#can i really call this balan positivity???

[barbie--art]

It's a matter of time until you become Lance

This one's also pretty old, but I still like him

I imagine that Balan would probably feel super guilty over succumbing to negativity, like he failed his human friends by not being strong enough (which would become a vicious cycle of him feeling negative emotions over all of this, which in turn would fuel his new state). He would hide from visitors and avoid any contact with those who met him before, like Emma or Leo. He wouldn't want them to see that he's become exactly what he promised to protect them from

maybe I should revisit this topic, I like the tragedy of it

[pawsometoons]

Edit: PLEASE LOOK AT, READ, AND REBLOG THE LINKED POST FIRST BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE

I know I usually don't post about stuff like this. But I'm spreading this over to Tumblr to make absolutely sure that everyone in the NiGHTS and Balan fandoms here know this information

I was a victim of Elfie's a while back last year. Both me and a close friend were victims.

At the time, neither of us knew things were this bad. But now I'm releived to know this information is out there and that server is gone for good. And hopefully, nobody will fall for her manipulation again.

CaptainElfie is also on tumblr. Make sure your steer clear of her and block her if you can.

I feel like, since I'm sharing this, I should also share me and my friend's part of the story

My friend doesnt have tumblr, but she is on Twitter (vibripple)

This was an incident from last year, but it's affected both of us pretty harshly. Especially Vib. Not to say we hadnt had a few questionable ordeals in the past. But I'm just going to explain what I can remember, since some of the information I've repressed for the sake of my mental stability.

For the small things, there were plenty of times where me and Vib didnt feel comfortable or safe in the server. Especially with us both being sex repulsed asexuals. Some of this behavior would be from other members of the server, which would never be pointed out or taken care of. And some of this behavior, Elfie had shown herself. Of course, she attempted to show that she cared about mine and Vib's boundaries. But she simply wasnt trying hard enough, since some other members still were pretty icky. Even in VRChat meetings too. Another thing being, both me and Vib had noticed, Elfie never acted very mature at all. She rarely ever took responsibility or tried to act civil in problematic situations.

And then theres the incident that was in the nail in the coffin for us both. It was just after the Monay vs. Fame vs. Love SPLATFEST in Splatoon 3. Both me and Vib were present in it, confident that we would win. Up until the end where Team Money won. Both me and Vib were devastated. Especially since we both associated the splatfest with a comfort character. And seeing we lost, it felt like we let said character down. Especially me. And though, of course, we were aware that yes it's a fictional character, but that didn't stop us from being upset. But elfie took things too far when she took an already bad day and made it absolutely worse. Elfie saw our behavior that day and our massive disappointment in the splatfest results and had the audacity to pull us both into a group chat with another member and act "worried" about our behavior. Again, we were just very upset at the loss of a splatfest that we were positive we were gonna win in, and again, associated with a comfort character. End of story. Or at least we wished it was. Then Elfie went even further to accuse both me AND Vib of being parasocial because of our behavior towards not only the splatfest, but our comfort characters too. Now, Vib has this thing, where she really likes Reala. I have this thing where I really like Judgement Boy. I call Judgement Boy my son, she calls Reala her bff. We BOTH are completely aware that they are both fictional characters and arent real, as much as we wish they were. And yet, here was Elfie, "worrying" about us like we're those tiktok teens who believe in quantum jumping or whatever it's called. We are both grown adults with of course one or two mental disabilities at best. But we are not that mentally ill. During this time, me and Vib could barely speak. We were both having straight up panic attacks on call may I mind you. And Elfie has the gall to try and force us onto VRChat to speak to her about this. In which neither of us had the energy or mental capacity to do at the time because, again, we were both having fully blown panic attacks. Both me and Vib have some pretty bad trauma when it comes to being confronted about things that arent true about us or thing we never even did. What makes this worse, is that I can say for almost everybody in that server, that they've had comfort characters aswell. HELL, there was one member who's status said things about being in love with Reala. Now I'm not against fictional crushes, or those who have F/Os and such. But for me and Vib, we had nothing close to that! Or at least not to that extent. Especially since Vib didnt even have a fictional crush on her comfort character. She saw Reala as a best friend. But again, being fully aware that Reala is a fictional character. So it was basically on the same lines, just not in the exact same way. And THAT user never got called out for it! THEY never got put on the spot in a private gc and being told they're parasocial for it! And all while this was happening, one of my partners, bless his soul, went out of his way to speak to Elfie for us. Which is when we found out that Elfie didnt care as much about us as we thought she did. She claimed that she didnt like our behavior despite us being some of the more normal users in that server, and even had the audacity to call some of our other close friends that we even had invited into the VRChat group gatherings as annoying. It was a whole mess that I regret having one of my partners get involved with, but I am forever grateful for him to have gotten that information for us. So after that incident, we began slowly distancing ourselves from the group and the server. Slowly started blocking people, leaving and blocking the vrchat group, and soon after, blocking Elfie and leaving the server for good.

Things didn't stop right away though. We still kept in touch with a few users who remained in the server, but at least accepted our decision to leave. Some have even stated that Elfie and some of the others "missed us" or "hoped we were okay" which neither of us believed for a second. Elfie herself even tried to pull in one of our close friends who she had as I stated prior, called him annoying. As he states, she said something along the lines of not knowing when she called him annoying and wanted him to join her server. In which, yeah, he didn't fall for that either.

Most of the other members of that server probably don't even know what happened that day. But if you're seeing this and remember us from that server.. well.. now you do.

But I do wish for everyone else who was in this situation aswell to heal. Their experiences should have to be heard too and not just mine. So many more people were hurt by Elfie than just me and you all should listen to them too.

[shadowqueen402]

Hello again! If you want to, can you continue on with the idea of TADC cast being introduced to Wonderworld? (And for Pomni, a way to escape)

Sure thing! I can already imagine how that will turn out.

When Balan led the seven to Wonderworld, neither of them were expecting much. But they were curious as to why Wonderworld took place inside a theatre building.

But when they entered into a world with a wide green land and thirteen different lands, neither of them were prepared for any of this.

"This is Wonderworld?" Ragatha asked, looking around. "I've never seen a world such as this before!"

"And what might those be, Balan?" Caine asked, pointing to the thirteen different lands.

"Those are called stages, Caine," Balan explained. "They're places that my thirteen fellow friends reside in order to confront their personal pain."

"So basically, your friends come here to emotionally heal, correct?" Zooble guessed. Just then, she suddenly felt something touch her leg. When she looked down, she spotted a bunch of colorful, round creatures approaching her. "Don't tell me that your place is infested with Gloinks too!"

"An insect collection?" Kinger asked, glancing down at the creatures with curiosity.

"I don't think those are insects," Gangle pointed out. At this, Kinger yelped despite the fact that Gangle was literally right next to him.

"These are not Gloinks nor insects, you see." Balan scooped one of the creature up into his hands. "These creatures are called Tims; worry not, they're super friendly."

"Alright, I've had enough of these things," Jax said, averting his eyes while looking mildly annoyed. One yellow Tim had hopped up and was now nuzzling his cheek. This caused Ragatha to stifle a giggle.

"Come on, Jax," Ragatha said, scooping one up gently. "That little guy sure likes you."

"Dear brother, I heard voices from within." Another male's voice immediately grabbed everyone's attention. "I wasn't aware that you brought Visitors in."

Everyone turned and stared in awe at the person who entered the room. He was a man who was as tall as Balan. But unlike the behatted maestro, this man had black, tentacle-like hair and long tentacles emerging from his back. His outfit was purple and black. And his eyes were blue with a yellow sclera. By his feet was a small black creature with a white mask that looked like a squirrel.

"Dearest friends, meet my twin brother," Balan said, walking over to Lance. "Despite us being different, we still look out for each other."

"Is he a maestro too?" Ragatha asked.

"While Balan himself is the maestro of positivity, I am Lance, maestro of negativity," Lance explained. "Together, we work to give every Visitor a chance. To help them mend their hearts and regain their balance."

"Whatever you say, Gloomy," Jax said, smiling mischievously at Lance, who wasn't amused by the nickname that was given to him.

While everyone was talking to the two maestro brothers, Pomni looked around silently. She stopped when she saw them; two doors with some light flowing inside. Now was her chance! She could finallt escape!

Pomni waited until everyone was distracted. Then, she quietly snuck off and made her way out of the Isle of Tims and down the corridor. She was so close! She could finally leave! Once she opened those doors, she would be back home and into her normal life!

Pomni reached out for the doorknob. But to her dismay, something stopped her. She was suddenly knocked over and was snuggled by a bunch of Tims. "GAH!" Pomni yelped. This drew everyone's attention as Balan walked over to Pomni.

"My apologies, Pomni," Balan said while scooping up the Tims. "My dear Tims mean no harm, really." Jax, in the background, was heard snickering at the sight.

"Y-Your Tims…?" Pomni asked, backing away from them as they chirped at her.

"They must have assumed you wanted to play," Balan guessed. "When it comes to affection, Tims sure have their way."

Pomni stayed rooted where she was. All she could do was eye those Tims in curiosity and fear.

[therealslimscreamer]

thinking abt au balan and lance… rambles under cut

like. ok for one i think im gonna call this au something like the dreaming au but the concept is that like balan and lance are both dreams created by Dream (the character) designated to maintain balance within the dreaming. dream pretty much lets them decide how to do this and that results in the theater! at first its only lance running the place but this plan falls apart the first time dream is taken (not the glass incident a different thing) and suddenly its on lance to try and keep themself together while the dreaming is falling apart. which. unsurprisingly. doesn’t end well! they end up spiraling and eventually falling into negativity rather than maintaining balance- thus, when dream returns, he makes balan as the positive to match lance’s negative.

dream is kinda hard to really get a feel for, esp since this is before all of his growth in the comics, and i translated that as him being a but cold and distant and kinda selfish. he acknowledges he shouldn’t have put so much pressure on lance, but simultaneously sees no issue putting that same, or even more, pressure on balan. he doesn’t intervene much- if at all- unless something’s going wrong… and since balan is always putting in 110% to make sure everything is Perfect, dream pays him no mind. its a vicious cycle of balan vying for approval and dream not giving it because he’s only waiting for the one time balan fails so he can fix the issue.

less dream adjacent, i imagine after lance’s fall they take to messing with the theater phantom of the opera style lol. can you tell i like phantom of the opera shensjbw (glances at the fact both balan and lance have the phantom as their voice claim)

but like yeah lance is trying so hard to make something go wrong for balan, be it dragging people towards negativity or giving them nightmares or generally screwing with the theater, and just getting more and more irritated when balan keeps clutching up and fixing everything before it can cause a problem. like lance screwing with the lights, or breaking things, or demanding changes trying to get balan out of the theater and when she comes back to spy later everything is fine. sometimes balan even leaves notes back like “woauw that was a really good suggestion!!! ty!!!” and lance is genuinely losing her shit bc NO why are you doing GOOD its making it HARDER for me to HATE YOU. i hate you so much stop being so nice!!!

yeah i have more i could ramble abt but. this is a fair bit as is. also i louve to answer asks if my tags yapping didn’t make it clear but putting it out here as well :]

[0heartangel0]

PERSONA 5 TACTICA IS NOT GREAT: A VERY ODDLY-CONSTRUCTED RANT

Pt. 5: What's Balan's Children Doing Here?

Back when this game was bringing out trailers as it slowly got closer to release, they kept showing these little hat-headed people. The first thought was, "they're cute", then it was, "why do they look like the offspring of Cappy and Balan?" (Don't visualize that), and finally, "What purpose will these little guys serve for the plot, or, at the very least, will they be important?"

And the answer to that last one was very apparent the moment I played the game:

Okay, that's technically not true, but we'll get to that.

These things are what I'm going to call hat people. They're these beings who reside in each Kingdom (minus the 4th one), fulfilling a certain role depending on its theme.

In Kingdom 1, they're part of the Rebel Corp - a group that was formed to take down the tyrannical Marie in order to gain their home and freedom back. They're led by Erina, who, at the start of the game, isn't having a very successful time. It's not until the Phantom Thieves and Toshiro enter the picture that they finally gain an advantage and eventually take down Marie once and for all.

In Kingdom 2, they're just normal citizens put under the watchful eye of Yoshiki, who paints himself as someone loving. In reality, though, he uses this falsehood to put the citizens under his foot, and have some of them be put in these camps that are really just forced labor. They're at first afraid of going against Yoshiki, until Toshiro inspires them to rise up in a speech. The citizens eventually help out the thieves by fighting back the aizen, led by a woman named Yuki (as much as I really want to, I'm gonna save my rant on her later).

Kingdom 3 has the Rebel Club - a group of students stuck in a school thanks to the ruler. They're shown to be a lot more aggressive than any of the other hat people, immediately suspicious of the thieves the moment they first meet. Any time they mention the tyrant's name, it's bleeped out, so we initially don't know who he is.

gEE!! I wOndER wHo ThE TYraNt CoUlD bE! IT cOuLd LIteRaLlY Be anYBoDy-

Also, can I just say the hat girls in Kingdom 3 look kind of dumb? They just have a wig, because school girls don't usually wear hats as a part of the school uniform, and it's so funny.

Near the end of the Kingdom, after it's revealed that the tyrant is - shocker - Toshiro, the Rebel Club become aggressive towards the PT, and disappear from LeBlanc, never to be seen again for the rest of the game.

Now, from the way I explained this, you might think that the hat people might actually have some type of purpose in the story. And to an extent, they do. They're supposed to represent certain things and people related to Toshiro's struggles in life.

The Rebel Corp (I think) are supposed to represent Toshiro's want to fight against Marie's demands and abuse towards him.

The citizens of Yoshiki's Kingdom represent his fear of standing up to his father and/or how Toshiro sees Yoshiki manipulate the people of Japan thanks to his political position (this one is especially speculative, because we're never really told the citizen's role (I'll bring this up in a bit)).

The Rebel Club are the most obvious; they're supposed to represent the students Toshiro and Eri brought together to help take down Nakabachi, their vice principal. After the accident with Eri caused by an insane Nakabachi, the students started blaming the whole thing on Toshiro and started bullying him extensively (thus, why they turn on him once it's revealed who the tyrant is).

Where my issues start to surface is how inconsistent and (with the exception of the Rebel Club) downright vague the symbolism is for these people.

While the Rebel Corp represents an internal conflict within Toshiro (a want, if you will), the Rebel Club represents real people in his life. And the Yoshiki citizens could go either way, because it's never even alluded to. The same could arguably be said for Marie, but there's no other thing the Rebel Corp could represent other than wanting to rebel against Marie. Meanwhile, with Yoshiki's reach and also his connection with Toshiro, it's hard to pinpoint which aspect of the symbolism they're going for. The Rebel Club, on the other hand, are extremely obvious and on-the-nose in their representation. It's the only one where they kind of tell it to you straight, unlike the other two, which is frustrating.

Either way, the hat citizens lack consistency on what they want to be in relation to Toshiro. Do they represent him as a person? His feelings on his position? People in his past? What?? While you could make the argument that it's intentional that they all have differing symbolism (internal and external conflicts), the fact they all have the same base designs and (annoying) voices doesn't exactly help to get that across without it feeling confused.

Even if we ignore all of that, they're very useless and annoying characters.

From their small chibi bodies, their big purple eyes, the hat-head gimmick, to their high-pitched voices, it's very obvious that they wanted to make cutesy creatures to make as mascots of sorts for this game. However, it just fails for me because nothing they do really warrants an "AWWW!!" from me. When they're not running headfirst into danger or comically killed or harmed, they're trying to tug at your heartstrings through their "heroic" sacrifices for the sake of the rebellion or getting whipped and tortured through tiring labor (the scene of one of the citizens crying in pain in their chipmunk-pitched voices while stock whip sound effects played was unintentionally one of the funniest moments in the game).

Now, these moments would be effective if they actually gave me a reason to care for these people. But they don't. You know why? Because they're not real! None of them are real! They're all manifestations in Toshiro’s head, and that's about it. Why should I care what happens to them, aside from the fact that they're cute and squeaky, so you must feel bad?

In the original Persona 5, while the people in the ruler's Palaces are just cognitions of real people, they're still representing real people that are actually being affected in a similar fashion as to how they are in the Palace; the volleyball team being tortured and put in cells is a representation of how they're actually treated and seen by Kamoshida; the multiple portraits of people in Madarame's Palace are supposed to be all of the people that were his assistants whom he eventually plagiarized from, including Yusuke; the people with atm heads wandering the streets of Kaneshiro's Shibuya are supposed to be the people that he's basically bleeding money from. It's to show us why these people need to be taken down, and the consequences of what would happen if they're not.

Strikers raises the stakes a bit by having the people in the Monarch's Jails be the shadows of actual people who've had their desires stolen, thus making them their brainwashed puppets in real life. Seeing them all huddled in Jail cells in each Jail Keep just shows the scale of how many people these Monarchs have affected and used for their own personal gain. And we actually see the consequences of this in real life during investigation segments, where some of the people we interact with are just full-on gone, and wandering the streets of each city lets us hear some of the locals just drip out creepy words of praise for that city's Monarch. Once again, it gives us an incentive as to why we must do something about this.

What are the stakes of us not helping the hat people, aside from them maybe helping us get easier access to the door home? Jack all! There's no reason, other than just wanting to help out the random town of Nowhere, Middleof.

I really have nothing more to say about these things, other than they're just dumb and unnecessary. Also, why hats? What does that say about Toshiro in any way? Does he just like hats? I guess!? I mean, I've got nothing! Why am I still dragging this on for way too long-

Pt. 1, Pt. 2, Pt. 3, Pt. 4, Pt. 4.5, Pt. 6, Pt. 7, Pt. 8

[balanceater]

Adalyn Stehle's In-Game Dialogue

Based around the idea that @shadowqueen402 had for the characters to have ACTUAL in-game dialogue. I may do more for some of my other Balan Wonderworld OCs in the future.

*In the opening of her story* Dad said he'd be here... He promised he would watch me sing this time... Did he lie? Or did he pretend to forget like always?

*In her ending* He made it! And he's wearing one of my shirts! *Feels Balan tap her shoulder and sign to her* Alright. It's showtime!

*In her secret ending* You actually made it! I was so scared you didn't!

*Hears her father tell her that traffic just held him up* You could've just walked you know. It's probably a bit safer anyway.

*Hears her manager call for her for autograph signing* Sorry, Dad. I got to do a few autographs. Once I'm done, I'll call you and we can spend the rest of the night around the WHF okay?

*Hears her father say alright and that he's proud of her as he walks away. Once he leaves, she sighs and says to herself* Balan... Lance... Hope you two are doing okay... And thanks for helping me...

*In the bad ending* Sorry Dad... Looks like... You're losing... Me... Too...

*If the player chooses to play as her* Showtime, baby!

*If she sees Leo/Emma wear her default outfit* Wow... You actually don't look that bad.

*upon having her outfit changed* This is actually kind of cute!

*if Negati appear in front of her* Talk about unwanted attention!

*to the Tims* Dawww! You're so cute! No wonder Balan loves you guys.

*upon wearing her representative costume* I feel a lot happier than before!

*Upon being defeated* AAAHHHHH!

*collecting items* This should help in the long run.

*if the player goes near her illusion* Keep going! Don't let anybody stop you!

*If the player is near her illusion and Negati appear* Watch out for those things!

*If the player gets lost* Exit's that way. *Points in said direction*

*If the player puts on her Representative Costume* You look just as cute as me now!

*After being saved* I can actually talk again! Thank you so much for helping me out!

*Adalyn turns slightly sad* I honestly don't know what happened back there. Last thing I remember was looking into the crowd to see if Dad was in there. Next thing I know, it felt like my voice was getting torn out of my throat and I couldn't sing anymore. I kept thinking he didn't care about me after all.

*If the player gives a positive response* Thanks. Guess I really needed to hear that. You know... you remind me of my Mom. She always knew how to get me out of the "Bad Space" that is my head.

*If the player gives a negative response* Dude... I just vented my trauma to you and that's what you got to say? You lucky I don't believe in physical violence.

*If the player gives a neutral response* Thanks for letting me vent, I guess. It felt nice being able to talk like that for once.

[kayssweetdreams]

Maestro Hiccups 2 Nightmares Unleashed Part 9

To My Dearest Friends...

I must call upon your help once more, for a much bigger problem is now in store. Lance has gotten the hiccups, but this problem proves much trouble is lurking, as the Wonder Fruit Tea, my cure, isn't working. But another cure is know, and it seems, that it is found in the Night Dimension, or the World of Dreams. But I am changing, I must do damage control here, You'll have to get the cure I fear. But come to the theater, and I can explain, What this cure, and how to obtain

With Love, but with urgency, Balan the Maestro of Positivity.

The humans stared at Cal as he finished reading the note. Cal raised an eyebrow "I KNEW IT!! I knew it wasn't a dream!" He boasted before he felt a small tug at his leg. Looking down, he saw Kuro trying to hurry him along, telling him that they didn't have much time to waste. "Well...I guess a journey back to Wonderworld is in order." Mei said.

The door to the bathroom finally opened "Balan needs us?" Emma asked, wiping her tear streaked face. They all nodded "Well then...What are we waiting for?! Let's go!" She said, rushing to the door. The other inhabitants quickly followed her as they ran out of their suite, and to the elevator. On the way down, Mei grabbed her phone and wrote a quick text

"Kaylo, You NEED to come back, It's a Wonderworld related EMERGENCY!!"

After sending it, the Elevator finally made it to the bottom as the group rushed outside...only to bump into Aria again "We've really have to stop meeting like this" She said with a chuckle. Aria helped Iben up, but took notice of her and her friends...strange behavior. "Is...Is everything alright?" She asked. Iben gave a tight, but panicked smile "Yep! Everything's fine, nothing to worry about! The fate of the world is totally not at stake here!" She lied.

Iben and the others quickly ran out of the hotel and rushed to find the Balan Theater, but Leo kept tripping over his feet, causing Eis and Jose to have to lift him up and carry him to the theater "Hurry! Not a moment to spare!" Lucy yelled, as they all followed the little Negati, all the while, panicked thoughts filled their heads.

A few blocks down, the group finally made it to the Balan Theater, and were now frantically pounding the door to get in "BALAN!! BALAN!! PLEASE OPEN UP!!" Sana yelled. The doors slowly opened, and revealed one of Balan's golden eyes, however, his usual smile was gone, and he was hiding more in the shadows than usually greeting them

"Oh good! You finally came, I don't know what I'd do if Lance was to Blame." He said, shrinking into the shadows. "Balan? What's wrong?" Yuri asked, not used to Balan, of ALL people (erm, Beings) to HIDE himself "it's quite alright dear Yuri, But for Lance's hiccups, you better hurry." The maestro said, still sticking to the shadows

Trisha Jane raised a eyebrow. "Balan...we have to know what's happening, and to do so, we need to actually see WHAT happened to you." She said. The group heard Balan sigh "Alright, I'll reveal my new form, but it's not what you're expecting, I must inform." He said, his voice sounding worried, and...afraid?

A spotlight lit itself in front of them, and the sound of a heel clacking against the ground got their attention. And, to their surprise, shock and Horror, they saw Balan.

But he had gained the resemblance of Lance...

Mei belongs to @sundove88

Rebecca belongs to @thehypercutstudios/@thehyperrequiem

Trisha Jane Belongs to @lovelyteng

Aria belongs to @shadowqueen402

[pretty-pink-seaslug]

Maestro species headcanons I have that tie into my madre au, feel free to use some of these hcs yourself if you wanna!

Natural Maestros of any species (Slugterrian, Arachnid, Reptling, etc.) are naturally above average human height, if they disguise themselves as a human, they’ll shrink down by 1-2 feet, however, if they’re real good at magic (see; Balan and Lance) they can shrink themselves down to a more humane height

-> In my AUs, Balan and Lance’s human forms are about 8’7, since their maestro forms are roughly double the size of a common 15 year old boy (Leo), that makes them about 11’3 tall, no human being is 9 feet tall so they both opted to shrink down by 3 feet 😊

Maestros don’t really have last names, nor do they even have real human names, their names are usually words, phrases, adjectives, hell even random syllables put together to sound like a name! Think of characters from Nights Into Dreams—

There’s a whole Maestro world out there! Titled “The Offworld”, Offworld is kind of a realm/second earth separate from ours, that’s where Maestros come from!

-> All Maestros no matter the subspecies are born with magical/non-human abilities, though depending on the subspecies, the magic level your born with would be higher or lower, Theater Maestros (see Balan and Lance) have a natural high level of Magic, since their subspecies is more of a wildcard subspecies, being that they’re not based on any sort of animal or insect. Balan and Lance’s levels were the average magic level, but for reasons I haven’t thought of yet 🙈, they trained their magic to such a high degree, they were able to create a big enough pocket dimension to have other worlds inside it, alas, Wonderworld!

In Offworld, there are regions where a certain subspieces of Maestro is most common, whether that place is based off an actual region of our world I haven’t fully decided, tho I’ve had the little idea in mind lately that Slugterrians come from a kinda Maestro Malaysia—

There’s a ton of magical stuff and legends all over the world in Offworld, Millennial tree from cookie run? There’s a legend like that. Sailor Moon? There’s a legend like that. You think about any magic/Fatidic story, and there’s a story similar or just like that in Offworld. And it’s all true too and just happened like millions of years ago—

Madre isn’t actually a human, but a used to be Maestro, She was a theater maestro specifically, and at some point in her early-mid adulthood, banded together with a bunch of other maestros of several different subspecies, became a high enchantress with very high power, and with them created the heartbreak project! To take in humans with broken hearts that don’t want to be in the pain/world/painful world their in, and lift them to a magic sophistication ✨ and grant that very wish of being in a different world! Free of their mental and emotional even physical pain!

-> the best part about this system to them, is them powering the heartbreakers, helps power the coveters back! (that’s what I call the leaders of the heartbreak project) It’s a cycle to help one another 😌🙏 They use their powers to ‘fix’ and help broken humans ascend, the journey of the human’s ascension uses the Coveter’s power while also sharing some of their power too, after a while the ascension is complete, no more power is needed, the cycle repeats! Magic to generate more magic to then power more magic that generates magic—

Maestros that practice magic of heart can read emotions just by catching a sort of aura off of you, the stronger that emotion the greater said aura, and depending on that Maestro’s stance (positive, negative, and in rare cases neutral) they can gain a small bit of power by feeding off of your aura, Balan and Lance feeding off positive and negative energies respectively

Originally I had the idea that Maestro kind are all positive and radiant and super peaceful and :D perfect!!!11!1!1!1 :D but I’ve been liking the idea more lately that they had wars and stuff like us too just less of them— They’re not all innately perfect and positive obviously but I just imagine they’re like earth but if it went in the right direction, kinda like Splatoon where the sea life learns from humanity’s mistakes (a little bit anyways 😰) except instead of Maestros learning from Humanity it’s like Humanity in The Good Timeline lol

Some Maestros walk among humans, and have been doing so for many centuries, tho most decide not to cuz well it’s a world that isn’t where you’re from— but they get along with humans just fine! You can never really tell who’s a maestro and who’s not unless like they transform right in front of you lol

-> James Charles is a reptling maestro (THIS IS A JOKE THIS IS A JOKE DONT HATE ME—)

Aaand that’s it for the headcanons/lore! Again feel free to incorporate any of these into your AUs n stuff if you like it, I don’t mind!

also here’s a transparent Vanity silhouette because it’s cool✨

[koncreates]

Fun things you won't know unless you read the Balan Wonderworld novel:

Both Balan and Lance speak Entirely and Exclusively in rhymes

Lance is evil* (even in his misleading end game "purified" form) but he DOES love the humans in wonderworld to an extent

All the gems (or "drops") in each stage are the tears cried by humanity, colored by whatever emotion made them cry

Tims eat drops created by positive emotion, negati eat ones created by negative emotion

Each stage can be gotten to from other stages by basically noclipping hax the humans of wonderworld discovered (meaning most of them befriended one another before the in-game events)

Leo's Wonderworld name is Streetbeat and Emma's is Fighter

(Also every human has a Wonderworld name but idk if that's in the game or not)

*Lance was born ~3,000 years ago from humanity's negative emotions and wants to become Wonderworld's Maestro so he can keep the people within happy and without memories of their trauma, letting the negative emotion fester in their hearts for him to feed off of

Balan calls kids dummies (lovingly)

I may add more as time goes by but I thought these were neat!

If you like the vibe of the game but hate how disappointing the game itself is, I really implore you to buy the novel!

[wonderworldwonderings]

MAJOR ENDING SPOILER ASK/ DISCUSSION AND PICS UNDER THE CUT

Okay, so to preface this, before I read the novel (I have now and I'll be writing a big ole post about it) I have to say I was kind of heartbroken how things ended up for Lance. This ending just felt... Completely off centre from what the storyline was preaching the entire time. You come to the Balance theatre, where two characters combined make BALANCE, and in the end the negative one just gets yeeted, squashed out so positivity only remains?? I understand it could be a metaphor of the idea that negativity can and WILL drag you down if you don't be careful with it, but Balan didn't even try to save Lance?? Balan was built up as this character that completely and absolutely gives himself to other people to help them and be in their lives, yet there was nothing for Lance?? I'm not going to claim I know more about the character than the directors, but to me it just... Didn't feel in character at all. Balan should have reached out to save Lance, done SOMETHING to save them in the end.

I feel that Lance should have been saved. I understand that redemption for villains means they do have a lot of work cut out for them to repair the damages they've done, but fuck man, they didn't even give Lance a CHANCE. There's potential for a sequel if you finagle some things around, and fuck I might even write it myself where they make efforts to save Lance from wherever they went (because they're obv not DEAD, they just got pulled into some weird vortex). And especially to have them saved, RIGHT BEFORE they get killed off? That’s like... not even a victory. It’s just not fun.

The Tim drops being apparent tears is one thing, but I think they're more a creation of intense, positive emotions. Of course Balan crying means they'd create some Tim drops, he was experiencing such love in that moment! I wonder if the colours correspond to specific emotions? The drop looked blue in that cutscene (probably only because the background was a blue tint), but blue Tim drops have shown to give Tim's the ability to destroy obstacles... And Balan in that moment had witnessed Emma and Leo overcome a huge obstacle themselves. So it makes sense!

(This was super cool to hear because I had NO idea there were a lot of rules that go into being bonafide clowns! I’m gonna research it more after this)

And don't even get me started on Balan's 'canon' look under the hat. I DO NOT SEE IT. It's a fine design and all but it's not... Balan, imo. The look he has with the hat suits his personality so much more, this goofy, quirky and kind of weird and mysterious entity that is having a lot of fun with all his interactions. And without the hat he's just... Plain. BUT, talking to a friend who has a lot of info about how the Clown industry works, they actually provided me with a lot of really cool tips! 

- “Balan is most likely wearing traditional Whiteface makeup. Whiteface clowns are generally the leaders of a giggle of clowns, and traditionally all skin must be covered. So YES he and Lance are white, but it's likely just makeup! Especially since there's facial markings around the eyes on top of the white, AND that they're wearing gloves + are fully covered!”

Regardless, I’m also going to play around with some fan designs for both Balan and Lance that make them a better mix of their original designs. Because they should have both been alive in the end, both as a mix of each other to show the balance between negativity and positivity, heck, ANYTHING to show balance that the ending didn't provide (the novel KIND of explains this, but it’s still unfortunately LACKING in explanation and leaves the whole ending feeling kinda... hollow). I WISH Balan had of tried to save them, reached out, ANYTHING true to his selfless and caring nature. The ending dance number was something I called would happen all along, but I thought LANCE WOULD BE WITH THEM. 

On another note, the ending with the Inhabitants and Balan? Holy, fucking shit. That was (despite the disappointment with Lance), GORGEOUS, WONDERFUL, HEALING. I loved it A LOT. It was interesting to have the confirmation that they're trapped hearts too! I know the novel goes into way more detail about the actual inhabitants which is really fun too. But good lord, the way Balan interacted with them at the end, it was so fucking sweet. He loves them, he loves them so much. You can Tell IMMEDIATELY when Jose goes over to thank Balan that he’s not at ALL used to receiving praise or thanks for what he does. 

LOOK AT HIM, HE DOESN’T KNOW WHAT TO DO FOR A MOMENT. HE’S SO TAKEN ABACK.

I should wrap this up before it gets too long. I will say, as a footnote, I've since read the novel after having written this all out, to which I’ll upload a separate post abt it before this one gets too long. Reading the novel NOW, it’s put way more into perspective and although I wish they had of done some key things differently in the game, I’m more settled on it. AND, I love this game so, SO much more!

[lady-amethyst18]

I'll hear you sing

Emma paced back and forth in her room. On her bed laid a black choir dress, a fake pearl necklace, and a compact of blush. She was getting ready for her choir concert this evening. But today was more nerve-wracking than ever. Because she was chosen as the lead singer for the last song of the show. She got lots of praise from her teachers and peers, saying that she had a beautiful voice and was perfect for the solo act. She even practiced the song every day to herself and memorized the lyrics all by heart. But when the day finally came, she felt like she was going to melt into a puddle of goo.

What if she froze out there in front of everyone? What if she messes up and forgets her cue? What if she hits a wrong note? What if the audience doesn't like her singing? What if she completely embarrasses herself out there? She started pacing faster. She held her cheeks in her hands, and her stomach started flip-flopping. "Stop stressing, Emma." She said to herself. "Stop stressing!" She repeated. She looked into the mirror, looking at her nervous face. She shook her head and groaned loudly. "I need to go for a walk." She said as she started heading downstairs and out the door.

She walked through the neighborhood, trying to clear her head of the nerves of singing solo for the first time. She still felt butterflies in her stomach, and she could swear she was starting to sweat. Perfect... She was going to look like a mess by the time she gets to the concert. She wondered if she had enough time to take a shower by the time she got back. She brushed her hair out of the way, closing her eyes while still walking. "I have to pull it together. Maybe I can just tell the teacher that I can't be the lead singer. Or perhaps I can just pretend to lose my voice and they'll get someone else to sing. Or-" She was so lost in thought that she bumped into someone. Her eyes shot open as she finally snapped back to reality. "Oh my! I'm so sorry! I-I wasn't paying attention." She apologized. "It's ok. No harm done, dear." Said the voice.

She looked up to see who she bumped into. She followed the red and white pants up to the white and gold cloak until finally, her eyes reached the top of the person's head. A white top hat with a red strap pulled over his eyes. "Balan?" She called. Balan smiled widely upon seeing the young girl. "Emma!" He exclaimed. "What a pleasant surprise! I didn't expect to be bumping into you out here."

"I should be saying the same thing." She pointed out. "What are you doing out here?"

"I was just checking up on one of the latest visitors. Their hearts are healing just fine." He looked at the girl, who started to avoid eye contact with him. "But what about you? Seems like your heart could use some cheering itself." Emma rubbed the back of her head. "I just wanted to step out for a moment to clear my head. I've got too much on my mind." She said.

Balan focused on the girl's eyes. They had a look of apprehension and the glistening sweat on her brow added to his suspicion. "Emma," He called out softly. "I'm saying this with love, darling. But you look like you're about to have a heart attack. Why don't you come back with me to the theater? Tell me what's bothering you so much." Emma looked around the corners. The theater is nowhere to be seen. "Uh... Where is the theater?" She asked. Balan smirked as he held Emma's shoulder and snapped his fingers. "Right here!" He announced. It was in the same place where Emma initially found the theater. A brightly lit alleyway through the overgrown vegetation. She couldn't help but roll her eyes at Balan's goofiness. "Now then. Ladies first." Balan humbly opened the door and gestured her inside.

He leads her inside to the lounge area. The room was quiet and well decorated with a dusk color pallet that painted the walls. The chairs and couch had plush red velvet seats with golden buttons as decoration. A water pitcher with a few glasses stood on a tray with several tea flavors and what looked to be a bowl of miscellaneous fruit. "I don't think I've been to this part of the theater. It's nice." Emma complimented. "Why, thank you. Lance and I decorated it ourselves. Why don't you sit down and relax? Take a seat wherever you want." Balan said, taking a seat on the couch. Emma decided to take a chair that was sitting away from the table.

"Now then," Balan spoke, crossing his legs. "Why don't you tell me what's going on? Why is it you look so nervous?" Emma once again avoided eye contact. She clasped her hands and held them in her knees. "I've... Got a choir concert to go to... And I got the part as lead singer for the final song." She replied. "Oh, how wonderful! This must be a big moment for you." Balan cheered. But Emma shook her head. "It's too big!" She exclaimed. "I've never sung solo ever before in my life! I get my teachers and choir classmates like my singing, but what about everyone else? I feel like there's so much riding on this moment!" She stood up and started to pace around again.

Balan just nodded as Emma continued her tangent. "Nervous sweating, fast heartbeat, tense posture, thinking about how the performance could go wrong. Yep. Seems to me you've got a terrible yet common case of stage fright." He spoke up. "You think!?" She yelled back. "What if I hit a sour note?! Or what if I miss my cue?! Or what if the audience doesn't like my singing?! There's too much pressure; I can't stand it! I don't think I can do it! If I have to sing lead, I think I'm going to pass out and die!" She sat back down in the chair, fanning herself and hyperventilating. "Ok, ok, relax. Freaking out isn't going to help. You're going to give yourself an aneurysm, and then what will you do?" Balan stood next to the girl, handing her a paper bag to breathe into. To which she snatched it out of his hand and began huffing and puffing into it.

She continued this for about a minute before she finally caught her breath. The maestro thought this was ultimately a good time to get a word in edge-wise. "Emma," He started. "What if I told you I, too, get stage fright?" Emma paused and looked at him with wide eyes. "What? YOU get stage fright? The maestro of positivity himself get's stage fright?" She asked. Balan nodded. "Yep. Sweating, tensing up, thinking about how it could all go wrong, even getting butterflies in my stomach." Emma looked doubtful. "You do NOT get butterflies."

"No, no! I really do get butterflies. See?" He pounds his stomach and spat out a butterfly. Emma watched in amusement as she watched it flutter away. She tried her best to hide a giggle. "Balan... Th-that's not funny." She said, restraining her laughter. "Oh, come on! You're laughing. Look, I'll do it again!" He pounded his stomach again and spat out another butterfly. A few bursts of laughter left her. "Balan, stop! This isn't helpful!" She laughed. Balan laughed along with her.

"Alright, all joking aside." He said at last. "I used to get terrible stage fright when I was just starting out at helping people restore their balance. I was about... Oh, 300 years old until I finally grew out of it." Emma cocked her head to the side, wondering where Balan was going with the story. "So... How did you grow out of it?" She asked. Balan shrugged. "Oh, it wasn't easy. I could barely get through the introduction without my knees knocking. Sometimes I would get so stressed I would stop rhyming. But you know, after all that time, I was finally starting to enjoy it. The longer you're on stage, and the more you do it, the thought of being afraid kind of dies. I also had a secret hack that could help with my nerves."

"And what was that?" Emma asked.

"Can you keep a secret?"

"Uh, sure."

Balan looked back and forth before kneeling down and whispering in Emma's ear. "Don't tell anyone I said this, but I always had someone cheering me on in the audience. And do you know who that was?" Emma shook her head. "It was none other than Lance." Emma's jaw dropped. She knew that Balan and Lance had a sibling relationship, but they were never two peas in a pod. "No!" She exclaimed. "Really? You're pulling my leg." Balan smiled. "It's true. This was back when we were going easier on each other, quite long before the bouts. For some reason, it comforted me knowing he was there. Now, obviously, our relationship has changed over a few millennia, but I never forgot how much he helped me." Emma smiled. It made her heart grow knowing that Lance still had a heart in there somewhere despite being a negative maestro.

"Now, don't tell Lance I said this, ok?" Balan pointed out. "He doesn't want anyone to know he has feelings. He says it will kill his stoic reputation." Emma zipped her lips and held out a hand, telling him that she promised. "I think it's thoughtful that someone would always be in the audience cheering you on." She paused for a second, thinking about what the maestro was talking about. "... Balan," She started. "Would you... Watch my concert tonight?" Balan smiled widely. "Aha! You finally picked up what I was putting down! Of course, I would love to hear you sing! What time does it start?"

"It starts at 6:30."

"Oh, that's an hour and a half from now. We better get you there quick!" The maestro looked at the girl, seeing that she still had sweat on her brow and her hair was messy after panicking about the show. "Hmm... But first, let's get you dolled up before you go to that concert."

The maestro snapped his fingers, making Emma's choir dress, necklace, and blush appear. He draped the dress and necklace over his arm while holding the compact in his hand. "Head to the bathroom and clean yourself up, dear. You still have time to clean up before you go on stage." Emma smiled as he leads her to the bathroom. He handed over the dress and compact as he waited outside for the teenager to finish up cleaning. A few minutes had passed, and Emma took a shower, blowdried and brushed her hair, put on her dress, and applied her makeup.

Balan looked over as she opened the door. "Why, Emma!" He cheered. "You look lovely! Though something is missing." He looked closely at her, trying to pinpoint what was missing. "Oh!" She announced. "My necklace! All the girls in the choir are meant to wear these fake pearl necklaces." Balan dangled the necklace with his fingers. "You're meant to wear these?" He asked.

"Yeah."

Balan scoffed. "You're not going to wear this! The star doesn't deserve FAKE pearls. Come here; I have something better." He tossed the fake necklace aside. He clasped his hands together and rubbed them firmly. When he opened his hands, a real pearl necklace appeared. Emma stood in awe. "Wow! Is this real?" She asked. Balan smiled with pride. "It's the genuine article. May I?" Emma nodded as Balan put the necklace around her neck. "There you go!" He said. "Now you're perfect!"

Emma's smiled widened. She already began to feel much better. "You promise you'll be there when it's my turn to sing?" She asked. "Cross my heart." The maestro promised as he made an X mark around his heart. "Now, go on. Your teachers and peers will want to see you. I can't wait to hear you sing." He said as he leads her to the door. "Thanks, Balan. I hope to see you there." She said as she left, hoping the maestro would keep his word.

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

The concert was nearly over. It was time for the final song and Emma's lead role. She scanned the audience, looking for the top-hatted being. "Emma!" Called out a voice. It was Emma's choir director. "Are you ready for your solo?" She asked. The girl looked away. She felt her chest get tight, and she felt butterflies in her stomach again. "I'm... Expecting someone. In the audience. They promised they'd hear me sing. I can't find them." She continued to scan the audience, hoping to find her friend.

The director knelt down to her level. "I know you're nervous, Emma. But I'm sure that your friend, whoever they are, are out there in the audience right now, just waiting to hear your voice. And I know you'll be the brightest star out of anyone tonight. Have confidence in yourself, sweetheart." The whole choir group started going on the stage. "Take your place, Emma. Don't be scared. You can do it." The teacher held up two thumbs as Emma climbed up on stage.

As the curtains pulled away, the audience clapped their hands. Emma took a silent but deep breath, trying to maintain her composure. As the music started, she heard a slight sound. Her eyes wandered the auditorium until she looked in the front row. A man with seafoam green hair and a handsome white face with purple eye shadow. It was Balan! He undid the glamour for her. Seeing him, her heart instantly lifted as she started her song.

Emma could feel every ounce of nervousness melt away as she sang the lyrics. The more she carried on with the song, the less she noted the people in the auditorium. Dare she say it, she was enjoying herself. When the song was over, the crowd stood up and cheered. A single rose was thrown on stage. Emma picked it up and looked at the man in the front row. Balan clapped his hands and winked at her. Silently telling her, he knew she could do it. The teenager held back her tears of joy and smiled widely as she bowed for the audience.

[silverpsychedelic]

Balan, Lance and the Theatre Headcanons!

Here’s some more general headcanons for Balan, Lance and the Theatre because I absolutely did not delete the draft I had for the Lance headcanons and will have to start again (I’m not too upset tho I have a saved list lol). Once again massive shoutout to my friend Iris for helping me collaborate a lot of these!

- Balan and Lance are always representative of one side: Positive or Negative. But this balance can shift if given enough strain, which would ultimately switch their positions in the theatre (this is the idea I have for mine and Iris’ version of the swapped masks AU!) If Balan were to suffer from a great stress, he would change to represent more of the negative position while Lance would be pushed into the positive role. The Theatre will always maintain balance, no matter where they are on the scale. They both usually feel wildly uncomfortable with this, and it's extremely rare, even unheard of that they would switch completely. Something very very bad would have to happen to cause it.

- Balan and Lance have a trusted staff made up of costumes from the various worlds who will help keep the theatre spotless for Visitors, as well as perform general duties that are mostly allocated by Balan. My general theory is that Balan and Lance work together to oversee that hearts are restored, and Lance only plays the 'villain' because it's a vital part of the healing process. Someone’s gotta do it, right? It’s all following a sort of theatre program Balan has orchestrated, the worlds being the ‘acts’. And Lance and Balan will both maintain order to restore hearts of those who visit the Theatre. Regardless of their situation or mood, they'll act in a professional manner to keep the place running. Even if they hate each other at parts, they still respect each other and put stuff aside to help people.

- Balan likes to keep plants (there's SO many in the trailer) but this can go one of two ways: he's either super good at it and is a total plant dad, or he's absolutely horrendous and has killed cacti in the past, somehow. Now they're all plastic. Balan hates this, Lance thinks it's fucking hilarious.

- Nobody knows how or why, but the Theatre almost acts as if it's a living, breathing, sentient thing that seems to respond to Balan. Depending on his mood, the Theatre will respond in kind. If he's his usual self it's bright, inviting and cheery! But if he's in a bad mood, it can become dark and grey. If he grows too stressed -and I'm talking really stressed, the Theatre will appear to contort and crack in places. Balan also refers to the Theatre affectionately, calling it things like the old girl, darling, etc. Lance doesn't seem to have as much of a connection with it. - Continuing with this idea, it gives more sense to the accepted headcanon that Lance and Balan can’t leave the theatre to walk in the human world. Their souls are somehow tied to it, the Theatre is a part of them as much as they are a part of it. To attempt to leave means putting a massive, deadly strain on their souls -and that’s a proven fact after they had attempted to do so in the past for undisclosed reasons. 

- While Balan can spend anywhere between 1-3 hours meticulously getting ready in the morning, Lance will usually roll out of bed and just wing it. Balan is also an insanely early riser and likes to wake up with the sunrise, while Lance will often sleep right in and avoid sunlight until they absolutely have to.

- the Theatre has way more rooms than it appears! Balan has a personal office where he conducts business that keeps the theatre in check (I like to think it's in that window over the front doors), there's a library, many rooms that have either been turned into storage areas, dance studios, staff bedrooms (if they choose not to go back to their worlds at the end of the day), kitchens, and of course Balan and Lance's respective rooms which are on opposite sides of the theatre. Lance prefers to exist in the darker, more quiet areas of the usually busy theatre.

- Balan likes to look at hats on the internet in his (scarce) free time, and Lance is an avid collector of soft plushies.

[roblox-sleep-aphasia]

Thoughts on encanto after thinking on jt and dewatching it

Don't open this if you can't handle other people's opinions, I'm not talking to be harassed please. I just want to share my own thoughts, thank you

I get this movie is very well liked and I like it well too but I still have both positive and nitpicky thoughts just as with any media because nothing is perfect.

And of course, SPOILERS!!!!!

▪︎I can't stop thinking about Isabela accidentally growing a cactus some time then stepping on it

°Music music MUSIC I LOVE this movie's music

•I absolutely adore that Mirable is the leading factor into Antonio's love for animals, leading to his gift.i like to imagine special interests is how a gift is determined in the family.-

Maybe Bruno had an interest in fortune telling or the general magics for fun

-We see peppa gardening but maybe she had an jnterest in weather or playing in the rain

Julieta could've shown great promise in cooking from a young age, or helping the injured

before j go on I've heard that the novel adds more context which is just pulling a balan wonderworld imo.

You shouldn't have to contextualize your story in a novel especially if it feels like the og is missing something. I'm mentioning this in case something is mentioned there I ramble on about

•Bruno is a very likable character but I feel like he should've had some more time on screen or a bigger role in the story instead of just being a plot device kinda(people hate Lin I don't care, I wish Bruno got a song explaining his anguish with being so far from the family) or be given a flashback of Abuela demonizing him after the mirable vision. Maybe it's traditional that he reads each baby when born for their future(or when they're about 3 or 4) and he had that, and she freaked out on him and then called his miracle a curse, and he wasn't hurt, but he believed it and left to protect everyone Then Abuela could have her own pov of what happened and she's mortified that when she goes to apologize and ask for more context to protect the magic, Bruno is gone his door is dark and she feels like the day she lost her husband, only now it's her only son gone

●Dolores is a great interesting character but we don't get much of her or much of anyone given an arc besides Isabela, and i feel her one line where she's in love fell flat as we weren't given anything else until the rapid wrap-up of everything at the end(off topic I loved the ending and I would adore that new door as a tapestry for my wall, gorgeous) and i feel like we should've been given something , even if comedic relief, like her caught listening to him sing when Mirable goes to talk to her about the magic, but maybe this is contextualized in the novel more

•Bubo ❤

° Socks concept art ❤

Small nitpick Feels like it should've focused on the family a little more rather than just magic and mirable and the movie itself kind of reduces the characters to their gifts when the message was the head of the family shouldn't be doing that but it's fine its not really an issue just kinda funny Side note The scene with the father of the triplets, you can see her pain and we can only imagine what she had to go through. Props to the animators being able to show that kind of raw genuine emotion and reaction. Very talented people for real, has to be the most heart breaking but my favorite scene

°Music music MUSIC I LOVE this movie's music

•I absolutely adore that Mirable is the leading factor into Antonio's love for animals, leading to his gift.i like to imagine special interests is how a gift is determined in the family.

-Maybe Bruno had an interest in fortune telling or the general magics for fun

-We see peppa re j go on I've heard that the novel adds more context which is just pulling a balan wonderworld imo. You shouldn't have to contextualize your story in a novel especially if it feels like the og is missing something. I'm mentioning this in case something is mentioned there I ramble on about

•Bruno is a very likable character but I feel like he should've had some more time on screen or a bigger role in the story instead of just being a plot device kinda(people hate Lin I don't care, I wish Bruno got a song explaining his anguish with being so far from the family) or be given a flashback of Abuela demonizing him after the mirable vision. Maybe it's traditional that he reads each baby when born for their future(or when they're about 3 or 4) and he had that, and she freaked out on him and then called his miracle a curse, and he wasn't hurt, but he believed it and left to protect everyone

Then Abuela could have her own pov of what happened and she's mortified that when she goes to apologize and ask for more context to protect the magic, Bruno is gone his door is dark and she feels like the day she lost her husband, only now it's her only son gone

●Dolores is a great interesting character but we don't get much of her or much of anyone given an arc besides Isabela, and i feel her one line where she's in love fell flat as we weren't given anything else until the rapid wrap-up of everything at the end(off topic I loved the ending and I would adore that new door as a tapestry for my wall, gorgeous) and i feel like we should've been given something , even if comedic relief, like her caught listening to him sing when Mirable goes to talk to her about the magic, but maybe this is contextualized in the novel more

•Bubo ❤

° Socks concept art ❤

Small nitpick

Feels like it should've focused on the family a little more rather than just magic and mirable and the movie itself kind of reduces the characters to their gifts when the message was the head of the family shouldn't be doing that but it's fine its not really an issue just kinda funny

Side note

The scene with the father of the triplets, you can see her pain and we can only imagine what she had to go through. Props to the animators being able to show that kind of raw genuine emotion and reaction. Very talented people for real, has to be the most heart breaking but my favorite scene

[shadowqueen402]

Shy Little Loaf

(Here is a fic for @kayssweetdreams for when she writes The Colors Of Reala. I hope you all like this! Let me know in the comments/reblogs what you all think.)

"This place reminds me of a Nightopia called Lost Park," NiGHTS commented when the group entered inside the next domain. "It's rather…lonely." They looked around, taking in the grey walls, the grey ground, and a black, starless sky.

In front of the group was a giant maze. They were all made with indestructable stone walls. "I'm terrible with mazes," Trisha Jane confessed, frowning at the sight of the maze.

"Something tells me that finding Timid Reala is going to be tricky," Aria guessed. "Have you all seen just how easily startled and frightened he looked when he saw everybody staring at him? Poor guy…" She remembered when, after the Emoti-Clones emerged from the crystal, Timid Reala had completely froze in his spot in fear when he saw everyone stare at him. And when Lance got close, he trembled in fear before he went into hiding.

"I have…" Trisha Jane hummed in thought. "A Nightmaren General having fear of his own? That's…pretty surprising. I didn't even realize that he has fears too…"

"Reala is capable of expressing fear," Balan explained. "One of the great examples is when his master is near."

The group travelled through the mazel, keeping very close eyes on any signs for the grey Emoti-Clone. Finally, Aria stopped the group. "Guys, I hear something," She whispered to them.

Everyone went really silent. And then, they heard it. The sound was a faint purring. Which means that Timid Reala may be nearby. From the sound of it, he must have hidden in one of the nooks of the maze.

"Let's check the nook that's nearby," Lance whispered. "We must remember; this Emoti-Clone is still extremely shy."

The group silently tiptoed toward the nook. When they got to the entrance of the nook, Aria, Trisha Jane, and NiGHTS took a peek to if Timid Reala was there.

To their surprise, he was. He was laying in a loaf position, like cats did, while sleeping. Purrs can be heard coming from the grey Emoti-Clone. It took all of Aria's inner strength to resist herself from wanting to scoop him up and snuggle with him.

"Aww!" Aria let out a whisper of adoration. "He's so cute!"

"He's sleeping like a kitty." Trisha Jane's whisper held contentment into them. The two maestro brothers peeked their heads and saw Timid Reala sleeping in a loaf position.

"We have to carry him so we can question him when he wakes up," NiGHTS whispered.

"Are you sure that is a good idea?" Aria softly asked. "If we do so, we risk him having another panic attack…"

"We don't have much of an option." NiGHTS shook their head before flying over to the sleeping grey Emoti-Clone. Then, they reached a hand out to gently grab his shoulder. But the moment their hand touched his skin, Timid Reala's eyes shot up as he yelped before he…de-aged himself into a Night Terror screaming in fear. Then he de-aged himself again into a Nightling that sobbed loudly.

"…I'm never doing that again…" NiGHTS revealed, staring at the baby Timid Reala that was still crying in shock.

Aria slowly walked over and gently scooped Timid Reala up. "It's okay." She gently rocked him. "NiGHTS didn't mean to scare you. We were just looking for you."

Timid Reala seemed to calm down a bit as he grew back into a Night Terror. That said, his eyes had tears in them that threatened to pour out. Aria gently wiped them away, continuing to rock him. "Timid Reala, we came here because we were hoping you can help us look for something," Aria told him.

There was slight curiosity with the fear in his eyes. He then changed back to his full grown self, flying out of Aria's arms. "W-What c-can I h-help you w-with?" He asked.

"We want to know where the heart of your domain is." NiGHTS placed their hands on their hips. "See, we're looking for a fragment of a crystal. We've collected six so far."

Timid Reala stay rooted to his spot, averting his eyes in both directions. "U-Uh… U-Um…" His legs began to tremble while sweat dripped down his forehead. Aria could have sworn that Reala's face turned paler than it was.

"Timid Reala, it's okay if you don't know." Trisha Jane thought her reassurance would calm him down… That was until she noticed something yellow streaming down his legs. "Uh oh… Timid Reala had an…accident…"

"Let me get you cleaned up, Timid Reala." Aria motioned for the frightened and embarrassed Emoti-Clone to follow her to the bathroom. 

This was, no doubt, going to be a long day.

Trisha Jane belongs to @lovelyteng

Aria belongs to me.

[silyabeeodess]

Thoughts on the Balan Wonderworld Novel Preview:

Hey guys, I’m super excited about the preview drop right now, so I’d like to cover a bit of theory territory regarding what we’ve seen thus far and how it compares to the game demo.  Since this is brand new though, know that there will be major spoilers ahead, so if you’d rather, please check out the preview and/or demo first before checking below the cut:

Let’s just jump straight to the point and get to what’s probably on a lot of our minds: Lance’s new look and his--the book writes him as a ‘he,’ so don’t jump me over pronouns--description as the maestro of the Balan Theatre.  This flies in the face of everything we’ve already seen from promotional material and gameplay.  Whereas, in these, Lance clearly takes an antagonistic role by trapping inhabitants within their own hearts and turning them into monsters, the Lance presented in the book is much softer in both looks and personality.  He’s described as being “mild-mannered” and seems to assist inhabitants when they have some request about their own stage, like when Leo/Streetbeat asked him if he could have some more props.  His appearance is much more human, the tendrils on his back gone and the ones on his head replaced by flowing, silvery hair.  Please note this, as silver hair in Japanese media is often an expression of mystery, otherworldliness, or magical ability.  Think of characters like the Undertaker from Kuroshitsuji, Tomoe and Mizuki from Kamisama Kiss, and Shiro from Deadman Wonderland.  All of them were allies to their protagonists, but with much more to their characters than what we initially saw--often with darker backstories or motives that went against the main characters’.  

I don’t think the book is trying to change Balan’s and Lance’s positions as helper and obstacle: I think the book is forcing us to change our perspective through Leo’s/Streetbeat’s and Emma’s/Fighter’s eyes.

Even how we’re introduced to the theatre is different in the book compared to the game.  Following the game’s cinematic, Leo/Emma enter the theatre and are soon spotted by Balan, who briskly introduces himself before spiriting them away to Wonderworld, landing us in the Isle of Tims.  However, when Leo enters the theatre in the book, the story immediately cuts away to him on his own stage--a feature we haven’t seen in the game so far.  How would Leo have a stage? Well, what if he didn’t see Balan like in the game?  What if Lance got to him first? 

We only believe Leo and Emma would see Balan first because that’s how we’re introduced to things in the game’s cinematic. However, we ultimately can only play through one character’s eyes at a time: The cinematic may just be alluding to that choice.  It’s similar to how we can choose to play as either Elliot/Claris in Nights Into Dreams and Helen/William in Nights: Journey of Dreams: They’re two stories taking place at the same time.  We know that Balan can make duplicates of himself, but it seems more likely that he met one child first while Lance met the other.  Another point against this idea would be that both of those other games I mentioned didn’t have anything that would cause either of their main characters’ independent journeys to greatly shift the final, overarching narrative as this would; however, give me the chance to bring up some additional points.

Getting back to the fact that Leo has his own stage, we could view this as Lance having already trapped him within his own heart.  This would fit in-line with gameplay, as we’ve only seen a stage come into existence after he’s done this--turning the inhabitants into Negi bosses.  Leo has no idea how long he’s been there and there’s no indication of him even realizing how he got there.  He doesn’t even remember his real name.  There is no one in his stage except him and “a shadowlike creature at his feet,” a negati, of which he’s seen several that show no hostile signs toward him.  Then, Emma/Fighter shows up out of nowhere in a vision with Balan and Lance soon arrives before he can think too hard on it--with a clear awareness that something is on Leo’s mind.  How convenient!  Despite Leo’s insistence that “this was his stage and his alone,” he already knows this version of Lance and welcomes him as a friend who’s visited him regularly.

If Lance can trap people inside their own hearts, why wouldn’t he be able to visit them and control how he appears to them within that mindscape?  There’s no reason a warden wouldn’t have keys to his prisoners’ cells.  Meanwhile, we could see Emma taking on the player’s role as an intruder to Leo’s walled-up paradise, with her and Balan trying to break him out.  Lance only arrived by Leo’s side when something about Balan and Emma got through to him, and immediately left when he thought Leo was pacified--back into a comfortable, but unaware state.         

Lance’s behavior and dress paralleling Balan’s, his stealing Balan’s identity, is likely a way to ensure the inhabitants’ trust him: He’s their friend who allows them to stay and perfect their stages; idealized, little places based on their memories/desires--far away from their problems or anyone that might bring them up.  We can also infer that the inhabitants likely don’t  know what Lance truly looks like, given how the farmer, Jose Gallard, had his back turned to Lance when the latter appeared and turned him into a Negi in the game. 

We can question why Lance would allow inhabitants to visit each other’s worlds, but we have to consider that he may not care so long as the inhabitants don’t do something that breaks each other from their heart prisons.  After all, The Clocktower Kid/Cass Milligan is still shown to be hurting despite how many people she knows from other stages and she trusts Lance just like Leo does.  She also explained to Leo that she was able to travel to other stages through hidden passages and that “she’d found a whole bunch of secrets like that.”  The doors are “invisible,” found only by movement.  This could mean that inhabitants aren’t supposed to be able to meet each other at all, which Leo seems to instinctively know as he “felt like he should’ve asked Lance’s permission.” This could even play to Lance’s benefit at times, since they could keep each other enough company to satisfy their social needs where their own illusions and the negati cannot.  He never tells the inhabitants about others as a precaution, but if they find out, he can play it off.       

As a final point, based on the book’s emphasis on “forgetting” with both Leo and Cass’ situations, it seems like Lance’s method of “healing” a heart is really by just suppressing emotions and negative experiences.  I don’t entirely think I could call this something done out of malice though: He might just be following the idea that ignorance is bliss.  Sure, the inhabitants don’t have their memories and nothing gets resolved, but they’re kept “happy” in places literally made by their own design--a process Lance shows a genuine joy toward.  Wonderworld clearly thrives when people expand their various stages, and Lance taught both Cass and Leo how to do so.                      

That’s all I got so far.  Man, I’ve been debating on getting the game after the demo, but I will 100% pick up the book!!  I really love it and the sketchy artwork is just gorgeous!  I just wish it was coming in print, because I’ve only seen it available digitally so far.    

[inkabelledesigns]

So anyone that’s been chatting with me in the past week knows that I’m on a bit of a kick for Balan Wonderworld. A friend of mine has been livestreaming it, and I finally got my hands on it!...Only for my brother to kind of monopolize my Switch and play it for himself. ^^’’’ I don’t mind too much, but he’s probably gonna beat it before I do, the kid’s almost made it to World 7, just needs a few more statues for the train. Meanwhile I’ve only gotten to touch the game for the second time tonight, which has landed me searching for statues and beating the World 3 boss. But I’m glad he’s having fun, it’s awesome to share this game with him. He dances along to all the little celebration sequences, it’s adorable. 

Today he went back and beat the boss for World 4, and he told me it had the same music for that dance sequence as World 2 did. I double checked just to be sure, and he’s right, it does! That strikes me as pretty interesting. I knew they reused the dance tracks for different bosses, but I never paid much mind to the order in which they’re repeated. Because it’s not a straight “123,” it jumps around a little more. It makes me wonder about the ties between the game and the novel. (This is where we get into spoiler territory.)

So I haven’t finished the novel yet (I get the sense I’m right before the final boss, much like my friend is for her game playthrough), but in it, every character has a different name. So our World 2 stage master, Fiona, is called Seagazer, and our World 4 stage master, Haoyu, is Skygazer. It’s established that these two have a close friendship since coming to Wonderworld, and they’ve got a lot in common. So the fact that their sequences share music makes me wonder if the others do too. So now I need to check. If you guys want to look too, here’s the other friendships:

Watcher and Sentinel (World 5 and World 8)

Clocktower Kid and Pensive Pierrot (World 6 and World 9)

Madam of the Mansion and Checkered King (World 10 and World 7)

If they have the same dance music, I’m gonna chuckle, that’s a really clever note game developers. I’d also like to say, dammit devs, some of the stories of these characters are so much darker in the book. Like, we find out Checkered King, the chess guy, lost his wife to sickness while he was too focused on trying to keep his title. Like oh my god, way to make me cry! Not all of them get fleshed out like that, but a lot of them do. Skygazer over there? He almost gets paralyzed in an airplane accident. Scarecrow, our good buddy Farmer Jose? He’s got a family, his home and crops are destroyed in that storm, and he’s afraid he’ll never be able to send his son to college. Madam of the Mansion has some serious issues with imposter syndrome as an artist (that hit me). Bugsy, our sweet little bug loving girl? I already loved her in the game, I identified with her as someone who had weird interests growing up, but when they go into detail about her laboring over these bugs for a class project, and everyone making fun of her for it, oh it hurt, it hurt a lot. And Lady of the Midnight Sun? Oh my gosh I cried the most over her. Her parents loved her dearly, and while going out to get her a Christmas present, they died in a car crash. She feels responsible for their death, and that hurts, that hurts so much. While I still have both of my parents, I can’t help but empathize a little with her and Clocktower Kid on the subject on death. I’ve been afraid of losing my dad since my 17th birthday, and I’m now 24. I know that even when his death does come, while I’ve been expecting it, it’s going to hit me harder and a lot worse than I think it will, and mind you, my imagination is scarily vivid. It all hits very close to home, all of the things they go through are very human problems.

That’s the thing I really love about Balan Wonderworld, but it’s also the biggest contrast between the game and the book: It’s a story about healing. In the game, everything starts out bad but ends up happy, but in the book, it starts off happy and turns out really sad. Honestly, you read the book for the angst and then play the game for the good vibes, ‘cause like, you can’t NOT smile at least a little bit while seeing these characters! In the book, everyone is so upset when you snap them out of their monstrous forms, angry and grieving now that they have the memories of their human, Earthly lives back, because they didn’t want to have to go through any of the pain and trauma again. Lance locked it all away, let them be happy, but it wasn’t real happiness. And it’s the moments where Balan pops in and tries to comfort some of these characters that really hit me. (Y’know, besides the lore point of him taking off his hat.) He sounds like he feels bad that this has to be done, but he knows that if he, Leo, and Emma continue to let Lance manipulate things, Wonderworld won’t be alright, and neither will any of the people who live there. Balan makes it very clear that Wonderworld isn’t about being happy all the time, it’s about finding balance within your life, within yourself. Even though we go through difficult times, we have to keep going, we have to believe that there’s something better on the horizon, that we can move forward and make things better for ourselves, be it by charting our own path or working together with our friends. That’s a really positive message. We have to balance the positive and the negative, otherwise we won’t know joy for what it really is. While I may not know how this whole thing ends, I have to say, I haven’t had this much fun with a game in a long time. 3D platformers are usually not my jam, I’m really bad at being precise (which has been a problem a few times so far), but this game goes at a slower pace, which is exactly what I needed. It’s so cheery and bright, super colorful too. Not gonna lie, I have a fanfic in the works already. ^^’’’’ Hope to share a lot of love for the maestro with all of you!