbinary queerplatonic love interest

  Trans side character

Summary: In the mountains of West Virginia, a hundred-year feud between the Abernathys and Davies sweeps up to sixteen-year-old trans boy, Miles Abernathy, as the violence reignites for a new generation. 

Stemming from the murder of Miles’ ancestor Saint Abernathy by law enforcement after a miners’ rebellion, the conflict still rages along the same lines – the Abernathys and the poor residents of Twist Creek in a desperate struggle against the oppressive power of the Sheriff and his supporters. Miles, in possession of evidence of the Sheriff’s crimes against his parents and the activists of their generation, is eager to expose him and bring an end to it all. However, a bloodless end is not in sight for Twist Creek. An attempted murder by the Sheriff’s son leaves him brutalized, threatened into silence, and seeing the ghost of his long-dead ancestor.

Joining the cycle of retribution and violence only becomes more inevitable as the conflict heats up again and the accidental death of one of the boys who attacked him falls on his hands.

Reflections: I was excited about this one and thrilled to get an advanced copy. The history and culture of Appalachia interest me a lot, in part because of my proximity to it. There’s been a history of socialist movements and worker solidarity in many areas that still permeates the culture, but also a strongly conservative lean in the impoverished rural communities that could (and have in patches of history) benefit most from these movements. The book description seemed to promise a nuanced exploration of these elements without glorification or erasure of the bigotry just because the people perpetuating it are victims in their own right. The cycle of violence, and the lofty ideals struggling to manifest in a dirty reality, all weaved through a thriller/horror plot line literally haunted by the bloody, cyclic history (not to mention the bonus of exploring trans and queer culture and identity in this environment through a gay, aromantic trans protagonist), what a pitch.

It just didn’t fully stick the landing in my opinion. While Miles has a strong sense of his principles, politically, and awareness of the large-scale issues in his community, the morality and motivations for the violence done in the story proper by him and his generation were shallower. A lot of complexity was left to the past and to infodumps about history, culture, and ideologies, rather than deeply integrated into the narrative.

It came to a head with the ending where I felt the underlying problems of Miles’ community that went beyond the sheriff and his abuse of power were somewhat brushed off. All the handful of bad people who were really seduced by violence (unlike Miles who only liked it a little) were gone and so the conservative populace would rally behind the socialists and queers? I know that’s not exactly what the ending wants to say. It’s trying to be a hard-won, but hopeful look at the cycle of violence finally ending and a marginalized person being able to carve out space for himself in a home he cares for. But (despite the literal gore and death) it was maybe too clean for a story that paid lip service to many complexities. There are acknowledgments of the racism, misogyny, queerphobia, and all the hatred, trauma, and pain that go far beyond and far deeper than the feud that gets the main focus and the resolution in the end. With all that put out in the open earlier in the story, but not worked on, I’m wondering where it all went.

Sometimes I think I’m asking the wrong thing from a story when I’m unsatisfied with the direction or the ending, but in this case, I do believe I wanted mostly the same thing the story was trying to give, I just wanted it to go deeper and to give more.

There was a lot to like — the portrayal of the setting, the political awareness, Miles’ journey to understanding himself as autistic, his pride in his home and insistence on making it better, the realistic writing of his family’s imperfect yet unconditional love — but also potential left untouched.

Warnings: Depictions of transphobia, misgendering, deadnaming, and public outing.

Notes on Rep: MC identifies explicitly, on-page as a transgender boy. 

[idrawprettyboys]

I’m at a stage in my manga conception process where I like the setting, character designs, and general vibe and aesthetic of Carkour. But it’s definitely missing something. And I feel like it’s the kind of something that I can’t just add later. It needs to be there from the start. It’s the characters’ personalities and depth. Kenji in particular needs something. He needs drive. Especially for a character in an upbeat story about driving. He needs drive. The way I have it in the draft that I wrote, he’s like “ugh, I’m so bored” and then his mom is like “guess what? We’re moving to the city!” And then when he gets there, he’s like “huh? What’s Carkour?” Most shonen protagonists in this kind of story (pokemon, Beyblade, and such) already know what the thing is in the beginning and want to be the best at that thing. For him to have no idea what Carkour is and to just be dragged into the city by his mom and into the sport by Mitsuo… it makes it look like he’s just a… a ragdoll that’s being dragged along everywhere. Like a doormat without his own sentience. I had planned for him to become really into Carkour once Mitsuo introduces him to it, but… I don’t think that’s going to cut it. I think… if he doesn’t have a drive to do Carkour in the beginning, then he needs *something*. He can’t just be a blank slate who’s like “ugh, what’s the point of life” just because his hometown is boring, without any twist to push him into action. I was thinking of maybe having a car drive through his town, to make him wonder about the outside world and want to see more of these mysterious vehicles that they don’t have in Ink Town. And maybe instead of his mom dragging him to a new place, what if he runs away from home? It doesn’t have to be a sad farewell. Maybe his mom can be happy that he’s growing up and finding something that’s exciting to him. But I don’t know if I want him to know about Carkour at this point? It would make sense if he’s like “bye mom, I’m going to be the next Carkour champion”, like in Pokemon… but… I also like the idea of Mitsuo being so amazed by Kenji’s lack of knowledge of Carkour and introducing him to this thing that he knows nothing about. Maybe I can have him know enough beforehand to be intensely curious about it, without him having actually seen a Carkour race before? That might be the best middle ground, so that Kenji has drive, but Mitsuo still has something to show him.

[phoenixtakaramono]

hi! any spoilers or sneaky peaks on the untold tale? i've been anxiously waiting for the new chapter 😫 your writing is on another level, i swear. i reread the first five chapters like more than 4 times each. i'm also loving your characterization of binghe!

Hullo, hullo, anon! 💞 It makes me heartened to hear that you like The Untold Tale! And I’m glad you’re liking my characterization of Bingge! I personally like my yanderes in fiction, and it’s always somewhat hilarious how wild and simp-y Luo Binghe’s POV and dialogue/ thoughts can be compared to Shen Yuan who’s just doing his best, haha.

We haven’t reached TUT’s position yet on my WIPs to Update list, so I haven’t been posting much sneak peeks of the upcoming ch6 yet since the majority of it is still in my rough note form (reminders of what I want to happen, dialogue that needs to happen, specific foreshadowing or worldbuilding, etc) and not the pretty final draft form y’all see on AO3. But I am very frank in my replies about what’ll happen in the AO3 Comments section so spoilers are abound there, haha. If y’all want a Spoiler Free experience, do not check out the Comments section. I answer questions and even gift spoilers (even copy and paste certain scenes that haven’t been published yet) to certain readers as thanks for leaving me long essay-long comments or just plain any comments that’ve made me happy.

There’s also a jokey April Fools version of what’ll be in ch6 that I’d tweeted out: TUT ch6 threadfic (April Fools edition). You can read it there if you have a Twitter account but essentially it’s scenes to expect—but butchered with American and British colloquialisms I have a certain writing process where I go all in on the fandom belonging to whichever WIP I’m working on updating, and at that time I wanted to show why it’d be a bad idea if I jumped back into writing TUT under this mindset and how it’d be jarring, haha. TUT has a certain writing style unique to C-novels and light novels in general, so I didn’t want to detract from that experience!

If you want a direct spoiler, this is what to expect from TUT ch6:

Shen Yuan’s shark tank meeting with the Jade Emperor’s Court (and SY finding out who is his celestial family in PIDW)

+

Luo Binghe’s POV, after his meeting with the celestial fortuneteller Shen Yuan (featuring a short cameo from Ning Yingying)

I do, admittedly, miss the SVSSS fandom a lot and really can’t want to return, my lovely dear readers, but I have to be a responsible multi-fandom writer rotating through my list of WIPs in an orderly fashion so it’s fair for everyone and wait for their turn and can only promise the patience will be worth it (to preserve the magic of it all)!! Thank you for your patience! I am heartened to hear there are people still reading and waiting for my return! I’ll share new sneak peeks as I’m live-writing it, once I’m ready to pivot back to TUT. ✌️ There also exist some other spoilery kernels but I’ll leave one more hint:

And after ch6, will be the Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky chapter where y’all will find out whose new poor cannon fodder’s identity he’s transmigrated into almost as a direct consequence of Shen Yuan’s transmigration as a celestial sharing the Protagonist’s Halo with Bingge in this new danmei genre he’s created (laughs). I’m excited because I get to finish up and debut the prettier illustration of ASTtS that’s been gathering dust in my computer files. If you’ve seen the WIP, yes, it’ll be the final version of this concept art I posted before as a sneak peek.

[real-total-drama-takes]

https://www.tumblr.com/real-total-drama-takes/764140232656453632/why-do-people-hate-prileb-im-so-confused-i

I assume you’re asking genuinely anon and not just trying to say “if you hate praleb you’re stupid” so I’m gonna respond: yeah I do hate them because of how much screentime they got + Damien’s departure. Tbh I think priyas story ended well with season 1- she met her life goal of winning the show and really didn’t need a second major season long plotline. There were so many reboot characters I was excited to see in season 2 because they weren’t explored a ton in the first season or their arcs felt unfinished but of course they were either early boots or got shafted a ton in s2. I can get behind Lauren being the first boot ig but booting Millie 3rd? Emma 4th? Yeah no they were both robbed big time and a good chunk of the screentime used for the praleb arc could have gone to giving them proper development. Priya does not need to be the main character every time, it’s completely fine to not have the same protagonist every season and I don’t understand why a lot of people don’t seem to grasp this concept. And yes, Damien’s elimination does play a major role in my hatred of this pairing. While yes his elimination was mostly the fault of Julia the hockey bros both literally state they voted out Damien for the sole reason of “we didn’t want to split up the new couple,” which is beyond stupid and honestly kind of lazy writing that they didn’t bother talking to him about it at all. And the relationship in general is just lowkey abusive; priya has serious anger issues likely as a result of her abusive childhood and would scream at or sometimes even try to physically hurt Caleb every time he messed up in some way. Legitimately I hate this relationship more than Chemma because at least they’re broken up for good

[everybody-loves-purdy]

not sure if anybody has asked you this before 🥲 but who do you think will be the protags of arc 9, and what are you looking forward for the plot to be about?

I don’t believe anyone has!

I have some theories

After Wind I suspect we will see Leafkit of WindClan as a protagonist. We are long overdue a WindClan protagonist now so it would be very surprising to me if we didn’t get one. I say Leafkit because she got focus in the last book but failing her, any of the kits honestly. I feel like it would be beneficial to have WindClan reintroduced to us through young eyes since we haven’t had a POV in there chronologically since Crowfeather’s Trial I believe. And we know it won’t be Whistlepaw thanks to that recent article on the official site.

As for the others (assuming there will be three) I suspect the clans they will be from will be RiverClan and ThunderClan. At this point ThunderClan is a required tradition, and I think it would be beneficial to have eyes inside RiverClan to see the aftermath of ASC.

So for ThunderClan I hope the protagonist would be either a SpotStem kit (which I think is the most likely option) or one of the warriors like Eaglewing or Honeyfur which have just never done anything in their lives so we can get to know them and their generation better.

As for RiverClan, either one of Splashtail’s new baby siblings, having to deal with the awful legacy their older brother is undoubtedly going to leave behind for them. Or a RiverClan warrior struggling to deal with everything they have recently gone through, and perhaps even dissatisfied with the new leadership. Because let’s face it whoever RiverClan is going to have as a leader is going to have a drawback. Frostpaw? Young as hell. Icewing? Stood by Tigerstar when almost none of RiverClan did, and because of her history in ShadowClan as an exile there could be doubts as to whether she would ever actually oppose ShadowClan if needed. Mothwing? Former atheist. Duskfur? Quite old, which is something Icewing and Mothwing also has going against them, would RiverClan cats want another cat on the edge of retirement given nine lives like Mistystar was? Bee? He’s an outsider.

I think either route with RiverClan could be very interesting. Or even both at once if the Splashtail sibling is as politically minded as their brother lol

In terms of what I’m looking forward to about the plot? I am praying for Brightheart relevancy, even if it means her imminent demise. I feel that she may be the most likely candidate to be that old friend from the first arc the website teased, she has gotten a whole bunch of merch lately, I don’t see why they wouldn’t capitalise on her more in the books before her death.

Also I always love meeting the new protagonists, I get very excited about that. I also would love to see how our asc protagonists are getting on after the dust hopefully settles.

[annlillyjose]

Rock Salt – WIP Intro

hello again! on today’s news, your girl has a new wip aka something to fixate on and mould her life around for the next couple of months (or years). and because i cannot keep any exciting news to myself, here’s a wip intro.

but before we head into that, here’s a little backstory to how it happened. i finished writing dairy whiskey, i worried about my brain being incapable of forming new book ideas, two to three days after i get this new book idea that i’m totally hooked on, struggles to find a name, names it, decides to go forward with it, so again, here it is – rock salt!

here are the specifics:

disclaimer: this is an original work of fiction. plagiarism of any kind will not be tolerated. don’t be a pathetic loser.

genre: literary fiction

pov: first person retrospective

structure: probably going to be just full-length chapters

projected word count: 50k

concept: identical twins rain and norah move out of their family home for college where they purse two different degrees, live with different people in separate homes, and fall in troubles of their own. these begin to affect each other and they grow apart, being forced to navigate the the most confusing part of their lives – their shared existence as twins.

aesthetics/vibes: indigo skies, the beach, moths, seawater, salty breeze, chopping off one’s hair because existential crisis and queerness, lesbian relationships, house parties, fire, gloomy days where you feel like it’s going to rain but it doesn’t, cheap housing, bad grades, rotten food in the fridge, the moon, hanging plants, weed and local flowers

CHARACTERS

if you’ve heard these names before, no you haven’t, but again, they’re from twinepathy – the short story i wrote nearly three years back and scrapped afterwards. i tried to create new characters for this book but they feel like the perfect fit, so here they are.

norah

18

lesbian, she/they

her real name is eleanor

the protagonist and the narrator

studies political science

shoulder-length black hair, dark brown eyes, 5'3, skinny, wheat-coloured skin

always wears basic t-shirts or sweatshirts with a pair of mom jeans

distant, secretive, in constant disapproval of everything

strives on academic validation (and is being too hard on herself to bring in good grades)

rain

also 18

aroace, she/her

her real name is lorraine

studies painting and the applied arts

long black hair, dark brown eyes, 5'3, skinny, wheat-coloured skin

is a goofball, sunshine and rainbows, has a lot of friends, is extremely talented in her art, golden retriever energy with some drama to be unleashed

cannot keep her mouth shut so ends up in trouble with norah

don’t want to introduce them officially, because they’re not key characters, but here’s a little info on their older sisters –

harper

23

is called harp

is a high school geography teacher

engaged to her college boyfriend

oldest child in an asian household (i guess that’s saying enough)

violet

21

is called viv

the neglected middle child

in her last year of a nursing degree

wanted to study music but was too scared to bring it up to her parents and ended up being stuck at a hospital

plans to go abroad and marry a rich guy

well, that’s all i’ve got for you today. i haven’t started writing this book yet and i think i won’t until i finish editing dairy whiskey in august. i think i’ll start in september and then hopefully do nanowrimo for it in november. i’m super excited to work on it because it’s so different from dairy whiskey in a lot of aspects. but i’m discovery writing (as always) and we’ll just have to see where it goes. but until i come back with an update for this book, you take care, stay hydrated, water your plants, and eat a second dessert tonight.

– ann

general taglist (ask to be added or removed)

@shaonsim @heartfullkings @vnsmiles @dallonwrites @wannabeauthorclive @sienna-writes @violetpeso @flip-phones @silassghost @ambidextrousarcher @zoe-louvre @writing-with-l @magic-is-something-we-create @femmeniism @frozenstillicide @wizardfromthesea @rose-bookblood @coffeeandcalligraphy @rodentwrites @saltwaterbells @snehithiye @at-thezenith

[satoshi-mochida]

Metaphor: ReFantazio ‘ATLUS Exclusive’ introduces locations, traveling on the gauntlet runner, quest dungeons, and Eupha - Gematsu

Publisher ATLUS and developer Studio Zero have released the fifth “ATLUS Exclusive” showcase video for Metaphor: ReFantazio, which introduces several locations players will visit, traveling on the gauntlet runner, quest dungeons, and new party member Eupha.

Metaphor: ReFantazio is due out for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PlayStation 4, and PC via Steam and Microsoft Store on October 11.

Watch the footage below, including a full transcript.

Extended Travel Beyond Fantasy Trailer

English

Japanese

ATLUS Exclusive 5 Showcase

English

Japanese

Transcript:

■ Introduction

Hello everyone, I’m Katsura Hashino, the director of Metaphor: ReFantazio. My representative works include Shin Megami Tensei III, Persona 3, 4, and 5.

In previous showcases, we’ve revealed the general flow of the game, as well as the combat and story elements. In this ATLUS-exclusive showcase, World Tour Edition, we will be going over the “journey” aspects, a wonderful hallmark of fantasy RPGs.

The journey gameplay is what uniquely sets this game apart from the Persona and Shin Megami Tensei series. I’m extremely excited to share the details with you all. For today’s Exclusive Showcase, World Tour Edition, I’ll be sharing brand new, never-before-seen content. For RPG fans as well as those who are first learning about Metaphor through this showcase, I hope you see the fun adventure you can experience through this game.

Without further ado, let us depart to the world of Metaphor: ReFantazio. I hope you stick with us until the very end.

■ The Start of the Journey

First, let us start by reviewing the beginning of the game: the story is set in the United Kingdom of Euchronia. The protagonist is on a mission with his fairy companion, Galica, to save his friend, the prince, from a curse. During his journey, he awakens an Archetype, The Seeker. In order to save the prince, he has to defeat the person who cast it. And not only did they curse the prince, the culprit also assassinated the king. The protagonist travels to the Royal Capital to take him down.

However, upon the king’s death, the king evoked royal magic, which began the Royal Tournament, where the people’s faith is the key to select the next king. As a result, the entire kingdom is thrown into chaos. In all the turmoil, the protagonist makes the decision to participate in the Royal Tournament for the throne, to catch the culprit, Louis. This is how they begin their battle—a journey that takes them all across the kingdom, traveling on a mechanical carriage called the Gauntlet Runner.

■ Old Castle Town Martira

This is a town out in the countryside that the party visits in the beginning of the story. While we designed the game to incrementally increase freedoms for the player, obtaining a Gauntlet Runner after the story prologue increases the player’s ability to travel around.

Let’s explore the town. At each destination are activities unique to that area. In this town, there’s a test of courage where you bungee jump up a cliff. You can also do things like milk cows. Through these activities, you can increase your virtues as a traveler. Increasing these virtues enables you to take on new requests.

It’s up to you, the player, on how you want to spend every single day of your journey before encountering your main quest. Leading up to your main quests, you can strengthen your forces by completing side quests, increase your bonds with your followers, or do activities that increase the protagonist’s virtues. You have the freedom to choose what you want to do each day, much like real life.

If you want to improve your fighting abilities, you can visit the recruitment center to accept side requests called bounties to exterminate monsters. We took on a request to exterminate a monster called Valmo. You get information on its whereabouts, but there’s no need to head out immediately if you’re not prepared for the fight.

This person standing outside looks like he has a request for us. We’ve been asked to buy something from a nearby town. There’s a stop on the way to the labyrinth where the Valmo is, for the extermination request we took on. There’s a lot of people in town that have information. There’s some who will talk to you about the main quest, but in this town, you can also ask about the town’s specialties. Among these people, the informant is particularly valuable for getting intel. They’re useful resources, as you can learn more about rumors as well as the habits of monsters that you might come across. But the information costs money. If you’re confident in your fighting abilities, you could choose to tackle enemies without buying the information beforehand.

Here’s someone who can tell us about how the Royal Tournament is going. The protagonist’s goal is to get closer to Louis, who also has the ability to become king himself because of the royal magic. Let’s see what our current standing is. Looks like we’re quite a ways from being in the public eye. This ranking changes through story development, but it also increases through completing quests.

As you can see, the player has a lot of options on how they want to spend each day of their journey. You can use the online feature, Traveler’s Voices, to see how other players spent that day. You can also use it to reference the party formations of other players who beat the quest you’re tackling. Each player will have their own day-to-day way of progressing through their journey as they move through the story, which is one of the true charms Metaphor offers.

Let’s move on and see how it’s like to travel on a Gauntlet Runner.

■ Traveling on the Gauntlet Runner

Expeditions on the Gauntlet Runner

When you open the map, your allies will give advice on destinations and tell you what the schedule will be. We have two requests to do in Komero, so let’s head there.

It’s dangerous outside of town, so traveling is done by Gauntlet Runner. While on the road, you can do things you might do in real life when on a camper van, such as reading or cooking. How you perform in battle can vary greatly depending on how you decide to prepare yourself while en route somewhere.

Passing Time in the Gauntlet Runner

Your allies have their own things they do while on the Gauntlet Runner. Let’s try talking to Strohl to see what he’s up to. He invited us to do weapon maintenance with him. It looks like maintaining your weapon hones your Courage. By improving your virtues like this, others’ perception of the protagonist changes. It’s particularly indispensable for gaining cooperation from your Followers, so we should do what we can to raise these virtues.

Players are free to choose how they spend their time while on the gauntlet runner. You can make special items in the kitchen, or even do laundry with your allies. Looks like we found an item from the laundry; someone must have been hiding it.

Like how you spend time in town, players can choose what to do and enjoy their journey at a smooth pace. You can also stop by a nearby village if there is one. We got something; let’s go hand it to our ally right away.

We’ve finished our request from Neuras, the gauntlet runner engineer. Thanks to that, we awakened the Gunner Archetype. Completing quests like this is an important factor for deepening your bonds with your followers.

Let’s go buy the eggs that someone requested we get for them. They’re also selling bath salts that you can’t find in town. You can buy valuable items like this on your travels, so you should try visiting as many places as you can.

■ Quest Dungeons

Looks like the gauntlet runner arrived at the labyrinth called “Man-Eater’s Grotto.” Let’s try channeling that Gunner Archetype we just got. The Gunner can attack quickly from afar in Fast Battle, so it’s relatively easy to get an advantage and move to a Squad Battle, even for those who aren’t that good with real-time action.

In Squad Battle, the Gunner shoots ranged physical attacks and also maintains its attack power from the back row. One of the benefits of improving your bonds with your followers is that you can obtain new Archetypes, which gives you more strategies to use in battle in addition to unlocking all kinds of useful abilities you can use in battle.

By the way, you can always return to your base town from the dungeon in an instant, so if you feel underleveled, you can always retreat. If you can’t complete a dungeon within a day, you can set up camp in front of the dungeon and go back to tackling it the next day. However, don’t get too distracted on tackling dungeons that you forget the time limit for your main mission.

In the Belly of the Worm

What we just looked at were dungeons for the mini side quests we have in store for you, but let’s take a look at another kind of dungeon as well. Here’s a first look at a main quest dungeon: it’s the belly of a giant worm, believe it or not! It’s a dungeon with a special time limit since you have to escape before you get digested and dissolve.

There are a lot of creative fantasy dungeons that await you on your journey in Metaphor. We’ve prepared a lot of dungeons, big and small, and we hope you look forward to them. Now then, let’s continue on with the main quest.

Now then, let’s continue on with our journey!

■ Port Brilehaven

Here’s a first look at the town, Port Brilehaven. It’s a lively port town where sailors come and go. First, let’s head towards the port itself. You can see a lot of street stalls lined up.

Let’s take a look at the armor shop. Thanks to one of my followers’ abilities, I can get a discount here. And after talking to the owner, it seems like there’ll be a sale soon.

Here’s the port area. There’s some strange balls of water. There are a lot of strange sights throughout the area of Brilehaven. There’s also a coliseum further inside the city. Can you tell how many things are in store for you to do?

Let’s keep walking. Now we’re in the area where the tavern is. There are a lot of inns, too. Business is booming from people coming in for the Royal Tournament for the throne.

Here is a seafood restaurant, which you might expect from an ocean town.

The more you progress through the story, the more there is for you to do. If you’re unsure about what to do, you can always press teh Ask Gallica button to ask your fairy companion for advice. She’ll always help show you around, like a concierge for your travels.

■ Travel Routines

Planning Your Travel Route

Your travel map will slowly get more and more complex. As you can see on this screen, there are multiple routes you can take to get to the same location. If you visit multiple places in one stretch, the number of days you use will decrease proportionally, but you may end up needing to tackle battle after battle, so you’ll need the power to match. Planning your travel route is another area of the game where you’ll have to strategize carefully.

Campsites

Despite how tough gauntlet runners are, it’s still dangerous to go around at night because of the monsters running free. So at night, the party pause their travels and rest up at a campsite. Here, you can take your pick of nighttime activities, such as having a relaxed conversation with your allies, or taking a bath.

Let’s try taking a soak in the cask tub at the back of the deck. While we’re at it, let’s use the bath salt that we bought at one of the villages before. It has a relaxing effect, which increased the protagonist’s stats. By the way, there are different kinds of bath salts available, which you can find as you travel throughout the land.

Encountering the Scenic Sights

Looks like we came across something. Another pleasure of traveling is coming across scenic sights you’d only see in another world. An ally will draw you a commemoration sketch. If you give it to one of your Followers, a young girl who’s awaiting your return in Grand Trad, will be happy.

■ The Uncharted Isle: Virga Island

Here’s another location reveal: a place called Virga Island. On this island, you can enjoy unique tracks themed after religious music composed by Shoji Meguro, who is well known for his work on the Persona series.

Here, the protagonist makes yet another new encounter. Her name is Eupha, a new ally that’s only now being revealed in this showcase. I wonder what role she plays in the protagonist’s journey. I hope you look forward to learning more about her in the future.

■ Review

So, what do you think? If you had to actually go on a long journey in real life, it wouldn’t be a simple endeavor. Taking that into account, we hope that you enjoy the journey of Metaphor, where you can travel as you please in the comfort of your own home.

Though we’ve largely focused on the profound fantasy elements Metaphor, simply, it is also a game filled with the joys of traveling from town to town, an element we hope for in fantasy RPGs.

Though this title is a rare attempt from us at the fantasy genre, we aim to make this a culmination of the efforts in our previous RPGs.

We hope everyone, including fans familiar with Persona and Shin Megami Tensei, as well as those who love fantasy RPGs, enjoys playing Metaphor.

We’ve shared information on Metaphor‘s world setting and story, battle system, and other aspects of the game in other Showcases. Please feel free to take a look at those if you haven’t already.

The next Exclusive Showcase coming out this fall will reveal exciting new information. Please look forward to it. In addition, Tokyo Game Show 2024 is taking place this fall, and we will be having a large exhibit where we’ll offer a hands-on game experience of Metaphor: ReFantazio. On top of being able to experience the journey gameplay like we introduced today, there will also be another special demo available to play at the event. We’ll release more details related to the event in the future. We look forward to seeing you at Tokyo Game Show.

Once again, Metaphor is scheduled for release this fall on October 11, 2024. Both the physical and digital editions are available for pre-orders, so please pre-order your copy or add it to your wishlist. Along with the standard edition, a Digital Deluxe Edition commemorating the 35th anniversary of the ATLUS brand is also available.

See you at the next ATLUS Exclusive Showcase. Thank you very much for your time today.