#Free PDF for Part 1 & 2

[databent]

im fucking sleepy and need to go the fuck to sleep but also i cant sleep cos im too busy thinking about how sad i am that i dont have money currently for fish or doing anything nice with my fishtanks. aquarium stuff is my longest standing hobby and the one i find most fulfilling and i really really dont want to be forced to give up on something im so passionate about like this but i am so fucking broke i cant afford the actual. fish. part of fishkeeping at the moment

[goldsnek]

The final pages 52-53-54 of my Double Edged fancomic!

Thanks to everyone who decided to read my fancomic and stayed till the end! It really means a lot. I hope you enjoyed it! Eventually, in the future, I’ll make a second part, but at the moment I prefer to focus on other projects! If someone is interested, I’m making 2 different pdf files to download. - A free pdf, with the entire story, so you can have it with you if you want to re-read it sometimes. -A special edition pdf, with an extra epilogue , that can be soon purchased on my ko.fi page for the price of 6$ (US dollars) (I will announce it when it’ll be available) Thank you very much again! ^^ 

page 1-2-3 page 4-5-6

page 7-8-9 page 10-11-12

page 13-14-15 page 16-17-18

page 19-20-21 page 22-23-24

page 25-26-27 page 28-29-30

page 31-32-33 page 34-35-36

page 37-38-39 page 41-42-43

Page 44-45-46 page 47-48-49

Pages 49-50-51

Feel free to tip a coffee! :)

[intrusivethoughtsblog]

How to be a Solar Punk (And a Leftist) ☀️🌱:

1) Stop buying fast fashion and boycott.

I use Depop, Etsy to support small businesses, and you can purchase from small businesses or organizations via other channels. You can also transform your clothing. If a t-shirt is too small, make it a crop top or wear a long shirt underneath! Also look up boycott lists (e.g. BDS movement list) so you know which companies you can or cannot support.

2) Censor and Spread.

Carry around a sharpie or a tube of paint to cover ignorant (e.g. racist) graffiti and scribbles. (I’m not going to refer to it as art). You can also spread information via graffiti.

3) Reuse and Recycle.

I use grocery bags as garbage bags, tin cans to hold things, boxes from online orders, you can even get more creative and make pins out of bottle tops!

4) Get involved physically (if possible).

Volunteer to help people who are lower income, get involved in “beautifying” the community (e.g. displaying the cultural backgrounds of the community, gardening, and protesting).

5) Get involved online.

I sign and repost GoFundMe campaigns, donate what I can, and post information regarding current events. Don’t be apolitical. This is a leftist ideology.

6) Educate yourself.

Go to trusted sources to educate yourself on facts regarding certain matters so you can dispute false claims. There are many PDFs online, podcasts, and overall resources you should take advantage of to increase your awareness and to also help develop a better understanding of those who need your help. Education is what will set us free.

7) Support your local library.

There are so many resources and programs they offer that people are not aware of. And because people are not aware of them they are shut down and underfunded. People who can’t afford computers need to have them available free at cost. Not only to enjoy them leisurely but to do things like job search. Children also have reading assignments which brings them to the library, seeing activities and programs they offer children will help to cultivate a love for learning. The next generations are our future.

8) Learn languages and about cultures.

Certain issues are not limited to certain communities or areas. We need to unite in order to make an impact that will enact change. You will also understand how to positively influence certain people that would otherwise not be receptive due to a different communication style.

9) Take care of your mental health.

“A sick person cannot help a sick person.” -AA saying

You also need to take care of yourself because, simply, you are valuable. Being healthily selfish exists.

10) Be confident.

We unfortunately have to enter spaces that will make us uncomfortable and it will be difficult to be vocal, but it is necessary. In this area, focus on practicing efficient communication methods and building your self-confidence.

11) Confront your own bias.

Everyone is biased in some way shape or form. It is our job to rid ourselves of these biases. Take moral inventory (as they say in 12-step programs) and analyze areas you need to work on.

12) Credit artists and writers.

Being an artist and/or writer should not be a struggling profession. They are an integral part of our society. It’s easy to forget, especially when we take so many screenshots a day, so keep this in mind! I sometimes forget so I can attest it’s not the end of the world but it is a good habit to form.

13) Be anti-A.I.

It is not possible to incorporate A.I. into a leftist environment. It inherently promotes late-stage capitalism.

13) Be a good human. :)

Please comment what I missed! Thank you for reading.

Flag credit: @Starwall@radical.town

[imsorrythatimweird101-blog]

HOW SHIFT USING THE GATEWAY TAPES (UPDATED)

Hey, I want start off to apologize. I'm so sorry for bringing awareness to the tapes and then not clarifying on what to do or how to start. I did try to answer every question I can. I did post a guide a while back but Im still remastering it

IMPORTANT VOCAB

F10- body asleep and mind awake

F12- having your consciousness in the universe and expanded

HOW TO START:

So first off you need click on drive. Once you open the drive you will see tapes.

Before staring the tapes you NEED read a MANUAL. So if you look at your bottom left corner. You will see a PDF and it will have a picture of a old man. He's name is Bob. The creator of the tapes. I love Bob.

Once you click on the tape. You scroll down and you see titles. These titles are the titles of the tape in the folders that your going to use. At the bottom of the titles, there going be a discription. These discription tell you what the tapes do but also how they work and what you need to do during those tapes. Once your done your ready to go

STEPS

Step 1: open the drive and you will see the folders of tapes. ‼️DO NOT USE ANY OTHER AUDIO EXPECTED THE DRIVE. YOUTUBE COMPRESS THEM AND MAKE THEM NOT WORK‼️

[GATEWAY TAPES DRIVE ](https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/mobile/folders/1vZJg5oJvfYVwWryJh05pfkZTV0cnd026)

Step 2: click the bottom far left corner. It's a Manuel and has a picture of a old guy smiling (bob)

Step 3: find the title of the tape your going to use. Read it carefully and know what's going happened and what to do

Step 4: go to discovery and play the first tape. Don't fall asleep! Be awake during the tapes!

Great! Keep doing these tapes for each tape. Each tape you must do it 3 times or more. So you can get familiar with it. BUT MOST IMPORTANT IF YOUR NOT READY TO MOVE ON OR YOU FEEL LIKE YOU NEED KEEP DOING. THAT'S OKAY, SHIFTING IS ALWAYS GOING BE HERE SO DONT RUSH

‼️PAY ATTENTION TO THIS PART‼️

Once you reach Tape 3- advanced F10. There's a trigger that YOU MUST MASTER. The whole point of discovery is to train your brain to be awake and body asleep.

Now continues the normal steps like the other but this time. You need keep doing it until your able do It without the tapes. This is very important because when your trying reach F12(the goal). You need to be in F10 first and master It already

After that, you NEED to do the other tapes like the normal steps. Because the 4 tape is to have fear go away and if you blockages. The 5 is for awareness while you sleep and 6- free flow- is to freestyle

‼️Make sure to let go any expectations of these tapes because this will hold you back! Put your expectations and your needs in the energy box!‼️

But you can go to F12 tape.

F12 tape is next to discovery. Know as Wave 2. A lot of people ask why only that tape and not the others. Well! If you do F12 tape and in beginning bobs explains that after F12 tape. Those tapes are TOOLS. Those tools involved with manefisting, remote viewing, answering questions etc (I recommend you to check it out)

So the thing you need to do is master F12 and then shift!

Tips and questions

Q: what are gateway tapes?

A: here's some recourses that explains it way more better then I ever could

[gateway tapes ](https://youtu.be/46E_FX-KxZ8?si=yV8dqgoBdcNJXclD)

[Gateway tapes CIA EXPLAINED ](https://youtu.be/HOFq3ruef7I?si=JbwpcgnZ9rrbGyyz)

Q: can I shift at F10?

A: yes you can. It's possible but it's not really meant for that. Its more of SATS approach if that's what you're looking for because F10 is mind awake and body asleep

Q: how many times do I listen to it

A: as many times you feel like. I personally listen to it 3-4 times a day but only because I'm in summer break. Whatever works in your schedule

Q: how do I know I'm in F10?

A: your body is heavy and your limbs are numb. Your body is supposed to be asleep. Many people reported that the hear themselves snore. Me personally, my breath is non-existent and my chest is numb in away. Or like barely there. Trust me you will know. Ofc this doesn't mean you can't move you body at all. You can move your body in F10 but need the WILL to move your body. It can be different from everyone

Q: I tried it couple of days, why is it working?

A: first off, you need patience. This is practice. It's like a baseball player wanting to be the best pitcher in the world but they throw the ball couple of times and then when it's not right. They run and cry in there room. You need take the tapes seriously not half ass it and be PATIENT. Don't rush things. That's the worse thing you can do because you will miss important cues and it's going be all bad.

Q: I keep falling asleep why is that

A: your brain and body is not used to it. Your brain isn't normal active. Its active but it's going through your sleep cycles. So having your brain be in vibration state of being awake and your body being sleep cycle. It's going get confused because it's not used to it. That's why the tapes train it.

Q: do I need earphones or headphones when listening to tape

A: yes, you need ones that aren't noise cancelling and make sure that you hear bob in your right ear. Only because there certain sounds that play in both your ears for your brain to sync.

Q: are these tapes actually going make me shift

A: yes, I believe it will. The only reason why I personally believe that anyone can 1000 percent shift because these gateway tapes were run by scientist and actually doctor in fields to perfect it. Not only that CIA agents use these and it's approved by the CIA. There actually evidence and research done. It isn't like some random teenagers made a method up in there room. These tapes are designed to open the human mind and Bob himself even talked to alter version of himself with these tapes.

‼️MOST IMPORTANT TAKE‼️

Now, you gotta have open mind and believe it too. You cant go in the tapes with a negative mindset and expect a beautiful outcome. This is in every method you used..not only the gateway tapes. If you believe it won't work because whatever the case then obviously it won't work because your mind is going block everything and not letting it's self In general. This is life In general.

[hehearse]

got another silly little comics for you <3

part [1] - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6

btw you can get the full pdf for free or if you feel generous get it for a few coins here ^^

i will however post it all gradually here <3 it's just that it will take a bit of time

[literaryvein-reblogs]

From the Slang Dictionary

part 3

Cheugy - a slang adjective mocking someone or something as “uncool”—they are out of touch with current trends or trying too hard to be trendy. It is often used ironically.

L + ratio - used as a mocking insult on social media, often in reply to a post or opinion considered particularly bad. The letter L is used as a slang term for loss (as in the opposite of win). The word ratio is used in its social media sense referring to a situation in which a post has a high proportion of replies compared to likes or reposts, which usually indicates a barrage of negative replies criticizing and often mocking the post.

Let him cook - a slang phrase that means to freely let a person do something they are good at. It is one of many variations of the phrase let X cook that is used to refer to letting someone do what they do. Some other examples of variations include let her cook, let them cook, and let us cook. The phrase is often used to express a desire that another person be given free rein to do something or not to be held back.

Mlem - in the internet slang of DoggoLingo, mlem is the sound a dog (or other animal) makes when they stick out their tongue to lick something, especially their own nose or chops.

Rizz - a slang term for skill in charming or seducing a potential romantic partner, especially through verbal communication. It is most commonly applied in the context of men pursuing women, but not always. The term is thought to be a shortening of charisma. It is typically used in the exact same way as the older slang term game.

Sealioning - a critical term for a form of trolling that involves relentlessly pestering someone with questions and requests (such as for evidence or sources), typically with the goal of upsetting them and making their position or viewpoint seem weak or unreasonable. It is typically applied to online contexts, such as social media, forums, and message boards (although it can also happen offline). Sealioning often involves giving off the impression of sincere curiosity and an open mind, using polite-sounding language, and framing the questioning as part of honest intellectual debate. However, the real goal of such behavior is to irritate the other person until that person gets angry or upset, thus allowing the questioner to portray themselves as a victim as an attempt to diminish a position or viewpoint they disagree with.

Snowga - the practice of doing yoga in a snowy environment.

Sploot - slang for the pose an animal, especially dogs, cats, and other four-legged pets, makes when it lies on its stomach with its hind legs stretched out back and flat. The term is especially associated with Welsh corgis and is used affectionately in the internet slang of DoggoLingo.

The ick - a term used in dating to refer to a sudden feeling of disgust or repulsion to a dating partner someone was previously attracted to.

Word up - a slang phrase used to show agreement, approval, or excitement.

Source ⚜ More: Word Lists ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs ⚜ Part 1 2

[9151967]

Hey, don't cry. 5 Della Van Hise fics in PDF form, saved by the WayBack, all available for download ♡

DVH notoriously had her fics pulled from AO3 and she never uploaded them again. Outside of purchasing the zines she wrote for and created—and given her 14 confirmed pseuds, good luck tracking down everything—finding the odd scan of a zine online or the occasional working archived link from her AO3 is not easy.

(All of these works are linked on Fanlore on the fic's individual pages, but as it always goes with Fanlore, organization is not the best and DVH's main page links to an older version of her site before she offered these stories for free; this is to just get the awareness out and ramble on my blog about it, tiny though it is. As my friend put it went I sent these to her, "This is like Christmas in May!")

For those of us who can't afford to drop $40+ on a zine (average cost; we've all seen higher), lack the space for keeping old zines, or are afraid of opening the door of Buying All The Zines, may this find you well ♡

Front and back cover artwork from Hise's zine Styx and Stones. Left image by Marilyn Cole, served as the inspiration for the fic Styx and Stones; Right image by Jackie Zoost

On Wings of Ice (1987)

"Stranded on a frozen planet when their shuttlecraft is sabotaged, Kirk and Spock share love as they wait for death." [More on Fanlore]; originally published in KSX #1 My 2 cents: I cried with this one and it was worth it. There's phrasing in this one that has me rending my garments.

Collaboration (1987)

"When Kirk points out that their relationship may have become complacent, he and Spock put their heads together to see what can be done to breathe life back into the bedroom. But of course, nothing is ever as straightforward as it seems… A twisted little K/S tale." [More on Fanlore]; originally published in Styx and Stones My 2 cents: One part fic, one part meta about K/S and why fans create (yes, really! She pulled it off beautifully), all fluffy feelings.

Styx and Stones (1987)

"Spock awakens in a new land after dying and waits for Jim, who is in a coma following a shuttle crash." [More on Fanlore]; originally published in Styx and Stones My 2 cents: I wish I knew what it was like to read this before On Wings of Ice. I'm not saying this was bad or boring - far from it! Hise used a lot of poetic creativity in her depictions - but my brain kept thinking back to On Wings of Ice and that does this story a disservice.

Someone to Watch Over Thee (1988)

"Spock, Kirk, and an ambassador are given aphrodisiacs by the leader of a hedonistic society and itʼs up to the security men to make sure they get who and what they need." [More on Fanlore]; originally published in Naked Times #18 CW: rape/noncon elements (your mileage my vary on this, however, I'm noting it out of an abundance of caution) My 2 cents: it's Aliens Made Them Do It but told from the perspective of a Redshirt.

The Gol Letters (1988)

"Apart, Kirk and Spock each write letters to each other, each believing that the other will never read them." [More on Fanlore]; originally published in Naked Times #18 My 2 cents: I personally felt like a pumpkin with its innards scooped out but then became a ball of fluff. Heed that as you will.

More about DVH:

She's both a pillar of the fandom for her prolific work as the publisher and editor for the Pon Farr Press (and its many zines) and for her many works of poetry and fanfic, be they short stories, novellas, or novels. In the professional realm, Hise is perhaps best known for the (in)famous Killing Time. (Really, read the link for (in)famous. DVH certainly got screwed over by that contract, although highlight the text here and she's banking on the reputation of it, lol. DVH, I can never hate you. And peep the other link too for a surprise ♡)

She passed away on March 3, 2021 and is survived by her partner Natasha Solten. (Her AO3 for anyone who wants that directly. The bulk of her Star Trek fics are locked to registered users-only.)

[not-ishmael]

A Revised (not so) Brief Study Into The Nature Of Deltarune

Disclaimer: This is a revised version of a theory I came up with back in 2022, having played just the first two chapters. Now I'll take into account chapters 1 to 4.

TL;DR:

For some time I've been quite intrigued by the appearance of some very particular leitmotifs that Undertale's and Deltarune's OSTs have in common. This took me down a rabbit hole that brought me to the realization that it's quite possible that DR Sans and UT Sans are one in the same, and the Reset Theory on Deltarune is probably right.

This forces me to believe that Deltarune is a prequel from the perspective of the characters, and a spiritual sequel from the perspective of the Soul/Player.

The Pre-Sequel Theory

First and foremost, pardon my English. It's not my first language and sometimes I mess up.

Secondly, this is a LONG post. There's a lot –a LOT– of text and no images at all to ease the reading. I advice jumping into it only if you don't have anything better to do for a bit. The PDF I first wrote this on is 6 and a half pages long.

Index:

Motivations.

Clues in Undertale.

Clues in Deltarune.

The Delta Rune.

Blood.

Conclusions.

Problems with the theory.

1 Motivations:

I've always been fascinated by soundtracks and ever since Undertale came up, its soundtrack wasn't an exception.

More recently I've been a bit more focused on the leitmotifs that Toby Fox uses in both Undertale and Deltarune. As many people noticed, they share a lot of common themes. For many of them it's easy to understand why (for instance, for common character's themes, like Sans', or the theme for Justice) but for some others it's not that simple.

Assuming that this commonality in themes was proof of a direct relationship between the games, I tried to study its nature and what elements outside the soundtrack can be used as evidence of this connection. This brought me to Sans ,because of course it did.

Trying to validate these assumptions took me down the rabbit hole that theory crafting around Sans has always been, and the musical side of my reasoning ended up being but as small part of the whole proofing. Regardless, I'm quite happy with the result, albeit it's not free of problems that I'll address and discuss at the end of the post.

With that out of the way, let's begin by talking about small details that Undertale gives us, and how it hints us that its past is somehow connected to Deltarune:

2 Clues in Undertale:

There’s a lot of non-music related hints that point towards a possible connection between both games in Undertale. Here's a summary of all the hints found within this game:

To begin with, there's what we know about Sans' backstory:

Both him and Papyrus appeared one day in Snowdin, seemenly out of nowhere.

In Sans’ lab there’s a broken machine and a poorly drawn picture of 3 people we don’t recognize, with the words ”don’t forget” written on it.

Sans insists a lot about about how he gave up trying to go back (somewhere, sometime, or both).

On the other hand, there’s the famous Gaster’s Entry 17, that could imply some knowledge of the Dark Fountains by the former Royal Scientist. Another Gaster related piece of evidence is goner Clam Girl. Soon before the release of Deltarune Chapter 1, in the Switch version of the game, Clam Girl would turn into a goner and say that the time to meet this Suzy ”... is fast approaching”, before disappearing with the sound Mystery Man makes when disappearing himself. Although Suzy is not written the same way as Susie, there’s no reason to believe that Clam Girl is not talking about Deltarune’s Susie. This not only hints to Undertale and Deltarune being connected, but to Gaster being behind the whole connection, since she turns into a goner sprite and disappears the same way Mystery Man does. I know Mystery Man is not confirmed to be Gaster, but it’s definitely related to him in someway.

There must be something going on with Papyrus as well, since he’s Sans’ brother and comes to Snowdin with him, but in Undertale he doesn’t seem to be as knowledgable as Sans. Since Papyrus doesn't bleed, as does Sans, maybe they're different in some way, and don't share as big a past as previously thought.

2.1 Sans’ lines during combat:

During the fight against Sans, nearing the end of the Genocide Route, we get some snippets of his backstory within his lines of dialogue. He begins, after the Player’s first attack, by saying:

our reports showed a massive anomaly in the timespace continuum. timelines jumping left and right, stopping and starting...until suddenly, everything ends. heh heh heh... that's your fault, isn't it?

We don’t know who is he working with, but it seems they know very well about the power to control the timeline, since they were monitoring it.

Sans continues with:

knowing that one day, without any warning... it's all going to be reset.

look. i gave up trying to go back a long time ago. and getting to the surface doesn't really appeal anymore, either. cause even if we do...we'll just end up right back here, without any memory of it, right?

to be blunt...it makes it kind of hard to give it my all.

In these lines we get a bit more information. Sans is –understandably– depressed about the whole reset situation, but mentions ”going back” to somewhere. We know it’s not somewhen because he doesn’t remember earlier timelines –besides the occasional déjà vu– and it’s not the Surface, since he mentions it right after that line. So, where else would Sans be trying to go back to? It can’t be anywhere in Undertale's universe, since he can move freely through the Underground –even through teleportation– and he specifically states that it’s not the Surface. Thus, it can only mean somewhere outside this universe.

A bit after that he continues with:

all i know is... seeing what comes next... i can't afford not to care anymore.

What does he mean by ”seeing what comes next”? He doesn’t know the future, nor what the Player did in other timelines. So, what is he talking about? Back in 2022 I had no clue what he could be referring to. Now I'm inclined to think of the Roaring, or the End of the Prophecy.

2.2 Sans’ secret lab:

After Sans gives the Silver Key –which happens to be a reference to a book about timetravel by H.P. Lovecraft– to the Player we can access his Secret Lab, hidden underneath his house. Inside of it we find:

A covered up broken machine.

Blueprints for a machine written in un- readable symbols.

A badge.

A photo album with:

A picture of Sans, happy, with other people the Player doesn’t recognize.

If the Player already fought Asriel: A second picture appears, showing Sans, Frisk and their friends.

After the v1.001 patch of the game, if the Player has talked to Clam Girl and knows of Suzy, from the back of the photo album sticks out a poorly drawn picture of three smiling people with the words ”Don’t Forget” written on it.

The first three items, although interesting, don’t give us much to work with. The machine is covered up and the blueprints are unreadable. The badge could become another huge hint in the future, if during Deltarune’s festival Sans happens to win a badge for winning at something. But this is purely speculation so I won’t be taking it into account –for now–.

The pictures and the drawing, on the contrary, give us much more information. Let's discuss them a bit more in depth:

2.2.1 The photo album:

By the time the Player gets the Silver Key, possibly after the battle with Asriel, they (and Frisk) have met every main character in Undertale’s story. Thus, the people in the first picture, who neither the Player nor Frisk recognize, can’t be anyone we know. They could be random people from other places in the Underground Frisk hasn’t met –although, from a storytelling perspective, this doesn’t make much sense– or they could be from Deltarune's universe -which makes a lot more sense storywise-.

Furthermore, there’s the poorly drawn picture. Since this picture only appears after talking to goner Clam Girl, a character heavily tied to Deltarune -specifically, to one Deltarune Character-, and it has the words ”Don’t forget” –words that don't mean anything special in Undertale, but are extremely important an present in Deltarune from the very beginning– written on it, it’s safe to assume that the three poorly drawn characters are a trio from Deltarune. Due to Frisk not recognizing them, they have to be characters that only appear on Deltarune. What trio of characters do we know from Deltarune that fit these characteristics? I’m fairly sure Kris and Susie are two of the three, but the third is a bit more complicated. My first suspect was that it was Ralsei but, since he’s a darkner and he can't go into the lightworld, it can't be him. My other candidate are either Noelle or Dess, since Berdly dies in the Snowgrave route of Chapter 2 –and Toby Fox likes to keep all possible endings as canon– and we don’t know of any other important lightners that don't appear in Undertale as well.

2.3 Darker, yet darker:

Gaster's Entry 17 states:

ENTRY NUMBER 17, DARK, DARKER, YET DARKER, THE DARKNESS KEEPS GROWING, THE SHADOWS CUTTING DEEPER, PHOTON READINGS… NEGATIVE THIS NEXT EXPERIMENT, SEEMS VERY, VERY INTERESTING… WHAT DO YOU TWO THINK?

At the beginning of Chapter 3, Ralsei explains to Susie that the Dark World is what happens to reality in the total abstence of light. When it's darker than dark. Darker, yet darker. So dark you could take away the light that wasn't there: photon readings... negative.

It's now that we can say, with absolute certainty, that Entry 17 talks about opening a Dark Fountain within Undertale's Universe. And Gaster, to whom we talk to outside the Deltarune chapters, is responsible for it.

I don't really like to get into Gaster while theory crafting. Sans is enough of a controversial rabbit hole for me. But after Ralsei's exposition in Chapter 3, I can't look the other way.

The connections between WD Gaster and Sans run deep. Not only are they 2 out of the 3 characters whose speech is characterised by the font that names them, but UT Sans' infamous attack is called "Gaster Blaster". Furthermore, it's known that Sans and Alphys shared a past, and Gaster could be this missing link between the two of them. Could it be that Gaster is referring to them at the end of Entry 17? Hard to say, and we can only speculate. But it would make sense that Sans, if he had come from Deltarune's Universe, would try to study Dark Fountains with the Royal Scientist and his pupil, as well as the passage of time, as evidenced by his comments during the fight against him at the end of Undertale's Genocide Route. It would also explain what he meant by "i gave up trying to go back a long time ago". He gave up researching the Dark Fountains after Gaster was consumed by the experiment and scattered through time and space.

3 Clues in Deltarune:

Back in 2022 I had only played Chapters 1 and 2, a quarter of the game. Even though this wasn't much content to work with, the leitmotifs Toby Fox used gave us a lot of information.

3.1 A brief introduction to leitmotifs:

*This part is skippable if you know what a leitmotif is*

For those who don’t know, a leitmotif is a small piece of melody that appears many times in a composition, and is associated to a character, a place, or an idea. Examples of this are the main themes of characters: a simple, recognizable melody that is associated to a specific character. For instance, the main melody in Nyeh Heh Heh!, which would be Papyrus’ leitmotif, or the common themes in Spear of Justice and Hammer of Justice, which would be Justice's leitmotif.

Soundtracks are rigged with leitmotifs, and neither Undertale’s nor Deltarune’s soundtracks are an exception. Since each one is associated to a specific character, place or idea, the use of the same ones in both games is something to keep in mind.

3.2 Leitmotifs that appear in both games:

The first song that plays inside Deltarune's , in Chapter 1, is Beginning, which has 2 leitmotifs in it: Once upon a time –from Undertale–, and Don’t Forget, –from Deltarune–. This second leitmotif appears in several other songs in all chapters.

The song that plays in the menu after you finish Chapter 1 is called Before the Story, which has the exact same melody as in Once upon a time. This leitmotif is one of the most –if not he most– used in Undertale’s soundtrack. For me, it’s kind of the ”Undertale theme”, for how much it appears in the game –same as Don't Forget would be Deltarune's theme–.

There are some other Undertale leitmotifs in Deltarune’s OST that I won’t be taking into consideration. These are the character’s leitmotifs, like Sans’, and other that represent important emotions like Determination, Justice, Despair and Hope –These leitmotifs are a bit difficult to recognize if you’re not deep into the music side of the games. Determination can be heard, among others, in Undertale’s Determination and Deltarune’s Rude Buster; Despair corresponds to the melody in Undertale’s Burn in Despair, and appears in Your Best Nightmare, Vs. Susie, at Queen’s basement, right before the Spamton NEO fight, and again in Chapter 3's Bit Roots; Justice is heard in Undertale's Spear of Justice and in Deltarune's Hammer of Justice, and Hope is sometimes called ”Snowdin’s theme”, which is used in Undertale’s Snowdin Town and Hopes and Dreams (thus why I prefer to call it Hope’s leitmotif) and in Deltarune’s A Town Called Hometown–. These leitmotifs being in both games is to be expected, since they either represent common characters or common emotions to both games, and Toby likes to reuse leitmotifs from old projects, so they're not really relevant to the theory.

Going back to the theory, the use of the words ”Don’t Forget” as a title for the most present leitmotif in Deltarune is a bit on the nose, taking into account the poorly drawn picture in Sans’ Secret Lab. The soundtrack acts as a constant reminder to not forget –pun intended– that drawing. But this isn’t the only insinuation Toby left in the game’s music. There’s another, much obscurer, clue: the name of the song Before the Story. Since it plays at the menu only after you play Chapter 1, it can’t be referring to ”before the story” of Deltarune, since that story has already begun. So, what if the Story is Undertale’s? If so, since it uses the most important leitmotif of Undertale in a song called ”Before the Story”, this would imply that Deltarune’s story happens before Undertale's.

Back in 2022 this was enough proof for me to be convinced of this theory. And yet, in 2025, it rained.

3.2.1 It's Raining Somewhere Else.

What is there to say about this. What is there to add. In 2015 Toby told us that It was Raining Somewhere Else. Ten years later he showed us where.

In Undertale this song is directly related to UT Sans' relationship with UT Toriel, and how this friendship is the reason he helps us throught the Underworld. In Deltarune, however, this songs plays after we leave the Church at the end of Chapter 4, on the way home. Nevertheless, it's back home that we learn of the friendship DR and DR Toriel have.

Not only the titles, not only the melodies –althought in Deltarune it sounds distant, almost like an old memory brought back by the smell of the rain–, but the context of these two songs connects them between games. Moreover, a slowed down version of the song can be heard at UT Sans' Secret Lab, as if the "Don't Forget" message inside it wasn't enough of a giveaway.

3.3 Non-musical clues:

How the Player interacts with the world seems to also imply a connection between games. Specially those lines that point to the Player knowing characters –or things about characters– that Kris doesn't know yet. For example, the first time we meet DT Sans there's the option to tell him that we're happy to see him again, something that makes sense for a Player that has already played Undertale, but doesn't for two characters who just met, as Sans points out.

This in and of itself is not enough to prove that the games are both a direct sequel and prequel of each other but, in combination with everything else, it heavily add to that idea.

Besides these interactions, which could be taken just as silly easter eggs, like the annoying dog appearances, there's another non-musical clue which brings us back to UT Sans: the Warp Doors, which look just like UT Sans' bedroom door, fire animation and all. What's more, Mystery Man's door in Undertale uses the same sprite as well.

I'm certain that Undertale's Underworld is not a Dark World, since there are no Dark Fountain to be found, nor darkners, the style of the menu is the same as in Deltarune's Light World, and to break The Barrier you need 7 souls, not just one. This complicates things, for the Warp Doors only appear inside Dark Worlds in Deltarune. But then again, in Deltarune, monsters seem to only possess magic powers inside Dark Worlds, while in Undertale all of them have this gift.

4 The Delta Rune:

Both the appearance of the Delta Rune in the two games and its name are big indicators of the connection between games. Even though in Undertale it’s not well known what its original meaning was, there’s a prophecy that sounds remarkably alike to that of the Delta Rune Legend from Deltarune. In Undertale there are two interpretations: either the Angel will murder all monsters, or free them all from the Underground. Additionally, in Deltarune, the Legend Ralsei tells us says that the Angel is to be defeated by three heroes: two lightners -a human and a monster- and a darkner.

Since the Delta Rune is older than written history in Undertale and it’s original meaning was lost to time, that one of the 2 interpretations for this symbol is so close to the Legend Ralsei gives us, with an evil Angel instead of a benevolent one, could mean that, originally, both Runes had the same meaning behind.

5 Blood & Magic:

Back in 2022 this part of the post began with:

TL;DR: As always, blood seems to be the biggest issue around Sans’ theories. To summarize, unless we get undeniable proof that DR monsters do bleed in some way before turning into dust, UT Sans bleeding could be a huge weak point for this theory.

Welp. We got it. Susie bled.

It’s fair to say that UT Sans does bleed in Undertale's Genocide Route, before turning into dust outside the screen. And he’s the only Undertale monster that does. We know he bleeds because he does it from the mouth, as well as the ribs, far from where the Player cuts him, which would only happen with regular bleeding around a digestive system rather than with ketchup stored within his rib cage.

Three years ago this was a huge nuisance, but now, knowing that a Deltarune monster can and does bleed, it' becomes another huge piece of evidence for this theory.

However, there's an issue. At the end of Chapter 1 a monster –not The Monster Kid– asks Kris if it hurts to be made out of blood, implying that other monsters don't bleed. This looks to be in direct contradiction to what we see Susie say (i.e. "Everybody bleeds") and do. As of now, I've no idea how to explain this line of dialogue.

5.1 Magic:

Deltarune monsters having magic powers is a highly debated topic. Nevertheless, Sans does teleport in Chapter 4, appearing both at his shop and at the Cattenheimer's home. Furthermore, it's implied that Catti holds some magical powers, which makes it all the more interesting that Sans teleports to her front yard.

6 Conclusions:

With all this in mind, I’m quite sure that, at the end of Deltarune, Sans will end up being stuck in the Undertale universe, possibly using the machine he keeps covered up in his lab. Since Papyrus doesn’t seem to be much different to any other monster in the Underground I don’t think he comes from Deltarune’s universe, so I fear a tragic end for that Papyrus, specially after his dissappearance after Chapter 3.

This ending would make sense of the whole ”Your choices don’t matter” thing. The Weird Route seemed to contradict this statement but, if just Sans is going to Undertale, whatever you do on Deltarune’s Universe won’t matter to Sans’ end. Undertale’s story is already written and the end we got will remain untouched, as Toby said. It also implies that our actions don't matter to Deltarune's end either.

We now know that the End of the Prophecy is a tragic one, as evidenced by Ralsei being terrified of what's to come, and Susie being enraged and in denial. A tragic end would also align with Sans' depression in Undertale, and him being the only one to come from Deltarnue's universe.

But, if Deltarune is a prequel, how is it that the Player recognizes the characters that both games have in common, and it’s advised that the game is played after Undertale? I believe that Deltarune is a prequel from Sans’ perspective, and a spiritual sequel from the Player’s. The Player, being the meta-being that it is in both games, doesn’t need to abide by the same temporal rules the characters are forced to follow. Thus, there's no contradiction in Deltarune being a prequel to Undertale. A Pre-Sequel.

7 Problems with this theory:

UT Papyrus seems to not know anything about his brother’s possible past in another universe, and acts as if they had been together since forever. They both appeared one day in Snowdin and his past seems as mysterious as Sans’, but they can’t be directly related since Papyrus doesn’t bleed.

There's a contradiction between Susie bleeding and the monster kid asking Krist if it hurts to be made out of blood.

I don’t know how will Sans get to Undertale’s world (my guess is Gaster, but he’s a bit of an easy-way-out in theory crafting).

Grillby’s. Sans’ convenience store, ’Sans, appears to have the same façade as Grillby’s in Undertale, with the name of Grillby rubbed off. This small detail is a possible proof against the sequel thesis, albeit it could just mean that Hometown had a Grillby’s before Sans’ convenience store and it closed down for some unknown reason.

Although some problems still remain, the list of issues with this theory has been greatly reduced after playing chapters 3 and 4. Furthermore, we now have great new pieces of evidence that point directly towards a connection between games.

[diy-languages]

Free Korean Learning Courses! : Part 1

-> These are some free resources I used or heard about a lot to learn Korean and what they include, there's probably way more! I'll make more parts in the future. There's also ratings and pesonal notes about each one, but again they're 'personal' so it might not be the same for everyone! That's why you should always try it yourself first.

-> These resources are or were fully free when I used them, if anything changed and they're no longer free I do not take any responsibility for possible accidental purchases, I recommend to always check first before processing with it.

Here we go:

GoodJobKorean — Full free Hangul Course, 12 Lessons, Videos (with pronunciation, etc) + Pdf Practice sheets (with some vocabulary) + Quizes to see if you understood each lesson.

Rating: 100/10 I tried and loved it, easy to understand and explained nicely. Really useful for beginners learning hangul!

A/N: You may have to rebuy it after a month (not sure because I finished it in less then a month and never logged back in) but It's still free (if not you can always just make another account to get it free again)

GoldenKeyKorean: Free Hangul course, pronunciation + 2H long master course (advanced and basic levels) with 2 pdf books

Rating: I personally did not try this one, but I'm pretty sure it's fully free (at least that's what I've seen), but he often does limited editions/limited time special free courses so it's better to check if the offer is still active and follow his instagram for future updates and courses.

Now Korean Class: Fully free 9 Korean courses with different levels (1-9) with multiple videos for each, explains sentence structures, grammar, counters, numbers, and way more.

Rating: 100/10, It really is free, multiple levels, sooo many different things to learn I absolutely loved it!!

A/N: You just have to rebuy it after a month but I'm pretty sure it's still free (if not you can always just make another account to get it free again). I recently lost acess to it, idk why I think my phone is lagging... It tells me something went wrong to try again later, lol, just in case some content changed etc I wouldn't know.

Koldoristudy: 3 different Free Korean PDF study sheets, 1 Hangul, 1 Vocabulary and 1 winter study, includes Grammar, stroke order guides and syllable blocks,

Rating: 10/10 Loved it, I thought it would be just some pdf files to boringly write hangul/words but It's actually way more! it explains grammar and some useful language rules!

Talk to me in korean: Multiple free podcasts on different platforms + PDF with grammar and vocabulary explained for different levels of learners, 7 days free trial with possible cancelation

Rating: 9/10 It's really good, I'm just not a big fan of podcasts as I have a short attention spawn LOL. I personally didn't try the 7-days free trial but they do have LOTS of different lessons and videos that seem to be amazing and useful.

A/N: personally I find their website really confusing, to make things easier you can try things like just typing "Talk To me In korean (Pdf level _)" on google and the first link should be the free pdf file, etc etc.

Loescen Learn Korean Website: Free Interactive web-based learning, important vocabulary, pronunciation beginner to intermediate level, basic conversation courses and dialogues

Rating: 8/10, so good!! It surprised me, I just wish it went more in deep about things like sentence structures and grammar instead of blindly learning dialogue lines or words without breaking them into steps for deeper understanding of the language.

A/N: works for other languages too!!

Live Lingua: Multiple free ebooks and audio files lessons, grammar, vocabulary, hangul, etc, beginner to advanced,

Rating: 9/10 Covers up a lot of different things like I said, grammar, vocabulary, etc etc, but AGAIN each course covers many subjects and it quickly feels heavy and too long/complicated/takes too much time (personally for me, as an individual with ADHD)

How to study korean: LOTS of grammar and vocabulary, beginners to advanced, multiple lessons, linked YT videos to reinforce lessons, PDFs, etc

Rating: 100/10 explains really well, SO MUCH STUFF, different levels, it's really awesome! Lessons are available in multiple languages and not just English!! However again I find it a bit intimidating as it really has LOTS of things to learn which make it seem hard and heavy...

A/N: Personally I find the website complicated to navigate 😭 just type "how to study korean lesson _" for easier access if you want and It should be the top results

Udemy TOPIK grammar through 100 patters: TOPIK vocabulary, grammar and conversations, 100 grammatical patters koreans use a lot

Rating: 8/10 really good, well explained, but again personally it feels pretty heavy and long, videos in Korean with English subtitles, however there are no English subtitles for "example sentences" which sucks, you need to know some basic vocabulary to really understand the example sentences used there.

Tomi Korean: Free PDF with 430 basic korean vocabulary (words, verbs, nouns, adjectives, etc) with audio files, free PDF Worksheet for hangul learning

Rating: 8/0 Love it, really nice for useful vocabulary but you'll have to willingly study the words cause the pdf only makes you write it once and it's really just Korean-English translations, but it has images so its good for visual learners too! Personally I also found it takes a lot of storage to download everything lol.

A/N: I did not check the hangul worksheet as I can already write and read hangul but little personal opinion/tip; I think GoodJobKorean is the best option to learn Hangul here, specially compared to this one. Yes I did not try this Hangul Worksheet but I believe GoodJobKorean offers more variated content and help (videos, quizes, etc) than what a PDF sheet has to offer, that's my opinion.

That's all so far!

Many of these courses have social media accounts where they post different content and tricks to learn, I'll be making a post about those in the future too!!

If anything changed since I first used these resources or if there's any misinformation in this post, please let me know!

[naumin]

How to format, print, and bind a zine

This is a consolidated version of previous posts on zine making, with more detail and screenshots. For a version of this post on gdocs, click here.

This is a step-by-step guide on how to use InDesign (or similar programs) to format and print a zine. This can be used for fanzines, sketchbooks, anything. It’s also only one way to do things - there are as many methods as there are zines under the sun. If you’re interested in other ways, searching for zinemaking on youtube would be a start.

If you are printing your zine, your total page count must be a multiple of 4.

Examples of multiples of 4 ✅

4, 16, 112

Not a multiple of 4 ❌

7, 99, 31

This is because our book will be made of folded A4 sheets (that’s regular printer paper). 1 folded A4 makes 2 A5 pages. Each A5 page has a front and back. Therefore each sheet of paper makes 4 pages.

How to format

Open InDesign. Go to Create New > Print. Choose A5 and tick Facing Pages. Enter your page number (this can be changed later). I’ve put 12. Hit Create.

Locate the Rectangle Frame Tool.

Draw a rectangle over your whole page, or just the part where you want your images to go.

Press Ctrl+D and insert the image you want on that page.

That’s it! Repeat on every page and you’ll have a book. Promise.

Further reading

I need a free alternative to InDesign.

InDesign is free for the savvy but I also recommend Scribus which is free and open source and very lightweight. The method is exactly the same but the Rectangle Frame Tool is called Image Frame and the Ctrl+D shortcut will now be Right click > Get Image instead.

I need help with designing my A5 pages.

For my first sketchbook zines, I arranged several images on an A5 canvas in a program like CSP or Procreate and exported them as a JPG into InDesign or Scribus. You can do this if your images aren’t already A5 size or you don’t want to waste time with InDesign’s formatting tools.

I need to get fancier with it, format text, or export my file as small as possible.

Here are the InDesign tutorials I used and liked:

How to Add Page Numbers

How to keep Page Numbers on Top

How to Create a Table of Contents

What is Overset Text and How to Fix It <- essential for formatting text onto multiple pages

How to Reduce InDesign File Sizes

Formatting best practices

Remember that in addition to your front and back cover you also have an inside front and inside back cover. You can leave these blank or create an endpaper with a pattern or include a short message or something. Look inside any books or zines on your shelf for inspiration. Or don’t listen to me and put your first drawing or poem there. Just be aware printer paper is thin so you might be able to see it through the cover.

Avoid putting anything important in the gutter (inside edge) or outside edges of the page. Also be careful of creating double page spreads that go across the centre of the book. Because of how we will print and fold the pages, each half of your spread might not meet up perfectly. 

How to print it out

Open your completed book’s PDF file in Acrobat Reader (free download: https://get.adobe.com/reader/)

Print with the following settings: Booklet, and Booklet subset: Both sides. 

We can see a preview of our print-out on the window on the right. The pages will look jumbled up, but form the book in order when folded.

Congratulations! Now you’ll have a stack of paper. Once it’s folded it should resemble your (unbound) final book. Use a bulldog clip or similar to keep your pages together neatly.

How to bind (2 methods)

If your book is less than 30 pages, I recommend using a long arm stapler, or a stapler that can open to lay flat. They are cheap.

There are also special book binding staplers or heavy duty staplers, if your book is thicker than 30 pages. Just position your book so the staples are in the middle of the spine (or as close as you can get) and send it. They will be a little wonky… that’s fine.

You can also separate your book into staple-able segments and then join them into 1 big book with tape or thread.

For my 112-page zine, I used thread to bind it.

These instructions are copied from the video ‘How to Print & Bind a Zine’ by LFONinja.

You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKYy6G7lIy8

You will need: Ruler, awl, thread, sewing needle

Make 5 holes in the crease of the pages like so. (½ page, then ½ of that, then ½ of that again)

If the paper is thick, be careful when making the holes. It helps to have a piece of blu tack, putty, or soft eraser underneath the spine of the book as you work for the point of the awl to push into.

I don’t recommend separating the papers into smaller stacks as your measurements will likely vary and the holes won’t align.

Use a needle and thread to go through the holes in the following pattern. At the end, tie a knot with the ends of the thread (1 and 9) in the centre of the book. You’re now done.

About page creep

Because we are using folded pages inserted into each other, they push each other out like so:

From: https://www.greenerprinter.com/ support/page-creep/

You can use a heavy duty or industrial paper cutter/trimmer to remove this edge. This is why we kept any important contents away from the edge of the page during formatting, because we don’t want this process to destroy our book’s contents.

About image edges

Because of how the printer works, the images in the book don’t extend all the way to the very edges of the paper and have a thin white border on all sides. It’s possible to crop these edges from your book with a heavy duty paper cutter. Be careful and start small (3mm or less). Depending on how much your pages move during the printing process, the size of the white edge can be different on different pages. Or you can just leave them in.

To read some of the zines featured in this post, check out naumin.itch.io.

[databent]

my mystery illness hurting me -_-

[farcille-zine]

✨🪽PREORDER SHOP OPEN

You’ll find a many bundles & other goodies to preorder as part of our Delicious in Dungeon zine celebrating Farcille ! Our shop is OPEN until July 30th.

Take a look at our goods below~ We’re sure to have what you desire…

🪽Tier 1 – SPARKS OF MANA ($15)

Our gorgeous zine, glowing with the light of a spell… Or a screen!

✨ Digital PDF zine copy ✨ 6 digital Falin and Marcille emotes

This bundle is NOT eligible for stretch goals.

🪽Tier 2 – DUNGEON DUET ($26)

A stunning tome full of spells of devotion and love. ✨ Physical 7x10in perfect-bound zine ✨ Digital PDF zine copy ✨ 6 digital Falin and Marcille emotes

This bundle is NOT eligible for stretch goals.

🪽Tier 3 – SPELLBOOKS AND LOVE LETTERS ($38)

A token of love sweeter than fresh raspberries ✨ All items in the “Dungeon Duet” tier ✨ 2 die-cut stickers ✨ 1 5x7in sticker sheet ✨ 5 Polaroid mini-prints

Additionally, this bundle is eligible to receive select stretch goals!

🪽Tier 4 – A DRAGON’S FEAST ($50)

The perfect bundle to fulfill your desires…

✨ All items in the “Spellbooks and Love Letters” tier ✨ 1 2in acrylic charm ✨ 1 2.5in double-layer wooden charm

Additionally, this bundle is eligible to receive ALL stretch goals!

🪽Add-ons – A LA CARTE ($12 ea.)

A spicy-sweet way to end your meal! Pick from… ✨A PDF of Wings of Passion, our digital NSFW Zine ✨LIMITED tote bag – Only 100 available, can only be added to a physical zine/bundle

Ordering only an add-on will NOT qualify for any stretch goals.

🪽STRETCH GOALS

New desires are born all the time… Make sure to not let go of them. We have three stretch goals in place, locked within the Mad Mage’s labyrinth… We can set them free if we hit certain preorder goals!

If you have any questions, please send us an ask or check out our Carrd! Thank you for your support!

[cockybusiness]

UPD8!

Priest Bride AU ep 1 END! (Tbc!)

Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5!

Comic series guide of episodes that are publicly available for free (bsky thread)

Up to Date Comic series guide with ALL current episodes + PDF files available for download (patreon exclusive!)

Pages update every monday!

[prettyinpwn]

Bill and Ford and Adult Grooming - Why Gravity Falls is a Metaphor Champion for Abusive Relationships (GF Writing Analysis Pt. 4)

GF Writing Analysis Series:

Pt. 1 - Ford Pines: A Masterclass in Writing a Good Flawed Character Pt. 2 - How Gravity Falls Could Have Been Better + Poor Ford and Wendy Pt. 3 - Mabel Pines: How Well Was She Written... Really?

Hello and welcome to the fourth post in my GF Writing Analysis series! Though the title is self-explanatory, I still want to warn folks that this post will contain dark content relating to adult grooming AKA abuse. If that is content you'd rather avoid (and for some reason your filters did not catch my trigger warning tags), this is your heads up that this post will contain that type of discussion.

For those of you who are not sure what adult grooming is, no, it's not the sexual grooming between an adult and a minor like we typically think of when the term "grooming" comes up, nor does it have to be romantic at all, although sexual acts can be a part of this form of grooming. It is defined as:

"-the predatory act of manoeuvring another individual into a position that makes them more isolated, dependent, likely to trust, and more vulnerable to abusive behaviour. The goal is to prepare the other person for abuse (for example, sexual or financial) later. Therefore, the groomer’s first step is to establish friendship and trust." (Source).

It is my belief that the relationship between Bill and Ford in Gravity Falls - which The Book of Bill helped illustrate even more - is one of adult grooming. This post will explore how the concept of adult grooming applies to the relationship between Bill and Ford, how it changes our perception of them as characters, and the value of showing metaphors for abuse in media for all ages - like Gravity Falls is - to help bring to light this very real and underdiscussed issue and help victims recognize it themselves.

Defining Adult Grooming Further + Who Bill Really Is

We already visited the definition of adult grooming above, but we haven't explored the psychology behind it yet. Namely, I want to explore who partakes in adult grooming on both ends. There is the abuser, and the victim.

The abuser is described as often being:

"Narcissists, Antisocial predators, con artists and sexual aggressors practice grooming to target and manipulate vulnerable people for exploitation." (Source).

Well, very obviously, we know that Bill is the abuser. But... why? He could be a narcissist, an antisocial predator, and a con artist, just like the above description. But which? Why is he an abuser?

Well, our first inclination might be to turn to The Book of Bill and think about his backstory; how he could see in the third dimension in a two dimensional world, tried to "liberate" his dimension to see what he could see, and... then slaughtered them all. He implies it was an accident. He just "wanted the best" for his people. But... drumroll please... get ready for a U-turn into some literary talk...

The Great Gatsby references surrounding The Book of Bill were more than just a "lol random" joke. Infamously, the narrator of The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway, is what's called an 'unreliable narrator'. This is a writing technique defined as:

"-any narrator who misleads readers, either deliberately or unwittingly. Many are unreliable through circumstances, character flaws or psychological difficulties. In some cases, a narrator withholds key information from readers, or they may deliberately lie or misdirect." (Source).

To me, after understanding just how much more Hirsch has tied The Great Gatsby to The Book of Bill's release (e.g "TJ Eckleburg" being the password to get into the associated ARG website, offering a free PDF of The Great Gatsby on said website)... I think what Hirsch is trying to say, is... Bill is an unreliable narrator, as well. Not that that wasn't already well established throughout the series.

Let's ask ourselves this question: is there anyone Bill hasn't lied to? Tried to gain sympathies from? I'll wait. Because the answer is no. Bill lies every time he opens his mouth. Even the god of the Gravity Falls setting - the Axolotl - calls him a liar in the Dipper and Mabel and the Curse of the Time Pirates' Treasure!: Select Your Own Choose-Venture book.

So as a small aside to the main point of this post: I don't think there's anything in The Book of Bill that we can guarantee is proof or canon. If I'm honest, I think The Book of Bill is the mad rambling of a monster trying to justify to us as well as himself that he's better than he really is. He's an unreliable narrator to himself because he needs to save himself from mentally shattering upon the admission that, yeah, he's really that horrible of a person.

If I were to define what The Book of Bill is, is it's a sad attempt to elicit sympathy for a monster, by a monster. It's a masterclass in how he - as an abuser - grooms someone. If you read The Book of Bill and walk away feeling bad for Bill, then congratulations! You would have fallen prey to him just like Ford did. And just like everyone who ever fell prey to him before that.

The metaphor Gravity Falls and its extra content illustrates through Bill is how charming, funny, and enticing and sexy according to Tumblr for some godforsaken reason abusers can be in real life. Because the worst of monsters are the ones who do everything to convince you they're not.

So what does this say about Bill as a character? Don't be fooled. He really is that monstrous. He doesn't have any redeeming qualities. Everything Bill does is with a goal in mind, a person to be used or manipulated to get there, and with a complete lack of conscience to stop himself from doing it. And that's what makes Bill such a strong and terrifying villain: He really is that evil. He really is that soulless. He's not a villain of great strength or power that can be easily defeated with might. He's a villain that underlines something very real beyond a screen or book page, something that we all likely have experienced in real life: an abuser.

Bill and Ford: Abuser and Abused + How Bill Does It

Getting back to the definition of adult grooming, let's explore how it works. There are typical steps abusers like Bill use. We'll list them, then list examples alongside each step that show how Bill used these tactics on Ford for the sake of both exploring their characters more, and illustrating how well Gravity Falls depicts actual abuse.

Please note that I'm using this source as my guideline on the steps of adult grooming.

Step One: Targeting the Victim

The abuser first looks for someone they can target. They learn all they can about the victim. Typically, they look for victims who are:

Unpopular or have family problems. Gee... who does this sound like?

People who have low self-esteem. GEE... sounds familiar again.

People who have mental/physical disabilities. Although Ford does not have either, at least not proven in canon, it is possible that his genius could be considered a disability in how high IQ individuals typically are more socially isolated, depressed, anxious, insomnia-ridden from overthinking, and can have troubles with making friends due to likeliness to correct others (*cough* "Grammar, Stanley." *cough), different senses of humor, and being misunderstood. (Source). Plus, we know his polydactyly caused people to outcast him.

People who have already been through abuse. I - and many others - have made the point that it's common fan interpretation that Ford's father was abusive to a point. At the very least, I have argued in previous posts that Filbrick taught Ford that "value = what money you make from smarts". He was, after all, supposed to be "their ticket outta this (New Jersey poor neighborhood) dump", right? Assuming this is true, well... Ford was already taught from a young age that his value was in how others could use him. Filbrick may have primed him to be abused by Bill, unintentionally.

Okay, so we've established step one of adult grooming, and how Ford fits 99% of these criteria at least for the type of victim an abuser targets. What about step two?

Step Two: Gaining Trust

Honestly, I don't need to elaborate much on this part. I'll just quote the article I sourced before, because any Gravity Falls fan will instantly know how this applies to Bill and Ford:

"Groomers can be hard to notice as they will do their best to appear safe and genuine. This makes it hard to identify them. Over time, they will gradually manipulate the victim to be dependent on them."

"While gaining trust, the groomer may use flattery like offering gifts, admiration, and sharing “secrets” with the person to make them feel special. The groomer may do favours for someone. The groomer may gradually begin asking for favours in return, generally starting small. This may be the start of a romantic relationship or a simple friendship."

"Groomers may share secrets with their target in order to make them feel special and trusted by the groomer. This also may make the target feel they need to share secrets of their own, which the groomer may later use to increase their power over the target."

I mean... *gestures at all of Ford's journals and interactions with Bill in The Book of Bill*. Bill couldn't get any more textbook abuser/adult groomer than this. He praised Ford, shared secrets with him, made him feel so special, etc.

Step Three and Four: Filling a Need and Isolation

These steps are quite self-explanatory. The abuser (Bill) convinces the victim that they need them. "You need me to complete your portal project, Ford.". "No one else understands you, Ford.". And then comes the isolation, and where we'll touch on Stan and McGucket.

"Groomers will likely try to isolate the victim from their loved ones. This may be evident in the way they refuse to meet family and loved ones. Or perhaps they bad mouth them, or try to point out to the victim that the groomer is the only one who really and truly cares for them. Being isolated from friends and family makes it harder for the victim to notice warning signs."

Bill convinced Ford he didn't need anyone but him. He convinced him to isolate more and more; to push his brother away, to push McGucket away, until Ford had literally no support network, making him prime prey for Bill to take advantage of.

Step Five+: The Real Abuse

This step can manifest in many different ways. After reading the article sourced above, there are so many similarities to what Bill did to Ford. I'll list them here:

Continuing isolation.

Destroying self-esteem.

Physical abuse (leaving Ford with bloody knuckles, making his body hurt, leaving him on top of the Shack in the freezing cold, etc).

Seek to take control over victims (in Bill's case, the fantasy/supernatural metaphor of possession is just that: a metaphor for control).

Normalizing behaviors that aren't normal ("Here, I'll just possess you more and more, I swear giving me complete control is normal!").

Making the victim feel helpless.

And many, many more. Folks, I'm not going to lie: I would not be surprised if Hirsch and other writers involved in Bill's creation read a manual on how abusers work (or maybe experienced it in their own lives, but hopefully not, as I wouldn't wish that on anyone) to write Bill. Because Bill does these steps on cue to Ford. He is a textbook abuser.

So... What Does This Say About Bill and Ford?

The dark humor in Bill's writing is that he portrays his shadowy side as lighthearted, but there's a very, very dark underbelly of abuse in everything he does. Even the way we interact with Bill as viewers/readers in real life is a microcosm of his abuse. Look at how he's written:

"Oh, I look like an innocent, funny little triangle guy. Don't mind me. *Does something horrifying and awful.* Oh, I'm just funny, trust me, look how sad I am for losing Ford, and how I drink about it, and I'm all sad here in interdimensional therapy, and I kept a speck of dust from my dimension in my hat! I swear I'm really regretful!"

Text in point: "I'm just a rascal! A funny little guy! But everyone seems to think I'm "evil" or "a sociopath".

He wants to be a hero, or a star, as he calls it. He shows himself on a magazine cover, as someone talked to in a live show, as the leader of the Henchmaniacs (which I'd argue are also either are abusers or victims themselves based on how Bill describes them in the book), etc.

But he's a liar. He's a conman. He's a dream demon; a demon that has power over dreams, but dreams are just that: lies and illusions. Like I said, even the Axolotl thinks so:

"Saw his own dimension burn. Misses home and can't return. Says he's happy, he's a liar. Blame the arson for the fire."

What that line and this screenshot means, is that Bill is 100% to blame for the destruction he wreaks. He didn't "show people the truth". He burned them alive because they didn't worship him as the hero he wanted so badly to be, and he blamed it on, "Well, they just didn't GET what I was trying to tell them.". And the worst part about Bill, is he knows deep down he's to blame; that he has the blood of millions on his hands. But he literally tries to describe it as "liberating" his kind. Ford knows this, too, and tells us directly in The Book of Bill that the book itself is a sham:

Key quotes being: "It will become whatever it must to deceive you, to pull you in." and "DO NOT BELIEVE A WORD".

Honestly, there's only one line Bill ever said that was truth:

Yet, even though Bill knows he's a monster, he never stops. He's had millions of years to change, yet he hasn't. And I doubt he ever will. That's why the Theraprism is effective: it's a jail of his own making. He could get out if he wanted to get better and worked at it. He's always had the key to unlock his cage. But he won't. Because he can't admit fault.

So instead of fixing himself, he keeps wanting to drag others into his cage with him. Like a man drowning who'll grasp onto anyone else struggling, pretending he's helping them float together, only to push them down to keep himself above the water. But in the Theraprism, he has no one to pretend to. He's a "theatre kid without a stage", like Ford said. A little emotional leech without someone to latch onto. He's just alone, like he was after he destroyed his entire dimension.

As for Ford, he champions the story of a victim who regained his power and heals through the love of his family. If you read his and Bill's story from the perspective of abuser vs. victim, it's the story of a man who was isolated, taken advantage of, nearly destroyed... but then wrests his power back and chases after his abuser for thirty years for revenge. However, it's telling that it's not through his thirst for vengeance that Bill is defeated, but through his brother's love for him and the rest of their family.

I mean, look at the main villains of Gravity Falls: someone who sacrificed his family (Bill), someone who was selfish and didn't give a crap about his family (Gideon), etc. And the heroes: people who self-sacrificed for their family. All the Pines wrestle with this theme, from things as small as Dipper giving up a let's be honest very minimal chance at Wendy to make Mabel happy and win Waddles at the fair, Mabel destroying her puppet show to save Dipper from Bill, Ford self-sacrificing and getting tortured for I don't even know how many days locked up with Bill during Weirdmageddon to protect others, and Stan performing the ultimate sacrifice in the finale for his family and world.

Bill is the antithesis to the Pines: a selfish abuser who killed his family. And the Pines are heroes because they learn the moral lesson of the story: to give up pride and selfishness to forgive, self-sacrifice, and love your family and do anything for them, despite your trauma or prior disagreements. They could have just as easily ended up like Bill: awful because of a refusal to admit fault or self-sacrifice. But they don't, because they learned what Bill never did.

That's also why this show focuses so much on the theme of past vs. future and letting go; the Pines learned to let go and accept change, Bill never did. He's stuck. Funny how time stops whenever Bill shows up in the real world, huh? /symbolism wink

And that's why Gravity Falls - and Ford and Bill's story especially - is a champion metaphor for abusive relationships and healing from them.

[hehearse]

the end <3

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Writing Reference: Winter Drinks

Glögg and Mulled Wine

Mulled wine is a hot or warm red wine with spices and sometimes raisins.

It is alcoholic, though you can get a non-alcoholic version.

Glögg is a potent drink and is sort of like mulled wine, but in Sweden they load it up with aquavit or vodka. To top things off, add some dried fruit and nuts to eat with a spoon.

Agua Dulce

A popular treat in Costa Rica.

Take unbleached and unrefined whole sugarcane and dissolve into hot water.

Xocolatl

Pronounced “show-co-lat-til.”

From The Grapevine touts this “rich drink of the Aztecs” as the “original hot chocolate,” and it’s made with cocoa and a chili pepper.

Anijsmelk

Just soak aniseed in milk for this Dutch favorite.

The drink is commonly made with anjisblokjes, or anise sugar cubes, which are then stirred into warm milk.

Wattlecino

A unique twist on traditional coffee, is a quintessentially Australian creation that has garnered popularity for its distinctive flavour profile.

Bustle says this is a “coffee substitute made with roasted and ground wattleseed instead of coffee beans that tastes kind of hazelnutty.”

Blend of hazelnut, cinnamon, coffee, chocolate, and a hint of honey.

Rooibos Tea

Fine Dining Lovers calls this “a caffeine free alternative to black tea. Rooibos only grows in the Cederberg mountains in the southwestern part of South Africa.”

In South Africa, it’s not just a drink. It’s used for cooking and baking and is also in some cosmetics and hair color.

The word rooibos literally means “red bush.”

Colada

An Ecuadorian favorite.

Sometimes made with brown sugar and orange, it includes dry oats, which are soaked and then boiled in water with orange. Strain, then enjoy.

Sicak Sarap

Turkey’s version of mulled wine.

A cherished winter treat, especially during festive occasions.

Made by simmering red wine with spices like cinnamon, cloves, and star anise.

Often sweetened with fruits and sugar.

Sources: 1 2 ⚜ More: Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs