#and its all from a span of like. 4 months

[cc-orbits-my-brain]

I told my sister "I started writing another Camp Camp fanfiction" and she yelled "Finish one!"

[catamaurrr-star]

ive been getting tortured by bugs recently and now that i type that out i think its divine retribution for suffocating a fly once

[uinferno]

Looking back I think one of the biggest things that got me through uni was that Canvas had calendars that showed when assignments were due and actually let me plan out what tf I was going to do without feeling overwhelmed.

Well... that and being a tutor/TA/lab assistant letting me work on homework during my shifts. Those two things really pushed uni from being agonizing to doable.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

book 7 chapter 13 part 1 thoughts!

***THIS POST CONTAINS MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR BOOK 7 PART 13 OF THE MAIN STORY!!*** This spans part 295 to part 327.

Part 2 of this update will be out on the 10th of this month.

Please note: this is NOT meant to be a summary or a translation; these are only my initial thoughts on the events that roughly unfold. There may be details overlooked or misunderstood in this post, so PLEASE do not use this as a translation.

WOW awful way to start this update off 💀 They’re falling from the sky and L*ONA TAKES chARGE AnD THELLS tHe otHER thURD yEARSTO TO NOT juDt FALL BUT FucKING DO SmTH… So him, Cater, and Trey use wind magic to cushion everyone’s fall.

We land on the sandy beaches of Ace’s dream. Ortho picked this spot because it has the lowest chance of encountering darkness. (zbxjsbkwdhks Cute scene of L*ona shaking sand off of himself…) Ortho worries because he still has not regained connection with Idia’s tablet.

Sebek yoinks Grim out of the sand and checks on Yuu but ignores Adeuce, who are right next to us www

Trey initiates the card soldier roll call, with Ace counting off as 1, Deuce as 2, himself as 3, and Cater as 4. They realize Riddle isn’t there and panic until Leona informs them he’s probably in that “third layer” of his dream, where he is confronted with his truest, darkest self. Omg… Leona calls that third layer “the abyss” because there was nothing else there, just “the darkness, quietly opening its maw.” SO THAT’S WHY THIS BOOK IS CALLED RULER OF TGE ABYSS, EH…

Trey begins to worry like a dad looking for his lost child (Leona’s description, not mine lol). Leona tells Trey Riddle’s strong enough to hold his own in the abyss (which I guess is his way of reassuring Trey 😂).

Ortho expresses frustration that he can’t do anything right now. If he dream hops again without Idia’s cloaking + other tech support, Malleus will surely notice them. The group decides to try and recover for now. They also reassure Ortho that he has done a lot for them.

LEONA FUCKED OFF TO NAP, BTW 💀 Bro cannot be bothered to deal with a crying kid…

Silver like. Grabs Ortho and tries to squeeze him to help release tension from his muscles. It’s something Lilia taught him. Silver shares that he understands how he feels. Ortho continues to worry that they may “lose” Idia and that he’ll break his promise to their parents (to stop them from “losing” another son). HE STARTS CRYING… Sebek shouts at Trey to do something, because him just standing there and pointing out that crying’s expected in situations like this isn’t helping. So Trey strokes Ortho’s head and provides comfort.

Everyone kinda falls asleep together on the beach?? And Ortho hears his mom’s voice. Mr. and Mrs. Shroud appear via holograms!

Shroud parents tell everyone that Malleus has invaded Idia’s dream. For now, he cannot quite barge in due to the technomantic shield in place, but Idia can only hold him off for so long. They worry about the discovery of the cheat tool Idia was working on to help them fight Malleus. Mrs. Shroud shows them a photo of recent transmission from Idia’s dream. However, the quality is pretty bad.

LOL WHYmS THAT lOOK LIKE A MISSING chILD IMGAGE…

The Heartslabyul students spot Riddle in the corner of Idia’s picture. Ortho is a little relieved that Riddle can support him, but then the others point out that Riddle and Idia have clashing personalities + cannot get along. Trey says we should put our trust in those two…

Idia wants Riddle to keep Malleus busy while he works on the cheat tool. He provides Riddle with magic coding books and tells him to read them in 3 minutes or so???? Riddle claims it’s impossible but Idia goads him saying Riddle can memorize the Queen’s 810 laws and all school rules but not this??? His big head’s ready too full, so he can’t hold more info? Okay then stick a pacifier in your mouth and let us game over :v Riddle gets annoyed but then swears he’ll memorize all the coding manuals in 2 minutes, not 3, since he owes Idia for all of his help so far.

Uhhh I think they use a coding program thing (not sure of terminology) called Spell Forge. Riddle uses a stylus called InQuill to fill out the gaps in the protection spell’s construction, since he prefers doing things by hand rather than typing (Idia uses a unique keyboard with weird shaped keys and very few of them).

New mini game thing…? Where we basically just punch in the letters displayed up top.

Malleus is made aware of Riddle’s presence and tries to meddle using frost and electricity magic. Riddle has one more book to read… he likens the coding to solving a crossword puzzle.

Malleus breaks the door off?! But Idia needs Riddle to entertain him for 3 more minutes so he can finish his cheat tool.

AgHHHhHhHHH SudDENLy…?! Ignihyde-themed main screen reboot?!

YOu’RE JOKING…

TWST iS IdIA’/s FRiGGin’ CHEAT TOOL???????? 😭

Oh my god, he had Malleus trapped on the home screen and he cannot move without “player input” 😭

Boss!!!Idia has a cool new jacket that helps him optimize his performance. If he gets a new SSR, it might feature this jacket.

We also see S.T.Y.X.'s headquarters! On the large screens in the back, you can spot some battle map plans.

UMMMMMMM Idia summons us all as SSRs via the Mirror Chamber… HE SAYS THE SAME THING THE MIRROR OF DARKNESS DOES… The exact same animations for pulling them from the gacha play. I show one example with Ortho below, but he does this for all of the cast, excluding Lilia and Malleus. (D-Does this canonize our gacha pulls...?????)

... By the way, Idia hacked himself infinity gems and 999 keys + rigged the rates to always pull SSR OTL We all wish this was us…

We’re brought to HQ to talk about our next steps. Idia moves Malleus to various isolated battle maps (with that dorm’s members there) to slowly whittle him down. Each OB boy is granted the ability to take on their OB form, which enhances their powers. LMAO they all start complaining about how lame Dream Form Change is but Idia mutes them 💀

Silver, Sebek, Yuu, and Grim are with Idia, everyone else is with their dorm members. Yuu and Grim ate going to grant support on the battle maps via the Twst app 💀 Heals, buffs, that kind of thing. They’re being very literal with us being the strategist here. Ortho meanwhile is going to go wake up the staff (bless, idk if I could have handled like 60 extra parts of waking them up too).

Silver asks about Lilia, who wasn’t summoned. Idia says he was not able to bring Lilia since he never handed him an invite.

Silver lets everyone know that Lilia is his father. (asdhbasa Cater and Kalim think he was talking about a teacher..._

Pomefiore is especially touched by Silver’s love for his father, so they volunteer to be the first to step up and fight Malleus.

OKAY OKAY SO

There’s like 6 battle maps, each of them involving the OB boy changing into their OB forms and then kicking Malleus but Malleus still manages to resist every time. Idia has to intervene to prevent him from turning us into charcoal and isolate him to the next map. There’s a lot of extra dialogue on each map, but the gist of it is we see the members of each dorm fighting alongside each other, along with some commentary interjected from members of other dorms (via projections/holograms). I’m pretty sure this is meant to show how far they’ve come in willingness to cooperate with each other, because previous battle maps did not have nearly THIS much dialogue. Before going to the next battle map, we always get a brief scene of the next dorm chatting about what happened in their dreams and then psyching themselves up for their turn to bash Malleus.

Mrs, Shroud gets in contact with her son!! She had trouble because Idia kept her account blocked. He’s embarrassed to face his mom after she’s been digging around in his computer.

Mr. Shroud also appears! He lets us know that they’re looking for a mystium in order to craft weapons that can take Malleus down, since his dragon scales are very tough. Baur (in the real world, not the dream) has joined the search as well.

Silver and Sebek realized that Lilia’s magearm contains mystium. However, it was wrapped up and shipped to the Land of Crimson Long to join Lilia in retirement. Mr. Shroud moves to contact the countries the magearm would have to pass through to get to its destination. They MUST intercept the package!

Heartslabyul is happy to reunite with Riddle. He apologizes for causing them trouble, but Ace scolds their dorm leader for thinking he can order Cater + Trey to stop him and Deuce from trying to pull him from the darkness and then going missing for a while. And now Riddle thinks he can resolve things with a simple “sorry”? There’s so much more to say!

UHHHHHH Ace starts bawling and the seniors comfort him 💦 Riddle praises Adeuce for getting their UMs. Cater says Ace must be jealous that Trey comforyed Ortho earlier??? AcE wHInES THAT THE SENIORS ShOULD LOvE hiM AnD DEUCE Ghe mOst 😭 Bro… you chose now to unleash all of your brat energy…

LOL Ace wishes Riddle learned how to comfort people instead of magic engineering… He gives Riddle’s apology 30 points.

Riddle confirms he is one month older than Ace. The seniors say Riddle is an underclassman too and start being all “aww you guys are so cute!”

Mmm so after the battles, the participants are transported to a virtual infirmary space to recover.

chzjsvejdhoawjn Idia didn’t wake the teachers first because they’d just be annoying??? 😭 Not sure if I understood that part correctly.

Azul worries that they’re violating the other dreamers’ privacies by peering into their dreams via the STORY function of the app. He then decides he should peek anyway because the dreams may contain weaknesses and secrets he can take advantage of. Idia calls Octa away for their battle map before he can.

Oh, there’s a specialist mage known as a… Returner?? They can use long range transfer magic, even being able to transfer a large number of people across long distances. Sebek realizes that humans and fae can work together to minimize damage from Malleus’s magic.

They’re able to intercept the magearm!! Either Silver’s blessing, S.T.Y.X. begins to process it into weapons for Silver and Sebek to use.

Kalim casually asks Jamil how he’s doing 😭 (since his cheeks were swollen from Kalim punching him)… He mentions that he thinks Jamil and Azul are very similar (which Jamil is insulted by) and that he even though his dream!Jamil was fun, it wasn’t the real Jamil. “It was like looking into a mirror.” Kalim admits that even though some people cannot be friends (wow, character development for him??), it is those differences that make the world an interesting place. He prefers that kind of world.

Jamil agrees with Kalim. Jewels are called jewels and not stones because they’re hard to get. He’s sure that jewels are formed through hardship… a lot of heat and pressure.

LOL???? Kalim says it’s great they were able to make up. “Hah? When did we make up?” — Jamil, #1 Kalim Hater (Kalim also tries to plead with Malleus to stop this and make up, but of course that doesn’t work.)

Idia’s getting overwhelmed managing everything. Have no fear!! Ortho comes in with Ignihyde Mobs A, B, and C, who provide backup with their technical know-how!

LMxnhdsjafTahwj Leona’s chomping at the bit to beat up Malleus 😭 Later on, Ortho says he's so impressed with his group's teamwork, which Leona brushes off. sdhasbyofayil IDIA GETS MAD AT LEONA FOR BRUSHING OFF ORTHO'S HEARTFELT PRAISE

S.T.Y.X. finishes processing the mystium! They create the Sword of Truth and Shield of Virtue, as well as Harmonia Frame/Armor. When equipped, the armor will change into the shape that best suits its pilot.

The sword is given to Silver and the shield to Sebek. It’s the opposite of their stances in their Dorm Uniform cards—Silver is standing defensively but Sebek is standing offensively, yet the items they are granted are the reverse.

There’s a battery in the item(s???) that will allow them to fire off a powerful beam, but it is limited to 2 uses.

A dragon’s horns store magical energy and amplify power…? So you have to be careful with those. Apparently it is the horns that affect the weather, which is why Malleus’s mood alters it.

They think they can take Malleus out just by grazing the corner of his horns? So accuracy is important. Silver and Sebek will train in a virtual space to prepare.

Silver and Sebek say farewell to Yuu and Grim. Silver wants to be able to meet them again when he wakes up 😭 AWWWWW

Idia and Ortho go off to have their battle map with Malleus. WaH ORTHO 🥺 He says he and Idia were able to have an adventure at NRC… the same thing he promised when they were kids…

OH MY GOD WTF 💀

Idia uses his UM to open Tartarus and summon his own Phantom army to help him fight Malleus and his army of darkness. Phantom!Ortho rises up too??!!!?!! AND GE GOES BUMBBUMBUMB 😭 and compliments robo!Ortho’s new gear, calling it cute… 🥰

I can't believe all three Shroud brothers came together for this... INCLUDING THE DEAD ONE

Malleus keeps pushing his agenda and Idia counters by saying he hates having others impose their views on him. Does Malleus realize it yet? He’s a ruler of evil, not of good.

AHHHHHH crap OTL Malleus rescinds his blessing (because he finally realizes Idia and co. are only able to stand up to him because of dream hacking. But in the real world, they’re only a smidgen of his strength—so now he’s removing the thons and taking this fight into the real world.

THAT’S WHERE THIS UPDATE ENDS…

I did not think they would stretch the final fight out to be THIS long, but lo and behold, Twst proved me wrong 💀 Again, not a fan of this pacing but I understand what the thought process behind it probably was ("we need to show everyone working together, everyone needs their time to shine!"). I especially felt that Heartslabyul's segment was way too long, but perhaps that's a byproduct of how many members there are there??

asdilbyailbyraiyorqo3iyrt3768ot3aegoffwOI I THINK I SPEAK FOR ALL OF US WHEN I SAY MY MIND WAS BLOWN WHEN I SAW IDIA'S "CHEAT TOOL" WAS TWISTED WONDERLAND ITSELF 💀 To use the design of a mobile gacha game to contain the Big Bad, as well as to summon the heroes to save the day... That's so meta??? I just have no words for this other than that, I've been stunned into silence. How very fitting for the otaku to use THIS as his oh-so-clever solution 💦💦💦

Even though I want more than anything for book 7 to just END already, I will say that I liked how minor characters are being pulled into this fight as well. We have tons of support from the Shroud parents and S.T.Y.X. staff, Ortho going to fetch the NRC staff (I assume they will be appearing later?), other family members pitching in (Maleficia, Baur, OG!Ortho), and even RANDOM MOB STUDENTS. As a mob student appreciator, you cannot believe how much I love that for them. It feels like everyone genuinely plays an important role in this story, not just the main cast of NRC.

The highlight for me as definitely the Shroud brothers reunion. HJBDSBYIAFIS I KNOW IT'S JSUT A DREAM AND OG!ORTHO CAN'T ACTUALLY RISE FROM THE DEAD WHENEVER HE LIKES IRL BUT I LOVE THE IDEA OF WANTING TO STRIKE DOWN A MAN SO BAD YOU DEFY THE LAWS OF LIFE AND DEATH TO DO IT. He gets along so well with robo!Ortho and has a mischievously cute side to him 😭

This update makes mystium and its properties relevant again (it was mentioned like once in the beginning of book 7). It's so cool that what was Lilia's weapon of war back then is now reborn into a world-saving sword and shield for his disciples to use. It feels like a dad passing on his family heirloom to the next generation.

Speaking of Lilia???? Surely he'll rejoin us next time, right????? RIGHT??????? ?? ?? ??? ? Maybe with the staff??? And since the thorns have retreated... maybe we'll even get backup from RSA students and mages from other countries (since this is an international incident now)??????? ???? ? WILL ALL OF TWISTED WONDERLAND COME TOGETHER TO COLLECTIVELY KICK MALLEUS'S ASS...

UUUUUUUUUUGGHGHHHHHHHH H HHH H HHHHH HH H HH OTL *rakes hands over my face* My stomach's clenching in anticipation for the conclusion, but I'm not even sure if next time will even wrap everything up 💦 How will it go…? The 10th can’t come soon enough…

[nasa]

Setting Sail to Travel Through Space: 5 Things to Know about our New Mission

Our Advanced Composite Solar Sail System will launch aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket from the company’s Launch Complex 1 in Māhia, New Zealand no earlier than April 23, at 6 p.m. EDT. This mission will demonstrate the use of innovative materials and structures to deploy a next-generation solar sail from a CubeSat in low Earth orbit.

Here are five things to know about this upcoming mission:

1. Sailing on Sunshine

Solar sails use the pressure of sunlight for propulsion much like sailboats harness the wind, eliminating the need for rocket fuel after the spacecraft has launched. If all goes according to plan, this technology demonstration will help us test how the solar sail shape and design work in different orbits.

2. Small Package, Big Impact

The Advanced Composite Solar Sail System spacecraft is a CubeSat the size of a microwave, but when the package inside is fully unfurled, it will measure about 860 square feet (80 square meters) which is about the size of six parking spots. Once fully deployed, it will be the biggest, functional solar sail system – capable of controlled propulsion maneuvers – to be tested in space.

3. Second NASA Solar Sail in Space

If successful, the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System will be  the second NASA solar sail to deploy in space, and not only will it be much larger, but this system will also test navigation capabilities to change the spacecraft’s orbit. This will help us gather data for future missions with even larger sails.

4. BOOM: Stronger, Lighter Booms

Just like a sailboat mast supports its cloth sails, a solar sail has support beams called booms that provide structure. The Advanced Composite Solar Sail System mission’s primary objective is to deploy a new type of boom. These booms are made from flexible polymer and carbon fiber materials that are stiffer and 75% lighter than previous boom designs. They can also be flattened and rolled like a tape measure. Two booms spanning the diagonal of the square (23 feet or about 7 meters in length) could be rolled up and fit into the palm of your hand!

5. It’s a bird...it’s a plane...it’s our solar sail!

About one to two months after launch, the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System spacecraft will deploy its booms and unfurl its solar sail. Because of its large size and reflective material, the spacecraft may be visible from Earth with the naked eye if the lighting conditions and orientation are just right!

To learn more about this mission that will inform future space travel and expand our understanding of our Sun and solar system, visit https://www.nasa.gov/mission/acs3/.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!

[kroosluvr]

present day

if every day will be like this from now on, i'll look forward to every single one.

ok. Sits down. help meeee i tried using csp's comic tools for once (and also gradient maps + coloring w monochrome) to save time bUT I ENDED UP SPENDING THE USUAL AMT ANYWAY SO. . erm. WELL IT WAS FUN ANYWAYS

hiiiiiiiii i wrote this script 4 months ago nd finally did it (had this on the backburner for 20 million yrs bc i wanted to get out other angst bullshit first)

the parallels of goro's back (x3) on the first 2 pgs are kinda not 1:1 as i'd like but REGARDLESS i still like them. goro, who had utmost control over his life, running it like a machine, regardless of how he feels or if he's tired or if he wants to give up.......he was in control. knowing, of course, that his life is on the line at every waking moment, but since he was always on edge, always alert, he was still in control.

but now, surviving the long winter and coming out to the other side, he's lost that control AND that edge. now what is he left with? what is there left?

very speficially in the 2nd page.... i think its so <3 YAY <3 that goro, now, doesn't feel the need to take such spic-and-span clean-cut care of his appearance.., guy who rolls out of bed and throws on a shirt to go hangout w akira and sumire. he decides to tie up his hair and forgoes his gloves... feels more "comfortable" to change his apperance, to let down his guard a little. <- was the rough symbolism JKDSHKFS

sumire getting the choco croissant but letting goro have the first bite YEAHHHH WHATEVER

4th page symbolism is also rough i didnt think abt it too hard LMAO. 3rdsem goro watching his detective prince self leave. he knows acutely well that chapter of his life is over - whether he survives the long winter or dies in it. all that he knew - even though it was miserable and awful and frustrating and dangerous - is gone.

and now there's just this: the present day. whatever that means.

i think something important to me abt royal trio is just the idea of Learning To Just Exist: no need for a "purpose" or a "calling" or some overarching "goal". they just learn to exist.

and of course none of them really have a benchmark for "wow i like this i want to live like this" so they just roll with the punches, as they always have, but yknow. finally getting to live their honest student life as they always deserved

edit: and most importantly for goro, i think, is learning to cut himself some slack. "despite everything" he says, despite all the shit he's endured AND all the shit he's done, he feels like this is "right." whatever that means, he's ready to take it day by day to figure it out. AND THATS THE WHOLE THING Punches wall really hard

edit: I ALSO FORGOT. i think the sentiment of "being waited for" for goro means a lot. since he had to do everything by himself, fight for himself, decide everything for himself frm such a young age, the idea of akira and sumire waiting for him, inviting him out simply for him to be there -> is really meaningful to him, more than they could know.

edit AGAIN: also goro sleeping in means a lot to me. i imagine that guy has pretty terrible insomnia. ALSO HE HAS A BEDFRAME! i like the thought of his apartment being so /r/malelivingspaces throughout the game. he doesn’t deserve a bedframe. BUT HE HAS ONE NOW!

goros expressions in the last page gve me a hard time. sparkly....

also im SO freaking sorry if his voice isnt too well-written... i had a crisis over the wording while draiwng htis so much DSKHASKDASJK AND THE PANELING AND WHATEVERRR IDEK WHAT IM DOINGGG but it was fun!!!! exploratory..... regardless i will keep workign to do him and royaltrio justice. THUMBSUP EMOJI.

[merchant-wizard-and-jerry]

(This is going to be linked as the card drawing post from now on)

*Warning all effects are permanent unless stated otherwise wise and all effects can’t be undone by undoing the magic*

(This means that if your arms turn to metal, you can’t revert the spell that made it happen, because the armed in the eyes of the universe are naturally metal now, but instead can convert the metal back into flesh like you would do if the arms were always metal.)

(The lore reason why is the supreme being made it…. Aka I am the writer of this story and deck and I say no you. (In a joking manner if you or a love one rolled something you don’t want to happen tell me and we can work out a solution))

(List of effects)

TP who TC Gains partial divinity

TP who TC can ask one question to the universe and gets a true answer

TP who TC is immune to all undead for 24 hours

TP who TC can ask one request of the Flock of seagulls

TP who TC gains absolute mastery of there most proficient skill

TP who TC gets there perfect ideal of a follower summoned, the follower is made of stained glass

All people who wants to attack TP who TC becomes completely peaceful

TP who TC has the vision permanently enhanced by 4x

TP who TC brain grows 10x as fast and smart for 1 hour

the next good effect drawn from TD is doubled

TP who TC has everything blue that there touching enchanted randomly.

TP who TC gains a skeleton key

TP who TC has there mind gain armor, it helps reinforce there mind’s processes and also help ward of wind magic form effecting it

TP who TC has a calming aura for 1 week, anyone within that aura has their emotions calmed.

TP who TC arms turned to metal (I forgot to say, for 1 hour)

TP who TC splits into five identical clones 1/5th the size. Each have a randomly selected 1/5th of TP who TC’s powers. At the point of them splitting is when there memories split. Each will grown to normal size over the span of a week. Once one dies, its powers and memories are randomly split among the remaining clones (of that batch). Each clone can split but the above side effects still apply.

TP who TC is recognised as a minor noble in the nearest nobility system

all eyes in a 1 mile radius of TD glows gold for a year

TP who LC gets magic equal TP who TC's magic capabilities for 1 spell

TP who TC can see how corrupt anyone is

TP who NC has there card effect double

TP who HTC has the ability to identify any living thing’s clade

TC turns into, upon being drawn, a random minor magical item. TP who TC will be registered as that item's true owner, that ownership will either be passed to a designated person or person with their best interest in mind upon death of the previous owner.

TP who TC can identify if it’s safe to drink any water they see

TP who TC gets 10 currency

TP who HC has control over a small company of knights

TP who TC gains scales for 1 hour

TP who TC begins to be observed by a god

TP who TC will have all cuts immediately scab over for the next month.

TP who TC is turned into an animal chosen by TP who NC for 4 hours. TP who TC keeps their mind, unless this card is drawn again in the same time and the same animal is chosen. If it is picked again but with a different animal, TP who TC will hybridize as both animals.

TP who TC has the effect they last were under that was triggered by a card reapplied as if they drew it again.

TP who TC chooses a person who will NC

(Automatic custom card)

TP who TC has there element shift one element, this effect either last 1 year or until TP who TC comes to except one lie they believed was true was a lie

A random seed in a 1 foot radius around TP who TC will grow to complete maturity. If there is no seed, a seed will from that when planted will grow a perfect replica of a random card with the magic effect at 1/10th efficiency

TP who TC plays a game of 20 question, if you win, you get a clue finding spy glass. If you lose you lose an eye.

TP who TC next spell will go wild

all water in a 30 foot radius of TD turns into wine

TP who LC has its effect happen to TP who TC

TP who TC has the direction they move relative to gravity altered by the person who NC

TP who NC has TP who LC effect added to theres

TP who TC becomes the target of tempest the clown. Tempest is a weather demigod who wishes to bring joy to kids by showing them weather phenomena… up close.. at full scale.

TP who NC will gain the ability to know where you are at all time

TP who TC will be transformed into a computer software sprite on a piece of digital hardware. The card is transformed into that piece of hardware. Both effects last for 1 day

TP who TC has all there hair light on fire, they are not armed nor is there hair

TP who NC can choose one of TP who TC’s skills to lock for 1 hour

TP who TC experiences 1 years worth of advanced mutation that would be handy in this situation

all grass in a 3 yard radius of TD turns into a fungus based alternative

TP who TC will lose all their hair and have it regrow in a 24 hour period

TP who TC will have all open injuries and non-sensory body holes (peircings, behind, belly button, etc) transformed into functioning technology ports

TP who TC is swarmed by pollen

TD loses its magical effect for 10 minutes

TP who TC gets struck by lightning

TP who TC if they have a scarred over stump it grows cactus spines making it impossible to restore, if not you are immune to cactuses.

TP who TC loses their sense of smell for 10 min

in a 1 yard radius around TP who TC rain will clouds form and rain for 1 week

TP who TC becomes a telepathic potted plant for 1 hour. TP is completely immobile, but still conscious and is able to talk to anyone nearby via telepathy. Any person who touches TP is affected by magic: (Roll 1d4 to decide the effect given) 1. Becoming a telepathic potted plant without other effects. 2. Being fully healed and restored as if they drank a powerful healing potion 3. Clothes are replaced by plants equivalents made from leaves, grass, flowers, moss, and other plant materials. These new clothes do not cover up well and ordinarily resemble Druidic clothing, but also resemble the clothes they were previously wearing. Depending on the magical power or significance of their previous clothes, they may be possible to recover via summoning magic. 4. A large tree appears nearby and they are temporarily transformed into a dryad linked to that tree for one day.

TP who TC becomes a potted telepathic plant for a year

TP who LC attacks you

TP who draws TC loses the ability to understand speech for 1 hour

TP who TC loses all of wealth

TP who TC has there most prized possession trapped in this card for 1 year or until they tell someone a deep secret

all events that took place in the last hour reverts in a 20 yard radius of TD

TP who TC Dies

TP who NC will gain control of your body for 1 minute

(List of terms)

The person (TP)

The deck (TD)

Drew this card (TC)

Drew last card (LC)

Draws next card (NC)

Holds this card (HC)

(Rules)

You can ask pay for a card with 10 currency

When you pay you can specify out of character whether you want a random card or if you want me to make a new one for you to draw that will be added to the deck

If I make a new one I’ll add it to the list

Also if the card calls for good or bad it is referring to thirds, the first 1/3 is good, the last 1/3 is bad and the middle in neutral, round down and give the neutral the extra cards.

If you pick random, roll for me out of the numbers and tell me what you get

[goawaypopup]

Look Outside Posting Part 4: Sybil

Today, a little on the most mysterious character in the game.

Having established that she is probably the fleshy stuff everywhere else in the building, Apartment 35 is definitely her core, or base, or something. Whether it's full to the brim with meat with two blue little eyeballs at the cracks in the walls, she's budded off a fresh, separate body in there, or that room is some kind of Schrodinger's time anomaly.

If you interrogated Beryl, you'll know that she knew Sybil was in Apartment 12, not 35. But, crucially, something i haven't seen anyone else mention: Sybil did live in 35. The game takes place in March; Edwin's ledger of equipment loans shows Sybil borrowing a telescope, in Apartment 35, in February of the previous year. She moved out, and into 12, at some point in the interim. (Edit: Tragically, it has come to my attention that in the latest update the ledger is fixed to show her in 12, after all. She just showed up in this room to stare at Sam, I guess.)

What remain of Sybil's memories and knowledge show that this can't be an unrelated Sybil. Beryl was the first to join the group (Jasper taking care of Sybil, and Edwin sort of off to the side providing tools). She met Sybil only a few months before the game's events, after she had already witnessed the Visitor, and when she was already in the new apartment. Neither Beryl nor the others after her ever knew Sybil in Apartment 35, and she's the only one you mention it to, so they never find out about her.

The thing that makes Sybil so clearly pivotal, even if it's never clear exactly how, is that she's privy to information no one else is. As far as I'm aware, nobody else somehow just knows that the Visitor will leave in 15 days.

Even the Astronomers don't have an estimate. Whatever speed the Visitor was traveling at before is obviously shot - you'd have to be able to calculate its attention span somehow to know when it's going to leave. And Sybil is right on the money. She's wrong about having "heard it" somewhere, at any rate - from where, the news? The panicking residents? At literal sunrise on the first day?

Not even the Visitor itself seems to know stuff like this about what it's going to do. It doesn't even know what a photo is... I don't think it's actually responsible for the Astronomers' visions of offerings.

So who the hell is??

You can probably guess this one from context.

Sybil is suspiciously knowledgeable on all this, if unconsciously so. Even for someone who was studying this entity. She doesn't just know what it looks like or where it came from, she knows what it's going to do. She knows what to do about it.

The relationship of brain-sharing between her and the Visitor might have... become even a little bit less one-sided, with the amount of time they've spent like that? Though it doesn't seem to have been good for her coherence of thought.

Her being in her old apartment, and unaware of this, might suggest some kind of time frickery, too. Her claim to have lost her job only a month ago seems questionable on the timeline.

Sybil dreams constantly, when she manages to get some sleep in. She's positively tormented by visions of falling into a well of starlike eyes, and four robed men.

The four Astronomers all get dreams hinting at depictions of the Visitor to offer up to it, ones so evocative that they persuade some very skeptically-minded individuals to go hunting for them in real life. (God knows those dum-dums needed the help to finish the ritual in time, seeing as they all spend two straight weeks standing and pondering in their respective rooms if Sam doesn't get the offerings for them.)

Sam's "go up into the sky" dream at the beginning is probably Sybil's fault as well. It's the same sentiment she's having at the moment he wakes up, that the sky is very pretty and he should go look at it.

Sybil is in a lot of very weird pieces now, but all of them are doing their best to help.

If it ever gets added as an option, I'm immediately ripping her door down and examining this woman with a microscope. There's only so much analysis I can do from behind the wall, y'know?

---

A parting note: I'm open to doing shorter reviews on less broad aspects of the game, if you have something specific in mind. Send me an ask!

[random-remzy]

I need more gay little shows to watch this gay month, preferably yaoi were both guys are completely miserable, any recommendations? (Not watching banana fish nu uh)

my time has come-!

Given (The show, the extra ep and all three movies. There are gays all teh gays and music They're band gays.)

Sasaki to Miyano (the show and the extra episodes or i think it was also a movie)

Twilight out of focus (There are gays, tehre is gay sex, there are 3 seperate storylines with different flavours of gay men)

The Boy by the sea (childhood loves, first times, all the likes ALSO THE ENG DUB IS A FUCKING TRIP, cus one of the MC's is voiced by DEKU'S VA so for MHA fans some of it might be something you can never unhear.)

Hitorijime My Hero (I havent seen thsi isn a while but i think it focuses on multiple gay couples)

Super Lovers: (... Yeah I thought this one was a liiiittle weeird. Its step-sibling incest also he's liek 16 and the other one is 24, so its just... yeah. uhh)

Honorary Anime Mentions

Free! (All 4 series, 3 movies 2 recap movies, 3 OVA's - All about the sme characters spanning about 10 years in real-time and about 3 years in canon. It's an honorary mention because there are no canon gay characters. BUT BY THE GREAT HEAVENS IT IS THE GAYEST Show to ever grace the screens WITHOUT even being gay. THE ONLY FEMALE CHARACTER IS ALSO EXTREMELY GAY-CODED Don't let her fool you! She only has an interest in the ideal male physique, not the actual men themselves!) I mean! Come on! Its a show about half naked men constantly getting wet.

Sk8 the Infinity (Very gay, there is currently 1 season And 1 OVA, very gay as most sports animes are.)

Beyblade Burst (Very gay, but WAAAAYYYY less obvious about it than other sports animes, so- [i just want someone to scream to about this show actually])

Also any other sports anime ever. I havent seen Yuri on Ice but i hear it is very gay.

Other shows-

The Dragon Prince (Chock full of the gay agenda, but the S7 finale was... uhhh... mid at best)

Arcane (Toxic Yuri, Doomed Yaoi, and Diseased Straights. we stan)

Hazbin Hotel (Its nice, i guess, theres not much blatant gay bbut there is blatant gay so thats noce!)

Helluva Boss (Complex gays with trauma and angst and oh my god we love this yes YES we love these gays and also the straights because teh straights are sweet and pissy but fantastic, also EXTREMELY TOXIC YAOI!!!)

Heartstopper (I personally prefer the books but the show is really nice too!)

Red, White, and Royal Blue (havent read the book, the movie was nice, its sweet and stupid and we love em)

Young Royals (Oh THIS this is great, Heartstopper meets Red, White, and Royal Blue and created this! Scandinavian gay magic.)

Honorary mentions

Dinotrux (Its NOT gay- BUT!! C'mon! Ty and Dstrucks were like. the ultimate Toxic yaoi [ignore the fact that they're dinosaur-shaped mechanical machines] They were fantastic in that show)

And Y'KNOW WHAT!

For you, I'll throw in the Webtoons as well. Because there can never be enough gays!.

Star Catcher (beautiful traumatic and just so stunning! also the longets most frustrating slow burn you've evr seen)

Our Walk Home (Slow updates but so beautiful and just adorable really but also really sad)

High Class Homos (I NEED MORE PEOPLE TO SCREAM TO ABOUT THIS OH MY GOD I LOVE THEM SO MUCH THE QUIRKY LIL QUEER SPLUS THE ULTIMATE LAVENDER MARRIAGE!!!)

HAZESHIFT (really new to this but oh MY GOD I LOVE IT THE ART AND THE BEAUTY ITS BEAUTIFUL OH MY GOD THEY DANCE THEY WERE CHILDHOOD SWEETHEARTS!!! AIUGIGIFINHIFUAYH)

My Brother's (Not so secret) Boyfriend (lovely and absolutely hilarious the author is a delight and aroace wingmanning from lil sis!)

Love Bites (pretty new to this, apparantly it was a Wattpad book before the comic adaptation. )

Boy Girlfriend (OHhHHhHhHhHh mY GOOODD this one is so special ive been with this one for a WHILE- we're talking the old artstyle kinda old. uhh Defo more explicit than others and the webtoon vers is censored so patreon is the way to go)

Race You (Very cute so far and lovely)

Play Pretend (fun and silly and a little anxiety inducing honestly.

Heartstopper (as mentioed i like the books/webcomic vers better than the show and its free on webtons :))

Sunflowers and Lavender (many queers but recenyly its focusing on the man characters a lot)

Soft Love (many queers and its in the name it sjust a bunch of cutie patooties bein adorable)

The Half of It (Its heartstopper but more trauma, [no seriously the premise is so similar] but i love thsi regardless its so cute and lovely when they do get tgether :>)

Be My Villain (OH MY GOOD i've been here since the original started and now i'm so in love i love them so much oh my god were waiting on the release of the second half of season 3)

Castle Swimmer (very well-known, its cute when its cute and sad when its sad lot sof mentalhealth problems for the fishies, uhh. I lost the plot a couple times but ill find it when i re-binge it eventiually)

Say the right thing (very short but sweet and lovely and scatry but we love)

Night Owls & Summer Skies (based on a Wattpad story, very sweet and I actually loved it somuch!!)

To Be Honest (CRIMINALLY UNDERRATED I FOUND THIS AND BINGE READ IT OH MY GOD I LOVE IT SOO MUCH ITS SO BEAUTIUL AND HIGH QUALITY AND TEH STORY IS ABSOLUTELY COMPLEX AND STUNNING-)

wlep. Thash all i got.

...

It just occured to me that you asked for gays in genral and i just provided you with almost explicitly BL.

...

i may have a tiiiiiinyy problem-

[bestanimal]

Round 3 - Mammalia - Hyracoidea

(Sources - 1, 2, 3, 4)

Our next order of afrotherian mammals is Hyracoidea, commonly known as “hyraxes” or “dassies”. Today, only one family remains, Procaviidae, with three genera.

Hyraxes are well-furred, rotund animals with short tails. They are superficially similar to marmots or pikas but, as afrotherians, are much more closely related to elephants and sirenians. Unlike most other browsing and grazing animals, they do not use the incisors at the front of the jaw for slicing off leaves and grass; rather, they use the molar teeth at the side of the jaw. Their two upper incisors are instead small tusks which grow continuously through life. The four lower incisors are deeply grooved "comb teeth". Their feet have stumpy toes with hoof-like nails, and rubbery pads with numerous sweat glands, which may help the animal maintain its grip when quickly moving up steep, rocky surfaces or tree bark. Hyraxes have poorly developed internal temperature regulation, for which they compensate by behavioural thermoregulation, such as huddling together and basking in the sun. They live in family groups, with a single male that aggressively defends the territory from rivals. Where living space is abundant, the male may have sole access to multiple groups of females, each with its own range. The dominant male will keep watch on a high rock or branch and will give a shrill alarm if there is danger. The remaining males live solitary lives, often on the periphery of areas controlled by larger males, and mate only with younger females. Although not ruminants, hyraxes have complex, multichambered stomachs that allow symbiotic bacteria to break down tough plant materials. All hyraxes are limited to Africa, with the exception of the Rock Hyrax (Procavia capensis) (image 1), which can also be found in some parts of the Middle East.

Male hyraxes lack a scrotum and their testicles remain tucked up in their abdominal cavity next to the kidneys, (as do those of elephants, manatees, and dugongs.) Female hyraxes have a pair of teats near their armpits (axilla) (as do elephants and sirenians) as well as four teats in their groin. Female hyraxes give birth of 1 to 4 young after a gestation period of seven to eight months, depending on the species. The young are weaned at 1–5 months of age, and reach sexual maturity at 16–17 months. Hyraxes have a life span of 9 to 14 years.

Through the Middle to Late Eocene, many different species of hyrax existed, varying from the size of a mouse to the size of a rhinoceros. The order remained widespread and diverse as late as the end of the Pliocene with representatives throughout most of Africa, Europe, and Asia.

Propaganda under the cut:

Modern hyraxes are relatively small animals, but some prehistoric species were quite large. Titanohyrax ultimus lived from the Early Eocene to the Early Oligocene in modern-day Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt and Libya and was the size of a rhinoceros, with estimates of its body mass ranging from 600 kg (1,300 lb) to 1,300 kg (2,900 lb). Megalohyrax lived during the Early Oligocene of Africa and Asia Minor and was the size of a tapir, sometimes exceeding 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) in length. These larger forms may have eventually been displaced by the newly developed bovids, which were very efficient grazers and browsers.

Hyraxes urinate in a designated, communal area. Their viscous urine quickly dries and, over generations, accretes to form massive middens. These structures can date back thousands of years. The petrified urine itself is known as hyraceum and serves as a record of the environment, as well as being used as a South African folk remedy in the treatment of several medical disorders, including epilepsy and convulsions. Hyraceum is also used by perfumers, who tincture it in alcohol to yield a natural animal musk.

Hyraxes have highly charged myoglobin, which has been inferred to reflect an aquatic ancestry.

One of the proposed etymologies for "Spain" is that it may be a derivation of the Phoenician I-Shpania, meaning "island of hyraxes" or "land of hyraxes"

The nocturnal Southern Tree Hyrax (Dendrohyrax arboreus) has a loud call that sounds like a series of blood-curdling shrieks building up to a crescendo. These territorial calls are produced mainly by the males.

The Western Tree Hyrax (Dendrohyrax dorsalis) (image 2 & 3) is an adept climber, quickly able to scale smooth tree trunks, and have been observed to climb up the edge of an open door with ease.

A Chimpanzee at Bossou was observed capturing a Western Tree Hyrax, carrying it to her nest, and sleeping with and grooming it. This suggests that chimpanzees in Bossou may not regard hyraxes as a prey animal, but more of a “pet.”

The Yellow-spotted Rock Hyrax or Bush Hyrax (Heterohyrax brucei) has an umbraculum in the pupil of their eye extending from the iris. This enables them to stare into the sun and watch for aerial predators while they bask.

Where their ranges overlap, Bush Hyraxes (Heterohyrax brucei) are sometimes known to live with Rock Hyraxes (Procavia capensis) (image 1). However, different species of hyraxes do not interbreed because their sex organs vary significantly. Some behaviors observed in populations of Rock and Bush Hyraxes include caring for each other's young by sharing nurseries and inhabiting the same rock crevices.

Rock Hyraxes are the only living terrestrial afrotherians in the Middle East.

Rock Hyraxes make a loud, grunting sound while moving their jaws as if chewing, and this behaviour may be a sign of aggression. Some authors have proposed that observation of this behavior by ancient Israelites gave rise to the misconception given in Leviticus 11:4–8 that the hyrax chews its cud, but the hyrax is not a ruminant.

Rock Hyraxes that live in more "egalitarian" groups, in which social associations are spread more evenly among group members, survive longer. In addition, hyraxes are the first nonhuman species in which structural balance was described. They follow "the friend of my friend is my friend" rule, and avoid unbalanced social configurations.

Researchers have found rich syntactic structure and geographical variations in the calls of Rock Hyraxes, a first in the vocalization of mammalian taxa other than primates, cetaceans, and bats. Higher-ranked males tend to sing more often, and singing has been shown to be a marker of an individual hyrax's unique identity, where identity is expressed by unique vocal signatures.

The Rock Hyrax spends roughly 95% of its time resting. During this time, it can often be seen basking in the sun, which sometimes involves "heaping", where several animals pile on top of each other. This is thought to be an element of its complex thermoregulation.

[outsideratheart]

Meant to be - snippet (Alexia Putellas x reader)

A/N: this is only the first part of this fic which could be read as a stand alone fic or prequel to Birthdays in Bed. There is more, I promise.

Life has a funny way of giving you the thing you wanted most exactly when you needed it. Sometimes you think it isn’t meant for you, only for it to happen a few months later. 

Both you and Alexia were emotionally exhausted after going through 4 rounds of IVF. The first time didn’t take which you knew was a possibility but the fourth, that one was successful. As Christmas morning came around you watched as Alexia handed out Eli and Alba two very different presents that held the same meaning. They both welled up upon realising what it was you were telling them.

It was happiest time of your lives but only a couple a weeks later, a few days into the new year something felt wrong. You woke up in the middle of the night with sharp pains in your lower abdomen. When you pulled back the bedsheet and saw the red stains you knew exactly what was happening. Alexia woke up just as you got out of bed and saw you go into the en-suite. When she saw the cause of your awakening she jumped out of bed and ran to you.

It was a tough couple of months that followed. The team hadn’t been told that you were expecting so at least training was like normal, that was about the only place. You and Alexia were grieving the loss of your child and it was starting to take its toll. You had a decision to make. Do you try again or take a break to process the loss. In the end you agreed to try once more and if that one didn’t take then you would take a break until the summer where you would try another round.

“Are you ready?” Alexia stood in front of you in your bedroom with the test in her hand. You had sent her into the bathroom to get it as you were too nervous.

You nod your head. That told her yes but that wasn’t was you were feeling. You weren’t ready and that’s because you didn’t know if you want it to be positive or negative. The miscarriage affected you mentally more than you could have imagined.

Alexia looked down and whilst you tried to remain stoic, you saw her features drop a little bit and that told you all you needed to know.

“It’s negative, isn’t it?” You hold your hands out for her to take. She joins you on the bed and rests her head on your shoulder.

“Why is the universe so against us starting a family?” Your wife asked in defeat “We are good people”

“You, my love, are the amongst the very best people” you softly kiss her hairline “This is something that is out of our control. I have put a lot of stress on my body over the years may—“

“No!” Alexia’s head snapped up “You won’t blame yourself for this”

Alexia knew that you blamed yourself for the loss of your unborn child and whilst you promised you were doing better, she knew deep down the guilt was still there.

“I was going to say that it’s because of this stress that it might take a little bit longer than we hoped. Let’s face it, we are not the most patient people in the world”

The woman beside you chuckled as she fell backwards so she is now laying on the bed.

“We will have a family Alexia. It will happen when it is suppose to happen” 

“How do you know that?” 

“I don’t but I refuse to believe the alternative. Now, go shower because we have training in a hour and you know we can’t be late”

It was true. Every training session was crucial at the minute. The team were only a couple of games away from winning the league, the Champions League final was at the end of May and the Copa de La Reina semi final and final was at the beginning of June. It was a busy time for Barcelona and truth be told it was a welcomed distraction for the both of you.

Before you knew it you were playing in the Copa de La Reina final having won the league and the champions league within the span of a month. It was a final again Atleti, your favourite fixture of the season. You got to play against some of your best friends and it was always a good game.

“Once last game. What do you say? Shall we have some fun?” You nudge Alexia as you exit the locker room for the warms up.

“And dinner afterwards” Alexia suggested.

“You do realise that if we win then the whole team will be going on out dinner” you teased.

“I’ll take that as a yes” Alexia kisses you on your lips, leaving you in shock. Never had she done that before a game and not out in the open, not that you were complaining.

You ran your fingers over your lips as you savour the feeling of your wife’s lips on yours. There was something going on with Alexia. She was untouchable on the pitch and she played you ball after ball. Lola did a very good job at keeping your shots out of the net but some she stood no change at stopping. Going in to the final minutes it was 3-2 to Barcelona.

You were through on goal and it was only going to end one way. You felt so confident in the shot you had planned that you were already planning your celebration in your head. Only you never got the chance to fulfil it as you felt the full force of a pair of studs connect with your ankle and you heard something snap. Carmen was by your side immediately.

“Y/N! Y/N!”” Lola joined her followed by Alexia a couple of seconds later. Your wife didn’t push the defender out the way as she knew the tackle wasn’t on purpose. She simple went to your other side but not before looking at your ankle which was clearly broken.

It was bad. You knew this so you didn’t argue when the stretcher came onto the pitch. You were strangely calm as you talked to the physios and the players around you.

“Ale, please come with me to the hospital? I can’t go there alone not after last time” 

Staying and playing out the final seconds was never even a thought in Alexia’s mind. She knew the moment you were referring to and whilst you would be going to a different part of the hospital, she wouldn’t let you go alone.

A couple of hours later you were laid in a hospital room. Alexia was by your side as you both wait for the x-ray results. You knew they had to take them but you didn’t need a medical degree to know that you broke you ankle, it was a clean break and you knew that you would be out for an extended period of time.

It felt as is every five minutes three more footballers joined you in your room. You were pretty sure this many visitors weren’t allowed but you also know that the nurse was a fan which explains the leniency.

When the doctor came in there was enough football players to have a starting 11 and some subs. The older man laughed as he scanned the room. 

“I have your results. Miss Y/L/N—“

“It’s Putellas-Y/L/N” Alexia hated it when people called you by your maiden name even though the two of you never officially announced you were married.

“My apologies. Miss Putellas-Y/L/N” The doctor sent Alexia smile who nodded whilst smiling herself “as I was saying, I have your results. I think it’s best to talk to you in private. Your wife can stay of course”

Up until now you had remained in high spirits having already accepted your fate but the doctor words dampened those spirits entirely. 

“Is something wrong?” Alexia asked as she squeezed your hand three times.

“Not necessarily”

You told your friends that it was ok to leave and the doctor promised to come and get them once the results had been discussed.

The atmosphere in the room did a complete 180 as you and Alexia waited for the doctor to speak. 

“She has broken her ankle, no?” Alexia’s patience grows thin.

“Yes, let’s start with that” he says which confuses you and Alexia “You ankle is broken. It was a clean break but is a bad one. We are going to take you into surgery in the morning”

“No, you do it now. She is a professional athlete. She is a priority”

The doctor looked at you for help.

“Alexia, let the man speak. I’m sure there is a reason for the delay in surgery. There is a reason, right?” 

“There is a reason. It is part of procedure to take blood tests when a patient gets admitted. Y/N,” the man donning a white coat moves closer to you “Have you been trying to start a family?” 

This was private information. Information that you and alexia didn’t feel comfortable discussing with a stranger, nor were you ready to talk about it.

“We were. Did that play a part in the break? Did the hormones I’m taking weaken my body?” 

The doctor looks at you, over to the Alexia and then back to you.

“You’re pregnant. Rather far along actually”

You were rendered speechless. How is this possible? The text was negative and you haven’t tried since. There was no way you were pregnant. Alexia must share the same disbelief because she explains this to the doctor. He confirms again that you are indeed pregnant and that the hospital tests are much more accurate that the ones you take at home.

“You’re 9 weeks along. I have a nurse ready to give you an ultra sound if that is something you would like or we can schedule it for the moment when things are a little bit quieter” he laughs as he dips his head to the door, a reminder that your friends are outside.

“Are you sure?” Alexia asks still not believing what she is hearing.

“100%” and with that the doctor left you and your wife alone to proceed what he has just told you.

[physalian]

When To Keep Your Writing Stiff (pt 7)

Part 6

Part 1

Gonna shoutout a specific fanfic, “Salvage” (ATLA) for writing that is even leaner than mine is, and mine has zero fat whatsoever. This was really good. I particularly like how some scenes were only 2 or 3 lines long as an example of what I’m going for here.

When I say “stiff” in the following examples I’m specifically talking about a lot of the same syntax, few similes and metaphors, few ‘said’ synonyms, very little, well, “life” in the prose. And this can be good in a few situations.

1. Your narrator is in shock

Shock doesn’t all look the same, but the kind of shock I mean is the one where the person is really quiet and un-emotive, they’re probably not speaking or reacting much to whatever catastrophe just happened and probably not responding to their name or anything spoken to them. Their body is pretty much going “uhhhhhhhhh factory reset!” when whatever it is, is too much to process.

A asks them a question. Once. Twice. B stares ahead. There’s a brown stain on the wall that looks like a thumb.

So if they’re narrating, they’re probably going to be giving the absolute bare minimum, need-to-know information and won’t be thinking about the best adjectives and adverbs. Especially if you normally write with fluffier prose, a jarring shift like this can really help sell the shock and dissociating of the character, something so traumatizing that it effects how the story is told.

2. Your narrator is depressed

Somewhere between New Moon’s 4 pages of just Months to show Bella did absolutely nothing in a depression rot and normal prose (though it was effective, particularly in the movie when they could draw out the words on the screen for longer and did the whole spin-around-her-depression-chair montage).

January came. It rained a lot.

They’ll probably either narrate very thinly, or listlessly. They might focus on a random detail and start going on a long ramble about that one detail that isn’t at all important, but it’s either all they can think about or all that can move them to feel anything in this moment, like:

On the bedside table, that coffee mug still sat there in a thin sheet of dust. What had been liquid now long since dry and gluey. It still sits there, collecting cat fur.

This might be the best place for sentences that all sound and flow exactly the same, but use it sparingly.

3. Your narrator is having a panic attack or trapped in a traumatic situation

Different from shock in that while they are physically capable of moving and interacting, they can’t let themselves describe what they’re seeing and feeling in grand detail. Maybe they’re moving through the horrific aftermath of a battle and all they can describe is the mud under their feet and how it squelches. Or they simply say that “there’s bodies everywhere” because looking too long or too hard at who those bodies belonged to is too much.

4. You’re writing something that has incredibly fast pacing

This post was inspired by a fic I just wrote that spanned about 5 months in about 18k words. Narrative was skipping days ahead between paragraphs at some point as my character was processing the end of an abusive relationship. It sped up and slowed down where necessary, but compared to its sequel that I also just finished (22k words across 7 days), I’d covered a whole month in about 2 sentences in the first one.

See nearly any part of Salvage (or my fics if you feel like it)

What happened in that month didn’t matter, only what was before and what’s different now and how this character realizes how their life is slowly changing, some things they never noticed that are suddenly right in their face or things that quietly slipped away.

—

TLDR; sometimes the lack of emotion and sensory details and frenetic, dynamic syntax is the point, that can sell the reader on the narrator’s mental state far better than picking the juiciest adverbs. If it’s so impactful to them that the physical telling of the story is changed, you’ve done your job.

[oonajaeadira]

where you been, adira?

Yes, I've been on here at least once a day just to scroll and take a few breaths, because it's... been a time.

I AM JOEL MILLER I'm currently working on a show that opens tonight. Hence the little extra breathing time this afternoong. (Normally I'm at the theater 4 hours a night, but the show is only 75 minutes, so I get a little more time to myself from here on out.) The SO and I are both in it though (it's his company), so it's nice to spend time with him on a project we both love.

It's a devised, modern retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, but set in 50s/60s Appalachia. There are no sets or props, we make everything with our bodies, including the 4-part harmony shape note singing and a few mountain folk songs I have to carry. It's a lot of physical work, but it's a beautiful show.

Red is a girl that grows up in a small mountain town. She has no parents, so spends time rotating between caretakers, and is told that her place is to stay at home and not go into the woods with the woodsmen. But she loves the woods and when she's a teenager, one of her adoptive fathers makes a move to assault her and she runs away into the woods.

There she meets a solitary woman (me), a grouchy root worker/conjurer with a past of her own (it's revealed that she had a daughter about Red's age that wandered off into the woods and died out there). The two have trouble getting along at first, but they end up healing each other.

I was explaining this to @grogusmum on a polo the other day and she said she basically said it out loud at the same time I did.... "so I'm/you're basically Joel."

Not me finding inspiration in the damnedest of places.

My costume, no lie, includes a green plaid flannel. With the sleeves rolled up.

.

MY HEART NEEDS FIXING I often get heart flip-flops, extra beats, that kind of thing. I went to a cardiologist about 6 or 7 years ago once when it went on for a whole week and they took an ultrasound and basically told me "less caffeine, more sleep, more exercise."

It still comes and goes, but clears up on its own.

Until this January.

When it lasted a whole month.

So I went to my doctor. They took blood and ran all the tests. They hooked me up on machines and slapped a 24/7 monitor on me. When the monitor results came back, I got a message from my doctor: "Go to Emergency Services. Today."

I spent that day, that night, and then next day in the ER, and @feathersandfoxtails can attest, that place is a little crazy, but ultimately everyone's really nice and took good care of me. I must have talked to 30 different doctors, RNs, residents, learning teams, including at least 5 cardiologists. I had 2 EKGs, 2 ultrasounds, a stress test, 5 different blood draws from an IV, and was monitored all night (you try sleeping when your blood pressure cuff goes off once an hour). And this week, baby had her first MRI, which I actually found rather relaxing.

The diagnosis is that I am not in any immediate danger of attack or failure, my pump is good and my heart structure is normal and healthy.

What I have is bad wiring that sends extra signals. It's probably been there from birth and is now just coming to light. So I'm on medication to keep my adrenaline low (so I don't faint--low possibility, but they're just being cautious) until mid-April. Then they're gonna go into my heart and burn away those bad wires. It's endoscopic (and I'l be awake on the table????), so I'll most likely be in and out in a 12 hour span. (They have to wait until my show closes because of the physical activity.)

Weirdly, I'm not stressed out about it. Everyone's been very kind and responsive, and I trust my care team explicitly. Modern medicine is fascinating and amazing; I am in good hands.

.

ALL THE OTHER STUFFINS ...is not exciting. It's onboarding this year's batch of 90+ artists to help produce all of their shows. It's reading 48 show proposal applications in a week's deadline and winnowing them down to 1/4 of that to help another organization to produce. It's writing 2 high-stakes recommendations for colleagues that are highly worthy of the fellowships they're applying for. Both the SO and I are in "show mode" which means the cleaning doesn't get done and the dog is often lonely so the house is a mess and Gordy is a bit more anxious than usual.

It will get easier after this weekend.

.

WHAT'S GOING ON AROUND TUMBLR It's heavy stuff out here. I want to iterate that I'm reading everything and I care very deeply and want to support. The last couple of weeks have been a lot. Forgive me if I need to process and don't have the energy to engage right at this moment. I love and support you all so much.

.

WRITING I'm officially on a writing break for a bit. I thought maybe I could catch some moments, but once I landed in the ER and we ran out of time in tech to do line work I said, nope, Adira, you rest. Rest so you can be ready when Joel comes back around...which will be the day after you step out of his shoes onstage and turn it over to P on the telly.

There's a lot to be excited for. And a lot more time to fandom around.

Give me a second and let me catch my (literal and metaphorical) breath. I'll come back around soon.

<3

[dandelionsresilience]

Dandelion News - December 22-28

Like these weekly compilations? Tip me at $kaybarr1735 or check out my Dandelion Doodles for 50% off this month only! Starting in January, I’ll also be posting 5 extra news links to Patreon each week (for free since they aren’t my work)

1. These countries all scored major wins for LGBTQ+ rights in 2024

“Consensual same-sex activity became legal in Namibia [and Dominica…, c]onversion therapy was banned [in Mexico…, Greenland] made LGBTQ+ discrimination illegal […, and] same-sex adoption and same-sex marriage became legal [in Greece.]”

2. After trial and error, Mexican fishers find key to reforesting a mangrove haven

“So far, the project has planted more than 1.8 million mangroves that have a 92-94% survival rate, Borbón estimated. [… M]angroves can prevent coastal erosion, store carbon and provide a nursery for all kinds of fish and crustacean species.”

3. ‘Britain’s wildlife safari’: baby boom in Norfolk as seal colonies flourish

“More than 1,200 seal pups were born […] in November, and 2,500 more are expected to be born before the breeding season ends in January. […] “Mortality seems to be much lower than in other colonies[….]””

4. Barcelona's metro trains are helping to charge the city's EVs each time they brake.

“[…T]he energy from the underground trains' brakes is used to power the trains and the stations themselves, while the remainder is sent snaking through cables to the surface to power plug-in stations for privately owned vehicles.”

5. Scientists thought this whale could only live for 70 years – turns out it's double that.

“The data [from repeated “photo identification of individual”s] revealed that Southern right whales can live for more than 130 years, with some speculated to reach the grand old age of 150.”

6. Rural Power Co-Ops Gain $4.37B in Latest US Clean Energy Funding

“[… A power co-op in Florida] will use its funding of more than $1.3 billion to develop 700 MW of utility-scale solar and battery energy storage projects in rural areas, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by more than 3.5 million tons annually[….]”

7. Fish-friendly dentistry: New method makes oral research non-lethal

“[… T]he researchers successfully performed the procedure on 60 fish with no fatalities. […] "This new approach researchers to track tooth replacement and development [in living] rare species or museum specimens that can't be damaged."”

8. These Brooklyn Homeowners Couldn’t Afford to Go Green. Then Help Arrived

“The program aims to repair and retrofit 70 two- and three-family homes […] in the span of two years. […] EnergyFit staff work as case managers to help homeowners navigate the complicated technical and bureaucratic processes, coordinate with tenants and set them up for further upgrades down the road.”

9. 2024 was a fantastic year for energy storage

“[… California] became the first state to pass 10 gigawatts, back in April. [… In Texas and California,] when extreme weather events hit, batteries were able to shore up the grid and lower energy costs for customers.”

10. Amid concern over microplastics, a Maine company creates a kelp-based laundry pod alternative

“"The slurry we're creating is similar to that of paper milling, and […] with Maine there's a lot of old infrastructure from the paper industry [… which] can be applied to our process here[….]” If all goes to plan, Dirigo Sea Farms' first batch of 10,000 kelp-based laundry pods will be ready for online sales by next spring.”

December 15-21 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

[sorio99]

Deltarune Chapters 3 And 4: A Review And Breakdown

About 6 years and 7 months ago, the Twitter account for Toby Fox's Undertale posted a series of mysterious Tweets, seemingly written by a mysterious character from the game's deep lore, leading up to the release of Deltarune Chapter 1 at 6:00 AM PST on Halloween.

The game was almost instantly a major phenomenon, due in no small part to both its direct and yet mysterious connections to Undertale and, let's be real, being a fucking phenomenal game on its own merits. Even better, this experience, which was almost as in-depth and meaty as the whole of some full games, was merely Chapter 1 of a multi-part experience.

Almost three years later, on the livestream for Undertale's sixth anniversary, Toby announced that Chapter 2 would be releasing just two days later, and if anything, this chapter proved even more successful and more world-shaking. The characters, story, gameplay, and music of the Chapter became iconic on the same level as anything from Undertale, and once again proved that Toby had not lost even an ounce of his skill. It also proved the effectiveness of Toby's new team, brought together to help bring Deltarune to life in the best way possible.

The plan from there was originally to release Chapters 3 through 5 at the same time, as the game's official paid launch, with later chapters releasing sometime after, though this would ultimately be scaled back to just Chapters 3 and 4 for the sake of a more timely release.

And one week ago, on June 4, 2025, those two chapters released.

Good god did they release.

(HEAVY spoilers for Deltarune Chapters 1-4 under the cut, reader discretion advised)

Part 1: Double Your Content, Double The FUN

Four Deltarunes for the price of one!

I just want to take a moment and highlight for everyone reading how insane this really is, because even with all the hysteria surrounding this release, it cannot be overstated: the release of these chapters is borderline culture defining.

Undertale is, for all intents and purposes, one of the most successful, influential, and popular Video Games of the century, let alone Indie Games. It was originally a Kickstarted indie game that took heavy inspiration from games like Earthbound. Within a year of its release, it was voted the best game ever by online poll, had already attracted imitators, and gave us the world's first ever fat Tumblr Sexyman.

Deltarune Chapters 1 & 2 were, until earlier this month, a free experience that somehow managed to one-up Undertale in almost every way, despite technically being unfinished. Chapter 1 alone transformed the entire fanbase for one of the most popular games ever, and then Chapter 2 made that entire three year span of fandom creation and analysis look like a fucking joke. RadioTVSolutions put together an avant-garde art piece based almost entirely on a single character who you could almost ignore in the game and managed to take the franchise to YouTube.

And on the back of his success with just these two games, Toby Fox has become an official composer and songwriter for Pokemon, Hololive, and OFF, in addition to Megalovania becoming one of the biggest songs in video game culture largely off the back of its appearance in Undertale.

Toby played Smash Bros. with Masahiro Sakurai, because the Undertale character Sans was added as a DLC costume for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

So, when Nintendo revealed in their official Direct for the Nintendo Switch 2 that Deltarune would be doubling its content on June 5th, as a launch title for their brand new, overly expensive console, I'm pretty sure the entire internet completely broke.

Two months later, we got the game's official paid release. Deltarune is officially a commercially released video game.

Okay, hype time is over. I'm done just sucking off Robert "Radiation" "My Middle Name Might Genuinely Be Fwug" Fox for making popular games. Let's talk about my game of the year.

Part 2: Beauty, In The Eye Of The Beholder

And this place has plenty of eyes.

Chapters 3 and 4 are once again primarily illustrated by Temmie Chang, though this time with additional world design by Tcheska Lynn B (AKA chess) and several other visual contributions from the team, as to be expected by this point.

Deltarune has always been, in my opinion, a much better game visually than Undertale was, and these latest chapters are no exception. In fact, I would go so far as to say Chapter 3 has some of the best character design in the whole game, and there are a few specific moments of animation in Chapter 4 that made my jaw drop. The fun thing about self-created restrictions like intentionally limited pixel-art design and animation is that, when you break those rules, it can make for some of the strongest emotional responses you can get from someone.

But even outside these, I think these chapters just look amazing! Chapter 4's Dark Sanctuary in particular is incredibly beautiful, even with the running theme of darkness and obscured visuals; the Church aesthetic makes for some incredible backgrounds and level geometry, and the Enemies and NPCs vary between mysteriously ethereal and delightfully adorable. Chapter 3 meanwhile gives us some of the best visual variety in the game, thanks to the heavy minigame emphasis of the chapter; the faux eight-bit Zelda-style sections nail the aesthetic, the enemy design is completely on-point, and we get a ton of cute new outfits for the whole Fun Gang.

And then, of course, on the other side of the presentation, we have the music and sound design.

Part 3: The Master At His Craft

Musie make you lose control

The music in these chapters is great. Obviously. It's Toby Fucking Fox. The man's a composer before everything else, and he's an amazing everything else.

It's hard to pick out standouts from a Soundtrack that ranges the gamut from Chiptune atmospheric tunes, to rocking musical numbers, to hardcore electronic boss music that can't be fully appreciated without getting your characters killed dead. For my money, "And Now for Today's Sponsors..." is some of the most fun music in the game, "It's Tv Time!" is the best main boss theme we've gotten yet, "Castle Funk" is way too good and jazzy for its own good, the Dark Sanctuary theme music is just beautiful, and "Hammer of Justice" is such a perky and pep-filled song, it manages to make one of the hardest fights in the game feel like a fun challenge as opposed to nearly impossible for first time players.

I also want to take a moment here to point out how cool it is, in a game where the music has always been a major claim to fame, that the music has now become not only a major gameplay mechanic, but a recurring and major theme in the plot. Like, I'll admit, a lot of it is just my own obsession with music, as a fan and as a singer, but I love how much Susie and Kris' musical talents actually factor into the story being told.

But this is still a video game, so, how does this sumbitch actually play?

Part 4: You Don't Have To Be A Genius

But reaction time would certainly help!

Chapter 3 and 4 may have released at the same time, but make no mistake, these two are entirely different beasts.

I'll get a bit more into the specifics of the gameplay with Parts 5 and 6, but the structures of each chapter are very different, almost to the point of being opposite. Hell, even the Light World stuff; Chapter 4 has the most Light World gameplay we've seen yet, to the point Toby had to add in save points to Hometown in order to make the gameplay experience digestible (for reference, my time spent in the Light World in the chapter clocks in at about 2 and a half hours, so yes, this addition was VERY necessary), while in Chapter 3, you literally never control the characters in the Light World.

Chapter 3's main gameplay takes the form of, as I alluded to earlier, a lot of mini-games. The main bulk of the chapter's playtime is based on an old-school NES inspired adventure RPG, which manages to twist the usual gameplay into something similar, but very distinct (especially with You-Know-What in the You-Know-Where). Exploring these smaller maps, having Susie and Ralsei given unique abilities, the Camera, it's a ton of fun.

Outside the top-down gameplay, we have a Game&Watch/Arcade style mini-game about distributing food, a cute spin and beat up mini-game where Susie becomes the puppet for once, and a rhythm game that I absolutely suck at, because despite being an actual musician and songwriter, I have no fucking rhythm in video games. Seriously, given her performance during the Tenna boss fight mini-games, I'm pretty sure Susie is actually better at the rhythm mini-game than I am, and the whole joke is that she instantly loses it.

Of course, the chapter isn't JUST the minigames; we still have fun enemies with clever ways to spare them, great minibosses and boss fights, and there IS a section where you get to explore and solve puzzles like in previous Dark Worlds. Still, Chapter 3 is easily the most VARIED gameplay experience in the package.

This is what TLC warned us about!

Chapter 4, meanwhile, plays very similarly to the other chapters, focused on exploring the Dark World in pursuit of a villain (albeit a much more...overarching villain than Queen or Lancer were) and towards a Dark Fountain to be sealed. That's not to say it's structured or designed the same as Chapter 1 or Chapter 2; the Dark Sanctuary is arguably the most nonlinear of the Dark Worlds we've yet seen, and introduces the brand new mechanic of CLIMBING!

Yes, it's a very big accomplishment for Kris, we're all very proud.

No, but in all seriousness, Chapter 4 manages to be a lot of fun without compromising the sheer tension on display. Oh, and don't be worried if the chapter seems a bit too short once you reach the secret boss or the fountain; just because you've sealed the Dark World doesn't mean the journey's over, not by a long shot.

Oh, and like I mentioned before, we also have a lot of Light World stuff to do in Chapter 4. Most of this is more focused on the plot and story of the game, but I do like how the gameplay is changed up with the sequence in the Holiday house.

Speaking of the plot and story, though...

Part 5: All Your Theories Are Wrong Goodbye

Unless your theory was "This theory will be proven false".

There's a phrase I've been kicking around in my head for years now. I don't know if I've ever said it on here or not, but I feel like, especially now that Chapters 3 and 4 are out, it bears stating for the record:

Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, can predict Toby Fox.

That's not to say that his writing is just completely random, or that his plot twists come out of nowhere. In reality, it's almost impressive just how well the plot manages to all fit together once everything is revealed, and the "All your theories are wrong" thing isn't even entirely accurate. Plenty of fan theories have, in fact, either been proven completely right or are still actively viable.

What I mean when I say "nobody can predict Toby Fox" is, Fox has a very unique creative voice, and from what I can tell, a STRONG aversion to predictable patterns.

There were certain expectations people had for the rest of Deltarune, based on how Chapters 1 and 2 played out. There would be a quirky or villainous Darkner in charge of each Dark World, we'd probably have either a brand new party member each chapter or the return of Noelle from Chapter 2, there'd be a secret boss hidden somewhere in the chapter driven mad by some force or another who will give us the Shadow Crystal, and at the end of the chapter, we'd explore the Light World after sealing a Dark Fountain, catch up on the latest developments in Hometown, and watch Kris rip their soul out of their body before doing something ominous.

Yeah, turns out none of that was true.

The way the plot's progressed in these two chapters in absolutely insane, and I'll be perfectly honest; I think it's a million times better this way. Yes, I love my fair share of fan-made later chapters, I think it's a lot of fun to imagine these things, and I will probably incorporate several different fanfics featuring now hilariously out of date continuations as parts of my own fanfic multiverse.

But, I'm sorry, have you seen this shit?!

Look at this and tell me this ain't the coolest shit you ever done seen.

Chapter 3 managed to surprise me at almost every turn. Toriel's role may be small, but she still manages to feel like a major presence in the plot. Tenna is simultaneously a wildly charismatic and amusing presence and a genuinely toxic and hurtful antagonist, with his boss fight being even more fun than Queen's Punch-out duel. Rouxls' grand return not only confirmed Polyamory and Throuples as a thing in this universe but also made him a genuinely likable recurring character AND the dumb as hell comic relief (Also, I swear Revtrosity dubbed a comic where he did that Rules Card move at one point). The Weather Duo made me question whether or not love is real. And that final fight against the Knight was complete unfair bullshit, I cheated to get that Crystal, but it's okay, because I'm going to replay the full game including that fight on Switch 2, where I can't edit the files to crank my defense into the hundreds.

Chapter 4, meanwhile managed to catch me even more off-guard. Church service made me reconsider so much of the lore previously established, and I loved how we got to see Kris and Susie being absolute gremlins in the back pews. The "study" "date" at Noelle's house was just, so much, and...so much. MULTIPLE Dark Worlds in the Church was unexpected but VERY welcome. Gerson, of all characters, makes his grand return for a genuinely inspiring arc alongside Susie and the single most fun Superboss in the Undertale-Deltarune franchise. Learning more about the Prophecy was tense and exciting AND funny, all at the same time. The boss fight against the Statue of Gerson had me so fucking on edge, and very grateful I was wearing headphones already. THE FUCKING TITAN?! Chapter 4 may well be my favorite of all four chapters, and that's saying something, considering these are all masterful works of art.

I love these chapters so god damn much...so why do I feel a pit in my stomach at the thought of replaying them?

Part 6: A Perverted Sentimentality

Friendship isn't just about being happy all the time.

There are a lot of definitions of art. What makes something art, what makes good art vs bad art, whether defining art might be antithetical to the very concept of Art itself. For my money, art is something that tries to evoke an emotion in its audience. It doesn't have to be a complex or meaningful emotion; I believe something as simple as trying to make someone laugh qualifies as art. It just has to be some kind of emotion that the artist wants to evoke, as opposed to, say, just trying to numb the audience. And good art, by this definition, is any art that succeeds at evoking the intended emotion; a comedy that makes you laugh, a tragedy that makes you cry, a horror that makes you scared.

I say all of this for a very simple reason; Toby Fox is a goddamn incredible artist.

If he wants you to be intimidated and terrified for your safety, you will be convinced that you, personally, might somehow end up dead. If he wants you hopeful and determined, you will be able to persevere through any hardship thrown your way, no matter how unfair.

And if he wants you deeply uncomfortable, guilty, and feeling helpless...well.

I didn't touch on the route to get the Shadow Mantle before this, because so much of the process, accessing the S-rank changing room, the strange set-up with the "original game", Ramb's ultimate petrification, and ESPECIALLY the twisted, Zelda inspired game that you have to slaughter your way through to get the Mantle, left me feeling genuinely disturbed. No joke, I came away from the boss fight against the Shadow Mantle feeling sick to my stomach. I had trouble sleeping the night after I played Chapter 3.

And that was nothing compared to the things that happened in Chapter 4.

Here's the thing about me; I have a lot of empathy for fictional characters. This isn't me being like "Oh, I'm so empathetic, I'm such a good person"- no, fuck that, I'm a terrible person, I've hurt real people in real life and that's what actually matters. Empathy doesn't make you a good person, and a lack of it doesn't make you a bad person. When I say I have empathy for fictional characters, I'm just saying that I feel very strong emotions based on what the characters I'm seeing do.

Arguably, it's to the point of delusion; like, there have been times where I've genuinely debated with myself whether or not these fictional universes are, in fact, real. Because, like, obviously they aren't, but also, aren't they? I mean, "I think, therefore I am", I can't prove you are a thinking feeling person, but I can easily assume it, because you act like you are. But so do these characters. And they do affect the world, and they're affected by the world. So, why should I consider myself and my feelings more important than theirs?

Now, am I exaggerating? A little bit. I'm not genuinely convinced that Hyrule is a real place filled with real people, even if I occasionally daydream about ending up there somehow.

But Undertale and Deltarune seem specifically designed to tap into this issue of mine. Especially with the soul.

Do you? Or do they?

Here's a fun fact: I've never done a True Reset of Undertale. Never. In fact, I've only ever done one actual reset, and that was just for the sake of AAM. And even while getting footage for that fic, when I killed Undyne for the sake of the writing, I felt fucking horrible. I've never done a Genocide run, and in Deltarune, I've never done the Weird Route.

But I still feel like a horrible person for playing this game. And I still feel absolutely terrible for Kris.

As this game has gone on, as more and more has been revealed about the overarching plot, the less and less convinced I am that there will be anything approaching a happy ending at the end of the road. From Kris being manipulated, not only by us, but by the voice on the phone, to the increasingly confirmed subtext that Susie's life is not going well. The continuing dissolution of the Dreemurr and Holiday families, the nigh-unstoppable force that is the Knight, Carol Holiday's mere existence.

And then, of course, in the Dark Sanctuary, Ralsei explains why he's been acting shady since day 1. Why he won't just tell us everything. It's because there's something we shouldn't do, can't know. Not if we want to still have any sort of hope.

Something Susie learns, and that knowledge makes her bleed.

I don't know what exactly the end of the prophecy says. I don't know how the legend will end. But from everything we've seen, and with all the clues we've been given, I can all but guarantee you: someone dies. I don't know who, I don't know how, I don't know why, but not everyone is making it out alive.

And even if they survive...well.

I may not have done the Weird Route, but you can try your hand at it if you want.

And I wonder how that "one ending" will play out for these kids.

I genuinely had difficulty sleeping because of these chapters. Looking at certain things from them, certain pieces of fanart based on key moments, genuinely makes me nauseous. And even if quitting the game forever does just mean leaving them all stranded in Limbo, unable to move forward, I'm not convinced anymore that's worse than what's coming for them at full force. Hell, even just Kris' home situation doesn't seem like a safe harbor for them at this point.

It's so hard to believe that there's a happy ending waiting for these kids at the end of all this.

And yet, despite everything...I want to believe again.

Funny how that works, isn't it?

Conclusion

I'll tell you all about it when I see you again.

In 2015, Toby Fox released Undertale. I bought it a month after release, and it became one of my favorite video games of all time.

In 2018, he released Deltarune Chapter 1. I downloaded it the day it came out, and it was one of the best experiences I had with a game that whole year.

In 2021, he and his team released Deltarune Chapter 2. Again, I downloaded it the day it launched, and it instantly rewrote my brain. Chapter 2 became a defining experience in my life, and I fell in love with this world all over again.

Now, in 2025, Deltarune is officially out, with Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 being fully released after almost four years of anticipation.

And this is probably the best game ever made.

Any little nitpicks I may have are overwhelmed by just how goddamn amazing Deltarune is as an experience. I've felt emotions I didn't even know were possible. I've laughed, I've cried, I've reworked my entire life. In the past month, I had a serious mental health emergency, and I am in no way in exaggerating when I say that the upcoming release of Deltarune was a major factor in me not killing myself; it proved entirely deserving of all my excitement.

I love this game so goddamn much. And it's not even done yet.

So, I guess, with all that being said...I'll see you all next year for Chapter 5.

Í´´ ¥ø¨ ßøø˜.

[billveusay]

Why I love mechas/real robots stories

In 2023, I played Armored Core 4, For Answer, and 6. And I loved them. On top of being incredible games, there was something about them... something that seemed to scratch an itch just right in some part of my brain I never noticed. A few months later, I got into Gundam and apparently loved it enough for it to become my biggest special interest ever. And for a while, I wondered why. I didn't like every gundam show/movie I watched but the ones I liked... seemed engaging beyond their individual quality. Something about them giant robots just works for me. And after giving it some thought, I think I finally nailed why.

Coldest take ever : there's something appealing about works of fiction that get crazy with scale. Larger than life, you could say, whether it's in terms of worldbuilding, action or aesthetics. Galaxy spanning civilizations are cool, huge armies are cool, big monsters are cool, big explosions are cool. However, for me at least, there's a threshold where the scale gets so big it becomes meaningless. This is why I kinda bounced off DBZ and 40k. Through no fault of theirs, mind you (DBZ is awesome and 40k... contains awesome stuff), they just weren't what I was looking for. Because most of the time, what makes stories click for me is immersion, so for the stories that go BIG it often means a human point of view to put the scale in perspective.

Now, this can be done in every genre or medium featuring large-scale setpieces, using their respective tools. For example, many action movies emphasize the size of their setpieces with grounded directing, filming at shoulder height looking up and making the big stuff break frame. However it's also baked in the very core of several genres. For example, it's a building block of Lovecraftian horror.

But not only is this contrast between human-sized and big as balls a large part of real robot stories, they also let the human-sized humans bust some big-ass balls. You can have fight scenes on par with Avengers or DBZ but inside the 20 meters tall death machine, there are relatable squishy dudes, which is an immediate +5 in investment for me.

However, this specific kind of appeal is a hard balance to strike. Super robot animes and superhero stories with giant piloted robots often don't have that tangible feel. But there are also pieces of media that lean harder on the "realism" aspect, and those tend not to work as well for me, because they don't give off the same sense of awe at seeing something incredible from a grounded POV. Real robot at its best is a bridge between immersive storytelling through human eyes and wild, massive concepts, setpieces and action. It also provides nice theming if your story is about humans being small in the face of overwhelming forces beyond their control, like war or capitalism. Funny how often that happens.

In Armored Core 6, the titular mechs are 10 meters tall, and they're mostly used to showcase how everything is even more bloody gigantic. There's a robot worm that's 1,5 km long, a walking mining ship boss that's 5 km long and 1 km tall, and if you're not familiar with it, just google "armored core vascular plant". In most games, this would probably pull me out of the story, but somehow it works here. Because despite only interacting with them through radio comms, the characters feel very believably human. With human feelings, motivations and relationships. Also, they did a great job making all the technology look and feel grounded, which helps the immersion. So er... yeah. Can you tell me if that made sense ? Or if I was just pointing out the obvious, because I genuinely can't tell. In any case, thanks for humoring me in this longexplanation of why I didn't watch Gurren Lagann. Cheers!