#portraying both as good habits you shouldn't quit

[metadata-uber-alles]

Also:

They're doing the thing where you act like something is a Mystical Art just because you call it by a Japanese word. 'Kakeibo' (家計簿) just means "household account book." Granted it's easier to get nice aesthetic account books in Japan, just because the stationery industry is thriving over there, but it's literally just writing stuff in a notebook.

Even if the 1953 study did exist, it is described as comparing people who wrote down goals to people who did not. The Kakeibo article talks about the benefits of writing by hand versus using digital tools. Those are two different questions.

if I've learned anything from grad school it's to check your sources, and this has proven invaluable in the dozens of instances when I've had an MBA-type try to tell me something about finances or leadership. Case in point:

Firefox serves me clickbaity articles through Pocket, which is fine because I like Firefox. But sometimes an article makes me curious. I'm pretty anal about my finances, and I wondered if this article was, as I suspected, total horseshit, or could potentially benefit me and help me get my spending under control. So let's check the article in question.

It mostly seems like common sense. "...track expenses and income for at least a month before setting a budget...How much money do I have or earn? How much do I want to save?" Basic shit like that. But then I get to this section:

This sounds fucking made up to me. And thankfully, they've provided a source to their claim that "research has repeatedly shown" that writing things down changes behavior. First mistake. What research is this?

Forbes, naturally, my #1 source for absolute dogshit fart-sniffing financial schlock. Forbes is the type of website that guy from high school who constantly posts on linkedin trawls daily for little articles like this that make him feel better about refusing to pay for a decent package for his employees' healthcare (I'm from the United States, a barbaric, conflict-ridden country in the throes of civil unrest, so obsessed with violence that its warlords prioritize weapons over universal medical coverage. I digress). Forbes constantly posts shit like this, and I constantly spend my time at leadership seminars debunking poor consultants who get paid to read these claims credulously. Look at this highlighted text. Does it make sense to you that simply writing your financial goals down would result in a 10x increase in your income? Because if it does, let me make you an offer on this sick ass bridge.

Thankfully, Forbes also makes the mistake of citing their sources. Let's check to see where this hyperlink goes:

SidSavara. I've never heard of this site, but the About section tells me that Sid is "a technology leader who empowers teams to grow into their best selves. He is a life-long learner enjoys developing software, leading teams in delivering mission critical projects, playing guitar and watching football and basketball."

That doesn't mean anything. What are his LinkedIn credentials? With the caveat that anyone can lie on Linkedin, Mr. Savara appears to be a Software Engineer. Which is fine! I'm glad software engineers exist! But Sid's got nothing in his professional history which suggests he knows shit about finance. So I'm already pretty skeptical of his website, which is increasingly looking like a personal fart-huffing blog.

The article itself repeats the credulous claim made in the Forbes story earlier, but this time, provides no link for the 3% story. Mr. Savara is smarter than his colleages at Forbes, it's much wiser to just make shit up.

HOWEVER. I am not the first person to have followed this rabbit hole. Because at the very top of this article, there is a disclaimer.

Uh oh!

Sid's been called out before, and in the follow up to this article, he reveals the truth.

You can guess where this is going.

So to go back to the VERY beginning of this post, both Pocket/Good Housekeeping and Forbes failed to do even the most basic of research, taking the wild claim that writing down your budget may increase your income by 10x on good faith and the word of a(n admittedly honest about his shortcomings) software engineer.

Why did I spend 30 minutes to make a tumblr post about this? Mostly to show off how smart I am, but also to remind folks of just how flimsy any claim on the internet can be. Click those links, follow those sources, and when the sources stop linking, ask why.

[chronosbled]

{ I noticed that lots of people tend to forget that Dickson is a mentally unstable individual who will do anything that he deems necessary to get what he wants all because he speaks to their muses and such with nothing but smiles and compliments.

Dickson is NOT a kind or compassionate person, nor does he care about those that he isn't actively pursuing for the sake of genuine friendship or genuine obsession (love in his eyes). Being kind and compassionate is nothing but another mask that he wears from his various collection when he deems it necessary. As an experiment, along with his condition that makes him unable to properly form and convey emotions (which was only worsened by the experimentation he underwent), Dickson is almost 100% incapable of feeling genuine emotions that belong to him and him alone. He has a habit of using the things he's learned from others by watching them when he's trying to portray his own "feelings" towards others and that's the main issue. Those feelings aren't his ACTUAL feelings, they're someone else's, how someone else he observed for years would react.

If someone were to somehow have the ability to strip him of his masks (his "emotions" and "feelings" if you would call them that), they would find nothing but an empty and broken shell of a person who doesn't know how to do anything but obey someone's orders or someone who completely disregards himself (as in his own well-being) when it comes to endlessly toiling away at his own experiments — and despite his experiments revolving around people who have been fucked over by life, making his own attempts to somehow benefit them — his motivation for said deed was not 100% done out of his own desire to do so, but done because (once he was finally able to recall more about his parents from his childhood) he remembered how the both of them desired to use their skills for good and to help those who cannot help themselves. Thus he applied his parents' feelings to himself and uses that core fundamental as the basis of his entire existence (after his grandfather is finally dead and he doesn't have an actual purpose anymore).

Another reason why Dickson shouldn't be underestimated (and simply chalked up to be the sweet, handsome gentleman) is because of the fact he isn't afraid to use and abuse people for his own gain. He will hurt people. He will manipulate people. He will blackmail them and torture them just like he was. And above all else, he WILL kill people. Dickson is not afraid of getting his hands dirty nor is he afraid to take people hostage and brainwash them to do his bidding if he finds it too much of a hassle for himself (or simply because he won't get caught this way if others are watching him). Before Dickson was able to take care of himself and do things for himself, his grandfather had him work as an assassin of sorts (or rather a mercenary if that's what you prefer to call it), granted he wasn't great at it in the beginning because he was very clumsy and wasn't quite sure of what he was doing, but in the end, he still killed people and usually in various creative and cruel ways too if the opportunity to do so provided itself. Additionally, Dickson will also go to any lengths he deems necessary to make sure his target doesn't come out alive, such as the time he chopped off his own hand in order to free himself so he could proceed to kill his client's target.

Sure Dickson may have been more hesitant to do terrible things when he was younger, like when his late fiancée, Janus, wanted him to help her murder various people simply because she felt like it and he didn't want to participate, but that's Dickson was a lot more weak-willed and timid during his childhood. Back then, he didn't have almost any drive to do anything because he wasn't conditioned to be subservient yet. Granted he still would listen to his grandfather's orders without question, but Janus hadn't fully established that kind of FULL control over him since he'd only known her for a few years, thus that lack of control over him is what ended up leading him to kill Janus when she finally got fed up with him enough to begin beating him (that day anyway, considering she was always abusive towards him). That fear he possessed from his childhood years (something I've already established in posts before) had changed into anger (another thing I've already established in past posts) before he finally ended up snapping all together and stabbing Janus to death, regretting what he had done for only a few moments until that dissipated as well because he simply couldn't bring himself to care. The fact that he stored her body in a freezer within the basement of the Simmons Estate only serves as a reminder of how he started in his mind.

One of the biggest reasons why people should remember that Dickson isn't just a pretty face is the HUGE fact that he basically has his own servant (more like mind slave) that both he and Janus shared together when she was still alive, that he ACTIVELY participated in breaking on the days he had suffered himself (granted he was made to believe it was alright by Janus, but that's besides the point). This point here is a perfect way to represent just how broken and unstable Dickson is as well because normally Dickson was the one who tried to keep Janus from tormenting Belphegor (the name Janus decided to give the boy despite him already having a name) and was often the one trying to tend to whatever wounds Janus had created, be them physical or mental ones (though Dickson was only good at mending physical wounds). In Belphegor's mind, Dickson was going to become his savior at some point due to the fact he showed more compassion towards him than Janus did, but this sentiment ended up proving false the day Dickson murdered Janus. Dickson's once gentle and caring demeanor towards Belphegor ended up changing into something more deranged and it only proceeded to get worse once Carla died as well — gentle gestures of affection soon became more aggressive and agitated, once soothing and comforting words became accusatory and possessive, promises of better treatment and freedom became guilt-tripping and manipulation — eventually leading for Belphegor's mental state to be completely broken down to the point he became a puppet for whatever Dickson desired.

Now, you're probably thinking "but hey, doesn't this contradict everything you've posted about Dickson before? You know, the stuff about him not wanting to be like his grandfather and such?" And in a sense, yes, I did contradict myself, but at the same time... I didn't. Why? Because Dickson didn't want to become like his grandfather or Janus or any of the people who tormented him for the entirety of his life, but when you are basically a prisoner within your own home and are subjected to abuse for so long, you generally end up developing Stockholm Syndrome and that's basically what happened to Dickson. The abuse and torment are what lead up to Dickson basically becoming his grandfather and Janus, but he only realizes this once he joins the BSAA and meets Chris and his team. Why does he realize this? Well, that's because of the simple fact that they all treat him like an ally and not a tool. They slowly begin to make him realize that he isn't just an object for someone's desires nor is he just a toy that will be endlessly used until it's broken and tossed away. They made him feel something that he's never felt before: human. They made him feel like he was an ACTUAL human being and not a monster, that he wasn't some kind of murderous and heartless creature, but instead was their close friend and even a part of their little family, which is something that Dickson has always wanted so desperately deep down inside of his very being. Not his grandfather. Not Janus. Not his mother or father. Not Carla. Dickson. Something that HE wanted. One of the very first and only things he's ever wanted in his life. Granted he still wears his various masks around them, but that's because he doesn't know how to stop nor does he want them to know just how inhuman he really is.

^^^ And this whole above paragraph really does help to show just how broken Dickson is and how even just a little bit of love and care towards him can make him into a completely different person, especially if we jump back to this line here in the first paragraph: "Dickson is NOT a kind or compassionate person, nor does he care about those that he isn't actively pursuing for the sake of genuine friendship or genuine obsession (love in his eyes)." The only reason he cares so much about Chris and his team is because of the simple fact they tried to develop genuine friendships with him to the point he had become obsessively in love with each and every one of them (some in platonic ways: Chris, Philis, Finn, Jill, Steve, and some in romantic ways: Victoria and Piers).

But back to the topic of the mind slave, due to the fact that Dickson had finally come into contact with people who... understood him in a sense for lack of a better word... he began to think that he could actually be something other than a tool and because of that, he also believed that maybe Belphegor could be more than a tool as well. Of course, due to being completely broken by Dickson, there wasn't much that could be done for him in the ways of... fixing him so in the end, Dickson simply continues to use Belphegor for whatever he deems necessary but instead of treating him as badly as he had before, he now somewhat treats him as he used to (though he can still be rather harsh when he isn't in the greatest of moods).

So with all that being said, I advise you all (especially those of you with muses that are seeking out romantic affairs with Dickson) to proceed with the utmost caution when doing so because there may come a point where Dickson doesn't care about your muse anymore and simply chooses to discard them (minus Crystal of course because that's his wifey). }

[aj28gaming]

Nagito's diagnosis?

Okay hear me out, what if the only mental illness Nagito has is extreme paranoia or Nagito is just really paranoid about death?

Now listen

Listen

I get that this is gonna be laughed at a lot and probably treated as a joke

but hear me out

So, regarding Nagito's dementia, I already made these posts https://aj28gaming.tumblr.com/post/650577508025155585/danganronpa-messing-up-nagitos-character-cuz

https://aj28gaming.tumblr.com/post/650633399392944128/nagitos-dementia-and-misuse-of-information

But to be sure, I basically explain how and why Nagito has almost none of the symptoms of Frontotemporal Dementia, he might still have it tho, just not the symptoms

But think about this, the only time Nagito has actually acted "crazy" was when the killing game starts. Before that, all we get is a paranoid, self-deprecating boy used to trauma due to his abusive luck cycle. A boy who also has flawed beliefs in the talented and untalented due to the society of Danganronpa. A boy who fears murder and the death of others more than most.

Now, remember, he only gets crazy (I AM ONLY GONNA TALK ABOUT SDR2 BECAUSE THE LATER ITERATIONS AND GAMES AND ANIME ADAPTATIONS THAT PORTRAY NAGITO PORTRAY HIM INCREDIBLY WRONG) when the killing game starts

A killing game

A game of murder and death

And what does Nagito fear the most throughout the first chapter of SDR2 and throughout Island mode? What does he keep making sure doesn't happen? What does he keep asking Usami about while being extremely scared and paranoid about it?

WHAT DOES NAGITO FEAR THE MOST?

MURDER

HE HATES MURDER

HE CONSTANTLY TRIES TO GET HIMSELF DEAD OR KILLED TO ENSURE NO ONE ELSE DIES

Now imagine having a person who hates murder, who fears the possibility of death surrounding him and is constantly paranoid about it

Now put that person in a killing game, you know, A GAME FULL OF MURDER AND DEATH

So you get someone who fears having death and murder around him, and you put him in a place that is full of that, a killing game

YOU GET THIS

THIS

THIS (also keep in mind, NAGITO SAID IN ISLAND HE LAUGHS WHEN HE GETS SURPRISED, NOT BECAUSE HE IS HAPPY OR HAVING FUN)

See the pattern now

If you trap someone in a place full of everything they hate and fear for their entire life

They go crazy

Now remember the links I sent at the start? In them, I explain how his extreme paranoia causes a lot of his actions to happen

One, his coping mechanism

His coping mechanism is hope

He is constantly in denial about his mental state, about the people dying around him

Not saying he doesn't believe people are dying, I mean he struggles to accept that people around him are dying

He needs to find a reason for all of this despair

For why everyone has to experience despair

Nagito is a person who finds reason for everything, basically constantly tries to find order in his chaotic world

Makes sense since literally and figuratively due to his luck cycle, Nagito lacks control in his chaotic and traumatizing life

So he tries to find a reason for everything despairful that happens to him

Basically, "There has to be a reason for my suffering, right? RIGHT?"

So what does he do? He clings to hope

HOPE /hōp/

noun 1. a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. "he looked through her belongings in the hope of coming across some information" Similar: aspiration, desire, wish, expectation, ambition, aim, plan, dream, daydream, pipe dream, longing, yearning, craving, hankering 2. a feeling of trust. "our private friendship, upon hope and affiance whereof, I presume to be your petitioner" verb want something to happen or be the case.

KEEP THOSE DEFINITIONS IN MIND, TRUST ME WHEN I SAY NAGITO IS TALKING ABOUT THE ACTUAL MEANING OF HOPE, NOT SOME SUPERFICIAL VERSION HE CREATED HIMSELF

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So this makes sense right? A person is in a stressful situation which is basically their personal hell, so they cling to hope

Literally

And we get this a lot of the time in real life and in tv shows and movies where people in stressful times cling to hope

So it really isn't a surprise that Nagito does this

So, Nagito isn't worshipping Hope like it's a god, he is clinging to an ideology. He is clinging to positivity, a bright light amidst all the darkness

He is quite literally clinging to hope in a despairful situation, which a lot of people do and most likely the same with you and me.

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And again, no, his views on hope aren't due to his own personal opinion of what hope is. The hope he believes in is the literal definition of hope.

Hope as in light amidst all the darkness

He truly does have heroic and good intentions and truly does understand the hopes and despairs of others

He knew Teruteru wanted to continue the culinary legacy and help his mom, that's his hope

He knew Imposter would want to protect everyone no matter what, that's his hope

He knew Mikan killed for Despair, that despair being Junko Enoshima

He knew Fuyuhiko's hope is Peko and that both of them care about each other very much

He knew how similar he and Hajime are and how they are both bystanders and lovers of Hope, for Hajime that Hope being Hope's Peak academy itself and/or having talent

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That's why he wants to help everyone's hope. He doesn't want them to escape to "spread their hope to the world," he wants to help them because that is generally everyone's hope in the killing game, to escape and end the killing game. That's why he is also fine with helping the blackened because if he knows all the blackened wants to do is escape

All Nagito wants is for him to be the victim instead of anyone else so no one else has to die if someone must commit murder.

And tbh Nagito has only done 2 things,

One was when he orchestrated his own death so no one else dies during the first trial, but this fails due to his luck cycle

He knew someone would die eventually, and if he didn't do this then either Teruteru would've still murdered someone else or Fuyuhiko would've murdered Mahiru with Peko like in trial 2 due to the next motive

Someone would've died regardless, Nagito just wanted to be the victim to save everyone else. And he needed to make sure only HE BECOMES THE VICTIM which is why he orchestrated it

But alas, his luck screwed it up and Byakuya dies instead.

Second thing Nagito did was try to get everyone killed when he found out everyone were a bunch of terrorists and remnants of despairs. Do I seriously need to explain why anyone would've done this? Especially someone as paranoid as Nagito?

Hell, Hajime almost did way worse because he almost did the complete opposite, he almost pressed graduate so Junko can take over the dead bodies of their classmates and spread despair AGAIN

HOW THE HELL IS NAGITO WORSE THAN THE OTHERS?

HAJIME ALMOST CAUSED DESPAIR ONTO THE ENTIRE WORLD AGAIN AND EVERY OTHER MURDERER MURDERED FOR THEIR OWN SELFISH MOTIVES LIKE TO ESCAPE OR GET REVENGE

NAGITO SERIOUSLY JUST WANTED TO BE THE VICTIM SO NO ONE ELSE DIES AND WANTS TO ELIMINATE DESPAIR

HOW THE HELL IS HE THE CRAZY ONE?

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So now I explained how Nagito's paranoia of murder caused him to have a desperate belief in Hope as a coping mechanism in a very despairful situation

Now let's see how extreme his way of coping became. Seeing that he is in his actual personal hell, I would expect it to be pretty extreme.

And it is, a lot of the time.

Even to the point that he uses it to explain the deaths of his classmates and how to cope

Knowing Nagito, he has a habit of trying to find a reason for everything, like a prophecy or reason for his despair like I said before

And how exactly does he do that with the dead bodies of his classmates? He goes and treats them like stepping stones for hope

Basically saying, "Yes, our classmates are dead. But we shouldn't give up, because these deaths, this despair, it's all a stepping stone for an upcoming hope. A future good ending waiting to come, RIGHT?"

I added the right at the end because throughout the game, Nagito doesn't really seem like he only believes in hope. It's almost like he desperately needs and clings to hope.

So no matter what, he has to believe in hope

Because then, what is there left of him to believe in

He is trapped in his personal hell, forced to see classmates getting killed left and right, already experiences and fears the possibility of death and trauma on his normal day to day life, and what's worse is he constantly blames himself due to his luck cycle

He clings to hope, the possibility of a good ending happening in the end

Because what else can he believe in, what else can he live for at this point?

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You seriously don't need dementia to explain his actions

All you need to do is remember that all of them are in a killing game

So of course people will go crazy

And knowing Nagito and how paranoid he gets, no wonder he reacts way worse

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Nagito isn't crazy, he isn't a lunatic. He is just a paranoid kid who hates and fears murder and despair more than anyone else but is constantly forced to witness it and be subjected to it due to his luck cycle

And to be honest, anyone would've reacted the same way he does, and Hajime is proof of that

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Also stop calling him the Joker wtf

[stackthedeck]

Hello! Can I ask for your thoughts on Peggy Carter, if you have any. She’s been quite the discussion on my for you page lol, personally I think she’s fine not my favorite she’s just kinda there haha. Though I don’t like the inspiration of her character design it’s pretty gross:(

okay, last time I expressed a positive opinion of Peggy, I got some very upsetting comments so let's all just be cool and I'm going to try to articulate my thoughts as best I can. Y'all shouldn't trust my opinion on anything and always correct me when I'm wrong

So there's a claim that Peggy in the mcu is based on a nazi character from the comics and I've seen very little evidence to back up that claim other than they're both wearing military uniforms in cars. Idk if the writers of the first avenger have said anything, I would love to know more about this. The mcu has a very bad habit of creating Frankenstein characters like Sylvie who is based on enchantress and lady Loki but really isn't either of them and is just an original creation. I'm not sure if that happened with Peggy, because she is a character in the comics. Like idk her character design is the female military uniform of America from WWII. I feel it is a bad faith argument to say that the character is innately evil because she may be based on a hydra agent from the comics. That's like saying that people can't watch the star wars prequels because Anakin is portrayed in a positive light for some of it but Darth Vader and the first order are based on nazis. Like Peggy isn't a nazi, she kills nazis, I watched agent carter and I really don't think she's evil. Like it's weird that this is just now coming up, were people talking about this when the first avenger came out?

But like without any background knowledge of who Peggy might be based on, idk I like her. She's a powerful confident woman with a bold red lip and she holds her own like I had a massive crush on her when I first watched the movie and then I watched agent carter and she just got hotter!! Agent Carter was the only way to get femslash back in ye olde days of marvel fandom. And holy shit she's amazing in what if!!! Huge lady with a sword <3 <3 <3 Honestly, I think she's great for the one-off episodes and she had her own side series that was good but is finished now and endgame ruined her character by just boiling her down to Steve's love interest. Like Captain Carter isn't going to replace Sam as the new Captain America and it'd be stupid if she showed up in the mainline canon. Like could you imagine if she showed up in multiverse of madness, what would even be the point that'd be ridiculous! She's just a fun girl boss character that I've been in love with since 2011 and I wish the mcu would stop bringing her up, she's had her time to shine

[launchsteinward]

This is for the MB challenge by @somebodyalreadytookthis2

Wednesday:

A Welcomed Guest

"Nighty?"

Nightmare's eyes lit up.

"Dream!" He exclaimed looking around, unable to locate his brother in the vast expanse of darkness.

Dream, quiet as a ninja, snuck up behind Nightmare and hugged him: the smaller yelping out in surprise. Instantly Blue and Cross had their swords draw: pointing at the mysterious silhouette that had just taken their Prince captive.

"Quite the pair of freinds you've made here." Dream commented, releasing the other from the hug.

"Don't surprise me like that! I almost had a heart attack you know" Nightmare pouted, showcasing a childish ness foreign to Cross and Blue but familiar to Dream.

"Uh, Nightmare... who exactly is this?" Cross asked finally getting a closer look at the stranger.

'Wait-

How come this one prince-

But THAT ONE ALSO PRINCE?'

Cross's (nonexistent) brain seemed to short circuit.

"Oh! This is my b-"

"Hi! I'm Dream. An adventurer from the capital and Nighty's childhood friend" Dream cut off Nightmare, secretly winking at his brother.

Catching Dream's drift, Nightmare nodded: deciding to fo along with Dream's antics.

"I see. Well, looks like we should look for a way out-"

Cross was cut off by the sound of insane laughter sending shivers up his spine.

The sound of a knife scraping against a surface could be heard as an ominous green glow reflected off the pillars in the hall.

Sharing a nod, the party : Dream included, hid behind a pillar and winced. It was blinding. A strong green light seemed to emerge from what appeared to be a skeleton demon holding a knife. Honestly, it was terrifying as both Cross and Blue felt their bones lock up.

'And now we run into a demon with flashlight eyes? Man, what's next? The teleportation kid from before shows up'

Blue sighed quietly before freezing at the bone chilling voice.

"Well, well, well, looks like we have some rather noisy guests. Ones that were not welcomed here at that. Tsktsktsk..." the Flashlight eyes demon clicked his nonexistent tongue, eyes still focused away from the party.

"We cant have that can we?"

'RUN' Cross could think as the demon looked him straight in the eyes and he was blinded.

Shutting his eyes that were searing in pain: Cross turned tail and ran. He could hear the thumps of his companions footsteps beside them as they turned and twisted around the pillars of the chamber.

Only when they were in complete darkness did they stop running and collapse to catch their breath.

They could still hear the demons voice snickering and purring: "come out come out where ever you are~" or " marco~... this is the part where you yell out polo you know?"

After catching their breath, the party shared a silent message: we're not going back there. And so they continued forward in silence: scared of the demon finding them. Well, everyone exept Dream who had only retreated only due to his brothers insistence and visible distress.

After a while they came aCross an odd looking lamp. It seemed to glow from the inside but the light only came out in golden blocks of light. 'Strange indeed'

That's when caught the sound of an oddly familiar tune coming up from infront of him. One that a cirtain trader had been humming a while back.

Smiling softly to himself, Dream followed the others as the sound got louder and they came across more lamps: some hanging from the ceiling by long chains and others just placed on the ground.

Eventually the say a gentle and welcoming soft light emerge from what appeared to be a stall, a wierd but oddly catchy song coming from it.

The stall was simple with a pink bar saying 'WELCOME TO INK'S SHOP', Ink presumably the skeleton monster sitting at the table with his head reasted on his hand and looking at the party smugly.

Cross couldn't help but gasp.

"Aren't you that potion seller I brought from a while back?"

"Maybe, maybe not. Who knows what really happened off screen" the trader shrugged out of habit, a small smile of relief unseen as his eyelights eyes Dream from the corner of his eye.

'Thank stars that brawny idiot wasn't dead yet'

"So, is there anything I could do for you? Maybe a potion, a charm? Maybe even my mystery box of useful items?" Ink asked, putting on a fake sellers voice cause Dream to snicker silently.

Ink count help but smile and secretly wink at the brute before getting on with the matter at hand.

"I- I cant help bit be curious of what's in the mysterious box of useful items. You swear that whatever's in there will come in handy right?" Cross asked, eyeing the grinning trader suspiciously.

"If course! I guarantee it!" Ink perked up.

'..Of course we're getting something so vague.' Blue smirked in amusement before his eye focused on the trader. There was something rather... intriguing about this 'Ink'.

Ink tensed up, blushing slightly in embarrassment as Blue stared at him. Of course he knew who Blue was, after all: you and your freinds wouldn't stop yelling about him.

Ink carefully placed a rather large pouch infront on Cross. After Cross had reluctantly given Ink the required gold, He took the pouch and opened it. Only to gasp in shock.

Cross turned away from his party, shoulders hunched as Ink watched in amusement.

Cross turned around suddenly, a pair of Ray-Ban visors taped to his skull. His smile was wide and full of child like excitement as he posed, showing off the glasses that only reflected the light coming off Ink's shop.

It was cute in a way: Ink found himself understanding why almost everyone seemed to adore the monochrome skeleton.

Dream couldn't help the genuine smile playing on his lips. Watching Cross do his wierd happy dance reminded his of how he would be as a child. Blue's reaction portraying Nighty's reaction at the time.

Dream knew instantly that this Blue character and himself would get along.

After calming down, Cross pulled out similar glasses to his own and distributed them among his party.

As he did, he couldn't help but pause as he gave Dream his pair. The other seemed strong, Cross couldn't help himself as he started analysing the others well toned (nonexistent) muscles. A few more bench presses and Cross was sure Dream would be ripped. Buff even.

Dream turned and started talking with Blue. He could feel Cross examining him as a light heat was apparent on his face. Blue noticed this instantly as a the strangely contagious heat grew on his cheekbones.

After putting on their glasses, they all thanked Ink: Dream giving the smaller a wink and earning a rainbow blush.

They all dreaded what was coming up. According to Ink, the exit to the chamber was in the direction they had come from: the direction of the demon.

___________________________________________

Dream was pumped. He couldn't wait to snap that demons neck. His anticipation for a good fight could be seen from miles away as they once again heard the sound of a knife scraping.

'This is going to be good' Dream could already feel the adrenaline tingling up his bones and sending a pleasurable shock through them.

Soon enough, they could make out the familiar glow of the demon. Putting on and securing their sunglasses, they prepared for the battle.

___________________________________________

Killer smirked. It seems that the prey had once again entered the lions den: this time of their own volition. It was hillarious.

He steadied his knife as he prepared to strike- grin maliciously wide. It was then that someone clocked him right on the jaw. Stumbling back a little, Killer looked at which one of these insects thought he was a lion and attacked him.

His eyes widened as he saw it was none other than the kidnapped prince himself. 'Did he get out of that cell on his own?' He thought before shrugging it off.

The boss told him not to kill the prince: he never said anything about hurting him.

"Well, well, who would have thought the beloved first prince would pack quite the punch" Killer mocked spitting out some purple substance.

Dream grinned as he attacked once more: the battle between the two commencing as the others just sat on the sidelines and watched. Not like they could do anything to interfere in such an intense battle.

Nightmare's eyes turned cyan as he drew back away from the group silently. Hiding behind a pillar somewhat close to the others he whispered an order before going back to the others: eyelights purple and an expression of confusion apparent on his face.

Killer pulled back as he tilted his head like an animal listening. "Gosh, dangit. And I was having soo much fun too. Well, looks like I gotta book my way out of here. Duty calls" the demon shrugged before disappearing with a pop.

Dream growled angrily as he yelled "COME BACK AND FIGHT ME COWARD! MY HONOUR HAS BEEN TARNISHED!"

Cross sighed in relief as he noticed a chest bot to far off from them. Motioning to the others as Nightmare calmed down he newly revealed to be brother, he approached the chest excitedly: wondering what loot he will get this time.

He opened it: only to find a black crown similar to the many he had found before.

"AGAIN!" Cross yelled in annoyance before tossing the crown behind him. Blue snickered as he explained the many crowns they had come across to Dream who couldn't help chuckling in response.

Nightmare's eyelights glazed over as he picked up the crown and put it in his inventory. He had a gut feeling that he may be needing it later.

___________________________________________

"Hi there"

The party jumped the the sudden voice: Dream luckily held back by Nightmare before he could instinctively punch whatever had just surprised him. Blue sighed. 'I knew I shouldn't have jinxed it'

"What the hell are you doing here kid?"

Criss asked eyeing the monochrome kid- Core was it?- from before.

"Just here to help you find your way" they shrugged before pointing at a rather short door. "Go through there and you'll find yourself on the second floor if the castle"

Nightmare and Dream looked at the child as though they were insane. Cross and Blue sighed before opening the small door, crouching and going inside: Nightmare and Dream hastily following after.

___________________________________________

"We need bait" Cross's voice echoed through the now empty and purple splattered hall. Thank God Dream was on their side.

"Yeah... but what?" Dream asked, shaking his hands in a attempt to get the purple substance off it. Blue watched in amusement as Nightmare hesitantly popped up: "ummm- how about cookies?"

Cross looked at Nightmare quizzically.

"And how do you know that?"

"I dont know... just had a feeling" Nightmare mumbled as Cross and Dream looked at each other before shrugging.

"And where do you suppose we get a cookie?"

"There" Blue said using his thumb to point down the hall at a familiar wooden stall.

Everyone stood there: mouth agape before collecting themselves. Cross had tears in his eyes as he knew he would have to say goodbye to some more of his beloved gold. That's when Nightmare gently pat his back and approached Ink: using his very own money to be a cookie from the trader.

And so the waiting game started. The party deciding to hide in a corner and rest up: some taking a cat nap. Nightmare got up and motioned towards a corner. "I need to use the restroom" he said, cheeks purple in embarrassment. Everyone nodded, allowing the prince some privacy.

As he turned the corner, Cross focused back on the cookie intently: waiting for the Demon King to take his bait. That's when he heard a quiet shuffle of shoes. He saw a demon: crown glistening on its head as ot approached the cookie.

Cross was in shock: the Demon King had actually taken the bait! Snapping out of his shock he tackled the Demon King down, the Demong King scowling in surprise.

'How did they know?'

Cross ended up ontop of the Demon King in a rather suggestive position that brought a blush to both the Kings and his own face.

Growling in annoyance, the Demon King poofed into thin air: teleporting elsewhere.

Nightmare came back from his rest stop before noticing everyones (who was awake) expression.

"Well, that's enough of a break" Cross perked up. "We're almost at the throne room according to Ink, so let's get this show on the road!"

____________________________________________

(My first animation/gif. In other words: sh#t.)

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