#but like. this was my main goal - to read guardian!!! it’s been the goal since day 1!!!

[vanilla-rainbows]

Behold, my ugly sketches! These are random moments from my WIR AU (poorly explained here). I've been feeling a little drained lately, so this is the best I can do at the moment. Though I must admit, working on this silly project has been kind of therapeutic for me. It's not just the act of creating a new character, but King Candy/Turbo in particular is genuinely so much fun to draw (and I think you'll see that for yourself very soon lol).

Also, I cannot fully express how thankful I am for all your nice comments and tags 🥹. They really motivate me to work even harder.

Under the cut I included a bit of an explanation on Luna's character, if you want to read it!

As I said before, her name is Luna and she's been present in the arcade since the '80s.

Knowing that Fix-it Felix Jr. took inspiration from the first Donkey Kong, I wanted to do something similar with another great classic. And I'm a huge Zelda fan, so...

I know the first Zelda game didn't exactly release for the arcade, but the idea was too tempting for me. Later on I discovered Gauntlet, an actual arcade game very similar in concept to what I had in mind. And so I tried to design a character that could belong in an ipotetical adventure game but with a cute, simple aesthetic. I'm definetely no expert when it comes to retro gaming, so I apologize if my design doesn't look very accurate. All I can say is that AT LEAST I tried to make her design believable to the movie.

In her first sketches she looked a lot like Link, and while that could have been considered ok given my goal, I didn't want to simply make a copy. Ralph and Felix are inspired by Donkey Kong and Mario, but they don't look like them. So I tried incorporating new elements that could help distinguishing her more. She became less of a warrior and more of a mage. Her weapon went from being an ultra powerful axe to a magic paintbrush that could also serve as a broom to fly on. I'm still not sure on this one though. I like the concept, but I wonder if it isn't a bit too much.

On the topic of the game itself, I'm still debating a few things, but here's the core idea behind it: I'd like to explore what happens when a game just… isn’t played anymore. At least like it used to in the past. And its characters are are faced with the prospect of losing their home and purpose forever. That's definetely going to be one of the main conflicts of my AU (and the thing that makes Luna's decision to be Turbo/KC's guardian a controversial one - she just made everything worse).

That's all for now. Take care everyone, I'll be back 😈.

[hellfire--cult]

Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader {Dark fic}

wc: 4.5k

+18 MDNI kissing, pining, gore, mur*der, blood, vom*it, weapons, knives, guns, axes, traps, fear of getting kill*ed, panic attacks, sex mention, creepyness in all of its glory - Do not read if you are not comfortable with one of the above.

Plot: You and your friends go to Steve Harrington's summer home. Your goal is to make Eddie stop seeing you as a friend, but it seems the night has other plans for the both of you.

A/N: read end of the chapter for my comment.

please reblog thank you.

DON'T LEAVE ME

It was all decided by Steve. 

They would all go to his summer house, which was on the nearest edge of Lake Jordan to his actual home. It was just a 30 minute drive from his backyard to that other house that had a dock of its own and a speedboat for two. 

Robin, Nancy, Chrissy, Eddie, Steve, Billy and you. You were the newest one in the group, having moved to Hawkins by yourself to escape an abusive mother. You were quiet, but outgoing if engaged properly. 

There were times where you felt out of loop from the group as they told stories to one another, stories you never participated in, but there was one person in this group that always made you feel welcome, and explained to you in extreme detail everything about those stories. 

Eddie Munson.

He was always on the lookout for you, being charming, and always ready to grab your hand if you needed help. He had this goofy side you found endearing, beautiful even, and then his harsh persona. The other quality Eddie has. A protector. A guardian, of some sort. So protective of all of you.

You were instantly in love with him. How could you not? Robin and Chrissy have been teasing you about it since you met him, telling you that your eyes were in the shape of hearts. But you knew that Eddie didn’t look at you in the same way you looked at him.

You were hoping that this trip would change that. 

“Okay, so, there’s four rooms, so let’s split up, I’ll take the main room, obviously, Eddie and Billy?” Said men nodded to each other after a roll of their eyes towards Steve’s commands. 

“Why do you get the master bedroom?” Eddie asked him with a mocking tone and Steve just scoffed at him with a smirk to the face.

“I am the owner of this house Munson.” Steve then looked at all the girls and just waited until you all looked at one another.

“Robin can go with Chrissy.” Nancy immediately answered and you turned to see Robin’s face turn into a deep red, and you stifled a giggle in your throat. Chrissy played it better and looked away so that no one could see her face.

“Then it’s settled.” Steve smiled as he opened the door to his house and you all stepped into the living room, amazed by how spotless it all was. The Harrington’s probably hire a maid for both houses, or two maids. He really is a show off. 

You looked at Nancy and she was with a smile on her face as she looked around. She didn’t seem phased that Jonathan couldn’t come, and you would have to be dumb to not notice it. She is sleeping with Steve, cheating on Jonathan. You shared a knowing look with Eddie, who only sighed at the situation.

You both didn’t like what they were doing, but Eddie even more so because Jonathan is a friend of his. His best friend is Steve though, so even if he hurts him to hide this from Jonathan, Steve comes first. 

“Damn Harrington. Way to show it off.” Billy finally talked as he put his bag on the floor. You licked your lips as you stared at all the pictures on the wall, until you felt someone stand right next to you.

“You’ve been awfully quiet.” You jumped up as you turned your head to look at a dimpled smile that was directed your way, making you flush all over from nervousness as you heard your heartbeat right in your eardrum.

“I-I… It’s the first time after many years that I… spent a weekend with friends…” Was your short reply, to which Eddie hummed. He put his arm around your shoulders, surprising you completely with a gasp as he pulled you to his side.

“Well! I’m gonna make it a memorable one! We’re gonna sing around the bonfire, singing Kumbaya, and if we are feeling feisty… Burnt marshmallows.” He wiggled his eyebrows at you and you couldn't help but giggle at him. He would always do this for you, loosening up your nerves before you explode.

“That sounds thrilling.” You replied to him which only made his grin even wider.

“You have no idea.” 

“Do yall think people get murdered here?” Everyone immediately spat whatever they were drinking, and looked at the culprit of the question. Robin looked up from her can to see you all staring at her and she shrugged her shoulders, “What?”

“I don’t think it’s the appropriate question to ask in the middle of the woods Robin…” Nancy reprimanded her friend as Chrissy sighed, taking a long sip of her beer.

“It’s the perfect place for killing though.” Billy was the one that talked now and Steve slapped him on the arm, making Billy glare at him. Eddie, though, saw everyone’s faces and continued with a smile on his own.

“A long lake too… maybe very, very, very deep. Just one heavy stone on their body and poof.” You shivered at his words because he sounded just way too casual about it. Billy laughed at his friend as Nancy just stared wide eyed at both men while Steve pinched his eyelids with his index finger and thumb. 

“You’re both insufferable.” Steve said as he took a hit from his joint and you were feeling uneasy now. You pressed your side against Eddie’s to be able to whisper into his ear. 

“There… There are no killers around… right?” Eddie looked at you with a regretful expression on his face as he whispered back.

“Oh sweetheart, no, I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to scare you…” He frowned in worry and you nodded at him in understanding but still biting on your thumb in fear. Nancy is most likely going to leave you alone tonight to sleep with Steve. You really don’t understand why they keep it secret when all the group knows about the two of them.

“Alright…” Is all you mustered to say. You were fidgety and Eddie could see it in the way you played with your fingers. You jumped when you felt his hand wrap around both of yours, and then sneaked in between to be able to hold one of them.

Your heart was thumping in your chest, and you looked down in case he could see any indication that you were growing flustered and nervous because of his touch. You were afraid he could see your real feelings for him with just one look to your face.

Your eyes dared to look up, only to see him looking towards Chrissy’s way, making your heart just fall right down to your stomach. Robin told you that Eddie had confessed to Chrissy last year, but she had rejected him. They both took some time off from each other but then remained friends after the feelings were supposedly gone.

You really didn’t know if Eddie’s feelings were completely gone. You were certain he would never look at you the way he looks at Chrissy, and maybe he is also hurting because Robin and Chrissy now have feelings for one another, even if they are oblivious about it.

“Okay kitties, if you’re going to bed, remember to shut your windows.” Billy joked and everyone else, including you, groaned as he stood up with a smirk on his face and walked inside the house.

You were making coffee the next day as Robin whined about not having been able to sleep for a long while.

“They just tried to keep quiet and failed so much. I could hear Nancy go ‘Harder Steve!’ every second!” She sighed and took a sip of the mug you just gave her as you kept making more for everyone else in the home. You did hear the moans as well, but then they abruptly stopped. 

“Well, at least they got tired at some point.” You replied to her with an understanding frown and a smile to your lips as she kept sipping on her caffeine. You heard footsteps coming down followed by some giggling and you felt your stomach flip as you saw Eddie and Chrissy laughing with each other as they walked downstairs.

You are never going to be able to compete against her. There really was no use in trying to do so when Eddie looked at her like that. You were never going to win, not when Chrissy is right next to him.

“I smell coffee.” Eddie grinned as he walked over to the counter, grabbing onto one of the mugs you filled and you stopped him from taking it to his lips. You felt your body heat up as well as your cheeks as you pointed onto the red mug.

“That’s– That’s yours… I put milk in it…” You looked back down to the coffee pot and you turned to put it back into the machine. Was it too weird you knew how he takes his coffee? It is, isn’t it? He is not saying anything. You shouldn’t have stopped him–

“Wow, thank you darling…” Eddie smiled towards the back of your head as he grabbed onto the red mug as Chrissy sat next to Robin, giving her a kiss on the cheek. That made your hopes rise up again as you watched them. Maybe they’re together now? But Eddie– You don’t dare to look at Eddie’s face, just in case you see a face that shows pain, jealousy…

“Are the other three not up yet?” You heard Chrissy ask, making you turn around and tilt your head in confusion. You look up at the clock and see it was already 11 AM and you had all planned to go to the lake today at an early hour. 

“I’ll go wake them up! I will fucking yell into the room to get them back for yesterday!” Robin yelled excitedly, making you giggle along Chrissy as you saw her jump up from her seat and rush upstairs. 

“She is such a dork.” Chrissy blushed as she took a sip of her own mug and Eddie nodded at that and took a sip of his. You took a deep breath onto your own coffee, taking a long chug of it after a sleepless night as well, and you almost choked when there was a guttural scream coming from upstairs.

The three of you slammed the mugs onto the counters and looked at each other as Eddie was the first one to run up the stairs towards where Robin was. Steve’s room. Chrissy and you followed right behind, fear striking your whole body as you finally reached the scene.

On the bed, Nancy’s naked body laid on top of Steve’s, but there was an ax cutting through Nancy’s neck, all the way down onto Steve’s neck, decapitating the both of them in one single swing. The blood was sipping into the mattress and it had saturated so much that it started to drip onto the floor. 

Your eyes filled with tears as you slammed a hand over your mouth and that’s when you felt the gag coming to your throat. You couldn’t keep it in and you rushed out of the room in order to be able to throw up the contents in your stomach onto one corner of the hallway. 

Robin was sobbing loudly as she grabbed onto her hair while Eddie ran his hand through his. Chrissy was frozen and was feeling nauseous at the gorey scene, fear and uneasiness filled the group and Eddie ran out of the room to go check on you.

Your hand was against the wall as you balanced yourself, still bending your body forward as you gagged once more. He put a hand on your back and you snapped your head to look at him in fear. His breathing was heavy as he looked into your eyes and you knew that he was just as scared as you were. 

He raised his head up as if remembering something, and then he turned in a frantic motion and almost fell on the hallway as he rushed towards his room. He started cursing into the air as he paced back and forth, his hands running through his hair. You heard him and followed him as Chrissy and Robin followed behind you in order to not be left behind with the rotting corpses of your two friends.

“B-Billy… He wasn’t here at night! I woke up to go to the bathroom, and I thought he was out having a smoke, and I woke up today– And he is still gone!” He yelled at all of you and you shakily grabbed onto Eddie’s hand, looking up at him.

“D-Do we– look for him?” Eddie looked down at you and then back at Robin and Chrissy who were still holding onto each other as Robin bawled her eyes out, screams coming out of her lungs. 

“W-What if he was the one who did all this?” Chrissy asked and Eddie and you snapped your heads towards her. It might be a possibility, but what if it isn’t and Billy is suffering somewhere in the woods all by himself?

“We have to look for him, we can’t leave without him– We– We don’t know if it was him!” Eddie stated and Robin nodded at that, wiping her tears away. Even if filled with fear, she wants to avenge her friends, try to save one of them, and then go to the police so they find the murderer.

“Let’s look for Billy. We need weapons.” 

And that’s how you found yourself holding onto a gun, while Eddie had a machete, and Robin and Chrissy had hunting knives. These were all found in one of the rooms inside of the house, probably for Steve’s father and his hunting trips. 

You all walked out of the house and looked forward into the woods. You shared a look with Eddie and he gave you an encouraging nod. You turned your head to look forward and saw Chrissy and Robin already walking ahead, making you gasp slightly in fear of being left behind.

“I’m here. Don’t worry… I’m not gonna let you walk alone.” You looked back at Eddie as he grabbed onto your hand, and you could feel how sweaty he was. He wasn’t going to admit how scared he was, how frightening everything was, and how he cannot even grieve for his friends that were murdered a few hours ago. 

You both walked a few meters away from Robin and Chrissy, who were yelling for Billy. Chrissy turned her head to see something moving in a bush, and she rushed towards it only for something to snap on her calves, as if she had cut a string of some sort, walking right through it. 

Robin’s eyes widened as she screamed Chrissy’s name, when from the top of another tree, a sharp thick branch, like a spear, came falling down like a pendulum thanks to a rope. Chrissy turned her body, only to be pierced by the branch right on her sternum and sent her flying, slamming her body against another tree, nailing her to the bark of it as her feet dangled in the air.

You screamed at the sight and Eddie followed right after as the two of you saw what had just happened to your friend who was coughing blood while her body trembled in shock. Robin ran towards her, wanting to get to her body, only for you to see her disappear with a scream and then it stopped. 

Eddie was stunned as the blood drained from his body, and he used his machete in front of him to swipe around as he guided you both towards the scene. You looked at Chrissy’s still body now against the tree, slamming your hand against your mouth as tears filled your eyes, only to then be stopped by Eddie’s hand as he looked down. You wished you didn’t look down like he did.

There was a hole. A trap. And Robin fell right into it, and at the bottom were many knives  that stuck out from under the dirt, sharp points up. One in particular had pierced her neck, killing her instantly. A sob escaped your lips as you grabbed onto Eddie’s arm, making him look at you.

Your eyes widened when you saw the tears coming down his eyes and you noticed just how frightened he really was. The need to scream and run away was apparent in his features and you just wanted to hug him, even if you were shaking as well from the whole ordeal. Someone had to think straight in the situation–

“Eddie– Eddie– Listen to me…” You licked your lips as you held onto his face with both hands, and you looked around the woods with a desperate look and then back at him, “Here’s what we’re going to do… We’re gonna go back to the house, we’re gonna call the cops, and we will wait there– I– I don’t know if the woods have more traps or not Eddie–” 

You were trying to hold the sobs in and Eddie felt like dying right then and there. There might be traps in the woods, so now, they are stuck in the house. Stuck in a house that has two rotting corpses on the second floor. And the worst part of it all… Billy was still missing.

“God– Fucking damnit, lets go…” He managed to choke out his words and the both of you returned to the home, and immediately rushed into the office room, where you both knew there was no place for hiding in case the murderer had come inside the home when you two were out in the woods.

The second you two locked the office door, you rushed towards the phone only to find it disconnected, no tone on the other side of the tube. You felt tears burning your eyes as you slammed the phone down, hands running through your hair in frustration and fear. You looked at Eddie with a dejected look on your face and he sighed as he took a seat on the floor.

Gladly there was a water dispenser inside the room and some plastic cups. Eddie let you serve the water as his eyes were distant, stuck to the ground as he hugged his knees while sitting against the wall. Of all the things that could have happened, losing his friends in such a way was not something he expected. 

He just wanted to have fun this weekend, smoke a joint, have a few beers, and now his life is in danger because there is a murderer outside of the house, or worse, inside. You turned around as you sat down next to him, handing him the cup of water. 

“I just… I just wanted to have fun– How did it end up like this?” Eddie asked out of nowhere and you looked at him and then back at the water in your hand. 

“I– I have so much I want to do… So much I haven’t done.” You managed to mumble out of your lips and Eddie turned to look at you. 

“Like what?”

“My first kiss…” You can’t even flush in embarrassment now. You don’t have time to have the delight of feeling embarrassed about that fact of your 20 year old life. “I know– I just… I am not a very outgoing person… so…”

Eddie was stunned at your confession. He always thought you were pretty, so he can’t really imagine you not getting a kiss in some part of your life. Regardless, he nodded in understanding at you, and scanned your face for a while.

“Shit, I was going to say I never tried Arabian food, but yours is way more important than that.” He made you snort out a giggle and he took a sip of his water. He scooted closer to you as nervousness filled him, but there’s really nothing left to lose now. “I can give you your first kiss if you want.” 

Your eyes widened at that, head turning to look at him and he was surprised to see the excitement and the sparkle in your eyes as if you were looking at him with complete adoration– And you were.

“You would… do that for me?” 

“Of course. Just close your eyes sweetheart.” Your heart was jumping out of your chest as you closed your eyes, anticipating his touch. He noticed how right you were, which made his heart skip a beat as his cheeks flushed red. He leaned down towards your face, and you gasped slightly when you felt his lips flush with yours.

It was a very minuscule movement of lips because he didn’t want to overwhelm you. He didn’t want to go forward any more than that, so he pulled away and opened his eyes to scan your face. You looked dazed as you slowly opened your eyes as well, looking into his. A smile broke on your face as you got hold of his hand that was pressed onto the floor for support.

“Thank you Eddie.” He smiled back at you and then sighed.

“You don’t happen to have Kebab or Shawarma in your pocket, right?” You laughed at that and he joined soon after, only to feel his eyelids start to feel heavy. He knew sleepiness was going to catch him soon, and by how you pressed your head on his shoulder, he knew it was getting to you as well.

And he couldn’t help himself when he closed his eyes, drifting completely away as darkness consumed him. He dreamed he was back in his trailer, sharing a coffee with Wayne in the morning light before he went to work. All was good, all was fine. Maybe the trip was the dream and he was in his trailer, on his bed, strumming his guitar and tuning it.

But dreams sometimes are cut short.

“Eddie…”

“Eddie…”

“EDDIE!”

He jolted awake, and he turned to see you standing, gun pointing at the door. He saw you shaking as you kept guard on it and that’s when Eddie heard it. Footsteps. Very heavy footsteps. They were coming closer, and closer and he quickly stood up, getting hold of his machete as he pointed it at the door. 

His hand was sweaty, and his lips were trembling in fear, very much like yours. You were filled with dread, wondering if you could come out alive from this. Wondering if everything was going to be okay. You looked to the side and saw Eddie was starting to sweat, and you knew he was about to have a panic attack. 

You turned to him, and grabbed his wrist, that was holding the machete and you raised it up in order to stabilize him. He was breathing heavily as he looked at you. The person behind the door stopped walking and the both of you kept staring at one another.

“What… What if he has a gun?” He whispered to you and you kept grabbing onto his wrist when you still felt him shake. You were afraid he would accidentally swing it towards your face but you kept him in place as best as you could while your other hand held the gun.

“I have one too… Just– focus Eddie–” The door suddenly slammed open by an immense force that the two of you didn’t think was possible. Your heads turned to see the person that came in, as he panted, huffed, and his eyes screamed anger, murder.

Billy.

His blue irises went wide and he raised his hand to reveal a kitchen knife. He instantly went for Eddie, charging at him with a yell, and Eddie couldn’t react fast enough as his eyes widened. He was shocked at the revelation that his friend was the culprit of everything.

Eddie might not have had a quick reaction. But you did. You immediately pointed the gun at Billy, and shot him right in the chest as you let out a whimper through your lips at the sound. Billy stumbled back as he looked up at you, a frown displayed in his face as he touched the wound that was now leaking blood all over his white tank top. 

Your hand was shaking as you still pointed it at your friend. Tears started running down your face as you saw him take another step forward towards the both of you, and you pressed the trigger again, this time the bullet going through his stomach. He coughed blood out of his mouth and that’s when he tried to talk, to say something, but only a groan came out before he slumped to the floor. A last breath could be heard, and then it was all over.

You were breathing heavily, walking towards the body and crouching to touch his pulse. The gravity of your actions settled in and you dropped the gun to the floor, jumping back up as you took many steps back. Eddie was still staring down at his dead friend, and then his eyes turned to look at you. A wave of relief washed over him as he pulled you into a tight hug, his weapon also dropping onto the floor.

“We’re safe– You saved us…” He couldn’t contain the tears any longer, feeling a wave of relief washing over him as he held onto you. He started sobbing onto your shoulder as you wrapped your arms around him, your own tears staining his shirt.

“I– I– I killed him– I killed someone–” You were huffing, trying to get air into your throat and lungs and Eddie only pressed his body against yours even closer.

“I’ll be here… I’ll be here for you– Just, please don’t leave me… Don’t go away, please–” He was afraid for you. He doesn’t know how the two of you would handle the trauma you just went through, but he knew that he doesn’t want to go through it all by himself. He needs you with him. 

“I promise… If you promise me you won’t leave me as well…” You sniffed against his shoulder, calming down from the events and you felt him nod very quickly.

“I promise.”

You two were now in the back of a police car as the men looked all over the home, and the ambulances started taking each body one by one.

“Why do you think Billy did it?” You asked Eddie who was holding your hand tightly in his.

“I… I have no clue…” 

“I’m glad you’re here with me Eddie…” You said to him as your grip tightened around him. He looked over at you, scooting closer as his head rested atop of yours. 

“We should start checking our bucket lists together…” He tried to make the mood less somber and you let out a scoff, but a smile was drawn to your lips, your finger intertwining with his.

“Even if they take forever to tick?” You asked him and he nodded.

“Yes…”

Your smile... turned into a creepy wide grin, showing all of your teeth.

You finally made Eddie’s feelings change, making this trip a success.

But you will never tell him the truth.

You won’t ever tell him that it was you the one who sneaked into Steve and Nancy having sex and slamming the ax over their necks.

You won’t ever tell him it was you the one who set the traps in the woods at night after murdering your other two friends.

You won’t ever tell him that you also slipped some of the smashed sleeping pill into the water, just enough for him to doze off.

You won’t ever tell him that you had drugged Billy and locked him in the basement with a note that said ‘It was me - Eddie’.

That’s why Billy had charged after him that night… and you won’t ever tell Eddie that when you went to take Billy’s pulse, you had snaked the note out of his back pocket, to then eat it up without him noticing as the police questioned him.

You won’t ever tell him it was you.

Not even when you both got married. Not even when you had your first child. 

The trip will always remain a success.

All according to plan.

a/n: oh yeah, yandere!reader, killer!reader, but I wasn't going to put that at the top because ofc, the plot twist would have been revealed too early.

I hope you liked this creepy little thing I wrote, woohoo, happy halloween I guess

[yours-the-author]

Super Danganronpa: Goodbye Despair Extended Zodiac: My Thoughts

Hey gamers, I'm back on my weird fixation again. Time to buckle up, 'cause we're doing more zodiac shenanigans for the dangan-boys and dangan-girls! I've explained the concept several times now, so you probably don't need me to do it again.

In fact, I think I'll include links to the previous posts I made on this topic, as well as the V3 edition whenever that gets done in the future. I'm going to put it above the Keep Reading line, in case you want to avoid scrolling through spoilers. Here they are:

Trigger Happy Havoc

Masterminds

Goodbye Despair (You are here!)

Killing Harmony

Enough of that now; let's get started! Danganronpa spoilers inbound!

Hajime Hinata - January 1

Capries - Sign of the Bold (Capricorn, Derse, Time)

Born on the first day of the year, Hajime is a Capricorn! Capricorns do everything they can to achieve their goal, no matter how hard they have to work. They can also be selective about who they share their goals with, especially if, logically, they know it's not the best plan.

This is Hajime to a T, especially in the Despair Arc of the anime. He's worked hard to become a student of Hope's Peak Academy, even if he can only attend as a Reserve Course student, but that's not enough: he wants to be talented, to be a true and accepted Ultimate at the academy, and he's willing to make tough decisions in order to reach that dream... namely, a lot of terrible decisions. He throws away who he is as a person to become a talent lab rat, which in turn leads to the events that causes the Biggest Most Awful Most Tragic Event in Human History. The one person he shared his goals with was Chiaki, and and though he likely knew her advice was sound, he wouldn't give up. Or maybe he couldn't?

Next is Lunar Sway, and I chose Derse for Hajime. Skeptical, introverted, and an inherent need to rebel against the system of Talented vs Untalented by becoming talented through artificial means; Hajime's pretty cut and dry. It can also be hard for him to appreciate the present moment, as seen in the prologue of Goodbye Despair where he refuses to join the others in enjoying the beach. And, of course, by the time he feels ready to participate, the Killing Game begins. His Derse traits fit here quite nicely, too.

Next comes his aspect, which was a bit of a difficult decision, but I eventually ended up with Time (other choices were blood, doom, and heart, surprisingly). Time players feel a constant struggle in their lives, literal or metaphorical, and if that isn't Hajime Hinata's life story right there, I don't know what is. His lack of talent, and the self-esteem issues that stem from that, make life quite difficult for Hajime. Despite working hard and paying a lot of money, he's "only" a Reserve Course student (which has always felt weird to me? Like, there's a huge tuition fee and massive tests and exams in order to get in; they may not be Ultimates, but they're definitely talented). Not only does this wear away at his emotional stability, but there's that one scene in the anime where a teacher beats him up when he tries to enter the main campus! Who knows how many times that happened offscreen! Also like a Time player, Hajime is a relentless problem solver (makes sense, since he's a protagonist) AND impulsive. Seriously, none of the adults in his personal life (parents or guardians) nixed the thought of Hajime doing the Hope Cultivation Project? Not one? He's either a good liar or he has even more struggles than I realized.

Lastly, his word: the Bold. I wasn't sure about this one at first; Hajime can certainly be courageous when he needs to be, but confident? Only if the class trial demands it. The key that made me chose this word, though, was the fact that he's very willing to take risks. I don't know the full extent of how he became a lab rat, but there must have been some discussion of risks, even if they were downplayed considerably. It didn't matter to Hajime, though. No matter what price he'd have to pay, fiscally or physically, he would do anything to become an Ultimate student. And he did.

---

Chiaki Nanami - March 14

Pimino - Sign of the Empathetic (Pisces, Prospit, Doom)

Interesting fact, apparently Chiaki shares the same birthday as Chihiro Fujisaki from THH, which makes them both Pisces! We're only going to talk about Chiaki today, though.

Pisces people often have an enigmatic and otherworldly quality about them, though a lot of that is because they like to daydream and get lost in their own thoughts. Chiaki's quiet but rational nature is often hidden by her tendency to sleep standing up and focus on her videogames, and, as it turns out in Goodbye Despair, there IS something otherworldly about her: she isn't human! Even when she was still alive, her kindness to and friendship with Hajime stuck around even after he became Izuru, and though he didn't remember who she was, she managed to do something quite enigmatic: she made him cry at her death. Alive or not, Chiaki has something special about her that suits a Pisces perfectly.

For Lunar Sway, I gave Chiaki Prospit, which may seem a bit odd, but hear me out. While it's true she's more introverted and less likely to make huge reactions, like a Derse dreamer would be, that's just because that's her honest personality. Prospit dreamers don't always have control over how they present themselves to the world; they exist as they are, even if they're naturally quiet people. Prospit dreamers also have difficulty with deception. Though Chiaki physically couldn't reveal her role as the "traitor" in Goodbye Despair, she didn't do much to keep it a secret, either. She willingly put her student handbook on Nagito's bomb, which he claimed could only be done by the traitor, and once the purpose of Nagito's death was revealed, Chiaki desperately did her best to reveal what she was so that the others could survive. Very Prospit-like, in her own way.

Doom players "are fate's chosen sufferers." Given all the horrible things Chiaki goes through in both the anime and Goodbye Despair, this one's pretty straightforward. And while she might not be able to directly help someone in trouble, she's a very willing sounding board for anyone who needs to vent (namely Hajime). She puts the company in "misery loves company", with the wisdom, kindness, and non-judgmental attitude to go with it.

Finally, Chiaki's word: the Empathetic. This plays off of a lot of what I already said, but it's further proven with her death in the anime: despite actively dying in a super painful way, she cries because she's worried about her classmates and Hajime. She wants nothing more to live so they can all be friends and play videogames together. She knows the impact she has on her classmates and the respect and care they have for her, so she knows her death will leave a terrible impact and she worries what the aftermath will look like for them. Sadly, it was probably worse than she thought it would be.

---

Nagito Komaeda - April 28

Taurius - Sign of the Unmapped (Taurus, Derse, Hope)

Born on either the rainiest day of April or the driest April in years (depending on his luck), Nagito is a Taurus!

This... probably seems like an odd choice for Nagito. It certainly felt that way to me at first, since Taurus' are typically openhearted and withdrawn. Much like Byakuya from THH, though, it all comes down to stubbornness. Nagito is one of the most stubborn characters in the series, tying himself to the powers of Hope and Talent even when no one else sees things his way. Despite how close he acted with Hajime before the fourth class trial, the second he found out Hajime didn't have a talent, Hajime became dirt beneath his shoe. I wonder to myself how much of that was Nagito's honest feelings or just his strict adherence to his code of Hope; especially considering his special episode in the anime, where he wakes up from the NEO World Program with Hajime/Izuru's help. His deepest desire seems to be a world without talent (and by extension, a world without separation of talented and talentless), but he's quick to deny such a concept when he awakens. Is he stubbornly against talentless people for real, or is it simply a way of thinking he can't let go of? Who knows?

Next, the Lunar Sway: Nagito's fairly clearly a Derse dreamer. Nagito is acts very humble- often to an annoying degree- but his statements don't always feel so honest; some false humility, perhaps? He also has an odd sense of humor, and can be incredibly shrewd and calculating. While he claims that his talent "sucks", he still knows how to put it to good use, constructing a convoluted death trap for himself that will identify the traitor. And it works... to a point. Just his luck that Chiaki had faith in her friends and wanted them to survive, huh?

I really, REALLY didn't want to do this; I know he'd be freaking out right now if he were real, but unfortunately it seems to be one of the better fits, especially with his word. Nagito is... a Hope player (collective groan). The Hope bound are driven by their convictions, their idea of what is "right" and "wrong", even if it's not the conventional definitions. As mentioned in the Taurus paragraph, Nagito is tied down to his ideal of Hope and Talent being the ruling forces of the world. He's also not adverse to destruction in order to enforce that ideal; he brings a bomb to school to try and cancel exams because stressing out the other Ultimates will make them feel hopeless, or something along those lines. He very much knows that it's not appropriate to do that, but he's gotta do what he's gotta do to bring forth all of that hope. Though these ideals can make him narrow-minded and selfish, there are instances where he can be positive, warm, and even caring! Misguided and wrong as his methods were, Nagito did really want to help his classmates when they were feeling stressed. Well, at least he can have some hope in the form of being a Hope player in some rando's (me) Extended Zodiac discussion.

Finally, his word, which is what won me over to making him Hope: the Unmapped. While this world usually refers to geographical or even genetic uncertainty, it can be used here to describe Nagito's thought process. During the Funhouse arc in Goodbye Despair, the players gets to control Nagito for a bit, and we get a look at how he thinks vs what he says: a whole lot of thinking, not a whole lot of explaining his reasoning aloud. He's a complete mystery to everyone around him, like an uncharted map.

---

Lastly, I'm going to do my favorite character in Goodbye Despair (and then I'm going to go to BED! I keep forgetting how much work these posts are until after I start them. Anyway, put your hands together for:

Peko Pekoyama - June 30

Canittarius - Sign of the Striking (Cancer, Derse, Void)

A quiet swordswoman with an intense loyalty to her special one? Yeah, sounds like my kind of character. Anyway, Peko Pekoyama is a Cancer!

Resolute but surprisingly emotional, Cancers tend to create a hard outer shell to protect their soft and sweet insides. In Peko's case, she cares highly for Fuyuhiko, but thinks that such feelings are wrong for her to have since she's merely a tool to him (from her perspective). Thus, she creates a solemn and loyal personality befitting a piece of equipment like her, though she likely longs for something more from her young master.

In a similar way, Derse makes a lot of sense for her Lunar Sway. Cerebral and less inclined to vulnerability, a swordswoman like her needs to be able to calculate the best path to victory. Those skills are probably also useful for her social "life" as a pseudo member of a Yakuza family. Careful thinking and choosing your words carefully probably goes a long way.

Then the Aspect, which was rather difficult to decide on, but I finally chose Void. Void players are wise and intuitive people, but can also seem dismissive and apathetic. Peko decides to become Fuyuhiko's "murder weapon" in a clever attempt to help him survive, but in doing so, she's completely dismissive of what he wants until it's too late. And during her execution, she acts on instinct: the second Fuyuhiko is in danger- especially at her own hand- she stops fighting and uses the last of her strength to keep him alive. A very intuitive choice, indeed.

Finally her word: the Striking. Yes, this is a pun on how she strikes people with her bamboo sword, but her attempts to swindle the other characters into voting for the "wrong murderer" involve extreme, attention-grabbing methods: putting on a show as Sparkling Justice, the serial killer, and convincing people to make the "wrong choice". Of course, that's not the way it played out, but her attempts were certainly striking in their own way.

---

...And, those are my opinions! I'd definitely love to hear your thoughts and/or own opinions about which combinations fit better, so feel free to say something if you feel so inclined. I'm going to bed, it's late where I am and I've got a busy morning ahead of me. See you around!

[lemonflavourart]

Meet LIBERTA

Soooo finally I can talk about my babygirl:

This is Liberta, CrossFrisk's shipchild, she has XFrisk's appearance and Cross's white hair, with the soul fused by both of theirs

I posted a beta des of her before and got a little change

In a alternative universe where Cross Frisk had been together in the first timelines and got break up after (by Frisk alone because Cross didn't even remembered they had been lover)

The story went on until one day Ink suddenly read the notes he wrote when he still played with XGaster and his experiments

After got the OVERWRITE button, the first thing Frisk tried to do was making copies of his and Cross's soul, then tried to fused them together.

But before the process was completed, Frisk stoped that out of nowhere and put it deep down into the OVERWRITE button.

Ink, as a guardian watching everything, he noted that down and forgot about it after that.

The process still be paused, lying inside the button Cross holding, he couldn't use the button to do anything, so that was Ink who went and asked for help from XGaster (since Cross refused to have anything to do with him)

XGaster gave him another button which can help him continue the pausing process of Frisk, nothing more, so XGaster couldn't do anything with the fused soul either.

After a (very) long time considering and talking with others, and thinking about things between him and Frisk, Cross finally had the courage to press the CONTINUE button.

And that's how their daughter was born, since her soul was fused by both of theirs, she had the memories from them, about XGaster and Xtale. But she didn't have any emotions about those, it just like watching a long movie from afar, you can know what happen but hardly get their feeling, not to mention the memories also slowly fazing along with her growing.

About power, her strengths are physical strength and fighting with weapons.

She can summon any weapons she can image of, due to that, she knows quite a bit about weapons and how to use them, and grew a liking, especially about bombs and anything can explode.

Sadly, she can't summon Gaster Blaster.

At her younger days, she couldn't know what her best is, so she tried to learn everything, much as she could, so she knows quite a lot, from combat to daily work, from repairing machinery and components to skillful work, but not so proficiently.

Baking is one of those, in fact, she quite likes it, so she turned it into a change to make some money. She made a small online bake shop and sales her baking (mostly to acquaintances)

But it still is her side hobby, her main goal are traveling everywhere and discovering everything.

She used to go with her Dad to an AU, where the land almost was a vast desert. She sat in a roofless off-road car, ran through the desert. Her hair flied in the wind and the heat burned her face along with the dust and sand. She loves that feeling, and wants to tried more. So beside her schooling, she always follows everyone to other AUs whenever she has chance.

Anddddd that's all for now, hope you enjoy and love her as I do <3

[moonfurthetemmie]

this has been sitting in my drafts since the beginning of the month and i don't know why. it looks like everything's here

im going to blame @nom-de-plume-system for causing a good chunk of these thoughts.

Initially it started because i was rereading that H!DS/DS crossover fic I started and dropped ages and ages ago. I had made some offhand comment/joke about Nightmare selling his kidneys for something nice for Kevin.

but now I know that in OG dreamtale, guardians/spirits are very durable and have some really impressive regeneration. And that one-off joke got me thinking.

Hypothetically, a human-like spirit (such as DS Nightmare) could donate most of their organs, pretty much indefinitely. They'd have to wait for them to regenerate, obviously, but...mmmost of their organs they could get removed and live. Brain's an obvious no, heart's almost definitely a no. One lung is survivable, but both is iffy at best. Anything else isn't vital enough to cause serious damage for the (relatively) short period of time before they regenerate.

I mentioned this in the discord server we're in. For now, I will spare you the hypotheticals about how it would work for the receiver, and thoughts on the possible complications of getting an organ from a semi-immortal being with crazy regeneration, and skip to the fun part:

Horror!Dreamswap. The Delusional ending.

We made it worse.

I have officially dubbed this variant "Delusional Organ Donor"

Pluto's having a bad time but thinks he's fine

Gouge is having a GREAT time and knows it

Delusion has somehow managed to become more delusional

do you see where i'm going with this. Read the tags, and if you're prepared for some dark shit then buckle up

cracks knuckles

Let me lay down some 'rules' that were made for how this organ removal works for guardians.

As I said, the brain is absolutely a no. But most other things can be done.

The less vital the organ is, the slower it regenerates. Lungs regenerate quite fast. Gallbladder...eh. Maybe a couple of days.

They can also, generally speaking, feel that these things are missing. More important organs especially so, though what exactly this feels like very much depends on what the thing is. The most notable ones are large organs and vital organs.

I'm still not entirely sure on whether or not they'd survive their heart being removed, but I did figure out what it would be like if they could.

Firstly, they would still slowly 'die.'

Their fingers and toes, hands and feet, and eventually their whole arms and legs just start to go numb. Might be pins and needles numb at first, but it becomes more of nothing at all as the time passes. They also start to get a little loopy from lack of oxygen to their brain towards the end of it, before they’ve fully regenerated.

But their heart regenerates faster than all the rest. Because it’s still very very much a vital organ, and even their resilient bodies can’t live without it too long. Being without their heart is incredibly dangerous, and any more damage to their body probably would kill them. Moving around much is a terrible idea.

It’s not. Fun. Being able to feel a literal hole where your literal heart should be.

~

Delusion's main goal for getting Pluto to stay in JR with him is to have his friend back. Perfect world nonsense aside, he misses Pluto a lot.

At some point, it occurs to Delusion that he and Pluto should be able to donate their organs. Like, multiple times. They'll just regrow, right? So...maybe Pluto could actually help with his perfect world.

So he starts seriously looking into a fate splitter. With something like this, the possibility of accidentally killing Pluto is quite high. And as heartbroken as Delusion would be if Pluto died, he can't let someone's fuckup on Pluto be then end of him. He has a duty.

But still, his focus is on having Pluto with him again. So Delusion doesn't care what the status of that whole project is, until he gets Pluto with him.

Pluto spends quite a while in JR, once Delusion has brainwashed him I mean, reminded him of how close they were. He's pretty content there. He did miss Delusion. He just had some objections to a lot of Delusion's plans. Not anymore though! He's happy to

Eventually though the fate splitter is ready. And Delusion talks to Pluto about his idea.

Pluto considers. It doesn't occur to him that Delusion could also donate his organs. It doesn't occur to Delusion to do it, either. But Pluto eventually agrees.

The only problem is that none of the doctors in JR, not even ones who've lost family or friends to Pluto and his friends, are willing to do this. Not to the extent Delusion and Pluto are thinking of. For a while, sure. Some would even think he deserved it. But...for that long...

So Delusion, in a stroke of brilliance and foolishness, has some of them teach Gouge how to safely remove a person's organs.

Delusion, knowing Gouge rather well by now, sets some rules for her.

She has anesthetize Pluto before she takes his organs.

She can't take too many organs at once; if it's not something vital, she can do a couple so long as they aren't from the same organ system.

She needs to give him something for the pain.

Gouge proceeds to ignore one and two, aside from making sure not to take so many organs that she kills him. And she only gives him enough pain medicine to keep him from passing out from the pain while she's removing his organs.

Yes, you read that correctly. She is intentionally keeping him awake to watch her remove his organs.

It's great! Pluto is having so many regrets! But he doesn't back out.

He wants to help. Maybe not people in general, but definitely at least Delusion. He'll be fine. He'll definitely be fine, right? Right...

~

Now, since the whole point of getting Pluto to stay in JR was to have his friend back, Delusion comes to visit while Gouge's not doing her thing. For this purpose (and also because it's convenient, on the off-chance tries to bolt), there is a rather strong magic-suppressor in the disturbingly well-hidden and well-stocked 'operation room' Gouge for some reason already had. Delusion doesn't want to hurt Pluto anymore than he already is hurting after these operations.

But...this also means Delusion can Feel Things.

The first time Delusion comes down, Pluto's fucking tired, and definitely hurting, but he's doing alright. Really. Promise.

It was only the first time gouge took his organs.

But Pluto slowly began to look worse and worse. He still looks happy when Delusion comes to see him, but the pain and exhaustion in his face, and in his voice…

And Delusion, free from the pain of his own aura, began to wonder if this was really a good idea. For Pluto, i mean; it's definitely a great idea for the people getting his organs.

But, surely it couldn't be. He was a god. He knew was was right.

…Right?

He couldn't bear the idea that he was wrong; not in general, and especially not about this.

Pluto would be fine. See? He's smiling!

And he kept telling himself that. Over and over and over, until he finally believed it.

Pluto will not be getting out of there, so long as Delusion's in control of JR. Having said that, even once he'd convinced himself this really was fine, if Pluto asked if he could maybe just be left alone for a little while because he's so tired, Delusion would agree immediately. He might even have Pluto come up and hang out with him.

But...maybe not. Because a small part of him knows that this is wrong. And while that part has mostly been silenced, it's making him very, very afraid that Pluto would bolt if given half the chance.

gouge is laughing at delusion behind his back. she thinks this is hilarious. her boss is even more delusional than she thought, holy shit. Well, at least she's getting some good fun out of it.

Pluto knows Gouge isn't supposed to be keeping him awake or taking as much as she is. So why doesn't he say anything?

Well, you see, as painful as the organ removal process is, it's even worse to just live without them for a while.

Part of the reason vital organs missing is so notable is because it just fucking sucks. Generally it's pretty painful, too!

Gouge has threatened to take both of Pluto's lungs if he tells Delusion anything. Neither of them are sure if he could survive that, but Pluto doesn't want to find out. As awful as having only one is, at least he can still breathe.

~

Gouge, in the interest of keeping people from asking questions, stores some of Pluto's organs in her little torture dungeon. She can only donate so many at once before the doctors in JR's hospital get suspicious, and if they get suspicious then Delusion is going to hear about it.

Oh, they also found out that Pluto's blood works fine for transfusions. So Gouge will take as much as she can without killing him. Which is...quite a bit.

Pluto prefers blood draw days. It sucks, but the wooziness from blood loss is a lot better than the pain from getting his organs harvested. Especially since Gouge has to stop with the organ harvesting for a while.

~

Pluto does genuinely think he's happy to help Delusion. He just really wishes it wasn't Gouge.

That's all. (that's not all. but he hasn't figured that out yet)

It doesn't help that Gouge has been steadily getting more and more unhinged and eager to hurt him. She's loving this. An indestructible toy she can put through agonizing pain over and over and over again? And just...take pieces out? Is it her birthday or something?

Pluto's not the only one noticing that she's getting worse.

She was a little off before, but in a way that was easily passed off as her just being really anti-social. Which wasn't wrong.

But once Pluto "disappeared", she just…slowly got weirder. She's more distracted. Her eyes seem to light up at any expression of pain. Sometimes she starts grinning for no apparent reason and does this little laugh that sends shivers down everyone's spines. She seems more tired, and yet somehow more…more excited? Almost happier, but it's not quite that.

She's also disappearing more and more often. Delusion seems perfectly fine with this, so he must be having her do something, but no one can figure out what it could be.

Someone swears they saw her go into her apartment with a bag full of bloody clothes one night.

Someone else says they saw her delivering a suspicious package to the hospital in the wee hours of the morning.

Delusion seems entirely unconcerned.

[hupla222]

Rarus Gang

The gang. The gang is here at last, done by @xabi0407. I'm a huge Pokémon fan so it should be no surprise that I have my own Pokémon region, well two actually. These guys are from the first of them called Rarus. Rarus is far from a traditional region, more like a spinoff game. Its a small region, barely even noticeable on the map. And its a region where Pokémon are far more feral than elsewhere. As such civilization is sparse, being only six small villages in the whole region, each one protected by a guardian Pokémon. But enough about Rarus for now. I bet anyone who is actually reading this wants to know about those guys up there, so let's get into that. Absolutely feel free to ask about this one its been my brainrot since elementary school.

Ava (16): She's the first girl up there. She comes from The Village of the Pyroar, the smallest of the six villages located in Sector Six. She's an adventurous soul, never one to stay still and always looking for a thrill. She's egotistical but she has a king heart, desiring nothing more than to join the Rangers (no not those rangers), a group of people dedicating to protecting people as well as educating the public about Pokémon and helping the two groups coexist. All of the Sectors have a Ranger, all except hers. And she's going to do whatever it takes to become one and protect the people she loves. Her partner Pokémon is a Litleo, one of the children of the Lady Pyroar herself.

Alex (13): This boy is Ava's younger cousin, so close that they are practically siblings. At the age of ten he was thrown out of the village by an angry villager who believed his bloodline was cursed (the people of Rarus are very superstitious) since he can under the speech of Pokémon. As such he has spent the last three years living in the woods learning medicine from a local Sylveon. Aimed with his late father's camera, he travels with Ava after reuniting with her determined to photograph the whole region to show the people of Rarus that it isn't as scary as they've been told. His main partner Pokémon is a shiny Swampert, one that is a runt.

Julie (12): And finally we have Julie, the little cutie pie on the right. She's a very cheerful girl that Ava rescued right before she set off on her journey. Wanting to support her new hero, Julie travels with Ava while also furthering her own goal of becoming a dragon tamer. She's the daughter of the leader of The Village of the Noivern and as such has a deep connection with dragons. She wants everyone to know how wonderful it can be to work together with Pokémon and to not fear them. And she's going to start by befriending the scariest ones of all (except the Zoroark that is). Her partner Pokémon is a Deino that she hatched from an egg.

[makangerous]

Visual Novel Gush #1: Gnosia

I downloaded Gnosia on a whim mostly based on that cover art, because some part of me loves well-drawn psychos trying to ruin my day. What I found was a hidden gem that, while a bit rough around the edges, finally scratched an itch I've had since finishing the Zero Escape series. Time loops, a host of colorful characters who wouldn't be out of place in one of those games, a story evolving from deceptively simple gameplay, Gnosia has it all.

The premise of the game is that you, along with your crewmate Setsu, are onboard a starship that faces an imminent threat: several crew members have been infected and had their minds taken over by Gnosia, insane aliens that will kill everyone on board until they are the only ones left. There is no quick way to tell if someone has been infected, and anyone with the means to identify them is targeted quickly. Therefore, your crew is basically playing Werewolf (or as it was called in my area, Mafia) to try to determine who the Gnosia are and put them in cold sleep. No one is safe, not even Setsu or you.

However, this is more than just a Werewolf simulator (though you can play it as such, and it's pretty fun). You can take on a variety of roles besides just a crew member: cause chaos by being Gnosia yourself, take on roles traditional to Werewolf such as Guardian Angel, or try out some interesting new roles that seem specific to this game. One role in particular competes against both the crew and the Gnosia, though will likely ally with one of those sides to achieve their goal. Gnosia calls itself a "social deduction game", and this is because unlike Werewolf game generators you may find online, your crewmates have consistent personalities and their own sets of tactics, and learning these is just as critical to winning as logical reasoning is. For instance, one character is obsessed with rationality and is very strong there, but they have a tendency to be so rude and abrasive, the crew is quick to vote them off. Another loves to use devastating emotional pleas to deflect suspicion back onto you.

Your crew starts small, but grows to a total of 15 including you. The first handful of people you meet seem relatively normal, but as more crew members are added in new loops, they become increasingly bizarre. I won't spoil it for you, but some of them really push the definition of "human" (a recurring theme in this game). They are intriguing people, though, and even after beating the game, I found myself wanting to know more about them. You can choose to collaborate with one of your choosing, as long as you gain their trust. Some of them will be your favorite allies, and you'll be mentally shouting "noooo" when they get killed or put in cold sleep. Others seem custom built to annoy you, and you'll cheer when they go away for the round.

As for the player character, you can select your name and gender: male, female, or nonbinary. (A quick aside on this game's handling of NB: your main ally and implied love interest, Setsu, is NB, and at least one other crew member also is. I'm not NB myself so I can't speak to how good the representation is, but besides one instance of misgendering and one instance of body type phobia that are both shut down quickly, the crew widely accepts the NB members' identities. However, there are a couple romantic events (for two female crew if playing as male, two male crew if playing as female) that are pretty small, but I've read you won't get at all if you're NB. They should've added an option for choosing which gender(s) you are romantically interested in.) You also choose a star sign which is mostly aesthetic, but behind the scenes slightly affects characters' affinities for you. Most important are your stats: Charisma, Intuition, Logic, Charm, Performance, and Stealth. For instance, Intuition and Logic are great for being a detective: sussing out lies and proving your point with evidence. Meanwhile, high Charm can help keep you out of cold sleep. You do have to build yourself a certain way to gain access to all debate skills, but you can reallocate stats, and in the early and mid game it is fun to play around with your build.

The story manifests itself in the repeated gameplay loops, which you and Setsu are aware of and trying to escape. Once you play through the tutorial loops, your mission becomes gathering information about each crew member, both to get to know them better and to find a way out. These tidbits are called Notes, and they are obtained during Events, which are cutscenes that play out if certain conditions are met. Some of these notes are fun, while some are dark and disturbing. By collecting these, you get a sense of the world that exists outside your spaceship, who the Gnosia are, and the motivations driving your crew. Some of these notes require protecting certain characters, or even acting against your own interests, but getting them is usually worth it.

This gets to the game's biggest flaw: finding Events, especially during endgame. I would highly suggest using a spoiler-free walkthrough once you get stuck on finding the last few notes. There is an Event Finder in the game that will tweak your settings to make it more likely for Events to occur, but there are issues with it. 1) It does not tell you which Event it thinks it found for you or the initial pre-requisites, even if it's one you've started before. 2) It does not guarantee the involved characters will have the roles you need, or take the action you need them to do to trigger the event. 3) It does not guarantee that you or the involved characters will last long enough to complete the event, so you may fail them due to the RNG being out of your control. I think this is the main reason this game isn't more popular, especially since you will likely need 100+ loops to complete the game. My suggestion is to not restart the loop, even if you fail it, because I've noticed the game starts putting some guardrails in place if you trigger then fail the event multiple times, like having the Guardian Angel always choose to protect you or outright removing the requirement to view an initial scene you've already gotten.

Overall, I'd recommend giving this a try if you like mystery, sci-fi, logic puzzles, or even just playing Werewolf.

[annadriesen2121]

DONDERDAG 31/12/2022 -  21:21 - Sander kneels in front of him and takes the small box from his pants pocket, which he deftly opens with his thumb. He pulls out the ring, takes Robbe's hand without breaking  eye contact, slips it onto Robbe’s ring finger. "Marry me, Robin!" 

MAANDAG 06/11/2023 - 02:10 - "Sander, do you know it's almost 06:00? If we don't get some sleep we'll be really wiped out." "You're right. Thanks for staying up with me tonight, Robin."

"It couldn't have been any other way, we're not made to be separated. See you at the ceremony, San." "I can’t wait. Good night Robbe." "Good night Sander."

Ever since I started writing fan fiction with Sander and Robbe the main ship, I have always dreamed of writing one in which they are being married. I spent countless hours imagining this moment, their emotions, their looks, their thoughts, wishing to virtually accompany them to this imagined wedding.  SKAM Big Bang gave me the opportunity to finally be able to fulfill this wish. 

My worry was always that I would write something banal, that I would lack sufficient emotional exploration. Sander and Robbe are by far the ship I love most of all the SKAM remakes, and they deserve a fairytale wedding. I hope I succeeded in my goal. Only you can tell me with your comments.

Since this story is the continuation of a parallel, their witnesses are Isak and Even, who support and help them like two guardian angels. I must thank Viola_Player1 for her contribution in the Evak parts and avignonscat for being our precious beta.

I look forward to the next chapter, get your tissues ready. I cried so much in writing it and I hope to move you in the same way.

We encourage those who have not yet done so to read the previous two parts in this series first (Yellow Curtains: ‘A Safe Place In All Universes’ and ‘The Parallels’)

Thank you all for the wonderful support in reading this story and leaving comments and kudos. 

(We can be found on Tumbler at annadriesen2121 / Paralleluniversesfan  and on Instagram at anna_driesen2121 / Viola_Player1)

@skambigbang

@paralleluniversesfan

[brick-boats]

So now that it’s been about a week since the release, I’d like to go on a spiel of the different aspects and headcannons of my script.

**Spoiler Warning**

A THREAD

So my main goal for this project was to rewrite all the scenes in chronological order. The way the original movie was plotted had different time jumps all over the place, which was confusing to follow. My aim was to make a story flow smoothly from start to finish.

Second main goal was to expand on all the characters, especially reintroducing P.T. Boomer. The humans needed just as much of a bad guy as the engines did with Diesel 10. Not only did I give the engines more screen time -for a movie about Thomas-, but for the humans too.

That being said, I found a lot of the human characters in the original movie were just so muddled and boring. And when watching/reading the director’s cut they had more potential, but unfortunately Britt Allcroft gave them too much unnecessary exposition.

One that went overboard from the director’s cut was P.T. Boomer, he was shown as an excessively comical villain that was more of a joke than a threat. That however gave me the inspiration to make him the original Schemer from Shining Time Station. A name which he hates.

Burnett Stone was also a greatly wasted potential. Britt only portrayed him just as a sad man, but in the director’s cut he had much more emotion and passion! I certainly gave him reasons to be sad about. He is a man broken by the loss in his life, but protective of Lily.

Lily was definitely the most interesting to write. The original & director’s cut had some lackluster writing and acting, but it gave me inspiration to portray Lily as high-functioning autistic. She is smart and clever, but easily gets emotional and overstimulated.

Patch was the most blank template of all. I portrayed him as a country boy with a heart of gold. He cares a lot about his friends and Shining Time, and after learning about Burnett’s secret of Lady, his loyalty pays off in the end.

Billy Twofeathers was a greatly missed opportunity. Not only is he wise, kind, and experienced, but he stops at nothing to protect Shining Time and the nature around him. Something very spiritual and important to his Native American heritage. A no nonsense gentle giant.

Stacy Jones was honestly one of the better written characters of the original film, despite having little screen time. She also cares deeply for Shining Time, and loves to help others. I gave her some more moments being a helpful guardian to her friends.

Mutt…oh Mutt… I don’t know why Britt was trying to force a magical sentient dog trying to change fate for Shining Time by “making Lily to get on the wrong train” or “being at the right places at the right times”. In my story he’s just a dog. A good boi. Simple as.

===

Now for the engines! Thomas and his friends deserved a lot more spotlight. Britt did ultimately make the right decision by including just the core 6, minus Edward. The director’s cut honestly did not have a good place for Edward plot wise. It’s sad but it was for the best.

I -did- however give Edward a small roll at the start and very end of the script. I do headcannon he took Sir Topham Hatt and Lady Hatt off to the mainland for holiday. Another small cameo is George the Steamroller near the end with Diesel 10, just a little nod. ;)

Unfortunately, like Edward’s original role, I couldn’t find a way to include Duck into my script. He and Edward were just there in the director’s cut to overly-explain to the audience what was going on in a toddler-esque way.

In the director’s cut Duck also clashes with George again and references the season 5 moment where George causes Duck’s truck to collide with Gordon. Which was a weird addition if TATMR was intended for audiences -outside- of the Thomas fandom, so how would they know?

Overall, George being originally written as a tertiary villain going around smashing all the buffers was just silly tbh. I axed it out in favor of his little cameo in my script. He’s tired of Diesel 10 complaining and states his hatred for railways, true to his character!

Splatter and Dodge were two wasted characters! I did them some justice by writing them as proper henchmen…Hench-diesels? They’re not completely braindead, just silly little goons. But once Diesel 10 and Boomer pair up -with intent to cause harm-, Splodge says enough!

===

And last of all, the Conductors. Goodness gracious they were the real diamonds in the rough. I had to cut a lot of nonsense out, especially the soccer ball/baseball bat moment with Mr. C… that gold dust hits hard, huh? I couldn’t even make it work in a dream scene.

Junior wasn’t as bad. I just tweaked some moments here and there to make more sense in the story. Example how he “put party poppers down Thomas’s funnel” is a moment we don’t even see on screen. I included a gag where he just puts them under Thomas’s wheels to spook him!

As for Mr. Conductor the 1st and 2nd, just some nods to George Carlin and Ringo Starr’s roles in Shining Time Station. Carlin being the grandfather and Starr being the father to Alec Baldwin’s. I know it’s not the original chronological roles but I like it better this way.

In conclusion, this whole project was the result of almost 2 months of hard work from me to the fandom. A love letter for TATMR for its nostalgia and happiness from my youth. Britt had some wild ambitions, but it just needed to be… Rerailed. ;D

Thank you for reading!

[magicalgirlagency]

*Quielty manifesting from your shadow* Hey, can I ask you a question?

How would you rewrite the YuYuYu series (main story + spinoffs)? There aren't much fix-it fanfic for it, and the ones that do exist are all dead fics by now. I'm intending on writing a fix-it au myself, taking main inspiration from pretty cure and random Rival's songs. However, as I don't have much skills in writing and I don't have time either (my country schools is a bunch of monster honestly), I was hoping to find some way to cope with my pain after watching all of the yuyuyu seasons (even the horrid 3rd season).

Since you've already save the Hero Club and some of the other Heroes from the show... How about rewriting the series as a whole? To channel all your spite at how shitty the Taisha and the God tree of pedophiles *Shinju-sama* are?

Thanks for listening to/reading my questions. Here's you shadow back

*Return back into my Void to give back your shadow*

Oh, boy... it's been a while. I may be a little rusty, so I apologize in advance if anything's off...

Alright, before we get started, I'd like to point out some things about this reboot:

NO post-apocalyptic world. It'll be set in the present day, with all of the other countries and continent still intact;

NO ableism. The other heroines won't lose their body parts while fighting;

NO magically-healing disabilities. Tougo will be a wheelchair user from beginning to end, and her magic will properly accomodate her disability;

NO nationalism/militarism. The themes in this reboot will be environmental/ecological;

NO sexualization of minors. 'Nuff said.

With that out of the way, let's get this show on the road:

The Shinju/Divine Tree is an ancient mystic tree of unfathomable power that sustains the whole world. Unfortunately, due to humanity's carelessness, it's defenses have been weakened, giving the Taisha an opportunity to strike.

The Taisha are an evil cult; the very personification of humanity's greatest sins (greed, industrialization, deflorestation, etc...). Their goal is to seize the Shinju and its powers all to themselves, so they can bring forth a New World Order.

And to ensure that no one dares to stop their plans of conquest, they create the monstruous Vertexes, kaiju-sized beasts that were concieved through dark magic to cleanse the world of its impurities. In desperation, the Shinju spreads its magic seeds throughout the world, in search of young pure-hearted and well-intentioned humans to make them bloom.

In Japan, lives a young girl named Yuuki Yuuna. Lively, energetic a little bit scatterbrained, she inspires herself in the ideals of heroes, so she joins an after-school club called the Hero Club with other four girls, dedicating themselves to do community services for their beloved town.

Until one day, she stumbles accross a goofy and chunky cow-looking creature that introduces themselves as Fairy/Spirit born from the Shinju. They alert Yuuna of the Taisha's schemes and gift her with a compact mirror known as a Terminal, that allows her to transform and communicate with other Guardians.

The plot twist is that the other members of the Hero Club were already granted with their own Fairies and Terminals, and they were eagerly waiting for the newbie Yuuna to be blessed with her own powers so they could explain to her the whole story to her.

And so, the whole story is about Yuuna meeting several other Guardians and going on a journey learning what it really means to be a hero.

I was personally inspired by Puella Magi Magia Record, HeartCatch PreCure and Healin' Good PreCure when I wrote this draft. You may as use this as a base for your concept, if you please!

[mercless]

15 QUESTIONS FOR THE WRITER.

Tagged by: @ionianelder Tagging: i don't wanna bother anyone 👉👈 if you see this and decide to fill it out u can tag me.

1. are you named after anyone? I named myself ;3 it has a lot of influences after I tried a few other names, and I often joke it was based on a certain superhero. It wasn't, of course. It was explicitly after a bird.

2. when was the last time you cried? I teared up watching a clip of a recent political speech from my government about fun real life stuff :/ uhh a good proper cry has been a while though so 👍

3. do you have kids? No. can't see myself being the primary guardian of one in the foreseeable future either. cowabunga.

4. do you use sarcasm a lot? nEvEr 😜 When I'm not being salty or passive-aggressive I like to be very dramatic with my sarcasm and make a bit out of it. I love doing bits.

5. what’s the first thing you notice about people? Their mood. Their body language and what emotion they're outwardly expressing (not in an 'im an empath' way in a trembling dog wearing a yellow jacket way)

6. what’s your eye colour? A greyish hazel? it's hard for me to tell.

7. scary movies or happy endings? Scary movies... with happy endings? <:3c why not both.

8. any special talents? I'm pretty good at guessing a tone by ear? and finding the harmony. I'm also pretty good at visualising/drawing descriptions people give me verbally or written, but maybe that's just my experience rubbing off. uh and if you need a strange little noise I make those all the time. talent 👍

9. where were you born? the same place I've lived all my life.

10. what are your hobbies? Writing, gaming, sewing, & reading. occasionally a video or audio edit for funsies. when im in a good mood I'll sing. I draw for fun as well but it's more of a 'I am trying to make this my main work' thing now. When I had more free time I used to bake (not well). and before my skateboard broke 😔🙏, skateboarding around.

11. have you any pets? Ever since moving out, I have either lived with housemates pets or places that don't allow pets (presently that, plus one of my housemates is allergic to animal hair). I would like to have a cat or rabbit again when I am more capable of caring for one.

12. what sport do you play/have played? I used to be an active little kid before becoming busy and my health ultimately began to decline. out of order I've done gymnastics competitively, tae kwon do, horse riding, ballet, roller hockey, BMX, swimming, surfing, skiing, skateboarding, and LARPing. nowadays I bike casually for transport, and again if my skateboard didn't get wrecked 😔🙏, I'd be on that.

13. how tall are you? 167cm. nearly 5'6"?

14. favourite subject in school? I remember liking problem-solving things like physics and some math stuff until i was too dumb for it. photo editing, other computer things, digital art stuff and arts and crafts was fun, and I wish I practised music more for my orchestra, i was okay but too shy & weird to make friends :'(

15. dream job? had my dream shattered during uni and still haven't recovered with watching the shaky industry 😬👍 plus properly chasing my goals would mean moving away from basically my entire life. we're back to the drawing board atm. (haha it works cause thats a saying and also i do digital art-)

[melonmarzal]

Petall's Lore Directory

I do a lot of written lore, so I figured I should create a pinned post with descriptions of my various stories and where you can find them!

A bit about me, I joined Flight Rising in 2016. Since 2018, I have been consistently writing lore. I consider wind to be my home flight, but I have been travelling around to different flights telling stories in each one. Most of these are done in a PInkerlocke format. My goal is to have travelled to each flight once, after which I will return to wind for a story, then travel to wherever my heart desires.

So far, I have spent time in Wind, Shadow, Nature and Plague. I have also spent time in Arcane, but due to unforseen circumstances was unable to complete my story there, so I consider that one to be still incomplete. My tumblr avatar is always a festival familiar of the flight I am currently in.

I am in the process of writing out my lore for the two clans I had before I began my regular lore stories, so that I can have a complete collection of all of my lore on the site.

I am also in the process of transferring my lore to ao3. I still plan on continuing to post my lore to the flight rising forums, but I have decided to utilize ao3 so I can post the version of my story I imagined as I am writing it, with swearing and full gore, and other more mature themes.

Main Lore

This list is where you can find my main lore stories. They are listed in chronological order in terms of in-world timeline. They can be read in any order, as they are designed to stand on their own. However, they may contain some crossover characters and themes of earlier stories. Think of it like how Discworld is structured. As a result, some later stories may have spoilers for certain characters and plotlines of earlier ones. That said, you do not need to read the earlier ones to have an understanding of what is happening.

The Stories of Clan Yonder - 2024-Ongoing - Wind Flight - Two dragons awake on the Windswept Plateau, no memories of who they are and where they came from. All they know is that they love each other, and they are looking for a safe place to call home. As the pair build the small clan, they will be faced with old enemies and large losses, but will they persist? Or will Clan Yonder fade into obscurity? Only time will tell. [FR Forums] [Ao3]

The Stories of Crescendo Isle - TBD - Wind Flight - To be Written after I finish The Stories of Clan Yonder.

The Stories of Windkeep Tower* - 2018-2019 - Wind Flight - On the cliffs of the Windswept Plateau, overlooking the Sea of a Thousand Currents lies a tall pagoda tower. It keeps watch, over the wind and the waves, a great light burning at the top as a welcome and guide to weary travelers. [FR Forums] [Ao3]

All That Was Lost: A Pinkerlocke* - 2019-2020 - Shadow Flight - Generations have passed since the Clan of Resting Wings has fallen. All that remains is a kingdom of ruin, the spell that was meant to save everyone now festering into a curse. For years, the city has been left untouched, as those who dare venture in soon find themselves in grave danger. A new generation is rising to face the curse and reclaim the land of their ancestors. Can they rebuild from the ashes, or are they doomed to meet the same fate as their predecessors? [FR Forums]

Beneath the Boughs: A Pinkerlocke - 2021-2023 - Nature Flight - Near the edge of the Shrieking Wilds lies a large clearing, large enough to build a small city within. In the center of this clearing lies a large sycamore tree, roots gnarled and tangled with age and girth. Its branches stretch out towards the heavens, providing shade and shelter to all who desire it, and home to many wild creatures in its branches. It is home to a single dragon, a guardian who has taken the Refuge as her charge. But little does she know that she not live in solitude much longer, and the tree will become a sanctuary for far more than she could even imagine... [FR Forums]

Chasing Immortality: A Pinkerlocke - 2023-Ongoing - Plague Flight - A wildclaw named Shui has put out notices across Sornieth, promising immortality to those who come to him and join his challenges. The adventurous, the desperate, the dying all gather to participate. But can he really give what he promises? Or is he a fraud? His purposes are vague and the rewards are great, there is only one way to find out what is behind this man's call, and that is to come, join his clan, and face his challenges yourself. [FR Forums]

Bonus Stories

The following stories are things I have written that either are considered to be side stories, or were for whatever reason ended up incomplete. I am posting them here for posterity, but they are not considered to be part of my main lore series. I am still debating whether or not I plan on transferring these ones to Ao3.

Children of the Deep: A Pinkerlocke* - 2016- Wind Flight - INCOMPLETE - "Welcome, dear friends. How may I ask did you find my cavern? Not that any of that matters. You are here now. I suppose by now you've heard of my little project. Let me guess, you're here to plead on their behalf? You're here to demand answers?" The skydancer chuckles to himself. "I've heard them all. But really, who are you to say that I am wrong? Have you peered into the depths of the ocean? Have you spent hours studying the marvelous bubbles gifted to us by the Tidelord? Even if you have, you have not seen what I have. Such beautiful and terrible things. Even though I cannot always be beneath the waves, I have duties to my clan up above, I carry this sphere around in my pockets, so that I may always peer into the depths." [FR Forums]

The Paths We Wander: A Pinkerlocke* - 2017 - Wind Flight - A new clan sets out with the hopes of succeeding where the Children of the Deep have failed. [FR Forums]

Twisting Squalls: A Pinkerlocke* - 2017 - Wind Flight - IMCOMPLETE - There is an island on the edge of the Twisting Crescendo, harsh and unforgiving and perpetually battered with storms. Survival here is difficult, but there are a handful of dragons who seek to make it their home. [FR Forums]

Beyond the Shroud: A Pinkerlocke* - 2020 - Arcane Flight - INCOMPLETE - Welcome to Astra Academy! Nestled on the edge of the Starwood Strand, our school is the perfect place for any young dragon seeking to bring out their true magical potential! Here, you will learn from the best teachers, and befriend other students destined to become powerful mages. We only take the best, so I hope you're up to the challenge! [FR Forums]

Stories marked with a * are written before I discovered that I am queer, while I was still working out a lot of personal things. As a result, these stories do not contain queer characters. This may be changed for the Ao3 versions.

I will edit this post regularly to ensure that it is up to date!

[slimehatart]

Hello everyone!

It's me again. Today, we'll be talking about group dynamics! One thing I'm always enjoying a lot in anime and manga is the often times beautiful bond and friendship of the protagonists. There are many different kinds of relationships - best friends like it is in One Piece, people who hate each other so much that they love each other as in Ranma 1/2, people who were friends in an instant like those in Dr Slump, people who are united by fate and grow to attach to one another like the sailor guardians in Sailor Moon... There are all kinds of group dynamics and it is probably very hard to make different people come together and have them be authentic friends.

(original Tweet: "Today's practice session's product. I tried to be faster again and could get this WIP done in ~40 to 60 mins. I'll probably colour it too.

Wanted to draw my story's group and their chaotic dynamic. They don't always get along but also love each other. :D", August 5th, 2021)

Well, as for me, I wanted to create characters who complete each other and who I would love to be friends with. Basically, each of my characters represents a side of myself in a way, so it's not hard for me to think about them interacting with each other.

There are very active and outgoing characters, such as Risebert, Liora or Miles. There are distant and suspecting characters, for example Ziyan, Sarim or Patra. But it is as a whole that I want them to shine. I think the group dynamic is very chaotic at times, because the party lacks some kind of leading figure.

(original Tweet: "I scribbled an update on the protagonist team of my story! Really want to do one digital drawing of them again in full colour since some designs have changed and new team members have been added!

Feel free to read the Alt-text for an elaborate description of some background info!", June 29th, 2022)

Sure, Liora might be considered the leader of the team. But she surely is not a great leader. Everyone can and will take their own decisions according to their personality, but as a community, they will look out for each other in a way or two. Having a leading figure is not bad, though. Luffy for example, is a great leader despite his goofiness. His friends respect his choices more often than not and acknowledge him as their leader. Conan Edogawa leads the Detective Boys with his natural leading qualities and earned respect of the other kids. There are badly written leaders, too, though. Yu-Gi-Oh's Yami Yugi helps Yugi be confident and successful, but there is kind of no reason for Joey, Tristan or Thea, Bakura and Mai to follow him so devotiously. Monster Rancher's Genki is kinda thrown into a leading role when in fact Holly is the one who brings the group forward.

(original Tweet: "Been drawing a little bit. With the tablet I have for studies, I tried scribbling, but the pen isn't really suited for drawing and I don't think I've seen a good free program yet, unfortunately (sketching w/o colours is fun tho). Also drew on actual paper again, it's so fun!", October 6th, 2021)

As you see, heaving someone in charge can be a very hard role to write. I like my protagonists to be on an eye to eye level, with everyone's motivation kept mostly equal at most times. When the party comes together and works on achieving the goals of one single member, they do it because they're friends, not because they're told to by a leader. So that's how I'm sticking with them for now!

I think there are many many layers that make a good group dynamic. It isn't enough for the whole group to work together greatly, I think. You also need them to be able to shine when they're on their own. On top of that, you need them to be able to come together in very small groups and get their dynamics to work out as well. This is the hard part, I think. Ranma 1/2 and One Piece do a great job with this. You can put two randomly chosen main characters together and they just feel authentically great together with no hesitation.

(original Tweet: "Quick midnight doodle trying to get into (digital) drawing again~", January 10th, 2022)

Miles is an outgoing, energetic character. But he will help Victorine with mundane tasks and I feel like it is going to be a genuine interaction. At the same time, Miles can go on missions with Risebert and both stand their own. Miles can meet up with Sarim and both, with their own different personalities - one carefree and the other a coward -, can still authentically feel like best friends.

I really need to draw more pictures with single members of the main cast together, because I really want to see those scenarios act out on paper. It is a fun thing to imagine and I think they all work. It doesn't have to be all lovey dovey between them, though. For example, Risebert and Ziyan, much like Zoro and Sanji, have an unspoken rivalry going in between them with one being outdoorsy like a dog and the other reserved like a cat. I think it's fun to watch friends bicker amongst each other. It makes me appreciate them even more when they have each other's back in hardships. This is something the Sailor Moon anime does really well, too. I loved the season 1 finale with everyone dying one after another. When Usagi and Rei were the last girls standing, their interactions felt so genuine and authentic... All thanks to their constant arguments when they weren't in danger before.

I think putting together characters who are polar opposites is a great way to shake and freshen up the whole dynamics and friendship formulas! Figuring out one main characteristic of each character can help putting them together to create the right dynamics, I think. It's like mixing and matching colours, in a way!

(original Tweet: "As a German saying goes: "once the cat leaves the house, the mice will dance on tables" - if chief Liora were to leave for a few days, her team mates would try to fill her place in the guild reception.

I wanted to visualize how each member would do in today's practice session!", August 13th, 2021)

All those parameters can help you create a great group of individuals with each one having room to shine! I hope I can make my characters shine, too!

This is it for today's blog entry! If you want to look up a post to a specific character, you can check out the tags! I tagged all posts with the names of the characters I mention them in! See you soon!

[ilikelookingatthings]

The Person I Loved Asked Me to Die in My Younger Sister's Place

I got some thoughts about this shoujo I'm reading recently.

Its got a interesting situation where the main character is 20 years old at the begining of the story. She was adopted by GENUINELY kind and loving people who have a younger daughter and has a childhood friend name bright(who seems to have silver hair and gold eyes).

She was researching Miasma which is a energy that filters to become magic that she has some resistance to with the plan to make a breakthrough to achieve multiple things. first is to gain honor which she could gift to her loving adopted family (they seem to be fairly high up but not too high up)since there is a hierarchy which could affect people. Second is to help her friend Bright(who can't use magic) to be able to use magic.

With her third Goal where is she helps Bright in this way and gets achievements she could proudly confess her feelings...as despite being close friends she doesn't have the confidence to admit her feelings to him when she feels the hiearchy might get in the way.

Her sister was then chosen to go to this side realm called the Dawn before time as a guardian(sacrifice) to put a dragon tree to sleep which is a guarnteed death sentence. Where as you guessed it our character goes in her sister's place but ends up surviving for 23 years where we REALLY begin our story...where out of the blue a portal opened up where Bright walks through...only its not Bright...its Bright and her sister's son Llyod.

I think what I find most fascinating is the people aren't strait up evi; people. Its a cliche at this point that to up the tradgedy the story would have her adopted parents be terrible people, and her sister a brat who would willingly sacrifice our main character because isn't biologically related to them, or Bright being our main character's lover who chooses the sister over her.

But it allows the situation to be genuinely complex because her adoptive parents genuinely care about and love our main character. The mom did impulsive wonder why it couldn't be Elaine(our MC) but its clear the mom is desperate and not thinking strait and the dad immediatley shuts that down and there is immediate apologies. Not to mention it was also influenced by the fact our main character who has Miasma resistance has a better chance of survival rather than the guarteed death the younger sister would face.

Though I will not excuse the fact that everyone still saw it as a death sentence because too much exposure will certianly kill you regardless of your resistance. Its still messed up....but at least the mom didn't impulsively say it with nothing in Wisteria's favor.

They all had looked for alternatives to try to save the sister from going for ages. exhausting all the options for what seemed like a while even though they can't refuse the royal request as their daughter had been chosen due to age, a low amount of magic and because they were the lowest rank of the canidates.

We can't blame others for refusing to volunteer since its a death sentence and it seems without a sacrifice going the miasma would cause alot of death.

and the younger sister is GENUINELY a good person. She gets upset on Elaine's behalf when people all her a witch and talk bad about her. had cried in her place when someone broke a hair clip that was important to Elaine. She clearly admires Elaine who is a composed lady with good manners and picked fights with others when they talked smack about her. and it seems she had to be distracted and was not aware that Elaine was going to volunteer in her place and seems to feel such sorrow her memories got fuzzy. often praising Elaine her eldest sister as well and roasting/bantering with Bright at times.

Even Bright who I assumed was trash is more complex than I though. Elaine doesn't like him for shallow reasons...he's genuinely not a bad guy. He complimented her eyes when he first saw her and when we see her get insecure about being called a witch due to studying magic, or being too tall he makes sure to compliement her and distract her. He seems fairly socible and seems to have a strong sense of justice. He was willing to put himself in danger to protect a stranger(luckly Elaine saved him in time by sucking up the Miasma).

When her parents thought they could just get her a new hairclip...he noticed she was hurting emotionally becuase its what teh hairclip represented to her that was important and he picked a fight to defend her feelings and honor even if it could get him in trouble since the other guy was higher in hiearchy over a hairclip that no one else took seriously.

while I could see why she could feel led on since he did compliment her alot and why some people reading it could feel like he used her....its pretty clear they ARE friends. and he doesn't owe her to return her feelings which she never told him about since she feels like she can't proudly say her feelings as a adopted daughter who's family is lower in the hierarchy than him. He clearly loves her sister who he banters with and who doesn't hold back with being blunt with him...compared to our Elaine who wanted to help fix his issue with magic and tip toed around it since she knows it a sore spot...her sister is direct in saying he'd get a bigger ego and doesn't pity him for it.

He does his best to find alternatives to try to save the sister who cried in his arms about not wanting to die who he loves.....until in his desperation he asks Elaine to take the place of the sister due to her having a higher chance of survival after exhausting all other options and in his desperation to save the woman he loved. No doubt he is still trash for asking someone else to die in someone else's place and implying he'd pick the love/her sister over his friend who's life is just as valuable. but he also clearly KNOWS what he is asking is unreasonable and fucked up and the surprise on his face in the manga when our main character agrees so easily!

Like he couldn't help asking because he loves the sister but wasn't actually expecting her to agree to sacrifice herself...how he's still messed up because he asked and how he could see her shaking even as she put on a brave face saying she knew this was one the only way to save the sister and that she feels bad that she needed him to say it instead of volunteering herself on her own. god when she asked him for at least a hug and how it parallelled the scene she saw when her sister was being held as she cried in fear earlier and teh contrast in how her feelings aren't returned.

just DAMN.

How despite herself our main character can't hate him for it because she never told him her feelings. How Elaine had felt dirty because she had for a moment felt she might have a chance with Bright if her sister was out of the picture. How everyone sees her as this great sister but she knows when seeing her sister cry over potentially having to die she herself was crying and upset because she saw how Bright dearly loved her sister and held her and hearing it fully confirmed. How she had tried rushing her research previously because she sensed Bright's feelings for her sister and just wanted a chance to grab him before the sister took him...even though she knows Bright doesn't owe Elaine his feelings. How she understandably doesn't want to die herself so had been avoiding the obvious idea of volunteering in her sister's place and she had so much to live for. and yet how she is so upset having to hear her crush ask her this....and we see her try to play up her doing it for her sister and not adress her hurt feelings....

yet I can't tell if Bright caught on or not since she asked for a hug and gave in so easily. How despite how she is clearly loved by her family she might have been putting pressure on herself to be a good girl and feel grateful.

And I'm pissed because she had tried to study Miasma specicially because of her feelings for Bright for a chance he could use magic...which had caused people to judge and look down on her due to the ominous stigma about Miasma...calling her Witch....so the guy asking her to go instead of her sister HURTS...but it was also her choice to study that since she had felt it was a requirment to try to ask him out...even though it seems she could have just told him.

Like..I'm pissed at Bright because Elaine deserves the world...but I also like how they don't make him evil or callous. He KNOWS what he is asking is unreasonable and horrible. that its selfish to ask a friend to die in the place of someone you romantically love.

Its also interesting because considering how he treated our main character...I can't help but wonder if maybe she could have had a chance if she had spoken up in the past to him about her feelings as he did treat her really well..and how we see Bright has insecurities was something she let affect herself as well...along with her own...

like Bright was always good to her and defending her...but she was good at magic (or at leats could use it) while Bright who was seen as perfect aside from the fact he couldn't use magic...so her study on Magic to some degree drove a small wedge because he was cearly upset that while he was incharge of protecting her...she was teh one who protected him with magic...and how he knows if she had been in his position he wouldn't have been able to help her. and while she was senstive and knew it hurt him...by not being blunt about it...it just made him more self conscious about it. and he didn't seem to know she wanted to help him gain magic. He never tried to make her selfconscious about it but ELAINE was definitly thinking it was putting salt in his wounds.

which contrasted her sister who was blunt and harsh and didn't pity him about it(even if it wasn;t REALLY pity on our main girls side).

Alot of the society seemed to judge her for being tall and it seemed Bright was on the short side of things and so she thought that he wouldn't be interested by herself.

it keeps a nice balance where I might not like Bright that much because he asked out Elaine to sacrifice herself....but issue that blocked him and Elaine wasn't him leading her on(aside from maybe being too nice), or using her, and he never tried to put her down/discourage her....but it was semi due to the society and Elaine projecting her insecurities as well as being sensitive/aware of his own. I want to be mad at him because she liked him for good reasons and was affected by him on her own due to her love for him.

I adore her talking sword which is a holy sword that when it sensed her choosing to sacrifice herself for her sister despite it meaning her own death chose to follow her.

This holy sword is funny because it screams when its unsheathed like she got it naked X'D and pokes fun at her for being old(I think she is technically in her 40s when the main story starts since its been 23 years since she sacrificed herself and she was 20 at the time). and the holy sword is sensitive because she might have agreed to sacrifice herself for her sister...but she was still wronged for being asked...and she was influenced because the person she had loved asked her to do this. along with herself hatred due to her jealousy of her sister and wanting to get away from her broken heart....she wouldn't have been a bad person if she had said no because it was unreasonable...and I like despite her sister being a motive for her....the sword doesn't ignore her broken heart and how she was influenced by love

What I find fascinating is the people aren't simply bad or good. Our main character wasn't so sweet she could happily wish Bright and her sister happiness and had thoughts of if only her sister wasn';t around and being jealous. but that also didn't negate she loved her sister and her family. the family loved her but they impulsively treated her different in the heat of losing one even if they backtracked and hadn't realized her trying to be so well behaved was due to feeling like she had to be grateful for being adopted. Her sister genuinely loved and and defended her and thought the world of her and cried on her behalf...but also hadn't realized her obvious feelings for Bright and didn't realize that crying on her sister's behalf made her sister feel like she had to be more responsible. Bright was genuinely a good friend who did his best to cheer her up and try to support her...but he also didn't notice her feelinsg and how some of his insecurities might have influenced her and being to nice gave her false hope..and he asked her to go in the place on the person he was inlove with despite knowing thats unreasonable and unfair of him to ask of her to do...he still asked.

================================================

Now the more Juicy Drama is now 23 years later the son of Bright and her Sister has come for the holy sword and he looks JUST like bright aside from the bangs and longer hair(he's got a pony tail!).

which is awakening alot fo mixed feelings in her understandable..she had been in love with Bright since they were kids and she had focused so much on surviving in the Land before Dawn....seeing someone who looks just like Bright is alot for her....like so much time has past the romantic feelings seem to have faded understandably...but it seems she stagnated a bit in that land emotionally to soem degree because it seems she does not age as she looks exactly the same as she did when she entered). which caused a misunderstanding as Llyod assumed she was a monster or a phantom taking the shape of her at first since she never aged and he had been warned of the possibility before entering...as no one would assume she would have loved that long.

(as she does have natural resistance and the holy sword is whats been keeping her safe as she foudn other ways like a special tea to handle the Miasma).

It seems they have a magical devise now that helps absorb Miasma as Llyod came for the sword but it might not last too long.

I'm having a interesting time with Llyod becuase he didn't make a great first impression and looking like her first love both does and doesn't work in his favor...but whats most fascinating is he doesn't seem that sociable..which is strange because both his dad and mom are really popular..they both smile easily and are good at talking and gentel...while our guy seems to frown, be nuetraul or smirks like a bit of a brat.

It gets even more interesting because his younger siblings are social and good at expressing emotions and are very expressive much like their parents unlike him...who seems to have a bit more of a pokerface as his nuetral face.

which made a interesting parallels with our MC as she felt like a outsider in her family due to her looks physically and how she was calmer than her sister and strugged to say her feelings as openly...

But then I actually think he is closer to his mom in his bluntness. He isn't the most tactful and definitly not a sweettalker but he is blunt and honest and we see while at first he seemed rude....he tends to be fairly straitforward in his own way.

He doesn't know how to feel about our MC because his parents don't talk to her much. aparently due the the nature of teh holysword leaving and someone volunteering in the sister's place...people decided to act like she was banished and that she had stolen the holysword(which is honestly a dick move). Its basically a human sacrifice that went around teh order of the royals since the peron they chose didn't go...and ist not a good look that a adopte daughter was sent in the place of the biodaughter...and it seems to truth was covered up by the royals....which is REALLY unfair...but does imply her family wasn't allowed to say the truth.

We see the issues a interesting dynamic between Llyod and his father Bright when it comes to Magic. Llyod unlike Bright was tall but also VERY talented at magic...so talented that prideful teachers would quite becuase he learned so fast...and his father seemed insecure about not being able to use it himself...so seemed to try to drive home that he shouldn't rely on it/use it...like we see how his mom had soothed Bright by loving him as a person and pinting out that the magic wasn;t what was important...its you as a person...but by doing so his parents seemed to discourage and not praise him for his abilities the way he deserved ebcuase he honestly was very talented.

and he tried to make a name for himself and work on his magic and swordmanship to differeintiate himself from his dad...but also to use this great talent he had.....so much so he joined battles and wars against monsters which most nobles would avoid...but he was looked down there as well because people would assume it was just a hobby, that he wasn't serious about it, and that he was only in there becuase of connections where they would ask like his talent was due to his fatehr or his family name anyway.......in fact he was so talented that he was compared to a monster even though he works really hard.

We also see him struggle with relationships becuase he isn't very expressive... as many girls like him...and if he sees something in the girl he sees as interesting or that he coudl like he will say yes and date them and do his best to treat them well even if the feelings are unbalanced at first...just for them to dump him because he isn't in love with them...not matter if he does like them and is sincerely doing his best...he feels like he keeps messing tht up.

WHats fasinating is at first we assume he came to get the sword becuase he has great love for someone...as we know Elanine's motives for a great feat had been to ry to get Bright;s attention and teh right/courage to act on her feelings...and how Bright had a love for her sister......and he seems to have planned to get the sword for the princess to prove his sincerity....

but whats fascinating isn't really romantic...he was drawn to the fact the princess seemed to see him and not a shadow of his dad and unlike the otehr girls who said they just wanted to be by his side and wanted him to give love which he did his best to give his sincerity which never got across. the princess wants something concrete to prove a feelings...a action that can prove his is of great merity and how far he is dedicated to try to be a suitor.

like...on one hand it feels kindof messed up to have someone have to PROVE their feelinsg by going on a dangerious mission...on the other...teh orinces and Llyod seem to be on the same wave length and she honestly seems pretty cool and she was straitforward with him.

If Elaine and Llyod aren't a couple I actually wouldn't have minded the princess and Llyod as they give of a practical relationship based on respect energy in a different scenerio...but then of course Llyod wouldn't get a chance to grow in that case.

Whats more interesting is while we could see Bright's issue with Magic is based on his insecurities...there ARE layers to it as well.....as it seems Bright and the sister are forever reminded of Elaine due to her magic and Miasma...it seems the mom got so sad afetr she went her her place she had a breakdown and they avoid mentioning her to not risk triggering a attack of her memories...and we know that people with magic were often prideful(like Llyod's other teachers) and how someone had attacked Bright before on purpose using magic. WE can also assume there is guilt from it on Bright's part becuase he has asked Elaine to sacrifice herself for her sister's sake.....WE know Bright had been a genuinely good friend to her before and had cared but the trauma to his loved one and that he is directly responsible for his wife's sister going in her place would have understandly caused some issues in the relationship.

So him telling his kids not to mention Elanine or ask about her around the mom does genuinely seem to be avoiding hurting the mom...but also feels convenient because how do you look your kids in the eye and tell them about a dear friend/their aunt who you convinced to go in the place of the mom? How do you tell them the truth when the royal family has a ruling and a story about her stealing the sword and being a criminial?

It fascinating trying to guess how others feel about eachother in this family? Does Llyod remind them of Elaine which is why they struggle with him? like how like Elaine he chooses to keep going into magic and going into a dangerious situation as he seemed to do things against his parents wishes.....

We can assume there is a shared trauma for the parents about losing their kid Llyod like they lost Elaine...as we have seen a flashback about how he had saved his younger siblings from going over the cliff but ended up falling himself...he had almost died infront of his parents eyes....He also isn't expressive like his siblings and even less so that Elaine who was able to show her care properly on her face and was expressive in her own way...

We know that Llyod has a complex because people keeping comparing him to his dad but don't praise the things he wants to go into(magic and swordsmanship)....or how they attribute him as taented de to his bloodline dismissing his efforts, and how he is VERY strong...where people comapre him to a monster becuase he is so talented.....even though they completely ignore the signs he has complex feelings...how he seriously struggled against and monster and instea dof automatically giving him help and feeling guilt since they didn't send people to help him...they try to sooth their guilt and bruised pride by acting like he is a monster just because his face isn't that expressive.

We saw his parents unintentionally imply that something was wrong with him/his personality just because he wasn't as expressive as others...and while it seems he DOES seem to struggle with emotions at times...it also feelings its due to how he could pick up disapproval from others.

He has a fasinating desperation because he doesn't really feel accepted for being himself and due to how exceptional he is it causing other sto judge him quickly...even more because he isn't palitable socially compared to others. even more because he is genuinely pretty sincere.

while the Aunt nephew things is weird(not being related being a saving grace at least) let along the age gape....I'm not against shipping it eventually...and at the very least I can sense a interesting dynamic between Llyod and our main character because he isn't 'kind' like Bright is or sweet towards her like her sister but he has a bluntness that her sister had and a sincerity and firm drive when he has strong feelings about something..which are thinsg that drew Elaine to her sister and her crush in the first place...but he also acts a bit like a brat at times...but also pretty respectful at the same time.

and the drama is fascinating....Llyod can banter and get under Ellaine's skin and he is interesting in magic and genuinely respects her and can talk shop so to speak with her compared to others(like bright). His complimenst are just as sincere as Brights but even more about her skills which she has worked hard to survive on. He can be just weird enough that elaine is thrown off her kilter at times XD

the mixed feelings on her part becuase he looks so much like her first love who hurt her nd his direct connection that respresents that union as well as the connection he has to the people and family she had adored so much. YES! how when he gets her heart skipping a beat we can't ell if its becuase she isn't used to people, if its due to how he looks like Bright and she is projecting and when its actually due to a specific Llyod aspect.

How hi simularities to his dad drawns her in but also repells her...but we also see the bigger differences in him as a person due to the comparisons on her part which really makes me excited to see if they'll fit as the better couple.

ot gets even more interesting because we's seen her view on Bright and her sister which was from ages ago...and we get to know how they've changed and how Llyod knows a different version of them.

the excitment of how Llyod doesn't know the details yet of what happened...he doesn't know she chose to sacrifice herself for his mom...or that she did it more because his dad asked her to do it. How she is used as a scape goat when she is genuinely a good person...how the witch comment was them being assholes when her research was genuine and she is so smart and talented and how she probablycould have had breakthroughs if she had stayed. and he is already uncomfortable with the idea of people talking bad about her when his one good teacher(her old friend who was in her research lab) tried to tell him a bot more of the truth...the unfairness of how she doesn't get mentioned depite what she did for that family.

and if he falls for her...will she believe it? will he be seen properly or will the sins of the father block her from falling for him?

not in the romantic sense...I''m just SO excited to see what happens if she gets back home? will she be accepted with open arms? judged as some witch or monster because she didn't die? Dig up old wounds and guilt for her loved ones because of what they let her do.

and supposedly they could be there up to half a year as he tried to learn from her and try to beat her for the sword.

We know she already made an impression on Llyod for how talented and strong she is and all she's been through and how she is caring and saved him. She upset him by comparing him to his dad(which she doesn't know would be a bad thing but she picked up made him uncomfortable) while we know he has alot of complex thoughts about her because her family doesnt talk about her properly and how her being different is pretty refreshing for him...but was a sore spot for her since she was adopted and self-conscious about it. and how he seems so desperate to try to prove his value...but also doesn't value himself enough which pot calling kettle black on her part...she fell with him and assured him she'd catch him if he fell and properly scolded him but didn't discourage him from magic like his dad and mom does.

Elaine seems perfect for him who feels a bit off in a different way from his dad...and I'm even more curious because Llyod got to do this due to help from the princess...but how will the royal family being involved make his family feel? like his mom and dad lost elaine to the land before dawn and now their eldest son has gone to a dangerous place with no guarantee he won't die from Miasma(even if he has a device) let alone the monsters in that dimension...and we know how he is loved by his siblings...

its also kind of curious because both Llyod and Elaine are eldest siblings....the research alone though is going to be so interesting if they bring the info they know back!

and trying to guess how everyone would react if they go back....let alone if they don't go back...

let alone any mysterious involving the holy sword XD

will she see Llyod as his own person or will her feelings for Bright get in the way?

its So exciting!

[theorist-influencer-untitled]

4.2.23

7:22 am

Still, having the windblow trap here in some bad Cavite-Nose/FilipiNOSE but I still believe on some good people...

Again, the perfume of Uncle Jun is lingering on air...Preparing to go to Georgia's forest...

Hope angels are listening to my prayers...

7:51 am

I suddenly return to earth now,my senses...

Uncle DD is the main owner of PINK I signed a paper but it was the first time I wasn't able to read it coz I'm focus on PINK.

I wasn't signed for a mercy-killing angels...

I love Pink and I had anxiety yesterday and my emotion is still worrying and hoping but preparing...

Recap:

Like what I said the Mother Neko owned by Uncle DD and I got here my Husky and Husky accidentally went out and boom...The love story of Neko the rottweiler and My baby John Husky begins...

Our fundings are not that big for now... Praying and hoping for an angel from other planetz or planetz of the Ape to lift me up... To give me a brand new start..

Recap 2:

This is the main house of my adoptive parent's, for my destroyer adoptive is an adjective word meaning I took in someone as my own but not legally but I'm the guardian and meaning I paid everything on someone's education and I acted like someone's parent's...

So,this was a happy house during my high-school days until I finished my college education in De La Salle University where I took-up my B.S. Biology course...

My adoptive folks used to have so many dogs here and the reason why,they became famous in a way but not really the main goal... The main goal was to gain friendship here in Cavite Philippines as their opening to the community here in Dasmarinas Town...

They or we used to have so many dogs and catz 2 or 3 catz ,coz we are here and my brother next to me since I was first year high school and my bro.next to me was on his elementary days... But again it was the day I turned 13,that my story begins...

But we've been here in Cavite town of Dasmarinas for more than 30 years now...

8:20 am

Waiting for mystery lover's coz I need an another week for our food providence now... (Uncle DD and Aunt Karen )

My pride and dignity as college graduate are still aching since 2007... Since this windblow trap entered my life, reality bites me...

8:45 am

Uncle DD is here....Wearing a Pink shirt? Why?

Uncle DD looking for the old cage of Neko and John, he asked Uncle Jun... Coz Uncle Jun kept it somewhere... Those are expensive cage...

9:17 am

Hmm....He just gave the 500 for that short 2500 last week...

But Uncle DD can't foster me,it is their future here angels... Whew!

Still,I'm not jealous of PINK that's our focus now...

Just jealous on their hot and cold shower,angels....

10:06 am

Aunt Karen gave me 1k pesoses or the percentage of sales and as well as Uncle Jun received a 1k pesoses...

But still hoping to leave the hometown...

Uncle Jun is plastics for telling Uncle DD that I will feed the dogs this lunch... Hmm... Uncle Jun brought a water melon and put in the refrigerator and went back to Georgia'Z forest...

And Mystery Lover's went out already...

I can have my next massage sciatica therapy....I will get a schedule on Elsie,later... Thanks for the percentage of sales,Aunt Karen and Uncle DD...

But this is still a cheap fostering... Or if it is from the heart, a very tight share but appreciated...

Coz Uncle Jun will get mad if they will not give them a 1k...

10:24 am

Still, wanna leave the hometown and get a brand new start somewhere... I need more money and I need a job and having a child is not the basis of going up...The issue here, who deserves it? Who were the genuine people? Who are having a good souls within...

I still wanna go back to my dentist and join a dog show... Go to gym be a modern woman,I need a job... I wanna do ballroom.... Hoping to meet the right one,along the way...

I know I have a pretty face and if someone will tell that I'm ugly I will surely kill them angels...I a was muse since I was 6 years old... I just need to polish my teeth and buy starbucks everyday and join a dog show and get a job... I still wanna meet new uppish men's friends with sanity and stability...

11:21 noon

I checked the trios outside...So,sad Doc Gerald told Uncle DD probably these babies have parvo, hope not... Will observe after 15 days... I even trimmed their nails on their hands...

As of today the trios have 7 kg in weight...

Hope they don't have the parvo...

12:36 noon

Will start to give few ml of ginger tea on everyone here in the doggies club...

1:24 pm

I wonder what is this on the kitchen table left my Uncle Jun...

And somebody just keep the 2 box from jollibee put that on the cabinet, one top of the other, those 2 black rectangular box of jollibee but I used it already for water plate of doggies here...

2:36 pm

I still have the windblow trap and I wanna leave the hometown... I still feel bitterish and I hate being copied by Ape'z... But if they lift me probably I will change my mind...

I feel angry coz I can't get uppish men's friends who can respect my uniqueness coz I hate these flat togetherness and I feel that they just removed my dignity and they wanted to have one kind of face... It is ohkay to be friends with someone but we must respect uniqueness...

I'm thinking of money everyday and I need money of course for my personal things and to meet new friends and to exist... I feel hurt and I wanna see donkey and camel... I wanna buy starbucks everyday...

5:33 pm

Uncle Jun is plastics on the dogs, he said why I'm giving ginger tea? You are making them human they are not human...He is after the money... Not real... He can't be on the team of any kind... He will die as plastics chestnuts...

5:47 pm

I hate staying with the other monkeys here in Cavite-Nose but I still believe on some good people...

I need money and job/ career / self-fulfillment... I need to have my own way,angels...I feel that I'm so left behind coz of monkeys on the screen...

I need big,big and big money... I wanna buy starbucks everyday... I hate being smashed down by monkeyz-FilipiNOSE!

I wanna meet uppish new men's friends who are willing to piggy back me... I can't be successful coz of this some Monkeys in Cavite-Nose, linking with Monkeys on the screen...

7:30 pm

Just for today I gave them ginger... But too much is not good as well... The doggies club...

[2ngjaentusiasm]

Dancing to Soul Music

I have not come across a book that gives a historical overview of soul dances. So I decided to write a short text myself where I rely on the material that I have read online. I don’t claim a total truth; my main goal is to give some good threads for further research.

Although some local scenes have concentrated on specific types of soul music, the artists themselves recorded very different music throughout their careers. For example, Irma Thomas and Etta James recorded lots of ballads that are perfect for blues dancing, but one can find other kinds of music from their repertoire that are suitable for the northern soul, boogie-woogie, shag etc.

Some other scenes have also embraced newer music, but I am personally mainly into soul music from the 1960s. Soul music from the ‘70s is not so much my cup of tea and I find a lot of soul music from the ‘80s very bad. 

Partner dances

In the 1940s swing music started developing in different directions. Some bands started making bebop which is more sophisticated and meant for listening. Others played jump blues - straightforward dance music. Jump blues developed into rhythm and blues, which in the ‘50s meant mainly just black rock’n’roll. While in the 1950s people kept dancing lindy hop to the new music, other kinds of regional swing dances developed out of lindy-hop. 

For the ‘50s fast r&b suits east-coast swing very well. In Europe, boogie-woogie is danced to this kind of music. (An interesting thing that I have noticed about boogie-woogie is that, although it is connected with the rock’n’roll scene, many dancers are not in a hardcore way into the rock’n’roll/ rockabilly subculture.) For the very fast music, one can also dance collegiate or St. Louis shag.

When the music changed to slower and/or smoother, the dancing also changed. One of the expressions of this is the DC hand dance which for a long time was solely a phenomenon of the black community in Washington D.C. Nowadays it is also danced at different, mainly west-coast swing competitions. Here is a very good overview of the history of hand dance.

The west-coast swing could be danced to almost any music which is written in 4/4 time. I would like to experiment to see how it feels to dance WCS to the ‘60s soul music. 

Another style that suits slower r&b is the Carolina shag which has also been called west-coast swing on the east coast. Like the west-coast swing, it is danced to a slower tempo and in slots (back and forth on an almost straight line) but the steps are more similar to the east-coast swing. One of the main differences between the two is in that, which partner has fancier footwork - in west-coast swing, it is the follower, in Carolina shag the leader. The Carolina shag has been elected as a state dance in both South and North Carolina, but the hotspot for this dance has been Myrtle Beach in South Carolina. Carolina shag even has its musical style/ spectrum called beach music. Unfortunately, the quality of music fell hugely in the ‘80s and even the best bands from the ‘50s made very bad music. Fortunately, there are also enthusiasts dedicated to old beach music (similar to the fans of northern soul and Belgian popcorn sound) who like to collect obscure R&B records, especially from the 1960s.

Here are some youtube videos about Carolina shag: 1) Celebrating the South Carolina Shag 2) Shag Nation 3) Shag Dancing in North Myrtle Beach.

The Belgian popcorn scene also largely relies on slower soul music and they call their dance style slow swing. What connects popcorn and beach music besides a slower tempo, is that many popcorn parties took place at the beach or even in the countryside. Unfortunately, there is not much info in English about the popcorn scene and what exactly is slow swing. Here is a short documentary about popcorn music and two good articles from The Guardian and Frieze.

Soul music also has a lot of ballads and since the late ‘60s, some musicians have tried to fuse soul with blues. Blues dancing suits those kinds of music very well. Unfortunately, most people don’t know this and that is why DJs don’t play ballads at soul parties. One of my goals is to explore this possibility to see if there could be a larger interest in this kind of practice. 

Line dances

Although nowadays line dances are largely associated with country music, they only started to gain bigger popularity among country music fans in the ‘80s. Before that line dancing was also done to disco, r&b and jazz. For example, one very cool jazz tune for a line dance is “Madison Time”.

There is a slow rock’n’roll dance from the late ‘50s called The Stroll. In the ‘70s it became an integral part of the dance TV series Soul Train and the show creator Don Cornelius called it the “Soul Train Line”. 

A dance called stroll is nowadays quite popular in the rock’n’roll scene but the one danced in Europe is quite different from the ‘50s stroll. I like that dance and it perfectly suits many r&b/ soul music pieces. I would just like to know the history of the stroll danced at rock’n’roll parties.

Solo dances

The ‘50s and ‘60s saw a lot of dance fads. The ‘60s were overall marked by the turn to free-style solo dancing. Many clubs hired go-go dancers so the partygoers could choose moves from dance fads and also imitate go-go dancers (who also used moves from different dance crazes). One of the primary sources to learn dance moves was television. For many African-American teenagers in the Washington, D.C. area the most important dance show was Teenarama, (which still showed a lot of partner dances). Teenarama could be seen as one of the precursors of the ‘70s Soul Train, which had a much wider reach and larger popularity. 

Besides soul music, I also like very much ‘60s rock music. So it would be good to know some dance moves to have more fun at the parties. Although I am not much into ‘70s soul music, I still think that learning the aforementioned dance moves is a good way to become more comfortable in one’s body and get into dancing in general. Partner dances are a good way to connect with other people but solo dancing allows you to enjoy music on your own. I think that the popularity of solo dancing in the ‘60s grew out of the wish to freely improvise on the dance floor and not be restricted and pressured by specific rules. On the other hand, knowing a bunch of different moves could be helpful for improvisation.

Here are two reportages about go-go dancing: from Australia and Germany.

The most stylish solo dance that has grown out of the love of soul music comes from the northern soul scene. In the beginning, the playlist of northern soul parties consisted mainly of rare records of fast-tempo ‘60s soul music. Later newer music with suitable speed and 4/4 beat was included, but that also caused a division between traditionalists and so-called modern soul fans. Northern soul dancing is quite athletic and one needs a lot of stamina. Although both the northern soul and popcorn scenes concentrated on rare soul records, the party atmospheres were quite different. Popcorn music is slower and many popcorn parties took place at the beach or in the countryside where people were consuming Belgian beer. The northern soul scene was located in the industrial towns of northern England where people danced to fast music and quite a lot of amphetamines were consumed. Here is a short article about how people learn northern soul dancing nowadays.

What possibilities does soul music offer, and how differently could the culture of soul parties look in the future? I will write about that in my next blog post.

EXAMPLES

Here are some more videos of the dances listed above.

DC hand dance

Good examples of different moves and sub-styles of DC hand dance

One more example of DC Hand Dancers

Carolina shag

Ellen Taylor and Michael Norris dance Carolina shag in 2008, introduction by Norma Miller

Charlie Womble and Jackie McGee dance Carolina shag in 1998

Dance crazes

Go-go Instruction with Maureen

Hitchhike

Monkey - Major Lance/ the Miracles

The Twist - Chubby Checker/ compilation

Mashed Potato

The Loco-Motion

Some examples of popcorn/ slow swing

Popcorn deel 1 en 2

Popcorn 3 in Hechtel dansschool

Popcorn Dansclub Mello

Popcorn Dansclub Mello part 2

popcornles1

C'EST LA VIE FANS DE POPCORN OLDIES ( DJ LUCIEN) FACE (1)

C'EST LA VIE FANS POPCORN OLDIES ( DJ LUCIEN) FACE ( 2)

Northern soul 

There are so many videos about northern soul dancing. One can find them on their own, but I will share two important channels here.

Levanna

Aranivah