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thewhitefluffyhat · 3 years

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Thoughts on Deltarune Chapter 2

I wasn't even intending to write a Deltarune post, but here we are!

Have some extended ramblings/theorizing about Undertale, Deltarune, and the role of the "Player" vs character agency.

[Warning: full spoilers for ALL routes in both Undertale and Deltarune!]

Frisk’s Agency in Undertale

So I'm not sure how common this is nowadays (I haven't been following Undertale theories for a while), but I personally prefer the interpretation that there is no "Player" as an in-universe force in Undertale. I think it's a far more elegant story if the fourth wall isn't broken.

I'm also fond of the Narrator Chara and "Chara isn't pure evil until Murder Route teaches them to be" interpretations too.

And, of course, the third plank bridging those two is that I don't see Frisk as a just a pure, innocent cinnamon roll.

Because I like the story best when it's Frisk who chooses mercy or murder. It gives Frisk a much more complex character, if they are allowed to have the capacity for both immense kindness and immense cruelty. It even gives them an interesting implied character arc, if you take the natural progression path of True Pacifist > Murder Fun Times > Soulless Pacifist.

Just like Flowey, Frisk first tried to use their powers of Determination for good, but eventually they also grew curious and began to see the world as a game. And then they went too far and ultimately regretted it. Regretted it so much, in fact, that they were willing to sell their soul for just a chance to fix it.

After all, it's not you, the "Player," whose SOUL Chara wants. It's you, Frisk.

I also dislike the idea of an in-universe "Player" because that implies that "Frisk" is nothing but an empty shell - on ALL routes. All of those heartwarming moments in the True Pacifist route? All of the silly Flirt actions? Yeah, that's not Frisk, that's just as much the "Player" puppeting some poor kid's body as the events of the Bad Times.

Who knows what Frisk is truly like if their every action - good or ill - is controlled by some unseen, eldritch force? Now Frisk no longer has any characterization.

And given that said force overrides Frisk's agency, then isn't the "Player" evil no matter which route you take? It's become a story where they only "moral" choice is never to pick up the game at all. Hrm.

Anyway, but that's all Undertale. Which brings me to...

What the heck is going on in Deltarune?

Unlike Frisk=the Red SOUL in Undertale, we don't seem to control Kris=the Red SOUL in Deltarune. The game repeatedly underlines that the player only controls the Red SOUL, not Kris.

(Though, with stuff like the sound of the bathroom faucet only being audible when Kris's actual body is nearby - it seems like even when separated, the Red SOUL may still be perceiving through Kris's other senses besides sight...?)

With Spamton's dialogue and Kris's reaction after the non-Weird NEO fight, there's also a lot more emphasis in Deltarune of Kris (and the rest of the party!) being puppeted by some other force. And that's on top of all the stuff in the first chapter highlighting Kris/the Red SOUL's lack of agency.

Because of all those hints, Deltarune seems to be much more explicitly pointing toward that dark interpretation of Undertale - that the "Player"/Red SOUL is removing Kris's agency, regardless of route.

Indeed, I'm somewhat intrigued by the possibility that we/the Red SOUL might be forcing Kris to act nice just as much as we force them to act cruel. The way that Kris deliberately removes the Red SOUL in order to do some very suspicious actions might support that. As do some comments in Chapter 1, like characters in the post-Dark World walkaround noting how Kris is being less weird and more inquisitive than usual. Maybe Kris is the Knight and the Red SOUL is possessing them to undo their evil actions. Maybe the real Kris doesn't want to be friends with Susie and Ralsei at all!

But taking that interpretation to such an extreme also doesn't quite fit. Why does Kris slash the tires on Toriel's car? The only reason I can think of is that they want to keep Susie at their house. And why does Kris create the Dark World in their house? Is Kris creating the fountains because they want to have fun with friends? Especially right after the chapter emphasized how great the Dark World adventures were, that seems very likely.

There are also some smaller details too, of Kris interpreting the Red SOUL's input with their own spin (like saying things sarcastically), or of Kris chatting in a friendly way with Ralsei which the player/SOUL can't influence.

So, I'm pretty sure that even outside of the Red SOUL's control, Kris genuinely does like their friends.

Meanwhile, there were a lot of hints this chapter that Something Bad happened to Kris, Noelle, Dess, and Asriel when they went exploring in the forest by the graveyard. Most likely, they went into that ominous bunker south of the town. Is that incident related to Kris’s current strangeness?

And then, and THEN, there's the Snow Mercy route. That route seems to imply that the Red SOUL is both evil, and very much not Kris. Noelle says Kris isn't like themself, that their voice changes strangely, and she can still hear the creepy voice even when Kris is downed.

How to make sense of this all?

A Theory on Kris and the Red SOUL

One idea is that as scary and zombie-like as Kris looks without the SOUL, they're probably a nice, if lonely kid who desperately wants friends after their big brother went to college. (And possibly after something traumatic happened to them/their neighbor.) They're creating the Dark Worlds for the sake of fun and escapism.

But the Red SOUL puts an end to Kris's happy fantasies. Indeed, if the Red SOUL gives up, "the world is covered in darkness." So without the Red SOUL, would Kris simply keep creating fountains...? (What ARE the fountains, why can Kris and theoretically any Lightener create them?)

Maybe in the normal route, the Red SOUL is trying to gently help Kris move on and accept reality in some way. At the very least, I suspect Ralsei is working toward this goal.

But in that case... that's a pretty strange way for the Red SOUL to go about it, forcibly taking control of Kris to the point that the kid notices and seems to greatly resent it.

But what if the Red SOUL didn't have a choice about this arrangement either?

After all, the Red SOUL's customized vessel was discarded at the start of Chapter 1... and it was placed into Kris instead.

Here's a question: will Kris die if they're without a SOUL for too long?

Because there are an awful lot of moments in these games where characters break free of something they are bound to, but it doesn't end well: -Spamton collapses when his strings are cut. -The Darkeners can move freely outside their origin world for a while, but eventually turn to statues if they stay in another world. -Regardless of whether Berdly removes the Queen’s wires himself, he's exhausted and unable to fight any more after being under her control. -And when Kris takes the Red SOUL out of their body, their movements become slow and clumsy. Like it's a struggle for them to move at all.

Meanwhile in Undertale, post-Pacifist Asriel could maintain his form to say goodbye, but without SOUL(s), he inevitably returns to being Flowey.

So here's a theory: Kris died and/or lost their original soul. Perhaps due to some action/inaction on Noelle's part in the exploration incident. And as a last-ditch resort to keep them alive, the Red SOUL was somehow implanted in Kris.

(Also maybe Dess died/went missing at the same time...?)

And now, the Red SOUL the only thing keeping Kris around.

But just like in Undertale, it seems like Deltarune SOULs have wills of their own.

Which means Kris's current state is similar to the Chara-Asriel fusion, or Omega Flowey, or even Frisk-Chara. Control of the body is shared. The difference is that instead of the SOUL we play representing the original owner/will of the body, this time the SOUL we're playing as is the intruder.

Essentially, this time around we are playing the role of the Chara-equivalent instead of the Frisk-equivalent!

(Though whether Kris themself is more of Chara or Frisk I’ll leave to other theorists...)

Anyway, while Kris likely wishes to be rid of the SOUL and dislikes this whole body sharing arrangement, they know they can't survive without it. And perhaps Kris being in a partially soulless state might explain why they do questionable stuff like creating Dark Worlds and slashing their mom's car tires in order to play with their friends. (Again, see also: Asriel/Flowey.)

But when the Red SOUL and Kris are in alignment, things go okay. The Red SOUL suggests commands, but Kris is willing to follow and seems to enjoy being with Susie and Ralsei.

Let’s Talk About Snow Mercy

It's when the Red SOUL and Kris aren't in alignment... well. That seems to be what's happening in the Snow Mercy route. That kind of situation sure didn't go so hot with Frisk and Chara in Undertale, so I doubt this will end nicely for Kris and the Red SOUL either. At the very least, Kris seems to have been visibly upset after what happened with Noelle in this route.

(By the way, there are two other moments in Chapter 2 when Susie asks if Kris is okay - first after the normal Spamton NEO fight and subsequent discussion of what it meant and second after she and Kris approach the bunker.

Three different moments, but Kris appears to react similarly. Are all of these things related? The bunker, Kris being puppeted, and the events of the Snow Mercy route?)

Meanwhile, here’s a contrast. Undertale's Murder Route seemed to exist for the sake of curiosity and power - either the "Player" or Frisk's desires, whichever interpretation you subscribe to. And the changes to the world were all logical consequences of that - because of the Fallen Child's rampage, friendly NPCs disappear, major characters fight you more seriously, etc.

But the actions in Snow Mercy are... weirdly specific, weirdly unpredictable. It doesn't come across as a simple power trip. Instead, Snow Mercy is a bunch of really bizarre actions that feel even more mysterious to the player as they are to Noelle and Kris. I sure wouldn't have guessed that backtracking to the trash heap and freezing a bunch of enemies would lead to new items spontaneously appearing and then giving Noelle access to a scary new spell. It's like something straight out of a creepypasta!

The overall tone that comes across to me is that the Red SOUL seems to know what it's doing, even while the player is kept in the dark. And given Noelle's responses, it almost seems like the SOUL is trying to remind her of events/actions from her past, events which are obviously unknown to the player. All of which leads me to think that the Red SOUL has motives and goals of its own... so just like Undertale, this probably isn't a situation of the "Player" being a fourth wall-breaking force either.

The Red SOUL is its own character.

And I'm certainly curious to find out more about them!

#undertale #deltarune #deltarune chapter 2 #frisk #kris #chara #noelle #the red soul #no separate player #undertale analysis #deltarune analysis #my ramblings #read more #is this my first ever deltarune/undertale analysis post?#huh I think it is!#haha I guess I've always just been a reader until now

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anika-ann · 4 years

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WINSoD - Pt.2

We Move Together...

Type: series, soulmate AU series (part 1, part 2, part 3)

Pairing: Steve Rogers x reader Word count: 2400

Summary: In which Steve might get a bit tipsy and jealous in a sweet way.

A/N: As adertised, What I’d Never Say or Do (Had I Been in My Right Mind) is only refered to as WINSoD. Also - enter Age of Ultron ;)

Warnings: mention of superntural creatures, alcohol, language, briefest mention of death, journalists acting like jerks

Part 1 (previous chapter)

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The press conference was a thing from nightmares. You did not enjoy all the flashes of cameras; you were not Tony freaking Stark, all charming and witty when over a hundred reporters stumbled through the doorway of the huge conference room. No, you could only manage to be sassy and fun within a circle of your friends. Which you found yourself in anyway, but boy, the presence of the others was still very much apparent and they were the ones asking questions.

Even Bruce had been forced to come, much to his dismay, but him and Clint were for some reason left out when it came to the poisonous questions, their duo considered only unwilling participants of the whole plotting for and against the poor soulmate pair of you and Steve.

You truly envied Thor who was off to Asgard once more. And while you wouldn’t want to be in Bucky’s shoes, you sure as hell wished you could sit this one out as he did, the public still not aware of his existence safe for one priest who had helped him to find his way to Steve.

It was ridiculous. The tone a question was asked with was enough to distinguish whether it was aimed at you and Steve or at someone else. Hell, when it came to you and Steve, they didn’t even bother asking, just stating the facts instead.

“Such a long recovery. That must have been horrible, especially with amnesia involved, wasn’t it.” (Yes, shockingly. What is it to you, huh?)

“Such luck you were able to remember, isn’t it.” (Luck had nothing to do with it. God’s sister has.)

“You must be angry with Captain’s team too, aren’t you.” (No, they are the best, you idiot, this whole thing is a stupid lie.)

“I am sure you’re willing to share your story since people were grieving for you in such a worship-like way…” (…fuck you.)

In reality, you tried to word your indignation towards this herd-like aggressivity aimed at the Avengers and the blatant pity for you rather carefully, speaking of hardship but justified, and yes, you were very lucky indeed. They didn’t need to know just how much.

Steve received a pretty similar set of questions, but they were more of anger and questioning whether the team was still able to function after such a betrayal that nearly ended up tragically. Steve was surprisingly convincing in his act of a disappointed teammate and friend and expressed hope that they would be able to continue to exist and cooperate, his team slowly earning his trust back.

“Have the outcome had been different, my reaction would be too. But the love of my life is here with me and that is what matters. I cannot begin to say how lucky I am to have her back and I thank God for that every day.”

You bit your cheek so you wouldn’t laugh at the private joke and smiled at him instead, earning a whispering wave of ‘awww’ from the crowd and a blinding mess of camera flashes when you gathered the courage to lean in and kiss Steve’s cheek chastely. The reporters went absolutely nuts.

Tony and Natasha on the other hand had to face the stoning. Seriously, there were being personally attacked, questions dripping venom. But they clearly had more experience and knew how to answer without the cunning reporters being able to twist their words into something else, much to the vultures’ dislike and annoyance. Duo Stark-Romanoff fought back and very effectively.

It filled your chest with pride, having friends capable in so many ways. They were so freaking badass.

It made the whole experience more bearable; that and Steve’s hand always touching you, grounding you and reminding you that never ever he would let you face the wolves alone.

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You all knew that a public apology and trying your best to deal with the press somehow wouldn’t be enough. Well, you had hoped it would, but hadn’t quite believed, expecting to have to more in near future.

You were right, of course, which was why you were currently dressed up (or dolled up, as Steve loved to say, because you were his doll, after all) and forcing yourself to leave the elevator once it would stop, with Steve by your side.

“It’s gonna be alright,” he coaxed, knuckles brushing your cheek tenderly, planting a soft kiss to your temple, too worried about smudging your lipstick despite Natasha’s earlier reassurance that it wouldn’t smudge under any circumstances as she had thoroughly tested.

You tried not to think about that kind of testing and clearly Steve felt the same.

Instead, you gazed into the cerulean blue with a drop of green of his eyes, not convinced. He was being sweet and all, which you appreciated, but in reality, he had no way of knowing it would be alright. Mostly because Tony went all the way and invited all the important people who could influence the public opinion as much as rising stars of whom he felt could influence the public in the near future.

So next to a senator and a group of big-shot businessmen, there would hang out a pair of lawyers sticking for the little guy and right next to a supermodel, there would be a girl starting a new food bank. Thinking about it, it was a funny parallel to Steve and you by his side, except you weren’t doing any good, unlike them. Not that you would say that out loud.

To be fair, the Avengers decided to spice thing up a little by revealing Bucky Barnes being alive, very slowly leaking his story of a brainwashed soldier. Funnily enough, in a shadow of your big reveal, his own went rather quietly.

People were so freakin’ weird.

“I guess I’m gonna survive…” you murmured, ignoring the icy shiver that ran up your spine at your choice of words. Steve’s gaze seemed to turn distant for a moment before coming back to you, some of the strength he had been trying to project into you disappearing in the wind because of the painful memory. “Sorry. That was-“

The emotion no doubt twisting his gut caused his inhibitions to fly out of the window and his lips captured yours in a searing kiss that took your breath away. You melted against his muscular frame that seemed to engulf you completely, his calloused fingers grabbing onto your bare shoulders, digging in a bit deeper than necessary.

Your head was spinning with the passion displayed so openly and in the back of your mind, you registered that the elevator stopped, but before you could get to the idea of thanking Tony’s AI, your brain got side-tracked when Steve shamelessly licked into your mouth and backed you into the railing by the wall.

Feeling the familiar heat pool in your lower abdomen, sending sizzling heat through your veins, you instinctively gripped the lapels of his suit jacket when his lips retreated to give you a chance to breathe in.

Who needed breathing anyway?

He grinned against your mouth, the little shit he was, and one of his hands guided your head to a tilt for better access. You most definitely whimpered at that as his body trapped you against the wall completely, not leaving an inch in between.

Feeling him this close would never get old and you thought you might burst by the time his mouth moved to your left ear, keeping you in place while his hand moved from your shoulder to trace the line of your dress, slipping between the high slit of your dress to caress your thigh.

“Watch your mouth, doll. Or I’m gonna have to do exactly this to shut you up every time you don’t,” he whispered and your ragged breath caught in your throat when the perfect comeback popped in your head – a reasonable one, surprisingly enough.

“I bet the press would love that.”

His fingers flexed on your leg and his teeth very carefully nibbled on the skin of your neck, causing your heart to skip a beat.

“Don’t care about the press,” he growled lowly, sighing as if in pain when he slowly pulled back, leaving you clutching the railing so you wouldn’t fall as your legs turned into an uncontrollable wobbly mass. Then, as if he wanted to ruin you completely before the night even started, his lips were graced by a soft smile, his eyes twinkling. “I care about you.”

“And you call me trouble…”

He had the nerve to wink at you and thank the AI for the stop he never explicitly asked for.

“My pleasure, Steve,” Jarvis hummed, sounding amused and self-satisfied.

Your soulmate gentlemanly offered you an elbow to lead you out of the cabin.

“Shall we, my lady?”

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In all honesty, the party wasn’t that bad, mostly because it wasn’t just to celebrate your resurrection, but also retrieving a sceptre Thor’s brother had used during The Battle of New York.

You wouldn’t go as far as saying you enjoyed the evening greatly, but you had met several interesting people of which only few had weird questions regarding you; however, weird questions when showing up in public was an everyday occurrence.

You finally truly understood why Steve was happy you treated him like an equal (most of the time anyway).

Every single original male Avenger and Sam and Bucky made sure to dance with you as well as with Natasha and for a good measure, when the song got the right beat, your favourite redhead dragged you to the dance floor for a friendly dance; needless to say Natasha was much better at spontaneous dancing than you. Steve assured you about the opposite by a kiss and a rather filthy promise as soon as you shared your thoughts on your lacking skills with him.

Actually--- yes, you might even say you enjoyed the party very much, uncharacteristically for you, considering the insane number of people attending. The penthouse was way too full, but here you were, sipping on your third glass of champagne, listening to Thor’s colourful narrating regarding Asgardian battles. It wasn’t that you were interested in battles, no – it was the man himself creating suspense and gesturing wildly and making the whole clutch of listeners breathless.

“Careful with the admiring, doll,” Steve whispered to your ear, his arm sneaking around your waist out of nowhere, nearly making you jump out of your skin. “I might get jealous.”

Giddy from the alcohol, you turned your head and brushed his lips with yours.

“We did establish I’d marry Thor if you weren’t an option, didn’t we?” you teased lowly, catching the wink Thor sent your direction as if he heard you despite your hushed voice. It wasn’t flirtation; no, it felt more like mischief, as if he was being your wingman, which he excelled at apparently, because Steve might get little possessive if the grunt by your ear was anything to go by. “As if you didn’t know I only have eyes for you.”

“Just eyes?”

“Why, Captain, are you implying something?”

“Maybe.”

“Of course, my heart is yours as well,” you smirked at him, making his somehow annoyed and pleased at the same time. You leaned even closer. “And everything else.”

“Alright, but what about that hammer of yours? I mean, I saw people swinging around Captain’s shield – though not as skilfully – but no one uses your weapon. Why? Is it that heavy? Are you the only one strong enough to… keep it up?” one of the women asked, apparently more than a little tipsy, judging by her implication.

Gee, she had no inhibitions. Were you being like this now? You really hoped not…

“Well, my lady, that is a very complicated matter…” Thor started, clearly pleased by that question.

“Dance with me again,” sounded softly at your ear and your lips automatically curled up in a smile.

“Whatever makes you happy, my love.”

Steve grinned as he swiftly got rid of the glass in your hand and was already pulling you away by the time you noticed the envious or the amused stares of your companions.

“Green’s not a good colour on you, Steve,” you hummed incidentally, earning an actual pout. “This is adorable though. And I’m not gonna complain about you getting a bit handsy more often.”

“Trouble, doll.”

“I love you too.”

“I do love you. I’m sorry if I got annoying. It’s just… ugh. Thor. You got this look in your eyes and I just-”

Oh.

You sometimes forgot Steve could be as self-conscious as you were. It made your heart ache and yet grow with fondness for your soulmate.

“No, Steve. I might get starry-eyed, because of course I do admire him. It’s easy to get captivated by his stories or his manners, just look at the crowd around him. But you… there’s something about you… that strikes me right here.” You tapped over your heart pointedly. “You know me through and through and yet here you are. You must know I’m yours and still – you treat me every day like you’re courting me and at the same time, we’re comfortable with each other and--- yeah, that. Thor is great. But you’re everything. You’re mine.”

“I’m yours,” he confirmed, brilliant eyes shining, the drops of Asgardian liquor he had consumed adding to the glow. “And you’re mine.”

“Meant to be…” you cooed, happily giving in to his lips when they found yours again for a short moment. You barely realized you stopped in your steps as the slow song had made you only sway. You whispered into his lips then, unbothered. “Plus, I bet you could lift that hammer and keep it up too if you tried.”

His rich laughter filled your ears and he spun you both in circle, planting a kiss on your forehead. You already planned on how you’d get him a custom-made mug with a little hammer on it, reading ‘I am worthy’ or something like that. You were sure he’d love it.

Yeah, it was an amazing party.

Here was a funny thing though; when you had already been confronted with the fact angels and God existed, you should have known blasphemy was a thing.

So, naturally, as you had said ‘I guess I’m gonna survive…’, you should have known there would be a thick chance that you wouldn’t.

That was the first thing that flew through your mind the moment something burst through a wall as if it was made paper thin and not metal.

The second thought? Oh shit.

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Part 3

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Thank you for reading!

Like I said, chapters of this fic will be less chronologically tight. Buuut, you’ll see ;) Also, sorry it took me so long.

#fanfiction #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers x you #steve rogers soulmate #soulmate au #steve rogers #captain america #captain america x you #captain america x reader #captain america imagine #steve rogers imagine #avengers #a:aou #mcu #marvel #captain america soulmate #winsod #anika ann

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worangetraveler-multiverseguide · 3 years

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Looking at 331... curious and perhaps annoyed?

Okay that might be a bit of an exaggeration but here’s the thing I was looking yesterday WAITING for the chapter and the second I don’t look its out and by the time I saw it I couldnt get in the mood to react to it and its MAYBE about the class A-hole? So yeah... curious and annoyed IS kinda accurate

ANYWAY Future Worange here ready to check what this chapter... so let’s go?

We begin from where the communication problem class’ A-hole tried to shot Komi and while she was stopped she went all “why so angry? it’s just a game” which while not WRONG... inmediately shows her as an A-hole in my book

And so the mood in the class went heavy... damn (also hi Not!Oda)

Thanks for the insight AND Shiinasshole’s name gugu gaga man (not but seriously it amusing Ogiya got to narrate the summary of last chapter)

OH so yeah... even with that armor looking arm it counts as taking the bullet so... sorry still don’t remember her name but she is out of the game and it IS knowledge (4th wall-y at least) that she and Komi are friends since first year even when they dont talk much

OH!!! she’s Kishi-san! thanks Komi... o.o! Komi is the one thanking (VERBALLY) KISHI for the help and Kishi (silently) knowledges her... small yet sweet moment tbh

And then Kishi died, the end. PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT

Katou in charge of her class doing an assesment of the situation, apparently the third years have been left to be for the time being... which IS concerning... but for now their focus is to protect the buzzer although the fear of the first and second years teaming up is a possibility

HOWEVER

Seems Suteno (2nd year’s A-hole) has take a hold of the first years and now holds the buzzer in his hands

Aori Umai... good at exaggerating... meh, it does for good narration so I like her :P

That IS the most kind hostage enforcer I’ve seen... amusing xD

Katou WAS RIGHT, Suteno is planning to use the first years as extra force to overwhelm the third years

Guess the dude is less annoying A-hole and more charismatic A-hole... that IS a bit better tbh, but yeah first years wanna play some more so a lot are following them

Although Apparently Hiki, Susumu and a third new friend are in hiding... but no focus on that for now

The march toward the third years begin and

Yamai...

and Nanakanaka...

This is the first time you will ever hear me being excited to see them both (Yamai more specifically)

PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT

NOT EVERY CHUUNI IS RELATED YAMAI!?!?!?!?! xD (although yeah Suteno MIGHT be a bit Chuuni you know?)

anyway BLOODSHED TIME! (not real blood but still)

FIGHT TO THE DEATH LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooo... probably next chapter? DAMN IT! (but understandable)

Back to 3-1 the situation while tense internally seems secure with the secret police defending the outside

Meanwhile Komi is a bit anxious about Shiina... which yeah, valid

Oh hai Machi what’s happening now? oh she calling Komi cute? accurate accurate

OH and Komi returning the compliment back, how sweet :) (and again verbally which is NICE to hear... you know what I mean :P)

Mmm... okay? “Tragic” backstory for Machi?

So Machi’s wish since before getting to highschool was to be called “cute”... all things considered? Hey everyone has their goals

(also Not!Oda I’m not filling that comeback cause 1-RUDE! 2-japanese puns... I fail them)

Komi-san has fulfilled Machi 3 year long dream and it’s a burst of emotions

The room is getting a bit more friendly now

“What was that all about?“ ... honestly? while Shiina is still an A-hole... she kinda has a point of this being weird, but is nothing BAD so not sure what to say

I thought I was gonna be angrier at Shiina or that she was gonna be a bigger A-hole... but apparently whatever is coming between her and Komi-san is gonna happen NEXT TIME

A couple of movements and excited for more shenanigans this was interesting, and honestly that’s all I can ask for this right now :D

See you... most likely in the next chapter cause its POKEMON WEEKEND BABY! Never fully played gen 4 so the remake should be fun to experience.

#komi san wa komyushou desu #komi san can't communicate #future worange from beyond mountain 302 #chapter 331 #worangetraveler-multiverseguide

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mistytpednaem · 3 years

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So, what’s up with Another Me?

Honestly, I tried to draft this post, but the mental block made me decide to just go for it stream-of-consciousness style. Which I hope doesn’t bode poorly or anything. But here goes!

The Past and the Present

As you may know, I’ve been at this for a while now! Since 2014, in fact. In that time, I’ve gotten through the prologue and... most of chapter one (fun fact: I do have the entirety of this story mapped out! We are transitioning into what should be the final scene of this chapter. Originally, I wanted to make this post - or something along these lines - once I finished the chapter, but I figured since the year was about to end I’d be better off doing it now).

Now, let’s not mince words: that is a long time. I have six chapters total (not counting the prologue) mapped out for this comic, and there is more I’d like to do beyond it (what I like to call Arc 2, or, as you may or may not know: The Part Where My Pet Character Marco Evangelisti Actually Shows Up). If I keep going at the current pace, I will probably not be done within my lifetime. So, if I’m aware of this, what gives?

... I mean, damn. There’s a lot I could point to; I was finishing my degree until 2016, and I suppose that takes something out of you. I have unreasonably high expectations for myself, as the people closest to me know. “2020 was a bad year for everyone,” I tell myself, before I also go on to say, “but even though updates slowed down even more this year, it’s not like they’ve been particularly speedy for the past couple of years, and I haven’t had that bad of a year anyway, so that’s a shoddy excuse.” And then some semblance of reasonable thought comes over me and reminds me my grandfather had a stroke in March of last year and passed away in early June of this year, and I’m like “I mean, okay, I guess I’ve been through SOME things.”

But lighthearted reflections aside, there are more actionable problems I have identified - such as, in an overarching sense, my attitude. My friends made me realise this some time late last year, and while I’ve been trying to work on it, I have to admit I’ve made very little progress: at some point, I developed a seriously unhealthy relationship with my art. Here is how my workflow has tended to go:

Start scripting update. I have a small readership, but that’s okay; I am grateful for every suggestion, I can work with this, and I AM building towards something that excites me.

Script done, regardless of insecurities. It’s time to start working on the actual panels. This sketch didn’t come out exactly the way I intended, but hopefully it still works (alternatively: this sketch looks promising! I am excited about this sketch. Sometimes, I do feel happy with my sketches).

Oh dear. I was hoping the lineart would help a little (alternatively: oh dear. the lineart completely ruined this perfectly fine sketch). Maybe it’ll still look alright with colour?

Oh no. I hate it, actually. I suppose I’m too sloppy; I should be more careful next time.

(Repeat for however many panels i have planned for an update, typically with mounting guilt the longer I take on each one, because I keep taking longer and longer and, to my eyes, there is no improvement.)

Well, as my friends keep reminding me, done is better than perfect. Let’s post it!

The update is posted to a small readership and a quiet response, which, again, is okay, but leaves me wanting for feedback that I cannot get because I am reluctant to spread the word for several reasons, one of them being that I’ve convinced myself my work isn’t good enough.

Rinse and repeat, with the process continuing to be slow - if not turning exponentially slower - because apparently when things make you feel bad your brain starts wanting to protect you from them.

Apologies if this is a little harsh, but it is genuinely the most sincere breakdown of The Whole Deal that I can produce.

The good news is there are things I can do about this! Not easy things, granted, as they tie deeply into a lot of the recurring neuroses in my life, but in theory, the more I embrace imperfection, and the less I worry, the faster I should be able to work, and I should start getting some serotonin out of the whole thing again. In theory. This is not the only issue, however, and I have good and bad news about the other issue I’ve identified:

I don’t think the forum adventure format is working in its current shape.

It’s not about the suggestions - I love working with suggestions! Reader interaction is fun, it’s already shaped a good number of things and I hope it continues to do so. It’s more of a matter of visibility. Tragically, forums are not the most In Vogue things these days, and that reflects itself in, well, poor visibility. I’ve tried to remedy this by allowing suggestions through MSPFA, Tumblr and Twitter as well, but honestly, it hasn’t helped much. I think I’ve only gotten one or two suggestions through MSPFA? And don’t get me wrong, I’m sure this is in great part because of my passive role in getting the word out! But it’s all contributing towards this strange, shrinking spiral of a feedback loop.

The good news is that, since I have identified this problem, there should be an actionable solution. The bad news is I’m not quite sure what form that solution should take just yet.

The Future

Whew, that was a lot. So, what’s in store for 2021 and beyond?

Well, er, like I’ve implied, I’m a little unsure. But that’s my default state of existence, so let’s go over what I think.

When I finish chapter one, I would like to find a proper hosting place for AM. As I said, I don’t think the forum thing is quite working out, and MSPFA is a wonderful website, but I feel AM has little to do with most of the content on it beyond the second-person narration and the script-style dialogues. Whether that means a change in format is needed along with the change in hosting, I’m not sure; I would like to keep the whole “one panel per page with text underneath it” deal, which... should be doable on most places, but in this current year, I’m frankly not sure how it would come across, haha.

(I’m also not sure what this hosting place should be, mind you; potentially a wordpress blog with a layout tailored for comics, but drawing isn’t actually my day job, so I’m not sure how viable paying for a domain name might be. Or hosting, for that matter, should I need it - but imgur has been friendly enough of an image host so far.)

What I do know is that I want to keep the suggestions, even though I’m not entirely sure how well that will work without a forum structure. Comments on a post, perhaps? Maybe. But we can’t forget that this doesn’t solve one of the other big issues, which is my reluctance to advertise. And there’s still, you know, my unhealthy, unreasonably high standards affecting my entire workflow.

... But that all kind of comes back to one thing, doesn’t it? The fear of taking the plunge? That’s what I need to overcome. Plans are a good first step, but they mean nothing if I don’t act on them. Which is part of the reason I’m talking about all this - so people can hold me to my plans.

(Plus, like, offer feedback and opinions. That’s very valuable too.)

This whole Future section is a whole lot more uncertain than, I think, even I hoped for when I started writing this post. But I hope what I’m trying to say comes across in some kind of way - not just in the sense of this being elucidating (which, don’t get me wrong, hopefully it is!), but also as far as conveying my feelings to my friends and readers is concerned.

I’m going to keep trying, and I know I’m a little lacking in the Doing department, but now you all know what’s been on my mind. Thank you all for the support, stay safe in These Trying Times, and hopefully we can all keep growing together.

#another me

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heathtrash · 4 years

Text

the title is called something like “video magic”

i'm feverish because i have ye olde coronavirus!! but i had this stupid fic idea that i’ll never write but i thought it might Bring Joy to like One Person

pippa starts a youtube channel about "magic" and everyone thinks she has really good editing effects. but it's real magic and she shows some simple first year potions. hecate is appalled when she finds out but agrees to go on as a guest for a hair tutorial

they're not even dating at the time and pippa gets like thousands of comments asking if they are In Love and she wonders whether she should tell hecate about the comments or not. luckily hecate has no idea how to use The Internet

but the students have long since hacked their maglets to be able to connect to The Internet and they find this video of miss pentangle and miss hardbroom Together and not even hecate can ignore the rumours that go around the corridors and interrupt her lessons

hecate asks pippa about it. and like hecate didn't even consider the Scale, that hundreds of thousands of people would see the video and be able to comment on it and then she is like,, "all these people think we are In Love? ludicrous. let us make more videos to prove that we are Just Friends"

they make a huge long video series where pippa demonstrates all kinds of different hairstyles on hecate and hecate’s just there, blushing profusely. it’s really obvious how much both of them love it but neither of them wants to admit and hecate is soldiering on

they do other videos on witchy cooking and herb gathering and hecate starts taking it really seriously even though it’s meant to be a joke. pippa starts getting private messages from people who are like “i think i might be a real witch because i tried this and it Worked” and there are only so many times this can be a coincidence

pippa realises that she’s accidentally discovering people who have a bit of magic in them and considers the future of her youtube channel. on the one hand it’s a really great way of meeting people who are Secret Witches but on the other, the sanctity of witchcraft and magic is under threat. she discusses with hecate and hecate says she should consider deleting the channel

but hecate is sad about it. hecate realises all this time that she’s been looking forward to their weekly Just Friends videos and wonders if they should do something else. just as Friends

pippa’s like, “of course i’d Love to have you over, hecate. all you had to do was Ask”

so they meet up and hecate realises there are a lot fewer excuses to do things like Pose Together With Witchy Item and go out for walks in the woods and narrate the things they are doing (she loves the way they hand over narration back and forth). there’s a dynamic that’s missing and hecate wonders if the whole Other Thing that she can’t put into words - the thing she was sad about - was just made up in her head. she starts declining pippa’s invitations.

pippa starts to notice Something Is Up and flies to Cackle’s. she doesn’t even know why she’s going. she finds herself at an old spot in the woods where she and hecate used to love visiting when they both were students and she asks hecate to come and meet her there

hecate thinks something is Dreadfully Wrong and hurries down. as soon as pippa sees her she rushes over and just. holds her. it feels like forever since they have embraced like this

pippa word vomits about how the time they spent together meant so much to her - more than much - everything. hecate feels tears come to her eyes as she realises that pippa is voicing her own feelings that she had been denying over and over. pippa sees hecate’s emotions clear as the sun dappling through the leaf canopy overhead and she realises that they’ve both been utterly useless

pippa steps forward. it starts off as her brushing away hecate’s tears from her cheek, but then she smooths back a loose hair. hecate shivers at the touch. pippa traces along hecate’s jaw towards her chin and rubs a thumb over her lips. hecate trembles. she wishes she could kiss pippa’s thumb, but obviously pippa is just being Friendly, right?? right???

pippa is ten different kinds of distraught as she waits for hecate to react in any way. “hecate-- can’t you see i’m in love with you?”

hecate is taken aback, because no one could have seen this coming, not ever. all she can do is whisper, “pippa, i--”

pippa thinks this is it. she’s ruined their friendship forever. “are you all right?”

hecate just nods.

pippa turns and hides her face from hecate. a breeze sweeps through her hair. “i haven’t ruined it all, have i? please let’s go back to how it used to be, and forget this ever happened.”

“you misunderstand. that is not what i meant.”

pippa looks back at hecate, searching her face. hecate gives a halting smile. pippa rushes back, and places her hand into hecate’s shaking, outstretched palm.

pippa gazes up into hecate’s eyes, alight with the warm sunlight. “may i kiss you?”

hecate nods, but pippa waits until she hears a breathy, confessional, “yes,” fall from her lips to do so.

they eventually start up a new video series on the witch world web and continue making educational videos for witches. a bright student from cackle’s called ruby cherrytree who specialises in merging technology and magic helps them make the videos viewable to people with magic in them who don’t know they are magic. the secret of magic is safe, but the videos reach the people who need them most.

#the worst witch #tww #tww17 #the worst witch 2017 #hicsqueak #hecate hardbroom #pippa pentangle #this kind of turned into a long summary #heathtrash writes #i'm ill #this is ridiculous #i'm sorry if you read the whole thing with your eyes #obviously this isn't how i usually write #it's not indicative of the effort and detail i put into my fics #my fics are trash tho we all know that #anyway i'm going to bed #let me know if you liked it??????

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mahou-furbies · 4 years

Text

Closing thoughts on Re:Creators

Based on what I had heard I expected a lot worse of this, but ended up enjoying it quite a lot even if there were some major issues. To recap the premise, this is an anime original story about fictive characters showing up in real Japan and teaming up with their creators and the government to stop one character who wants to destroy the world. And one of the characters is a magical girl.

(spoiler warning)

My biggest problem that was mentioned in many of the reviews I glanced too was that the characters talk WAY TOO MUCH about the story and the conversations often aren't interesting at all. There are so many long, long scenes where the cast just sits in a room and drones on what they know now and what they will do about it. And it's not helped by the fact that often the one doing the talking is the character with a very monotone voice.

Like for example when the main cast starts to co-operate with the government and have a lengthy conversation about the Plot, the scene ends with an exchange about how the fictive characters need a permit to live in Japan, and it just feels so pointless. If this scene didn't exist I don't think anyone in the audience would have asked about the citizenship status of the characters, and if you absolutely had to bring the topic up you could just have someone say "good that the government lady helped with the paperwork yesterday!". And later we do get a scene just like that, where one of the characters is like "hey, check this out, I got a mobile phone from the government lady!" and that's it, we didn't need to see a pointless "please give us phones" "okay" "thanks" conversation. And while this discussion really only took 30 seconds and shouldn't merit its own paragraph, to me it felt like emblematic of the issues of the story. I got the feeling that the writers were really proud of their plot, so their main concern was shoving the plot details into the audience's faces at any cost.

So this is very much a plot and theme first kind of story, and the characters are there just to represent a very specific thing in it and there is very little to the characters outside of that. I'd say that they are just serviceable enough to carry the story, but I didn't grow attached to any of them and am unlikely to think about them again. The most interesting character stuff came from the authors and their creations interacting (except the one author perving over the female characters) which showed that there was a lot of potential. Unfortunately everything around the main guy and his not-girlfriend was my least favourite character stuff for being boring at best, and the emotional conclusion of the main plot that relied on the not-girlfriend's story felt kind of uncomfortable and distasteful.

However even if "too much talking" and "not very interesting characters" are kind of major problems, there was still a lot to like. And the biggest draw for me was that the passion to create stories really go through. There's always something fascinating about watching people who are passionate about something, and I really got the feeling that the people behind this think that anime is totally awesome. There were times where it felt a bit too self-absorbed with the plot about how anime makers are vital to saving the world, but the main vibe I got was celebrating the need to create.

The show was also very consistent with its theme, so while I would have appreciated if the characters had more scenes where they talked about something else besides what being a creator means, at least the anime was distinctly about something. So the story is full of stuff like characters from edgy grimdark stories being pissed at their creators for making them suffer so much. The concept of anon hate and beginner artists getting discouraged when their works get no hits is touched. In the clip show recap episode the character narrating inserts a sexier, hypercompetent version of herself to defeat the antagonist in their first meeting, but then backtracks because that would make for an unsatisfying story. Later she complains that the antagonist is a pain to animate. The antagonist had a fun origin; unlike the other characters who were from anime, manga and games, she's a popular fan creation and has a ton of different people making all kinds of videos of her. Which results in her having a lot of different powers from different videos, and she gets more as new videos get popular.

One of my fave scenes was when one of the (in-story) characters is seriously wounded in a battle and she's giving her last desperate speech, but then her author is like "come on, I would never write such a stupid death as this for you!" and tweets about a concept of a new super form, and the fans love it and it goes viral (literally in seconds but whatever) and then she does get that powerup and the scene is just so cool.

The cast had characters from various different kinds of stories, but it was kind of a bummer was that there were very few characters who didn't have some sort of supernatural combat ability. Like, if this is supposed to be a mishmash of popular anime characters, where are all the idols, 4girls1club moe girls, the ordinary high schoolers from a coming of an age love story? Towards the end we do get a girl from a dating sim, but I wish there had been more.

Then of course there was the magical girl. She was my favourite character (or tied with the main writer guy and the bounty hunter guy), and that wasn't just because she was a magical girl either. At first she had some trouble adjusting to the fact that this world doesn't operate under the same rules as her optimistic kid show does, but her coming to terms with being a fictive character makes for good character development. She's also the first character to die when she tries to talk things through with the antagonist. And while it kinda was the "kill the cute and friendly character to show that the story is serious" type of moment and I'm sure the people who hate Madoka would also hate this show for it, I don't think it was framed in a "look how stupid and naive this idiot is" way because she knew what she was doing and carried herself with dignity. Shame she died so early in the story since I would obviously have loved to see more of her.

I've read some pretty ruthless reviews and while I can agree that there were some major issues with the writing, ultimately I found it an enjoyable watch and worth checking out at least if you're into writing stories yourself.

#re:creators #review I guess #side character magical girls

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another-dr-another · 4 years

Text

Fight!

Maeda, narrating - I-Is Higa seriously going to try to fuck someone up?

Maeda - I don’t think Kobashikawa would’ve done something-

Maeda - Oh, shit!

~*~

//Higa pauses at Tsurugi’s cry, as though he wouldn’t expect anyone to react to what he was doing.

Higa - ...What?

//Tsurugi appears a bit stunned, but quickly shakes it off- he continues to approach Higa and Kobashikawa.

Tsurugi - Correct me if I’m wrong, because I really hope I’m not understanding-

Tsurugi - Did you hit Kobashikawa?

Higa - You make it sound like such a big deal...

//Looking around the room, Higa quickly realizes that everyone thinks its a big deal.

Higa - Look, it’s just some friendly rough-housing-

Higa - He can take it, or he can learn to!

Higa - Besides, it’s good for him. The only reason I did it is because he’s clearly been coddled too much, even for an invalid-

Higa - I mean, there’s not even something wrong with him, it’s just in his head!

Higa - So, I’m getting him out of his head.

Tsurugi - ...There is...

Tsurugi, processing - ...Okay.

Tsurugi - So, you were trying to help?

Higa - I mean, I guess. Really, it’s nothing too serious, just that no one’s really willing to use fear as a motivator these days.

Higa - For some people, it’s just what you have to do.

Tsurugi - ...Mhm...

Tsurugi - But, you see, I personally disagree. I don’t think that fear helps, especially not with psychiatric conditions.

Tsurugi - That’s not the point though- which of us is right.

Tsurugi - The point is, this wasn’t the right way to go about trying to help Kobashikawa.

Tsurugi - Did he ask you for help?

Kobashikawa - The fuck I did not...

Tsurugi - Yeah... Higa, now’s just not the time, okay?

Higa - God... you all don’t have to make such a big deal out of it.

Higa - This generation’s too sensitive...

Tsurugi - Please avoid comments that only serve to make fun of others, Higa.

Higa - ...Fucking pussy...

Tomori - ...

//Tomori crosses the room to join Kobashikawa- together, they walk towards Ōtori, and the three begin conversing, presumably about Higa.

Tsurugi - Is everyone about done introducing themselves?

//The class seems to be a bit unsettled still, but give their agreement, allowing Tsurugi to continue.

Tsurugi - Cool!

//He pauses for a moment, before the tension leaves his body- he’s more relaxed, similar to his intro.

Tsurugi - Yeah, totally cool.

Tsurugi - Let’s just take a moment to chat, and relax, okay? We can go look around some more afterwards.

Maeda - ...Tsurugi.

Tsurugi - Hm?

//Maeda tilts his head, telling Tsurugi to come back over to him. Tsurugi obliges- he’d already begun to slowly distance himself from Higa, but uses this as a chance to drop the matter before it can get worse.

~*~

Maeda - ...Is it really fine to handle Higa like that?

Tsurugi - Howww... so? Like, what do you mean by that?

Tsurugi - If you’re concerned that he’s getting off too easy, I just wanted to be sure he wouldn’t hurt anyone.

Tsurugi - His stances are bull, and I kinda think that ableists should like... explode, but I’m not going to be able to change his mind by publicly confronting him right now.

Tsurugi - Embarrassing people works for those in a power of position- it’s about reputation, loosening the influence they have.

Tsurugi - But... Higa’s kinda just... a teen who’s about to get ostracized by his peers. A blow to his ego will fuck him over, and I’m not saying we need to be nice and respectful when he’s being a bigot,

Tsurugi - But I think that making him more upset is a bad idea, so... diffusing the situation!

Tsurugi - The stuff Higa says is absolutely harmful, I’m not denying the impact it has, but calling him on it is just going to make him double down and lash out.

Tsurugi - Right now... I’m not trying to make him feel comfortable, like he can just say shit like that-

Tsurugi - I just don’t want him to be ticked off at everyone and ready to throw hands when we have zero clue what sort of situation we’re in.

Tsurugi - ...If that all makes sense?

Tsurugi - Sorry. I don’t really think before I speak, and then I feel like I’m inarticulate, and like I come across as super evil-

Tsurugi - And these are kinda some high stakes, I don’t want to come across as one of those people who thinks that hating bigots is the same as hating oppressed groups,

Tsurugi - So, like... I get so worried that I won’t explain my point well, even though I have a lot of experience and science and facts and research to back up what I think,

Tsurugi - And then because I didn’t think, I don’t have a cohesive point, so I keep over-explaining,

Tsurugi - And that is exactly what I’m doing right now, God fucking damn it.

Maeda, processing - ...

Maeda - I mean- so, if Higa starts trying to cause problems again, you’re not just going to let that slide?

Tsurugi - Oh, no. Not at all!

Tsurugi - I... think that Higa can change, because everyone can change, but he’s very aggressive, both in actions, and in how vehemently he brings up his god awful takes.

Tsurugi - People have to want to change, and realizing you were wrong is hard, and it all takes time.

Tsurugi - But, people shouldn’t have to put up with the harm that others inflict, even if that person can change, or wants to change, or is changing, or any of that.

Tsurugi - I’ll... work on getting through to him, working out what makes him tick.

Tsurugi - But no, in the mean time, if Higa can’t behave and follow the social obligation of “don’t be fucking evil to other people,” I’m not just going to let him be like that.

Maeda - Mhm... I don’t really have anything to add, but it seems like you’re confident in your thoughts.

Maeda - You’ve got it all handled, right, Tsurugi?

Tsurugi - Yeah! Just leave it to me, I’ll take care of it.

//Tsurugi grins, and throws up a peace sign, blatantly dramatizing his actions. After a moment of holding his pose, he goes back to a more neutral state, silence falling over the duo.

Tsurugi - ...

//He raises his hands up, about halfway between his face, and Maeda’s, and-

Tsurugi - Pop! Pop-pop!

//He curls his fingers in, then rapidly splays them out- it’s reminiscent of fireworks, or some other sort of explosion. Tsurugi’s conscious of Maeda’s personal space, and keeps his distance, but does try to make it clear that his antics are a way of trying to mess around with Maeda.

Tsurugi - Pop pop pop pop pop pop pop!

//While Maeda is unsure of... quite how to react, Tsurugi does illicit a laugh from him, prompting Tsurugi to laugh as well, and still his motions.

Tsurugi - Hmmm..

//He clicks his tongue a few times.

Tsurugi - Yeah, alright.

Tsurugi - Maaaeeeeda, do you need anything?

Maeda - No, not that I can think of...

Tsurugi - Okay...

Tsurugi - Maeda, I’m gonna go chat with Kobashikawa real quick, if we’re done here.

Maeda - ...Yeah, alright. That makes sense.

Maeda - Go check in on... that whole mess-

Maeda - Not... Kobashikawa, he’s not a mess. Just the mess of what Higa did.

//Tsurugi laughs a bit.

Tsurugi - I get what you mean.

Tsurugi - ...

//Tsurugi begins to walk off, but there’s clearly something on his mind. After a moment of deliberating, he turns around to face Maeda.

Maeda - ?

Tsurugi - ...You and me are besties now, okay Maeda?

Tsurugi - Everybody in the whole entire class, we can all get along well. And I hope to befriend everyone who’s willing to be friends!

Tsurugi - But I’m labeling it, here and now. I’m your friend, and if you need aaaanything, you can come ask me, no matter what!

Tsurugi - You don’t have to, but I’m happy to help.

Tsurugi - ...There are some things I’m not good at. Like training dogs, which I found out due to a very very not-fun experience.

Tsurugi - But no matter what, I’ll do my best!

Tsurugi - Okay?

Maeda - ...

Maeda - ...Why would he say that?

Maeda - I feel sick... not like I’m going to throw up, but... I feel wrong.

Maeda - ...

//Tsurugi watches Maeda, looking... almost concerned.

//Maeda relaxes.

Maeda - Tsurugi’s nice.

Maeda - Yeah, okay! Besties.

Tsurugi - Hooray!

~*~

Maeda, narrating - Everyone’s... sort of formed their own little groups.

Maeda - I mean, makes sense. People talk with those around them, I wouldn’t expect there to be a full group discussion going on while Tsurugi and I chat.

Maeda - Speaking of, Tsurugi seems friendly...

Maeda - I kinda feel like I have someone looking out for me, which is nice.

Maeda - I was so anxious that things would be... really bad.

Maeda - But it feels like almost everyone is in the same boat of trying to work out if they’ll be accepted into the group or not...

Maeda - So long as they aren’t rejected first, they’ll accept whoever- reciprocal... I don’t know, reciprocal not-being-shunned.

{Talk with Hatano and Iranami}

{Talk with Higa and Yamaguchi}

{Talk with Inori, Kurokawa, and Maki}

{Talk with Kobashikawa, Tomori, Tsurugi, and Uehara}

{Talk with Mekaru, Ōtori, and Taira}

[Talk With - All]

#dra #au #yuki maeda #mitsuhiro higa #haruhiko kobashikawa #tsurugi kinjo #kizuna tomori #tw: ableism #prologue #rewrite 23

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theorynexus · 4 years

Text

Fifty and Four sends us cresting over the hill, if we weren’t already. How long until we hit the bottom?

Oh ho? Jane’s perspective again, huh? ‘t’s been a while.

EEEHHHH?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Oh gosh, oh gosh, oh gosh, that is not good!

Rrrrgh, she does not need to be building up a habit like that! The consequences of such use are far too severe and unpredictable, even if you don’t consider the potential negatives to one’s psychological health. >.< Gosh... even with her Life aspect probably protecting her a little bit from its sugary after-effects, reading that makes me feel sick. > ~~~ <

Figures that a Cherub would be biased in favor of it. At least Alt!Calliope is willing distance herself and try to be objective, though.

***giggles uncontrollably, even though this honestly shouldn’t be funny***

Very politically-minded, but it also sortof sounds like the excuse-making that an addict would engage in, so I am not convinced that this is a legitimate argument. Yeah, shoring up your base is important, but doing something that could strongly alienate swing voters is not necessarily wise, either. I suspect she knows this too, but is in denial about the fact of the matter, because she enjoys the benefits of Trickster Mode too much. It is quite interesting that the human kingdom’s subjects appreciate it so much~

HAAAAA. Oh my fricking gosh, Alt!Calliope is a Cherub Supremacist! XD

(Sortof makes sense, based on the mindsets that were described in Aranea’s [?] talk about the Cherubs’ origins, though. Might be biologically-driven, honestly.) Also, it’s quite interesting to see Jane interacting with Alt!Calliope like that, but it is hardly unique or overly-noteworthy, all things considered... at least, most likely. Quite a few other characters have responded to narration in a similar manner.

... Honestly, I was about to freak out about the Juju getting covered in dirt and grime, but the way she tossed away probably significant keepsakes, trophies, or the like for the sake of honoring it is... quite disturbing, and speaks to a danger in her presumably worsening compulsion/habit. Though they might just be cookies.

Dirk displays surprising wisdom/good judgment, here, and amusingly alludes to the fact that his voice is being otherwise suppressed. His actually talking in a scene represents a nice sort of loophole, but not one by which he can utilize such control as he would otherwise be capable. ... And yes, her burning out is a very legitimate concern, which speaks to the fact that Dirk definitely+legitimately cares about the things that serve his purposes and/or agendas. They, he is willing to more gently guard, comparatively, it would seem.

It feels like this is a reference to something, probably from the 1980s or early 90s, but I can’t place my finger on it. Oh well.

This is very amusing, honestly.

Deeeeeerp. (Yet another example of why it is difficult to take his attempt at super-godhood seriously... or at least find it anything better than dreadful. Dirk is great at juggling many things at once, but not as great as he’d need to be. )

Oh, and I appreciate Jane’s concern for Dirk. She is indeed correct in saying that he is usually much better at it than my previous comment might have suggested. But I am not entirely being unfair, insofar as this is true: the greater the responsibility one wields, the greater the level of competence one must have in order to pass proper muster. He was failing in his attempt. I didn’t really give him all that much of a chance to sway me, honestly, but my own demeanor in dealing with him had nothing to do with the actual quality of his work.

This must be really concerning to Jane. And... honestly, yes he is. They are very, very similar. Dirk is just more obvious with his intelligence, more controlled, and more mature. They are both highly ambitious, crave challenges, enjoy art, have quite a bit of masculine pride, and have a shared appreciation for irony, riddles, and absurdist humor. Caliborn was likely very, very influenced by Dirk in particular, both of them received Yaldabaoth as their Denizen due to their personality and prowess, and both of them are highly manipulative men of questionable morality. Also, their sexual interests seem to be somewhat similar, but that is a debatable matter. Lord English has Lil’ Hal integrated as part of his soul, Lil’ Cal has played a profound part in both of their (multiple) life cycles. Finally: as of the Epilogue and his attempted control of the narrative seen therein, Dirk essentially has pursued the same goal that LE did: domination of Paradox Space through his will controlling the natural flow of events. Dirk and Caliborn are in truth extremely alike.

I do so very much like where this is going. It would seem that we will soon find out precisely what Dirk is planning. “Diminishes and ascends” has an interesting ring to it, as well. That red rifle: Is it the one that launches portals? Honestly, Dirk is indeed quite clever, by the way. He has the seeds of great potential. It’s simply that it has not fully bloomed, yet, and he is a little bit overly full of himself, and arrogant in what he believes he can do. And yes, he is indeed temperamental when people interfere with his plans, it seems.

There’s the scheming politician we’ve all been waiting for. Way to go, thinking in such calculated manners and considering backstabbing ones you care about, Jane. Somewhat petty, and certainly rather dangerous, all things considered (things are a bit more explosive, where gods are involved), but closer to the political ideal which I would hope for if she were to be portrayed as competent. (Of course, I am actually disgusted with that sort of behavior. It’s one of the things I dislike about politics. I’ll recognize that it at least paints her in a slightly better light than the previous samplings of her thought process and tactical capacity has; thus, I generally like and dislike where this is going.)

Yep. Angelic purity with sexual potency/desire. There has always been this sort of tension in Hope’s nature. Just like the fact that angels are, in Biblical texts, both symbols of terror and destruction as well as hope and salvation. All (almost all?) the important positive interactions with heavenly beings start with fear on the part of mortals, followed by a “Fear not!” to suggest they come in peace. Otherwise, they come bringing judgment and wrath, and thus don’t tend to bother much with formalities.

Is that sarcasm, Jane? If not, there’s certainly a heavy layer of irony. Do remember what just happened with Jane when she invited Jape Jake over for a friendly visit, not too long ago, my good audience members.

... ***twitches, and tries very hard to hold in the inappropriate laughter***

If only I had someone so dependable to tell me when I was not dwelling far enough into the land of Always Woke. Perhaps then I would be able to avoid the inevitable scandals that would result from Foot-in-the-Mouth-itis. Oh, wait, no politician can avoid being attacked for various probably minor accidents on their part as the populace naturally over-reacts to what honestly may not actually reflect their character so much as them being accident prone or ignorant? What’s that about manipulation of audio/video recordings for the sake of generating useful sound bites that might be used in an attempt to impugn the honor of any prospective candidate? Oh. I see. Thank you for that important bit of knowledge that I otherwise might not have had access to, imaginary adviser. (Note: I do not actually believe that one should try to be as careful as possible with regards to what one says; nor that one should ignore or scorn important social issues. I am utilizing exaggeration and mockery for the sake of comedy.) ... Alt!Calliope’s description of Dirk holding the rifle is quite elegant and beautiful.

This is indeed a beautiful irony, seeing the situation with regards to Dirk and Alt!Calliope’s tendencies toward bias being reversed.

***snickers*** Magnifique.

It is strange to see Alt!Calliope teasing and egging him on. It may be unintentional. Hard to say.

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oohfluffy · 4 years

Text

DDND Ch.12 | KJI

Group: EXO

Member: Kim Jongin

Theme: Fluff | Dancer!AU | Dormmmate!AU

Word Count: 1,863

❀ Chapter 12: I Knew It ❀

"So, are you coming or not?"

Tiffany and Joohyuk waited for you to react or answer as you stared at them with a blank face.

You blinked like you just woke up from a dream.

"Ne? What are we talking about?" You innocently asked as you wiped the table in front of you.

"Aish. Did you seriously just stare at us while we were telling you a lot of things?!" Tiffany whined, hitting Joohyuk beside her, who just scoffed and moved away from the two of you.

"Hyuk! You're not gonna help me?" Tiffany asked with a pout.

Joohyuk glanced at you before looking back at Tiffany.

"You can do it. Fighting~"

Tiffany frowned, crossing her arms as the boy went back to the counter. She looked at you with a sigh.

"Dongsaeng~" Tiffany sang as she approached you.

"What is it, unnie?"

"Well, you see, DanWiMu is having its anniversary this Saturday and—"

"If you're inviting me to go, no thanks, unnie." You said without any signs of hesitation.

"It's not like you have anything to do this weekend, right? Come on! It feels like a year since we hung out together!" Tiffany groaned.

"I..."

Saturday? That means he'll be there?

You looked at Tiffany and sighed.

"I'll think about it."

Tiffany pouted but nodded at you.

You were in the middle of serving orders when you heard your name got called.

You looked around and saw a very familiar face. Your eyes widened.

"Seulgi?" You whispered.

You immediately put down the orders on the right table and walked quickly towards her.

She was sitting on the table near the window with two other girls.

"I knew it was you!" Seulgi exclaimed when you got near her. You grinned and hugged her as she stood up from her seat.

Seulgi was the only one who gave you so much comfort and care when you needed a friend. When you got kicked out of your house, you met Seulgi on the way. She's a daughter of your Aunt Sunny's friend. You spent so much time together that you can be mistaken as sisters. You're on the same age as her, that's why you both understood each other more.

But one day, she went away.

You didn't know why but it was fine as long as she got to say her farewell to you. It hurt so much to let go of the only friend you had back then but it made you so much stronger too.

That's why you're so thankful to meet Joohyuk when you turned 18, working as a part-time employee in the same café when you were in college and becoming best of friends with Tiffany, who was already working there.

"When did you come back here? I thought I'll never see you again!" You said, pulling away from the hug but letting your hands stay on her shoulders.

"Well, I guess we'll be staying here for a few weeks. Not for good though but I'll be happy to catch up with you everyday!" Seulgi replied grinning at you, making her eyes turn into crescents.

"You're still the same Seulgi I've known. I'm glad." You smiled.

"Yah! Are you making me cry now? Oh." Seulgi turned towards the girls she's with. "Lin, I want you to meet my friends. This is Wendy," The cute-faced girl waved with a friendly smile. "and this is Irene." The other girl beside Wendy that has a cold aura but as she slightly smiled at you, you felt calm.

They are so pretty. Where did they even come from?

Seulgi pulled you towards their table and made you sit even though you kept on telling her that you're on-duty right now.

"We'll just talk for a bit."

You sighed in defeat before nodding.

"So, is there any reason why you came back? I mean, you went to America to study, right?" You asked Seulgi.

"Yes. I just came back from America last week. I'm sorry I haven't contacted you for a long long time. I'm currently working on a performance right now. These girls made me join them." Seulgi pointed the two girls silently chatting in front of the both of you.

"Performance?" You asked with your eyebrows almost knitted together.

"Yep. There's this place called DanWiMu, where you can dance, sing or anything as long as it's with music. These girls have been bugging me to dance with them since they needed to fill a slot. I agreed though since they're my friends." Seulgi narrated then sipped on her drink. You listened to her attentively, missing how you two conversed before.

"I know that place. I've been there before." You commented with a nod.

"Really? That's great! You can watch me perform then." Seulgi's eyes brightened as she smiled. You gulped. You're having a hunch that she'll be performing this Saturday for DanWiMu's anniversary.

I guess I'll be going.

"But I didn't know I needed to dance with a guy." Seulgi said with a frown.

Your eyes widened.

"Y-You're gonna dance with a guy?" You stuttered asking.

"Yeah. I was surprised at first but when I met him, I felt relieved. Seriously, not just because of his godly looks and body, I swear!" Seulgi said with a flustered face as you chuckled nervously.

It's not him, is it?

"He's gorgeous as hell. But he's also a gentleman and a sweet guy. And let's talk about how he dance! Oh ghad. If you watch him dance, you'll melt like cheese. His moves were always on point and graceful like he's dancing with the wind." Seulgi said with a smile.

Please tell me it's not who I think it is.

"W-What's his name?" You asked bravely.

Seulgi answered with a smile.

"Kim Jongin."

It's a good thing you're sitting right now or else your knees would have given up on you if you were standing.

Why?

"You know what, I've been thinking about him lately. His face always pops out of my mind and how he moves. I think..." Seulgi trailed off as she bit her lip.

No.

"Oh, buddy. What do we have here? Why are you sneaking off of work?"

You almost jumped as you saw Joohyuk in front of the table you're sitting.

Thank you, Joohyuk.

You quickly stood up and turned to Seulgi, Wendy and Irene with a smile.

"It was nice meeting you all. I hope we meet again next time. I'll be going back to work now." You said and bowed before turning around with Joohyuk walking behind you.

As you reached the kitchen, you slumped on the floor. Dara, who was instructing the cooks, looked at you in surprise. You just smiled at her and put a thumb up, saying you were fine.

But you're not.

"Hey, you okay?"

You closed your eyes for a minute before opening them again.

"Yeah, I just felt a little dizzy." You answered Joohyuk with a small smile.

Joohyuk suddenly sat beside you, leaning his head back on the wall.

"What happened?"

You bit your lip, hesitating if you should tell it to him or not.

"When did you ever think twice about telling me everything, buddy?" He asked, looking down at you with a frown.

"I-I just met my best friend, who left 8 years ago."

"Then isn't that great?" Joohyuk exclaimed, grinning at you but frowning again when you didn't smile.

"Yeah. I-It is."

"Tss. Then why do you look like that?"

You chucked but ending up coughing because of forcing it out. Joohyuk patted your back, still with a frown.

"Are you going crazy?" He seriously asked.

"Maybe."

You slowly leaned your head on Joohyuk's shoulder and sighed.

"I'm getting so down because of no reason. I think I'm just getting emotional." You mumbled.

"Yah, you two. What are you doing here? Why are you both lazying around?"

You both suddenly stood up with shocked faces.

"Aish. Jongdae hyung~" Joohyuk whined at your manager, who just laughed at him.

"Get back to work, you two."

"Ne!" You and Joohyuk chorused, walking out of the kitchen.

"Those two really." Jongdae chuckled, walking back to his office.

♫ ❧ ♫ ❧ ♫ ❧ ♫ ❧ ♫

"I'm so sorry, buddy! I can't accompany you today. Mom's calling for me." Joohyuk said, biting his lip.

You smiled then patted his shoulder.

"It's fine. I can handle myself. Besides, Tiffany unnie is here—"

"I need to go now! Bye, my dongsaengs!"

You two watched how Tiffany left while skipping on her steps like a kid. You wondered if she ate any candies earlier.

"Well, I guess it'll be only me." You mumbled with a smile. Joohyuk sighed before ruffling your hair.

"I'll just treat you tomorrow, okay?"

"Call." You said quickly.

When Joohyuk left, you cleaned the café with the other 2 part-timers.

"I'll lock the doors, so you can go home earlier." You said while mopping the floor.

"We can wait for you though, noona." Wonwoo, one of the part-timers, said with a grin.

"No, it's alright. I know you're both busy in school and need to do your own tasks at home. Noona can handle herself well."

It took you a while to convince the two but they agreed at the end. After all, being a student and an employee at the same time is hard.

You finished cleaning with the two but stayed a little later when they left since you needed to check the doors and bring down the curtains of the windows before locking the front door.

You came out of the café, locking the door with a tired smile.

"Finally."

You turn around, finding Sehun with his hands on his slender waist.

"I thought you're spending your night here." Sehun said with an amused face.

He was standing beside his black Audi.

"Sehun? Tiffany unnie went home—"

"I knew it." He mumbled, smiling as he looked up.

"What?" You asked, not hearing what he said.

"Let's go."

"Where?"

Sehun looked at you as he opened the door to the passenger's seat.

"Home. You don't want to go home?" Sehun asked with a grin. You rolled your eyes, feeling your lips tug in a smile.

"Okay then."

Sehun drove as you browsed his music playlist.

"Why did Tiffany unnie go home without you as her service?" You suddenly asked, making Sehun glance at you.

"She's trying to be a matchmaker again."

Your head automatically turned towards Sehun with your eyes wide as realization hit you like blocks.

"Aish! That unnie, seriously. She doesn't know when to stop." You muttered under your breath, leaning back on your seat. Sehun laughed at your actions.

"She thinks she's Cupid." He commented as he stopped on a red light.

You fell silent after that.

I've told her that I like Kai and I won't stop liking him unless I said so. Why is she so—

"You like someone."

Sehun wasn't asking.

It was a statement.

You closed your eyes before nodding.

There's no use lying to Sehun-ah. He's a good friend and I trust him.

Sehun saw that and smiled.

His smile didn't reach his eyes though.

"I knew it."

—

❀ Ch.13

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falseroar · 5 years

Text

Acting Lessons

((Another short story in the same universe as Can You Wake Up? in which Yandereplier comes to Y/N for some acting advice and the other egos get involved. A silly story that’s on the longer side than my other shorts, it should not be taken seriously at all. Does reference Code: Pineapple briefly for a joke.))

It was a quiet afternoon in the Iplier house, which is to say there currently wasn’t anything on fire and the constant mayhem and destruction was at a minimum, or at least in another room where you couldn’t hear as you sat on a couch in the living room, reading.

That is, until you heard a throat clearing and looked up to see Yan standing in front of you, dressed in their usual schoolgirl outfit and with what could have passed for a friendly smile on their face. At least, you hoped it was friendly as you said, “Oh, hey Yan. Did you need something?”

“I’m glad you asked!” Yandereplier said in a cheery voice. “I could really use a partner for some script reading.”

“A script?” you asked, putting your book aside to get a better look at the badly stapled packets of papers in question, which from here looked to be covered in several scribbles and various hearts. “Are you working on a new skit?”

“Uh, not exactly…” Yan dragged their foot back and forth across the carpet before looking up at you, the picture of embarrassment as they admitted, “It’s for a school play.”

“That’s cool,” you said, thinking it would be good for Yan to have some kind of hobby that didn’t involve their Senpai or pointy objects. “What’s the play?”

“Cinderella!”

Well, so much for that idea.

Yan must have seen your disappointment, because suddenly they lunged forward and grabbed both of your hands in their own and pulled them to their chest as they said, “Please, Y/N! Rumor is, my Senpai is trying out for the role of the prince! Prince Charming, Y/N! I need to get the part of Cinderella! And to do that, I need to practice with someone before auditions, and it would really help if I could maybe get some advice too?”

“Uh, I’m not sure I’m the best person…” you said, trying and failing to get your hands back. Yan’s grip was strong. “I mean, Mark is an actor, he’s been in plenty of plays.”

“He’s also in Texas for, like, weeks!” Yan said, pouting. “Plus, he gets a little intense when it comes to this kind of thing.”

“Oh, really?” you said. You were starting to lose the feeling in your fingers.

From the corner of the room, another voice added, “And the last thing we want is to feed into Mark’s already inflated ego.”

You shot a glance at Dark, but he hadn’t looked up from his own book, not even as he added in an undertone, “Not like we don’t have enough of them running around as it is.”

You looked around the room and noted that there were other egos here, including the Host, Bim Trimmer, Google, and Silver Shepherd. “What about one of the other egos? They’re all in front of the camera way more than I am, they have to know something about acting.”

“Debatable,” Dark muttered under his breath.

“And we try not to act against each other when it comes to the romance stuff,” Bim chimed in as he looked up from his phone. “Last thing we want is for Kinkiplier to get involved, am I right?”

Silver and Yan nodded in agreement while you tried not to roll your eyes.

“Kinkiplier, right.”

“Says Y/N, expressing doubt in the existence of the ego despite the reassurances from Mark and his other egos that Kinkiplier does in fact exist,” the Host said.

“An ego that I’ve never actually met before, but who everyone blames when ever something even slightly embarrassing happens,” you added.

“Look, the man’s kinks may happen to include dressing up like the rest of us to do his…things,” Silver said. He threw up his massive gloved hands and said, “No shame, of course, but things get weird when he’s involved. We all know his handiwork when we see it…Eventually.”

“If you knew some of the situations he’s put us in…” Bim said and shuddered. “Point is, we’re not about to risk getting him involved for some school play.”

“Please, you’re my only choice here,” Yan said, not doing a lot to build up your self-esteem. They knelt down in front of you and, turning on the puppy dog eyes as much as they could, asked, “Will you be my Prince, Y/N?”

“Will you let go of my hands?”

“It’s a deal!” Yan shouted, jumping up to their feet with a sprightly bounce. They let go of your hands only to immediately pull you into the middle of the room and hand you one of the marked-up scripts.

“Wait, we’re doing this here?” you asked, very aware of the others in the room.

“Sure, why not?” Yan asked. “If these guys want to throw in suggestions, that only helps me. And it’s not like anyone’s recording this, right?”

Bim immediately sighed and put his phone away while Google raised his hand to make a comment and thought better of it.

“Fine,” you said, already knowing you were going to regret this. “So, do we just start at the beginning, or…?”

“No, no, we’re going to skip straight to the good stuff,” Yan said, turning your pages for you until they found the right scene almost a third of the way into the story.

“’The scene is a grand ballroom’,” you read aloud, “’The reluctant Prince paces the floor, avoiding the other suitors who swarm around him until he makes eye contact with Cinderella, who—‘”

“Will be me,” Yan said with confidence as they took a few steps away and waved the script at you. “Basically, you spot me walking in, come swooping across the room, knocking everyone out of the way just for a chance to dance with me.”

They waited, and then gestured, and you finally picked up on the hint and scanned the script for your line as you walked toward Yan, your eyes on the page.

“What is this? Has a star fallen from the heavens to grace this place?” you read aloud. You paused at the stage direction and gave a belated bow. “Oh star, my starlight! Please, what may I call you?”

“My name is unimportant,” Yan said and you looked up to see that they weren’t reading from the page like you. They had the words memorized, apparently, but… “Forgive me, my Prince, I only came here to enjoy the dance with the rest of the kingdom. I did not wish to disturb you.”

“I-if that is your wish, then of course, Starlight. All are welcome here tonight, you most of all,” you read.

You tried to ignore Silver Shepherd as he leaned over to Bim and said, “This Prince likes to lay it on thick, doesn’t he?”

You continued, “But may I be so selfish as to ask for a dance in exchange?”

“Oh, there it is,” Bim muttered. “Always a catch.”

Yan glanced at the script and said, “Then apparently they dance for a while, music plays, yadda yadda other people who don’t matter, and our next lines are…here.”

They turned your page for you before saying, “My Prince, the hour. I must leave.”

You frowned but answered, “Please, Starlight, stay just a little longer. I cannot bear to see you leave, not yet.”

“But it is almost midnight.”

“What do hours matter? This time is too short, but it’s enough to know I need so much more. I can see in your eyes that you feel the same, so why do you turn and leave?”

“I am sorry, my Prince, but I must leave.”

“Have I imagined it? Forgive me if I have trespassed, but I thought…I thought I saw something more. But how can a star feel anything for a mortal such as I?”

“My Prince, do you not see the answer in my eyes?” Yan said, and you looked up to see their eyes were glassy, all of their concentration on reciting the lines. “I love you. I want nothing more than to—But I must leave.”

Yan blinked and glanced at the script again. “And that’s where Cinderella runs away, there’s a big chase scene, lose the shoe and the magic wears off as the clock strikes midnight, end scene. Did I get all of my lines right?”

“Um, yeah, you remembered them all…” you said uneasily and glanced toward the others for help.

The Host had one hand over his mouth, either to block the shape of his muttered narration or to keep from laughing, you weren’t sure, and Dark was pinching the bridge of his nose while still determinedly staring at the book held in one hand.

It was up to Bim then to speak up and say, “Yan, hon, you gotta put some feeling in your words!”

“What do you mean?” Yan asked.

“I mean, when you say ‘I love you’ the same way you say ‘There’s gum on my shoe,’ there’s a bit of a problem,” Bim answered. He glanced around the room and added, “It’s not just me, right?”

You and Silver nodded, and Google said, “Even I am capable of expressing more emotion than that.”

Silver thought about correcting the android and then shrugged. “Well, I guess homicidal rage is an emotion, so you’re not wrong.”

“So, what do I do?” Yan asked.

“Relax,” Bim said, jumping up to stand beside Yan. “You’ve got all the words figured out, now you just need to put some ‘oomph’ behind them. Do you know what I mean?”

Yan thought for a moment and then nodded. “Yeah, I think so.”

“Then run it again from the top!”

You cleared your throat and asked again, “Please, what may I call you?”

Yan flashed a giant grin and said in an over the top cheery voice, “My name is unimportant! Forgive me, my Prince, I only came here to enjoy the dance with the rest of the kingdom! I did not wish to disturb you!”

“Uh, better?” you said. “But I’m not sure that’s the right emotion for this scene.”

“What, really?” Yan asked, looking at their script again. “But this is supposed to be a happy scene, right? All of the dancing and love and all that?”

“Well, yeah, but you sounded more like it was all just kind of a joke, like more ha-ha happy than love scene happy,” you said. You rubbed the back of your neck and looked to Bim again, who nodded in encouragement. “I mean, try to imagine you’re in this scene, that you’re Cinderella. How would you feel?”

Yan looked at you blankly and you tried again.

“Maybe try imagining that the Prince is your Senpai when you’re talking to him? How would you say these things to him?”

Yan nodded and said, “Yeah, yeah, I think I can do that. Pretend you’re my Senpai.”

They cleared their throat and said, “F-forgive me, my Prince, I only came here to…to enjoy the dance with the rest of the kingdom. I did not wish to disturb you.”

You relaxed as Yan shyly looked up at you before staring back down at the floor again, hands tight behind their back and their shoulders tucked in from embarrassment. This was a lot better, and you felt more confident yourself as you read again, “If that is your wish, then of course, Starlight. All are welcome here tonight, you most of all. But may I be so selfish as to ask for a dance in exchange?”

Too late, you saw the other egos shaking their heads, and even Dark had stopped pretending to read and was halfway out of his chair before Yan cried out, “Oh, Senpai! I thought you would never ask!”

With a sudden change of energy, Yan wrapped their arms around you, pulling you in close as they said, “Just you and me, for hours and hours and hours. What could be better?”

“Uh, then midnight comes,” you wheezed, trying to break free from Yan’s clinging grip as you added, “And Cinderella has to let go.”

“Why would I ever let go of my Senpai?” Yan purred. “And I know my Senpai would never let go of me! I love you so much I could just cut you open and crawl inside to be closer to you!”

Yan blinked in surprise when they found their feet leaving the ground as Dark shook them by the back of their white shirt, adding “Drop it,” in the same voice of a pet owner trying to convince their cat to drop a mouse.

Yan let go and you staggered back, coughing a little.

“Oh,” they said. “I, uh, went a little overboard pretending, huh?”

Dark just dropped them and went back to his seat, where he held his book up in front of his face in an apparent effort to block out the rest of the room.

“Y-yeah,” you said as Silver offered his arm for you to lean on until you regained your breath. “You could say that.”

Bim placed a hand on Yan’s shoulder and said, “Maybe being in the play isn’t the best thing for you, Yan. I mean, if you get a little too excited when it’s just Y/N, what are you going to do if it really is your Senpai playing the prince?”

You tried not to feel insulted by that “just Y/N” when you saw Yan’s lips start to tremble and their eyes tear up. “Hey, it’s okay, Yan. Did you even really want to be in this play, or were you just doing it because he might be in it?”

“Well of course I only wanted to do it because of him!” Yan bawled. “I can’t just let some, some hussy be Cinderella and have him confess his love to them on stage, in front of everyone!”

You and Bim exchanged looks and he said, “It’s not really confessing though, is it?”

“It’s just a play, Yan,” you added. “None of it’s real.”

Yan shook their head and said, “No, you can’t just say you love someone and it mean nothing!”

“What? Of course you can say the words and it mean nothing, watch,” Bim said. He turned to you and placed both hands on your shoulders as he spoke. “Y/N, you would not last two rounds on one of my shows. Like seriously, blood and viscera everywhere, not pretty. You’re never giving me the studio time I clearly deserve, and you’re certainly not as handsome or as talented as my dear Matthias, but I want you to know…I love you.”

Bim smiled and said to Yan, “See? Absolutely zero attraction, isn’t that right, Y/N?”

“I kind of just want to slap you now.”

“Exactly!” Bim said, oblivious as he added, “They’re just words, Yan. Anyone can say them.”

“But I have to be Cinderella so he’ll fall in love with me like he’s supposed to!” Yan shuddered and added, “And I don’t know what I’ll do if someone else gets the part…”

There were several nervous faces around the room at that, but before anyone could answer, Yan suggested, “Maybe, maybe if I see how someone else plays the part, I can figure out how to do it. Or how to be okay with it if it’s not me. Please?”

You sighed and asked, “Do you really think it’s going to help? Maybe you—”

“Thank you, Y/N!”

You stepped back quickly before Yan could hug you again and they spun to face the other egos. “So, which of you wants to play Cinderella?”

At this point you realized that your audience had grown without you realizing it. Possibly attracted by the noise, there were now more egos than you remembered in the room. A second Google had taken up position in the opposite corner, watching it all with an impassiveness that suggested his internal drive was focused on something else, and your couch had been taken over by three egos jockeying for space so they could watch.

One of the new arrivals, who insisted on wearing his cowboy hat and reflective sunglasses even indoors, shrugged and said, “Well, I am quite the actor, if I do say so myself.”

“I’m pretty sure you’re the only one who would,” Silver scoffed.

Ed bristled and said, “I’ll have you know a fine salesman has to do quite a bit of acting! Why, I pulled out the ol’ charm and the right story and I managed to sell my son to a couple with 15 boys of their own already. Best deal I ever made, I’ll tell you what.”

“Uh...” you looked around to see if anyone else heard that, but aside from the Host, who gave a noncommittal shrug, and Dark, whose brow was creased and his eyes darting back and forth as if doing his own mental calculus, no one else commented. Even the third ego on the couch appeared to be too nervous to notice the connection as he looked from one person to the next and judged the distance between himself and the nearest exit.

“Yeah, I’m not casting you,” Yan said, waving for the salesman to sit back down. “Anyone else?”

Another ego wearing a crown and a long fur cape poked his head up over the couch and raised his hand.

“I, I’m King of the Squirrels,” he said. After checking around to make sure everyone was still aware of that fact, he scurried into the middle of the room. “And you said Y/N is a prince? Does that mean we’re related?”

“I don’t think that’s how it works,” you said.

On the couch, Dr. Iplier gave a noncommittal sound and said, “Well, if we’re going based on European royal tradition, more of them were related than not, so…”

“Besides, I’m not a real prince. It’s just pretend, right Yan?”

“It’s not pretend that Senpai is my prince,” Yan said dreamily.

The King of the Squirrels took your hands as he said, “Y/N can be my prince! Or my princess! Or both, if they want! Doesn’t matter if it’s pretend or not!”

“That’s sweet King,” you said, smiling. “I’m just trying to help Yan with their play. Do you know the story of Cinderella?”

“Um…” The King hesitated and then said, “I’m okay with just watching.”

Dark lowered his book and frowned at the ego, but his thoughts were interrupted when he heard a soft swear come from the Host’s direction. He glanced over at the ego, who had a hand to his head as though fighting off a headache or possibly facepalming.

“Just remember that it’s all pretend, we’re acting,” you said, eyes on Yan. If nothing else, you wanted to get this point across to them.

“Say,” Yan said, locking eyes with you but talking to the King, “King, can you act?”

“Can I?” The King thought and then nodded with a grin. “I believe I can.”

“Then can you act like you love Y/N and tell them how you feel?”

Before you could protest, the King nodded and pulled you into a hug, the scent of almond butter almost overpowering as he said, “I love you, Y/N! You’ll always be a prince to me.”

You couldn’t help but smile and return the hug with a muffled, “Love you too, King.”

The ego stepped back and looked at Yan expectantly. “How’d I do?”

“Great,” Yan said. “Now that we’re done acting, do you love Y/N?”

“Of course!”

Yan looked at you and gestured toward the King as though that proved their point.

“That doesn’t count,” you said.

Yan just shrugged and said, “If you say so. What about you, Dr. Iplier?”

The doctor shrugged and said, “Well, I have been known to act here or there. Let me give it a shot.”

“Can I be Cinderella this time?” you asked. “I’m getting kind of tired of saying the same lines over and over again.”

“What? No, you’re getting better with your lines every time,” Yan said, while Bim and Silver made iffy noises at that. “It would be weird to change it now.”

“But he just talks so much,” you muttered, eyeing Cinderella’s much shorter lines.

Yan sat down on the couch next to the other new ego who was twisting his handkerchief and trying not to take up too much space, while being careful to keep some distance between them and Ed. Nearby Bim and Silver moved over to make way for the King as he plopped down between them and immediately started whispering excitedly. Once they were ready, Yan said, “Okay, Dr. Cinderella has just walked into the ballroom and our Prince Y/N locks eyes with them.”

“What is this?” you read from the script, sure that at this rate you were going to know the prince’s lines by heart.

Before you could continue, Dr. Iplier swept forward and said, “I’m sorry, my Prince, but you’re dying.”

“Wait, what?”

You heard a few murmurs of interest around the room.

“You’re suffering from a deadly brain tumor that has clearly affected your ability to recognize faces. If you look around the room right now, you’ll see that everyone looks the same to you.” Dr. Iplier said, making you feel more than a little uncomfortable by how accurate that statement was in this particular room. He placed a comforting hand on your shoulder and continued, “It’s the most logical explanation for how you can only recognize the love of your life by their footwear.”

“Oh, in our version of the play the ball’s a masquerade deal,” Yan answered cheerfully. “Everyone’s wearing masks so no one knows who anyone is. Isn’t that romantic?”

There was more than one sharp inhale at the word “masks” and general disagreement at that idea, but Google was the first to speak up. “Based on my preliminary research, I see nothing ‘romantic’ about the concept of being unable to identify possible partners.”

“Research?” you asked.

“Markiplier has commented several times in the past that he wishes to put on a masquerade ball involving his fans,” Google answered. “I have merely looked into the feasibility and logistics of such a plan.”

“He’s not still thinking about doing it, is he?” you asked, privately thinking that you had dealt with enough “masks” to last a lifetime already.

Google started to answer, but Yan made a noise and pointed at the script with a “keep going” expression.

You hesitated, looked at the script, and faced Dr. Iplier as you said, “This is terrible news. Please, my starlight, if I am dying will you at least grant me your time before the night is over?”

Dr. Iplier smiled and nodded approvingly before dropping into his serious doctor expression to say, “I’m sorry, my Prince, but we only have until midnight.”

You faked a shocked gasp. “No! That’s far too short a time! Please, can’t you stay longer than that?”

“I can, but I’m not the problem, Your Highness. I’m sorry, but your disease will kill you on the stroke of midnight. Also, your father has already disowned you and named his dog as the next heir to the throne.”

“Well, at least the kingdom will be in good paws.”

“No,” Yan groaned as you and Dr. Iplier cracked and started giggling. “This isn’t how it’s supposed to go at all! How’s Cinderella supposed to have her nice and happy ending if her prince is dead?!”

“She gets hired to be the royal dog groomer and makes enough of a living wage to move out of her terrible home situation?” you suggested.

“But that’s not romantic,” Yan complained. “Dr. Iplier, if you can’t stick to the script then you’re out.”

The doctor shrugged and flashed you a smile before taking a seat in one of the open chairs.

“Um…you, what’s-your-name, you can be Cinderella,” Yan said, pointing.

Eric Derekson gestured to himself and said, “M-me? I, uh, I don’t know…”

“Come on, you can do it,” Bim said encouragingly, and the other egos chimed in until Eric was standing next to you, wiping his brow with his handkerchief.

“It’s okay, Eric,” you said, smiling. “We’re just reading lines from a script. It’s not a commercial or a sketch or anything like that, no one’s even recording this.”

Google pointedly did not make eye contact with any of his other units, who by this point had all entered the room and taken up stations where they could all get a good angle of the “performances.”

“Y-yeah, I can do this,” Eric said, more to himself than anything as he took several deep breaths. “I can do this.”

He jumped as Yan’s phone dinged and shook his head, muttering, “Oh, this isn’t going to end well…”

The King of the Squirrels murmured something and Bim nodded in agreement. “Yeah, Yan did have a point there. Nothing we’ve seen so far has been very ‘romantic,’ and I don’t think we can just blame Y/N’s acting.”

“Seriously Trimmer, did I do something to you?” You glared at the couch and saw that there was a lot of whispering back and forth going on there and all around the room now as the extra scripts were being passed around. And when had more egos come in? You didn’t remember Bing or Chef Iplier being here before, or the Jims. Was everyone in the house going to be watching this?

“It’s just missing something,” Bim said, ignoring your indignation.

“It could be because none of you are actually doing anything,” Dark said. His eyes flickered up from his book and, seeing that nearly everyone in the room was staring at him, said, “You’re all standing feet apart, just saying the words at each other. I would hardly call that acting or romantic.”

“He does make a good point,” Dr. Iplier admitted. “Isn’t this supposed to be a dance scene?”

Yan started to say something but paused when Google leaned over and spoke quietly to them. A second later, the android straightened up and with more readiness than you expected from him said, “I can provide music.”

“Do we have to?” you asked.

“I-I’m sorry, Y/N, I know, I know you’d rather dance with someone else,” Eric said, “I can just…”

“No, no, I didn’t mean that,” you said, catching the ego’s elbow before he could walk away.

“Great, then cue the music,” Yan said, pointing at Google. They waited for a slow waltz to start playing before they said, “Once again, the Prince spots Cinderella and invites them to dance. Only be romantic this time!”

You held back a huge sigh if only for Eric’s sake and started over again. “What is this? Has a star fallen from the heavens to grace this place?”

You were getting pretty good at the bow by this point, and at the bottom of it you looked up at Eric and said, “Oh star, my starlight! Please, what may I call you?”

Eric spoke, stumbling over his lines much like you had the first time you read them aloud, but every time he looked up at you for confirmation you gave him an encouraging smile. This was a big deal for him after all, speaking up in front of everyone like this.

“But may I be so selfish as to ask for a dance in exchange?” you said, holding out a hand for Eric.

He hesitated and shook his head, saying softly, “I-I can’t…”

“Just follow my lead, it’ll be okay,” you said quietly, taking his hands and showing him where to place them. “Nothing fancy, we’re just going to sway back and forth. See?”

His hands were shaking, and he kept looking down at his prosthetics until you poked him in the forehead and said, “Look at me, okay?”

He nodded, closed his eyes and whispered under his breath before opening them and focusing on your face. Together, you moved back and forth in time to the music, and gradually he started to relax until—

“Sorry, sorry!” Eric moaned when he saw your wince, but you kept him from pulling away.

“It’s fine,” you said. “I barely even felt it. You wouldn’t believe how many times I stepped on JJ’s toes when he was teaching me.”

Behind his book, Dark scowled and the music skipped a beat when the android winced at a sound too high for the others to hear just yet. Taking that as a cue, Yan spoke up, reading from the script as they said, “The dancing continues until the hour draws near. This is your line, Eric.”

“Be sure to show us how you really feel,” Bim chimed in.

“My, uh, my Prince, the hour.” Eric said, eyes darting toward the others. “I must leave.”

“Please, Starlight, stay just a little longer. I cannot bear to see you leave, not yet.”

“But it is almost midnight!”

“What do hours matter? This time is too short, but it’s enough to know I need so much more. I can see in your eyes that you feel the same, so why do you turn and leave?”

“I am sorry, my Prince,” Eric said, pausing to take a deep breath before he started to pull away. “But I must leave.”

“Have I imagined it?” You reached out to grab his hand. “Forgive me if I have trespassed, but I thought…I thought I saw something more. But how can a star feel anything for a mortal such as I?”

“My Prince, do you not see the answer in my eyes?” Eric read the next line and looked into your eyes. “I—I, uh, I…”

And then Eric broke with a suddenness that startled you and everyone else in the room as he pulled you into a hug and said, “I love you!”

After a second you patted Eric’s shaking shoulders and said, “I love you too, Eric.”

His sobbing only grew louder when you asked if he was okay, and eventually Dr. Iplier managed to talk the sniffling ego into sitting down on the couch where he could talk him down. You couldn’t understand what the ego was saying through the tears, but apparently the doctor could make something out. He nodded a few times and explained to you and the room at large, “Sorry about that, apparently it brought up some bad memories from the last time he said that.”

Eric sobbed again but you saw a thumbs up come from the ego’s curled in frame, and Dr. Iplier translated, “He says he’s going to be fine, just give him some time.”

While that was going on, Yan said, “See, Y/N? What’d I tell you?”

“I feel like that was a bad example,” you said, trying hard to ignore the sniffling coming from the other side of the room. You wanted to comfort Eric, but knew from experience that might just make things worse until he was ready for it. “For the last time, Yan, they’re just words from a script.”

“But it’s not just words!” Yan flipped through the script until they were almost to the end and pointed at the page in question. “See, the next scene between Prince Charming and Cinderella, they kiss! Kiss, Y/N, right in front of the whole kingdom and the whole audience and the whole school!”

“Wait, the Prince and Cinderella only get two scenes together in this whole play?” Bim asked, yanking one of the spare scripts from Silver’s oversized hands to check.

Ed Edgar shook his head and added, “Seems to be a bit too hasty, if you’re asking me.”

“But it’s still just acting,” you pointed out. “You can kiss someone and it not mean anything romantic is going on. I ki—uh, can think of several examples.”

You gave the Host a warning glare when you heard a chuckle come from his direction and could swear you saw him silently whisper the word “pineapple” to himself, but fortunately no one else seemed to notice the slip of the tongue. The other egos were too busy debating the idea between themselves, with some agreeing with you while others such as Silver saying that it would be hard to fake that kind of chemistry.

You sighed and added over the noise, “Besides, if you’re that worried about your Senpai maybe kissing someone else, then why don’t you ask the director of the play if it can just be a stage kiss? There’s plenty of ways to fake a kiss on stage.”

“Tell me about it!” Wilford Warfstache cried out, causing you and several other egos to jump because he definitely hadn’t been standing in the middle of the room two seconds ago. “Why I could tell you a story or two about kissing.”

“Okay, prove it,” Yan said, with a backup murmur from the other egos. They flipped through your version of the script and pointed at the page. “You two do these lines together and do the kiss, and we’ll see. Y/N, you’re still the Prince, Wilford, you’re Cinderella.”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way!” Wilford said with a chuckle.

For the benefit of the others, Yan said, “We all know the story, after the ball and the magic wears off, Cinderella goes back to her tragic life, the Prince searches the whole kingdom for the one person who can wear the glass slipper, a bunch of dramatic nonsense, and then they’re finally together again. Now that he’s sure he’s talking to the right girl, the Prince says…”

“Oh, right. Um…” You glanced at the line Yan had pointed out. “Starlight? Is that really you? Are we finally, finally together again?”

“You bet we are, Princey!” Wilford had both arms around you, and with a wide smile said, “It took you long enough. Now about that kiss…”

You gave a startled laugh when Wilford dipped you down, away from most of the other egos, so low you thought your shoulders might touch the floor before he paused, gave you a wink, and then spun you back up onto your feet.

“How’s that for a not-kiss?” Wilford asked the room at large, over the whistling and clapping.

“Confirmed, there was no kiss,” one of the Googles said, and to your confusion there was a mixed response to that around the room.

“But anything could have happened there,” Yan protested with some nudging from nearby egos before you could think about that. “How can I know if someone else is kissing my Prince or not if I can’t even see what’s going on?”

“That’s the point of that kind of stage kiss,” you pointed out. “It lets the audience fill in the blank. Or there are other ways to handle the kissing scene.”

“And I think you might have jumped the gun a tad there, Wilford,” Ed pointed out. “There’s a bit more chit-chatting that goes on before the kiss, you see.”

Wilford nodded along with all of these points and then snapped his fingers. “Right, take it slow, and easy with the kiss. Like a first date.”

He turned back to you and said, “Hey, Prince, I’ve got a fun idea…”

Wilford leaned in and kissed your cheek before gently whispering in your ear, “Let’s steal a car tonight.”

You couldn’t keep a straight face no matter how hard you tried as you said, “I might be up for breaking a couple rules tonight.”

Wilford grinned even when Yan said, “No, absolutely not, that was way too flirty.”

“Guilty as charged,” Wilford admitted with a shrug before taking a seat.

“And forehead and cheek kisses are even worse than real kisses,” Yan muttered.

“What, since when?” you asked, frowning when you saw some of the other egos nodding in agreement.

“They don’t count,” Bim said, and then looked around when he realized just how loud that was. “I mean…We were trying to show Yan that it’s possible to have a romantic scene without the actors actually being in love, right?”

“Which you still haven’t done,” Yan said. “Wilford, do you love Y/N?”

“Do I love them? Why, I’d shoot everyone in this room for them if they asked!” Wilford answered, and no one felt the need to challenge him on that.

“For the record, I’m not asking and never will,” you said and Wilford shrugged before sitting back in his chair, hand off his gun. “And Yan, how many times are we going to have to do this? Shouldn’t you be the one rehearsing?”

“Uh…” Yan looked at the others on the couch and around the room. “Who else can we get to play Cinderella?”

“The Host hasn’t gotten to play yet,” the King of the Squirrels said.

The Host frowned in the direction of the ego and said, “The Host…politely declines Kin-the King’s invitation, as he prefers to narrate stories, not be a part of them. The Host also points out before the others insist that, even if he were to do so, it would fail to acknowledge a fundamental flaw with these ‘exercises.’”

“What’s that?” Bim asked warily, and you couldn’t help but notice that the other egos were very focused on the Host’s answer.

As if sensing that, the Host sighed and muttered something. Only Dark was close enough to hear what sounded suspiciously like, “This might as well happen,” before the ego spoke up for everyone else.

“Yandereplier insists that it is impossible to confess love within the context of a play without the actors being in love, to which Y/N disagrees. The problem is that so far, all of the ‘actors’ already loved each other. Perhaps not romantically, but platonic and familial love are still forms of love, and their acting has done nothing to change its existence. The Host is reluctant to point out that to prove either right would require another actor who does not already love Y/N.”

You stood there alone in the middle of the room as the egos looked around at each other for a moment before saying, “Well, I guess that’s that then. I’m going to—”

“Well, what about Dark?”

There was silence in the room except for the creak of wood coming from within Dark’s growing aura as he finally gave up on pretending to read and looked around the room.

“Who said that?”

“Well, I didn’t suggest nothin’,” Ed spoke up, “But way I see it, that would fit the bill.”

“Unless you love them,” King added with a cheeky grin.

“It’s just a play, Y/N,” Bim added. “None of it’s real. Come on, you can’t let me down now.”

Dark narrowed his eyes even as he felt his aura settle in around him. He had noticed there was something off about the egos, and now it was clear that something was going on around the edges of the room and on the couches of the ‘audience,’ more than just a debate on whether the new arrangement should count or not. He could shut it down now, or…

“You’re right Bim, it’s just a play,” you answered. “But I can still say right now there is no way I am going to kiss that—”

You stopped short when Dark sighed loudly and stood up. His book, left in the seat of his chair, did nothing to stop Wilford from stealing it, but Dark did not seem to notice as he walked over to the other couch and took Yan’s copy of the script from the ego’s unresisting hands. He could feel all eyes on him as he lazily read over the scene in question until he finally spoke.

“If I recall correctly, the agreement was to perform the lines and the kiss, was it not? I can think of a way to stage it in such a way that might suit Yandere’s…shifting goalposts. Unless someone here has a problem with that?”

He waited, suppressing a smile when he saw the egos giving each other meaningful looks while no one actually spoke up. Oh, it felt good to call a bluff.

That is, until the King of the Squirrels raised his hand and asked, “So does that mean you’ll do it?”

And suddenly Dark was not smiling anymore.

“I feel like the Host made a good point—” Dr. Iplier started.

“The Host asks to be left out of this, please.”

“—And if we don’t settle it now, no one’s going to let it go,” Dr. Iplier continued without acknowledging the interruption.

“Past observational data would suggest the doctor is correct on that,” Google added.

Maybe, and this was difficult to admit even to himself, Dark may have misread the situation a little.

When you spoke up, he was sure that it was to end this farce, but instead you said, “What did you have in mind, Dark?”

“What?”

“Staging it,” you answered, and he could hear the frustration clipping your words short. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Dark hesitated. It was either read the scene or endure the childish mockery of the egos, and as stupid as it was, he could not bow out now without losing face in front of everyone. And he suspected that something similar may have been going through your mind as he moved closer.

He sighed and closed his eyes, letting his aura settle until it was barely visible again. You were right, it was best to just get this over with.

“A kiss on the stage means nothing,” Dark said to you and the room at large when he opened his eyes again. “But if you’re insistent on avoiding a physical kiss, one way is to have something in between the two actors’ lips. For example, put a hand on the other person’s cheek—”

As he spoke, he reached up a hand and you instinctively flinched away.

“Y/N,” he said quietly and you glared at him but let him place a hand on your cheek that was on the same side of most of the egos. “Then you just slide your thumb over the other person’s lips and kiss the thumb. It looks close enough to a real kiss if done right, even if it wouldn’t really fool an audience. That should suit your criteria, Yan.”

He let his hand drop and looked to the ego for confirmation.

“…I guess we can see how it looks,” Yan said, glancing at the others before adding, “Let’s try the Prince and Cinderella’s second scene again. So, ball’s over, the Prince has been searching the entire kingdom, Cinderella escaped her stepfamily’s house, drama, drama, and then the Prince finally finds Cinderella walking through the woods with the help of who cares, point is they’re back together again.”

“I feel like we missed a few things,” Silver said.

“I feel like you owe me a dance,” Dark said to you, smiling when you gave him a warning look.

“Who cares?” Yan asked. “This is the important part anyways. Y/N, you start.”

You nodded and glanced at your script again. “Starlight? Is that really you? Are we finally, finally together again?”

A cough barely hid the word, “Act!” from the egos and you gave an exaggerated groan before repeating the line, this time moving closer to Dark as you did so.

Dark barely glanced at his line before drawing away, his eyes not meeting yours. “Please, my Prince. You know that is not my name.”

“But it is you, isn’t it?” You moved closer again. “What may I call you?”

“As I told you before, my name is unimportant to one such as yourself, my Prince.”

You faked a smile, which was difficult as the script told you to reach out and take Dark’s hand. “Haven’t you noticed yet? Could you not know how long I have been searching for you, how far and how long I have looked? You are so very important to me, and I don’t even know your real name.”

“Haven’t you noticed, my Prince? Look at me!” Dark pulled away again and gestured to himself. “I am not the same person you met that night, I never was. I am not your Starlight.”

He turned away from you, head dipping down as he added in a low undertone that still carried through the whole room, “I had a name once. Ella. But I lost it years ago, when my life turned to cinders and ashes. Now all that’s left is ‘Cinderella,’ a pretender and a fake who had to resort to magic to even stand in the same room as Your Highness.”

“Ella.” You paused and then added, “Please, Ella, turn around.”

Dark’s shoulders slumped. “I can’t remember how long it’s been since I’ve even heard that name.”

You looked to the script again before, not without some hesitation, placing a hand on Dark’s elbow. “Then let me say it, again and again and again. I love you, Ella.”

“My Prince?” Dark turned and suddenly his hands were on you, one on your waist, the other cupping the side of your face. “I—”

One of the egos made a buzzer sound and there was a round of disapproval around the room.

“What?” Dark asked, his aura flaring up briefly until you pushed his hand away.

You rubbed at your jaw and flinched both at the numb spot already prickling as the feeling returned and at the sudden flicker and buzz of images in the back of your mind. It wouldn’t have been the first time one of the others triggered a memory from the District Attorney, but this was different, less like a vision of the past and more like a haze of different moments just slightly too far out of reach that left you with an unsettling mix of nostalgia and déjà vu.

“You’re doing great,” Dr. Iplier said, ignoring Bim’s ambivalent gesture beside him, “But that last action felt a little…off.”

“What do you mean?” Dark asked, trying hard to rein in his aura and his temper.

“Looking at the scene, Cinderella wouldn’t be holding the Prince like…that,” Bim said, gesturing toward Dark. “That’s more like something the Prince should be doing, going by the dialogue. He’s the one who should be initiating the hands-on stuff.”

“Yeah, he’s definitely the top in the relationship,” Yan said.

“Yan!” You glared at the ego, who shrugged.

“Just calling it like I see it.”

“I fail to see how it matters,” Dark muttered at the script.

“It just would feel more accurate, I think,” Bim said with a shrug. “That is, if Y/N can handle being the—”

“I swear to God, Trimmer, if you finish that sentence I will—” You stopped short on your threat, if only because this close you could see Dark struggling not to laugh, but you still felt a spike of anger that didn’t quite match your own reaction. You breathed out and it faded, slightly, but as it did you could now feel a twisting roil of emotions rising and falling with the haze of memories at the back of your mind.

“I didn’t see anything wrong with the scene,” Silver threw in, and soon the egos were debating on who should be holding who.

“Whatever gets this over with,” you said, taking another deep breath which seemed to help before placing a hand on Dark’s shoulder, only for him to wince with a light hiss. You drew back your hand quickly with a quiet, “I’m sorry, I forgot—”

Dark rolled his shoulder, clearly avoiding the urge to rub at it as he answered in a quiet voice that would not carry to the others, “It’s fine, just a little sore.”

“I thought…Shouldn’t you have healed by now?” you asked. You had seen the wound in Dark’s chest up close, but you had also seen him recover from other injuries much faster than a normal person.

“Some things take longer,” he muttered. “It may have something to do with the thing that did it. Like I said, I’m fine.”

His aura flared slightly and you nodded, deciding not to push any farther. You put one hand on his upper arm instead, the other resting on his good shoulder with the script turned so that you could still read from it. The memories spiked but disappeared just as fast before you could make anything out, but they left behind a rush of clashing emotions, such as joy tainted by pain, sadness twisted around guilt, a noxious blend of peaceful happiness and anger.

Was something going on with the District Attorney? But why would this stupid high school play bother them like this? Or had that brief brush with Dark’s aura done it?

If you said something now the egos would just think you were trying to get out of the scene, or worse, start to worry. Speaking of the egos, they were already starting to settle down again and the room was quiet by the time Dark repeated Cinderella’s lines.

“My Prince? I—you can’t mean that. I am just Cinderella.”

There weren’t too many lines left, you told yourself as you read, “Ella, or Cinderella, here in the woods or in any palace, no matter what form you take, the answer will always be the same: I love you, my Starlight. And unlike a magic spell, my love has no time limit. Is the same true for you, or should I leave you be?”

You glanced away from the script and met Dark’s eyes just as he said, “Do you not see the answer in my eyes? I love you, my Prince. My heart beats for you like no other.”

The room around you faded briefly as the memories attempted to surface. Once again, they moved out of reach at the last second, leaving you so disoriented that for a moment you were barely aware of where you were or the touch of Dark’s hand on the side of your face.

“If I am your Starlight, then you are my Sunlight, giving life to my days.”

The sickening mix of emotions returned stronger than ever, pulling you into a hundred different directions as he leaned in for the “kiss.” Until they all converged onto one single, overpowering emotion when you realized: his thumb hadn’t moved to your lips.

The slap resonated in the silent room as you suddenly found yourself with one hand pressed against Dark’s mouth.

Heart hammering, a little light-headed but back in control, you paused only for a split-second before leaning in and kissing the back of your hand above Dark’s lips.

“There, one kiss that means absolutely nothing,” you said to the room at large. “If that’s not enough for you, get someone else to play the Prince.”

With that, you tossed your script down and walked out of the room.

Dark stood alone in the middle of the room, one hand still raised to his stinging mouth, and slowly became aware of the conversation going on among the egos once they recovered.

“That didn’t really count as a kiss, did it?” Silver asked. “I know Roxanne says nothing should get in the way of our, heh, quality time, which is why my mask keeps these luscious lips ready for puckering.”

“I did not need to know that,” Dr. Iplier muttered.

“Well, no one said it couldn’t be a stage kiss,” Ed pointed out. “It’s more than I’ve gotten in a while, if you know what I mean.”

“Surprising no one,” Bim said, earning an elbow to the ribs from the salesman. He winced and added, “But someone with more experience in the area such as myself can tell you, that wasn’t a kiss.”

“This just in, Jim,” Jim said as he turned to his brother with a conspiratorial whisper, “Popular opinion is that it was too close to call. It looks like we’ll have to rely on our impartial judges for a ruling on the bet.”

Dark’s aura did not just spread out, it started to leech the color from the area around him with a deep, thrumming noise.

“What did you just say?”

Almost everyone who had turned to look at the Googles suddenly pretended to be busy or just very interested in the furniture as the sounds of Dark’s aura filled the entire room.

The Host’s lips moved silently as he read ahead before he answered, ignoring the hissed warnings from the other egos, “They are referring to whether the kiss in question would count toward the bet going on among some of the egos. In particular, the portion of the bet that related to whether or not Y/N would kiss certain persons in the room, along with other certain outcomes.”

“Yan,” Dark said and the ego quailed under his glare.

“Don’t blame me! I really did need the help…until I found out Senpai was going to be working with the stage crew and not actually in the play,” Yan said, their voice becoming a petulant mutter at that last part, then they spoke up again to add, “I was going to say something when I found out, but then they told me to keep it going!”

“The bet was not for monetary gain, if that is any consolation,” the Google in the red shirt said as he pulled up a screen. “If you are curious, it appears that the greatest odds were on Y/N not kissing anyone. The single condition with the lowest number of winners would have been if Y/N finished the scene and kissed Darkiplier.”

“Excuse me?” Dark felt his aura lash out again and the Google frowned at his glitching screen.

“Even better question, why wasn’t I let in on this?” Wilford asked, the picture of indignation.

“You were not even included in the pool,” Google answered. “It is well known that Wilford Warfstache will happily kiss anyone if given the chance.”

Wilford opened his mouth as if to protest and then sat back with a shrug. “You got me there. Well, who won?”

“No one,” Dark assured Wilford with a crack of his neck. He would see to that personally.

Bim Trimmer, who had been consulting with the original Google, turned to the rest of the room and asked, “Okay, which one of you put odds on both a slap and a kiss?”

And Dark added, along with the echoing hum and creak of his aura, “More importantly, which one of you idiots came up with this bet?”

The Host gave a heavy sigh, but it wasn’t immediately clear which question he was responding to when he said, “…Kinkiplier.”

A second later, Dark’s aura reached a new high pitch.

“Why are you all looking at me?!”

---

Down the hall, you winced at the high-pitched ringing coming from the living room but kept walking. Maybe some fresh air outside would clear your head. However, when you opened the back door you almost ran into the person standing on the other side, who had his hand raised to knock.

“Oh, hi Y/N. I’m the King of the Squirrels.”

“Hi King,” you said, eyes turned upwards as though fascinated with the top of the doorframe. “Trust me, I know who you are.”

“Good,” the King said with a sigh of relief. “I was afraid no one would recognize me without my crown. I fell asleep and when I woke up it was gone!”

“Y-yeah, I can see that,” you said. “Uh, King—”

“Can’t go walking around without a crown! Luckily, I knew how to make a temporary one,” the King said, and you risked looking down far enough to see that he was pointing to the flower crown on his head. “Will you help me find my real one? I’ll let you have my flower one if you do!”

“Uh, sure, but can we go by the laundry room first?” you asked. “I think there should be plenty of spare clothes for, uh…”

The King of the Squirrels looked down at his very naked self and shrugged. “Yeah, I guess if you think that’s important, but I don’t think my crown will be there.”

“Believe me, it’s important,” you said, leading the way. On the way to the laundry room, you could hear the loud voices coming from down the hall, but fortunately you didn’t have to go close enough to make out any actual words. “Hey, King, what did you think of Cinderella? I guess it must have been boring if you left early to go take a nap.”

“What? No, I love that movie!” the King said, and proceeded to hum the tune of “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” while getting dressed.

You thought that was strange, but didn’t question it further. After all, the day had been strange enough on its own and left you with more than enough to think about. Besides, looking for a lost crown sounded like a far better alternative to any more acting.

((End of Acting Lessons. Thank you for reading! And for the record, Wilford was referencing Ninja Sex Party’s First Date (warning, some explicit lyrics) with that kiss and steal a car line, because that’s absolutely how a first date with Wilford would go.

And yeah, this was a weird one for me, but I’m hoping it was enjoyable and that it ties in well with the next story and the last one I have planned for a while in this series.

Tagging: @silver-owl413 @skyewardlight @withjust-a-bite @blackaquokat @catgirlwarrior @neverisadork @luna1350 @oh-so-creepy @purpstraw @weirdfoxalley @95fangirl @lilalovesinternet-l @thepoolofthedead @a-bit-dapper @randomartdudette @geekymushroom @cactipresident @hotcocoachia @purple-anxiety-blog @shyinspiredartist @avispate ))

#markiplier #fanfiction #wkm y/n #wkm district attorney #yandereplier #darkiplier #wilford warfstache #king of the squirrels #kinkiplier #iplier egos #please don't make me list them all #cinderella #school play #acting #fake kiss #shut up kiss

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fugandhi · 5 years

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What Ska Means & Why It Matters

‘What Ska Means & Why It Matters’ (A Film Review) by Adam Wękarski

I recently went to check out a brand new documentary called “Pick It Up! Ska in The ‘90s” at the local Enzian Theater (literally the only showing I think I saw in the central Florida area). For anyone who was alive in America in the 1990s - you may or may not be familiar with the incredibly energetic and upbeat explosion of Ska music in the 1990s. The “Third Wave of Ska” had officially arrived in the U.S.A. thanks to a lot of younger people having grown up listening to all of the previous (and totally awesome) acts of the second wave of Ska (up in the U.K.) and of course the original wave of Ska in Jamaica back in the 1960s (and then forming their own bands with the ‘90s vibe and flavor of the time).

This documentary goes well into detail over many aspects of the first & second waves of ska (aptly narrated by Tim Armstrong of Operation Ivy & Rancid notoriety). For anyone who loves (or has loved) Ska music - this documentary is for you! I speak as someone who very happily (and very thankfully) had got to experience the Ska movement of the ‘90s (which absolutely without-a-doubt helped shape me into the person I have become today), and without the third wave of Ska music I wouldn’t be playing music. Having said that, it must be mentioned that this documentary is a smorgasbord of all of the big players in the Ska scene (throughout all generations of ska) and is a real reward for any devoted lovers of Ska music.

This documentary has a very informative take on Ska music (which honors the style of music) and a wonderfully-animated historical story or two of Jamaican Rude Boys crashing Ska shows in the ‘60s and English Skinheads in the ‘80s adopting Jamaican attitude through style and expression (in addition to a ton of other stories from first-hand accounts). The documentary also has the best sense of humor exuded through every person on screen who gets that Ska music is kind of a butt-of-a-joke to a lot of people who listen to other styles of music. The unfortunate reality is that Ska did have a rise and a fall in the mainstream due to the eventual lack of interest and appeal (and in my own humble opinion: especially after “9/11” - after that happened, everyone got really angry & miserable and the music industry bought into that and kept feeding that negativity).

When Ska was at it’s height in the ‘90s, it was indeed everywhere and everyone had at least heard a Ska band on the radio or had known what Ska music was (due to the rising popularity of the genre). I truly enjoy how the documentary does show all of the people who made the Ska scene happen in the ‘90s, and who brought SO MUCH INFLUENCE to people like me (I was also TOTALLY in my band program in school and felt like Ska music gave people like me a CHANCE - Band Kids Unite! Hahaha). It was truly refreshing seeing a ton of photos and video footage of all of those bands, and then having everyone pretty much “sit around the campfire” so-to-speak to talk about how their experiences were being a part of that movement in music. The positive atmosphere cultivated due to the most energetic and dance-friendly (and jump friendly) bands with the raddest shows had never really happened in such a manner before (with exception of The Specials and The English Beat and the like during the second wave) - at least certainly not in USA.

The somewhat bizarre and unorthodox nature of the musical instrumentation of Ska bands even gets discussed in this totally excellent documentary. All of the borderline awkwardness of Ska music and how it’s basically the ultimate party music (while at the same time being a party for dorky, dweeby, unwanted, unnoticed group of people who really love to have a good time despite going through ups and downs in life just like everybody else). I think that it’s also very commendable that YES Ska music has values and convictions (i.e. Ska Against Racism), and something I always noticed and appreciated was how so many Ska bands had a variety and DIVERSITY of people on stage. You’ll see all people come together unlike any other style of music - and it’s all good - there’s no isolation or hatred when the party is on - people in the ska scene “have arrived” in terms of understanding one another. This is a genre for the enlightened.

Ska music is the one place where you can find unity & fun and a lot of people with really awesome styles or outlooks. The genre itself is full of a unique variety of bands and people who have been around for a long time and typically know a great deal of the in’s and out’s of Ska. ALL of the AWESOME bands of the Ska scene are featured in this documentary: Operation Ivy, Sublime, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Reel Big Fish, Save Ferris, The Aquabats!, Less Than Jake, No Doubt, Chris Murray, Hepcat, The Slackers, Skankin’ Pickle, Rx Bandits, The Hippos, Buck-O-Nine, Mad Caddies, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Five Iron Frenzy, Dance Hall Crashers, Rancid, Goldfinger, Mustard Plug, The Suicide Machines, Big D and The Kids Table, The Pietasters, Mephiskapheles, The Toasters, Spring Heeled Jack, Fishbone, The Selecter, The Wailers, The Skatalites, Madness, The Specials, Oingo Boingo, Pilfers, Bim Skala Bim, Kemuri, Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, Catch 22, Streetlight Manifesto, Bomb The Music Industry! (and plenty more! - Seriously).

Watching ‘Pick It Up!’ truly brings out the overall sense of a person who listens to Ska (as well as dabbles a bit with a hilarious remote done with Scott Klopfenstein asking people on the street if they know Ska music - SO Funny!). This documentary has an undying sense of humor (and sense of heart) throughout telling the entire story of Ska in the ‘90s - especially when learning about how these people were working day-jobs prior to their break-out in their respective bands. It was fascinating watching that human story behind the show and understanding a bit better the effort that was put in behind the scenes while these bands were getting rejection letters from record labels that didn’t believe in their sound (despite the success of those of whom had kept going strong through the years to keep the Ska sound alive & well).

“Pick It Up! Ska in The ‘90s” does go over a lot, and pretty much covers all you need to know to become a true Ska scene aficionado (if you haven’t lived like all of us who have been to a sh!t ton of Ska shows since way back when).

There are, however, a few things that I did notice weren’t necessarily covered: 1) The term “Ska” originates from the sound of the guitar having that upstroke “scratch” sound on the “off-beat” in a measure of music (as opposed to the downbeat) - hence, “uhn-ska, uhn-ska” which did indeed originate in Jamaica in the 1960s. 2) Ska music is correctly described as “fast reggae”, and “The Godfather of Reggae” - but it must be mentioned that the reason why Reggae birthed from Ska music is due to the Jamaican weather of the late ‘60s. As it’s said, there was an overwhelming heat wave in Kingston, Jamaica during “The Orange Street Sound” around ’68-’69 which wore down the dance halls so they would begin jamming a bit slower and a bit easier and smoother - thus the Reggae boom in the 1970s. 3) The real reason why the Ska scene dissipated and eventually dissolved (as far as “mainstream” styles go) was primarily due to big business getting involved and trying to make all of the Ska (and Ska/Punk) bands basically become the same carbon-copy acts that were already “industry standards” or “successful acts”.

So, there were Ska bands that did drop their horns (which was lightly gone over in the documentary) due to either economy, or not wanting to sound like Ska anymore, or just simply transforming their sound. There were some bands that completely sold out - and then there are other bands that stayed true and have kept Ska music and the dance scene FUN & AWESOME this entire time and never gave up in the true power of music and the possibilities that come with creativity, fun, and optimism through adversity (coughcoughREELBIGFISHcoughcough).

Aside from all of the fun facts, familiar faces, and excellent music throughout the entire documentary - there is a moment when the documentary goes into the heart & soul of the sound of Ska music and how it provided such an important & positive outlet and release for people (of all types) who would simply put on a good Ska band or album or song to replace any sense or feeling of sadness, frustration, anger, loneliness, or problems and by the end of the experience can have a form of newfound happiness or refreshed outlook. There was actually a moment when viewing the documentary (at least in my own humble opinion) where I could completely and whole-heartedly relate to the underlying message of Ska bands and Ska Music and what it means to people now who experienced it (and still push for the scene to thrive to this very day).

I still believe it can literally save lives. Ska music saved my life and I know that if it wasn’t for all of the people who have been working hard through the years to perform their hearts out - I wouldn’t have worked so hard in my own life to keep fighting for my dreams, and, in a greater picture - keep working towards more unity, fun, and good times in the world around me - because that’s what Ska is really about at the end of the day. I never thought Ska was a joke (despite how humorous the style can be) - I always knew Ska was a really big deal and it’s still the best style of music (in my own opinion) and I still think the music industry has failed music-lovers and music-listeners by not developing more of an open mind to Ska music (which is the only style of music that can use all styles of music to express itself amidst the traditional formula of the genre). It’s literally the most interesting music to experience (melodically, lyrically, rhythmically).

Despite the reality of Ska music and the judgmental stigma towards the genre - there are still a ton of people in the world who believe in having Ska music and Ska bands and Ska shows. There’s a reason why people love Ska music and there is a totally awesome reason why Ska will never die - because it’s THE MOST FUN STYLE OF MUSIC EVER! I have always been proud and fearless with my admiration for Ska music and Ska bands and people who still believe in having a really good time and sweatin’ our asses off dancin’ at shows and singin’ along to the party. There is no other style of music like it - it’s completely unique & completely awesome. It’s not for everybody, and that’s all good because the people that “get it” will always sing along and dance their hearts out - I know I will!

I give “Pick It Up! Ska in The ‘90s” a Perfect 10 out of 10. It is the best music documentary I have seen. This documentary does for the ‘90s what “American Hardcore” did for the ‘80s.

This is the Perfect Documentary for any fan of Ska.

“...Take me back to my happy land, take me back to my happy land, take me back to my happy land, take me back to my happy land...” ~The Aquabats!

#Ska #WhatSkaMeans&WhyItMatters #PickItUp!SkaInThe90s #SkaInThe90s #SkaPunk #SkaMusic #Music #2019Documentaries #FilmReviews #90sSka #90sMusic #90sSkaMusic #SkaRules!#KeepOnSkankin #AWESOME!

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elliepassmore · 4 years

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Woven in Moonlight

5/5 stars Recommended for people who like: fantasy, decoy rulers, court intrigue, magic, strong female leads This book was super easy to get into right from the beginning. Ibañez develops the world and backstory from the get-go, giving some of the information up front and letting the rest of it unfold more naturally for readers. Ximena was such also such a likeable narrator that it was easy to feel her pain and struggles and sympathize with what she's going through, and she certainly goes through a lot in the beginning. Contributing to the overall effect of the novel is the fact Ibañez made sure to create settings that touched all five senses. When she described La Ciudad, she didn't just describe the colors and the way it's laid out, she described the sounds of the people and animals there, the smells of food and spices, the taste of the foods Ximena eats, and even the feel of stones or wood Ximena touches. She also allows Ximena to reminisce about what Ciudad used to be like, giving us readers a comparison as well as more backstory and history. As mentioned, Ximena is a likeable character. She's struggling to keep her people fed and when Atoc demands the condesa, Catalina's, hand in marriage, she struggles with how to make the best of the situation to help her people out from under his rule. I liked the duality to Ximena as someone who can fight fiercely, and is oftentimes very willing to do so, with the side of her that weaves and makes art. I feel like a lot of the time when there's a warrior character, particularly in a story like this where they're trying to gain their kingdom back/win honor/etc., there's very little time for the idea of hobbies and beauty. Adding Ximena's weaving skills, which she uses both for helping Catalina and for her own pleasure, makes her a more realistic character. While she does fall a little into the trope of 'tough girl doesn't like makeup or dresses,' there are moments when she dresses up a little to impress someone and not because she's forced to, which I think is a nice way to subvert that trope. While Ximena is a fantastic character for the most part, there were times when she was a bit snooty or she was too willing to defend her own actions without scrutiny. However, and this is one of my favorite things about this book, she's willing to learn. Part of the issue going on between the Illustrians and Llacsans is that both feel they've been oppressed by the other and both think they're right. Of course, both of them are right, but they're both also wrong. One of the great things about this book is that it deals with harmful ideologies and the path to dismantling them. Ximena is resistant at first, because who isn't resistant to having their entire worldview changed? But the more she lives with the Llacsans, the more she's forced to consider things as they are and she opens herself up to unlearning her mindset. At the same time, we get to see a similar process with some of the side characters, but with them unlearning their mindsets and beliefs about Illustrians. Not everyone changes their mind, of course, and there's still prejudice that can be seen in other people, but I really liked how the book tackled the idea of acknowledging problematic behaviors/beliefs and not only listening to what people are saying, but also taking the steps to educate yourself on your own. One of the main side characters is a healer named Rumi, who, unlike Ximena, is really easy to dislike at first. He also seems a mess of contradictions until Ximena gets to know him better. He's one of those characters whose antagonism turns to friendly teasing as the book goes on, and he mostly seems frustrated with Ximena's lack of knowledge about the history of Illustrians vs. Llacsans, which is understandable. Even despite his early antagonism, I find him to be a relatively laid back character who lets things roll of him relatively well and has a genuine desire to heal people who need it. It's also pretty obvious from the beginning that he'll end up being the love interest, so there's not really any surprise when that happens. I enjoyed watching his character unfold in the story. He doesn't get the same kind of growth Ximena does, but I would say his character definitely...flowers, for lack of a better term: opening up and and showing multiple layers of himself and his motives. Then, of course, there's Juan Carlos, who is Ximena's main guard at the castillo. Unlike Rumi, Juan Carlos is all smiles from the very beginning (he's actually very much like Despina from The Wrath and the Dawn in that way, but without the 'spying for the murderous ruler' spin). It's easy to like him and trust him, but as a reader and thus someone outside the situation, there's also that little tingle warning he maybe can't be trusted. Either way, he's quick to befriend Ximena even when she's being prickly and he seems to genuinely care whether she's in danger or not. We don't get a ton of backstory, though I believe we get more of his than Rumi's, but Ibañez adds in fun details about his life, such as his love of cooking, that makes him a more realistic character. I think the last 'main side' character is El Lobo, the mysterious masked vigilante who's running around Atoc's domain and wreaking havoc and helping people down-on-their-luck. Ximena doesn't come directly into contact with him until halfway through the story, but Ibañez drops hints as to who he potentially might be...so it was a bit predictable who he turned out to be once his true identity is revealed. Anyway, Lobo. When we're first introduced to him, there's two options for whose side he can be on: Catalina's or Atoc's. While he's clearly not on Atoc's side, he's not exactly on Catalina's side either. Naturally, once he and Ximena finally meet, the two clash before coming to a semi-truce, which changes into friendship. The two of them are working toward the same ultimate goal and don't want any more bloodshed, be it Llacsan or Illustrian. Despite being the person Ximena is fighting to put on the throne, Catalina is barely in the book. In the beginning, Catalina has a steel to her that hints at her status as condesa. Unlike Ximena, though, she doesn't come into contact with and come to understand the Lacsans. Without knowing too much about her, I can say from what we get to see of her in the beginning and the news of her trouble keeping Illustrians in check while Ximena is away, it's kind of obvious that her having a decoy for over half her life has seriously inhibited her ability to rule beyond making pretty speeches and having people like her. The decisions she makes leading to the end are a bit like watching a train wreck. We know first-hand from seeing through Ximena's eyes that the cycle of Llacsan-Illustrian monarchy clearly isn't working and that the system needs to break in order to benefit everyone, but Catalina doesn't get exposed to the same information that leads Ximena to learning and thus remains stuck in the trap. That's not to say she's a bad person, because I don't necessarily think she is, but I also don't agree with her thought process and decisions, which I think makes her an interesting character and a good person to follow in Woven in Starlight. Princess Tamaya is also only a side character, despite her importance to the plot. Sister of Atol, she's actually nothing like him (and is actually on the friendlier side of characters like Juan Carlos). She also shares a love of weaving, though instead of weaving moonlight into her pieces, when she weaves she can predict the future. Unsettled with how her brother is ruling, she longs to see him unseated and desires to change the way things have been for the Illustrians, the Llacsans, and the other people living in the territory under her brother's rule. Like Catalina, she also becomes a friend to Ximena and is heavily involved in the politics on her side of things, though she's obviously been able to teach herself about Illustrians and come to unlearn her own problematic beliefs. While lacking the same righteous beliefs as Catalina, I'd still be willing to read a book about Tamaya and how things go for her post-Woven in Moonlight. The book as a whole makes for a really great read. The settings and backstory are well-established and the system of magic makes sense. Likewise, each of the characters has strengths and flaws and (most) of them are willing to examine themselves and their behaviors in order to improve. Those same strengths and flaws make the characters read as being realistic, with them being able to make mistakes that anybody could reasonably make. There's action scenes, court intrigue, and some pretty big reveals throughout the book, keeping it from having parts that drag on with nothing of interest occurring.

#book #books #book review #book recommendations #woven in moonlight #bolivia #ownvoices #characters of color #fantasy #strong female lead #court intrigue #magic

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platonicone · 5 years

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Devotion - Story of the Oracle and her Shield

Chapter 11 - Qualms of heart

Why do we do things even if it hurts us? I wonder…

Once she was done cleaning his wound, they resumed their journey. They did not know what dangers awaited them.

Neither dared to speak as each was consumed recollecting the events of the morning. The silence in the car was deafening.

Luna noticed Leon’s expressions and she could tell that he was troubled by the possible death of their peers. She too was distraught, but one thing she was good at was making other people forget about their sorrows. She made it a point to normalize the situation whenever possible.

Sulking on the events of the past would not help their current situation, so Luna decided the break the ice. “Should we stop at a nearby outpost to get cleaned up?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he responded briefly.

“Leon, hygiene is very important. The importance of brushing, flossing, and showering daily, cannot be overstated,” she narrated to him as if talking to a child. She tried to lighten the situation.

He let go of one of his hands from the steering for an epic facepalm. “I know that. I meant stopping at the outpost is not a good idea.”

She laughed before indulging him further. “Why do you think so?”

“When a fugitive is on the run, the first thing we do to track them down is to set a checkpoint at their basic necessities. Food, water, and shelter. If the Empire wants to find you, then they will certainly keep tabs on nearby outposts,” he elucidated, like a seasoned mercenary.

“Can’t we just use their amenities?” she complained.

“I don’t think it’s worth the risk. Besides, the nearest outpost is still a few miles away. It will be a while before we reach there,” he replied.

“Aww, I really wanted to freshen up,” she grumbled.

“It’s not exactly princess standard, but we are driving right next to the river,” he suggested, expecting an affirmative reply. He knew very well how to push her buttons. Anything he suggested that she couldn’t do because of her being a princess automatically became a dare for her.

“River would do just fine,” she replied, as expected. Leon’s lips automatically curled up in his silent victory.

“As you wish,” he said, looking for a decent spot to take a break.

After a while, they came to a secluded area where their car could easily be hidden in the bushes.

“Open the trunk, please,” she requested, and he obliged. She made her way to the trunk and started fumbling around with her bags.

“I am going to scout the area to make sure it is safe. Don’t venture too far from here. Call me if you need me,” he instructed.

“Yes, boss,” she replied playfully with a mock salute. Once he left, she went back to fishing her luggage.

He cleared out the area of a few stragglers Saberclaws.

After scouting the area thoroughly, he returned to the car. “It should be safe here for now. Right behind those rocks, there is a small waterfall in a secluded area. Even the water downstream from there is not too deep. Over there are some coconut palm trees right along the riverfront making it a suitable location to relax if you want,” he described, pointing at each location.

It wasn’t until he finished his scouting report that he saw Luna holding many things in her hands. She had a towel, travel kit, clothes, and a few other things. “Where are you going with all that?” he questioned, pointing at many things in her hand.

“Right behind those rocks there is a small waterfall in a secluded area,” she said mimicking his voice. “I am going to go there to brush my teeth, take a bath, and get changed.”

It was time for another facepalm. “If you haven’t noticed we are on the run for our lives,” he said seriously.

“If you haven’t noticed, I am still in my nightdress. I don’t want to die wearing a chocobo pajama.” Somehow her tone left no room for further argument.

“You have strange priorities,” he commented, shaking his head.

“Now I’ll go take a bath over there and you stand here and watch guard,” she commanded.

“No.”

“Good,” she said before realizing that he had not agreed to her terms. “What do you mean, no?”

“It means I am not going to stand here to watch guard,” he asserted, as his eyes scanned the area once more. “I will stand by that rock.”

“You pervert, you just want to be close enough so you can look,” she accused, narrowing her eyes.

He gave himself a facepalm before explaining his rationale. “I just want to be close enough so I can hear you scream. There is a waterfall over there, and if you haven’t noticed it generates a lot of noise. If something were to happen and if you were to scream, I won’t hear it all the way out here. If I stand over there, then I can at least hear you or warn you if required.”

“Okay, that makes sense,” she admitted sheepishly.

They made their way towards the waterfall, making small talks. “If you need me, just yell ice-cream,” he suggested.

“Ice-cream?” she asked.

“Yes, that’s our code word. I’ll come charging in if you say the code word.”

“Why can’t I just yell help like a normal person?”

“You could,” he said with a shrug. “But it's not fun.”

“You have a very weird idea of fun,” she said, rolling her eyes.

Once Leon reached his designated location he announced, “I guess I can use this time to do my daily exercise.” He looked at a branch of a nearby tree and wondered if he could use it for pull-ups.

“Alright, and remember no peeking,” she said in a playful voice.

“If you say it one more time, then I’ll make it a point to look,” he warned.

She pulled an imaginary zipper on her lips.

She disappeared from sight as Leon got busy exercising. Exercise and training were two of his favorite things. He is usually very focused during these activities and often loses track of time. However, today, his mind kept on thinking about the events that had transpired so far. But if there was one thing he prides on, that was his discipline. The more his mind wandered, the harder he trained. He avoided all distraction; he worked out as a man possessed.

A familiar voice fake coughed to break his concentration. “Do you train this rigorously every day?”

He stopped doing his pushups and looked at the friendly intruder. She wore a carmine-pink and white top held up by a string that wraps around her neck. Underneath the top, she wore a double layer flare skirt. The top layer was light pink with a white stripe while the bottom layer was plain white. She wore paler brown boots. Her long hair was styled in a braid down her back, with curls on either side of her face, framing her face. A red ribbon tied her hair together. She looked beautiful.

“Yes. I train like this even when I am sick. The discipline of mind and body is essential for a soldier,” he remarked, catching his breath, getting back on his feet.

“Impressive. I meditate and pray every day. The discipline of mind and soul is essential for an Oracle,” she responded, mirroring his statement.

“I see. Meditation is very good to focus your mind. Perhaps you can teach me your meditation technique?” he requested, wiping off the sweat from his forehead.

“I can teach you, but not until you take a bath first,” she said pinching her nose playfully.

“As you wish,” he said, as he gathered all his belongings. “Your turn to watch guard now.”

“No”

“Huh?”

“It’s my time to meditate and pray. She will watch guard,” Luna stated, pointing at Pryna at a distance.

He looked at Pryna and thought of his own pal, ‘I haven’t seen Umbra in a while.’

He nodded at Luna and made his way to his bath.

A few minutes into the meditation, Luna felt a sudden chill. She opened her eyes and was greeted by the friendly face of Genitana.

“My lady, I have come to caution you,” Gentiana stated with her eyes closed. Luna got very attentive.

“A human heart can be very treacherous. Desires not tamed can lead one astray.”

Luna knew what Gentiana was referring to. “I am committed to my cause, rest assured,” she declared with a steely resolve.

“Of that, I have little doubt. My concern is not of your goals, but your heart.”

“What of it?”

“The bond of the Oracle and her Shield has grown beyond friendship. Should this bond continue to grow unchecked, it will lead to misery and pain. When this bond is severed, it will leave behind two broken hearts: yours and his.”

“What would you have me do?”

“That is not for me to decide. Be very cautious of where your heart leads you. That is all I came to say.”

Luna nodded and Gentiana disappeared from her sight.

Luna knew that she would have to address her feelings for Leon at some point. Just not right now. She shut out any Leon and Noctis related thoughts and returned to her meditation.

After finishing his morning rituals, he came back to see her sitting still in meditation, breathing evenly and deeply. He sat quietly next to her, waiting for her to wake up.

She opened her eyes and saw him sitting next to her with his legs crossed. She noticed he was wearing a high collar sleeveless indigo shirt, black pants and boots, and black cloth covering his left leg and arm. He had a shoulder pauldron, and his chest was covered by two straps, held in place by a lion-like badge. “I am sorry. I did not realize that you were back. How long were you waiting?”

“Just a few minutes. Didn’t want to disturb you from your meditation,” he responded, getting up.

“Thank you. That is very considerate of you,” she replied, grabbing his hand to stand up.

“Shall we go?” he asked.

“No, not before we capture this moment,” she said with a smile. “Give me your phone.”

She got his phone and took a selfie to capture their journey. It was almost noontime and her stomach growled demanding attention.

“Hungry?” he asked.

“A little,” she replied.

“Hmm, we did not stock up on food. We have some chips, cookies, and soda in the car. Or we can find something in the wild to eat,” he wondered, stroking his chin thinking.

“I don’t want any junk food. But what can we get out here?” she wondered.

“I know just the thing that you would like,” he remarked, taking the lead.

After jumping through a few rocks and stepping over a few bushes, they finally made it to their desired location.

“When I came here earlier, I saw coconut palm trees. So, would you like some coconut water?” he offered.

“I would love it,” she confessed, getting excited.

“Why don’t you go get the straws from the car, I’ll work on getting the coconut,” he proposed the plan.

“You got it,” she agreed cheerfully, making her way to the car.

They meet up at the agreed site and Leon had two coconuts in his either hand. He had his pants rolled up to his knees and was barefoot, as his boots were tossed at some distance. He motioned her to follow him.

He sat by the river with his feet dipping in water. The stream of water splashed at his feet, causing rippled downstream. Luna removed her shoes and joined him. She swung her legs freely in water like a child, causing a bigger splash.

Leon had prepped the coconut prior to her arrival. He poked a hole in it with his dagger and inserted the straw and offered it to Luna.

“Thank you,” she said with a smile. He nodded and continued poking a hole through another coconut; this one was for himself.

“Do you always carry that dagger with you? I noticed you had it back when we fought against Titan,” she asked curiously, looking at the dagger.

“It’s a survival knife. A dear friend of mine gave it to me as our parting gift. She said I should hold on to it so we have a reason to meet again. It’s a shame I don’t remember her anymore. I’ve been carrying it with me ever since. It has gotten me out of tough situations many times.”

“Interesting story,” she commented, before sipping her coconut.

They were sitting under the light shade of coconut palm trees, sipping coconut. Their legs freely swung in the lukewarm water. The birds sang melodious tunes and gentle breezes danced around them, providing a soothing atmosphere. To think that they were running away for their lives just a few hours ago seemed like a distant memory. Luna took their customary selfie capturing this perfect moment.

He had offered to go, but she insisted on staying there for a few more minutes.

“Leon, I can’t do this anymore. I am tired of seeing people die for my sake. I am tired to see you getting hurt for my sake. It is one thing for me to sacrifice everything I have to protect the world, but I can’t bear to watch others sacrificing themselves for me.”

“People have not sacrificed their lives for you; they did it for a cause they believed in. The only way to honor their sacrifice is to keep going on this path,” he encouraged.

“The path that I walk on only leads to more despair and dismay,” she sighed, looking at her distorted reflection in the water.

“That may be so, but it’s a worthy price for a brighter future.”

“Yeah,” she whispered quietly.

Luna hadn’t said anything for a while. She seemed distracted; he noticed.

“Everything okay?” he asked with concern.

“Leon, what would happen to us once this is over?”

He took a deep breath and begin to answer. “You will get married to your prince charming and live happily ever after. I will go back to my time and will try to pick up the pieces and make something out of it.”

“No, I mean, what would happen to us?” she choked, placing her left hand on his right hand.

Luna was torn by her current predicament. She cared about Leon deeply that much she knew. But how deep were her feelings for him, she did not know. Perhaps she knew but was too stubborn to admit it.

With their nascent relationship, Leon knew they needed to have this conversation sometime. He just didn’t think it would be today. They were more than friends, even Leon could tell. His loyalty to her was unquestioning but was it out of duty, honor, or feelings, he did not know. Perhaps he knew but did not have the courage to admit it.

“We,” he paused, trying to gather his thoughts. “We will become memories. Our time together will become past and we will reflect on it either fondly or with regret.”

“I don’t want this to end. I don’t want this to become a fragment of a forgotten memory.”

“I don’t think we have a choice in that,” Leon replied solemnly.

“I know,” she sighed with resignation. “Such is our fate,” she radiated sadness with every word.

‘What we have is something pure and beautiful. Anything further than this will just lead to more heartache.’ He decided it would be best for them to keep their distance to avoid any further attachment. But his walls crumble as soon as he saw water forming at the edge of her eyes.

He lifted her chin and made her look into his eyes. “We decide our fate by the choices we make and the actions we take. Sometimes circumstances dictate our choices, but that is okay, not everything has to go according to our wishes. It is precisely when things don’t go our way that we yearn, learn, adapt, improve, improvise, and grow. It is in this struggle that our conviction, courage, character, resilience, grit, and our bonds are tested. It is in this struggle that you realize what is worth fighting for and how much you are willing to sacrifice for it. No goal can be achieved without sacrifice. For a goal as noble as yours, saving the world from eternal darkness, if you have to sacrifice your freedom to choose, then don’t have second thoughts.”

‘I have lived most of my life like a prisoner in my own castle. I don’t care about losing my freedom. If I walk on the path I am supposed to, then I might save the world, but I will lose you in the process!’

For the first time in her life, she was not content by simply doing what was supposed to do. She loved Noctis because it was her duty. She loved Leon because she wanted to. She felt torn between her duty and her heart.

“Leon, I don’t think I have the courage to sacrifice what I am asked for,” she confessed averting her gaze.

“Luna, you are a lot stronger than you think you are. In fact, you are one of the most courageous people I have ever known. At a young age, you lost your parents, your brother defected, your kingdom lost, you were a prisoner in your own castle, and in spite of all that you never gave up. You traveled around the world, giving hope to people when you had none. You put a smile on the face of people whenever you went even though you had lost yours. You healed people even when you were hurt the most. If that is not courage, then I don’t know what is.”

‘I did all that because back then I had nothing to lose. Now I am afraid of losing you. I think I should be blunt and just say it, he is really not getting this.’

“I am neither loyal to my duties nor to my heart. It is not fair to him and it sure as hell is not fair to you. I am a horrible person,” she spoke as tears streamed down her face.

Before she could speak any further, he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer to him. She rested her head on his shoulder and continued to sob.

‘To belong to someone you can never be with and forgo the one you want to be with, such is my fate,’ she thought.

He could not bear to see her sad, so he tried to cheer her up. “Someday when I look back at our time together, I don’t want to look at it with regret. We can’t control what happens to us in the future, but we can choose what we do now. So, let’s make the best out of what we have right now. If we are to be memories, then let's make the best memories together.”

He knew fully well that he would come to regret this advice. The only thing ‘making the best of their time’ would bring him is pain. The more they stayed together, the more they liked each other and the more difficult it would be to stay apart. But if his pain is the price for her happiness, then he would gladly pay it.

His suggestion seem to briefly bring a smile back on her face. “It is so unlike you to cheer someone up, but you still did it for me, and for that, I am grateful to you,” she acknowledged, looking up at him. He just nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

“I don’t like to see you cry,” he confessed, releasing her from his hug.

“Then I promise not to cry,” she assured, wiping her tears. ‘I promise not to cry in front of you at least.’

They went back to sipping his coconut as silence accompanied them once again. It was their conscious choice not to think about the past or the future and enjoy what they had now. They resumed their journey after their long break.

They made a stop at Meldacio Hunter HQ for a delivery. Knowing that they won’t be able to say at an outpost for a while, and sleeping under the stars might be their only option, Luna purchased some groceries when Leon was busy running errands.

When Leon came back, he saw Luna wearing a cap and sunglasses. “How do I look?” she eagerly asked, as he approached the car.

“Beautiful as always,” words came out of his mouth unfiltered.

She immediately blushed at his honest response. He wished he had timed it.

“What brought about this change?” he questioned, sitting in the driver’s seat.

“Just wanted to blend in with everyone else. Also, for those who don’t know me so well, it would make a little harder to identify me in this,” she gave her rationale.

“Now you are starting to think like a fugitive on the run. I am proud of you,” he remarked casually, as he started the car.

They continued their journey with minimal hostility for now. As their car ride started getting longer, a pattern emerged. Luna would often read a book while Leon drove silently. Sometimes they would turn on the radio to listen to the news or songs. Their ride was usually quiet unless Luna initiated some conversation.

“Leon, do you miss home?” she asked unprompted.

“How can I miss something I don’t even remember?” he stated, eyes still glued to the road. “Do you?”

“Yes, I do miss my home. I miss the people of our palace and our town. I miss my bed. I miss my sylleblossom,” she listed all the things she missed. “I wonder if Maria is watering them regularly.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll be home soon. You just need to finish these trials,” he suggested.

“I am not so sure about that. Once the trials are done, I don’t even know what will happen to me,” she whispered softly, looking in the distance.

“Why do you say that?” he asked. ‘Once again, she is talking with a sense of finality. What does she know that I don’t? What is she not telling me?’

“It’s nothing. Let’s not talk about it,” she averted, ending the conversation abruptly.

Looking at her pained expression, he decided not to push the topic any further.

Not wanting to spend too much time in public, they had grabbed some food on the go. They stopped by an old abandoned farmhouse to take a break and eat their lunch.

They sat on a broken bench side by side as they unpacked their sandwiches.

“Leon, what’s your favorite dish?” she asked, as she carefully took out peppers from her sandwich.

“I forgot the name. It’s that sweet you made for us at Lestallum,” he replied, carefully picking out olives from his sandwich.

“Memory lane pastry,” she recalled immediately.

“Yes, that. It was amazing,” he exclaimed, before taking a bite out of his sandwich.

“I am glad you liked it. I will make it for you again,” she offered, after chewing.

“You don’t like peppers?” he asked.

“I do, but there are too many in here,” she stated.

“Pass it on, I’ll take it,” he proposed.

“What did olives ever do to you?” she asked.

“Just don’t like them,” he said plainly.

“Can I have them?” she requested.

“Absolutely,” he gladly agreed.

“What is your favorite dish?” he asked.

“I enjoy falafel,” she remarked, after thinking.

“Your favorite drink?” she asked.

“Pina colada,” he replied enthusiastically.

“I don't like it at all," she said immediately. "However, you seem to like coconut-based flavors, don’t you?” she remarked, noticing the pattern.

“I guess I do,” he confessed. “Your favorite drink?” he inquired.

“Mango shake,” she replied gleefully. “Let me guess, your favorite ice-cream is Coconut chocolate?”

“Yes. And yours is Cookies and cream?” he guessed.

“Nope. My favorite ice-cream is pineapple orange. Maria at our manor makes this amazing ice-cream,” she recalled fondly.

“You know so much about me and I feel like I don’t know anything about you,” he stated disappointingly.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get there,” she encouraged.

They finished their meal in idle conversations like this. Once done, they made their way back to their car while having a playful banter. Ever since Luna broke down and poured her heart out, everything felt slightly different. Even though they tried their best to keep everything normal, there was always an underlying pain that accompanied their every conversation now.

Their journey continued as clouds gathered above. Leon retracted the previously open roof back to enclose the open car. Within moments rain started pouring. Luna was busy reading one of the books Lina had left in the car, ‘The Legend of Vascaroon’. Leon played some music at a very low volume and occasionally tapped his fingers along with the beats.

She reclined her seat back, taking a break from the reading.

“Coffee?” she asked.

“Sure, but do we have any?”

“I got one can of Ebony Coffee at our last stop,” she revealed, reclining her chair back up so she can reach the glove compartment in front of her.

“You are the best. I was starting to feel a bit sleepy,” he admitted.

“I wasn’t sure if you would like it or not, so I only got one,” she said, opening the can and handing it to him.

“Thanks!” he took a sip of it and it was truly great coffee. “This is fantastic, you should try it too,” he suggested, offering her the can.

She was hesitant at first, unsure of what to do. There were out of straws and there was only one can. Drinking from the top would be risky in a moving car. After evaluating all her options, she grabbed the can and took a sip from it directly. She had never shared food like this with anyone else before. It felt odd and comfortable at the same time.

But one sip of coffee made her forget all that. “Wow, this is good. We need to stock up on this.”

“I 100% agree.”

They each took a sip alternatively and quickly finished off Ebony, longing for more.

Longing for something they can't have seemed like the theme of their life.

Author's notes

The answer from the last chapter: Lina is a White SeeD who reads book to the children on the White SeeD ship.

This chapter's question: What is significant about "The Legend of Vascaroon" book and Survival knife?

Please leave a comment if you've enjoyed the story so far. I would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks :)

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mynameisdreartblog · 5 years

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Devilish Deals 3

Libra: Offered cool-ass, hellfire bullets. On my route to work, there’s several things I always remark a subtle difference of change in whenever I pass them by: The color of this single window that portrays a lovely dining room scene, the angle the traffic lights hang at, and the name engraved on a rather fancy mausoleum to long-dead celebrity. I can’t tell if I was endowed with a foresight to detect the incredibly subtle, or if it’s an involved process like deciphering anagrams. Regardless, certain messages have been changing to be something that corresponded with recent events within my life. Two years ago, a supply that was supposed to arrive at six in the afternoon was late by another six hours: I checked outside the coordinates they gave me, and I ran only to find out that the site was abandoned. The truck was still there, but it was torn nearly in two and the books were gone. Witnesses had nothing to say before casting their attention to darker corners, alluding that something had happened here that they didn’t want to tell me. [,] The morning after, I passed by that window and it was tinted an irradiated yellow that reflected just enough sunlight for you to avoid seeing what’s behind it. Then, I passed by the traffic lights and they hung at an unusual angle that was 30° facing north from where they’re positioned normally: Not only this, the second light was duller and quite hard to make out. Finally, the mausoleum located in the bottom-right corner of the local cemetery said that it was honoring Yisrael Katz, who — last time I checked — was still alive somewhat. I was passing by the first two attempting to avoid how they were calling to me until I got to the last sign: At that point, I had to ask someone. So, I got off my horse and approached a gravedigger in the cemetery… But he refused to look towards me and instead to arbitrary corners: Indicating that someone was there I couldn’t sense. Suddenly, I was back on my horse towards my workplace as usual. […] Later I was approached by crossing guards who took their duty very seriously, though the ones that stopped me didn’t wear brightly colored vests and actively carried military weaponry. That was something that wasn’t out of the ordinary, so I forgot all about the paranormal disturbances from earlier and I continued on with my day… that was until today where the crossing guards weren’t carrying assault rifles. [,] «Cool, that’s… actually quite interesting. Spare me another story will you?» Heh, and here I was expecting the same old sarcasm from you.

Cancer: In a bus. It was a cold, drowsy morning: One that told you God listened to too much loud music and it started giving him early symptoms of tinnitus. Here, we zoom into a quiet corner of the Patagonian landscape into a somewhat isolated townscape that’s aching with the fog that surrounds it: Even the dry plateaus felt misty this morning. In the center of this village, the statue of Blessed Whoever stood as unquestionably incompetently as you’d expect, decorated with the linings of bird defecation. From its mighty stone finger pointing eastward, there could be seen a low-end shopping center that served as the fourth quadrant that made up the village square. All was quaint except for two villagers having a troublesome argument near the fountain. There’s nothing else for us to do here as eavesdroppers from inside the walls, — the one they just so happened to lean on when they began to fuss — so we’ll take whatever information we can receive from the outside. [,] Peer into a life you were never meant to understand and ask yourself questions: Why are they arguing? Are the typical, emotionally logical reasons why it’s occurring, or is it strange, esoteric reasons? What’s the tone of voice being used by each party? Are they pious people or secular snakes? Is it about the, uh, family business? […] We’ve been eavesdropping for so long that the sun has turned a noticeable fifteen degrees in the sky. And for as much as the sun had turned, the conversation had turned for the worse. Both of the voices were becoming louder and more parched as the subject matter shifted from academic performance to finances. Each party is becoming more thoroughly stubborn in their assessments. It seems that it’s in our interests that no compromise is reached if we’re continued to lay near this building and pretend we’re only homeless in the moment. You lived long enough to know that getting too far up one’s own ass is a very real thing, and you’re aware of the epiphanic powers that one’s inner self holds in how the reconsiderations never leave the space where the self feels trapped oftentimes by their own causation. We’ve spent long enough invading privacy; let’s leave, Kokin: We’ve done enough amoral narration for now. […] Oh, I meant this literally; I have no idea why you thought I was talking about arrogance when I mentioned shoving one’s head up their own ass.

Virgo: By dancing for them. Like the band Paramore (whose recent work was pretty good; I don’t know why so many think it’s lackluster just because it’s not traditionally punk), we must complete an arbitrary number of world-records to the tune of a new power-pop track. <Bluma turns toward the crowd of unamused city-folk gathered around her rather dignified soapbox.> I see you must’ve all come here for a reason, and we mustn’t disappoint. <A small coughing can be heard in the back of the crowd, and another person reacts with disgust over the cougher not covering their mouth with their shoulder.> Before we perform, we must list all of the feasible, previously uncontested world records that we’ll attempt to perform today. Refer to the whiteboard above me, read it, and understand the potential records as its followed so you don’t become confused during the process. <The whiteboard is shown, and all the records are written in a dried, green marker that makes the text hard to read.> [,] For those who still can’t grasp it, I’ll read them out: 1. The highest stacking of Starbursts. 2. The fastest time to teach a child how to comprehend Baudrillardian thought. 3. The farthest-reaching skipping stone. 4. The most amount of ding-dong-ditches in the span of six hours. 5… <Those of the audience who wanted to see some action left as they became bored through the persistent listing, adding to Bluma’s plan.> [,] Now, those of you with the proper faith left to trust us, we’ll be performing in T-minus sixty seconds. I’m Bluma, and this is my band: Gamerghazi. «Wait, was this supposed to be a concert? I thought it was just a demonstration.» <Bluma drops down from her soapbox and kicks it into the crowd, indirectly hitting the one who asked that question.> Well, actually, it’s not really a musical band: It’s an unclear organization of people that doesn’t fit into any neat category, so I just call it a band for simplicity’s sake. I named it Gamerghazi after an existing indie band from Canada. <The questioner, now on the ground, responds> «Oh okay, that’s neat.» […] <While in the midst of completing the second record, Bluma triggers a supernatural event> In that moment of silence that broke everything — and broke more world records for me than any of those Guinness books I stole in my childhood — I felt like I was in a space of reality completely tailored towards who I’ve become to be over this quarter of a lifetime. There was a serenity that I somehow knew wasn’t meant to be there, and had to come at the cost of removing the presence of others to restore a sense of balance. It’s as if all of those years of listening to the powerful anthems of contemporary pop music — that which was calling for world domination via style alone — made all the sense in the world to me. <Bluma awakes to find out that she’s been accused of faking the first record by using non-traditional flavors of Starburst.>

Sagittarius: For some job experience. I forgot what time this took place… It seems to have shifted so much, and I feel like someone can live on the same planet that I do but be a hundred years ahead in terms of how quickly than can coordinate action. There’s someone out there who’s an exact pinpoint reflection of myself and the path of life I’m tracing out, and that almost everything about them is identical to myself, yet having such varying differences in how they merely comprehend knowledge. They’re probably some sorta silicone-based lifeform, and they probably have a civilization that chose to etch its language into a more insane physical material through a process I can’t even begin to imagine… Might be that they live in a solar system the same as ours, only that they inhabit a slightly modified version in which Venus became the most hospitable place for life. They likely would’ve inhabited Ishtar and had a funny accent compared to those on the island of Tellus, but they’re too self-conscious to admit they have their own funny way of pronouncing Lakshmi words. «Let me guess, you’re projecting your desire for exploration on fictional worlds again, aren’t you?» <The atmosphere of the scene is settled in with the intrusion of Swayo’s words make their case. The exposed comfort of the campfire lights the entire scene, and Rossouw lowers their flask of gin. It was a far call from the nakedness of the AC back at home-base: Something that she had to finally accept as her new home and pass on by as if she’s never had a concept of stable living.> I feel like too much time has passed between your friendly intrusion and my monologue, but please, sit down and gaze further with me. [,] It’s not often that I engage in these; I generally despise sit-downs that I didn’t form myself because I’m paranoid that they’re gonna attempt to redirect me rather then the preferred: That I redirect them. But, I’ll make an exception for you because you broke my focus, and that warrants the punishment of getting to know me. «Uh, I just wanted to ask about your shirt.» Then why the comments from earlier? I was gonna make this at least somewhat heartfelt and now you’re just proving my point that any glimpse of peace I can have is just ripped away by people who didn’t even mean it, God. <The fire begins to die and the gin in Rossouw’s bottle begins to reach its last drops. The wind that feels like an AC returns at the small sense of comfort she had began to dissipate into usual expectations. It was a close call to the nakedness of the AC back at home-base.> [,] I’m gonna pretend you didn’t interrupt me... You’ve seen it on the news, and you’ve heard it in stories of abduction, sometimes we’re just granted with biological technology around us that grants us something that pushes us “ahead” in certain areas. «Where did you get that shirt, though?» I feel like too much time has passed… in general. I hope my otherworldly self has a home.

#Zodiaccupuncture #Zodipunc #Libra #Cancer #Virgo #Sagittarius

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syrupwit · 3 years

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Letter for Trick or Treat Exchange 2021

Hello there, and welcome to my letter for Trick or Treat Exchange 2021! I appreciate that you’ve taken the time to read this letter. I hope that it will provide you with clarification, inspiration, or whatever else you may happen to be seeking from it.

Although I’ve written more for some sections and less for others, rest assured I would be thrilled to receive a gift for any of the requested fandoms, characters, or fanwork types. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out through the mods.

I have requested Fic Only, Tricks and Treats for all canons.

Please see the table of contents below:

Likes

Do Not Want (DNW)

Fandom - Dishonored

Fandom - Fallout: New Vegas

Fandom - The Magnus Archives

Fandom - Stellar Firma

Fandom - What We Do In The Shadows (TV)

LIKES

I have a very long list of likes here.

For Treats, some general things I like are:

Absurd, silly, or situation-based humor

Surreality, weirdness, crack treated seriously

Lore and worldbuilding

Unusual team-ups

Dramatic rescues

Get togethers and first times

Halloween tropes and trappings that tend more towards the fun or cheesy (pumpkins, candy, trick-or-treating, costume parties, bad horror movies, haunted houses, autumn weather, friendly supernatural creatures, black cats having a good time)

For Tricks, some general things I like are:

Dark comedy, gallows humor, horror-comedy

Psychological, paranormal, gothic, and cosmic horror

Creepy lore and worldbuilding

Unreliable narrators

Corruption

Hurt no comfort (esp. emotionally)

Supernatural creatures and goings-on of all kinds

DO NOT WANT (DNW)

Characters depicted as under age 18 involved in sexual situations

Characters having sex without mutual sexual attraction

Hate speech or hate crimes (discussions/mentions of bigotry are fine)

Harm to pet animals (the existence of ghost pets is OK, and it’s fine to mention pet animals that have canonically died, but I don’t want to hear about injury, abuse, or noncanonical death of pet animals)

Bestiality

Scat

Necrophilia (sexual activity involving ghosts or sentient skeletons/undead is OK, just not inanimate corpses or remains)

Sexual activity involving worms / spiders / insects

FANDOM - DISHONORED

Ivan Jacobi's Grandfather

This character is so inconsequential that he only shows up for a few sentences in an in-universe memoir in Death of the Outsider, but the little glimpse we get is fascinating. Tell me more about this stubborn old man who moved into the family crypt and let his impressionable grandson sleep over among the skeletons. I want to hear his ancestor stories, the creepier the better.

Kirin Jindosh

My favorite antagonist from DH2! I'd love to hear more about his abominable creations, his alliance with Delilah, and what he got up in his brief studies at the Academy of Natural Philosophy. I ship him pretty hard with Emily, but I'm open to any pairing. (Note: I'm fine with mentioning or exploring his canon nonlethal fate, though I'd prefer it not be played for comedy.)

Billie Lurk

Of the Dishonored protagonists, Billie is my favorite. Someone, I can't find the source, once described her character arc as "atonement without redemption" -- I really like that. Death of the Outsider highlighted a intriguingly cocky streak of hers I hadn't noticed before, also (the things she says about the bank job!!).

I'd love to hear more about her years as a ship captain, the connections she built across the isles; her early years with Daud and the Whalers, how those relationships changed; and anything post-canon. Gen-wise, I really enjoy her interactions with Daud, Sokolov, and the Outsider, and I'd like to see how she didn't get along with Galia Fleet.

Ship-wise, I like her with Daud or any female character. Seriously -- Billie/Teresia Cienfuegos! Billie/Thalia Timsh! Billie/the surviving witch in the basement jail in that one mission of Death of the Outsider! Ooh, what about Billie/ghost!Deirdre? I am, as they say, just spitballing here. I also like Emily/Billie, Delilah/Billie, and Billie/Lizzy, for some less rare pairings. :-)

FANDOM - FALLOUT: NEW VEGAS

Dean Domino

Vengeful petty bastard. He was my favorite of the three companions in Dead Money, and the reveal at the end blindsided me. I really liked the atmosphere and story in Dead Money -- I'd love more about Dean Domino's pre-ghoul days, how he survived, and what it takes to sustain a grudge for centuries.

Mr. House

Everything about Mr. House and the Lucky 38 is fascinating to me. I'd love something about the years he spent waiting and planning, or the dynamic between him and a more evil or chaotic Courier.

Doctor Mobius

Old World Blues is my favorite DLC for this game, and I loved the showdown/reveal with Doctor Mobius! More roboscorpions, more ridiculous schemes, or interactions with the Courier and the other Big MT scientists and denizens would be great.

Stealth Suit Mk II

Why is the suit cute, and why won't she/it stop trying to give me Med-X? I'd love to hear more about this adorable sneaky suit and her/its relationship to her/its wearer. If you want to go to a shippy place there, please feel more than free.

Ulysses

So dramatic, so tragic, so vague at times. I really, really like his relationship with the Courier and the way it develops in Lonesome Road -- I ship them romantically, one-sided on Ulysses's part and reciprocated, but I also like their many possible dynamics as gen. (I have no preference on gender or alignment for the Courier -- feel free to write the character however you prefer.)

Ulysses strikes me as very lonely, and he seems to be finally feeling grief that he suppressed. I'd love something where the Courier rescues or comforts him, or where the possibility of being rescued/comforted occurs to him but is never actualized (PAIN). Alternately, interactions between Ulysses and any random character, the more unexpected the better, would be great, as would Ulysses solo gen about what he gets up to post-DLC.

Yes Man

My favorite amoral AI! His passive-aggression is hilarious, but I love that he's also genuinely scary. I'd enjoy hearing more about his origins and development, his dynamic with Benny, and his relationship with the Courier and anyone else he might encounter.

FANDOM - THE MAGNUS ARCHIVES

Adelard Dekker

Dekker is cool! I like that he's pragmatic and competent, not without a sense of humor, and somehow genuinely religious even in the world of TMA. I ship him with Gertrude, but I also enjoy them as friends. I'd love anything about his pre-canon adventures, origins, relationship with the Web, or interactions with unexpected characters.

Harriet Fairchild

An incredibly minor character (she shows up for a few lines in MAG 21, "Freefall"), but I'm so curious about her. What is her relationship to Simon Fairchild, and how did she become associated with the Vast?

Neil Lagorio

In-universe fictional media is one of my very favorite things, and I loved the episodes with Neil Lagorio. I'd enjoy hearing more about his filmography, strange experiences on his sets, criticism of his films, popular reception, or anything along those lines.

Peter Lukas

An unrepentant monster, and a terrible boss, but awkward and petty in enjoyably human ways. I would love to see how he interacts in a fish-out-of-water scenario, a meeting with other avatars, or a situation where he feels threatened. Seeing him interact with Gertrude would be fantastic. I ship him romantically with Martin, one-sided on Peter's part or grudgingly reciprocated, but I also really enjoy their gen interactions.

Original Statement Giver(s)

I'm always down for original statement fic, whether it's about an encounter with a specific entity or something more ambiguous. <3

FANDOM - STELLAR FIRMA

Bathin

We've heard so much about Bathin, but what is he really like, outside that one recording? I ship him with David and/or Trexel, but I'd also like to just hear about him.

Enola

Post-canon, what do they get up to aboard The Terpsichore's Vaunt? Vent gremlin to captain of a Star Puncher Class vessel must be a bit of a leap.

David 7

Poor David has been through so much. I'd love something about them post-canon, figuring out the wider universe beyond Stellar Firma, or a canon divergence AU from any point. Additionally, I think it could be fun to explore common fic tropes with them -- coffeeshop AU part 2, fake dating (which is also their first time doing anything dating-like?), arranged marriage because *handwave*, time travel or time loops.

I ship David with Bathin and/or Trexel, and with Trexel and Hartro in a triad, although I'm open to other pairings. Platonically, I like them with I.M.O.G.E.N., or meeting anyone outside the station.

With regard to David's gender and pronouns, I don't have a strong preference or headcanon -- please feel free to go with your favored interpretation.

Trexel Geistman

Trexel is my favorite. I enjoy the childish, silly side of his terrible self, but I also love it when canon decides to take his issues seriously. Please let him bumble around like a jackass making poor decisions, projecting onto those around him, and occasionally providing his own brand of "help" or insight.

I ship Trexel with just about everyone, but particularly David 7, Hartro, and/or Bathin. I really enjoy him as the pining party in a ship, whether his pining is one-sided or reciprocated. In general, though, I just really like Trexel.

For Halloween-related prompts, I'd love something with him as a horror host a la the Cryptkeeper, or maybe something with him encountering the ghosts of the Board or one of his more illustrious ancestors. Less Halloween-related, a Groundhog Day time loop AU with Trexel as the POV character could also be fun.

Hartro Piltz

Hartro is also my favorite. She's... god, she's ridiculous. I love her interest in the arts and her taste for Drama. I was really pleased with her transition from antagonist, to semi-frenemy, to antagonist again, and finally to tentative ally.

Ship-wise: I ship her super hard with Trexel and David as a triad and Trexel as a pairing, although I also love the three of them as a gen group. We haven't seen Hartro interact with a lot of other characters in canon; there are no other canon dynamics that ping me as particularly shippy, that "yum" from IMOGEN and the bit of flirting with Sigmund Shankeray notwithstanding. However, I am open to any pairing or gen interaction for her, including OCs. Seriously, please go for it! I just really like Hartro.

Promptwise: The last bit of bonus content, "No Love For Spies," involved impromptu scripted roleplay with Hartro, David, and Trexel. I'd love a scenario like that, but maybe shippy or awkwardly sexy (well, more awkwardly sexy than it already is, with evening-gown!Hartro lounging around on tables). I'd also enjoy something set pre-canon, something about her life outside of work during canon, or post-canon exploring how she gets along in a post-Stellar Firma universe.

Also, I realized I forgot to say so, but I opt into the foot thing. Lol.

FANDOM - WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS (TV)

Guillermo de la Cruz

I recently watched this series for the first time, and Guillermo is far and away my favorite. The way he compartmentalizes what he's been doing for the vampires, the repression, the hints of manipulativeness, and then the fact that he's just really cute -- he's great. I'm enjoying the slayer!Guillermo storyline and the sort of power reversal, or power redistribution, that's come about because of it.

I ship Guillermo/Nandor pretty hard, one-sided and reciprocated, but I'd also love Guillermo solo gen, friendship fic, or ensemble fic. For a Treat, canon-typical slice of life would be great, or something about what he gets up to on Halloween. For a Trick, perhaps he encounters a hostile vampire or other creature, defends or rescues the others, or himself needs to be rescued? Guillermo gets yanked around and disappointed so much in canon; I'd love something where, no matter what trials he is subjected to, the vampires come through for him in the end.

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