#part 2.5

[patchwork-crow-writes]

Additional Thoughts on Kris x Ralsei

This is a continuation of a collection of posts entitled "Thoughts on Kris x Ralsei", which are... exactly that. This series has already covered topics such as:

How Kris and Ralsei's roles in the story and game mechanics of Deltarune contribute to promoting their romantic arc;

How the game takes advantage of a player's knowledge of RPGs to create cute moments between them; and

How the relationship is being pursued irrespective of Kris's - or the player's - wishes on the matter.

If you would like to read any of the other posts in this series, below is a handy TOC that will point to all the posts that currently exist:

Part 1: And They Lived Happily Ever After Part 1.5: I Believe Your Choices DO Matter Part 2: A Pair of Star-Cross'd Lovers Part 2.5: In Another World, We Could Have Been (Just) Friends <- (You Are Here!) (Future parts to be added as they are written))

Part 2.5: In Another World, We Could Have Been (Just) Friends

Okay, so I've already talked - at some considerable length - about the Acid Tunnel of Love scene. But there is a really fascinating aspect of this part of the game that I didn't touch on in Part 2, because it wouldn't really have fitted there, but which I feel sheds some considerable light on the intention of this sequence.

But first, we need to talk about Parallel Universes.

...okay, FINE. It's actually the cut content from the Tunnel scene (link to Youtube displaying the options, courtesy of OrdinaryDeltarunePlayer2001.)

If you're not familiar with what this is, here's a quick primer: essentially, an earlier version of the scene would have had Ralsei ask Kris who they were thinking of, with the selectable answers changing depending on who you gave the present to earlier in Chapter 2. When selected, Ralsei would talk a bit about that person, in terms that would suggest that he is fully supportive of Kris pursuing a romantic connection with the person in question. An option existed for Susie, Noelle, and even Berdly... but NOT, crucially, for Ralsei himself, despite the fact that he can be the receipient of the gift as well.

Instead, there was another option that would always be present, which read "Thinking of you". Selecting this option would have Ralsei react... as you'd expect him to. But the interesting thing is how quickly he sweeps it under the rug and moves on to the next point in the conversation. Almost as if he doesn't take it seriously, or doesn't believe that he's a valid option in this instance.

(incidently, if you DID give Ralsei the gift, and try to select the alternative option, it will not work properly and completely skip to the next scene without any reaction from Ralsei at all... which means they either didn't get round to programming his reaction before they decided on the present scene, or they realised that it would be redundant (not to mention on-the-nose) to have two versions of the same dialogue option here)

So... what does this say about the present incarnation of the Acid Tunnel segment, or about Kralsei in general? Well, one thing it DOES say is about how we as players would have been given more freedom to pair Kris with any one of their friends, and perhaps would additionally allow us as players to more closely align ourselves with their own wishes and desires (which given all the positive attention she gets from them, would likely as not be towards Susie), while also potentially taking Ralsei out of the dating pool and into a more "agony aunt/confidante/cheerleader" role to Kris.

In addition, there is the "?" option at the top of the dialogue box, which effectively amounts to a "mind your own business, nosy goat". This would have worked effectively as a "don't care" option for people who... well, didn't care about any sort of romance centered around Kris, as well as giving them a way to assert their right (and perhaps desire) for privacy. Though it is interesting that Ralsei does default to mentioning Susie after this, I believe that's to make the link to the next topic of the scene.

However, there would have been a few problems. For one, it would have allowed players to throw a wrench into Suselle, right at the crucial point that that nascent relationship starts to take off. If, after all, we would have chosen either of Susie or Noelle at this point in the game, we would have an expectation that that pairing we chose would come to fruition, rendering the ferris-wheel scene right afterward devoid of a significant part of its purpose and weight.

(Not to mention that allowing either Kris or the player any real choice in this matter would run entirely counter to the whole "your choices don't matter" thing Deltarune has going)

Whether for these reasons or otherwise, we instead ended up with the Kralsei (and Suselle) show. Which means - at some point, a choice was made to initially present the player with options, which was then wrested away and replaced with what is essentially an on-rails dating simulation, which, if we're lucky, only one of its participants doesn't actually want to do. Within that context, it's difficult to see how people can refute the notion that the game is forcing Kralsei to happen.

But again, the question looms: WHY is Deltarune doing this? What is the game trying to say? What does our reaction to all this say about us, both as players of video games and as people who consume narratives and fictions for entertainment or escapism?

Uhh find out in part 3! Coming... whenever :P

[bryan360]

Here’s my note before I’ll get started….

(NO COPYING OR PLAGIARIZING FROM ME AND ONE OF MY CLOSEST FRIEND’S WORK! THAT INCLUDES OUR CHARACTERS, DESIGNS, STUFF, ETC. IMPOSTERS AND SEXBOTS ARE NOT WELCOME TO FOLLOW MY BLOG WHATSOEVER! 😡 That will be all….I mean it.)

Item Review of 2023 - My NexiGo NS32 Controller (Part 2.5/Connection Test and Others) (June. 11th, 2023)

I’m finally coming back with this video I’ve recorded from June 2023. Though it would’ve been if I haven’t think my plan to save it sooner. After all, I’ve gone on testing out the buttons and set up the RGB lighting. Still, I missed the connection to start with.

Anyways, I got right here one month later. It went well as expected; especially when using said controller to have wake up function when turn on my Switch system. It’s different than with my previous pro controller; which I checked doesn’t have wake up function or would have work. I’m honest I’ll be showing in separate video soon.

That being said, it was a good choice to have with my new controller that works with wake up functionality. The latter mostly, but while testing my analog stick and pressing the home button twice. Don’t mind me when showing through my game library, but I’ll be saving some through my gaming test for the next part.

But for now, I’m having art trade draftings to go through this week. Yup, just a start of this month like last time. I can handle fine, though.

Recorded video and edits - created by me with my PicsArt app (Don’t steal for plagiarism 😡)

Previous Posts (So far) ⬇️

Part 1/Unboxing and Comparison - (Link Here)

Part 2/Testing and RGB Setting - (Link Here #2)

Tagged: @murumokirby360 @carmenramcat @alexander1301 @rafacaz4lisam2k4 @paektu

[butterboy69420]

I stuck these silly girls on the back of my phone since I got a new one. Decided to chibi-ify them. They came out really tiny.

Oh, apparently I've never posted Hayana or Lyric on my Tumblr before? Oh well, here they are. Hayana (red one) WAS gonna the protagonist for part 2.5... Until I demoted her from MC status.

[elinor-taylor]

Green Skulls

By the time Leddy arrived on foot at the meeting tree, the others were already there. How she wanted to fly. How much easier that would be. But then they'd know, and it would cause a lot more problems than it solved. Like being banished, or tried for war crimes, or being shipped off north where she'd be dealt with according.

The group shifted in such a way as to make room for her to sidle through, and she took her seat next to a warm glowing oil lamp and waited for the mutterings to subside.

'I've spoken with the scout,' she said, once attention had turned to the business at hand. 'Things are happening as we suspected they might. He says time is short.'

One among the group cleared his throat. Wes was a lithe looking young 'un, green under his fingernails from a day spent scratching tags into bark.

Leddy signalled for him to speak.

'Did the scout get our messages?' he said.

'Yes. He saw the carvings and knows where they lead. However, he doesn't yet understand what it is he needs to do, nor was he able to follow the trail on this occasion.'

A ripple of groans and tuts went through the group.

'I know, I know. He can't help but need air. Would you rather we get him to the city and he dies before he can complete the task?'

Some appeared to consider the question.

Leddy sighed and rolled her head back. 'No,' she reminded them. 'We wouldn't. If he's able to help us, then we must first help him, yes?'

This at least was met by mumbles and nods of resignation.

Many in the hollow couldn't recall the vibrant hub that was Diamond in the days of Queen Janet. When you could barely hop from one tree to the next without stumbling across a West gate person, making their way to or from Must.

All they knew was what came after. They had no affinity with the people and certainly no loyalty to them. This notion of accommodating the biggun to achieve their aims was hard to swallow, but they were coming to understand that one thing wasn't to be without the other.

'We cannot do this without a person,' Leddy continued. 'One we can trust, or at the very least believe has similar interests to our own. And he, whether you like it or not, is probably our best and last shot. The South is coming, and soon. We'd better hope the scout returns before they do.'

Pappy Skylark leaned forward through the others from where he'd been quietly listening. Leddy hadn't even realised he was there until he spoke.

'What is this man to us, then, Cerulean?' he said. 'If he can't survive when the air is thick, then what good is he? What if he gives us away before he does his part? Surely we haven't time to babysit the vulnerable, big as he may be?'

'Speaking of which,' said another. 'What of the king?'

'What of him?' Leddy said.

'He has to be held accountable. Or are you proposing an amnesty for all bigguns, regardless of guilt?'

This was followed by a rousing chorus of cheers and nods, and Aye, that's rights, from certain elements within the crowd. Not all joined in, but enough to make Leddy nervous. Their commitment was waning. She could feel it.

Some were struggling to hold onto the vision that togetherness was the solution. They were leaning more towards vengeance, which Leddy knew from bitter experience was no kind of way out. On the contrary, it would almost certainly drive what was left of the Faretheewell folks to their deaths. And fast.

She was about to counter the uproar, though how she didnt know, when Pappy came to her defence.

'Pipe down, the lot a ya,' he said.

The hollow quietened, and Leddy was grateful. She hid her weariness, but she had nothing left for battling those supposedly on the same side.

'Look,' Pappy said, as all eyes turned to face him. 'I hear your anxieties, and I know you're worried for yourselves and your young 'uns, too. Believe me, I understand. You'll be aware - well, most of you, anyways - that I lost my girls to the hummer campaigns before some here were even born.'

Quiet turned to breath-held silence.

'I know how it feels when the worst happens. Ain't much more them buzzards can do to me than what they already did. So I got nothin' to lose.'

'What's your point, old 'un?' a young recruit with an inflated sense of self-importance piped up.

'My point is this, child,' Pappy said. 'They only win if we let 'em. They can come for us, might even kill every last one of us.'

There came gasps from mothers whose little 'uns looked suddenly horrified.

'I'm sorry, not gonna shine yer shit. They might. But we don't make it easy. Ya hear? We catch in their teeth, make 'em choke on our bones. We give those filthy scumlickers bellyache. We tell 'em, Hey! If you want our bodies, our magic, you gotta come get 'em. But what they don't get is this.'

Pappy tapped his chest.

'Don't know about you, but I'll be ready. And I sure as stink won't be laying down on a platter for 'em, a berry for a garnish. No, sir. And if our friend Cerulean here reckons this biggun fella can help, then I'll be gosh-darned if I ain't gonna do everything in my power to see he gets what he needs to finish it. Try at least. We fight together, child, or not at all. Because if we don't, they win.'

Pappy slowly sat himself back down. 'That,' he said, his eyes seeming to pierce clean through the young recruit, 'is my point.'

Leddy suppressed a smile.

It was then that a sudden flicker, a bothering of the light from an oil lamp in the doorway, made the group look to see who or what had cast this new shadow. Hovering there was the gate watcher, Broadleaf. She dropped herself down and in through the gaping arch of the tree trunk, and by the furrow of her brow, she was none too impressed by what she saw.

Leddy stood, ready to do damage control.

'What happened to keeping together?' Broadleaf said. 'And no secrets among hollows? How long, Cerulean?'

'It's not-' Pappy tried to intervene.

'Don't FUCKING lie to me.' Broadleaf pointed a sharp finger on an outstretched arm at the older fairy to her side, while not taking her eyes from those of Leddy Rickett.

Mothers covered little ears at the language.

'Now, listen to me, young 'un,' Pappy said.

'It's okay,' Leddy interrupted. 'She has a right to be angry. Let her say her piece.'

Broadleaf lowered her arm, but the snarl on her lips that masqueraded as a smile, the slow shake of her head, captured her rage quite clearly for all to see.

Leddy waited. She wasn't about to tell the Faretheewell native how to feel or what to think, having seen, and in many cases partaken in, the ruin of hollows such as hers. Only she, Leddy, an ex-hummer, could possibly understand the devastation this poor fairy had observed and to what length such trauma had affected her.

'You promised me, Cerulean. When you took me in, dragged me a hundred damned heifer's lengths from my burning home, from my dead fucking family, Cerulean, you promised I would never again see the likes of what they did.'

Enough was enough for the mothers, who, without saying a word, agreed among themselves that it was time to take the children home to bed. They slipped out into the night with the little ones in crooks of arms or snoozing over shoulders. Some older babies wanted to stay, preferring this unexpected hullabaloo to the duller alternative. But their protestations went unheeded, and they were carried away, nonetheless.

'I know what you're up to,' Broadleaf said, once the bustle of movement settled, leaving only eight or ten of them standing inside the tree. She hadn't taken her gaze from Leddy the whole time.

Leddy felt a wave of fear at those words: I know what you're up to. She chose not to jump in. Let the fairy speak, she thought. See where this is going. It was a rare situation that could be made worse by keeping your mouth shut.

'I get it. You want to lead. To take over old Skylark, here's position?'

Pappy didn't respond. He too wanted to know where this rant was headed.

'So you play up the whole wingless angle, like you don't know that'll remind him of his dead daughter. How stupid do you think we are?'

One of the gatherers attempted to step in to defend against the accusations, but Pappy held him back.

'You're dragging us into a fight,' Broadleaf went on. 'That ends up with us dangling by our feet from hooks, drying over coals for jerky, with our magic stripped and harvested and used against us. The whole damn colony. Is that what you want?

'Do you know why I'm here, Cerulean? I followed Pappy so I could report back to you about developments at the gate. But I don't suppose that matters, does it? Did it ever? Or did you only send us there to get us out of the way, so you could hold your little meetings, and plot your little plots, while the rest of us flutter about doing as we're told?

'Well, you know what? Fuck you, Cerulean. In fact, no. I take that back. Fuck all of you. You want to kill off the last of Faretheewell? Guide us to the doors of our enemies? Go ahead. Just don't expect me to be there when you do.'

Broadleaf took to the air. 'Oh, and just so I've played my part in this charade,' she said. 'The girl's back.'

'The girl?' Leddy said. She had no clue about any girl.

'Yes, the girl. She's back, and she doesn't appear to be going anywhere. Now I'm done.'

A moment later, the furious gate watcher zipped away into the night. The recruit named Wes was about to follow, to make her answer for her disrespectful words, no doubt. But Pappy stopped him, told him he'd deal with it later.

'Let her go,' Leddy said, mirroring the sentiment. 'Give her a night to come around. By morning, I dare say she'll feel better for getting that out.'

One by one, the gatherers went back to their beds until only Leddy and the old fairy remained. Together, they rearranged the twig benches and chairs and bundled up drink shells into waste bags so as to make it appear like there hadn't been a meeting.

It wouldn't do to let the others know that the notorious Green Skulls existed so close to home. The risk to them would be too great. Leddy banked on Broadleaf, however angry, understanding that and keeping her mouth shut.

'Is she right?' Pappy said when they were finishing up. 'Do you think I'm treating you as some sort of replacement daughter?'

'Of course not.' Leddy hoped her answer came across more convincing that it felt. 'Besides, even if you were, and anyone would understand why you might, I'd be honoured. Any daughter of yours must be pretty special.'

'My Mae had her problems, can't pretend otherwise. But she was my girl and I loved her. Loved 'em both.'

Leddy stroked her hand across the old fairy's arm, gave his shoulder a squeeze.

'I just wish,' he said. 'I just wish-'

Leddy pulled him in close, then, and held him until his words trailed off.

'I know, Pappy,' she said. 'I do too.'

[digitalsnail]

YABABAINA

[findafight]

Wait. Wait. Kinda part 2 to this post. For the angst of it all. Cw: implied and assumed homophobia

Because sure, after that dinner Joyce relents in not being, y'know, openly confused or frustrated with Steve being around. El obviously adores him and Jim is always glad when he comes around. Joyce can put up with Steve for them. But she's a stubborn woman, and somewhere in her mind, Steve is a Bad Egg. So she's still not 100% on board.

All this rears its head one night after a lot of their world saving group has had a movie night and ended up in a puddle on the floor. Steve is squished between Robin and Eddie, snuggled up all cozy. Joyce sees this when she quietly pads out of her bedroom to just. Check on the kids.

Eddie and Steve are sat up, Robin's face pressed against his hip. They're whispering something, heads leaned close. And they lean in further, silhouetted by the moonlight filtering in, and kiss. It's pretty chaste, though not a peck.

Joyce's blood boils. Steve has a girlfriend, he should not be going around kissing his friends like that, stringing them all along. She feels strangely vindicated, that her assumptions about Steve were right, that he wasn't actually a good guy or had changed at all. She almost yells at him then and there, but holds off. No need to wake everyone up. She can lecture him in the morning.

Once everyone is fed and lounging in the late morning, she pulls Steve out onto the porch.

"I saw you kiss Eddie last night" she says, without preamble. "And I cannot believe you would think behaviour like that is acceptable in my house."

Steve blinks, clenches his jaw. "Jo--Mrs Byers. I--"

"I don't want any of your excuses! It's despicable what you're doing, and I won't have it. For whatever reason, those kids look up to you. What kind of example are you setting for them? For El?" Steve's eyes widen, and if Joyce hadn't been so caught up with her anger she probably would have seen that instead of being ashamed or embarrassed, Steve is scared. "She looks up to you so much, though I can't imagine why. You need to clean yourself up, Steve. For real this time. You can't go around doing whatever you want. It's disgusting and disrespectful. Did you even consider the people you'd hurt? How doing shit like that would affect the lives of people who care about you? They deserve better than that." She shakes her head. Arms crossed. Steve is tense in front of her, but he doesn't say anything. To her, that's as good as confession. "Everyone talks about how you've worked hard to improve yourself, become a better person. But after last night? I just don't believe it. No one who's really changed, really a good person, would do what you did." She sighs. "You should probably leave now."

Steve nods stiffly. "Right. I'll. Uh, I leave. Can you...please, don't tell anyone, ma'am. I'll Grab my bag and I'll get outta your hair, but don't tell. I'm so sorry. Please." She purses her lips. His girlfriend deserves to know, but Joyce has no clue who that is (it might be the Robin girl attached to his hip, but she has no way of knowing). She nods once. Steve's shoulders slump.

Stepping back into the house, Steve quickly and jerkily snags his backpack from the corner it was shoved into before leaning over to whisper something in Robin's ear. The girl nods, looking worried.

He doesn't look at Eddie.

For a while, her house is Steve-free. Joyce breathes easy, hoping their talk was a wake-up call for steve. He is painfully polite when they bump into each other, Robin usually by his side with a strained customer service smile. Small talk is non-existent.

But then Will starts getting quieter. Maybe avoiding her. Certainly does his best to be small and doesn't look in her eyes. She has no idea what's going on, and she's worried.

What if the Upside Down came back? What if there's something wrong with her boy? What if everything they've fought for and sacrificed didn't mean anything and it's never actually over?

She tries to talk to him, but he shrugs her off, says he's fine and not to worry about it. Assures her it is definitely not the Upside Down.

Finally, after two weeks of Will looking absolutely miserable when he talks to her, she gets Jonathan to try. Tension around the house is high, Steve is barely around and always skitters away when he sees her, and in combination with will, it's out everyone on edge.

She doesn't mean to eavesdrop. But she doesn't not mean to either. It's just that they're on the porch, and she was in the kitchen and heard something, and when she went to see, she heard them talking.

"it's not--i want to tell you but it's not my secret to tell."

Jonathan sighs. "Will. I can't help if I don't know what's wrong. Please. Talk to me. I'll love you no matter what, you know that."

Will heaves a breath. "I had a talk with Steve --" and oh, the rage in Joyce's chest when she hears that. What did he say to her boy?? "And...uhg. fuck. Okay, you have to swear, swear! You're not going to tell anyone what I'm going to tell you. If you figure it out, because I don't. It's not mine to tell."

"okay. I swear. I won't go spilling Steve's secrets."

"you have to mean it, Jonathan. It's dangerous!"

There's ruffling fabric. Jonathan's voice is softer. "I promise."

"Steve said he was telling me because he thought we might be...similar. In some ways. And he talked about who he's dating. And that Hopper and El and Robin and Eddie know. And that they're all safe. Y'know? Like you are."

"okay..."

"and I said you were, and he said that was really good, and then emphasized that if I ever wanted like, and actual grown up to talk to, not just another teenager, Hopper was safe. But. The way he said it made it seem like...I don't know, but something was off? And I asked him." There's a pause. "I asked him if Mom knew. And he said yes. But he hadn't... Before that, he hadn't said she was safe. Jonathan..."

Something...wasn't adding up. Joyce was trying to puzzle what she wouldn't be safe to talk to about. She'd been in the tunnels and Upside Down and through it all. Her children, and by extension the children that had helped save them, were always safe in her house. To come to her if they felt unsafe. Why Steve would tell her own son she wasn't --

Will continued. "Steve said that it'd probably be different because I'm her kid, y'know? She--she did all this stuff to get me back and to keep me safe and loves me. So she could. So she'd maybe change her mind. For me."

"Will..." Jonathan's voice sounds pained.

"but what if she's not? What if that's where it ends? Shell save me from a demogorgon but not love me for this. Steve's saved my friends half a dozen times, Jonathan! He got--he got tortured" that is not something Joyce knew. When the hell did that happen? "with Robin to protect Dustin and Erica, Billy beat him half to death when he stepped in to protect Lucas and Max! He's good! I'm not as close to him as the others but he still told me. He trusted me enough with a secret that I can't even say outloud about myself yet! And Mom still-" will hiccups, and Joyce wishes she knew what he was talking about. Wishes he was saying these things to her, so she could comfort him.

Heaving a breath, Will is quieter. "Steve's the reason no one's died. He's El's first brother. And she still called him disgusting for-- for kissing someone he loves."

Ice fills Joyce's veins, a heavy pit balls in her stomach. Because that's not--she didn't--it wasn't like that.

But Steve had begged her not to tell anyone. Had stood still and not tried to justify anything and called her ma'am when he asked her not to tell. Held himself still when she was around and bolted at the first possible opportunity, leaving disappointed people in his wake. Oh, shit. Oh, she's fucked up so badly. Hurt some kid because she was suspicious of him from over three years ago and assumed the worst. Instead of realizing that maybe the reason he and his girlfriend were keeping it quiet was because he didn't have a girlfriend at all, and that the boy he kissed that night was his boyfriend, she had just assumed he was cheating. And then she'd told him he was disappointing and disgusting and a bad influence on the kids. Even after, he still made sure Will knew there were safe people around, that he'd have someone to talk to. And all she'd done was make him scared of her.

"oh, buddy."

Will's voice is muffled, and Jonathan has probably pulled him into a hug. It cracks when he speaks. "how can she say that about Steve but still love me? When so much of this shit's been my fault?"

"none of this is your fault. Don't believe that, will. No one blames you or El for any of it. You know that, right?"

"okay..."

"it's true. And as for mom...I don't know." Jonathan huffs "I'm not sure. I'm sorry, buddy."

Joyce turns then, feeling sick. She shouldn't have eavesdropped on her children, but now she had she was going to make things right. Hopefully.

Ensure everyone, including Steve, knew she was safe.

Part 3

[meta-squash]

the most frustrating stage of fic writing is when you have an idea but the idea is 95% vibes rather than actual plot

[electric-plants]

🤡🤡🤡

[tearitar]

this might be petty but 4 of my coworkers pissed me off so bad last week (each individually pissing me off) I put them in a room together, knowing they all hate each other.

[hitokiri-izou]

[batbusiness-schooldropout]

Pt. 2.5

Time to introduce another character! The narrator for these parts is a total prick. So if that's not obvious in the story, let me know and I'll see what I can do about that. Part 3 will have a different narrator so if you don't like this guy, give the next part a chance

The human filth has always been an issue. Her birth was a surprise to many, especially myself. The late queen having left to tour the realm shortly before learning of the pregnancy and refusing to return to the palace before the journey was done. The midwife told me that K'oshasha had the cord wrapped around herself. I wish I was there to strangle her with it. It would have spared us all the irritation.

The gnat could not and would not behave. Constantly questioning why she was not treated like Noferu. As if her discolored and nonfunctioning hand wasn't reason enough. As if the freakish things that occur near her don't answer the question for her. Even without her......deformity and peculiar tricks, her plain face, crooked nose, and untameable mass of hair are a stain on everything I have worked so hard to perfect.

His grace made the wise decision to keep her out of sight. Until recently, she was not allowed outside at all, and even now, she is not allowed out during the day. I advised killing her or handing her off to a servant to keep as their own child. But, in his ever-present wisdom, the king believes her to be too curious and intelligent to not be a helpful advisor to her sister when she takes the throne.

While I must admit that the vermin is curious and her resourcefulness could be seen as intelligence, I fail to see how something so inconsiderate could ever be helpful. She wants to know about the Royal Mages. I had her tutoring stopped years ago because of this, but she frightened the nobles into teaching her to read. Now she is constantly skittering and slinking about, trying to find any scrap of information she can about them.

And what's worse, if she is left unchecked, I believe she could actually become a Royal Mage. Not that his Majesty believes me about this. He claims that both of his children live too good a life to ever obtain the Spark needed. The vile thing will bring ruin. Either to the kingdom as a whole, or simply The Seers is unclear.

Pt. 2 of Meditation

Can't figure out how to tell a story linearly? Then just don't. Most of the story happens before the first one. And this is a different person's perspective.

Noferu's birth was an auspicious one. The queen conceived at a perfect time. The pregnancy had gone perfectly. A perfect birth. An absolutely perfect beginning of life for a perfect heir.

I myself watched over the birthing and checked the newborn princess for any indication of poor health or ominous markings. Even then, she showed promise. A beautifully symmetrical face, unblemished skin, a clear sounding cry. If these things did not indicate an illustrious future, then the stars, and myself, proclaimed it so.

Of course, just because Noferu was born perfect does not mean that she might not gain an imperfection later. I am the chief seer because only I was able to predict her perfection and the prosperity it heralds. Should she somehow gain an imperfection, it would reflect poorly on me and those in my employ. I've ensured that she went outside just long enough to keep up her health, but never long enough to risk damaging her skin. Every precaution has been taken to prevent her from gaining callouses from labor or scars from roughhousing. The king, at my request of course, has overseen the expansion of trade routes to bring in the finest creams and soaps to protect the beauty I have worked so hard to cultivate.

And as we know, diet can greatly impact one's appearance. The princess must dutifully drink tonics with gold and bronze powder to keep her skin glowing and her hair a rich brown. Topaz is ground and put in her morning meal despite her displeasure and insistence that it tastes like spoiled food. We cannot risk her eyes being any other color, can we?

The princess' hair is my pride and joy. I concocted the perfect mixture of oils to keep it strong. Even when carried in her arms, it still trails the ground like the flowing trains worn by a few of the diplomats who visit. Thick as a forest and constantly combed to keep it straight, unlike the king's, with its patches of curls. Dear Noferu hates to have her hair touched, but we must all tolerate such things in the name of prosperity, yes?

And we cannot tolerate any imperfections, can we?

The second princess has far and away enough flaws for the entire country.

[shelxvy]

*posts gay lego kissing and runs away cutely*

[butterboy69420]

This is my new phone wallpaper. Based off the Bleach TYBW manga volume covers because that has become my new aesthetic.

...honestly, if I make enough of these, I could probably hint at lore for my silly goobers.

Part 2.5 has a new name now finally, I think I dig the title Unseen Monsters or something along those lines. So that will be the tag I use for the time being.

[whiskeyswifty]

ok but the almost elegiac way so long london opens with the choir, only to have the synth beat come in suddenly like she wakes up finally, shoots up from the coffin, alive again and her heart starting up again suddenly after languishing in a quiet slow death for so long. pumping at the beat and pace of someone running, adrenaline pumping, getting as far away as fast as they can. steady and strong and it drops out only once for the rest of the song, during the second bridge when she says "i died on the alter waiting for the proof, you sacrificed us to the gods of your bluest days." her heartbeat dead again as we flash back to that death and her still and silent heart. only to fire up again as we are back in the present with her, heart pumping that color back into her face, beating madly again with vitality and emotion and the first thing she feels is anger. like are you hearing this shit like!??!!? GOD

[cybercasket]

Guys. Guys Ben Drowned's canon last name isn't actually Lawman

I've known this for a while, and more I think about it, the more it makes me feel like I should say something 😭

It was a misconception that started with an older version of Ben's page on the Jadusable Wiki. (It was never used for any non-ARG version of Ben prior to this.) I remember spotting Lawman being used as Ben's last name around 2016-2018 or so, and it has been edited out of his page since 2020. (It was on the page they have for the dead child rather than the Network/entity. I think it might've happened before they moved off Fandom wiki, because I think I remember seeing comments and their new wiki doesn't have those).

During the second arc (2011-2012), Jadusable mailed some bonus material to people who donated to him. One of these bonus materials was a section from a newspaper, which describes the murder-suicide of two members of the Lawman family along with their son, with some tampering to the article that appears to have been done by BEN.

You can zoom into the image and read it, or check out it's page on the wiki here (which I highly recommend as it has some added information, like what all the censored words are.) It's a very interesting piece of lore that's fun to analyze--however, I wouldn't recommend reading it if you're super squeamish or sensitive to graphic details related to death. (The method of the killing itself isn't mentioned.)

While this seems to be about Ben on the surface, it's actually not. The only way we can tell is by the date of the newspaper: In the column to the left of the "Spring Is In The Air!" paragraph, the year 2011 is mentioned, but we know that Ben died on 4/23/2004. The wording of the Lawman event feels recent (as if they're talking about an event a few months prior), when Ben's death would've been far gone by now.

With what's likely BEN tampering on the top right (where they creatively use block-out poetry to say "You shouldn't have done that," among many other things) combined with the mention of someone's son dying, it makes a ton of sense that the wiki editors assumed that Ben is a member of this Lawman family that appears here. At some point, screenshots of the wiki ended up being circulated and the larger Creepypasta fandom accepted Lawman as being Ben's "real" last name.

Lawman is actually the last name of a different (and much less relevant) character, Tyler, who appears briefly in the first and third arcs. It's not entirely clear what happened to him or his family, and I think the Newspaper Article is intended to be fun bonus material for Jadusable's donators rather than something that's meant to supply important information about the ARG characters--something like Ben's last name would be crucial for puzzles and passwords, and would give the 50 donators who received the article an unfair advantage (and Jadusable isn't the type of creator who'd be okay with that). Regardless, it carries some interesting implications about the Behavioral Event Network, and Matt's initials are also here for some reason. It's probably one of the most head-spinning materials in the whole game.

[trashy-greyjoy]

different fonts™