#the two demos actually one says it and ones in the title

[p2iimon]

simon came from hawaii pt ii btw. that was my first inspiration

[katnipp]

cheer me up, captain— daniela avanzini

genre: fluff👅

synopsis: nerdy y/n and cheer captain daniela are forced to team up for spirit week—chaos, glitter, and unexpected feelings ensue

warnings: none that i could think of except for the fact that they hate each other at first😞

quick a/n: i decided to just post this already instead of waiting for all the results from the poll😭

—

y/n never planned to go to war with the cheerleading team. especially not with daniela avanzini, the captain with perfect eyeliner and a permanent smirk that screamed “i know i’m hot.”

but fate—or the school admin, who clearly lived for chaos—had other plans.

it all started in the gym. science club was setting up for the annual “physics in action” demo. y/n had carefully carted in her baking soda volcano, a newton’s cradle, and a very fragile egg-drop apparatus. she had graphs. she had goggles. she was ready.

then the gym doors slammed open, and in walked the cheer squad like they owned the place. at the front: daniela.

“this is our space,” y/n said, clutching her clipboard.

daniela blinked. “actually? it’s tuesday. we have the gym every tuesday for practice.”

y/n glanced at her schedule. her eyes widened.

“don’t tell me,” daniela said, leaning in with mock sympathy. “you scheduled a whole demo without checking the calendar?”

“i—no—i checked, i just—”

“you messed up.” daniela smirked. “admit it. i’ll wait.”

y/n wanted to launch herself into the volcano in that very moment.

instead, she muttered, “fine. we’ll leave.”

“oh no,” daniela said sweetly. “stay. maybe your stupid volcano can cheer us on.”

and that was war.

—

for the next two weeks, y/n and daniela couldn’t share air without snapping at each other. y/n called daniela’s routines “pom pom brainwashing.” daniela called y/n “the lovechild of nasa and a graphing calculator.”

then came the announcement.

principal kim, barely awake, droned on over the intercom:

“as part of our new school unity initiative, clubs will be randomly paired for spirit week…”

y/n sprinted to the list posted outside the office.

science club + cheer team

“oh,” she said. “you’ve actually got to be kidding me.”

behind her, that unmistakable voice purred: “miss me already?”

y/n turned slowly. daniela was standing there, sipping iced coffee with the grin of someone who definitely caused problems on purpose.

“no,” y/n said flatly. “i’d rather be trampled by the football team.”

daniela raised an eyebrow. “feisty. let’s schedule our team meeting.”

—

day one: poster prep night

y/n showed up with rulers, blueprints, and her fear of daniela.

daniela showed up with glitter glue, rhinestones, and a playlist titled “world domination.”

“let’s split the posters evenly,” y/n suggested.

“sure,” daniela said, already bedazzling a drawing of einstein.

they argued over fonts, color schemes, the ethics of glitter…

at some point, daniela reached over and tucked a piece of y/n’s hair behind her ear.

y/n’s entire body and mind froze.

“you good?” daniela asked, voice low.

“yeah,” Y/N choked. “just allergic to sparkles.”

daniela smiled. “cute.”

—

day three: bake sale disaster

daniela’s cupcakes were literal pieces of art. while y/n’s cookies looked like a child had decorated them.

“baking is just edible chemistry,” y/nmuttered.

“you have betrayed science,” daniela replied, deadpan.

but she helped decorate y/n’s sad excuses of cookies (if you could call it that..) anyways. dusted them with glitter. drew tiny hearts in frosting.

“you’re being suspiciously nice,” y/n said.

“i’m not nice. i’m charming.”

“i suddenly hate you even more”

—

day four: pep rally prep

“absolutely not,” y/n said, staring at the cheer uniform daniela tossed at her.

“you agreed to participate,” daniela reminded, grinning.

“you didn’t say i’d be in costume.”

“you’ll look adorable. i promise.”

somehow, y/n ended up in a cheer bow, safety goggles, and an oversized squad hoodie. daniela tied the bow herself.

“you look kind of cute,” she said softly.

y/n turned, flushed. “is that a cheerleading thing or a flirting thing?”

daniela tilted her head. “yes.”

—

day five: the pep rally

the gym was packed. the lights were blinding. y/n stood at half-court, nerves fizzing.

they performed a cheer-science mashup. y/n shouted fun facts while daniela flipped through the air like gravity was a suggestion.

the crowd roared.

after the final trick, y/n turned to her with a grin.

“we actually did it.”

daniela stepped closer. “told you i’d make a cheerleader out of you.”

“you’re terrifying.”

“and you’re obsessed with me.”

y/n opened her mouth to argue—but daniela kissed her.

it was dizzy and stupid and so much better than y/n’s wildest theories.

when they pulled apart, breathless, y/n stammered, “so is this like, a thing now?”

daniela smirked. “it’s been a thing. you’re just very slow.”

—

y/n was sitting with her science club friends when daniela strutted over in full uniform, plopped into her lap, and whispered, “you’re late for practice, loser.”

y/n blinked. “i’m not even on the team, dani.”

“you’re mine. close enough.”

y/n’s brain short-circuited.

her friends all screamed.

daniela winked. “team bonding, right?”

—

a/n: this fic was kinda doodoo compared to the other ones☹️

[eeuni]

boyfriend ❦ billie eilish.

!!! : brandon, 2019, friends to lovers, billie cheated (to brandon, deserved) a little bit of smut

2019.

billie's debut album was almost ready, there was not much left really, but something inside billie's mind told her that she needed a closing song.

she decided to put those feelings aside, stopped biting her nails slightly and looked at the phone resting in her hand. the hotel room was almost dark. she needed someone, a person to support her, especially when she didn't know what to do to finish that album. it was killing her. there were two people. her boyfriend and her best friend.

two very different paths.

her best friend was always there, she knew she was just a phone call away to come to the door and hold her like she always did. but lately she was feeling something, something more than friendship and that interrupted her comfort. she had a damn boyfriend.

Q.

billie wasn't even sure if she was in love, but she felt the need to feel him close. he was many years older than her, and billie let herself be possessed like a house in the middle of nowhere. was she stupid to love him? no, it wasn't love.

she needed him to not realize that she actually needed her best friend.

billie decided to call her.

"please answer," she whispered.

"billie?" your sweet voice answered. billie felt a warm sensation in her chest, she quickly spoke.

"can you come?"

she didn't even have to repeat it twice.

"sure."

and you arrived at her hotel room, she quickly opened the door, looking for your sweet embrace. she was surprised at how well her head fit on your chest, as if she was made for you. you noticed her low vibration, billie was feeling tired.

"is it because of him?" you asked softly, after a few minutes without speaking. you continued to caress her hair, nervous to hear billie's answer. it wasn't a word, but an action, and she nodded.

a wave of disappointment attacked your poor heart. she was still there, suffering for someone who didn't value her when you had your own heart, giving it to her. billie didn't seem to see your heart, or at least that's what you thought.

"did you call him?" you asked.

"i was about to do it, but i don't know why i called you instead." billie was lying, lying to herself. she had called you because from the beginning she always needed you.

that answer silenced you for what seemed like an eternity to billie, but you just didn't know what to say. you encouraged her to do it, to call him, to see what would happen. now billie was sitting in the small hotel couch, you by her side, holding her hand. you noticed how she didn't have a loving nickname for him but she did for you, you looked the other way, telling your ego that maybe it didn't mean anything.

billie had to wait a few seconds until he answered, he was driving.

"what do you want, babe?" Q said, almost unimportantly, speeding up.

"are you driving?"

...there was no response, just laughter. it seemed like he was in the car with other people.

"Q?" billie started to get tired. "do you hear me?"

"i'll call you later, billie." her boyfriend ended the call.

you looked intently at billie, worried about what that did to her. she threw her phone to the ground, causing the back to visibly crack. she covered her face with her hands, as if she wanted to tear it off. you quickly removed her hands from her face and she sighed.

"you finally realize he's not good for you?" you said this phrase so softly that it was clear that you were not reproaching her, but that you were truly concerned. "do you want to distract yourself, bils?" you asked something else now, it didn't seem like billie could answer the previous question with one word.

"yeah. fuck everything else." she got up from the couch. she went to the chair she used to record some things, the ones she could. "wanna help, pretty?"

pretty. made you feel weak. you nodded without saying anything, sat next to her and she showed you the demo she had, titled "goodbye"

you weren't sure what you were supposed to do, but you focused upon hearing billie's voice. your skin crawled, creating an incredibly nostalgic aura inside you. "what...what do i have to do, bils?" you asked. she let out a small laugh.

"i'm going to pass you the microphone, you have to sing in a slightly higher tone the same as me."

choirs.

when you understood what billie was trying to get at, you tried to warm up your voice a little before starting, she handed you a sheet of paper with the lyrics.

"please."

you sang.

"please."

she sang.

"don't leave me."

the song wrapped you up in a compilation of her album, which you had been able to listen to over the days. billie's moments with Q came to mind and how you were always behind them. you wanted her love, but maybe that was the prophecy, to love her from afar.

you hesitated a little to continue singing, your voice broke. you stepped away from the microphone, almost with tears in your eyes, and tried to catch your breath.

"are you okay?" billie asked, stopping recording.

"no, billie, i can't."

"but you were singing so beauti-" you cut through her words like a knife.

"i can't handle this, billie." she had that typical worried look, not understanding the reason for your sudden action.

"what are you talking about?" she sat back in the chair.

suddenly you felt small, vulnerable and like you had no words left. it always happened when you wanted to tell billie what you felt. you tried to search in your mind for something to make her understand that you couldn't stand having her as a friend, you needed to be more than just that to her.

"leave Q." was the only thing that could come out of your lips.

"what?" she opened her eyes wide.

"i love you." you said quickly, desperately. it slipped from your lips.

how stupid. you thought. you should never have opened your mouth, why couldn't you stop? you saw billie's lips part slightly, letting out a surprised sigh.

"i love you, and i don't want to." you continued.

was billie dreaming? or were you really confessing something to her that she had been waiting forever for? she was still too shocked to answer you, she needed to get her head in order.

"i love you too." billie confessed, it was the first thing that came out of her lips. "and i never wanted to date that dude but i guess i was scared."

"scared?" you looked up.

"i have never loved anyone as much as i love you." billie felt so stupid for feeling those things, for loving someone so much. still, with her she felt more...real, human, and worth it. she couldn't escape the way she loved her. she approached her dear best friend, planting her hands on her cheeks, caressing her with fear.

you were of course very touched by her words, your breathing became labored as you saw her hands on your face. "can i?" billie muttered, almost as if she were saving an oath.

"please." you whispered.

her sweet lips attacked yours so gently, as if she wanted that moment to last in her mind and soul forever. it felt like a dream, and it felt so good to finally be enjoying this. billie's hands caressed your sides, while your hands played with her hair. your legs spread a little, making billie's body fit perfectly. you gasped as you felt her hands playing with the elastic of your pants.

"billie..." you said sweetly, looking at her.

billie couldn't believe she had missed this by playing at being straighter than a rule.

that rule was flexible.

and as a final act of love (or hate towards Q) she sent him a message to end her relationship with him. she smiled, taking a picture of you.

"it's over, i'm gonna fuck my best friend"

"i correct: future wife."

2024.

your soft moans came out easily as you felt billie's fingers play with your pussy. "that's it my baby, you take me so well" billie sighed. the bathroom was small, and you couldn't make that much noise, but there you were. in the background you could hear "lunch" by your own future wife.

you were excited to know that behind that door there were thousands of fans listening to the album live, for the first time. after that, your innocent and beautiful future wife would come out to talk about "hit me hard and soft"

"i'm gonna-"

"cum, baby, cum on mommy's fingers."

and you did it, just as she told you.

i could eat that girl for lunch.

she dances on my tongue.

"such a goodgirl for me."

she winked at you, sucking her fingers to taste you between them. she locked your lips in a kiss, making you moan into her mouth.

that woman was going to be the death of you.

[slitherpunk]

games i liked in 2023 (And Other)

I like games ! You know that ?! and I played a lot 2023! and I liked a lot :). They aren't in any specific order, it's just a little highlight of games that stood out to me this year. I've attempted to write a few thoughts on each so I hope take a look. I wrote playtimes for some also but that is very subjective.

-Ones that actually came out 2023-

Lunacid https://store.steampowered.com/app/1745510/Lunacid/ I think I mentioned enjoying this in 2022 but it officially released so I can say it was one of my favorite games in 2023 :3! I like to feel around this game's walls for secrets. I like the npcs that are full of hope and whimsy despite the bleakness of its world. Chill and occasionally spooky first person dungeon crawling around moody caverns and ruins varying from underground forests to vampire castles and blood lake. (Blood lake!!!! Lake of blood!!! Big creature there.) Lots of fun weapons and spells to find, I like the one that lets you turn blood into coffins.

~20 hours

Orbo's Odyssey https://feverdreamjohnny.itch.io/orbos-odyssey If you played the massively popular demo for "Peeb Adventures" by feverdreamjohnny then you know that Johnny makes some fun and funny games and this is certainly one of them. speedy and satisfying platforming! funny dracula moments! short and sweet.

~2 hours

A Walk in the Woods https://mooncaller.itch.io/a-walk-in-the-woods Quaint little GBStudio game :) Made by some friends of mine for a jam :) It's cute I like it. There's minigames where you catch bugs and birdwatch.

~30 minutes long

Undertale Yellow https://gamejolt.com/games/UndertaleYellow/136925 I've only completed the pacifist run and checked out a neutral run so far. as the title somewhat implies, this is a prequel to Undertale where you play as the fallen human who had the yellow colored soul. This Undertale fangame has a lot of charm!!! A lot of battles really feel like they could have been in the original, with quite a bit of extra flair in some circumstances.

~10 hours

vs really cool bird https://bobacupcake.itch.io/vs-really-cool-bird you know that really cool bird that rob bobacupcake made well you can fight it in undertale and it's really fun. yeah two undertale fangames. . . wat of it …

~30 minutes

Misericorde: Volume One https://xeecee.itch.io/misericorde I wont lie the main draw for me into this was cute anime nuns I sure didn't know a whole lot else about it when I dug into it. But it's (the first part of) a VN murder mystery! And I enjoyed it a whole lot. All the characters are memorable and I really enjoy how all of them have differentiating designs. The protagonist is so failgirl. She sucks so much and I love her. I'm very intrigued by the mechanics of the game's world, it clues you in near the beginning to expect something a bit supernatural/fantastical, which gives you (and later the protagonist) a curiosity about what's real and what isn't. The music is all very impressive too, with the ost reaching past 100 tracks varying through post-rock, folk, drum & bass, and others. (Remembering when the track "Scandal" played and my friends and I took a moment to be like- okay hang on this track pwns.) Big fan of its haunting locals and how the aesthetic of the game fits them well. Also the humor is a lot of fun, and I love all the moments getting to know the different characters. Very excited to see the eventual continuation of this.

~12 hours

Absolutely Perfect Specimen https://chambersoft.itch.io/absolutely-perfect-specimen It seems like a lot of people are craving toxic horror yuri lately. Here's a recommendation. It's a VN about the android maid "Pan" and the mad scientist girl who created her. Horrifying & gut wrenching & largely about having other people define you. The art and music is haunting & poignant and matches the ever increasing feeling of dread throughout. It's yuri with the chunks. Peak robotgirl horror for those who can stomach it.

~90 minutes

Wordhopper https://kokoscript.itch.io/wordhopper Very quaint word search type puzzle game for ms dos! I think its style is very slick and that's pretty impressive to see. Chill game with nice vibes and eyecandy visuals. also it was so cool to have played this and then ended up seeing the dev's booth at Vintage Computer Festival Midwest. I was like omg woah I just played this.

~bunny

Bossgame https://lilyv.itch.io/bossgame This game is yuriful as f*ck. Delightful humor and fun character dynamics! A simple-to-understand-difficult-to-master boss rush battle system that makes you satisfied to get it right, and enticing to get just a little farther if you get it wrong. There's a lot of detail and charm to this game's menus and dialogues and win screens, I remember noticing that once you beat a boss there would be some marquee text that would pass by with some prose on it. I love how it balances its silly moments with its heartfelt moments and its high octane moments. I like the character development and revelations had throughout the plot. & I like how good the protagonists are for each other :) It's very sweet. It's hype as hell. if you want some boss rush action paired well with that sweet sweet girl's love, you *will* play this game.

~5 hours

Elly's Adventure https://bikwins.itch.io/ellys-adventure Very cute and witchy!! You are the little witch girl "Elly" on an adventure to get your toys back!! Feels like a pretty authentic gameboy type experience, it takes a lot of design cues from Kirby's adventure and the like. I am a big fan of how playful it feels.

~1 hour

Nour https://store.steampowered.com/app/1141050/Nour_Play_with_Your_Food/ This was a treat for me, but I understand that not everybody is going to get it. It's a game where you play with food(and food accessories). And that's it. It knows what it was going for. I think a lot of people were expecting something else for some reason. It's a cute little toy game and I felt satisfied with my time with it.

~food

Hi-Fi Rush https://store.steampowered.com/app/1817230/HiFi_RUSH/ Do I have to say this game is super fun? It's a big one everybody probably already knows it. This game's dopey humor made me laugh a lot and I'm not afraid to admit it.

~12 hours

WHISKEY.ST2007S https://bonicle.itch.io/whiskey-st2007nes One of the last games I played in the year because it released super last minute. Does anybody else get a rush when running a shopping cart down the parking lot? This emulates that feeling. Short game where you collect whisky stones in the whisky stone dimension because you forgot to go christmas shopping until the very last minute. it rules. It's very short you can go play it right now & get a highscore.

~5 minutes

re:curse https://devpalmer.itch.io/re-curse Discovered this one near the very end of the year also. Fun little rpg maker horror/humor game about a weird scientist lady, her butch, and an evil clown computer virus that figured out how to warp reality. I got a kick out of it. and also enjoyed digging through the game's files, which was actively encouraged by the dev, which I thought was very fun.

~90 minutes

-Didn't technically get to until 2024 but released last year-

SWOLLEN TO BURSTING UNTIL I AM DISAPPEARING ON PURPOSE https://1207.itch.io/swollen-to-bursting-until-i-am-disappearing-on-purpose People love to dunk on a lot of indie rpgs for being "quirky Earthbound inspired and about depression" or whatever. Earthbound's great. If people can nail the kind of humor and absurdity it likes to pull off while also balancing difficult topics I think that deserves a high mark. SWOLLEN TO BURSTING was fun. Bizarre and charming places to explore & distressing secrets to find. I like how it blends meander-around-the-town gameplay with Yume Nikki sort of exploration and effects. Also I'm a big fan of the music. I like how it has the lofi sound which matches the early 3d look of the game.

~6 hours

HalOPE https://starbage.itch.io/halope Another for the fans of sweet little rpg maker games that have a lot of heart. HalOPE is about an incomplete little angel wondering through worlds. Each has a theme, usually to do with an emotion or feeling, and they do well at evoking that feeling as well as its antithesis. a lot of the music is very homey and charming at moments and unnerving at others, sometimes lonely, all doing well in their corresponding chapters to further the feeling of its specified theme. There are so many delightful characters and designs in this & I found myself feeling really attached to their tiny little stories. The narrative at the core of it all hit me. If I may be vulnerable, I cried a whole lot at various moments in this game. It was really cathartic. I feel very excited for people to experience this game.

~5 hours

-Favs I finally got around to that didn't come out 2023-

An Outcry https://quinnk.itch.io/an-outcry Kind of sad it took me so long to get to this one, but glad it meant I got to play the "definitive" updated version of it. Apartment wandering RPG maker horror. Bum smokes from your neighbors and use them to save the game. I wish I could unwrap a lot more of what I like about this game than I can without spoiling too much. But if I could, I'd probably go on for too long. Let me attempt to be succinct & not giving too much away. You can tell pretty early on that An Outcry is about taking action when necessary & not turning a blind eye. What it explores about player vs protagonist agency is very fascinating to me as well, and I enjoyed learning about the inspirations for why the game's narrative works the way it does. The character Anne is such a sweetie and I love her a whole lot. This game has a very tangible feeling, this apartment complex is dirty and crumby, it smells of smoke, and there's a surrounding desperation you can feel.

~5 hours

Pigments https://punkcake.itch.io/pigments Honestly I had gotten this game in a bundle and while I was playing it I hadn't looked at the name and I just kept calling it FRUIT. On call with my friends I'd be like "hey im gonna play more FRUIT". I straight up didn't read the title screen. But it's called Pigments. You play as a fruit and you try to paint the whole floor and not get sliced by buzzsaws. Fun little arcade type game.

~fruit

Bridge, October 3rd https://lowpolis.itch.io/bridge-october-3rd Very short vignette. I like it. It's what it says it is. I'm not going to overexplain.

~like a minute

-Other Games I Want To Mention-

Pseudoregalia https://store.steampowered.com/app/2365810/Pseudoregalia/ I think a lot of people might have already known this one but I felt like it was a pretty fun 3d platformer. There were a few issues I had with it (boss fight at the beginning was frustrating, and I got lost a lot [but it looks like there's been a map patch by now, so, perhaps for some that is a fix]). I enjoyed it but sure felt weird that the only accessibility option was to give the protagonist pants. What kind of joke is that?

~5 hours

Mushroom Musume https://mortallymoonstruckgames.itch.io/mushroom-musume (Disclaimer, this game is still early access, but I saw a lot of people talking about it last year. SO I will mention here?) Haven't played much of this yet, but I have enjoyed what I played so far!! As of writing I've gone through 6 playthroughs, I feel like I've hardly scratched the surface and I've been so impressed by its depth. It's very charming, you never know what sorts of fairytale shenanigans are going to happen, and it's very cool to see how your different stats will affect things. It very much plays out like a roguelike vn. Which is not the sort of thing you may expect to make much sense but it pulls this off well. Also all the mushroom girls are very cute and I love them very much. I hope the sad goopy one who had bugs in her skin rests in peace.

~mushroom

Knuckle Sandwich https://andybrophy.itch.io/knuckle-sandwich -_- Hm. Where do I start with this one. I was pretty excited for this one since the demo and kickstarter in 2018. I felt like the demo was a hell of a hook that got me curious & horrified. As time went on, it seemed to be shaping up into something really cool. turn based combat with action commands and wario-ware-type microgames?? with a banging soundtrack?? like, count me in!! Then it released and well, the gameplay, art, music all delivered. It was very fun and engaging in those aspects. But the story… oh it just devolves into disappointing nonsensical randomness. The whole hook at the beginning seemed to be completely thrown away for the wild goose chase plot that ensues, leaving you to wonder if it was ever going to be relevant again. It felt like it had no idea what it was trying to say or do. It disappointed me that a game that has so much good in so much else about it gets brought down so much for me by this plot.

~12 hours

Rhythm Doctor https://store.steampowered.com/app/774181/Rhythm_Doctor/ (Putting this one in mentions because it is early access.) I really enjoyed the act 5 release. When I first saw this game, I kind of shrugged it off, thinking "that base mechanic doesn't seem like it will last". I thought it was basically just that one ghost shooting game from Rhythm Heaven which I Hate. Well let's just say I am now seeking penitence for my previous transgressions. It's really fun. There's a lot more to it that I didn't know when I first took a look. Also, consistently amazed by people's custom levels, I had no idea that its level editor allows people to do so much in it, I look at some levels and think "This editor seems as complex as an industry standard video editor". I'm looking forward to what they're planning next, very curious how they could possibly one-up the last update.

~rhythm

El Paso Elsewhere https://strangescaffold.itch.io/el-paso-elsewhere This was really fun & funny so far but unfortunately I had been encountering an issue with a certain level where the game would crash. I reported the issue, got a response, and there has been an update since then so I think there's a possibility that it got fixed but I have not tried yet. I would like to return to this sometime but having to relearn controls midway through is always daunting to me.

~?

-Things that looked good but didn't get around to-

Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood https://store.steampowered.com/app/1340480/The_Cosmic_Wheel_Sisterhood/ Still don't know a whole lot about this. But there are witches, and I like witches.

Casette Beasts https://store.steampowered.com/app/1321440/Cassette_Beasts/ I haven't felt thrilled about Pokémon lately. I know a lot of people seemed to really enjoy this little monster-collecting-rpg. The style is appealing to me as a die-hard gen 5 fan. I started playing it but haven't set aside the dedicated time for it yet, but I'm excited to dig in more when I do.

Little Goody Two Shoes https://store.steampowered.com/app/1812370/Little_Goody_Two_Shoes/ Started watching a friend play this, and I'm certainly curious.. Some sort of horror fairytale but also there's yuri? Yum. Enjoyed the style and animation in the nightmare segments that I saw.

Venba https://store.steampowered.com/app/1491670/Venba/ I've picked this up a while ago but still haven't gotten around to it, but I'm eager to, I've heard nothing but good things.

Goodbye Volcano High https://store.steampowered.com/app/1310330/Goodbye_Volcano_High/ I think there are gay dinosaurs in a band and it's going to be the apocalypse? I have also heard nothing but good things about this.

-Things I watched friends play-

Signalis https://store.steampowered.com/app/1262350/SIGNALIS/ This was a pretty big one. You probably already know it, right? Watched a friend play this and I missed various parts but I understood a solid bit of it. hey. robotgirls are always getting put in these fucked up situations. have you noticed this? one time i got really high and cried about it. it isn't fair

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk https://store.steampowered.com/app/1353230/Bomb_Rush_Cyberfunk/ This one was also probably big enough you don't need me to sing its praises. but it looked really neat. swag.

-Various Thoughts-

Lately I've been thinking more about design and narrative. I feel like I haven't been doing as much analysis as I should be when it comes to games. I want to dissect more what games are saying and figure out meaning. Also attempt to see how the mechanics aid in that. I feel like most of my own work is pretty abstract & random. I simply make what I like. While that's fun and all, I still want to improve in a lot of ways, especially in having more of a theme or message. Figuring out how other games accomplish this is obviously a good step toward this.

If you saw games here that interest you I highly urge you to take a look, many are pretty short, and I pretty explicitly wanted to highlight some smaller titles. If you know me you know I like to uplift small games. (Save for the occasional big game, but that's rare these days) I think it's healthy for you to play and support independently developed & published works. I don't want to ramble too much this time about why that's important, but I hope that you might have found something you may enjoy here and if not then I encourage you to find small stuff that you would like. And I would like to encourage everybody to share their findings as well! Little games need our help to be seen and talked about! They don't have the budgets the big ones do for advertising, and advertising on your own is a whole ton of work. If you like something, spread the word! I'm sure the developers would very much appreciate that.

[moon-creates]

Touchstarved Updated Demo Review

(Spoilers, obviously. You have been warned!)

I love the new Demo!

Obviously, after a whole year of knowing the old version and loving the characters in it, any changes will take a bit to get used to.

Now that I have given myself 24 hours to digest it properly, I can fully say the new version feels less like a demo and more like a great Introduction to a intriguing story. It almost felt like a "Chapter 1" of a multi-chapter story but I will reserve that title for the real chapter one (once we have chosen which route to follow).

Right off the bat we see that The Hound is no more, replaced by the new backstory "The Exile". But fret not, dear reader! Nobody is forcing you to take your blorbos out the back of your local seven-eleven and shoot them in the back of their heads. Your Hound blorbos shall continue to live on. It seems pretty easy to adapt the Hound MC's to the Exile. And if that is too much of a task, there is an ancient tradition of fan fiction, to scratch the itch that canon cannot scratch for you!

(My personal Opinion: Writing a Main Character that everyone will be happy with is already impossible. Every OC will have a trait (or multiple) that canon just cannot accommodate without alienating other readers. I understand the upset over the change, but I don't think that means its a bad change. I do hope to see more fanart and fanfiction from people, to highlight what exactly makes your MC special.)

Lets move on to the Pacing of the Demo. I really liked that they cut the old demo into two parts, making our MC experience the Intro over the span of two days instead of one. It does give us a pause to breathe and consider our options.

What are our options? Lets talk about the Love Interests!

KURAS

Mr. "So rude to ask about the surgery I performed on you". His introduction isn't much different to Version 1, though I enjoyed the evening route with him! I mean, he bought us food! (Honey Pistacio cookie YUM!) The new background is fucking beautiful and it fit the more calming, quiet vibes that Kuras has. (I cannot wait to see the monstrosities this man has committed.) I wished we actually got to touch his hand with the red option but maybe that would've been too much of a spoiler? It did gave me major Jesus vibes (and, weirdly, I don't mean that in a negative sense). It makes me wonder if he actually could cure us.

LEANDER

Leander got the most changes compared to his V1 counterpart. While he is still the Leander we mock and fear love, he has gotten so much better at manipulating us. All of his new expressions also show why he is so good at what he does - He seems so earnest. I had a hard time distrusting him at some points, even though I knew he wasn't to be trusted. He is so suspicious and I love that the MC can voice their suspicion and be so professionally and elegantly manipulated back into a place of trust and comfort. (Also I would've absolutely ridden that fucker on that bed. RSS why did you clitblock me so much-)

I like that the Adderstones (rip Bloodhounds) seem more like an organized network now rather than a street-fighter gang. Leander being more busy and access to him being restricted also adds to show just how important he is in Lowtown. He always seemed like a threat but now the danger has been dialed up a significant amount and I am SO here for it.

VERE

That blush was very cute! Personally I find Vere to be the hardest to decipher. His personality and what he actually wants from us is harder for me to place with him than with the others. He is playing with us, sure, but I wonder if he himself knows what he wants with us. Maybe I should take Ais word for it and pay more attention to his ears than what he is actually saying. I might understand him better then. But either way, he is a very intriguing character and I hope we get to see him fight in the full game! I also like that the Dev's are fully leaning into him expressing thing with his tail and ears. It's weirdly endearing for such a bloodhungry menace like him.

AIS

I just love this man. I love that the red-eyed woman got a name and much more personality now. She feels like a full character. I am fucking DEVASTATED that we didn't get a Princess sprite and I refuse to believe that she is not important enough for the story to get a sprite of her own. RSS, CHOP CHOP! His was the first 'route' in the demo I played and I just know it will be the first full route that I will play once the full game is released. Not much to say about him because he was already perfect to begin with and I thank RSS daily that we get to bite him [insert praying hands emoji].

MHIN

The changes fit them so well. Talking to themselves is such a fitting thing to do for someone who has no-one to truly talk to. You get more of a sense of their social awkwardness around others. Not in a shy sense but in a sense of struggling to connect with people. I love that we got to hear their inner thoughts about how the soulless body functions, wondering if they could see out of all the eyes and so forth. This time they told us they grew up in Eridia! So I am very curious to see what their story is and how our path with them might look like. Every time they glare at us I just wanna smooch them.

I feel like the Demo fulfilled its purpose fully. It introduced each Love Interest to us, showed us a peak of who they are and what might be in store for us down the line, without telling us too much. We get a feeling for our Setting (Eridia) and I hope MC gets to settle in more over the course of the story. We have great lines, beautiful art, expressive characters and Intriguing stories to follow. The amazing new music tied it all together perfectly.

So in conclusion: Good Update. Almost perfect! However, where is my girl princess, tho?

[writing-appreciation]

Vassago Headcannons because because I am feral for Vassago content

To start, I want to say I believe Stolas, Vass, and Stella are all the same age.

Andre is a couple years older than Stella.

In my mind, hell's aristocracy has like an annual/semi-annual/semi-centeninal event in which children who are coming of age are formally presented into society.

Maybe they get their full powers, maybe they are presented to Lucifer and Lilith. Maybe they are arranged to marry.

But one thing is always the same, two Demons are always chosen, one male and one female.

These two are basically hells it Demons of the event.

Maybe they even get titles in their own right instead of having their parent's title(s).

It's not expected for these two Demons to be married, but some cases to lead to happy marriages.

Or marriages of convenience. Which is where Vassago comes in.

While he isn't named the male demon at this event, he is an only child, a prince by birth right, he's already considered quite the catch in every social circle.

So of course many many many nobles, varying in ranks, are trying to see if the young, newly of age, Prince is looking for a princess.

From a young age, his parents promised him that the choice of marriage is entirely up to him. Any demon he meets and becomes enamored with. The only thing they ask is that, eventually, an heir is brought into the family.

Of course, only a very select few know he actually prefers the company of men.

Which does complicate the whole heir thing.

Enter his best friend. She's also a Goetia, dashingly charming, intellectual, kind, and even beautiful.

She's the oldest child of some terribly distant arranged marriage. Great family. Just not the most social hell family.

Her father is a Duke. So she is only a Lady, but that does change at this event.

She was crowned the demoness of the event. With this comes a title of her own, legions to command, a palace, so much more.

She is shot to the top of the social scene.

Much to Stella's horror, as she was always predicted to be crowned at this event. Even as a hatchling.

"Hey, you needed a break from inside too, Princressa Nueva?" He jokes.

" Vass, there's has to be some type of mistake. I do not belong on the forefront of society. Do you think I can kindly reject it??"

"Hah, I'm sorry Vivi (his nickname for her), I don't think that's an option. Though, it might make Stella happy."

They laugh together on the balcony, wine, beginning to cloud their judgement.

"I'm scared. I don't want to be a Princess. I especially don't want to be forced to marry some power hungry SOB who will try to tell me how things should be done. I saw my parents talking to Andrealphus and his parents. I would rather throw myself into the streets of Greed than marry that pretentious prick." She will grumpily throw herself to the bench.

A metaphorical light bulb goes off in Vassago's head.

"Marry me then."

He can't tell if it's the wine, or the excitement of an answer to his own problem that makes him say those three words.

She looks up at the friend she's known her whole life, confused, a little mad, but mostly intrigued. "Do you want to explain orr??"

"Well, I'm a Prince already. I'm not a power hungry SOB to worry about. I'm also currently dodging marriage proposals since coming of age. Y, puedo cocinar tus comidas favoritas. (And I can cook your favorite foods)."

She continues to look at him, conflicted. He is the best possible circumstance. He's always been nice to her and her family.

"We're going to be obligated to convince an heir at some point. I don't want you to have to do something you don't want to do." She quietly says.

He looks away. He has always found himself attracted to men. She was actually the first friend he told about this. She was compassionate, heard him out. They would compare crushes they had. This bonded them closer.

And he would be lying if he said he hadn't considered the possibility before. If there was any woman he could think about being married to, it would be her.

"One heir is all we need. After that, I'm sure we could come up with some type of mutually beneficial agreement, no?" He now sits next to her on the bench.

The rest was history. They got married the following year, and within the same year, they welcomed their son into hell. The same year Octavia was.

From there, they were able to come to their agreement:

At least 4 weekly family dinners, though they did often eat together more.

Monthly dinners with both his and hers parents to make sure everything looked normal.

They had to attend one monthly public royal affair. Could be any of them, but they must be seen in public together.

Secrecy is key. Tell nobody about the other one's adventures.

Vassago can bring his partners home anytime.

She can bring her partners home anytime.

If either she or he had an issue, or a gut feeling about the other's choice in partner, the partner was asked to leave. No questions. They trusted each other.

Their staff was hand selected to uphold their very strict discretion.

In regards to their son, they are equals. Not one parent has more say than the other.

If either of them want out of this agreement, it ends. No hard feelings.

[melodic-haze]

how do you feel about sub arlecchino in boss form?

☆ — DEMO TRACK: sub!boss form!Arlecchino x dom!Reader

☆ — TYPE: NSFW

☆ — CONTENT WARNINGS: Implied that reader has a cock/strap though it can be taken as fingering or oral, whatever's your preference 🤷‍♀️, does this count as monsterfucking, magic bondage??

☆ — NOTES: Arlecchino might be the only spider I will never be afraid of please take her away from me

HOW DO I FEEL??? YOU SHOULD BE ASKIGN HER❗️❗️❗️❗️ Joking I'm unfit as hell so realistically I would probably die but ohhhh I am SO sure I'm gonna at least try

Idk if you guys understand (you probably do if you've seen my other Arle posts) but the thought of absolutely bringing such a powerful being to my knees SOOOO easily even though she could like kill me or reverse our positions in less than a second is so????? Top it off w the fact that she does it willingly ohhhhhhmygod hold me back or else I'll go insane

But like it's funny when!! The Traveller couldn't do ANYTHING to her and yet the moment you say jump she basically flies

Being allowed to be the closest to Arlecchino's very heart and soul meant knowing every single facet of her being and cherishing her: from her harsh duties as a Fatui Harbinger to her past and the two girls that died with it, only for just one of them—her—to come out of it reborn and alive.

Or at least, almost every single facet of her being.

"I am unsure about this, my love."

"Why's that?"

"You do realise that you are asking me to.. not hold my power back, yes?"

You nodded, "That's what I said."

You had known of her alternate form for a while now. Her unleashing even just a fraction of her true potential, manifesting into the form of a tall sillhouette akin to a spider bathed in crimson and the dangerously oppressive air of nothing but fear. She's used it to show those that oppose her just how unequal the scales are in their battles against her, she is as lethal as she is beautiful...

And you, on the other hand, are curious.

So you brought it up in the midst of your little.. téte-a-téte. A suggestion, of course, nothing demanding because you wouldn't want to pressure your dearly beloved into doing what she didn't want to do—such power did come with a great curse.

Arlecchino was vehemently against it at first, of course. And for good measure too; you KNEW it wouldn't just be a slight increase of strength. But the case you made.. admittedly had a curious appeal. And the power you had over her, the control she had submitted to you? She was willing to do whatever you asked (usually within reason). So she suggested to shelf the experimental matter for now and let her think on it, which you do.

And now, after a few days of consideration on her part, your current situation is the result of such a suggestion.

Your lover looks at you with furrowed eyebrows and narrowed eyes, not due to disappointment at your lack of concern for yourself (though actually there may be a little bit of that too) or cold anger at your insistent provocation to get your desired result (she could never be mad at her dearest). Rather, it is due to her flabberghasted state of confusion, "I have said this before but I could hurt you despite it being unnecessary. Why do you risk your life to sate such curiosities?"

"Because I trust you, Peruere."

She stills—you had dropped her title and opted to use her true name instead, a privilege only reserved for a very select few, with one of them dead. When she doesn't speak in turn, you walk up to her and hold both of her hands, dark and cursed yet so very beautiful to your eyes, just like her.

"Just like you trust yourself to me, I trust myself to you." You lifted one of her hands to tenderly kiss her knuckles, "I want to see every single side of you, including the ones you try to keep from me. I didn't run away when you revealed your status as a Harbinger, did I?"

"No."

"Exactly. Plus," you gave her a lighthearted grin, "I haven't necessarily scolded that side of you for hurting your children, have I?"

Her expression relaxes at your remark, though she does look confused—akin to a lost puppy when she tilts her head the slightest bit, "You have done so already, have you not? And it was but a light scuffle, I have taught them well enough that they aren't as injured as they would have been otherwise.. even if their attacks were pitiful."

"Arlecchino!" You chuckled out her title despite the loud bemusement of your voice, "Come on."

Her face never really shows all that much emotion, but you do see the slightly humorous glimmer in her crossed-out eyes, "I speak of the truth. They should have given a better performance."

You rolled your eyes, "That aside," and you give her a soft, reassuring look, "do you feel a little better now?"

She takes another pause.. and then nods. "Yes," she agrees, "I do. But I urge you to tell me if something feels wrong, alright?"

"Of course." You lean in to press another kiss, on her lips this time, before drawing back as fast as you came, "I wouldn't want to worry you further."

And so now you are faced to faced with this monstrous being. But that's what you've been wanting the entire time, isn't it? Lol sorry I'll get out of the weird monologue speak IT ABSOLUTELY IS THE MOMENT YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FORRR

You start off slow, obviously—caressing every inch of her. This is new, and you wouldn't want to worry your lover, do you? It's best not to rush into it even though ik you guys just wanna get into it idk 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

Your hands graze her skin, your fingers trace new lines and markings.....and if you're a fashion nerd you probably inspect her clothing's transformation too, though you don't really have to be a fashion geek in order to take it off

THOUGH.......actually? Tell her to strip for you, to give you a show. Tell her you want to see her full body bare. I meant what I said when I told you she would willingly follow your every command, as if she were more devoted to you than the Tsaritsa herself, and that includes this

Just lean back and watch her as she slowly strips herself down, every inch of her body visible for you to see. You see her eyes glow crimson too, a physical manifestation of her pyro domain responding to her desire for you

Methinks that in this form specifically, she while she's a lot more strong and a lot more durable, she's also a lot more sensitive bc she'd be much more connected and hyper-aware of everything that's happening. This is my own take on how it feels to be in the form she's in btw idk how it'd work but anyway this means!! A lot of good things for you :3

If you try to put her fingers in your mouth you'll notice that she's warm. And I mean like REALLY fucking warm—her body doesn't stay at that temperature too. As you lick and suck on her digits, you'll notice that her skin, her fingers, get warmer and warmer the longer she watches you and feels you

Not just her fingers too 🥰🥰 if your touch goes down and you feel her cunt, it's HOT to the touch, though not scorching that'd be wild as hell. The shock would probably take you off guard though, and she'll probably be worried at first but like reassure her that you haven't been hurt or anything and that you're perfectly okay!!

Acc reassure her a LOT. Sure, yeah, she's the one that holds the power and she DOES have impeccable control over it, but she doesn't want to risk like yk. Accidentally killing you somehow and essentially throwing away someone so undoubtedly special to her just bc you wanted to monsterfuck out of curiosity 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️ like that's such a way to go

Weak domtop reassuring op subbot during sex is like a silly trope I love it can you lot tell I think you can tell

Anyway it's not like she'll leave you to do all the work either; she can't leave you all unsatisfied like that, she wants you happy too :( so her free hand goes all the way down and she returns the favour. She does it amazingly too, like she's very careful with it but the heat on her hands basically does most of the heavy lifting as well anyway, and by now she probably knows of all the different ways to get you moaning out with her 🫶

Going down on her, fucking her is all well and good......but YOU KNOW WHAT YOU CAN DO TO MAKE IT BETTER???? Yk the. When the Traveller couldn't move bc of her pyro web things. That. Except on her. Do you guys like see my vision I hope you do

Having her restrict herself as you go in and out of her in any way you like ougjfhgh.......I think it's the fact that she could just easily dispel it and even reverse it on you bc IT'S HER FUCKING ABILITY and yet she doesn't bc she wants to be all good for you. So she struggles in HER OWN WEB as you're essentially free to do whatever you want with her

Her like. Those extra appendages she has in her boss form too. Some of them are twitching and flailing about as you fuck her silly, others are simultaneously trying to hold you closer to her body, returning the favour even further by touching you everywhere she can AND trying not to hurt you by squeezing you too hard or accidentally burning you or anything

Just the whole struggle to not hurt you but her senses are getting muddled with pleasure I keep going back to this but it's just SOOOO ugh. Yo ugysdont understanddd I'm like probably malnourished so to dom someone who can snap me in half is mmmmmmmmMAN 🤤🤤🤤eys please

God she definitely has more stamina and libido than she already did before too??? Bc of like the heat and the strength increase. So holy fuck you're going to be going at it for AGESSSS.......Not like constantly though, she WILL make you take breaks and that will acc be the ONLY time she uses her web ability thing on you bc she is still concerned for your wellbeing no matter what 🥰🥰🥰

When you're acc all done though, which is. Not for a LONG time, you both kinda sit there, spent (more you than her probably) and her detransformed. Prepare yourself for GODLY aftercare by Father herself 🙏🙏 she like treats you to even more pampering than usual, not letting you lift a FINGER to do anything and her treating you personally if you got any burns at the end of your session

"I care not if you like my fire's sting, my dearest," she gently yet firmly tugged on your arm, "I will not stand for it if such an injury that I accidentally inflicted gets worse."

"Aww..." You sighed goodnaturedly, "I guess at least it makes for a good scar."

"Y/N."

"Whaaaat? I'm right!"

She shook her head, though the corners of her eyes crinkled, "Come here and let me treat you."

As risky as that was on you, not only has your curiosity has been more than sated, but Arlecchino finds herself.. wanting to repeat the experience. Shedding that extra layer of herself in such a moment felt.. much more intimate than usual. It was addicting

That won't be for a good while though—she'd agree to doing it once every few months :3

[martyrette]

•˚ʚ Martyrette’s TRP3 Aesthetics Guide ɞ˚•

• Remastered •

•• ━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━ •• INDEX •• ━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━ ••

Preface

Symbols

Default (credit: @martyrette)

Special (credit: Wyrmguard Secret Nonnie)

Formatting

Gradient Text (credit: @ladytruebane & Wyrmguard Secret Nonnie)

Empty 'Race' Slot (credit: @martyrette)

Headers (credit: @martyrette)

Additional Information (credit: @martyrette)

Links

(Whole section credit: @martyrette)

Formatting Links

Icon Links

Borders

(Whole section credit: @martyrette)

Symbols

Images

Icons

TRP Icon Glossary

(Whole section credit: @martyrette)

Transparent Background

Red

Orange

Yellow

Green

Blue

Purple

Pink

Tips & Info

Further Resources

Closing Word

•• ━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━ •• PREFACE •• ━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━ ••

TRP Aesthetics & formating has always been a well-guarded secret within the World of Warcraft RP community. This guide serves to break down that gatekeeping and give everyone access to the tools to make their TRP in whatever cool way they want!

It's been a long time since I realized my first guide, so this one serves as not only an updated version for all the new tricks I learned, but also a connection to further resources which have come out since then.

This guide will also be actively updated with Further Resources when new guides and tricks come out by other creators.

As always, LET'S GET THIS SPARKLE AND CROSS-INFESTED BREAD! (っ◔◡◔)っ ❤

•• ━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━ ••

SYMBOLS •• ━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━ ••

Symbols! Dare I say the face of Aesthetic TRPS! There are two kinds of symbols: the symbols you can simply copy/paste easy-peasy & then the ones that require a special symbol to activate!

When using ANY, make sure to include this ㅡ symbol somewhere in the line or it will appear as a box.

Normal Symbols:

‹ « Ω ∑ ∂ ∆ ∫ ƒ × ∞ § √ π ½ ¼ † ‡ ¦ ¤ ◊ ° • ∙ -ㅡ » › ±

Special Symbols:

♡ ☆ ° ♪ ♩ ♭ ♬ ★☆ ☜ ☞ �� 《 》 「 」 『 』 【 】 〔 〕 ↖ ↗ ↘ ↙ Δ ∮ ▒ ▣ ▤ ▥ ▦ ▧ ▨ ▩ ◊ ◈ ◇ ◆ ■ □ ◁ △ ▽ ▷ ∆ ∇ ▲ ▼ ⊙ ◐ ◑

•• ━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━ ••

FORMATTING •• ━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━ ••

Formatting is a bitch. THANKFULLY, we got some tips & tricks here to make it easier for all of you! This section will be going over gradient text, empty 'race' slots, headers, spacing, additional information and all that funky stuff that just makes it look nicer. Who thought moving text over or changing it's size would make such a difference!?

━━━━

Colour Gradients:

━━━━

Once again, thank you to @ladytruebane for showing me how to do this all the way back when I made the first guide. Give her love. Or else.

Okay, so you want to do something like this?

You're going to want to go to this website: https://www.stuffbydavid.com/textcolorizer

Put whatever text you wish within the box and the colours you would like. Copy paste the BBCode selection into your TRP. Every 'color' must be turned into 'col', every set of these brackets [ ] must be turned into these ones { }, the # & = must be erased and = must be replaced with : . It is a long process, but it won't show up unless you do this.

Below is a small video of me verbally explaining it as well (and showing how long it takes. (¬_¬") )

━━━━

Empty 'Race' Slot

━━━━

So you want to make race/class all one colour! It's actually HELLA easy.

Go to your Race Slot and delete everything in it, once you do that, press spacebar and BOOM. Empty! Just make sure whatever you want coloured is in the Class Slot, and it will appear the colour of your choice.

Small demo below!

━━━━

Headers

━━━━

How to make your text bigger! There are three sizes of header:

You can colour your headers whatever kind you want - the gradient even works with headers as well! Headers can be used for all sorts of things: Titles, About Sections, Quotes, Borders, Symbols, whatever you want! Icons are also effected by headers so you can orientate an icon wherever you'd like within your TRP!

Just make sure everything is within the {h1:c} & {/h1} or else it will appear as it's default size.

━━━━

Additional Information

━━━━

Additional Information can be a canvas to put whatever you want! Here's an example of what I do with mine!

The sky is your limit! You can really do anything with it. Here's a small video explaining spacing with Additional Information and some tricks I've learned.

•• ━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━ •• LINKS •• ━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━ ••

Links are where you put your. . .Links! Artwork, tumblrs, carrds, social links, etc etc. Here, I'll be showing you the different ways you can format links; orienting them on your page as well as turning them into icon images! The former was hard af to figure out but when you see how simple this is, you will laugh at me-

So formatting links; it's basically the same as formatting normal text as shown above. You can even colour them too! Here's a quick little show of how to make a coloured and formatted standard link.

The order of code for coloured links is as follows: Header (If wanted) > Colour Code > Link To make a link appear as an Icon, you MUST place the Icon Code within the text section (as seen in the video). If you do not, it will not appear and ruin the string of code.

•• ━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━ •• BORDERS •• ━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━ ••

Borders can be used wherever within your TRP! They're good for sectioning information and just making it look nice and formatted. There are three different kinds of borders: Symbols, Images & Icons. I will explain how to make your own, as well as share some for free use!

━━━━

Symbols

━━━━

Symbol-based borders are by far the easiest to make. You just type them out and play around with the symbols of your choice! You can really put them anywhere within your TRP - Additional Info, About, OOC info, literally ANYWHERE.

I encourage you all to try and make your own! I bet they'll be super cool. For now though, here's some examples ya'll can use.

∙ㅡㅡㅡ◐∙◑ㅡㅡㅡ∙

∙ ♩ㅡㅡ♪ ♬ ♪ ㅡㅡ♩ ∙

.°☆ ㅡㅡ°.♡.°ㅡㅡ ☆°.

∙. ㅡ~†~ㅡ .∙

° ㅡㅡ ° ◇ ◈ ◇ ° ㅡㅡ °

- . : .ㅡΩㅡ. : . -

━━━━

Images

━━━━

Image borders can come in two forms: full images or flattened images. The first is very explanatory, whatever image you pick can divide text. This can be scenery, crowns, gems, Blizzard-licensed character art & so much more! There's a butt load to pick from, so take the time to browse and find the perfect one.

Here's an example I did using a Revendreth image!

Flattened images can also be used as borders! To flatten an image, you must alter the last numbers within the string of code. As you can see here, this is the normal image and default code.

I go in and edit the number 128 to 5 and get this flattened image as a result!

Again, feel free to play around with this and find the images and sizes you love best! I've even seen some people super impose them for backgrounds??? Badass???

━━━━

Icons

━━━━

Icon borders are like the weird lovechild of Image & Symbol borders. With a mixture of Icons & Symbols, you can really make some cool shit. Icons can be formatted and moved around your profile with Headers. Like so!

•• ━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━ ••

TRP ICON GLOSSARY •• ━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━ ••

Here is a collection of aesthetic TRP Icons I've found and categorized for your usage! They are divided by UI-formatting, colour (random picks), Racial, Faction & then any other cute random ones I find.

Sadly, the black, white & brown Icon sections has to be cut due to the sheer GIRTH of this post. However, you can really find any sort of Icons within the searchbar! Keywords like colours (black, pink, green), races (Nightelf, Human, etc) and so much more can be found easily! Want your icon to be a class ability? Use the class as your keyword.

━━━━

Transparent Backgrounds

━━━━

These icons appear as their shape, rather than having a black box or background behind it. You can use these little guys for all sorts of things! I've seen people use them as borders, bullet-points, decor, like literally anything.

(Left 2 Right)

Red Paw: {icon:pet_type_beast:25}

Rat: {icon:pet_type_critter:25}

Dragon: {icon:pet_type_dragon:25}

Fire: {icon:pet_type_elemental:25}

Wing: {icon:pet_type_flying:25}

Helmet: {icon:pet_type_humanoid:25}

Sparkle: {icon:pet_type_magical:25}

Cog: {icon:pet_type_mechanical:25}

Skull: {icon:pet_type_undead:25}

Wave: {icon:pet_type_water:25}

Green Paw: {icon:tracking_wildpet:25}

(Left 2 Right)

Murloc: {icon:newplayerhelp_newcomer:25}

Green Dot: {icon:7fx_alphamask_glow_teal_blend:25}

Green Flag: {icon:newplayerhelp_guide:25}

Blue Heart: {icon:ui_jailerstower_defense:25}

Blue X: {icon:ui_jailerstower_offense:25}

Blue Lightning: {icon:ui_jailerstower_utility:25}

Tombstone: {icon:ui_jailerstower-scenario-deathcounter:25}

(Left 2 Right)

Grey Rune 10: {icon:cosmicenergy_rune_10_off:25}

Grey Rune B: {icon:cosmicenergy_rune_b_off:25}

Grey Rune G: {icon:cosmicenergy_rune_g_off:25}

Grey Rune K: {icon:cosmicenergy_rune_k_off:25}

Grey Rune M: {icon:cosmicenergy_rune_m_off:25}

Grey Rune N: {icon:cosmicenergy_rune_n_off:25}

Grey Rune O: {icon:cosmicenergy_rune_o_off:25}

(Left 2 Right)

Light Rune 10: {icon:cosmicenergy_rune_10_on:25}

Light Rune B: {icon:cosmicenergy_rune_b_on:25}

Light Rune G: {icon:cosmicenergy_rune_g_on:25}

Light Rune K: {icon:cosmicenergy_rune_k_on:25}

Light Rune M: {icon:cosmicenergy_rune_m_on:25}

Light Rune N: {icon:cosmicenergy_rune_n_on:25}

Light Rune O: {icon:cosmicenergy_rune_o_on:25}

(Left 2 Right)

Copper Sword: {icon:ui_rankedpvp_01_small:25}

Silver Sword: {icon:ui_rankedpvp_02_small:25}

Gold Sword: {icon:ui_rankedpvp_03_small:25}

Platinum Sword: {icon:ui_rankedpvp_04_small:25}

Diamond Swords: {icon:ui_rankedpvp_05_small:25}

Purple Swords: {icon:ui_rankedpvp_06_small:25}

Godly Swords: {icon:ui_rankedpvp_07_small:25}

(Left 2 Right)

Quest: {icon:tracking_warboard:25}

Experience: {icon:garr_currencyicon-xp:25}

Logs: {icon:garrison_material:25}

Alliance Circle: {icon:ui_allianceicon-round:25}

Horde Circle: {icon:ui_hordeicon-round:25}

━━━━

Red

━━━━

(Left 2 Right)

Lollipop: {icon:inv_valentinescandy01:25}

Snake: {icon:inv_snake_red:25}

Rose: {icon:inv_helm_misc_rose_a_01_red:25}

Syringe: {icon:inv_trinket_revendrethraid_02_red:25}

Vampiric Rune: {icon:inv_inscription_vantusrune_castlenathria01:25}

Question Mark: {icon:inv_misc_questionmark:25}

Heart: {icon:petbattle_health:25}

Fire Rune: {icon:spell_fire_rune:25}

Hunter’s Mark: {icon:ability_blackhand_marked4death:25}

Stitches: {icon:ability_rogue_garrote:25}

Bear Trap: {icon:ability_hunter_traplauncher:25}

Skull: {icon:ability_deathknight_necroticaura:25}

(Left 2 Right)

Rogue Mark: {icon:ability_rogue_deathmark:25}

Runeblade: {icon:inv_sword_1h_rogue_c_01:25}

Warlock Hood: {icon:inv_cloth_demonicdominationsuccubus_c_01_helmet:25}

Cleaver: {icon:inv_knife_1h_pigman_b_01:25}

Vampire Knives: {icon:inv_cape_special_revendreth_d_02:25}

Cannibalism: {icon:ability_racial_cannibalize:25}

Red Crystal: {icon:inv_jewelcrafting_gem_32:25}

Potion: {icon:trade_alchemy_dpotion_a16:25}

Thorns: {icon:inv_misc_necklacea6:25}

Red Matter: {icon:inv_artifact_corruptedbloodofzakajz:25}

Fire Bloom: {icon:inv_misc_herb_19:25}

Cherries: {icon:inv_misc_food_40:25}

Ruby Necklace: {icon:inv_jewelcrafting_necklace3_red:25}

━━━━

Orange

━━━━

(Left 2 Right)

Harvest Moon: {icon:ability_druid_eclipseorange:25}

Dash: {icon:ability_druid_dash_orange:25}

Curse Sigil: {icon:ability_creature_cursed_01:25}

Firewave: {icon:ability_rhyolith_magmaflow_wave:25}

Candle: {icon:inv_helm_misc_candle_a_01:25}

Tigerlily: {icon:inv_misc_herb_tigerlily:25}

Amber Necklace: {icon:inv_jewelry_necklace_75:25}

Goldfish: {icon:inv_magicalfishpet:25}

Banner: {icon:inv_shield_1h_drakonid_c_01:25}

Sword Sigil: {icon:spell_holy_sealofvalor:25}

Chi-Ji Crane: {icon:monk_stance_redcrane:25}

Bone Necklace: {icon:inv_7_0raid_necklace_08a:25}

(Left 2 Right)

Amber Potion: {icon:inv_alchemy_80_elixir01orange:25}

Darkmoon Eye: {icon:inv_darkmoon_eye:25}

Jack-o-Lantern: {icon:inv_misc_bag_28_halloween:25}

Fire Flower: {icon:inv_summerfest_fireflower:25}

Bottled Flame: {icon:inv_summerfest_firepotion:25}

Fire Fox: {icon:ability_racial_fireresist:25}

Scorched Hand: {icon:ability_siege_engineer_purification_beam:25}

Bronze Skull: {icon:inv_misc_breadofthedead:25}

Halloween Cat: {icon:achievement_halloween_cat_01:25}

Sanctum: {icon:warlock_sacrificial_pact:25}

Fireball: {icon:spell_mage_infernoblast:25}

Pumpkin Pie: {icon:ability_mage_conjurefoodrank9:25}

Animal Tracks: {icon:ability_tracking:25}

━━━━

Yellow

━━━━

(Left 2 Right) Clover: {icon:inv_misc_herb_goldclover:25}

Golden Harp: {icon:inv_misc_trinket_goldenharp:25}

Yellow Bird: {icon:inv_misc_thegoldencheep:25}

Priestly Hood: {icon:inv_helm_cloth_raidpriest_r_01_gold:25}

Marigolds: {icon:inv_misc_marrigolds_01:25}

Heavenly Feather: {icon:ability_priest_angelicfeather:25}

Golden Blade: {icon:inv_polearm_2h_drakonid_c_01:25}

Rightous Fist: {icon:spell_holy_rebuke:25}

Ducky: {icon:inv_g_fishingbobber_05:25}

Clock: {icon:spell_holy_borrowedtime:25}

Niuzao Symbol: {icon:monk_ability_avertharm:25}

Honey: {icon:inv_cooking_80_choralhoney:25}

(Left 2 Right)

Skull Trinket: {icon:inv_inscription_trinket_melee:25}

Pirate Map: {icon:achievement_ashran_tourofduty:25}

Domination Rune: {icon:ability_domination_rune13:25}

Cosmic Rune: {icon:inv_prg_icon_puzzle15:25}

Golden Lotus: {icon:achievement_faction_goldenlotus:25}

Holy Steed: {icon:spell_holy_crusaderaura:25}

Sun Icon: {icon:inv_qirajidol_sun:25}

Glowing Horseshoe: {icon:ability_mount_charger:25}

Cage: {icon:inv_box_birdcage_01:25}

Autumn Icon: {icon:ability_ardenweald_paladin_autumn:25}

Fan of Knives: {icon:ability_warrior_bladestorm:25}

Prayer: {icon:spell_priest_pontifex:25}

Butterfly: {icon:inv_pet_butterfly_orange:25}

━━━━

Green

━━━━

(Left 2 Right)

Dragon Wing: {icon:inv_10_gearupgrade_flightstone_green:25}

Poison Needle: {icon:ability_poisons:25}

Imprisoned: {icon:ability_demonhunter_imprison:25}

Dark Deal: {icon:achievement_general_raidrepresentation:25}

Toxic Maw: {icon:ability_creature_poison_01:25}

Crown: {icon:ability_rogue_controlisking:25}

Monk Symbol: {icon:ability_monk_zenmeditation:25}

Traveler: {icon:achievement_explore_argus:25}

Green Feather: {icon:inv_icon_feather01e:25}

Leaf: {icon:talentspec_druid_restoration:25}

Frog: {icon:inv_frog2_darkgreen:25}

Vines: {icon:inv_misc_herb_evergreenmoss:25}

(Left 2 Right)

Ring: {icon:inv_misc_6oring_greenlv4:25}

Gadget: {icon:inv_misc_enggizmos_20:25}

Necklace: {icon:item_icecrownnecklacec:25}

Bandages: {icon:inv_firstaid_bandage2:25}

Medical Symbol: {icon:achievement_guild_doctorisin:25}

Shield: {icon:ability_dragonriding_compassion01:25}

Toxic Sludge: {icon:ability_hunter_stickytarbombtrap:25}

Scythe: {icon:inv_knife_1h_maldraxxus_d_02:25}

Darkmoon Marker: {icon:inv_darkmoon_vengeance:25}

Fel Cloth: {icon:inv_fabric_felcloth_ebon:25}

Witch Pot: {icon:inv_misc_cauldron_nature:25}

Banner: {icon:inv_bannerpvp_03:25}

Demonic Rune: {icon:70_inscription_vantus_rune_tomb:25}

━━━━

Blue

━━━━

(Left 2 Right)

Transformation: {icon:spell_druid_incarnation:25}

Scaredy Cat: {icon:ability_druid_cower:25}

Tome: {icon:inv_7xp_inscription_talenttome02:25}

Skull: {icon:inv_offhand_1h_artifactdoomhammer_d_06:25}

Seashell: {icon:inv_ore_osmenite:25}

Blue Flower: {icon:ability_dragonriding_draconiccultivation01:25}

Mana Potion: {icon:trade_alchemy_dpotion_b10:25}

Bubble: {icon:creatureportrait_bubble:25}

Azuna: {icon:achievements_zone_azsuna:25}

Blue Moon: {icon:artifactability_balancedruid_fullmoon:25}

Icy Touch: {icon:ability_deathknight_icygrip:25}

Prowling Feline: {icon:ability_druid_prowl:25}

(Left 2 Right)

Arcane Intellect: {icon:spell_holy_arcaneintellect:25}

Frost Rune: {icon:spell_frost_wizardmark:25}

Frozen Heart: {icon:spell_frost_coldhearted:25}

Undead Wing: {icon:inv_icon_wingbroken07e:25}

Dewdrop: {icon:inv_misc_shadowdew:25}

North: {icon:ability_hunter_pathfinding:25}

Mug: {icon:inv_misc_food_cooked_madbrewbreakfast:25}

Arrow: {icon:ability_hunter_aimedshot:25}

Sparkles: {icon:spell_magic_managain:25}

Skull & Crossbones: {icon:ability_rogue_feigndeath:25}

Dagger: {icon:inv_weapon_shortblade_06:25}

Crystal Ball: {icon:inv_misc_orb_01:25}

Diamond: {icon:inv_misc_gem_02:25}

━━━━

Purple

━━━━

(Left 2 Right)

Screaming Skull: {icon:ability_creature_cursed_03:25}

Crescent Moon: {icon:talentspec_druid_balance:25}

Nightshade: {icon:inv_misc_herb_13:25}

Crystal Ball: {icon:spell_druid_momentofclarity:25}

Bear: {icon:spell_druid_guardianofelune:25}

Voidwalker: {icon:spell_shadow_summonvoidwalker:25}

Engulfing Shadows: {icon:ability_rogue_envelopingshadows:25}

Dark Dagger: {icon:ability_ironmaidens_convulsiveshadows:25}

Evil Spirit: {icon:inv__demonbolt:25}

Nighttime: {icon:spell_shadow_twilight:25}

Old God Eye: {icon:inv_eyeofnzothpet:25}

Evil Face: {icon:ability_demonhunter_vengefulretreat:25}

(Left 2 Right)

Arcane Rune: {icon:70_inscription_vantus_rune_suramar:25}

Dark Angel: {icon:ability_priest_darkarchangel:25} Origami: {icon:inv_inscription_crane:25} Grapes: {icon:inv_misc_food_58:25}

Totem: {icon:spell_shaman_dropall_03:25}

Ring: {icon:inv_10_jewelcrafting_rings_ring1_color2:25}

Swirling Dark: {icon:ability_warlock_soullink:25} Spider Webs: {icon:inv_misc_web_02:25}

Scarab: {icon:inv_misc_ahnqirajtrinket_01:25}

Clashing Swords: {icon:spell_holy_blessingofstrength:25} Skeleton Key: {icon:inv_treasurevault_key01:25}

Pendant: {icon:inv_misc_necklace_mop1:25}

Shadow Clone Runes: {icon:spell_holy_prayerofshadowprotection:25}

━━━━

Pink

━━━━

(Left 2 Right)

Perfume Bottle: {icon:inv_valentineperfumebottle:25} Orb: {icon:inv_misc_orb_02:25}

Tome: {icon:inv_misc_book_01:25}

Bomb: {icon:inv_misc_bomb_04:25}

Curse Rune: {icon:spell_warlock_demonbolt:25}

Cupid Bow: {icon:inv_bow_1h_love_c_01_pink:25}

Arcane Rune: {icon:ability_ardenweald_paladin_summer:25}

Icecream Meal: {icon:inv_misc_food_strawberry_ice:25}

Headress: {icon:inv_helm_cloth_legionquest100_b_01:25}

Plushie: {icon:inv_tailoring_elekkplushie:25}

Staff: {icon:inv_staff_16:25}

Faerie Fire: {icon:spell_nature_faeriefire:25}

(Left 2 Right)

Comb: {icon:inv_misc_comb_02:25}

Silk: {icon:inv_chest_cloth_58:25}

Pink Wing: {icon:inv_icon_wing04b:25}

Halo: {icon:ability_priest_halo_shadow:25}

Potion: {icon:inv_potion_34:25}

Pearl: {icon:inv_misc_enchantedpearl:25}

Scroll: {icon:inv_inscription_modified_craftingreagent08:25}

Eyeball: {icon:inv_misc_cat_trinket11:25}

Enchantment: {icon:inv_enchant_formulaepic_01:25}

Bloody Maw: {icon:spell_deathknight_gnaw_ghoul:25}

Demon Hunter Rune: {icon:ability_demonhunter_sigilpurple:25}

Berries: {icon:inv_cooking_80_wildberries:25}

Thread & Needle: {icon:inv_10_tailoring_purchasedthread_color4:25}

•• ━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━ ••

TIPS & INFO •• ━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━ ••

Simply a collection of little tricks and nuggets of info I've learned about TRP over the years. They don't quite count as formatting so uh. I dunno. This is my guide, I'll do what I want-

The larger your TRP is, the longer it will take to load. Don't feel put off if someone whispers you about it thinking they were accidently blocked!

A TRP doesn't have to be long to be good. Size doesn't matter, it's how you use it as they say.

Don't feel pressured to make your TRP a certain way. It's your TRP. Have fun with it and go crazy!

Don't feel afraid to reach out & ask other players how they did something in their TRP if you like it! Though some may still gatekeep techniques, there's been a shift in the TRP culture. You may make a new friend too!

If you get a TRP formatting error, you're most likely just missing a / or { } somewhere within the code. I do it all the time and a comb through the code normally shows me where one went missing.

BACK UP YOUR TRP! The worst feeling in the world is writing a super swag TRP only for it to get shitted on by a WoW update. Below, I'll show you a quick and easy way to do it.

•• ━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━ ••

FURTHER RESOURCES

•• ━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━ ••

Alternatives to AI Art, another post I’ve made awhile ago. The community has this weird culture about NEEDING character art, so here’s some alternatives to AI!

Super cute TRP templates done by this lovely tumblr account. Stumbled across them by chance, but I'm kinda adoring the themes & aesthetic they've got going??? @trp3-templates

A really amazing post on r/WoWRoleplay where the community has shared some more tips & tricks I haven't covered within this guide. It warms my heart to see us helping out each other!

The original TRP Aesthetic Guide I made years ago. All the information has been imported and improved here, but I'm a bit of a sentimental sucker, so I'll be linking it here too for legacy purposes.

•• ━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━ •• CLOSING WORD •• ━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━ ••

GUYS, it's been over a wholeass YEAR since I released the OG TRP Guide. That's crazy, yo. A lot happens in a year & I'm so glad to have heard how many people got my guide and appreciated it. You guys have gotten hella creative and I can't count how many swag & aesthetic TRPs I've seen since it's release. Not only that, but people have also been more open with sharing techniques & tips. Just makes me fuzzy inside or someshit.

Point is, since I released it there's a LOT of stuff I didn't know and even more things being found out. That, and there's a lot of stuff I thought was common knowledge that isn't; thus not adding it to the original one. I asSuMeD- So, I began asking some of you just how you were doing it & compiling EVERYTHING, just incase! Like the first, this project is a bunch of roleplayers coming together to make another fun resource for the community. ENOUGH MUSHINESS. GO MAKE A CUTE / SWAG TRP!

[skzdust]

Happy Father's Day, or:

7 times Chan took care of SKZ and 1 time they took care of him

This fic was a request from @bangchans-peach! I wrote it super fast but I loved the idea and I thought it would be a perfect little fic since it's Father's Day! I hope you enjoy it and I hope you all have had lovely Father's Days, whatever that looks like for you <3

Summary: Pretty much exactly the title :)

Pairing: None, platonic skz

Includes: Fatherly(ish) Chan and tooth-rotting fluff!

Word Count: 900

Taglist: @weirdowithaphone, @caught-in-the-afterglow, @palindrome969, @skzstan12345

Reblogs, likes, comments all appreciated!!! Thank you!!!

Masterlist

----

One:

Jisung lays in bed, messing with his hands and trying to keep his mind on anything but the performance they have coming up. His phone dings with Chan’s tone.

Hey, everything alright? If you need to talk I’m here!

He hums in confusion.

What?

Chan responds in matter of seconds.

Was just listening through a couple of your demos and some of the lyrics were kinda intense, thought I’d check in

Yeah, if you have a minute, I would actually really like to talk

He smiles softly as a notification for Chan’s incoming call pops up on screen. The other members are there for him, too, but Chan can always tell when something’s up.

Two:

“No.” Hyunjin groans, resting his head on the table. “It’s bad.”

“It is not bad, Hyunjin.” Chan pauses the track. “I do think it needs some work, but I don’t think it’s bad.”

“There’s a reason I’m not a part of 3Racha, I’m not good at writing.” Hyunjin forces a laugh for his non-joke.

“That’s not true. Look at me.”

Hyunjin tilts his head sideways. Chan’s horizontal face looks reassuring.

“We’re gonna get this song, alright? We’ll kill it. We always do.”

“Mhm.”

Chan can tell it’s not helping. “Wanna take a break? I’ll get us ice cream.”

Hyunjin perks up. “Ice cream?”

Three:

“Go away.” Minho mumbles into his pillow.

The knock at his door gets louder.

“Go away!”

“I’m coming in.” He can hear the door opening, and feels the mattress dip under the weight of someone sitting by his feet.

He peeks out to see who it is.

Chan is looking at him.

“Was it something with that girl?”

Minho buries his face. “No.”

Chan sighs. “For some strange reason, I don’t believe you.”

“Believe me.”

“C’mon, Minho. Don’t be obstinate.”

Minho loosens his grip on his pillow. “You won’t make fun of me, will you?”

“Only if you deserve it.” He teases.

Minho groans, pushing his head down.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. What’s wrong?”

Four:

Seungmin places his chin on Bang Chan’s shoulder. “Channie, can we do something interesting?”

“We’re learning choreography.” Chan shrugs him off. “That’s interesting!”

“No, it’s not.”

“Shh, Minho might kill you.” He looks at Minho, who’s fixing Jisung’s pose for what might be the thousandth time, judging from the slightly murderous look on his face.

“I wanna do something else.”

Chan somehow always knows just what he means. “You want to play baseball.”

Seungmin nods. “I want to play baseball.”

Chan looks across the room to where Jeongin and Changbin are against the wall, looking entirely too bored, and Seungmin can see the cogs turning in his head. “I think we can recruit a team.”

Five:

“Old man?” Chan raises an eyebrow. “Oh, yes, of course, old man Bang Chan, on his deathbed.”

“Yeah.” Changbin laughs. “Ancient, decrepit Chan.”

“I may be an old man, but I’m your old man.” Chan points to each of them in turn. “And I say video game rights revoked.”

Everyone groans, and Jisung dissolves into giggles.

“But tonight is Mario Kart night!” Changbin whines.

“Nope, you’re the reason I’ve made this rule in the first place, my son.” Chan claps him on the shoulder. “Your brothers only have you to thank.”

“Uh oh, I’d better find a police station, I think I have six assassins on my tail now.”

Six:

“Chaaaaan!” Jeongin slides into the kitchen in sock feet, where Chan is cutting vegetables.

“What?” Chan glances over his shoulder.

“Felix beat me at Mario Kart and now he says he gets to sing my solo at the awards show next week.”

Felix runs into the room, skidding to a stop beside Jeongin. “I won! I do!”

“And you’re coming to me with this… why?” Chan finishes chopping a carrot, scraping it off the cutting board into a pot.

“Because you’re good at talking Felix into sense!”

“Felix… you know you can’t sing the solo.”

“I can!” Felix clears his throat, getting out only the first note of the part before Jeongin elbows him in the stomach and he doubles over with an “oof!”

Chan ignores this. “Besides, you know the publicists would get mad.”

“They would.” Felix grumbles as Jeongin cackles.

Seven:

“Felix!”

Felix turns around, pulling out an earbud. “Hm?”

Chan holds up his phone. “Here, I have a song I need you to listen to. It’s by this American group, The Flaming Lips.”

Felix queues it up. “Okay, this is cool.”

“I thought you might like it. It seemed like a sound you’d like.” Chan returns his phone to his pocket. “And they have more music too, but that one stuck out to me.”

Felix smiles. “I’ll check ‘em out!”

Plus one time they took care of him:

“Can I open my eyes?” Chan asks, holding his arms in front of him like Frankenstein’s creature, feeling around for anything in front of him.

Felix removes the blindfold. “Now.”

Chan opens his eyes as everyone shouts, “Happy Father’s Day!” The dining room has been transformed with streamers, balloons, and a handmade banner, and a cake on the table reads “For Our Old Man Chan!” in messy icing.

It’s all Chan can do to keep from tearing up. “You guys shouldn’t’ve!”

“It’s really the least we can do!” Jeongin smiles from behind the cake. “You’re so good to us, Chan, we’re very lucky to have you!”

Chan smiles, a big, real smile. “I’m the lucky one.”

[satoshi-mochida]

DELTARUNE Chapters 3 and 4 launch June 5 for PS5, Switch 2, PS4, Switch, and PC - Gematsu

DELTARUNE Chapters 3 and 4 will launch on June 5 for PlayStation 5, Switch 2, PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC via Steam, creator tobyfox announced.

As previously announced, Chapters 3, 4, and 5 will be paid releases when they launch. Chapters 1 and 2 are currently playable free of charge across PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC via Steam and itch.io.

Here are the latest details, via tobyfox:

Price

DELTARUNE will cost $24.99. You only have to buy the game once—upcoming Chapters will be added as free updates. That’s not factored into the cost, though. I only feel right charging for what there currently is, not what I say there will be. Therefore, this $24.99 to me represents the exact price of four Chapters! But, it’s my hope that as we complete more Chapters, you’ll feel like this game was a super super super super good deal. Just wait, I’ll prove it to you…! Also, the Soundtrack on Steam will cost $14.99. With the release of Chapter 3 and 4, it’ll contain over 150 songs! And, if you buy the soundtrack on Steam, every time a Chapter is added, you’ll get those tracks, too. Isn’t the value actually a little too good?! (hyperventilating and drools on it) (If you’ve already been buying the individual Chapter soundtracks on Bandcamp, Chapters 3&4 will be released as a separate release there as well.) Illustration of Spamton opening his wallet, revealing emptiness, an annoying dog, and a fly.

Steam Wishlist

Hey, I just realized. I never asked anyone to wishlist the game on Steam. I don’t know what it does, or what it’s for, but If the game’s coming out, that means there’s only a little time left to get the top of the rankings! All right, let’s go, guys! Let’s get that number one spot! (Somehow after linking it, its ranking dropped abruptly…)

Console Differences!?

As an effort to make the most of being a LAUNCH TITLE for the Nintendo Switch 2, I really wanted to try to do something special… So, we made a very small SPECIAL ROOM which takes advantage of using MOUSE CONTROLS ON TWO CONTROLLERS AT ONCE, only possible on the Nintendo Switch 2!! You can see it in the trailer!! But, don’t worry! Even if you can’t get your hands on a Nintendo Switch 2 right away, the other versions of the game also have THE SPECIAL ROOM, with a completely different control scheme! (To clarify, all non-Nintendo Switch 2 versions have the exact same content as each other.) There is no meaningful difference in content amount, dialogue, setting, music etc between any version, so you will have a full package of fun no matter which you get! No one gets left out! And—just to clarify for the cats in the back — no matter what version you buy, EVERYONE gets PLUEY—for FREE!!! Other differences:

-Nintendo Switch 2

UNIQUE SPECIAL SMALL ROOM!

Can import save files from the Nintendo Switch demo of DELTARUNE Chapter 1 and 2!

Can import save files from the Nintendo Switch version of DELTARUNE (the full game), too!

-Nintendo Switch

Can import save files from the Nintendo Switch demo of DELTARUNE Chapter 1 and 2!

Get to watch the cute loading screen longer than other consoles!

-PC / Mac Versions

Convenience of having it on your PC!

Recommended control scheme for the non-Nintendo Switch 2 SPECIAL ROOM.

-PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 Versions

Can import save files from the PlayStation 4 demo of DELTARUNE Chapter 1 and 2!

PlayStation 5 version can import save files from the PlayStation 4 version of DELTARUNE (the full game), too!

We were required to have TROPHIES! This time, they give rise to a pretty hard-core challenge. But—and PLEASE listen—I make no endorsement that you actually attempt it! Even knowing of its mere existence will only bring you frustration and anguish! Honestly, it may be one of the worst ideas I’ve ever had. Perhaps no one will even try. Maybe that’s for the best after all… I think it will be too late for most of you anyway…

Overall, all of these differences are very slight! No matter what version you get, it’ll be great!!!

Conclusion

Well, the game is coming out! Isn’t that swell? … Seriously, I’ve been duct taped over, tied up to a chair, locked in a box, thrown to the bottom of the ocean, dragged around like an anchor, etc., etc.! That’s what it was like up until now!! Now I can say it! DELTARUNE (Chapters 1 to 4) releases on June 5, 2025! Isn’t that swell?

Watch a new trailer below.

Release Date Trailer

[ashdreams2023]

Hiii! I'm so glad I came across your blog and I love the snape and sibling! Reader fics so would you mind writing a sibling reader fic where she's the defence teacher in yr2 instead of lockhart and maybe she's an auror ( from another ministry) or sumn?? Anyway she starts a duelling club and brings severus for the demo and they get abit too into it, although no one gets hurt and it ends with a draw. The students are awestruck and asks her how she got so good at it and she's like "oh it's thanks to my big brother :)" ? Just sumn cute and fluffy! Thankss!!

Learned from the best

Summary: your brother helps you teach your first dueling club period

"Wow I can’t believe we’ll actually see real live dueling, I only read about them in books" Hermione said running behind her friends in the hall.

"If the new professor is as good as the rumors have it then it’s gonna be a show!" Ron grinned.

"I heard Malfoy saying she learned from the best" Harry said out of breath as they finally reached the dueling club.

"She was an auror in Russia of course she learned from the best you two!" Hermione huffed hugging her book close.

The classroom was crowded from students from all four houses and you stood in the middle of the room wearing your casual witch robes, except for your teaching robe that you layered over your regular outfit.

You healed your head high and smiled at every passing student till you deemed that the attendance time was over and flicked your wand to close the door.

"Well kiddos I’m so happy you came today! I think this dueling club would be a good opportunity to expand our knowledge outside the textbooks and you all can get firsthand experience at how two real duelist are in the wild" The kids whispered among themselves seemingly excited to start with the session already.

"To achieve that, today I am welcoming my lovely assistant, professor snape" You flicked your hand dramatically as the potion master stepped on the mini dueling ground.

"Snape? That’s out to be interesting" Ron whispered to Harry.

"At first we will demonstrate compact but don’t worry you all will have your heads in place and your precious potion master is gonna come back in one piece-"

"Not quite sure about your defense professor though" Snape cut you off and smirked.

There was silence before you titled your head with. Glint in your eyes "I see our duel should start soon since you’re losing your patience this quickly"

You lifted your wand up and smirked "like the old times?"

He lifted his wand up and arched a brow "Like the old times"

Two steps back then you both went into dueling poses.

The student watched with wide eyes as your wand sparked with your first attack and snape dogged it smoothly like a dance move and fired back.

You knelt to the ground dodging his attack and sent a blow to his leg which knocked his off balance but not enough to make him distracted.

"Professor!" One of the hufflepuffs screamed in panic as a curse hit your shoulder slamming you to the ground, you ground in pain, it didn’t cause any actual damage but it stung like a bitch.

"Come on professor, don’t tell me you’ve given up already" Said snape standing to his feet again and pointing his wand any you like a madman.

You huffed and pushed yourself up from the ground and spin around, sliding back in the battle like your nothing just happened.

Snape matched your speed like it was second nature, his hair matched yours as it flew with each attacked, till it stuck your skin from sweat and both of you stood heaving with your hands clenched in your fists.

You licked your lips then smiled at him, he sighed then you both let go of your wands.

"It’s a…draw!" Harry yelled before the crowds of students clapped in applause and screamed.

Snape stood straight and put his wand back in his inner coat pocket.

You walked up to him and held out your hand.

He shock your hand without hesitation and then turned to face the students who seemed too overjoyed by the whole thing to remember how much they were terrified of him.

"You can ask questions now, just raise your hand" you said breathlessly.

An eco of me me covered the, snape rolled his eyes but you chuckled in relief.

"Ok ok! One by one….you! Weasley, Ronald"

Ron looked at his friends excitedly, almost jumping in place "How did you learn all of that?! Is it true you were in the Russia ministry?!"

Snape snorted, you paid him no mind.

You crossed your arms "Well, yes I did work in the Russian ministry for a while but most of my advanced techniques come from one person, my big brother, your dear professor snape but to me he’s just sev"

The students faces were priceless and for once you understood why your brother liked to bother them this much.

Severus put his hand on your shoulder and nodded "If you find yourself capable of following basic instructions and find determination to actually learned something from this club you might end up half as good as your professor"

"Did you just complement me?"

"Take it or leave it." Then he walked off the dueling area.

"I can’t believe they’re related!"

"Honestly, it kinda make’s sense, he didn’t sneer at her the entire two weeks she was here" hermione pointed out.

"That’s true…that’s so weird still" Harry stared at you as you answered more questions by his classmates, it made him wonder, what sort of person was his git of a professor was actually like outside of school.

"And with hard work you too can be as good as a duelist one day, but of course don’t go crazy challenging my brother, he is the best of the best"

"Yes ma’m!"

[lopposting]

Lies of P interviews compilation

[Masterlist]

Mostly just a reference/archive for myself. a lot of cool little anecdotes/clarification from the team, or otherwise interesting details.

Links are in korean/japanese/english.

I will keep updating as I go along! This is a work in progress:

[currently very messy!]

Justin Carnahan (publishing manager) and Neowiz heads: (kor)

https://m.thisisgame.com/webzine/nboard/5/?n=180372

QA (Quality assurance) team interview [thisisgame] (kor)

https://www.thisisgame.com/webzine/nboard/5/?n=177995?n

Art team, art director [thisisgame]: (kor)

https://m.thisisgame.com/webzine/help/nboard/11/?page=8&n=174446

choi pitched pinocchio souls

this is where they mention there was very little left on the cutting room floor

Choi + Core team [thisisgame]: (kor)

https://m.thisisgame.com/webzine/special/nboard/11/?category=2&n=176072

jogging lol

Naver - dir choi, dir Noh (Kor)

https://m.post.naver.com/viewer/postView.naver?volumeNo=32854956&memberNo=49631020

director choi, director park [thisisgame] (kor)

https://m.thisisgame.com/webzine/nboard/263/2522675?n=175190

korea game awards [stream]

choi [gamevu] (kor)

https://m.gamevu.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=21904

choi pitched pinocchio souls :)

4gamer set: (pre-release) (japanese)

[update]

dir noh changyu:

https://www.4gamer.net/games/571/G057139/20221119009/

https://www.gamespark.jp/article/2022/11/20/124601.html

https://www.4gamer.net/games/571/G057139/20221118128/

japan press event (japanese)

https://www.4gamer.net/games/571/G057139/20230904030/

Director Choi interviews (english) (prerelease):

https://www.prankster101.com/articles/interview-with-choi-ji-won-of-lies-of-p/

sportskeeda (ENG)

https://www.sportskeeda.com/esports/i-m-excited-witness-players-react-lies-p-director-ji-won-choi-favorite-moments-player-feedback-pinocchio

fandomwire (ENG)

https://fandomwire.com/heres-why-lies-of-p-felt-easier-than-bloodborne/

the demo was never patched

fandomwire 2 (ENG)

https://fandomwire.com/lies-of-ps-game-director-choi-jiwon-discusses-the/

it was too late to switch to unreal 5

Director Choi interview (post-release):

https://gamerant.com/lies-p-post-launch-interview/

Dorothy cameo was chosen in Summer of 2022.

btw, can someone tell steamy biscuit (I'm pretty sure it was steamy) that the director saw their playthrough

choi rare 2020 interview about the gaming industry (ruliweb users dug this one up because they are (unfortunately) pretty much obsessed with him):

https://www.jobkorea.co.kr/company/1616277/interview/view/?ItvNo=21764&ListNo=21764

also interesting to note, that at this time (2020) there were actually two projects under Round8, one being lies of P and the other I can only imagine was Bless Unleashed.

some background on working at neowiz and round8 studios in the past. interesting knowledge if you are interested in joining the game development industry in south korea or the gaming industry in general.

mentions BTS (again)

says the process is more important than the end result

less on the development side of things, there was another interview mentioning the devs studying cults and cult mentality, especially surrounding laxasia. I thought that was really interesting and I have to dig it up again, unless I just made it up

some notes on the interviews +

some more interviews I remember reading but have to source -

more interesting development note, it looks like the project being pitched was a Fairytale Soulslike. Choi came on board to direct. Choi and other team members pitched the idea of Pinocchio independently.

[prankster101]

Choi thankful to neowiz for allowing them to do a console game (IGN) and that they had a hard time even finding developers to do a console title in korea in the first place. I remember him referencing this a couple of times but I have to sift through some stuff again.

Re: The confusion surrounding Neowiz/Round8/Team Nough. Round8 is a studio currently signed/owned by Neowiz. Looks like there are actually two teams within Round8, one of them being Team Nough, who were responsible for Lies of P.

Re: the amount of people working on Lies of P, other interviews reference starting with thirty people and ending at around 60. The latest interview (near release) mention that they had currently reached 120. (to update)

So what was interesting/confusing to me about the job postings that came out later that year following the success of LoP was why they didn't just pull team members from within the studio or merge [unless they probably already did]. Unless the game that Choi was referencing in 2020 wasn't Bless Unleashed, the other game under Round8 has been in production since LoP has been in production, and has (seemingly) not been released since LoP has been out.

more on the djmax soundtrack:

https://gamerant.com/lies-p-sound-design-puppets-interview/

they worked on getting a bandoneon, not an accordion, even though it was hard to find, because it was period-accurate.

https://gamerant.com/lies-p-audio-design-djmax-bandoneon/

there is another korean interview somewhere where he mentions having to ask Neowiz for the rights to use the djmax soundtrack. I gotta dig around for it

korea game awards win:

inven win

https://m.inven.co.kr/webzine/wznews.php?idx=290442&hotnews=2&site=console&iskin=console

NAVGTR win:

https://www.kukinews.com/article/view/kuk202402280213#_wider

neowiz stock rising:

https://biz.sbs.co.kr/amp/article/20000156888

https://www.thelec.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=25468

Lies of P having a remarkable effect on the stock

Jason park and studio 8 and the console market in korea:

https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2022/11/17/business/tech/Korea-GStar-2022-Neowiz/20221117175024136.html#google_vignette

namu news

https://namu.news/article/2013434

gamescom win (to be very honest i have always been perplexed by this because the game wasn't out yet??) KOR

https://m.thisisgame.com/webzine/news/nboard/4/?utm_source=naver?utm_source&utm_medium=outlink&utm_campaign=thisisgame&utm_content=93273&fbclid=IwAR1CwMMoA3mKm_k2SgM3AOe5iK046AUl8olN7WSg5CT6MDz5BJEaF9VT050&page=69&n=156755

misc

https://www.gameinsight.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=25231

[thehuntfortrencherlostmedia]

The Origins, Ramsay Fiction & The Confusing Mishmash of Everything Before Fix Me - A Marianas Trench Retrospective

Okay, so my post got likes, but I only got one actual response from anyone, agreeing with me on the fact they like things in chronological order. So, I guess it's time to talk about the bands early days, eh?

The truth of the matter is, the band as many know them started in late 2003 and early 2004. Anything before that gets placed in this weird murky middle section with a name change, members leaving, and also a complete and utter mess of when Ramsay Fiction came to an end and where Marianas Trench begins. We have located a demo disk from 2001 with the Marianas name on it, but we also don't have any dates as to when certain things were recorded or uploaded onto MP3.com.

Here's what we do know: Josh Ramsay, a teenager dealing with both an addiction to heroin and an eating disorder, loved music from a young age. His father owned a recording studio, and his mother was a vocal coach. Music was literally in his blood, but even though the two had connections into the industry and everything, he set out to make it into the business on his own. And he knew one thing for certain: He DID NOT want to be a solo act, he wanted to be in a band.

The issue for Josh was getting that band together. At first, it was him and his sister Sara (backup vocals), her then boyfriend and later husband Trevor Spilchen (on bass, even though he was a guitar player), Josh's friend Steve Marshall (on guitar and backup vocals, despite being a BASSIST), and a rotating list of drummers, eventually finding Ian Casselman in a series of classifieds in a newspaper late into the bands life. This lineup didn't last long, as once Sara became pregnant with her and Trevor's first kid, they stepped aside... leading to 2 new members joining: Josh's friend Matt Webb (originally a keyboardist), and Steve's pal Morgan Hempstead (the man who bestowed them the Marianas Trench name). It's tough to say who plays what on a lot of the Ramsay Fiction tracks that make up Cooler Than Me, as I think they come from two different recording sessions, if not more. Same goes for a lot of the self-titled EP work too, as we know at least two tracks from that era, an early recording of Fix Me, and a early recording of Skin & Bones, were both first made public to people in 2004... months after Steve and Morgan left, and Mike Ayley joined the group after getting to know everyone as Ian's roommate.

In fact, for the longest time, a lot of the Ramsay Fiction stuff was lost media, songs that nobody outside of a rare few had ever heard. As of April 1st this year, this is no longer the case, and all the songs have been found and preserved (yes, even PMS... despite it being taken off Youtube, has been saved.)

To talk about these songs is hard. There's definitely a lot of emotion and pain in these tracks, and the overall sound is very 90's, going for more of heavy grunge and alternate rock sound, very reminiscent of Matthew Goode. But you can also hear those other elements creep in from other acts Josh has referenced time and time throughout in small snippets. The biggest thing holding a lot of these songs back is a mix of production (which is still insanely impressive for the time period and the fact it was done by a teen no less), and lyrical ckunkiness, making them semi hard to decipher.

What do I mean by this? Take track 1, the one everyone knows: Primetime. The song's verses speak about how something is this, but the person is the opposite... bu we don't get a clear picture of who the person is.. only that supposedly a hit of heroin will make everything feel better. It's odd that this is the song that's somehow lasted the test of time out of all these tracks. But hey, it did lead to a great callback on End of An Era.

Track 2, Shiny Like Dirt (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG-OoIsFbow), is truly a song where Josh took a ton of ideas he had for songs, and threw it against the wall to see if it would stick. And... it does stick, but also doesn't? The chorus is super catchy, basically admitting he's a confusing person, and that nothing he does makes sense... and yet, despite it all, he still has fears of the unknown. The "coming up for air" bridge is probably my favourite part, but it's definitely an earworm I return to occasionally. I've also linked it in case you've yet to hear it.

Track 3: Shallow. The song we've known about for the longest time, the one the fandom cherished like a baby... and honestly, it's probably my least favourite? I've tried to decipher the lyrics on this one for ages, but I can't come up with anything concrete. I do think the song has a good tone, and the guitar solo is totally awesome. In fact, there's a lot of great guitar and bass work throughout a lot of these songs. But there's something missing for me on this one.

Track 4: Playing Dead. This seems to be the earliest recorded song of this bunch, going off Josh's voice here. And honestly, I think it's the closest tonally to a current day Marianas Trench song. There's a bit of a swing sound going on in the drums, the harmonies.... and it's an interesting number overall. Also, it's our clearest sampling of Steve's voice, and just how close it is to Matt's vocals xD... it seems to be a simple love song about a girl and how he's open to roleplaying almost anything with her, using "playing dead" as his main metaphor. It's the black sheep of the CD, but a good one.

Track 5: Hideous. Here we go... the first track Josh ever wrote about his bulimia and depression... and how it was eating him from the inside... and how he was asking for help, even though he wasn't fully ready to accept it at the time. The beginning parts are very slow, and methodical.... only for the song to pick up energy in it's second half and become truly one of the standouts on this album.

Track 6: PMS. Okay... so... this one is tough to talk about. We knew for years it was supposedly very comedic in nature and that it was also politically incorrect, but that was it. For those of you who still have not heard it, there's a copy of it in this Discord server in the links and archive section: https://discord.gg/d5M3xVN9

As for the song itself, I personally really love it. It's a song about Josh being petty to a girl and truthfully telling her off. It's definitely of its time period, but in the best way possible. And once again, the guitar work here is SO GOOD. If you can stomach a song that truly is a time capsule and understand that Josh would never write anything as juvenile today, give it a listen.

Track 7: Don't Touch Me. The song that holds a special place in my heart... as I was the one to LOCATE IT after 18 years in the massive pile of MP3.com links that were given to the Internet Archive in 2021. And it's a ballad all about Josh dealing with both the arguments and turmoil he would feel when coming down from getting high. Truthfully, this might be the most emotional song of this batch, and one that definitely sticks its landing.

So, my overall thoughts here are to give these songs a listen, and understand them for what they are: the start of a musical prodigy finding his footing and his sense of style while getting clean and hoping somebody, anybody, would give him a chance. While the tone might not have influenced Josh’s style fully going forward, there are elements from these songs that were taken and repurposed into later Trench tracks.

Luckily, and also sadly... Jonathan Simkin & Chad Kroeger gave him that chance. And thus, we got ourselves a self titled EP... and a full title debut. But that'll be next time.

[karasukarei]

Miscellaneous WinBre-adjacent Experiences

I did lots of random stuff during my recent trip and I thought some of them would be of some interest to the WinBre circle 👀

Edit: Omg I forgot to put everything under a cut I'M SO SORRY FOR MAKING EVERYONE SCROLL

Stuff under the cut:

WinBre x Sanrio

Natori's concert

Shizuoka's tea fields

Other random things of some note

WinBre x Sanrio collab

Yeah the title says it all. If I were to be brutally honest I didn’t really like many of the collab designs… The only one I found that was pretty nice was Suou x Kuromi.

The chibis really weren’t that cute imo ;-; 

Also the collab was held at the TV station, so they had the original promo standees on display too!

Yeah this is me simping.

Ok but this was both unhinged and genius. Whoever decided to put the standee in the aquarium. You are my new hero.

Natori’s concert - 劇場〜再演〜

I managed to score tickets to Natori’s concert in Osaka! This is gonna be a mini concert review (and some mild simping, cos I followed Natori even before Wind Breaker). (Just in case you’re not aware, Natori was the artiste for Wind Breaker’s opening Zettai Reido)

Overall, it was REALLY GOOD. He’s one of the rare singer/songwriters who isn’t just a musician, but is an actual performer. I’m not even kidding when I say that he sounds way better live than in any of his recordings, and the way he changes the notes between cadences on the fly really makes each live performance unique. He’s also really big on dancing and enjoying the music, multiple times he’d tell everyone “踊ろうぜ” (let’s dance!) and he’d just start dancing as he sings, it’s just so chill and enjoyable. They also had a brass triplet on stage, they were SO GOOD, the sax player even switched to flute for some songs!

The stage decor was pretty cool as well, you can essentially split the performance into two halves. For the first half, it was a sort of halloweenish sort of situation, where there was like grey cloth (I think to mimic grey stone or thick cobwebs) draped over the stage pieces and overhanging the projector. Once he starts Gekijou (song 11), all of that falls off and you can see all the intricate wooden detail on the stage sets!!! It was SO COOL, and the different decor really complemented the two halves of the setlist.

Setlist

(source)

Commenting on just the memorable parts or areas that I found of note:

Song 2 Sleepwalk was where all the dancing started! It’s so groovy and the easy swing is SO CATCHY, I really admire how he just sings all these long run-on lyrics effortlessly! (I must admit that the way he sings the endings of a few lines, even in other songs, quite erotic cos of how he growls a bit and alters the notes x_x)

Song 6 EAT was SO GOOD live. I heard the demo before and the quality wasn’t great so I couldn’t really appreciate it, but this version was GOOD. It was so much more polished and had better mixing, and you can feel the high and low tension points in the song now, instead of it sounding a bit flat in the demo.

Song 9 Terminal wasn’t a really big favourite of mine when I first heard it, but it’s SO GOOD live OMG. The tension points were a lot clearer, and singing along with the repeating "da da da la da da da" makes it so much more immersive. This completely changed my perspective on the song, I really like it so much more now!!!

Song 10 Seishatachi I REALLY like this song (it’s the B-side to Zettai Reido), from the live you can tell it’s a pretty technically difficult song cos of the all the off-beats x_x I also realised that the very last syllable in the song is a very very long “da-“ that you can’t hear in the recording cos of all the mixing ^^; he just screams “DA——“ into the mic and holds it for a few seconds, it was SO COOL.

Song 11 Gekijou’s true stars were the brass triplet in my opinion, hearing them live was really what turned the performance into a theatre!!! Natori also welcomes you by saying “劇場へようこそ！” (Welcome to the theatre) while striking the same pose as the key visual, it’s just so cohesive and well thought-out and I was SO IMPRESSED by all the planning that went into this one song.

Song 13 Overdose had an extended mix with the chorus repeating at least 2-3 times at the end (I didn’t count cos I was having SO MUCH FUN). I must admit I wasn’t that big a fan of Overdose (yes I’m a weirdo, my favourite songs are Eureka and Cult), but DAMN the party atmosphere in this mix was amazing.

Song 15 Melodrama is his new collab song with Imase, the only note I have is that you get to hear Natori sing both parts instead of splitting with Imase hahaha (I do actually prefer Natori’s voice over Imase for this song).

Song 16 IN_MY_HEAD is an unreleased song and it is SO WILD, the video they showed with the song felt like something out of a Kyary Kyary Pamyu MV with brains spinning around on neon coloued backgrounds x_x But it’s pretty different from his previous songs, it’s far more rock-influenced with more repetitive choruses and head-banging. Part of me likes to think that Kitani Tatsuya might have had some influence on this www.

Song 17 Zettai Reido was one of the only songs he played guitar for (I can’t remember the other one but I do remember it was an acoustic guitar for that), and damn this is a REALLY hard song. I do think this is one of the few songs where his recordings were slightly better, but tbh I do very much prefer the live version because his voice wavers a bit and gives the song so much more flavour.

Songs 18 and 19 Eureka and Cult - DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HAPPY I WAS TO HEAR MY TWO FAVES IN A ROW. THE JOY AND EXCITEMENT. THE ACCOMPANYING VIDEOS WERE SO NICE TOOOO. I especially loved the one for Cult, it was an animated view of a town from up on a hill, and you can see the seasons and day/night cycles throughout the year, and was just so chill and poignant ;-;

Song 20 Itoudenwa sounds SO GOOD live, I already liked the original version but I LOVE the live version, he really sounds like he’s serenading and crooning you ;-; This was also the song where they popped streamers!!! I was surprised at how well they timed the pop, it blended seamlessly into the music and was just such a pleasant surprise.

Merch and goodies haul

GINTAPE (i.e. streamers) - THEY ARE SO PRETTY. This one is pretty beaten up after I tried to get into the case (oops) but I do have spares (might consider a giveaway in future… let’s see how things go.)

Chiitara snack collab - it’s a cheese snack (that I don’t really like…) but they gave out one to each person at the end of the concert! The packaging is limited edition, and the Osaka and Tokyo performances have different designs! The Osaka design I have reflects the food in Dotonbori, while the Tokyo one includes landmarks such as Tokyo tower. Imma be honest the collab is super funny, cos the company that sponsored the snack is a completely unrelated food company called Natori (HELP). 

Gacha album cover art pins - kinda sad I didn’t get Zettai Reido or Eureka, but at least I have Cult and Overdose!! Overdose appears to be especially in demand lmao (for obvious reasons), but I must admit it had the nicest design too.

Zepp tour early bird code - the little card you see includes a code to get access to the earliest round of balloting for next year’s Zepp tour!!! Still wondering if I should just try… Idek if I can take leave ;-;

Shizuoka’s tea fields

In one of Suou’s daily character question, he mentions that a place he’d like to visit is the tea fields of Shizuoka. For personal reasons, I really did make a trip down to the tea fields ^_^

I went tea picking here!!! It is very back breaking work and I have ever greater appreciation for the farmers who grow and process tea now (they are my true heroes; I don’t drink coffee www)

Also here’s the mountain with the word “tea” (茶) on it! It used to be planted with pine, but then weevils destroyed it so they switched to cypress ^^;

Super random but we got lost while looking for this, we ended up too close to the mountain so we couldn’t get good photos ^^; there was a tea shop there with a really kind owner that served us different types of tea and showed us the way to the best photo spots! 

^ this was the original spot we ended up in but you can't see the word really well ^^;

Random merch and other stuff I guess

Yeah I found the vegetable curry, it was the LAST ONE in store. Maybe this will make me start eating vegetables.

I also had a chance to try Wasanbon in some tea snack I bought from Ise Shrine:

It certainly tastes expensive 😳

Thanks for listening to my simping. Please have a nice day ^_^

[funniestbusiness]

On the meanings of the titles of Neuvillette's soundtracks

because hoo boy. he can fit so much religious and mythological symbolism in him.

1. Teaser theme - Eleusis Dicis Gratia

With the help of Latin-speaking discord buddies who wished to remain anonymous, we established that the phrasing is clunky, but "dicis gratia" means "you thank" or "thank", that is, either just second person or an imperative.

Eleusis (or Elefsina) is a city in Greece which in ancient history and mythology is famous for two things equally relevant to us.

1. It was a coastal town, and one of the coastal caves was said to be the place where Persephone was abducted by Hades, as well as the entrance to Tartarus, the abyss under the realm of Hades.

(Parallelled by Meropide and the Primordial Sea under it? Also does this mean that those of you who say that Wriolette are Hades and Persephone-coded are even more right than you think you are?)

2. Shortly after the creation of Athens, there was a war between it and Elefsina, supposedly deity-backed: Athens belonging to, of course, Athena, and Elefsina to Poseidon. Athens won, but out of all the territories conquered by it, Elefsina remained the most independent one, even allowed to call itself a polis and coin its own money.

(Parallelled by the usurpation of Hydro authority and Neuvillette's second-highest position in Fontaine?)

Eleusis was also an eponymous mytholigical hero. They (gender is inconclusive, but more likely male) don't have any deeds of interest, but their parentage is somewhat relevant: Hermes and an Oceanid-nymph, Daeira. (This would fit Furina better than Neuvillette)

Conclusion: "Eleusis" can mean both a place (to be interpreted as Fontaine) and a person (to be interpreted as either Neuvillette or Furina). Either they are thanked by someone or someone implores another to thank them. Therefore a perfect conclusion is unachievable, but my personal favourite interpretation, based on the teaser's content, is "Neuvillette tells himself to thank Fontaine [for giving him perspective]".

Phew.

2. Demo theme - Parousia Diluvi

This one's actually much easier!

"Parousia" translates literally from Greek as "presence", but lithurgically it means "Second Coming". "Diluvi" is probably familiar from the Story Quest name, so the full name of the track is "Second Coming of the Flood".

Bonus: the lyrics in the beginning and from 0:59 to 1:10 are "Omne sublime despicit est heres superbiae", meaning "Every deity is looked down upon by the proud heir". Which is, well, canon. (credit to @vidyadharaonline and @hosbirb in the video's comments!)

TL;DR: A WHOLE LOT of Greek mythology and biblical references here.

P. S. All info from Wikipedia! Also feel free to correct me

[demifiendrsa]

DELTARUNE Nintendo Switch 2 Announce Trailer

DELTARUNE Chapters 3 and 4 will launch on June 5, 2025 for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam.

As previously announced, Chapters 3, 4, and 5 will be paid releases when they launch. Chapters 1 and 2 are currently playable free of charge across PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC via Steam and itch.io.

Latest details

Price

DELTARUNE will cost $24.99.

You only have to buy the game once—upcoming Chapters will be added as free updates.

That’s not factored into the cost, though. I only feel right charging for what there currently is, not what I say there will be.

Therefore, this $24.99 to me represents the exact price of four Chapters!

But, it’s my hope that as we complete more Chapters, you’ll feel like this game was a super super super super good deal.

Just wait, I’ll prove it to you…!

Also, the Soundtrack on Steam will cost $14.99. With the release of Chapter 3 and 4, it’ll contain over 150 songs!

And, if you buy the soundtrack on Steam, every time a Chapter is added, you’ll get those tracks, too.

Isn’t the value actually a little too good?! (hyperventilating and drools on it)

(If you’ve already been buying the individual Chapter soundtracks on Bandcamp, Chapters 3&4 will be released as a separate release there as well.)

Illustration of Spamton opening his wallet, revealing emptiness, an annoying dog, and a fly.

Steam Wishlist

Hey, I just realized. I never asked anyone to wishlist the game on Steam.

I don’t know what it does, or what it’s for, but

If the game’s coming out, that means there’s only a little time left to get the top of the rankings!

All right, let’s go, guys! Let’s get that number one spot!

(Somehow after linking it, its ranking dropped abruptly…)

Console Differences!?

As an effort to make the most of being a LAUNCH TITLE for the Nintendo Switch 2, I really wanted to try to do something special…

So, we made a very small SPECIAL ROOM which takes advantage of using MOUSE CONTROLS ON TWO CONTROLLERS AT ONCE, only possible on the Nintendo Switch 2!! You can see it in the trailer!!

But, don’t worry! Even if you can’t get your hands on a Nintendo Switch 2 right away, the other versions of the game also have THE SPECIAL ROOM, with a completely different control scheme! (To clarify, all non-Nintendo Switch 2 versions have the exact same content as each other.)

There is no meaningful difference in content amount, dialogue, setting, music etc between any version, so you will have a full package of fun no matter which you get! No one gets left out!

And—just to clarify for the cats in the back — no matter what version you buy, EVERYONE gets PLUEY—for FREE!!!

Other differences:

Nintendo Switch 2

UNIQUE SPECIAL SMALL ROOM!

Can import save files from the Nintendo Switch demo of DELTARUNE Chapter 1 and 2!

Can import save files from the Nintendo Switch version of DELTARUNE (the full game), too!

Nintendo Switch

Can import save files from the Nintendo Switch demo of DELTARUNE Chapter 1 and 2!

Get to watch the cute loading screen longer than other consoles!

PC / Mac Versions

Convenience of having it on your PC!

Recommended control scheme for the non-Nintendo Switch 2 SPECIAL ROOM.

PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 Versions

Can import save files from the PlayStation 4 demo of DELTARUNE Chapter 1 and 2!

PlayStation 5 version can import save files from the PlayStation 4 version of DELTARUNE (the full game), too!

We were required to have TROPHIES! This time, they give rise to a pretty hard-core challenge. But—and PLEASE listen—I make no endorsement that you actually attempt it! Even knowing of its mere existence will only bring you frustration and anguish! Honestly, it may be one of the worst ideas I’ve ever had. Perhaps no one will even try. Maybe that’s for the best after all… I think it will be too late for most of you anyway…

Overall, all of these differences are very slight! No matter what version you get, it’ll be great!!!

Conclusion

Well, the game is coming out! Isn’t that swell?

…

Seriously, I’ve been duct taped over, tied up to a chair, locked in a box, thrown to the bottom of the ocean, dragged around like an anchor, etc., etc.!

That’s what it was like up until now!!

Now I can say it!

DELTARUNE (Chapters 1 to 4) releases on June 5, 2025!

Isn’t that swell?