#does this somehow relate to what sol is hiding

[twinsunstars]

wait. qimir said “don’t you remember me?” to sol. what does that mean

[bonefall]

Are the Three going to have actual feelings about Brambleclaw and the way he treats them after the reveal in your Redux?

EDIT FROM THE FUTURE: hello. Events were further shuffled. Jayfeather is now the biological parent of Dovekit and Ivykit, and this happens a few months after this reveal.

Timeline-wise this also means he totally broke the code by having kittens as a medicine cat. Good job being a Generational Xerox, Jayf.

GOD yes. They all also have very different emotions about it.

Events are also heavily shuffled, so Bramble is already Star by the time the lie is revealed. He demotes Squilf as deputy, appointing someone else in her stead.

ThunderClan as a whole is actually SUPER politically divided on this issue-- the Queen’s Rights has created a culture where Squilf wouldn't have been socially required to disclose a father.

Lionblaze is in a lot of pain and feels like his whole life has been upended, but quickly becomes a hard supporter of Squilf. He comes to see her as his ONLY parent in response to how Bramble basically disowns them both.

His first litter is born a few short months later, Dovekit and Ivykit, after he has to adopt them from Jayfeather. The emotional turmoil he's in and the loss of his support system makes him a terrible father to them-- something he desperately wants to atone for post-OotS and with his second litter.

Jayfeather is... mixed. I think he WANTS to be rational about it, "Brambleclaw is right to be upset. Squirrelflight didn't have to reveal the secret. Our childhood was peaceful because of this." But he's BOILING deep down.

After all, he's been the only one grappling with the prophecy at this point in this redux. StarClan does NOT share the Kin Of Your Kin prophecy willingly; Jayfeather had to rip it out of their paws, sometime towards the end of Po3. "OH so I could have known why God fucking hates me?? All along??? And both of the people I thought were my parents are assholes? And im RELATED TO BREEZEPELT?"

Hollyleaf, lastly... well, this is the point where we enter some heavy WIP territory

But she McFreaking loses it. She's lost her mentor Brackenfur who she idolized, her grandpa Firestar who she adored, she was always espousing the value of the code, she killed a man to hide the secret but buckled under the weight of keeping it hidden

The Queen’s Rights have a contradiction, of sorts. A queen does not have to reveal the sire, but what if they HAVE been disloyal? The law says that the disloyalty must be judged by StarClan; but obviously the code must be enforced in clans. Hollyleaf is living in that painful space.

If a medicine cat could avoid punishment with this law, then she thinks that the law is wrong. And if this one's wrong, what else has she been wrong on? For her the Code is falling apart.

I know she needs to do more harm to the Clans themselves somehow, before she vanishes into the tunnels. ALSO; Sol has to be a part of it.

And when she vanishes into the tunnels, it's actually Sol whisking her away... 100 years into the past. ALL of the time travel stuff is being removed from Jayfeather. Hollyleaf has no reincarnation because SHE was actually there, and ends up opposing Jay's Wing, Lion's Roar, and Dove's Wing.

After her defeat (still fuzzy on the details of this story; I'm tentatively calling it Hollyleaf's Century) she goes to the tunnels as a ghost, and waits for her family to return. She IS Fallen Leaves, forgetting her own name after all that time spent alone, only knowing she's waiting for someone.

Sooo TL;DR yes they have a Lot of Feelings about Brambleclaw and the reveal different from canon

[gerbithats]

A long sims 4 rant

Starting this I can already predict it’s gonna be a big one so if you stick with me, thank you and I’ll try and add pictures to make things feel easier 😆

I was thinking about it and I mean really thinking about these community surveys we’ve been getting and how they speak volumes on the way the game is handled but also also how we position ourselves as a community. I noticed alot more game changers are starting to get pretty vocal about their thoughts since the first community survey came out and that’s refreshing to say the least, but it shows a pattern that we all present: give us what is missing no matter how. We want beaches. We want cars. We want more stairs. We want bunkbeds. Etc.

So these things are probably somehow rushed into production to please the community and then, when we finally get it, it’s like we finally realize that what this game truly lacks is gameplay and not more items.

I invite you to come and think about the packs and the stuff we got throughout these 6 years with me.

🏢 Chapter 1: The apartment issue 

Yes we got apartment buildings with city living, but sometimes it doesn’t even feel like it’s a game feature because it’s L I T E R A L L Y related to living in a city, so it’s not a real feature. We have no possible way to play with apartments and condos outside of san myshuno because for the first time ever we can’t build or own apartments. This was such a missed opportunity of giving us new lot treatments like condos and even rentable properties. I mean, just think about how those 2 features could allow so much new gameplay and stories with it (I can literally imagine being a landlord, having to go fix renters stuff in my their places and doing social events as condo meetings).

The neighbors in that type of lot could also help solve somehow what so many people mention as “boring lot gameplay”. Let’s be real. hardly something ever happens with so little npcs and only the walk by sims (You have to literally run after them to make things happen sometimes and it shouldn’t be like that). But if sims were to live in the same condo or building as yours, sharing common living spaces that’s a whole other thing. Which brings me to the fact that even in the city, where apartments exist, there’s no common area other than the halls. Imagine if we could build laundries, rooftops, basements, patios with pools and all that sort of stuff.

That sort of detaling and really getting deep into the pack’s features is even show in elevators: we can’t use them ourselves (for building) and they’re not even animated, your sim is just teleported (even the modded ones have animations and that’s just awkward).

��� Chapter 2: Swimming in shallow waters

“We want a beach”, we said. So they gave us a beach, and a beach only. I’ve never seen so many people call a pack “shallow” as I’ve seen it happen to Island Living and tbh I do agree with them ‘cause... there’s really not much to do in this pack. For the first time ever swimming was restricted to this pack which is already a big let down by itself, but then features like deep diving were added for no reason and of course, as a rabbit whole, not actually contributing with much to do. So how could it be better?

My answer is pretty obvious: resorts. It is a livable world, but that don’t mean your sims can’t take a vacation from work and just stay there if that’s the gameplay you want to go with and resorts match perfectly with that, not to mention it would have great integration with packs like spa day. It also means a new lot type and lot system, that wouldn’t be much new if the city living building condos and sublocating them as I mentioned would’ve already been implemented, but now with the feature of renting it yourself too. Resorts could also have their own event schedules, integrated with the seasons calendar: cava parties every wednesday, yoga lessons on thursdays, etc. And the best thing would be: if you own one, you can make your own events and traditions. imagine just how fun that would be. A feature like this would also mean it’s already done for other packs coming later on, maybe a colder destination where you can ski and build iglus or even another cultural based pack like jungle adventure.

Other obvious resolution would be better mermaids. Make it harder to become one, being only able to get the kelp from a mermaid themselves. Make it less anticlimactic, having an animation of them turning before they just walk in water with a tail all of the sudden, maybe just some scales in their legs. Give them more unique features and powers like vampires and spellcasters have, such as easily persuading people (sort of like the mind control feature aliens have) and maybe even a secret lot, like a grotto where all the mermaids are. Give them curses with the points system to go with it, some mermaids are actually sirens amirite

🥶 Chapter 3: Seasons change, gameplay stays the same

Activities truly based on the season that are specific to that moment create urgency and different moments. Something I can think of is integrating a pack we already have: spooky stuff. It does feel lackluster ‘cause it’s missing opportunities, but imagine going trick or treating but actually going, loading different houses and gathering it while a meter like the active jobs one guided you. Forming groups with friends to do it or maybe for tpeing trees and bushes if you’re on the rebel teen side and destroying their porch jack’o lanterns. It could even be randomly generated, like the game would send you to 3 different houses to do it (that would bring lots of replayability value ‘cause you could end up in houses with neighbors that love you and will give you candy no problem, but maybe also neighbors with family feuds that won’t answer their door or make it harder for you to accomplish the event objectives), maybe one of those could even be a abandoned one that’s haunted or something like that.

The implementing of a better wants and fears system is very essential for this pack. Yes your sims get overheated and a popup message tells you they need some water or lighter clothes, but it’d be so good if they’d actually want to go to the beach, swim in the ocean, take a vacation from work and go to a resort. Heatwaves that would make your sim act weird, not strangerville level of weird, but maybe not obeying your commands.

Blizzards so strong that work and school would get canceled and you actually don’t have the option to leave your home lot anymore until it passes would not only add a different element to the gameplay, but also add value to the weather controler machine.

🥺 Final chapter: The general “more stuff to do” and “more things happening” factor

The game offers all these beautiful secret worlds and yet when you finally get to them there’s not much to do other than searching for rocks and frogs and doing some fishing. I miss going to a community lot hidden somewhere and finding an eremite, goddamn bigfoot, some crazy npc or even just an actual community lot with something to do and people doing stuff in it. Unique community lots would also be a way to make towns more lively and captivating like they did so well with realm of magic and the casters alley section of the world. Maybe forgotten hollow has this abandoned haunted house where people claim they’ve seen the grim reaper walking around. Maybe sixam has a alien station where they clone human sims. Maybe sulani has this beautiful sunken ship beach where a club of people that dress up as pirated meet. Maybe Del Sol Valley has a movie theater where you can watch premieres. Maybe Oasis Springs mine hides actual gold that you can collect and get rich outta nowhere. That kind of stuff.

I can’t stress this enough, but NPCs are so important to shake things up. It was so good to have a pack like realm of magic where the we would have to go to the three sages in order to progress. Having unique sims like this or npcs that change the way your story is going like burglars, firefighters, cops, social bunny, bonehilda and even a fortune teller is so important to keep things impredictable and interesting.

Age groups really need more specific restricted gameplay for better feel of progression. Many people say sims 4 is a young adult simulator and well... there’s not much to show that differs from that. Toddlers are as interesting as hamsters, locked in an object waiting for you to feed, clean and give them attention. Teens really should feel more like a transiction period, and the wants and fears system would really help out with that. I miss being able to participate in more elements that would mark a sims life even if they’re cheesy as heck, like having a prom, graduating, having a midlife crises.

In conclusion

First of all: if you got to this point thank you and I’d really wanna know what you think about all of this.

Some people may find even ridiculous for someone to go about a rant this big on a game and to that I have to say I agree lol I can’t help it tho, honestly, the sims has always been the game I’m most passionate about and it helped me express myself and my creativity so much since I was a kid. I really do care about this game and this franchise.

The point I want to make with this is: perhaps we shouldn’t ask for more and more different stuff, but actually put some effort into showing things we already like in the game and how they can be improved to make it more interesting. At the end of the day I still want spiral staircases, ladders, paintable ceiling, werewolves and all that but does it really matter if they get added to the game following the same patterns as the things pointed in here? Also we really are getting to a point where only a few things are missing as far as cas/build/buy go and I believe it’s time for us, as a community, to give gameplay as much importance as all these things we wanted so bad that got implemented. I probaby forgot to say something here and I didn’t even mention the infamous hamster pack, but anyway, I hope the point got across.

I try really hard to believe that the gurus are here for us and that most of all we, as a community, have a very strong voice, all we need to do is make it clearer and stronger about the things we really wish for this game.

[rsmrymnt-tea]

Imagining TSL!Sol making fun of the ways Dola's upbringing affects how she does stuff. Like they sit down for a meal at an inn or smth and you can see that she's a noble from the way she holds her utensils or the way she talks sometimes. Like she'd try to hide it because she's pretending to be someone else but when these things are trained into you since you were a child it requires a lot of awareness and effort to not fall into those habits.

And then her reaction to either finding out through his own slip-up or him eventually revealing his own royal background skgnksksk

There's so much to think about with how they act with each other through the different phases of their relationship.

- 🐝

Nonnie I held off answering/posting thinking I could write a little drabble about this but realized that if I tried to answer with one I might never get to this hdjkhsdg (but them actually having a bit of banter like this is now an idea I wanna do skjsfdg)

But yes! I can see it happening so clearly during the earlier parts of the friendlier parts of their relationship. Solomon honestly must’ve had some suspicions just from how she looked and carried herself. Not too much muscle mass, skin barely blemished and scarred, attire that was clearly made with the attention a tailor would only give to something with quite the price tag. Plus I like to think that Illusionary magic is something that’s much more accessible to nobles and the like because it’s so… Impractical to me? Because I feel like magic users who don’t have much financial leeway would go for more ‘practical’ kinds of magic that have a dual purpose of helping them with their jobs/surviving, like elemental stuff, nature magic, healing, etc. And there’s probably something about her Illusions that give away her artistic background, which again is probably something more for those with money and time?

Then It’s when they’re finally traveling together that his suspicions are confirmed and he gets some more real fuel for his teasing. And I feel like it begins because she so avoidant about it, like even though it’s pretty much confirmed by her behavior and reactions, she refuses to verbally confirm anything.

Very fond of her finding out bout his former royalty through a slip up of his own. Dola’s for sure picked up that he knows way more about these things than any commoner would, and teases him about it too since he’s probably just as avoidant about it as she is. He likely still has his own little habits too, with some only escaping her because they from two very different parts of the world.

(In fact, if we wanna forget for a second that everyone's somehow speaking the same language no matter where they're from, he probably has an accent that she just can't place but finds familiar?)

There's probably some sort of little event where maybe someone else recognizes Solomon. Maybe he didn't run away but just forfeited his royalty/was allowed to leave his kingdom on his own (maybe even disowned by the royal family?) and so that's why he can freely have his real face out? And it's when a traveler from his own lands recognizes him in a tavern that Dola finds out that he's not just nobility, he's royalty! And for a split second it seems like it's going to change how she is around him but no, she just gets so annoyed like "What were you teasing my about being a former noble for when you're a former prince??? Seems a lot more interesting than me being a former noble, don't you think?"

It probably leads to like... an actual conversation about their pasts? Assuming the Solomon actually talks about his, which I think he does since it's probably an open secret that he used to be a prince. And it's probably him doing that that gets Dola to talk a bit more about herself since she can relate... Though depending on how he ended up no longer being a prince, she could also be intensely jealous lmao >.>

(though how interesting would it be if being arranged to marry was both their last straws? Just a thought that popped into my head while thinking about this)

I feel like the most consistent thing in their relationship would be Solomon being annoying and Dolasach being all >:( but it slowly going from feeling looked down upon and disrespected at times (and so there's probably a lot of her actually snapping at him and going off on her own only for Sol to go look for her + the two learning to actually communicate sdfkjdsf) to Sol understanding where her boundaries are more and the teasing becoming more in good fun? Idk how I ended up thinking of the 'You're so annoying >:(' 'I know :)' dynamic for them in between the times they're sharing mutual excitement and genuine care for each other but I did and now I can't stop thinking that that's how they function >.<

[thewhumperinwhite]

Teaser: The Café, At The End Of The World

I didn’t intend to end this on a cliffhanger, but it was getting very long. Stay tuned for Action later today.

TW for: domestic abuse, slight/referenced/brief homophobia, lightly implied transphobia, vomiting, gore.

It’s a quarter past midnight, and Sol has not had a cigarette break in four hours, and he hates everyone in the Bayview Cafe right now. It’s called the fucking Bayview, what the fuck are people doing here when it’s too dark to see the View of the Bay?

   He’s down to two occupied tables, a total of three people standing between him and the ability to go home and add tonight’s tips to his top surgery fund. Two are new, at a corner table where Proux must’ve seated them while Sol was in the kitchen—thirty minutes before closing, the bastard—and the third is an old man in a moldy green overcoat, who has asked Sol for “more time” three times now, so Sol is fairly confident he’s looking for a dry seat to wait out the rain coming down in buckets outside, not overpriced small-plate bullshit.

Well, Proux is busy with Shawn in the kitchen, who came in smelling like weed (again) and is arguing with surprising eloquence that he should be allowed to smell like whatever he wants if he doesn’t interact with customers; so Sol is deciding to give the old man a few more minutes of warmth and dryness anyway when he hears a sudden dramatic shattering sound and turns to see a full glass of water tumble off the newly occupied corner table and explode onto the floor.

He stomps over toward the broken glass, and he’s almost grateful for the excuse until the patron seated with his back to him turns at the sound of his approach and fixes him with a stare so cold Sol freezes to the spot for a second. The patron already facing Sol’s direction smiles, maybe apologetically, but his older companion’s glare is so hostile that Sol almost can’t see anything else.

Sol feels a drop of cold sweat make a run down his spine. His binder’s on, and he’s been reliably passing for months, but old habit fills his brain with danger signals immediately. He makes himself keep walking, telling himself some rich old person doesn’t need an excuse to hate anyone who witnessed such visible clumsiness. 

The other person— the one who isn’t glaring, is already halfway out of his seat by the time Sol gets to the table, reaching for the broken glass with his bare, rich fingers, and Sol knocks his hand out of the way none-too-gently before he can cut himself and get Sol fired. The guy backs off immediately, easing awkwardly back into his chair.

“Sorry about this,” the faceless non-glarer says in a soft voice. The Glaring Man noticeably says nothing; Sol keeps his eyes on the glass so he doesn’t cut his own fingers, either. “Just an accident,” he goes on, as if Sol would have assumed it was anything else.

“No problem at all,” Sol says automatically, and then, when he stands, he makes eye contact with the non-glarer, and feels his face heat up immediately. The second person at the table is a young man, no older than Sol is himself, twenty-one or twenty-two, and he’s very, very handsome. He’s frowning at Sol with big sky-blue eyes, looking embarrassed. Sol looks away from him immediately, momentarily forgetting that his other option is the older man’s zero-degree stare. He can see immediately that they’re related, probably father and son; the old man’s eyes are the same light blue, though they’re still squinted in haughty resentment. Sol clears his throat, irrationally terrified that his voice will squeak, which it hasn’t done in months. “Another— uh— water for you, sir?” he says huskily. The man nods curtly, and Sol scurries away, relieved.

He’s about to flee back to the safety of the kitchen, but actually, he’s holding a grade-A excuse to make his conversation with the old man as short as possible, so he stops there on the way, shards of broken glass cradled in his apron.

Sol isn’t sure how the man can see him coming, buried so deep in his hood, but he curls up tighter in his filthy coat, so he must.

“Sir,” Sol says, keeping his voice gruff, “this isn’t a park bench. If you’re not gonna order anything, I’m gonna have to ask you to leave.”

After a long, awkward pause, a voice like dead leaves chasing each other in circles wafts up from under the old man’s hood. Sol, leaning in to catch the words, is hit by a wave of the old man’s smell— much different than the normal unwashed-body smell he expects— and jerks back up straight.

    “...just some coffee, then, boy,” the old man wheezes, and pulls himself in tighter like he’s trying to disappear.

    The cheapest coffee on their menu is eight dollars, which is more than Sol would have had to spare when he was in a position to be loitering in cafes to be out of the rain. It’s kind of more than he can spare at the moment, if this guy runs out on him. “We don’t serve plain coffee here, sir,” he says, guilt making his voice harsher than he means it to be. “You’ll have to order something specific.”

    The man cringes again, drawing in on himself like he wants to disappear. Then a single damp hand slides out of his coat sleeve and deposits a twenty dollar bill on the table.

    “Cream and sugar,” he says in that same wispy voice, and Sol stares at him, then shrugs. He could tell the man five places he could sleep tonight for that much— or buy himself a decent coat, for that matter— but it’s none of his business what some stranger does with his money.

    “Be right back with that, sir,” he says instead, and tramps off to dispose of this glass responsibly and pour the old man an overpriced coffee.

Entirely by accident, Sol catches the tail end of Glaring Man’s growl on his way back out to deliver the water and stutters to a stop, not sure whether it’s safe to interrupt or not.

“—like such a goddamn child,” he’s saying, his voice fast and sharp and utterly poisonous, “we would not be having this conversation, boy.” In defense of Sol’s eavesdropping, he was actually starting to raise his voice a little by the end there.

His son is more careful about keeping his voice low, and thus harder for Sol to accidentally listen to. In response to whatever the young man says, Glaring Man curls his lip and leans forward, and hisses, “I will consider your feelings when you give me feelings worth considering,” and Sol feels his own face twitch a bit in response.

“I have your water here, sir,” he says loudly, causing both patrons to look at him, and he quails a bit under the intensity old man’s renewed glare, and might actually drop the glass he’s holding if the young man didn’t suddenly swipe it from Sol’s relaxing fingers and knock back a huge sip, setting it down loudly on the table.

“Thank you,” the young man says in a very warm voice, and then he drops Sol an unmistakably lewd wink.

Sol stares at the young man with his mouth open, which means he sees every movement involved in the full-force backhanded slap his father gives him.

The young man stumbles half-way out of his seat with the force of the blow. Sol takes an involuntary step back, barely avoiding the spray as the water he’s just brought launches into the air and spills down the side of the white table-cloth. The Glaring Man gets jerkily to his feet.

“I will see you again when you’re done being a fucking embarrassment,” he says, not looking at his son, and then he shrugs into his expensive-looking coat, gives Sol one last glare, and leaves the cafe.

Catahn stares at the door for a few seconds after it has slammed shut. When he turns back, the young man hasn’t moved from the position the slap pushed him into, halfway out of his chair, one hand tight on the edge of the table, head bowed.

Sol has no idea what to do. He takes a hesitant step closer. “Uh— you— you okay?”

The young man doesn’t answer. After a second Sol realizes with a spike of panic that his shoulders are shaking, and he’s reaching up a narrow hand to cover his face under the curtain of chin-length blond hair that’s fallen in front of his eyes. Sol is about to turn tail and run because no thank you, he’s dealt with way too much bullshit tonight to add emotions to the list, when the boy leans over the table, clutching his stomach, and Sol realizes he is laughing.

“Uh,” Sol says, only barely less alarmed.

“I’m sorry,” the blond wheezes, wiping at his long-lashed eyes. “Sorry, I’m sorry, you must think I’m— damn.” Laughing even harder, the boy shakes his head and rights the water glass his father knocked over when he slapped him. “You must think I’m out of my mind,” he finishes, struggling to get ahold of himself.

Sol one hundred percent does. “Uh— I mean, ‘course not, I— um— “

“I’m sorry,” the blond says, looking up at Sol, a little more composed but still grinning, and Sol freezes up again. His eyes are incredibly blue, and they’re still lit up with laughter. His cheek is turning red where his father’s knuckles bit into it, and now that Sol’s getting a good look at him, he sees there’s more than that— a thin scar through his left eyebrow, and a new break in his nose that looks like it’s almost finished healing, just a slight crook in the bridge and very faint dark circles under his bright eyes. “I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable,” the blond boy says, shaking his head, still pinning Sol with his bright, laughter-filled, slightly-bewildered gaze. “I’m not really sure why I did that.”

    Sol is determined not to say “uh” again. “Neither am I,” he says instead, and winces at hearing his own tone, which is openly hostile. “Whatever.” That’s worse, actually. Sol wants to hide his face, flexes his hand against the mug of coffee he is somehow still holding instead. “Look, do you— want anything? More water, or. Like. Whatever?” He has to stop himself from making a face at how fucking stupid he sounds.

    The boy doesn’t laugh at him; at least not with his mouth. His eyes do get suspiciously sparkly again, though. “Coffee, maybe,” he says, resting his chin on his hand and looking directly at Sol and nothing else. For a blond he has surprisingly thick, dark eyelashes, and he’s still smiling, his blue eyes crinkling slightly. Then he winces as though just remembering something unpleasant. “No, wait, I take that back. My meal ticket just left.” He gestures vaguely toward the door, and raises his other hand to his cheek without seeming to realize he’s doing it. The redness is already darkening; it’s going to bruise. “I guess I should get out of your hair, huh? I’m sorry.”

    It’s at least the fourth time he’s said he’s sorry. And while Sol isn’t gonna pretend he has any idea what’s going on here, not really, it does seem a lot like this kid’s dad slapped him hard enough to bruise for winking at another guy. Which is none of his business, he tells himself furiously, at the same time as he slams the coffee he’s still holding down on the table.

    The blond blinks down at it, then up at Sol, blinking his long brown lashes. “I’m— sorry, I can’t afford— “

    “It’s on the fucking house,” Sol snarls, and turns away to pour another free coffee, because he couldn’t reasonably pay for some rich kid’s americano and then kick some homeless guy out in the rain, which means he was gonna pay fucking sixteen dollars for the priviledge of being a gullible gay dumbass.

    The first coffee splattered halfway up the sleeve of his uniform shirt, and Proux yells at him the second he enters the kitchen until he puts his horrible scratchy wool blazer on to cover the stain.

    The old man is still sitting in front of the window, buried deep in his big moldy coat. Sol runs a hand through his hair— it’s been a fucking long night.

    “Sorry about the wait,” he says to the old man when he sets the coffee down in front of him, and then he sighs and adds, “Keep your money, this one’s on me.”

    The old man doesn’t move.

    “Uh— sir?” Sol says, and then the old man leans over the coffee cup and vomits a mouthful of blood half into the cup and half across the table.

    The smell of decay his Sol in the face and he stumbles back half a step. “J— Jesus Christ!”

    The old man lurches suddenly toward Sol and almost topples right out of his chair, his breath coming in one long ragged wheeze, and Sol reaches forward instinctively so he doesn’t fall.

    The old man puts his hands flat on the table. Sol realizes that he’s shaking. “I’m alright,” the old man says in a small, unsteady voice. “I’m alright. There’s nothing wrong with me. There’s nothing wrong with me.”

    Sol almost can’t hear over the alarm bells ringing in his head. He loosens his grip on the old man’s shoulder. “Uh— yeah,” he says, trying to make his voice soothing. “I’m sure you’re fine. Listen, I’m gonna just go get my boss real fast and I’m sure he’ll— “

    When he starts to back away, the old man’s hand shoots out and tightens around Sol’s bicep tightly enough that Sol lets out a sound not far from a squeak. The smell coming off the old man’s hand almost makes Sol gag, and he can see it leaving some kind of slime on the thick wool of his sleeve.

Slowly, like his head is only delicately attached to his shoulders and might fall off if moved too suddenly, the old man turns his head to look up at Sol for the first time, and at the sight of his face all the air rushes out of Sol’s lungs. He can’t move a muscle.

“Please,” the old man says, and blood sprays from his lips as he speaks and splatters onto Sol’s shirt. “Please. You’ve got to help me.”

[hjertetssunnegalskap1]

3. Sources of Inspiration - Neil Gaiman’s Masterclass (The Art of Storytelling)

“Remember that your influences are all sorts of things. And some of them are going to take you by surprise. But the most important thing that you can do is open yourself to everything.”

Here are some more of my personal notes to The Art of Storytelling. Neil Gaiman uses a lot of allusions (references to other stories) in his stories, and they are just as wide-ranging as his storytelling interests (oh yes, one of the things I LOVE with his writing).

Neil mentions his admiration for the following authors, and sometimes alludes to them in his own work: 

James Branch Cabell: American author who wrote fantasy and comedy in the 1920s and '30s. 

Edward Plunkett, Lord Dunsany: A prolific AngloIrish fantasy author. His novel, The King of Elfland’s Daughter (1924), established some of the most central themes of fantasy writing in the twentieth century

Ursula K. Le Guin: American author who wrote the Earthsea Cycle (1968-2001), which is comprised of six books and numerous short stories, and which tells tales of the fictional fantasy world of Earthsea

P. L. Travers: British author who wrote Mary Poppins (1934) and a whole series of books inspired by it

Btw I love that he mentions how he was inspired by Lou Reed. And how his wife, Amanda Palmer, was inspired by Judy Blume. Inspiration can come from many places, and not just from the ones we think of as our writing heroes. That makes me think of all the music I have listened too, and how I’m influenced by that. Oh well. 

Old stories can be approached from new angles. Create a compost heap of inspiration and how to draw from your experiences to make a story uniquely your own.

All writers have a mental compost heap. We create our compost heap from everything you see and the people you encounter.

Don’t tell people how they should feel. Tell them what happened and let them feel. 

Tell stories about the people around you. Real people are more interesting than anything you could make up.

For story ideas, you can take fairy tales but flip the perspective: eg, from her Stepmother’s perspective, Snow White could be a villain, a vampire princess, with a necrophiliac prince, and the stepmother is a HEROINE for trying to save the world (I remember I read a flipped Cinderella horror comic once when I was a kid, and I still remember it… so.. he has a point, this is effective). 

Neil suggests many tools for approaching an old story from a new angle. 

Change point of view.

Modernize themes

Switch a story element (new location or new type of story)

Make it yours

‘Where do you get your ideas from?’ is a real question. Authors are scared of  answering because they often don’t know the answer themselves.

Ideas come from daydreaming. “The only difference between writers and other people,” says Gaiman, “is that we notice when we’re doing it.”

Ideas come from asking yourself simple questions, like “What if…?” (“you woke up with wings?... your sister turned into a mouse?....), “If only…” (“a ghost would do my homework”) and “I wonder….” (“what she does when she’s alone”), etc…. These questions, in turn, generate other questions.

Ideas are only starting points. You don’t have to figure out the plot. Plots “generate themselves” from “whatever the starting point is.”

Ideas can be people (“There’s a boy who wants to know about magic”); places (“There’s a castle at the end of time, which is the only place there is”); images (“A woman, sifting in a dark room filled with empty faces.”)

We get ideas from confluence — two things “that haven’t come together before”, coming together (“What would happen if a chair was bitten by a werewolf?).

“You get ideas from two things coming together. You get ideas from things that you have seen and thought and known about and then something else that you’ve seen and thought and known about, and the realization that you can just collide those things.”

For a re-envisioning of popular fairy tales, check out some of the following titles (damn I need to get some reading done):

Red as Blood (1983) by Tanith Lee 

Tales of Wonder (1987) by Jane Yolen 

Snow White, Blood Red (1993) by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (ed.)* 

Kissing the Witch: Old Tales in New Skins (1999) by Emma Donoghue 

The Wilful Eye (2011) edited by Nan McNab (ed.) 

Happily Ever After (2011) by John Klima (ed.)* 

Clockwork Fairy Tales: A Collection of Steampunk Fables (2013) by Stephen L. Antczak (ed.) 

Unnatural Creatures (2013) by Neil Gaiman (ed.)* 

Beyond the Woods (2016) by Paula Guran (ed.)* 

The Starlit Wood (2016) by Dominik Parisien and Navah Wolfe (ed.) 

The Djinn Falls in Love and Other Stories (2017) by Mahvesh Murad and Jared Shurin (ed.)

WRITING EXERCISE: Choose a folk tale or fairy tale that you know well. Select one of the characters from the story for the following exercise and write a few pages about them, using one of the following prompts: 

Pretend you’re a therapist treating the character. Write a scene in which you discuss the character’s life and problems, then arrive at a diagnosis. 

Write a newspaper article describing the events of the story. For example, Snow White—Woman Hiding in Woods for Ten Years Found by Wealthy Hiker. Then write a story for that headline using journalistic objectivity. 

Have your character explain their actions to a jury 

WRITING EXERCISE In your journal, begin creating a compost heap. Title a page “Compost Heap” and write down the things that have captured your attention in the past week or month. These may become the source motivators of your writing, maybe of your career. Any writing project is an undertaking, and novels in particular, because they take so long to write, will require a sustained interest, so be sure to fill this page with your truth: What interests you? This can be anything: a word, a movie, a person, an event, so long as it inspired you. It can be subjects (cactus species, muscle cars, a voyage to Mars) or people/types of people (therapists, spies, your Aunt Germaine). Try to include things from other arts—for example, foods, music, or movies. In the beginning, make a practice of sitting down at least once a day to note things that interest you.

FOR YOUR NOVEL Create a specialized subset of your compost heap, which is a lexicon devoted exclusively to your novel. For example, if you’re writing about Greenland, gather all the words you can about snow, ice, flora and fauna, geologic formations, or weather occurrences. Research history and arts and science. Write down all of the words you love and that you think could go into your novel

Lesson comment:

Another really inspiring class. I have listened to this one several times already, and I seem to get new associations every time. Also, this is not the first time I have heard about the trick of twisting ideas around, and still... it’s a good thing to be reminded of. 

Wow, I somehow missed the exercises in this class (I’ll blame my undiagnosed ADHD). I’ll definitely look at those exercises. 

I also have this fairytale/ folktale idea in my “compost heap.” Actually, I have two ideas, but the newest one is a spin on two Norwegian folktales called “Kvitebjørn kong Valemon” (White bear King Valemon) and “Østenfor sol og vestenfor måne” (East of Sun and West of Moon). These tales are related to the myth of Eros and Psyche, and also to the story of Beauty and the Beast. I thought it could be interesting from the point of view of the so-called jealous third part of the story. Maybe. I might also try to twist a simpler folktale first, maybe one with the Ashlad (Norwegian folktale hero), from the princess’ point of view. I think it could be fun to play with those ideas + read some of the suggested literature. 

[griffinsanddragons]

I'm here for Calpernia meta when you have time 💜💜💜

Well, I’m always here to share Meta! Thank you for the ask! I have a little bit of a break before my classes resume and this was so much fun I got a little carried away!! 💜 

I said a lot about Calpernia on her character page, so if you haven’t already gone thru it, I promise a nice, lengthy read.

Click Here For That

I also have a cute list of headcanons that somewhat relate to what I wrote below. I accidentally deleted them, so it’s on my other blog. 

Click Here For That!

Now, something I’ve wanted to write about for a while is the Skyllian Blitz and what it meant for Calpernia specifically. 

Calpernia was born on the colony of Mindoir and from that alone we know a lot. She was orphaned as a result of the Batarian Raid; a fact that colors all her major decisions afterward. 

She joined the Systems Alliance because, from her perspective, the Alliance was the heroes who saved her and the rest of her colony. The Alliance was the Good Guys. And though she was timid and didn’t want any attention, she also wanted to do something good. 

Because you see—Calpernia survived because she hid. She hid while her family and friends were being taken away and it took her a long time before she could work through that survivor’s guilt. 

So she wanted to do something good. 

Fast forward a few years and young Calpernia is a simple marine. She was assigned to the First Fleet, the unit that guards the Mass Relays leading to the Sol system and acts as a reactionary force against attacks on earth’s colonies. Like with everything she’s very good at what she does but isn’t particularly notable and she’s fine with that.

But then she went to Elysium on shore leave and everything changed. 

There she was: minding her business, trying delicious foods and trying to work out the logistics of achieving a higher biotic output normal vacation things. And then the Batarians attacked. 

And so she did what she was trained to do; Calpernia sprang into action. 

The rest is history. She rallied a resistance and “near single-handedly” held back the Batarian Pirates. Calpernia never considered it to be a solo effort, however. 

Despite what the shaky drone footage someone captured, Calpernia knows she wouldn’t have been able to do it had it not been for the people backing her up. In fact, there was a moment—a single moment but significant nonetheless—where she was prepared to fail. 

She was tired, her biotic power was at its limit, many of the surrounding soldiers had fallen… and then she remembered the colonists. The brave men and women who rallied with her, who she believed in and who believed in her. She thought of all the scared little girls who were hiding alone in their rooms and how they needed a hero. She remembered how much she needed a hero. And she remembered that she was the hero now—and so she pushed past her limit. 

She theorized it might be possible, and that’s the math she was trying to work out but she knew if she could peak higher, release more power, that she could do what I imagine is some sort of precursor to her infamous Biotic Charge. 

It wasn’t fully successful since she was only an L3 at the time but it was enough—I like to imagine it was one of her most impressive biotic displays. Something of a biotic mini-charge. 

Calpernia ran she into the enemy fire, using her biotics to speed up and threw at least one (or two) heavily armored vehicle(s) that caused enough of an explosion that the Batarians were harmed and distracted. The explosion also provided her enough cover that she could move and seal the breach in Elysiums defenses. She held it until reinforcements arrived. 

And that was the clip they showed on all the news cycles—that is how she became famous.*

They sensationalized her life and began forming their own narrative around the events. 

They made her into an Alliance Feel-Good Story. And then somehow, against her will, she became the face of the Systems Alliance. So much for not wanting to stand out. 

Soon, everyone wanted a “moment of her time,” and they wanted to “sit down and talk” to her. But she didn’t want to. 

It’s not like she wasn’t appreciative of their gratefulness but goodness!  She spoke at the memorial for those who died in the Blitz and she gave a little speech when she received her Star of Terra; for her, that was enough. She didn’t want to be in the spotlight—which made everyone want to talk to her more. 

So she was relieved when she received her invitation to join the Interplanetary Combative Training (ICT) Program. At least there she wouldn’t have to talk to the press...and then she graduated N7. 

After she finished the continued her service with the First Fleet until Anderson requested her transfer to the Normandy and the rest, of course, is history. 

—

*Calpernia romanced Kaidan and I think it’s cute to think about how this was the first time he saw her. I mean sometimes I think about how they could have passed each other in a crowded cafeteria, but this would have been the first time he saw her. Her service portrait superimposed on shaky footage of her doing some impressive biotics. 

Could you imagine? A human biotic looked up to as a hero. And not only that but she’s super pretty. My boy might have caught feelings right then had his buddies not been there to clown him. Regardless of whatever Jenkins says his heart glows a little when he thinks about how her actions could lead to people seeing biotics in a new light. 

Also not so fun fact: Calpernia just...really doesn’t care much for Batarians. It’s one of her flaws. She likes to think her experiences don’t color her interactions with Batarians but they do. She’s always just a little more weary and/or aggressive with them then she would be in a comparable situation with like...a Turian or Asari. 

Anyway, thank you for the ask!! It was fun to write about my darling~  

[scratchface]

Reworking Aoi and Miyu in season 2

For a while now, I’ve seen some fans (understandably) frustrated with the direction season 2 has been taking the Water Origin plot thread. In light of the most recent episode, and naturally everything that accompanied it, I got to thinking about what could have gone differently. 

So, how would I have done this arc?

To start with, I’m leaving everything leading up to S2 the same: no backstory changes, no changes to the previous season, no headcanons nor assumptions. Everything we’ve been given is the same: Aoi’s parents die, leaving only Akira to look out for her, they struggle to get by, she meets and befriends Miyu, takes the blame for the ring, never sees Miyu again, idolizes the Blue Angel character, etc. Likewise, S1 goes exactly the same, for the sake of this little “what if”.

Here’s how their roles in season 2 could have gone:

1. Miyu is introduced alongside Haru and Bohman

The first fundamental change is that Lightning steals Miyu’s consciousness before he takes Jin’s. She’s already been completely brainwashed when the season begins with Jin’s kidnapping, and instead of Bit and Boot stalling for Bohman and Haru, it’s the brainwashed Miyu who stands in Playmaker’s, and then Soulburner’s, way.

Blue Angel witnesses this confrontation and thinks, oddly, that this mysterious girl dueling SB seems familiar. She can’t quite put her finger on why, until she’s struck by a long-forgotten memory of a much younger, but identical face. 

Up until this point, Aoi doesn’t remember Miyu or think of her much at all. No memory hijinks, just the expected fading of one’s childhood memories. Somewhere in the back of her head, Aoi remembers she had a friend for a short while when she was a kid, but can’t really remember what that friend’s name was or what she looked like, just that they couldn’t be friends anymore. Over the years since her childhood, as Aoi grew more and more self-absorbed, more hungry for Akira’s approval and attention, more wrapped up in herself and eventually the Blue Angel persona, her memories of Miyu got left behind. 

And now someone has the same face as that long-forgotten friend, triggering the resurgence of some faded memories, but it’s all wrong.

2. Miyu’s consciousness is mostly intact; she’s aware, but manipulated

Unlike Aoi, Miyu never forgets. Miyu was kidnapped from the playground she and Aoi met, where she spent a great deal of time hoping that Aoi would return and they could be friends again. Aoi never came, Miyu’s relationship with her mother deteriorated. Between Miyu’s stubborn determination to wait and her mother’s frustrated negligence, she gets snatched. During the Hanoi Project, she clings to any positive memories she can; her relationship with her parents too tumultuous to be much of a source of comfort, so instead she holds on to her memories of Aoi. Because of her extreme circumstances, her desperation for something to rely on, Miyu has a much better recollection of their childhood together than Aoi does.

But at the same time, Miyu starts to resent what happened. She’s trapped, isolated, and tortured, and she can’t help but wonder, if Aoi hadn’t told that lie back then, if they both simply had told the truth, would things have turned out differently?

If that lie hadn’t torn them apart, if Miyu hadn’t been left all alone at that playground, would she still have been taken? 

And so Aqua is born, with the unique ability to see through lies like glass. And Miyu grows up, carrying those twisted feelings with her. 

Then Lightning targets her, and uses those feelings to twist her mind. Miyu isn’t like Jin, who shut down in the wake of the Hanoi Project, but her mind was vulnerable in a different way. Lightning makes her hate her parents, for being unable to see the truth, for not protecting her. Makes her hate Aoi, for lying to protect her only to abandon her to a much worse fate. Makes her hate humanity as a whole.

3. Aoi joins the hunt for the Ignis to find Miyu

Lightning’s group escapes, including Miyu, and all that is clear to Aoi is that that girl she can’t stop thinking about, that person who she knows she knows, someone she knows she has to meet again, is related to the Ignis somehow. She can’t let it go, so she goes to find her brother and Ema, and discovers that they too are going after the Ignis. 

I feel like this line of thinking gives Aoi a much more concrete reason to get involved in the hunt for the Ignis and to partner with Ema; a much more definite and personal investment in figuring out exactly what is going on, because there’s something she needs to know, not just because she wants to help Akira. It also gives her a better reason to challenge Soulburner to a duel, instead of just being frustrated by them rejecting her offer for help. 

If she gets an Ignis, than maybe Miyu will come to her. 

She still loses, but its a much more frustrating hit. Not just a blow against her ego, but an invested failure. Especially since Miyu and Soulburner, in this version, were evenly matched and now Aoi’s coming up short. She’s not strong enough. 

4. Instead of switching personas, Aoi finally fights as herself

The war with the Ignis begins, and Aoi becomes aware of just how much danger Miyu is in. She meets Aqua under mostly the same circumstances, but it’s a much more uphill struggle against her fear for her friend, her own feelings of inadequacy. She’s hiding behind her avatar of Blue Angel more than ever before, clinging to the idea that maybe Blue Angel, the heroine, can save Miyu. So she hides that she’s obtained Aqua, begging Ema to help her keep it hidden from Akira and SOL, so they don’t realize that Aoi has obtained an Ignis. 

Aoi hopes that as Blue Angel, this time she’ll be able to protect the people important to her. The time to go after Lightning comes, and finally she and Miyu meet face to face again, and the duel is going badly right up until Aoi realizes that it’s not Blue Angel that Miyu needs. Miyu doesn’t need some storybook hero, some larger-than-life angel, she needs Aoi. The real Aoi, not the masks she wears and the roles she puts on. 

Mid-duel, Aoi casts it all aside. For Miyu’s sake, she gives up on hiding behind Blue Angel. She drops the flashy avatars and usernames and faces Miyu as just herself. She risks her identity, her real life, and her own fragile self-confidence for the sake of her friend, finally managing to make a truly selfless decision.

This is not only in line with Aoi’s arc in season 1, how she forced herself and everyone around her into roles to better suit the narrative she built up in her own head, but it also furthers the parallels between her and Go: right there and then in Vrains she duels with her own name and her own face, out in the open and not hiding behind anything or anyone. 

And in turn, with her friend finally back and reaching out to her, Miyu is also forced to be honest with herself, realizing that all the resentment was just her way of hiding from her own guilt. Even though she’d become a little obsessed with the truth, she was still pushing the responsibility of her actions on others. Back then, she hadn’t had the courage to tell her mother the truth, and instead hid behind Aoi’s lies. And now she sees that Aoi has found the courage to be honest.

Obviously, it’s not perfect, but I do think this kind of plot line and direction would smooth out Aoi’s choppy character development and inconsistent motivations without simply erasing her prevalent character flaws and prominent personality traits. Not to mention the theme of honesty is ham-fisted enough for a kid’s card game show, but complicated enough for Vrains’ complex views on morality and mistakes. Can lies really protect anyone, or are they just a way to hide from reality? Did Aoi really make the right decision back then, sacrificing her friendship with Miyu just to save Miyu from a more short-lived stress? Did Aoi’s regret over that short-sighted selfless act lead to her future egotism and immature selfishness? 

Plus, the idea of Aoi somehow dropping her masks feels like a more natural progression for her character than her rapidly cycling through avatars and usernames in a constant identity crisis. Instead of completely reinventing herself, she learns that it’s okay to just be Aoi, that she can change the parts of herself she doesn’t like without needing to hide who she really is. Meanwhile, Miyu gets to be an actual character, which I think is something we all desperately want.

Anyways, that’s my ramblings on the subject.

[qhostqizmo]

Questionnaire - Essie

I got bored and filled this out

- - - - - - - - - -

1) Does your character have siblings or family members in their age group? Which one are they closest with?

No; Essätha is the eldest of four, and does not know her other siblings. The closest sibling in age range to her is in their early twenties, about a decade’s age gap. The closest sibling-like relations she has is with a Tiefling she grew up with back home, who is roughly 5(?) or more years older than her.

2) What is/was your character’s relationship with their mother like?

Hepsiba was supermom and idol to Essie. Essie adored, and still adores, her mom. Hepsiba displayed a constant generous, open-minded, warm attitude that helped to shape a lot of Essie’s values. They got along wonderfully, and even as a youngster Ess’ showed a lot of respect and willingness to listen to her mothers words of wisdom.

3) What is/was your character’s relationship with their father like?

The same as it was as a child as it is now: nonexistent. In Essätha’s heart however, there is a lot of bitterness towards a man who left her and her ailing mother behind, also leaving her to learn little to nothing about him save through stories.

4) Has your character ever witnessed something that fundamentally changed them? If so, does anyone else know?

Oh, plenty. The treatment of her and others like her (Solace, her mother, non-humans automatically defined as ‘evil’ races), the death of her mother, deaths in general (sometimes that she blames on herself), so on. I’m sure some party members have a vague understanding her distance and seclusion is branched off of bad treatment due to her race, for instance. Some folks; like Sol and Kraw, could probably identify quite a few of Essie’s ‘flaws’ and where they steam from. Amon is beginning to learn more and more about some of her ‘quirks’ too.

5) On an average day, what can be found in your character’s pockets?

Lint, spare coins not put in her coin purse, a Green Bean, maybe something sharp and pointy that could be used for lock-picking or stabbing someone’s hand lol. Spare hair ribbon probably too.

6) Does your character have recurring themes in their dreams?

👀

7) Does your character have recurring themes in their nightmares?

Huehuehue… Pre-campaign I think Ess’ had more dreams centered around the loss of her mom and people hunting her and/or attacking her, belittling her, blaming her for all the wrong in the world. Some were personal, based off people she ‘failed’, killed, or feel she killed/wronged. Now I’m sure when she has a night terror it’s probably geared more towards the Raven Lord, Alexis’ and the wolves, the assassins breaking in, seeing her party members hurt/troubled, seeing the hurt and fear in Amon’s gaze, seeing him jailed, imagining all the things that could go wrong and losing m’lord… >:3c You know. Normal Nightmare Stuff nothing to be Concerned about.

8) Has your character ever fired a gun? If so, what was their first target?

I’m going to change ‘gun’ to ‘bow’ becuz fantasy. Ess’ is trained in both a regular bow and a crossbow. Her first ever bow-related target outside of hitting a fucking tree was killing a deer, per Kraw’s orders. Lots of tears shed over the damn deer. Lots of tearshed over learning to hunt in general rip my baby.

9) Is your character’s current socioeconomic status different than it was when they were growing up?

Pretty much the same. Money is probably more readily available in Essätha’s life. Pre-campaign likely because of the occasional pick-pocketing. Now becuz she gets paid for kicking butt. Keep it up girl.

10) Does your character feel more comfortable with more clothing, or with less clothing?

Situational based. Weirdly the less you know her, the more exposed Ess’ is willing to be, because, hey, when are you going to see her again? She might be nervous or edgy in crowds but otherwise w/e man. A lil more skin sometimes gets the gurl you know what I’m sayin’…. The more acquainted she is with someone, the more she fears ridicule, staring, judgment, and the more she wants to hide herself. Give her lots of time to gain confidence, and build trust, and she’d probably be okay being naked around you… so long as you aren’t obviously oogling her. Unless you’ve ahem, earned that level of faith from her where she wants your eyes on her.

11) In what situation was your character the most afraid they’ve ever been?

I would say there’s four instances that stand out the most. One, the first night alone as a toddler after her mother passed away. Two, her first murder, in which she thought she was going to die therefore killed in self-defense. Three, learning that the Raven Lord is probably some kind of god or demi-god being seeing how they killed the Master Arcanist. And four… ‘Not him. You can’t take him.’ …Use your imagination.

12) In what situation was your character the most calm they’ve ever been?

As a babe, listening to mom sing her to sleep… and at night, in Amon’s arms, when all hope feels lost and then they snuggle up and it just… it’s okay. They can deal with it tomorrow, one step at a time.

13) Is your character bothered by the sight of blood? If so, in what way?

No. She’s a lady of course not asdjgakl -

14) Does your character remember names or faces easier?

I’m gonna say faces, she seems more ‘creative inclined’ than ‘analytic inclined’.

15) Is your character preoccupied with money or material possession? Why or why not?

Yes! But less so then she thinks. Due to a life of lacking these things, Essätha thinks owning lots of fancy, expensive things will fill a void inside her. She also believes having money and a big house will give her a sign she’s ‘made it’; that she’s secure, that she’s above what everyone says about her… At the same time, fearing it, because of the additional ridicule it may bring (“ah, a Yuan-Ti Pureblood with riches and power?? Must be after Something.”)

16) Which does your character idealize most: happiness or success?

Happiness. It’s quite literally her dream. Sadly as stated above, she grew up thinking happiness was linked to the things you own but mm… she may be learning differently…

17) What was your character’s favorite toy as a child?

Mr. Hiss!! It was a homemade stuffed snake toy; couldn’t be more than a couple inches made of spare materials her mom had, and button eyes. She played with that thing till it was limp of stuffing, soiled, and raggedy but sadly a bratty kid tossed it into the town’s river so… no more Mr. Hiss. :( She’d have kept that toy all her life otherwise because it was so precious to her.

18) Is your character more likely to admire wisdom, or ambition in others?

Ambition. Because you can be ambitious to do a lot of things; become wiser, become stronger, become kinder. Being wise is cool, but having the drive to become more is sexy.

19) What is your character’s biggest relationship flaw? Has this flaw destroyed relationships for them before?

I’d say an inability to trust or commit. In terms of romantic relationships, she’s never held a significant one; mostly one-night stands or brief flings for a while before moving on; never wanted anything more than that. In terms of making friends, oh yeah. Being unwilling to open up or fully engage herself into the relationship has made people weary of her, her motives, and in turn close off from her. If you’re too scared to meet others half-way, eventually they give up on you.

20) In what ways does your character compare themselves to others? Do they do this for the sake of self-validation, or self-criticism?

In every way; looks, intelligence, status, etc. Mostly she does this as a way to degrade herself. ‘Oh she’s beautiful, and no awkward scaly patches’. ‘I shouldn’t have bothered speaking up, they clearly knows more on this subject.’ ‘Whoop look at the poor girl in rags compared to these guys Yikes-’. When she’s feeling Snobby and Righteous she might do it for the sake of validating her stance; such as being Right and making someone look stupid so she can gloat and grin smugly at them. More often then not though, she compares herself to make herself feel Worse.

21) If something tragic or negative happens to your character, do they believe they may have caused or deserved it, or are they quick to blame others?

Essätha is the Absol pokemon. If bad things occur, it is she who brought the rain, the drought, the heartache, the doubt, the misery. She’s a magnet for bad things and bad omens. It’s somehow her fault; something she said, or did, or a past mistake came back to haunt her and she screwed up, again.

22) What does your character like in other people?

Ooof, lol, well kind, gentle souls. People who have the ability to grow. Natural nurturers. Those who can be strong for others. Those strong in general; solid, comforting, in the ways that matter. Non-prejudice. Physically she’s got varied tastes; from thick and juicy to lean and swift.

23) What does your character dislike in other people?

Cruelty, judgment, those who take advantage of others, aka ugly on the inside. Physically she’s not into unhygienic individuals, doesn’t typically go for super scrawny or so many muscles they look like they’re in a constant flex.

24) How quick is your character to trust someone else?

To put it simply, given the chance, no one in the Hand of Jubata/Noisy Bastards would have found out she’s a Yuan-Ti until a super-necessary moment; or years later, if ever. She’s always hesitant to put trust into others. But she wants to believe the best outta people so if it comes down to basic trust and not trusting someone with secrets about her, she might be willing to give them the benefit of the doubt (unless she gets a Bad Insight off them).

25) How quick is your character to suspect someone else? Does this change if they are close with that person?

Pre-campaign she was just edgy and distrustful. Now during campaign, anyone could be part of those Whispered Shadow cult, so she suspects 50% of this continent at least is out to murder them. If she’s close with the individual, she’s more likely to deny it depending on likability-level. For example, if we found out Barnabus was part of this deranged group, she’d outright be like, “this information is false that sweet man??? I do not think so. You are Wrong.”

26) How does your character behave around children?

Essie loves kids. How she acts depends on their personality; she’s always careful, and soft, and endearing but if they’re shy, she understands they might want more space. If they’re eager and active, she’s even more bubbly and willing to play with them. Mom Genes(TM).

27) How does your character normally deal with confrontation?

Time to talk her way out of this shit and either help this person learn to amend their lives or talk them down. If you’re clearly a bad person, or she can’t change you’re mind, she’s willing to whoop your ass. Rather avoid it if possible though unless you’re a truly bad person.

28) How quick or slow is your character to resort to physical violence in a confrontation?

*gestures @ the campaign* dis bitch has tried or talked the group out of so many fights so??? Pretty slow.

29) What did your character dream of being or doing as a child? Did that dream come true?

I don’t think Essie had a ‘dream job’; she probably just wanted stability, some place to call her own, happiness, simplicity, life to be ‘normal’. That dream... really has not been achieved.

30) What does your character find repulsive or disgusting?

Lack of hygiene. Certain foods probs like liver and onions. Rotted corpses obviously. Chewing with mouth open. Idk, things normally others find gross?

31) Describe a scenario in which your character feels most comfortable.

She’s laying in a large, soft bed with oversized pillows and a dense, warm comforter draped over her. There’s arms wrapped around her. The blanket smells familiar; like leather and pine and a hint of rosewater. She wiggles around in the sheets; can feel another body shift as well to get in a better spot. There’s warm breath on the back of her neck, and a solid shape to her back keeping her warm. It’s safe here. Goosebumps race up her arms. She thinks she’ll take a nap. She can feel the calluses on fingers tracing over the back of her hand, then her palm, until they find the spaces between her own. It’s amazing how beautiful and calm the world can be. Time seems to stop here. Everything will be okay.

32) Describe a scenario in which your character feels most uncomfortable.

She is herself but not herself. She can pick up more acutely the ever; the scents, the vibrations in the air, it’s more intense. She can taste the fear in the air; the hate, the disgust. Her movements are jerky; slithering, the scales on her body a different texture moving over dirt and grass. They are judging her. They are sickened. She can see the look in their eyes, and she is exposed. She is a disgusting creature. The only thing to belittle herself more is to change back; naked, small. They know. They all know. She can’t imagine the way he’s looking at her; too scared to check and see. He would never look at her the same.

33) In the face of criticism, is your character defensive, self-deprecating, or willing to improve?

I feel it really depends on what she’s being criticized for. I want to say in most cases she’s probably embarrassed and/or humiliated, but willing to listen. She may openly self-deprecate and still request they express how she can do better. I feel she mostly gets defensive around people she doesn’t respect and whose criticism then wouldn’t matter; or around topics she feels she knows more about (or definitely knows more about) and she’s offended they suggest she does not.

34) Is your character more likely to keep trying a solution/method that didn’t work the first time, or immediately move on to a different solution/method?

If there’s no ‘time crunch’, she may try the same method a second time before moving on to a different tactic. If it’s a panicked or life-risked situation, and the first method doesn’t work, immediately move on to idea two.

35) How does your character behave around people they like?

Bubbly, excitable, warm and affectionate. She can be stubborn and grumpy still, but for the most part she tends to wear her heart more openly and be more wild and teasing.

36) How does your character behave around people they dislike?

Closed up, silent-treatment, narrowed eyes, huffy, clipped phrases, crude, hissy. Typically she’s a bit bitchy and waiting for an out to get away from you.

37) Is your character more concerned with defending their honor, or protecting their status?

Considering she has little status at the moment, probably her honor.

38) Is your character more likely to remove a problem/threat, or remove themselves from a problem/threat?

Essätha removes problems/threats… even if that problem/threat is herself.

39) Has your character ever been bitten by an animal? How were they affected (or unaffected)?

This is such a were-creature questions HEH uhh, I would not doubt Essie has been bitten by an animal before. Largely she probably forgives the critter and its species. It’s probably her own fault she got bitten after all and she realizes that.

40) How does your character treat people in service jobs?

Respect! If she sees you treatin’ a service job employee like trash you’re garbage to her. Those are hard working people trying to make a living whomst the fuck are you?

41) Does your character feel that they deserve to have what they want, whether it be material or abstract, or do they feel they must earn it first?

Pardon my hyena laughter but, Essätha doesn’t feel like she deserves much of anything. She certainly hasn’t earned to have what she wants. Maybe in time she’ll grow up a bit and learn it’s okay to have things; material or abstract, without feeling guilty or burdened. I’m sure at that time she’d feel she must earn it first.

42) Has your character ever had a parental figure who was not related to them?

*stares @ Kraw, Abernathy, Barnabus, etc* She seems to pick up plenty of Those.

43) Has your character ever had a dependent figure who was not related to them?

Mmm, I’m sure she’s temporarily looked after a younger person or taught someone here or there, yeah. Not for a significant span of time (not to say she probably hasn’t left a positive impact on others that haven’t forgotten her though).

44) How easy or difficult is it for your character to say “I love you?” Can they say it without meaning it?

Oh ho ho ho~ I don’t think Ess’ has said that phrase to more than two people her whole life. It’s definitely not something she could say without meaning to. I can imagine her trying to say it to persuade someone to do something she wants but she just stands there, tongue-tied, unable to do so. It’s just three words, but it’s three very powerful words that can do a lot of good or evil. She wouldn’t want to abuse them or, make people lose faith in them (likeshehascoughs). She doesn’t want people to conceive her as a liar for misusing it before. She wants to be able to say it with heart, conviction, and certainty to someone she truly cares for… if she could ever work up the courage to do so.

45) What does your character believe will happen to them after they die? Does this belief scare them?

I’ll admit: the afterlife isn’t probably something Essie thinks of often. I’d have to say believes in a heavenly ream, and hopes it will welcome her. I do believe she’s scared though because of her race, or any blemishes in her life she’s caused, that she fears she’s already got a one way ticket to hell.

[isakthedragon]

Super Sonic Thieves Chapter 13

Chapter 13 - Croaked Ships

The Set Up:

Sonic, narrating: “Blaze, Silver, and Marine warned us of where the next villain appeared, and he was attempting to take control of the Sol dimension.”

Sly, narrating: “And just as appropriate, Sir Raleigh was the criminal handling the occupation here. Figures he’d try to take over the seafaring world here like the pirate he thinks he is. He was born to a rich family, but loved stealing other people’s riches. Last we dealt with him, he tried using a storm machine to churn the seas to stop ships.”

Sonic, narrating: “And it looks like he’s doing it again here, since when we arrived, there was storm clouds as far as the eye could see. We better find him, and stop him before he does irreversible damage here.”

-----

Zone Layout: The gang has unfortunately landed on the other side of the island Raleigh has docked his ship at, so they’ll have to pass through a Sol island jungle to get to his ship. Then it’s a trip on and in Raleigh’s gigantic pirate ship to find the frog himself. Perhaps Raleigh is hiding his storm generator on board as well?

Enemies:

Robot Walrus (Mallet): These angry metal walruses smack the hammer down to crush you. Carries/drops 15-17 coins and has a 10% chance of treasure to pickpocket.

Robot Walrus (Welder): If they aren’t working on fixing metal, they’ll turn their torches on you and burn you. Carries/drops 15-17 coins and has a 10% chance of treasure to pickpocket.

Robot Walrus (Shuriken thrower): These robot walruses toss metal starfishes like shurikens to smack you away. Carries/drops 19-21 coins and has a 25% chance of treasure to pickpocket.

Robot Squid: Robotic copies of Raleigh’s flashlight carrying squids. They still squirt globs of oil at you that make you slippery when they spot you. Carries/drops 19-24 coins and has a 50% chance of treasure to pickpocket.

Aquis: Flying robot seahorses that also shoot globs of oil to make slippery floors or make you slippery. Drops 19 rings when smashed.

Stormmister: It’s similar to Eggman’s earlier Toximister, but this one dispenses storm clouds that if touched, will attempt to strike you with a lightning bolt. You need to be moving to miss it. Drops 21 rings when smashed.

Treasures:

From Guards:

Lump of Bronze: Worth 90 coins and 45 rings.

Lump of Silver: Worth 110 coins and 55 rings.

Lump of Gold: Worth 130 coins and 65 rings.

From Pedestals:

Platinum Ship in a Bottle: Found near to the river in Act 1. Worth 2150 coins and 1075 rings.

Water Jewel: Hiding on the top deck in Act 2. Worth 2250 rings and 1125 rings.

‘Jeweled Scepter’: In plain sight in Clockwerk’s room, grab it before destroying the bird. Worth 2350 rings and 1175 rings.

The coins have the Sol emeralds as the design on them.

-----

Stormy Seas Zone Act 1: Dimitri and Silver take on the first leg of finding Sir Raleigh, which is actually getting onto his ship that is docked on the other side of the jungle island they are on. The player will use Dimitri’s swimming abilities and Silver’s psychokinesis to traverse the dense jungle, avoiding the enemies along the way. Silver’s psychokinesis will need to be used to either block or destroy spotlights so you won’t get shot at.

*At the start.*

Silver: “* Sigh* I wish we were coming back home under better circumstances. Seeing our world under this storm is saddening.”

Dimitri: “Hey, don’t worry, bro. You’re with the Cooper gang. We’ll put the bizness back to what it was before, you dig?”

Silver: “I dig… I think.”

Bentley, over the binocucom: “Just be careful through the jungle, guys. I’m pretty sure Raleigh’s set up plenty of traps to catch us in.”

---

Stormy Seas Zone Act 2: Carmelita and Blaze sneak their way onto the top deck, and listen in on Sir Raleigh as he hops around and talks about his plans. The player must stay out of his sight, or it’ll have to be done again. Soon, he’ll go a deck down, so it should get a bit easier to hide behind things. The main focus of his talking is of his storm generator, which happens to be another Clockwerk bird.

*At the start*

Carmelita: “We’ve boarded Raleigh’s ship, so we better look for him…”

Blaze: “Maybe we could entice him out with a cannon blast or 2?”

Carmelita: “That would work, less searching for us.”

*Some cannon blasts and hiding later, Raleigh comes to the top deck to inspect.*

Sir Raleigh: “Hey! Quiet down up here! I’m busy trying to figure out our new ship course for this place!”

A guard: “Sorry, someone fired the cannons out”

Sir Raleigh: “Cannons don’t fire by themselves! Find the person who did it!” *He turns around and starts hopping.*

Blaze: “Phew, that was close.”

Carmelita: “Yeah, but we better follow him.”

*After a bit.*

Sir Raleigh: “I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical about this place, but now that I see it for myself, it’s quite perfect for me. So much sea to see, so many islands to raid and plunder. Surely a pirate’s life here.”

Blaze: “Not if I can help it, you stupid frog…”

Carmelita: “We’ll nail him, just wait…”

*Later, a deck below.*

Guard: “Remind me why we are also sitting around for now?”

Sir Raleigh: “We’re waiting for our Storm Clockwerk below to turn the whole Sol Dimension stormy, so we can easily plunder this world.”

Guard: “I thought that raccoon who got you last time killed him, twice.”

Sir Raleigh: “He did, but that Eggman fellow somehow figured out how to build copies of him, and now we can control one as we wish! He’s better as a loyal servant than as an annoying leader anyway.”

Penelope, over the binocucom: “Huh? That’s strange…”

Bentley, over the binocucom: “It is?”

Penelope, over the binocucom: “I don’t remember him ever talking about Clockwerk copies, at least, not offering one to me. Now that I think about it, he did send me out quickly…”

Tails, over the binocucom: “He probably didn’t want you squealing any information to us. He’s really putting the hammer down on leaking information.”

Penelope, over the binocucom: “Jeez… I really was just a pawn…”

Bentley, over the binocucom: “It’s okay… you’re with us now, that’s what matters.”

Penelope, over the binocucom: “Yeah… I’m going to see what I can do about hacking the Clockwerk Owls while you guys smash them. Maybe I can figure out what’s going on.”

---

Stormy Seas Zone Act 3: Panda King and Marine head down to the lower decks and find the Storm Clockwerk up and running and creating electrical storms in the seas. The player can use Panda King’s fireworks to just use fireworks to blast apart the bird to pieces, while Marine plugs up leaks that may appear from the falling pieces and explosions. Then, it’s just a trip to the captain’s room to confront Sir Raleigh.

*At the start, on the sight of Clockwerk.*

Marine: “Argh, mateys! We’ve spotted the blight of a bird! It’d be working electrical conduits to the top o’ the ship and discharging into the atmosphere!”

Bentley, over the binocucom: “Thus, supercharging the air above and producing storms! Good job, guys.”

Panda King: “I assume you want me to use my fireworks to smash the bird to pieces?”

Tails, over the binocucom: “You got it! We better hurry, before it creates a storm too powerful to stop!”

Panda King: “Excellent. Prepare, fake Clockwerk, to become nothing but dust!”

*Upon destruction*

Panda King: “The bird… it is gone now.”

Marine: “Yar, let’s make haste to find the captain’s room!”

*While looking for the captain’s room.*

Penelope, over the binocucom: “Hmmm… interesting. Something left when it blew up.”

Bentley, over the binocucom: “Can you determine what it is?”

Penelope, over the binocucom: “Hard to say… it’s not a simple electrical reading… I can at least say, based upon designs you guys made of the original Clockwerk, it seemed to come from where… the ‘hate chip’ was located.”

Sly, over the binocucom: “It’s been a long while since we’ve heard about that thing…”

Penelope, over the binocucom: “I can say there is no hate chip though, from the wreckage you guys made, nor does it seem to be there anyway… Maybe Eggman attached something there to work it from far away?”

Tails, over the binocucom: “It’s not familiar to me. Eggman has dabbled in the supernatural though, if that is any help. I mean, he’s built a few bases on haunted grounds.”

Penelope, over the binocucom: “Hmmm…”

Bentley, over the binocucom: “So have a few of our villains, kind of a normal thing actually. We got laws limiting the use of supernatural things for evil uses.”

---

Stormy Seas Zone Act 4 (BOSS): Sly and Sonic enter his swamped Captain’s room to deal with the annoying frog…

Sir Raleigh: “Well, well, if it isn’t the lost raccoon and an annoying pincushion Eggman warned me about. You sure have been making a mess of my ship, haven’t you?”

Sly: “Only enough to stop you from pirating this world.”

Sonic: “Wait, this little frog is a nasty villain? He looks like he’s going to break into a dance. You know ‘Hello, my baby, hello, my honey, hello my ragtime gal’ ? ”

Sir Raleigh, sounding quite pissed: “Grrr… I was told by Eggman you’d be annoying, but that’s really low. I am not related to Michigan J. Frog at all!! Just because they create a cartoon that stars a frog that’s all happy and dances does not mean all of us are like that!”

Sonic: “I don’t know… you do got the top hat, and you’re old enough to need a cane. Look! He’s even got a record player in the back!”

Sir Raleigh: “Shut up, Shut Up, SHUT UP!!! I was just going to crush you, but now you’ve made it really personal, hedgehog!!! DIE!!!”

Boss: Sir Raleigh

Sir Raleigh fights like before, hopping around and trying to smack you with his tongue, or attempting to belly slam you on the lily pads. And like before, wait until he deflates to attack him, though watch out for the tongue still. If he was easy the first time around, this is going to be a walk in the park.

*When defeated*

Sir Raleigh: “Noooo… lost again… Why did pirating get so hard?”

-----

The Getaway:

Sonic, narating: “Soon after Sir Raleigh’s defeat, the storm clouds faded away, and the seas became calm once more. The Sol dimension was safe again, much to Silver’s, Blaze’s and Marine’s excitement. We couldn’t stay for long, since we had to drop Sir Raleigh off back at INTERPOL and return to our world again. I wonder where our journey is heading next...”

Next Time: There’s a tiger on the prowl in the cold jungle in Bamboo Blitz Zone.

[cardrisen]

☄☄☄ Three hcs for three girls of your choosing

Random Headcanons!

Aoi holds an interest in hacking, though nowhere near the levels of Yusaku and Kusanagi. Mostly, the interest comes from a desire to help and prevent a repeat of Lightning’s war on humanity from happening; if she can keep an eye out for signs of tampering through hacking, she feels like she can do better with her job, on top of keep others safe where she previously failed. Unfortunately, she’s also aware it’s something that can easily be covered, and as such, the interest was born; she needs to do better. She needs to know. And if it means learning herself... Then nothing’s going to stop her.

~(Bonus) While her job is one initially picked up while she’s attending Den City Hgh out of a desire to help Akira, Aoi still continues to work in the security division at SOL well into her 20′s. Her motivation has since shifted away from making her brother proud of her, however, and more into a dedication to protect the world that helped her realize where she needed to change and grow - The world that brought her back to where she needed to be, allowed her to meet Aqua, Yusaku, and the rest of her friends, reunited her with Miyu, and helped her stand on her own two feet. Link VRAINS means a great deal to her, and working in cybersecurity has given her the ability to return the favor and protect it, a role she can’t see herself giving up any time soon.

Yuzu’s emotions tend to run high, even after her revival and Zarc’s defeat, and make her incredibly obvious no matter how much she tries to hide it. She’s learned to hide them better as she’s gone through her ‘journey’ and matured quite a bit, but once flustered or nervous, her control slips out the window - she’d quickly revert to a more defensive state, putting distance between herself and the topic/person/object that caused it, or pulling her fan out of retirement for a quick slap. It’s far less the older she gets and the more she grows, but everyone has a slip, right~?

~(Bonus) Yuzu grew up around music, and even took piano lessons as a child. She’s gotten fairly good at recognizing melodies and keeping a beat over the years, and her training often has her listening to music from a small MP3 player she’ll keep strapped to her bicep if she’s alone. There’s something about dueltaining that’s easier to do to a good beat, and if anyone should happen to walk in on her, they’ll find a practice session far more akin to a dance or a butterfly on the breeze than a girl who just wants to see others smile.

Rin has always, in a sense, ‘blamed’ herself for her childhood. Curiosity as a child led to the orphanage workers making up a story to ease her questions, one relaying she was the only survivor after an accident claimed her parents... But despite the attempt to ease her frequent questions and give her answers, she only found herself with more on top of a heavy load of guilt. If she’d been there, would things have been different? Had she had a role in the loss of her parents? If she hadn’t been there, would it be different - Could she have changed it somehow, even if she didn’t remember it?

The story is ultimately outed as a lie when she discovers her ties to Ray and her counterparts, but rather than fixing anything, it’s simply replaced with more confusion, stress, and guilt that she struggles with as part of Yuzu’s subconscious. Recovering from what they went through at Academia’s hands isn’t easy, but it’s also something she won’t let on to around anyone but Yuya and Ruri - The two people she feels would understand.

~(Bonus) Despite being a mechanic, Rin’s actually not too tech-savvy! She definitely understands a LOT more about he computerized systems of their D-Wheel than Yugo does and can work them without issue, but anything newer is something she needs to time to study, first. It’s led her to frequently studying manuals for parts and D-Wheel models she doesn’t have (and likely won’t ever get her hands on), just to be sure she’ll know what she’s doing, and after becoming one with her counterparts, studying anything technology-related she can get her hands on when she has time to herself. Computers always have been and likely always will hold an air of mystery to her, though she’s still got that special Rin-touch - You let her at mechanics, and she’ll have them purring like a kitten in no time, computers included!

[a-weird-blog-in-general]

Undertale Heights Au

Okay. I know there’s literally a million ways that an Undertale/Heights Au can go, so I figured I’d work out my own ideas for it. So here it is.

First, let's clear up some things: Sonny is a child (9-10 years old), Nina and Vanessa are 13-14, Usnavi and Benny 17-18, Daniela's in her mid-twenties (I put the dot on 25-26) and Carla's around 19.20. The Rosarios are in their late thirties. Now the way this goes, seeing that the world is a "game," the following events take place in "runs," like plays through a game. This "game," unfortunately, starts with a Genocide run. Now the first half is constant; it remains the same whether it's a genocide or Pacifist. It will be divided at the line break (you'll know when you get there), and it will be explained again and maybe more in depth if I can pull this off right. This is the beginning: So, let's say the country got into a war (cause like that happened right) between magic and non-magic users (the non-magic users won and sealed magic away); the barrio fam and population of Washington Heights gets booted Underground, but in all the chaos Sonny and Usnavi get separated. A few years later, Sonny's going out to find them based on rumors of an entrance to the Underground. He doesn't pay attention and ends up falling down the hole, hitting his head and losing his memory. He meets Camila, who gives him the name Sol (cause all Sonny can remember about himself is something relating to sunshine, and Camila could use a sun in her little home in the Ruins). Sonny manages to convince Camila to let him out, her giving him a warning not to go to the capital. On the way, he runs into basically a recreation of the barrio, not exactly the same but close enough, and he meets Benny, and boy is he surprised at this person who strangely looks like a Sonny. Benny has the Sans intro where it's basically like "Holy shit if Usnavi sees you and you're not his cousin that'll fuck him up here hide behind this conveniently shaped lamp!" So like the whole time Benny's like, "Oh my god you look so much like Usnavi's little cousin are you sure you're not him" and Sonny, of course, is like "I don't even know who I am." (Now Sonny is suspicious according to Benny). So maybe we ought to take him to the Rosario's, Kevin might know how to deal (cause yeah he's been doing a great job so far; he's bitter about the people living on the surface and ya know he does the whole Asgore thing with doing the murdering to collect souls to bust down the barrier after the incident). Everything's fine until Usnavi comes in. Usnavi:"Holy shit it's Sonny it's my little cousin!" Benny:"Usnavi..." Usnavi:"Mijo I thought I lost you forever!" Sonny:"...I don't know you." And BOY does that fuck Usnavi up. Convincing Usnavi to let Sonny go to the capital is... difficult, to put it lightly. Usnavi, understandably, doesn't want to loose Sonny again and is afraid that maybe this kid without a memory really isn't Sonny. And you know you got royal guards walking around if they see Sonny that won't be good, not to mention if Mr. Rosario doesn't believe Sonny IS Sonny, the little boy's lifespan is going to be cut considerably short. Benny's the one who's the most doubtful of them all, saying that Sonny should go, which doesn't go over well with Usnavi. So after some compromise, they convince Usnavi to let Sonny go, but only if Usnavi is there the whole time (time for cousinly bonding which is painful because Usnavi's trying to get Sonny to remember something but Sonny can't and they both feel guilty, Usnavi for pushing the subject and Sonny for not being useful. Usnavi insists on calling the boy Sonny, but Sonny always says it's Sol, so eventually Usnavi calls him Sol too (ouch)). They end up losing each other at Waterfall. What probably happened is that they were running from a royal guard, Usnavi trying his best to keep Sonny safe but they end up being divided at a bridge and the guard breaks off the section Sonny's on sending him falling, Usnavi crying out "Sonny!" as he falls (Sonny does get a brief flash of his memories before he hits the flowers because a fall was how Usnavi and Sonny got separated). He hits the ground and keeps going forward. This is where Sonny meets Pete; Sonny almost gets caught by one of the royal guards until Pete comes and saves him. Pete doesn't refer to Sonny as 'Sonny,' and treats him as a new person who kind of resembles a person Pete knew. They both end up going through the rest of the way together, Pete telling him what he remembers about his time here, the story with Usnavi, and Sonny remembers bits and pieces, but no definitive names or experiences. At another bridge they're running from a guard and Pete almost falls over but Sonny saves him (and now they're even). They get to Hotland (or the equivalent thereof), and they meet Daniela and Carla, the most popular television duo ever to grace this planet (I believe in them, they got the charisma and chemistry) and of course they want to know what the heck is up with there being a Sonny right in front of them. Sonny, feeling pressure from everybody to remember a life he just can't; runs off. He wishes he could remember who he was, who all these people who clearly know him, and he feels a slight tugging at his soul, a voice promising him all the memories he could ever need. Now Sonny has two choices: accept the voice's offer, or deny it.

Everything before now is set in stone; it is not affected by the choice Sonny makes. From now until the next line is the genocide route, where Sonny decides to listen to the voice in his head.

Of course, you listen to the voice inside your head, you're not going to be yourself. So Sonny goes back the way he came, and he runs into Benny (Usnavi was freaking out so he's looking around Waterfall while Benny was looking around Hotland). Now Benny had grown a little fond of Sonny seeing how much Usnavi cares for him, and tries to get Sonny to follow him. And then Sonny tries to straight up stab Benny. He misses (thank god I guess? I mean it's not like he's going to be around long enough to thank him) and of course Benny's like "wtf this kid legit cut up my arm was I right the whole time is Usnavi in danger?" Benny manages to get away and later finds Usnavi, telling him what happened. Usnavi doesn't believe him, and at this point Benny is done with Usnavi thinking the kid is Sonny. "No there's no way Sonny-" "Usnavi stop it with the "Sonny" thing! That thing is not Sonny, and it straight up tried to kill me!" "You've been against Sonny since the beginning Benny! Don't you dare say those things about him!" "You know what, fine! But if people start dying, it's your damned fault for letting it happen, Usnavi!" (Oooo bad call Benny). Usnavi goes back home, kinda creeped out that no one's around; normally the barrio's filled with chatter and people are in the streets, but literally it's like a ghost town. Then he sees the blood; first in drops, then in small puddles, and he's following them mindlessly until he spots a body and he's sick and disgusted only a monster could do something like this. So Usnavi decides to go to the capital to warn Mr. Rosario and Sonny (he still has faith in his baby cousin). But first he decides to make a stop at Camila's place, knocks on the door, and doesn't get a response. He knocks again, and again, and no one opens the door. Turns out the door was already open, and inside there is nothing but darkness. Usnavi sits down, holds his head and cries. Meanwhile, Benny's trying to get to the capital himself, and ends up running into Carla, Daniela, and Pete. And oh who's that way over there oh shit it's not-Sonny. Pete's trying to talk Sonny into putting down the knife, Daniela's holding Carla back from running up with them, and Benny's like "Dude get the heck away from that thing!" But then Benny sees that Sonny's not holding the knife at Pete, he's holding to his own throat. There are tears and everything running down Sonny's face, and Benny carefully walks up, shushing Daniela and Carla when he passes them. Pete's holding Sonny's arm, pulling it away from his throat. And the most terrifying smile spreads across Sonny's face, a smile of pure evil, and he stabs Pete in the chest. Benny backs up, and Daniela's the one who runs up ready to smack Sonny, and they end up fighting. Carla joins on Daniela's side while Benny pulls Pete away from the action, trying to reassure the kid everything's going to be okay, trying to stop the bleeding but it's not enough and Pete dies (I'm legit shaking from here on out). Benny's in shock but then realizes that the noise from the fighting's stopped. There, standing in the middle of a mess of destruction is Sonny, still smiling. Benny can't even see anything resembling Daniela and Carla. And Sonny just looks at him with a chilling stare, almost saying "Just you wait." Sonny keeps staring at him as Benny gets up, stumbles, and runs away. Usnavi gets to the capital, waiting for Sonny to arrive, but instead is met with Benny, who somehow looks even worse from when they last saw each other, and Benny's yelling at him to run. Now, Usnavi's still bitter, so he just kind of folds his arms and huffs, looking kind of annoyed, but then Usnavi sees a fucking blade go through Benny's chest and he just stares in shock as Benny falls over and there behind Benny holding a bloody knife is his baby cousin. BOY does that fuck him up. And he looks to Sonny with fear and asks "Sonny... what have you done?!" "I'm not Sonny. Don't you remember me, Usnavi? Don;t you remember those sunny days we'd go outside, laughing, and you'd always remember that I liked a little bit of cinnamon in your parents postres?" "Wha... what?" "You don't? That's okay. I'll make you remember me." Usnavi, at this point, realizes that the thing in front of him is in fact not his little cousin, and it hits him that this thing hurt and killed everybody; Benny, Camila, everyone in the barrio, God knows who else, and he feels so angry. How dare this monster use his baby cousin's face to do these horrible things? So Usnavi decides he's going to put this monster down. "I don't who you are, I don't care what you are, but I know you're not Sonny. You could never be my cousin." *megalovania blares in the background as this painful fight plays out* It's painful, to say the least, especially for Usnavi, having to hurt something that looks and sounds just like his baby cousin, but he pushes through, zoning out his emotions and just watching this thing move, intent on killing him. But Usnavi doesn't want to kill it; he plans on wounding it and giving it the most lengthy pain  And then Usnavi stops paying attention and ends up shanking Sonny right in the chest. At first, he gives the thing this deadly look, taking in the terrified expression in its eyes, then turns to walk away and leave it to die slowly, when he hears the weakest voice come from the body he threw on the floor. "Usnavi?" He turns back to look at it, and hears it again. "Cuz..?" And it hits Usnavi that the weak body shaking, bleeding out on the floor is Sonny and it tears his heart apart. Usnavi runs over, cradling Sonny close to him, brushing back stray hair and sweat from his baby cousin's head, whispering "Oh my god Sonny. I'm so sorry mijo, I'm so sorry." And Sonny can barely speak, breathing unsteadily, but manages to get out "I'm sorry I made you do this cuz." "Sonny no it's not your fault it's mine I did this to you and-" "You have to stop her." "What?" "She's going to do something, cuz. She' gonna... she's gonna..." "Sonny? Sonny please..." And Usnavi holds his baby cousin, begging for him to stay awake as Sonny slowly fades away. When Usnavi finally notices that Sonny's not moving, not breathing, he holds Sonny's limp body, crying as he begs someone, anyone, to bring him back. But Usnavi's job isn't done yet oh no. He goes on to the garden to get to Mr. Rosario, and all he finds in a mess of blood, and a torn flower stem. He looks around and then sees Vanessa. She promises to fix everything, to bring everything back to normal and bring Sonny back. How can Usnavi say no to that? Her last words to him: "This is all just a bad dream." And then the "game" resets. Sonny's back at the point he where he has to make the choice.

Now this is a "new run." Everything connected to the Genocide route is "erased" (the memories are submerged, but they are still in the subconscious of everyone who had to go through it). Since the memories are in the subconscious, this explains why Benny is highly suspicious of Sonny at the beginning, even though he doesn't know why.

Sonny goes up to the capital by himself, and finally meets Mr. Rosario. Sonny's about to follow him until Usnavi appears to try and stop him. But this is something Sonny has to do, and even though Usnavi is begging because Mr. Rosario won't understand that he is Sonny and he'll kill you Sonny why? Sonny just hugs Usnavi. "I might not remember who I am, but I feel something right here in my heart Usnavi. You might be my cousin, we might not even be related, but that doesn't erase everything you did for me, keeping me safe while you could." Sonny follows after Mr. Rosario, where he's told the story of what happened to Nina and Vanessa, but he still can't remember; Sonny does feel this great pain in his chest, and tries to talk to Kevin, but says things that he probably shouldn't have, because he triggers a fight. Sonny doesn't react well and hurts Kevin. Mr. Rosario then goes on about how Sonny could never understand what it's like to lose everything you've worked for, angry at him; but Sonny does understand. And it's made clear, at the end of this whole misunderstanding. But oh no what's this Nina (who of course is a flower) comes in to crash the crucial bonding moment. Nina gets the souls and tries to convince Sonny to give her his willingly (she doesn't want to completely destroy the world; she wants to recreate it so that there's no violence or hate or anything bad, a perfect world where everyone she's loved and lost can live happily (I believe Nina, with or without a soul, would never want the ultimate destruction of the world)). And insert nightmare inducing boss fight here. Sonny won't give himself up easily, and Nina, though she doesn't want to, has to take his soul. Sonny ends up losing and is stuck in this state of limbo where he can feel himself slowly fading away. Until he thinks of Usnavi and Pete and Benny and everyone he's met. He can't leave them, he has to help them with his pure unadulterated determination. Then suddenly he's back in The Rosario's garden, alone (he appears after Usnavi had left, so Sonny's kind of just standing there). He takes a moment to let out all those pent up emotions before going to confront Mr. Rosario, this time taking a different approach. Sonny doesn't fight him; he lets Mr. Rosario smack him around, and Kevin doesn't understand why. Eventually, Camila comes in (because now Mr. Rosario can't be taken out in one hit now) and saves the day (almost) and everyone comes by and yay maybe everything's okay oh wait no Nina got the souls and is holding everyone hostage crap. Now Nina's bitter. Sonny didn't help her and he had to drag all these poor innocent people into this mess. Now she has to take your soul Sonny with everyone watching but look everyone is going to defend Sonny that's right we're not gonna let Sol get hurt you freaky plant. Well you know what Nina's gonna do she's going to take all your souls. Insert trippy as fuck boss fight here. The future of the world stands on this (no pressure) and everything is not working out. Sonny is, quite literally, powerless, and all hope seems lost until he hears the souls everybody calling and boom use that determination baby. We win and save everybody and it's great wait Nina. Sonny gets a moment with Nina, and she tells him about the life they had on the surface, and how when they came down she had Vanessa but she died and Nina was so angry at everything that she tried to bring Vanessa back. She knew Vanessa as someone who wanted to be remembered, to have her existence mean something, which moved Nina to decide on creating a new world where she would be around and they would be friends along with everyone else in the barrio and Vanessa could live the life she deserved and she thought that she could fix everything but she can't and Sonny just gives her a hug. "I'm just so sorry, I didn't mean to..." "Shhh. It's okay Nina."  "I just wanted to- wait. Did you just call me Nina?" "Yeah." And he's got this goofy grin going on and he's crying but he's smiling and says "I remember. I remember everything. Nina, it's me, Sonny." As much as they'd like to just stay and hug and talk they can't, and Sonny blacks out. And of course he wakes up to mother hen Usnavi holding him, begging him to wake up and Sonny does and everyone's like "Sol are you okay?" and Sonny's like "My name's not Sol, it's Sonny." And you can see the hope in Usnavi's eyes and Sonny looks him in the eye and says "I remember, cuz." And yes big happy reunion full of fluff and tears and goodness and everything can be okay now. Except one thing; Sonny, with his memories returned, opened a "window" which caused him to also remember the Genocide route, which hits him as something more than a bad dream. He tells them about it and in turn they start remembering what happened, and Sonny beats himself down, blaming himself for everything he put them through, now and then. Benny is actually the person to pulls him out of that destructive train of thought, which means so much because he doubted Sonny. "Kid I thought you were gonna be the end of us, but somehow you were able to go back and change it. That's what's important." Hugs, tears, all that good stuff and what do you know the barrier's gone maybe we can fix what we all did wrong and maybe everything can be okay now? Yeah everything can be okay now.

Thank you @pika-ace for listening to me go on about this and for providing more ideas that have been added. Thank you @smoltinypumpkinchild and @the-alpha-flower for coming up with this Au that has fueled my midnight flame for the past week.

[tripstations]

10 sacred sites and spiritual journeys in South America

Many of us feel attracted to soul-stirring places that exert something spiritual within us. The original meanings these sites hide shrouded in secrecy and are often buried in time, yet each is a place of mystery and awe.

Many of these destinations are known for their age-old legends, spiritual practices and long-standing ceremonies, while other sacred sites now exist as ruins or natural wonders.

For “believers” and non-believers alike, these destinations offer something undefined, something mystical – or perhaps simply something that moves us deeply.

While hundreds of sacred sites and spiritual destinations can be found throughout South America, we have selected just ten of them that we’ve found particularly compelling.

1. Salt Cathedral of Zipaquira (Colombia)

As the name suggests, the “Salt Cathedral of Zipaquira” is a pretty unusual place and an unmissable stop on any trip to Bogota, Colombia. Located an hour from the Colombian capital and hewn within the tunnels of a 600-foot-deep subterranean rock salt mine is this Roman Catholic church.

This strange and beautiful place of worship is adorned with softly lit crucifixes and cherubic statues throwing reverential shadows against the rough halite walls. Proceeding to the lowest tunnel, the temple opens up to reveal three naves that represent the birth, life and death of Christ. Looking up, you’ll see a basilica dome, while at the front of the temple is an enormous, floor-to-ceiling cross illuminated by purple lights. Looking around, you’ll find the pews jammed with parishioners as a choir breaks into song that reverberates throughout the chamber.

Whether you’re religious or not, it’s an otherworldly spot for contemplation and deep reflection.

2. Indigenous Shaman healing in the Ecuadorian Amazon

It’s known that over a quarter of today’s pharmaceuticals are plant-based, with the majority of these plants being native to the Amazon. In fact, many western scientists have turned to remote indigenous communities and their resident shaman to guide them to plants possessing healing properties.

The role of a shaman has been to perform healings and divination by altering one’s state of consciousness; this is done not only through local medicinal plants, but also through dream sharing, river bathing and other practices. Guided by these shamans, locals and medical tourists alike take part in traditional healing ceremonies and spiritual cleansing.

The unique nature of these shaman healing techniques has become increasingly popular, as travelers from around the world fly to South America and hike through the rainforest for various types of ceremonial and medicinal treatments.

Experience this in the early morning hours of the Ecuadorian Amazon. While you drink a gourd full of Guayusa tea, the community’s shaman will sing soft rhythmic songs to the beat of a two-sided weasel-skin drum. The same shaman will interpret your dreams from the previous night, making recommendations to help you live in greater harmony with the world around.

3. The Ancient City of Tiwanaku (Bolivia)

When we think of spiritually moving South American ruins, what automatically comes to most peoples’ minds is Peru’s Machu Picchu. However, some of the most important pre-Columbian sites in the Americas can be found in Bolivia. Among these is the ancient city of Tiwanaku, which was once the spiritual and political capital of the Tiwanaku Empire. Believed to have existed between 300 BC and 300 AD, this empire dominated the area that straddles the current border between Bolivia and Peru.

Today, Tiwanaku remains as a ceremonial site whose majestic structures remain infused with an ancient spirituality that’s palpable. Visiting the site means witnessing Tiwanaku’s beautifully crafted sculptures and its mysteriously crafted megalithic stone arch known as La Puerta del Sol (“The Gate of the Sun”). What’s more astounding than these few remnants themselves is the mindboggling story behind their construction. Consider the fact that the stones — weighing up to 150 tons — were somehow transported from more than 10 miles away.

NOTE: Most visitors to Lake Titicaca don’t even know Tiwanaku exists, despite the fact it’s located only 12 miles away.

4. Salvador de Bahia’s Candomblé Ceremonies (Brazil)

The city of Salvador da Bahia, located on Brazil’s northeast coast, is revered as the birthplace of the Afro-Brazilian religion known as Candomblé.

This faith, which came to Brazil on the slave ships from West Africa centuries ago, attracts peoples from all over the country — and increasingly travelers from around the world. These faithful followers and the curious alike make pilgrimages to this city of two million seeking the divine guidance, inspiration and protection of their personally adopted saint, called an “orixa.”

And like other cities where African spirits have migrated — Havana, Port-au-Prince, New Orleans — Bahia overflows with a vibrant arts scene of amazing ceremonies, music and dance, as well as great food. All of this culminates with Bahia’s annual Carnaval festivities, which begins in January and spans over a period of six weeks to escalate into a massive, high-decibel street celebration (in fact, many feel that Bahia’s festival is even better than Rio’s more secular Carnaval). The focus of all this is the city’s old quarter, which has recently undergone a multi-million dollar renovation that makes it even more attractive for travelers.

5. Lake Titicaca & Sun Island: Birthplace of Inca Civilization (Bolivia/Peru)

Lake Titicaca was central to the birth of the Inca civilization, as both its founder-king and the sun itself were said to have emerged from these glistening blue waters. Consequently, the lake’s Isla del Sol (“Island of the Sun”) became a vital religious center, attracting pilgrims from across the ancient empire to visit its shrines on this endless lake.

Traveling here, you too will find it hard to believe that this remarkable expanse of shimmering water is indeed a lake and not a vast ocean, as it unfolds towards the horizon in a spectacular display of natural beauty.

Sailing across the expansive lake to Sun Island, discover this sacred site brimming with authentic ancient cultures and spellbinding scenery. Soak up the mythical aura of this true South American icon as you walk along flagstone paths to temple ruins set against a backdrop of picture-perfect snow-capped mountains.

During your time in Lake Titicaca, you’re most likely to stay in Puno, a historic city that is often called the “Folklore Capital of Peru.” This lakeside town is a cultural hub of traditional dancing, music and colorful costumes, with over 300 local dances still proudly practiced today in a variety of Catholic and Inca celebrations throughout the year. All of this provides the perfect start to understanding and appreciating what this culturally-rich area has to offer.

6. Macho Picchu, Sacred Valley & Cusco (Peru)

The Inca have left their mark on Peru in the most awe-inspiring way, with the most remarkable of their legacy being Machu Picchu. To make your way to that wondrous citadel, first wander through the streets of Cusco. Passing its Inca-laid stone foundations, you’ll come upon “Qurikancha” which was once the richest and most ornate temple in the entire Inca Empire, cementing its place in time and history.

Traveling onward, through Sacred Valley, its name alone will conjure up images of ancient civilizations, storybook landscapes and an otherworldly mystique. Once visited, you will find those eager expectations more than met as the valley does indeed live up to its legendary reputation.

Upon reaching your final destination, it will be clear that no trip to Peru would be complete without witnessing the one and only Machu Picchu. This long-standing wonder regularly ranks as the world’s best travel experience. Truly incredible, without comparison or equal, the “Lost City” provides life-long fascination and endless intrigue, remaining as magnetic and awe-inspiring now as it was in its ancient past. Machu Picchu is not only a step back in time and a glimpse into a long-forgotten world, it’s also journey to self-discovery, awakening ancient wisdom and inner power within each of us

7. The churches, convents and cathedrals of Quito (Ecuador)

Visiting the historic district of Quito (Ecuador), you’ll find this colonial center brimming with religious art and sacred architectural treasures. Internationally considered “the best-preserved, least altered historic center in Latin America,” be prepared to discover picturesque colonial-era churches, age-old monasteries, and beautifully restored convents and monasteries.

These experiences include the majestic La Compañía Church, the iconic San Francisco Church & Monastery, and the impressive Cathedral – guardians of a stunning artistic and cultural heritage. Within these sanctuaries, you’ll find altars, pulpits, pillars, and arches adorned head-to-toe in gold leaf, allowing these to shine elements like jewels. Visits to these sacred sites are always humbling experiences that fill travelers with awe.

8. San Agustin (Colombia)

The phrase “must-see” can sometimes be overused; however, if you are even close to this region of southern Colombia, a trip to the monuments of San Agustin Archaeological Park will have to feature on your itinerary.

Here, you’ll find more than 500 statues, sarcophaguses and monoliths dating to pre-Colombian time, some more than 2,500 years old, and all related to death, funerals and burials. Boasting UNESCO “World Heritage Site” designation, these ceremonial sites, burial mounds, crypts, tombs, sacred statues, superb artistic pieces and much, much more cover four separate sites – each an enviable attraction in its own right

On top of this almost incomprehensible array of fantastically well-preserved crypts, monuments and statues, you will find charming rural settlements, natural wonders and an altogether enchanting side to a lesser-visited yet easily accessible region of Colombia.

9. Nazca Lines (Peru)

One of the greatest mysteries on this planet is the Nazca Lines, monumental drawings etched across 500sq km of the Pampa Colorada of southern Peru, in impeccably geometric lines.

These head-scratching geoglyphs cannot be distinguished from the ground, but when soaring in the skies above on a light aircraft their majesty is undeniable – although you won’t believe your eyes. How did these vast etchings come to be? It is not known, though there are many theories to suggest their origins and reasons for being: anything from ceremonial sites for the gods of water, to an astronomical calendar, and even aliens. Contemplate the many theories for yourself as you marvel at the hundreds of geoglyphs from above, making out the famous hummingbird, spider and human figure… or is it a Martian?

10. Easter Island’s Moais (Chile)

While simply walking around Easter Island — itself one of the greatest, most enjoyable and memorable experiences while on this scenic volcanic island — witnessing its legendary Moai statues up close is something to behold. With their poker-face expressions and astounding sizes, these titans constitute one of the world’s most mysterious archaeological pearls.

The giant statues, carved from huge rocks somewhere between 1200 and 1500 A.D. by the hands of the little-known ancient Polynesians, are strewn about the island in the hundreds, all slightly different and few being fully understood.

Many theories have emerged as to the reasons for their various locations, how they were physically transported, and how they were even carved.

For a wide-eyed visitor, though, the best course of action is to simply see and experience these for yourself – as well as any of the other sites presented.

Alfonso Tandazo is President and CEO at Surtrek Tour Operator. Surtrek Tour Operator is a well-established firm, specializing in custom-designed luxury tours in Ecuador, the Galapagos and throughout the rest of South America.

If you would like to be a guest blogger on A Luxury Travel Blog in order to raise your profile, please contact us.

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[thoughtsofadancerboo]

Esplanade Da:ns Festival: Netherlands Dance Theatre

Performed at Esplanade Theatre; Watched on 14 October 2018.

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This being my first real-live encounter with NDT (my closest encounter being with NDT2 when they toured to Singapore in 2015), I found that the quadruple all they performed drastically altered my initial perception I had of them when I was 14 years old. Somehow, the only piece I remember from NDT2 was Cacti, and from then on I’ve always had the impression of NDT and NDT2 being this quirky contemporary company, but I’ve never noticed the balletic-ness of many of the choreography they performed.

The 4 pieces that NDT presented were definitely drastically different from each other, but what stayed the same throughout would have to be the dancing qualities. I find that NDT dancers were able to exude this enormous yet controlled amount of energy, and the sheer physicality and boundless energy that possessed really brought out their youthfulness.

Shoot The Moon by Sol Leon and Paul Lightfoot

This was my favourite piece of the night. For me, Shoot The Moon offers a peek into the relationships (and the problems within these relationships) between the 5 characters emulated by the dancers.

This piece stands out among the rest because of its interesting set-up and its use of film. The stage is set like a merry-go-round of 3 rooms, and the audience can only ever see the entirety of one room, or parts of 2 consecutive rooms as the stage transforms. The rooms are set up like the interior of a house, with doors that lead to the other rooms, windows and wallpapered walls. The effect of this set up is that is seems as if we are looking into a dollhouse, intruding into the private lives of these 5 characters. We get to see the tensions and fractures in their relationships behind closed doors, a secret part of their lives that people outside of the house would not be privy too. However, while the audience does get a peek into their lives, we are also distance from it at the same time. While the choreography in itself is highly emotional, the dancers almost seemed dwarfed by the space. Moreover, the fact that the audience knows that the dancer is just a fifth of the entire merry-go-round set up seems to diminish the emotional impact of the choreography; we know that each dancer isn’t the only ones with problems, there are four others. As the room disappears out of sight, we are reminded that the problems that the character faces are just one of many, in terms of the bigger picture. Ultimately, while individual problems may seem emotionally devastating to the character, the audience does not feel that because we see the issues of others as well.

The set-up also creates an interesting dynamic between what is considered “inside” and “outside”. This is particularly applicable to the couple with the affair. To the couple, the “outside” is whatever that is beyond the room within which they dance. When they look out the door or the window, they look outside. If the room can be seen as a metaphor for their relationship, then seeking those outside of the room shows a desire for something outside of the relationship. However, who the stage rotates to present the adjacent room, the initial room is no longer the “inside”, but is now the “outside”. The man in this room is no longer the third party, and the woman is no longer looking outside, but looking inside. Now, this image presents the woman’s desire to enter into a relationship with this man. I think the shifting of the set offers various perspectives of the relationships and its accompanying problems, rather than just a black and white perspective of the situation.

The use of film in this piece is also particularly prominent. A live feed of the dancers are projected onto screens, and since the live feeds are of dancers that cannot be fully or are only partially seen at that moment in time, the live feed provides the audience a different spatial perspective of the action other than the one which is presented to them onstage. One particularly impactful instance was when the live feed of 2 dancers in 2 separate rooms are projected onto each of the 2 screens. We know from our last look at them before they disappeared that both dancers are standing facing away from each other, but on screen, it seems as if they are staring at one another. It’s this sort of use of film and perspective that surprises me and makes one wonder about the reality or the truthfulness of what we are seeing onstage.

I was also mulling over the significance of the title Shoot The Moon. The setting of the piece certainly seems to be at night, with the moonlight that shines through the doors and windows. Nighttime seems to be the most emotionally vulnerable of times, and perhaps a time where cracks and fractures in a relationship start to surface. The moon illuminates the night, maybe mirroring how the stage, which is coincidentally round like a full moon, brings to light problems in a relationship. The title Shoot The Moon reflects a desire to plunge the world into darkness at night so as to hide away these problems and remain blissfully unaware.

Woke Up Blind by Marco Goecke

Personally, I didn’t really like this piece much. I felt it was largely movement whose connections to the songs that was used as the piece’s soundtrack I could not see. The successive solos and duets were or largely similar dynamics, and it got boring fast. The piece was only interesting to me when there were group sections, which were few and far between.

I also could not sense that the piece was about young love and relationships. The choreography ensured that the dancers were mostly doing their own individual thing, and I can't see how the piece can be about relationships when the dancers are so insular.

The Statement by Crystal Pite

The message of The Statement is clear, touching on ideas of power play by governments and within the government itself. A dynamic and exciting piece to watch, The Statement uses text, lighting and choreography based on body language to draw the audience into the dictional storyline in which the piece takes place.

I believe that the theatricality of the piece is what made it so popular among the audience. The dramatic use of lighting, music, text and the gestural elements of the choreography creates a tension-filled, action-packed scene reminiscent of a movie. The theatricality of the piece is also what caused the audience to laugh at times in the piece. Ironically, the issue that is being presented is no laughing matter. The absurdity of the scene stems from how serious it is despite its theatricality. Our knowledge of the world tells us that these situations are happening in real life, and I find myself asking why is it that such a situation, whose absurdity incites laughter in a theatre, be allowed to occur in real life? The Statement is a condemnation of today’s governments that use tragedies and corruption to benefit themselves.

I find it an interesting turn of events when the investigator, a character in the piece, is the one being investigated by his higher-ups in the end. This turning of the tables underline the sensitivity of words, as well as the morbid reality of always having to find someone else to shoulder the blame.

Dancing-wise, the entire choreography possesses this beautifully continuous flow of movement. A churning sort of energy underlies this fluidity, and show how is able to emphasise each movement and its implications, all while retaining a “dance-y” feeling without being too gestural.

The dancing in The Statement largely took place in relation to a large office meeting tables in the middle of the stage, and it reminded me of The Green Table by Kurt Jooss, which had been created in response to World War II, which had been occurring at the time. The Statement is similar in presenting a response to current issues as well. The common use of the table, which brings to mind images of a table used for meetings, s a reminder that the vicious power struggle and the desire to exert control on others does not take place in the wild or on the streets, but at the office tables and in corporate meeting rooms.

Stop-Motion by Sol Leon & Paul Lightfoot

I don't know why, but I didn't write anything concerning this piece in my book (I’m transferring what I wrote word-for-word from my journal to this account), so I guess I will never remember my thoughts on this piece then lol