#feel like hers is following personal mystery route

[judasgot-it]

I'm so tempted to continue the weird like, secretary!reader x hunting dogs thing I have going on but in a long form fic with an actual plot... like IDK just a thought

[tosahobi-if]

GAME OUT NOW

Misfortune begets misfortune; evil will prey upon itself. Just as how the fox cannot live without the rabbit, the predator must understand what rises will fall.

Long before you were born, the Great Calamity, a calculated effort by Magyo cultists nearly wiped out the entirety of the Jungpa sects. If not for the noble sacrifice of the peerless Sword Saint of the Mount Hua Sect: the Divine Blade, Yeo Jinhu, demonic forces would have rent the heavens and the earth asunder.

Despite his triumph, nothing would ever be the same – the losses were staggering, the task of rebuilding the sects to their former glory seemed to prove an insurmountable challenge. Yet nearly two decades after his death, peace returned to the land once more.

After the death of your parents, you lead an ordinary, if not monotonous, life as the playmate of the spoiled young master of the Mount Hua Sect. However, all is not what it seems. Following the mysterious arrival of an amnesiac with strange abilities, whispers of a plot brewing in the shadows start to surface, and the world as you know it begins to fall apart around your feet.

Suddenly confronted with the uncertainty of the future, you must unravel the tragedy of what truly conspired all those years ago before you risk losing all you hold dear.

tosahobi (18+) is a muhyeop choose-your-own adventure game centered around elements of korean folklore and taoism in a tale of family, grief, and heritage.

play as a customizable main character: choose their physical appearance, gender, pronouns, sexuality, and more.

explore different relationships: from platonic to romantic to familial, build a variety of relationships with the cast (and hopefully make more friends than you do enemies.)

choose from different skill sets: pick between medicine, weaponry, tactics, and hand-to-hand combat. each field comes with its own advantages and disadvantages that affect multiple scenarios as the story progresses.

choice-driven story: with several routes and (many) choices, fail or succeed and find your way to an ending (whether it be happy or not.)

something is incredibly wrong: can you feel it too?

THE YOUNG MASTER

Yeo Jinwol of the Mount Hua Sect, is the youngest son of the sect leader. Contrary to his charming public demeanor, he has a childish side and can be extraordinarily stubborn. Having grown up in the shadow of his elder brothers he is fiercely protective of those he considers precious to him and struggles to measure up to the expectations placed on his shoulders. Assigned his playmate at a young age, whether you consider it fortuitous or not the two of you have been stuck together for years.

THE ENIGMA

Yul is your sajae, a disciple under the same master as you. Despite their amnesia, they're preternaturally talented at whatever they set their mind to. With strange yet unexplainable abilities that seem to stretch far beyond the scope of their powers, their missing memories may be the key to unlocking the answers you seek. Reclusive yet dedicated you'd almost think they were far, far older than their age if not for their intense sweet tooth and their tendency to follow you around like a very clingy second shadow.

THE PRODIGY

Baek Iseul, the Frozen Blade, is the rising star Emei Sect and has long been hailed as the next Sword Saint. Contrary to her cheerful personality you've never met anyone with a sharper gaze before. Hailing from obscurity, her power rivals even those who have trained for years and years, and has amassed an ever-growing collection of heroic feats under her belt. Popular and well-liked with a mischievous streak, you're really not sure why someone with such a promising future has taken a liking to you.

???

if to transcend means to leave the world behind, bind me to the soil so even long after my death, long after my body has turned to dust, i can find you once more.

[cripplecharacters]

Hi! I’m writing a story about a lady with Down Syndrome. I was wondering if you knew where I can find any resources about Down Syndrome made by people who actually have it, or any organisations that would be good to follow. Any resources made by people with intellectual disability would be really helpful as well.

I read your post about this and it was really helpful so thank you, I’m going to use it as a starting point for my research.

If you’d like some context about the story she’s literally a lady in the 1920s who’s trying to get control of her family’s estate from her brother. Shes underestimated for her disabilities and for being a women but I’m trying to not focus so much on the discrimination and work more on giving her an interesting mystery to solve with the detective she hired. I’d like it to be a bit lighthearted. Anyway, as she’s a main character I really wanted to make sure I wrote her well. Thanks!

Hi!

There aren't many resources out there unfortunately, but there is a page on the UK Down Syndrome's Association's website where members with DS share their opinions on representation in TV and film! You can read it here. For info on intellectual disability in general the best I can do is link some of my previous posts on it - there's close to nothing that's actually made by us unfortunately, everything that I was able to find is always made by someone who knows a person with ID at best. To be clear, not all of it is bad - I thought this interview (TW for abuse that happens in the movie's plot) about a movie starring actors with DS was pretty good - but it's still a sign that we aren't getting enough #OwnVoices representation. It's slowly changing though!

To learn more about DS I would probably recommend NDSS, it's one of the very few orgs that have people with Down Syndrome as board and team members (should be the bare minimum, but it unfortunately isn't). There's also information on things like preferred language and myths that often show up around Down Syndrome!

I'm not great with history, but in the 1920s she would be a subject to a lot more than just discrimination. Eugenics and institutionalization would definitely be present. Not sure what route you'll take there, but basically all the words around that time that she would be described with are currently considered slurs or pejoratives. The racist term for a person with Down Syndrome was officially used into the 60s, and the ableist one is still used legally in 2024. But if you want to skip past that, I think that's more than fine. You don't always have to aim for 100% historical accuracy, just be aware of the real history.

A detective story sounds very exciting! If you decide to publish it on Tumblr or other online site feel free to send me an ask with a link, I'd love to read it :-) !!

Thank you for the ask!

mod Sasza

I’m just popping in as a history fan for a couple bits of history notes — but again, like Sasza said, you don’t have to be 100% historically accurate if you don’t want to and if you don’t feel it’s necessary.

So, especially in the first half of the 1900s, a large part of disabled children, including children with Down Syndrome, were institutionalized very early in their life. Around this time the push that immorality caused disability was strong, and people were often convinced by doctors and professionals that the children’s needs would always be too much for them. Eugenicism was sort of reaching a peak around this time, as well—I would say it was at its most intense in the period of 1900-1940s.

Not all parents institutionalized their children, though. There was pressure to do so, but that doesn’t mean everyone fell victim to it. There wasn’t really any official support for parents who did this, and there weren’t official organizations for Down Syndrome. From my research, the current large DS organizations seem to have popped up in the 60s.

The term ‘Down Syndrome’ wasn’t in popular use until the 70s, and it wasn’t known that it’s caused by an extra chromosome until 1959.

Life expectancy in 1900-1920 for people born with Down Syndrome was 9 years old. Some of this could absolutely have been due to conditions in institutions, but likely even more relevant is that about 50% of people with DS are born with heart defects (also known as congenital heart disease) that can be fatal if not treated with surgery. Heart surgery wasn’t really feasible until the late 30s and early 40s. Another risk factor is a higher risk for infection, which isn’t easy to manage in a world that doesn’t yet have antibiotics.

I actually wanted to find pictures of adults with Down Syndrome pre-1940ish, though, to see real tangible evidence of adults being part of a community. First I found just one picture of a baby in 1925 on this Minnesota government website. But then I found a collection someone made of photos of both children and young adults, but they are not specifically dated. The first baby picture is from the 30s according to the poster!

Judging by the clothes I see people wearing in these photos, photo #4 (man with Down Syndrome in a suit next to a woman) seems to be from the 20s and photo #13 (young woman with Down Syndrome and very long hair) seems to be from about the 1910s. #18 (large family with a lot of sons, including one boy with Down Syndrome) could be from the 30s. Those three are the oldest people with DS in the photos, and they seem like young adults. A lot of these pictures show a community and aren’t just isolated kids, which I find nice.

It’s hard to find specific historical record of people with Down Syndrome from that period of time, but I wanted to show photos of real people in their communities to show, hey look! They were there, too!

Either way, I love detective stories and historical fiction and I’m glad you’re writing a story and that you care about your character’s portrayal but I totally know the feeling of that tricky balance between historical accuracy and modern acknowledgement that we should have been doing better.

— Mod Sparrow

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 9/10/2024

someone adopt this little orange man from me in Houston TX! more details here!

listening

the 1991 Ella Mae Morse compilation Capitol Collectors Series is the official driving-cats-to-the-vet album bc it is so mellow but still fun. this album has previously been featured several times in tuesdayposts but i think you should all listen to it again.

seven thousand three hundred days IS a long long time to sleep ur so right ella

-

reading

two different works that annoyed me: Emily Hamilton's The Stars Too Fondly. my first clue should have been that this is my least favorite poem, bc ppl would quote it to me smugly after my mom died. im sure they thought they were being so super comforting to a budding astronomer, but, much like how i can no longer eat lasagna bc ppl gave us Twenty! Party! Size! Platters! Of! Lasagna! after my mom died (they would just Appear on our front porch, frozen), too much of this poem really soured me.

i had this book on hold Forever and then delayed delivery twice bc i have not felt like reading lately. here's the publisher's description:

In her breathtaking debut—part space odyssey, part sapphic rom-com—Emily Hamilton weaves a suspenseful, charming, and irresistibly joyous tale of fierce friendship, improbable love, and wonder as vast as the universe itself. So, here’s the thing: Cleo and her friends really, truly didn’t mean to steal this spaceship. They just wanted to know why, twenty years ago, the entire Providence crew vanished without a trace. But then the stupid dark matter engine started all on its own, and now these four twenty-somethings are en route to Proxima Centauri, unable to turn around, and being harangued by a snarky hologram that has the face and attitude of the ship’s missing captain, Billie. Cleo has dreamt of being an astronaut all her life, and Earth is kind of a lost cause at this point, so this should be one of those blessings in disguise that people talk about. But as the ship gets deeper into space, the laws of physics start twisting, old mysteries come crawling back to life, and Cleo’s initially combative relationship with Billie turns into something deeper and more desperate than either woman was prepared for. Lying somewhere in the subspace between science fantasy and sapphic rom-com, The Stars Too Fondly is a soaring near-future adventure about dark matter and alternate dimensions, leaving home and finding family, and the galaxy-saving power of letting yourself love and be loved.

should be catnip for me, right? wrong. starts out as a chat fic, which i hate.

i had a lot of trouble finishing the first chapter, which also has an extended third-person omniscient narrator flashback in italics, a thing i also hate. i KNOW you can figure out how to integrate this information into the book in a better way instead of dumping it in my lap.

i think part of why this is not hitting like i wanted is the tone, because i think this veers more new adult than i was really hoping for. i think introducing a big group all at once is very hard to do effectively. i do not like a series of character introductions that feel like they are trying to sell me action figures. or perhaps blind-bag figures. i do not like a six-deep list of cheesy puns about someone's name. i do not have the patience to see if this debut novel finds its footing a little later on, though i am glad a sapphic ghost in the machine romance exists in this world.

i also read dean motter's mister x (both the original late eighties through early nineties run and the 2008 follow-on).

let's yoink the description from wikipedia:

Set in Radiant City, a dystopian municipality influenced by Bauhaus and Fritz Lang's Metropolis, the series concerns a mysterious figure who purports to be its architect. His radical theories of "psychetecture" cause the citizenry to go mad, just as he did, and he takes on the mission to repair his creation. To accomplish this he remains awake twenty-four hours a day by means of the drug "insomnalin", all the while coping with a Dick Tracy–like rogues gallery and supporting cast including his long-suffering ex-girlfriend Mercedes. (ed note: the redhead in the santa beard below)

the art in this comic book is really and truly stunning. everyone was firing on all cylinders. beautiful retrofuturistic advertisement vibes, very fun play with panels and word balloons while still being readable, there are airships, you know how it is. looooooooove a hardboiled noir.

the Concept of mister x, this horrible awful futuristic city that grinds its citizenry up and spits them out? both figuratively and sometimes literally? love it!!! love a great wounded beast of a city as a character!!!

unforch the "who is mister x" subplot does not resolve in a satisfying way, imo. there's a lot of flip-flopping, there's a lot of options, he ends up being (maybe?) someone he was very definitively proven NOT to be in an earlier issue, and it really soured me on the whole experience. and also i don't believe it! that specific person makes no fucking sense! who mister x is, is by far the least interesting part of the series. tell me more about how he's fixing the city. show me more of the city. shut up and dance, robot artists

-

watching

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016, dir. Singer). this movie did not need to be two and a half hours long. appreciated the EXTREMELY divorced energy from charles & erik though, quicksilver rescuing the school scene was also very fun. my bestie's husband has informed me we are NOT watching Dark Phoenix, i'm not sure if we're going to loop back and watch the ??? number of wolverine films or if we're going to see how i feel about deadpool. bc i find this character insufferable through clips only.

-

playing

there is a feature in the video game genshin impact to turn your World Level (TM) down in order to make overworld enemies a little easier. i am at seven out of nine bc i genuinely can't finish the boss to unlock world level 9, and i am finding some of the overworld enemies too hard at 8 and want to finish the achievements in a more relaxed fashion.

-

making

this is going to be a lot of previously posted pics so bear with me.

saturday morning/saturday evening. plants? repotted. porch and stairs? swept. old wasp nests? knocked down. different mirror on the porch to go out to the curb when i have the energy? yes. also a giant slab of engineered stone from the top of a dresser but that's out of frame.

speaking of the giant broken dresser that was in my apartment when i moved in just over a year ago, i ripped it apart with a crowbar and threw it in the dumpster. put my pretty zebrawood desk in the empty space and started thinking about what to hang on that wall. the wall across from it is maps, bc i think a cozy office should have lots of maps and it makes a good video conference background. maybe this will be the dedicated cowboy nonsense wall. i did so much dusting and vacuuming and mopping and the girls can't even hang out in here bc the orange boy is in the office bathroom. big sigh.

also a lot of driving around and emailing and calling thirty shelters and rescues figuring out how to get this orange man a home. please take this orange man off my hands.

[maleyanderecafe]

I Said I Love you to Death, Didn't I? (Manga)

Created by: Sankaku

Genre: Horror/Mystery

This manga complete at about four chapters and man, is it rather dark but fun. It very lightly reminds me of Killer in Love with the way that the story is going. I'm a big fan of yanderes in mystery stories and I think that the main female, Ai is also rather suspicious in the way she acts around Asumori.

The story starts out with Asumori seeing a ghost affect a man by causing him to drop his phone. Asummori feels useless as he's unable to do anything, but quickly turns to his phone to think about his angel, Ai. At school, the two of the work together to clean up afterschool, with Asumori noticing that a ghost is haunting her as well, thus causing the various injuries she has all over her body. He seems surprised that Ai knows his name, and is overjoyed to be hanging out with her. After he catches her when tripping down the stairs, Ai declares him as her savior after he apologizes for touching her, making him extremely happy. After the two walk home, we see that Asumori lives in a rather abusive home. We see that Asumori has been collecting things that Ai has given him, as well as the fact that his spirit perception seems to transfer, probably explaining why Ai is so strong affected by spirits. As such he promises to stay away from her as much as possible, however, Ai continues to follow after him during school and even afterwards. Asumori gets beat at home by his brother, and ends up walking to the park where he meets Ai again. He explains his bruises to Ai, and Ai explains her own experiences with domestic violence. The two of them continue to get closer, with Ai buying Asumori clothes, going to amusement parks and buying gifts for each other. and Asumori gets more and more obsessed. Asumori watching other guys get close to Ai, to which he starts to get jealous and promises to kill any guys that get close to her. Ai eventually gains powers from Asumori, though despite everything she still wants to be with him. He ends up going to Ai's house where he meets her mother, whom he believes has a distaste for him. Ai tells him that the black shadows come from her father, who had died a while ago. When Asumori goes home, he becomes increasingly worried about what will end up happening to Ai and goes back to her house. There, he is greeted by Ai's mother and Asumori accuses her of killing her husband as well as several other people. We find out that Ai's mother was there to basically stall Asumori and when he goes back, he finds that Ai has already killed off his family. He realizes that the spirits surrounding her are actually the vengeful spirits that she's killed. Ai's mother explains that Ai has anti-social personality disorder and that she was the one who killed her father and is incredibly good at pretending to be normal and that her mother has been moving them around and helping to hide bodies. Ai reveals that her cuts were because of the struggles of other people who tried to resist her, and asks if Asumori would ever abandon him. He promises to never, believing that he was given redemption by Ai. He ends up killing himself to make sure that Ai isn't arrested, and blaming his family's murders on himself, as he loves Ai.

Like I said, although this series is short, it is a good start to what I hope will be a good mystery, perhaps even a psychological one. It reminds me a bit of Killer in Love or even He was My Brother in that aspect, with the yandere growing more obsessed with their lover as the story goes on. We see that the ghost aspect and the fear of him projecting on his, I want to say power, onto her is keeping him from really trying to be close to her, yet he can't help but be drawn in by her kindness. I am a little suspicious of Ai though based on the sudden way that she treats Asumori with kindness, since it seems to be out of nowhere, but it is hard to say with only two chapters out. It could go the Killer in Love route where Ai does actually slowly corrupt Asumori to her own needs, but it feels more like Asumori will become more corrupted because of Ai's unintentional actions like talking to other guys. It does make me wonder where he gets his powers from, whether it's something that he had when he was younger or if it was something that was passed down, as well as what might happen in Ai gains these powers as well. As a yandere, we see that Asumori idolizes Ai a lot, stalking her and keeping track of all the things that she has given her and even taking pride that he is her savior, especially after he finds out that he can dispel the spirits that surround her. I wonder if it ties in with the missing persons report that we hear in the television later on, or even if he's already been doing that before we even knew what was going on.

What's written above are my initial impressions of the series back when there were only about one or two chapters. Now that the story is complete, I have to say I was right about Ai being suspicious and I really love how the story went in the end. I've always mentioned before that I really like it when the yandere's darlings are as bad or sometimes even worse than the yandere themselves and this story really does it well. It first gives the impression that Ai is the one being abused because of her cuts and the various spirits that surround her, however twists it when it's show the cuts are actually from people trying to fight back from when she was killing them. I'm surprised that the mother didn't try to call the police or anything and just continually helped her daughter hide corpses. I suppose living under the fear that her daughter might kill her at any moment would do that to you. Asumori's devotion goes even further when he commits suicide in the end to cover for Ai, fully embracing the love he has for her even in death.

It's a very good, albeit short series with a dark yandere story. I do wish that this creator will make more yandere content in the future since I was a fan of how they were able to surprise me about how Ai really was and how the outcome of Asumori's story ended up being. I hope you will enjoy it too if it is to your taste.

[infinitebrians]

Favorite Games of 2023 Part 4: Pseudoregalia

I knew Pseudoregalia was going to be good the minute I started the game and did the input for the Mario 64 side flip jump and the game’s main character Sybil did her own version of that satisfying jump. One of my all time favorite things to do in a Mario game (or any game) is that side flip, a jump that is as practical as it is just simply satisfying to do. Sybil being able to do that jump without needing any of the power ups found in the game told me that the developers of this game knew the importance to making character feel good jumping around in a 3D world. Her movement only gets better from there with a bunch of new platforming abilities that makes her capable of getting what feels like anywhere in that game world if desired. The pure control you have over Sybil's platforming capabilities gave me so many great moments of pure curiosity to experiment with what could work. What's better is watching friends and others play the game and figure out their own solutions to the game's open ended platforming design. There are no wrong answers in the world of Pseudoregalia, just results.

This game was a complete surprise in just about every way, just the best feeling platformer I’ve played in a long while in this small, cleaned up former game jam game. I’ve followed the main dev rittzler on twitter for a few years because the gameplay clips of their work have all looked fun and impressive and they always shared other really cool indie dev work as well. So, I was excited to finally play Pseudoregalia when it was announced to be released. It's super low price (6 dollars USD) and being something I was able to finish in the span of one day alone was a huge breath of fresh air in this current gaming environment. It’s something I’ve been personally thinking a lot about recently is the appeal of a simpler, lower priced game. It’s appeal to me coming from playing something that never needs to be some sort of omnipresent, super game. Instead, Pseudoregalia presents itself in a humble statement of, ‘here, enjoy a few hours jumping around this wacky maze like castle as a goat bunny lady!’.

I'm not a person who typically ever has a desire to replay a game right after finishing it, I usually prefer to immediately move on to another game that I've been wishing to play for for a while. Pseudoregalia is a game I've played four or so times now from start to finish, I even started another playthrough in preparation for this drawing/writing and found myself wanting to play it all the way through again. Its the first time I found myself actually physically seeing the appeal of speedrunning, a hobby I always just enjoyed as a spectator. Pseudoregalia just lends itself so neatly to that part of me that loves routing out a path for stuff. How quickly can you find all the vital movement abilities for Sybil? What's unnecessary, what can be improved, what can be gathered while on the path of gathering something else. From at least my perspective of not actually investigating the proper speedrunner's routing, the options feel immense. From these handful of times replaying the game I've gotten a good handle of finding my way around the map and a good idea of how to get a lot of the really important movement abilities almost immediately. It also made the game feel quite different from how it felt to me with my first playthrough, what was once mysterious and labyrinthine was now a familiar playground.

That is one thing I will miss when doing those repeat playthroughs is that sense of discovery that occurred with that initial run. Soon before Pseudoregalia came out, I watched a lot of Videochess and spaghoner's exploration and documentation of the incredible Mario 64 hack, B3313 ( https://youtu.be/pLKB0SG0i8c ). I found that hack incredible at creating a sense of uneasiness and wonder from simply keeping you constantly guessing what was next behind each door something even those two expressed while streaming. During my first playthrough of Pseudoregalia, I was completely lost in that castle and was constantly finding paths that led to new zones or ones circled me back to old ones from hours ago. It was a pretty incredible feeling of discovery that only wore out it's welcome at the end when I just needed one more big key necessary for progression. What helped make exploration in both of these games engaging the whole time is that aspect of having a really fun character to move around as while being lost. It was okay with being completely lost because I could still just keep doing these long jumps into wall kicks that just make Sybil go fuckin' fast in an immensely satisfying way.

I think in the time it's taken me to think about this game again, and briefly revisit it in preparation for this art/writing I've come to decide that this is probably my favorite new game of 2023. In a year full of fantastic platformers to pick from, this one was just a class above in terms of movement design and movement application.

[arimiaromage]

Strange house - DGM doujin fangame guide book scans

so in January I found a physical copy of a 2010 d.gray-man doujin visual novel called Strange house by the doujin group MOONLIGHT CAFE. the game is a romance visual novel where you play as Lavi and can date Kanda while out on a mission with him to, you guessed it, a strange house.

the game is completely in Japanese and almost all mention of it online has gone away as it's a 14 year old game, so suffice to say finding anything about this game has been difficult. it won't be a complete mystery now though as I have the game and the guide book!

so... let's look inside this guide book!

before we crack it open, here's the scans of the DVD cover slip. the outside is similar to the guide book (see above) but the inside is an adorable collection of chibis.

now let's look at the guide book! all of these scans are at a high dpi so open them up in a new tab if you'd like to see them up close. also, most of this is in Japanese and I won't be able to translate a majority of it. if you'd like to translate it, please feel free to and add it to the post!

D.Gray-man LaviYu Only

Windows only sound novel type adventure game

(side note- visual novels are usually called adventure games in Japan. sound novel is another term for them that was more popular to use years ago)

The next two pages go over the system menus- the main menu, the CG gallery (where you can view cut scene artwork), in game menu, save & load, and the options menus.

Now that we've gone over the system, it's on to the character bios! Lavi is up first as he's the player character followed by Kanda and the finder Doma.

(somehow Kanda ends up in a bridal gown in this game)

(she has doll arms and legs? it says she's the other guy's sister)

(I have no clue what her name is suppose to be. Yuno Moreta? Yunoo Moreeta?? I'm guessing it's trying to be like Yu Kanda??? Allen's bio here mentions him being the 14th and that he doesn't appear much as he wasn't assigned to this mission)

(Lenalee's basically says that she's an exorcist and Komui's younger sister, but mentions that she might be seen on the mission in front of Lavi? the guy on the right was apparently meant to be something like a love rival in the MVP [think beta build] for the game)

after the character bios is the route guides!

while not every visual novel has choices or multiple endings, visual novels that do have multiple endings refer to them as "routes" or "scenarios", i.e. the series of choices you make to reach each ending. this game has 4 routes, each with a different artist.

scenario A is called Dolly and written by 響夜 and illustrated by Guriko.

scenario B is called Coming Home and written by 響夜 and illustrated by Seiko and others.

scenario C is.... something about a bracelet? it's written by 秋吉 and illustrated by Bonnu.

scenario D is called lonely travels / loneliness while traveling and is written by 木花 and illustrated by ネコ科ノコ.

to be honest this is a lot more than I was expecting! we're already at 7 team members and haven't touched the programming or music aspects. I also have no clue how long this game is - there's only a few choices listed here to get each route so each ending could be 5k words (short) or over 50k words (long).

now onto staff!

sadly, I won't be able to translate these as it's a majority kanji, but here they are.

and that's it! there's a lot of cute art here that I hope will be saved on the internet now that the sites for MOONLIGHT CAFE's games are mostly defunct.

personally as a visual novel developer I find it amazing that they were able to not only make such a good looking fan visual novel in 2010 with multiple endings but to get so many people on board and make it all work out. and then to make a physical release of it! (side note- I'm still unsure what engine this was made in! I'm thinking kirikiri but I'm not sure)

I have the game set up and am able to play it, so at some point I'll share some footage of it on this tag on my blog. I'm hesitant to put the exe online as this was a paid game at one point and the doujin circle seems to be disbanded, but I might if there's interest (is this considered a no-no for doujins? I'm unfamiliar on etiquette for doujins, so some advice on that would be appreciated if you have any)

[ikeromantic]

Hello. For the Ikepri requests may I ask for Gilbert, rooftop and and honey cake? Thank you so much!

Ahh Gilbert. A mysterious prince from an enemy nation. Delicious ;) Apologies in advance if anything feels OOC - I haven't read his route yet as it isn't in EN. Approx. 500 words of Gilbert being sweet. IkePri New Years Event story!

“There you are, little rabbit. You’ve run to a place with nowhere to hide.” Gilbert kept his voice steady as he mounted the last step to the rooftop. No easy task after so many steps. He gripped his cane, glad for the extra support.

The Belle turned, her expression alarmed. “Wh- Prince Gilbert?”

He could see a tear still clinging to her eyelash, though she’d wiped the ones from her cheeks before she faced him. Such a delicate creature, she was. Fragile as spun glass. He could not understand how such a lovely thing made it to adulthood without developing the harsh bitterness and cruelty needed to survive. 

“Very good. Yes. You remember me.” He flashed her a smile.

“Umm. Yes. Of course. But . . . if I may ask, why are you here? The party is down in the ballroom.” Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. 

Gilbert shrugged. “I followed you. I was curious where you were hurrying to. But there’s nothing here. Only you, and me.”

The Belle sniffled and looked away. “I just wanted some fresh air.”

“Because that nobleman snubbed you and his companion made a rude comment on your clothes?” Gilbert drew closer to her, like a moth to a candle flame. Only he was the dangerous one. Surely. 

“No.”

“Mmmm. I don’t like it when people lie.”

The Belle’s shoulders slumped. “Fine. Yes. It just . . . I wasn’t expecting it. Sariel warned me I might have some trouble, as I’m new to court and the princes show me favor. But I just didn’t realize people would be so mean!”

“They might be nicer if you admitted you’re the Belle.” 

Her head turned so quickly he thought she might hurt her neck. “I’m not! I’m just a - a person training with Sariel. To be a court minister or assistant.”

Gilbert’s smile widened. “What did I say about lies, little rabbit?” She started to say more, but he shushed her with a finger to her lips. “No, it’s fine. I understand. I’m an enemy prince, hm? Musn’t give anything away.”

She flushed at the brush of his fingertips to her mouth, and drew back from the touch. “Anyway, Prince Gilbert. Is there something you need?”

Just you, he thought, but only gave her a smile in response. 

The Belle took a breath as if steeling herself. When she met his gaze, he could not miss the unbroken spirit there, determined and full of an inner fire. “May I tell you something?”

He gestured for her to continue.

Her lips curved up in a tremulous smile. “You make me very nervous, Prince Gilbert. I feel like everything you do is a calculation, a maneuver to bring you closer to some goal I don’t know about. But . . .” She cleared her throat, “I think maybe you are nicer than you want anyone to know.”

Gilbert chuckled, but it grew to a full laugh. “You are delightful. Truly.” He wiped a tear from his scarlet hued eye.

“I think it’s true though! You came up here to see if I was ok, even though it’s a long climb and you were out of breath at the top. And you could try to frighten me to tell you things, but you stop short. And -”

“And perhaps you are seeing what I want you to see. Afterall, little rabbit, I’d like you to like me.” Gilbert couldn’t help but trace her arm with his fingertips. He knew it would only make her shy away, but there was something about her that drew him in like an iron filing to a magnet. 

Surprisingly, she didn’t pull away again and let his hand settle gracefully atop her forearm, as if he were escorting her. “If you want me to like you, then you should start by being less scary.”

“I should, hm?” His eyebrow rose. “And how would I do that?” 

She nibbled at her lower lip in an adorable gesture. “I’ll have to think about it.”

Gilbert’s smile widened. The Belle was serious. It made something in his chest lurch. His neglected heart, perhaps. “It’s funny that you can stand up to me, the Conqueror Beast, but you crumble under some noble’s gaze.” 

“Well . . . you - I just -” She stumbled over her words, startled. 

He stepped closer, letting himself lean into her a little. “Just remember they aren’t better than you. Every one of them is a rabbit inside, just as nervous and afraid as you are.”

“That is somehow less comforting than you might think,” she replied wryly. “Is that why you came up here then? Because of what they said?”

“The party was less interesting without you.” He gazed out at the view of Rhodolite spread before them. It really was lovely up here, he thought. “You won’t mind if I rest here beside you for a little while longer?”

“No.” She grinned again, the nervous edge of it nearly gone. 

He smiled back at her. Though he would need to return to the party, for now Gilbert felt as if he could stand here until dawn. Feeling her warmth at his side, her arm linked in his. 

[profounddefendorcrusade-blog]

Since my adhd is acting up again and I can't analyze the remaining characters in much detail, imma throw in every character's mbti & enneagram (+ a little explanation for the stuff I didn't already talk about)

Clover: INFP 1w9 (their idealism and wanting to do what's good (to them) is TOO STRONG; strong enough for the kid to die for this cause; that's why I'm giving them a combination that's got such strong morals)

Dalv: INFJ 5w4 (why 5 instead of 4? Because I feel like he's more focused on understanding & knowledge (about who his "mysterious friend" was), than on individualism. Although, he's shown to want to express himself creativity. That's why I'd give him a 4 wing)

Martlet: ISFP 9w1 (she's all about her own values, just like Clover; that's why the two of them have a final battle in the Vengeance route. I'd call it a "battle of moral values" Is it right to kill more monsters than necessary instead of simply fleeing after Clover killed five? And no, just because she's friendly doesn't make Martlet an extrovert; I think she leads with Fi and not Se, for the reasons I just gave)

The 9w1 is bc she's peaceful and relaxed, but with a strong moral code

Starlo: ESFJ 3w2 (that 3w2 was always clear as day to me: he puts on an image to make himself look/feel cooler, but he also cares about making others happy)

Ceroba: ISFJ (still trying to figure out if she's more of a 4w5 or 1w2. Personally, I'd go with 1w2 because I've read these people focus too much on what's wrong (Kanako falling down, Chujin being dead), they become moody (this is pretty evident whenever she gets annoyed with anyone throughout the game); refuses to be cheered up (subconsciously, imo: no matter what Star tried to do, she was still stubbornly depressed). And at their best, 1w2s apparently become more fun and spontaneous. Now, we don't see this in-game since Ceroba was at her worst, but based on the picture with her and Starlo as teens, she DOES NOT seem withdrawn like a 4w5)

I don't really see Roba as being motivated to be her authentic self, either. She wants to do good (for monsterkind). The other reason I don't think she's 4w5 is because of what I've read about this type's growth: they become more logical and disciplined, gain more motivation to get things done and follow through. I feel like Ceroba already had all this, and had to take the first step into becoming the more fun-loving monster she used to be so long ago.

ISFJ, because dominant Si (too focused on the past), and what she needs to do is realize that there are different ways to go about things, not just one (inferior Ne)

Axis: ISTJ 6w5 (yeah, this guy just wants to do his job, doesn't seem to care about power and prefers to solve things alone, that's why I over E. With the enneagram, at some point I thought he'd be a 1w9, but when I read about 6w5s, I'm now leaning more into that one: reacts, plans & acts when stressed (this is how he is throughout the entire section), emotionally intense (when he's mad it DOES show), wants to please authority figures (Chujin in this case), and values security)

[skinandscales-if]

Genre(s): Urban Fantasy, Action, Mystery, Romance

[DEMO] | [DISCORD] | [RO APPEARANCES]

Skin and Scales is an urban fantasy interactive fiction story hosted in Twine where you choose how your story plays out. Live your life in the big, shining new city as a dragon-shifter and hunt down a secretive killer on the loose, get embroiled in the mobs and gangs vying for power, and fight for justice all while gaining allies and unraveling the secrets of your legacy.

RATED 17+ for graphic depictions of violence, death, alcohol and drug use, explicit language, intense themes of prejudice and dehumanization, and similar mature content and themes

Moments after stepping foot in your new home, you’ve been arrested. And as a dragon-shifter, as the name implies, a human who can shape-shift at will into a one of the few dragon species still left in the world, the odds are naturally stacked against you in the city of Avalon, where your kind is kept under a scrutinizing eye by the King Institute. Left with the last of your options, you are made to partner up with one of the Institutes finest, a fellow dragon-shifter like you, and left with no other choice, you are left to pick up the clues following a sudden murder that has left the whole city shocked and a power vacuum to be filled.

Uncover the secrets of your kind, the underbelly of the city, and maybe, just maybe, meet some people that make this place home.

Variety of MC customization options including their name, gender (with cis and trans options), pronouns, appearance, and more!

Customize your dragon form and choose from one of 4 dragon species (ice, fire, lightning, or venom), your breath weapon (or lack thereof), and your alternate-forms’ appearance!

Explore complex relationships with 4 romanceable options, one poly option (atlas + puck), a complicated hidden route, or romance no one and solidify your new found family!

Journey around a world where dragons have existed for centuries, and all of the complications this fact produce

Determine how you feel about your identity, and how it changes based on your experiences

Set yourself on fire. Many times.

Save the city and bring two split worlds back together

Or return to your roots and change the world forever…

Atlas Drake [he/him, 6’6”]

Working prodigy of the King Institute and your assigned partner, Atlas is one of the most professional and uptight people you have ever met. He is constantly making sure everything and everyone around him are working well within the guidelines presented to him. You, however, seem to be the biggest pain in his side since ‘ever’, and he is constantly ready to remind you of this fact. Maybe you can find a way to melt that frozen exterior of his. Just maybe you can surprise him as well.

Puck Bishop [they/them, 6’2”]

A well-respected scientist, Puck works alongside the King Institute with their studies, and is all the manner of a responsible and put-together person in their profession. More than that though, they are incredibly kind and patient, with a soft smile and wise words ready at any moment. Below this though, lies a more hesitant demeanor, haunted by spirits of the past. Can you remind them of what they have given up? Or settle for gratefulness?

Skye Cortéz [she/her, 5’3”]

Skye is both an enigma and an open book. An extraordinarily bubbly and positive person, she has a very loud personality, and is hard to miss. She considers you one of her closest friends the second she lays her eyes on you, and is loyal to a fault. But you can’t help but notice her uncharacteristic silence when home is brought up, and her naive excitement from the city becomes stranger and stranger once you realize she’s been living here her entire life. Is there anything you can do to tether her? Or will she endlessly drift until it swallows her whole?

Reese Zhu [he/him, 5’5”]

One of the prickliest people to walk the face of the planet, Reese has a bone to pick with everyone and everything. A fiery rebel until the end, he is constantly looking for a fight and considers you a target of his frustration the moment you two meet. However, there is a curb to his aggression, a quietness that he seems consumed in when he assumes you aren’t paying attention. Could you be the one to temper the flames? Or hold on as it consumes you both?

??? [she/her, 6’2”]

She has spotted you. Do you think you can run? Do you think you can hide? Vile creature of the night, monster of the sky, you have no safe haven when this is done.

Come meet your maker, beast.

[adrift-in-thyme]

Hello! If you are still accepting fic requests... I saw your "Legend is a sympathetic crier" post and it grabbed hold of my brain. Could you try a fic of that with Legend/Fable or Legend & Sky? Either one would be fun, I think!

Hi! Thanks so much for the prompt!!

I really wanted to write this with Legend/Fable but I don’t feel confident writing Fable as a main character just yet (I’ve seriously gotta play the games Legend’s in so I can write those two). But I went with Sky instead! I hope you like it!

Fic under the cut (can also be read on Ao3)

———————————-

Wild’s latest memory is one of his worst.

At least, Legend thinks it is. He isn’t usually around for the aftermath of these kinds of things. Warriors or Time are always quick to usher the group away as soon as that faraway look comes into the champion’s eyes. But today the memory had come and gone with uncharacteristic speed, and there had been no time for an escape.

Legend hadn’t minded too much at first. He’s handled worse things than the reminiscing of an amnesiac, after all. But that was before Wild had crumpled, falling to his knees with his hands pressed to his face. That was before the wailing had begun.

Even now, that an eternity has passed, the sounds of anguish still split the air. Twilight has drawn the champion into his arms, but his shoulder does little to muffle his heartbroken cries. And with each passing second Legend’s chest constricts further.

A lump situates itself painfully in his throat and he struggles to breathe past it. He won’t cry–he can’t—not here. Yet, the tears are coming anyway, burning his eyes and trickling down his cheeks.

He balls his hands into fists, fingernails digging into flesh. Even the stinging pain does nothing to keep back the emotions rising within him. And they’re not his own, not even close—for goodness sake, he doesn’t even know what the memory was about—but they come anyway, strong and suffocating. He fights not to crumble beneath their weight.

Still, the sobs wrack Wild’s body and still, he stands frozen in place, unable to tear his eyes from the sight.

Somewhere off to his side Time leads the others away, saying something about privacy. Somewhere even nearer Wind laments their helplessness. But Legend hears them as though they’re miles away.

When Wild speaks, however, he hears the anguished words plainly.

“I forgot her. How could I forget her?”

He doesn’t know who this mystery girl is (though he may have a terrible, terrifying inkling), but it doesn’t matter. The statement on top of everything else is just too much.

It takes everything he has to walk away instead of running.

Putting some distance between himself and the others helps a bit. As soon as he’s out of earshot, the emotions begin to subside and the tears along with them. But the mere thought of the champion–of how he’d looked and sounded–brings them roaring back.

Legend kicks viciously at a small pebble, sending it flying.

It was only a matter of time before this happened–before someone started bawling their eyes out and he just had to follow suit. But it’s stupid, horribly so. He isn’t the one who should be crying. He’s the one who should be standing strong, keeping his walls up, and letting no one, not a single person, see how the pain of others affects him.

He reaches a small cliff and, with a sigh, flops down onto it. It’s a dismal sort of day though, overhung with rain clouds and fog, and within a second of sitting down his tunic has sopped up half of Hyrule’s water supply. Cursing, he leaps back to his feet.

Wonderful. Even nature is trying to make him cry. Or scream. At this point, he feels more inclined to go that route.

Instead, he settles for glaring into the mist. It doesn’t provide any satisfaction, but it’s something.

Anger is better than sorrow any day.

“Legend?”

He jumps at the sound and whirls, reaching for his sword. Sky holds up a hand to stop him.

“It’s just me.”

Legend lets out an annoyed huff, sheathing his weapon. His thoughts are scattered now like seeds born on the wings of the wind.

“Yeah, I can see that now. Mind not sneaking up on me next time?”

Sky chuckles. “Sorry, I thought you’d hear me. I’m not usually all that stealthy.”

He comes to stand beside him, following the direction of Legend’s gaze from moments before.

“You were deep in thought though. I called you three times before you noticed I was standing there.”

Legend shifts, uncomfortably.

Three times? That’s a first. He’s usually much more attentive, often to a fault. “Bunny hearing” Fable jokingly calls it, and he can’t help thinking she’s onto something. Few sounds slip his notice.

“Well, what’re you doing here?” He asks, sitting down on the moist grass. Wetness be damned, he’s too tired to remain standing.

Sweet Hylia, why do emotions have to be so exhausting?

“Shouldn’t you be back there—” He jerks a thumb behind him— “comforting the person who’s actively breaking down?”

Sky settles down by his side and folds his hands in his lap.

“I can’t help Wild,” he says, quietly. “The fewer people around him right now, the better. Twilight and Time are with him and that’s enough.”

That’s good, Legend supposes. The champion is closer to the two heroes than he is to anyone else in their party. Still, he wishes something more could be done.

Well…what he wishes is that he could snap his fingers and all pain would just disappear—from him, from those he calls friends. That would be easier, much easier than sitting here and dealing with the whole lot of it.

…or watching it tear someone down into a sobbing, mess.

Hylia help him, his own problems are more than enough without him having to go and absorb everyone else’s. It’s like being a chu, oozing about, taking on any element they encounter, and spewing it out indiscriminately.

“It’s difficult watching something like that.”

Legend turns slightly so he can see the Skyloftian’s face. There’s something he can’t quite make out in his gaze, an emotion he thinks he should know yet can’t place.

“There’s nothing we can do,” Sky continues, almost as though reassuring himself. “But our hero’s spirits want so badly to take it all away. It just doesn’t sit right, leaving him with such a heavy burden.”

He meets Legend’s eyes now, a small, sad smile lifting his lips. “Especially when it feels like that burden has become yours.”

The tears spring back with a vengeance and Legend turns away quickly to avoid Sky catching sight of them. Not that it matters. He knows what the Skyloftian is doing, and he knows what it means. He saw him crying back there, he must have.

He slumps despite himself, curling in with his shoulders hunched. He feels very much like he did when Twilight and Sky saw him in his bunny form, caught in the trap of vulnerability and hating every second of it.

“I know it’s not my burden,” he mutters, testily. “I just…I can’t help it.”

Plucking a blade of grass he begins ripping it viciously into thin strands.

“It happens every damn time.”

Sky nods and there is a kind of comprehension in the movement. Somehow, it makes Legend feel worse.

First the tears, now an uncharacteristic outpouring of his heart. What on earth is wrong with him?

“It’s not a weakness you know.”

Legend gives a derisive snort. “I don’t see how it couldn’t be.”

“You’re such a kind, sensitive soul,” his uncle told him once, fondness in his eyes. But kindness and sensitivity are blatant invitations for hurt. That much has been drilled into his skull.

For a long moment, there is only suffocating silence. Then, Sky scoots closer. He’s warm, far more than the dreary chill of the wind or the bone-aching wet hanging in the air and seeping into his tunic. Still, Legend stiffens.

“I know it feels that way sometimes,” the Skyloftian continues. “But it’s what makes us heroes.”

Legend side eyes him. ��Crying our eyes out makes us heroes?”

Sky chuckles. “Well, maybe not that specifically. You know what I mean, though.”

Legend sighs. He does, despite not really wanting to accept it.

“If only dealing with emotions was as easy as saving Hyrule,” he says, wryly, in a half-hearted attempt at bringing some humor into the conversation.

Sky’s face falls slightly. “Yeah…if only.” Then, he smiles, though it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Anyway, I guess the bunny form makes more sense now.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Legend snaps, sending him a scowl.

“It’s just like the rancher said, you’ve got a soft, little bunny heart.”

“Hey, now! You’ve got no right!”

Sky laughs, completely unperturbed by Legend’s pout. And even the veteran has to admit the sound makes the air feel lighter. At the very least, it’s better than the sound of sobs.

“Oh!” The Skyloftian suddenly jolts, reaching into his pouch. “That reminds me. I have something for you.” He presses a small, wrapped object into Legend’s palm. “I’ve been meaning to give it to you, but I couldn’t find a good time. I guess now is as good as ever.”

Legend peers down at it, curiosity peeking. But before he can begin freeing it from the handkerchief that envelopes it, Sky rises.

“Well, I’m gonna head back. Open that whenever you want to. There’s no rush.”

“Okay,” Legend replies, slowly. He watches with narrowed eyes as the Skyloftian turns and starts in the opposite direction. If he wasn’t suspicious before, he certainly is now.

Nevertheless, he makes himself wait until Sky is out of sight to peel away the wrapping. And then he freezes, breath catching at the sight within.

It’s a tiny, ornate carving of a rabbit.

It stands on its hind legs, so alert and lifelike Legend half expects to see it twitch its nose. Gently, almost cautiously, he runs a finger over its little head, feeling the smoothness of the wood.

Something wet and warm drops onto the back of his hand, and he realizes with a streak of frustration that he’s crying again. Cursing Sky, he swipes at his eyes. There’s no stopping it now that it’s begun, however. In the end, he’s forced to let the sobs rip through him.

And as the tears pour down faster than he can wipe them away, he closes his fist around the precious object and clutches it to his chest.

[sonicasura]

Man or MAG: Main Route

Here is the MAG section of our species swap with everyone's favorite himbo! This is the main route as Mina's path will have her own post. Kafka ain't gonna have fun either way that's for sure. Warning this does get a bit dark with mentions to inhuman experimentation and PTSD. Let's get started.

Kafka is 24 years old when he fails his latest attempt at the Entrance Exams. The day has already been terrible for him personally. He didn't make it through the first part, the company van gotten wrecked so he had to walk, and it was raining like hell.

Kafka was about to walk home when a mysterious man approaches him. The guy explains that he's with a side branch for the Defense Force who focus on dropouts. He heard about Kafka's recent failure and offered him another shot through a special program.

A deal that honestly sounded too good to be true. Yet, the last promise Kafka had made to his childhood friend would do him in. He takes the offer and meets the man at an agreed upon location tomorrow. This was the last day Kafka would be seen by anyone.

In reality his 'provider' actually worked in a shadowy organization with links to the black market. Due to the rise in kaiju attacks, high paying officials wanted special 'guards' to protect their assets. Individuals with the kind of power only seen by the Defense Force.

Thus they delved into experimentation involving kaiju DNA in what would be known as Project MAGNUS. Super soldiers with increased size, enhanced strength, heightened aggression but also made to follow orders by their select 'handlers.' Kafka had become their latest test subject and they aimed to break all of him.

He would undergo grueling experiments as his genetic code is shattered n stitched together like clockwork. These high stressed tests were made with the purpose of triggering the kaiju DNA inside Kafka to activate. Only then would he be ready for 'reprogramming'. It took 6 months for the man's kaiju side to activate.

Kafka would skyrocket to 15'6 in size with his muscle density doubling in the process, dark grey scales swiftly covered his arms/legs/sides of his face/torso sides, teeth growing into fangs so large they overtook his cheeks to form a massive mouth(like his kaiju), a large black scaled tail came out his lower back, twin white long horns burst from his forehead and eyes became blood red slits.

The newly made MAG would go on a vicious rampage. Kakfa brutally kills everyone inside the building he been imprisoned within as all were guilty. He is soon found by Toku, his fellow Monster Sweeper, within an alley. (There was a corpse cleanup nearby where the MAG ran off to afterwards.)

The man quickly recognizes his missing coworker and decides to help Kafka. You can say the Sweepers become very protective of their transformed coworker. Everyone pitched in to find Kafka a safe, comfortable place to call home and help him feel like a person than just survive.

Sometimes the MAG's aggressive nature would come to the surface so his sweepers find kaiju for him to fight. If the Defense Force get too close, then they send a signal out for Kafka to run. There have been a few sightings of the MAG but not enough for him to land on the DF's radar fully.

It would remain like that for years until Reno joins the Sweepers. The young man immediately felt something was off when he was assigned to this particular crew. Like something is watching him with sheer curiosity. It didn't help that his coworkers would ignore sudden discrepancies on the corpses they work on. (Power tools don't leave behind bite marks.)

He uncovers the truth when Kafka is forced to save Reno from the spider Yoju. Things only escalate further as the MAG would find his nest been invaded by a particular tiny Kaiju. One that triggers a panic within him upon the words 'Found You' before shoving itself down his throat.

Kafka reacted much more violently with this forced transformation due to PTSD wrought from the experiments. The new No.8 stands around 23'4 in size, his lower arms/lower legs/jagged back spikes/horn tips now a blood red, has an extra pair of smaller arms underneath his main pair, four horns with a smaller pair in front of the main, mouth reached half way down his neck, and large obsidian batlike wings bearing torn red membrane. Reno immediately called the Sweepers as he seriously needs help to look for the now runaway Kafka.

They would find the upgraded MAG getting soothed by Ami(the little girl) and her concerned mother(Futaba). Interestingly, Kafka's red highlights had turned a soft blueish green as both recounted how he not only saved them from the Spider Yoju but healed the mom with his scales. Whatever had altered his form somehow stabilize the man's unstable DNA.

This becoming more apparent as Kafka suddenly shrinks to a more humanlike state. (He's around 6'8 but still have some monstrous features like small horns, short tail, faded scale 'patterns', and sharp claws.) Kafka will now change forms depending on his mood with content/relaxed leading to his smaller humanoid version.

The kaiju inside him seems to be responding to the MAG's innate desire to keep his humanity. Maybe it could turn Kafka back to the way he was before. Or at least make this monstrous side more manageable.

Although the Monster Sweepers will have to be careful. Kafka has fully landed himself in the Defense Force's radar but more unstable sources shall make themselves known. Whether he can be a man or become a monster only gotten a lot harder than just dangerous.

That's all I have at the moment. For now, enjoy a song that came to mind involving our himbo in general: Monster by Fight The Fade.

[sweetiebriar]

As someone very smart once said: "I try to stay away from a lot of fandom discourse, but since I’ve been seeing this on my dash again and in tags, I feel the need to make a statement on this, particularly for any young fans who follow me that might get drawn into this mindset."

First off, it's worth clarifying that Ramesses IS indeed a genuine ending LI. Remy simply mentioned that, being a later addition due to fan demand, his route might have slightly less screen time – which makes sense.

Now, there's been chatter about Livius hogging the spotlight in Season 2, leaving fans of other LIs like Amen, Agnia, Ramesses, or even Set feeling a bit overlooked. But let's break it down logically:

Given Eva's current priorities of survival, settling her debt to Set, and unravelling the mystery of Isman, it's only natural for her to interact more with Set and Livius, her available allies. This isn't about Remy playing favourites; it's just the storyline unfolding organically.

With Amen posing a significant threat to Eva's safety (antagonist of the story, let me remind you), it's understandable that she's focused on dealing with him rather than indulging in romance.

As for Ramesses, his absence in Season 2 stems from his need to flee danger both from the Hunters and his brother Renmao. It's a waiting game until Eva can reunite with him as promised (and I romance him too, I know how excruciating this waiting can be).

I don’t have anything concrete to say about Agnia because, no offence to her followers, but I think her role in the story is a bit shallow and serves no purpose except being the LGBTQ+ LI (like Lima in KCOD, which is truly sad…). However, Agnia's role may seem limited at first glance, but recent developments reveal her as a formidable adversary to Eva. Her storyline mirrors Amen's, with Eva needing to tackle immediate challenges before considering romance.

As for Remy's reputation, while she may be a controversial figure, her storytelling prowess is undeniable. Her stories are always complete, with choices that truly matter. All routes a player can take thoughtfully lead to a specific outcome. I remember being so impressed reading Kali and finding out how many freaking endings there were not only based on your LI but also the path you were on, whether it was Loyalty/Independence BUT ALSO Rage/Kindness of Goddess as well as Respect. All your stats count in Remy's stories, and that's what makes her works so popular, so can we please give her some leeway here? You don't have to like the person she is, but at least her commitment to crafting immersive stories deserves some recognition.

Apologies for the long-winded explanation, and thanks for sticking with me till the end 🫶🏻.

[naviculariis]

Okay so. Serious post time. I'm gonna put this entire thing under a cut, but I'm also gonna post some TWs here: medical malpractice, uncertain diagnoses, family trauma / drama, grief, anxiety rambles???

But I am gonna take like. A semi-hiatus, just so I can catch up on what I owe.

I haven't talked about this over here, or on Tumblr in general. Only one person who follows me here knows about this bc we're friends on another platform.

So.

Y'all have noticed, my days don't follow a set schedule. I've been unemployed since my campus suddenly closed with very little warning back in '22. Immediately after that closing, we took a small trip to MS to be with family for Christmas, and that trip was... Bad. And on the 1st of last year, I had an accident- i was taking down Christmas lights and fell and busted open my head. I had an untreated, late diagnosed concussion thar no one really... followed up on, and have had slight memory loss even now from it.

So I couldn't work until my head healed up from that.

But that's not the medical thing. That is my mother. In October 2021, my mother went in for a routine stint placement that resulted in loss of almost total blood flow to her left leg for 36 hours. They almost had to amputate, she almost died on the table twice, she was hospitalized for a year. ( we've tried the legal route, but because the doctor never admitted fault on paper, he cannot be held liable & suing hospitals is... Difficult. Even though she has permanent damage, can no longer feel anything below the knee, and has to wear a brace to walk. ) My mother already had a weak heart to begin with due to years of smoking + cardiac disease. This was the first nail, essentially. This damaged her heart... a lot.

Back to the concussion. 4 days after my concussion, she had a massive heart attack that nearly killed her. She flatlined twice on the table. It was after this that we got confirmation that she is in congestive heart failure. My grandfather died from it. It's

... It's hard. We don't know which stage she's in because her cardiologist won't tell us, but we think she's in stage 2, or maybe 3. We don't know. But because of this, I am the one who takes care of 95% of everything around the house & outside. I do lawncare, I do the planting, I do the garden. She can do a lot, still, but when her heart gets going- it's painful. So I've been her caretaker since 2021 when the initial accident happened.

My grandmother is nearly 90 and has... Many health problems but somehow is also doing better than most folks I know. She's a mystery. And my aunt had a double knee surgery but somethings wrong with her knees, and they think the surgeries rejected, so she can't get around well or drive longer than an hour away. My grandmother no longer drives & isn't renewing her license. My mother can drive, but we don't want her to unless ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY.

So I'm the only one who can drive them around.

I have my own medical issues [ anxiety, depression, type 1 diabetes, cracked tailbone that never got treatment & is giving me hell for that- ]

So. Basically. A lot of my time isn't my time. And when I do have free time, I do try to write and chat as much as I can. At night, after I get mom to bed, I call my partner warner and we get a few hours together and then we have to go to sleep bc we're in a ldr & their timezone is an hour ahead of mine.

... I'm rambling.

It's just. It's hard sometimes. And a lot of the time I sort of sit on my back porch and cry because I'm doing this- physically- alone. Literally everyone else is 4+ hours away across the state. Or 9 hours south on the Gulf Coast, or 7 hours south in Louisiana.

I do try to stay on top of things the best I can, I really really do, but things slip through my fingers. I'm gonna try my best to get all caught up over this coming week, I think. But if my responses are delayed for threads, for discord messages- chances are, I'm busy with one of my lil ol' ladies.

On top of all of this, I live in a town of less than 900, the nearest city is 45 minutes in any direction, and the nearest BIG city is 2+ hours in any direction. Finding a job that isn't in Healthcare is impossible. And I have nothing against those who are in healthcare- I applaud you. But all of my trauma can be tied back to hospital ERs and any time I step foot into a hospital, I immediately have anxiety & can only hear the night we learned about my dad. So I physically cannot force myself to go into that field.

Which is... a whole other thing, this is getting too long. But I've been searching for a job for the past year and a half, have had 5 interviews, each one ended with "thanks for interviewing! However,". It's hard.

So I just.

My plate is a lil bit full. But I love writing. I love the rpc. It'sa comfort and a joy and I love meeting new friends and making new connections and I want to do this as long as I can but sometimes things get a little slow. That's all.

... anyways yeah. Semi hiatus. Cool.

[kaistrashbin]

Of course I'm doing good, I get to talk to you after all <3

But! I have a question for you :)

What's your favorite thing about Donna?

-Valentines anon

Daaayummm, that was a good line LOL got me there XDD

Favorite thing about Donna though! That's a very good question, I really can't pick because I deeply love all of her and think every aspect of Donna ties together wonderfully to create a very interesting character that just appeals more to me personally. Though, if I have to answer, I'd say that it's her personality! Sure, most of it comes from fan interpretation BUT, I just love it as well as that the mainly softer and more timid self she mainly shows (and ofc along with the darker, unhinged, etc. side 💕) feels more natural for her because of her in-game behavior. To me at least!!

More in depth under the cut!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Before we get into this, everything down here is written from my memory of RE8 and Resident Lover. Just in case anything is a bit inaccurate or incorrect

We can't forget that in-game she was the impressive mastermind of a terrifying labrynth, and the hallucinations she used to mess with Ethan's mind to draw him further into the "game" were very interesting as well as scary. I've heard from others, and I myself agree that Donna's house is the scariest part of RE8. She herself may appear to be a very timid, mysterious and grief-stricken woman but she is very smart (Miranda's notes of her being "mentally underdeveloped" are likely due to things like mental illnesses she may have, or if she is neurodivergent. We don't know because it doesn't say but clearly she can be a very capable individual, even if she wasn't to Miranda's standards...which were really just trying to get as close to "perfection" as possible. Not even Miranda's more "favored" children were good enough for her true purpose. Just good pawns and fodder). It's clear she knew what she was doing and regardless of why (whether it's because she wanted to toy with Ethan or simply out of desperation to follow orders and either keep him there or kill him), she was definitely creative, calculated, and targeted deeply personal things about Ethan (that being his wife Mia and him being a father).

But just looking at her and reading up on her (as well as listening to her only voice line- which I'm still sad about), you can see she's very mysterious and reserved. Angie is quite literally the most "personality" anyone sees in comparison to what Donna brings. I love that it leaves so much room for you to mess around with things but also that through so little you can really see a lot at the same time.

The fan game Resident Lover especially had me falling in love with Donna lmfaoo. She's just so sweet and shy and jumpy. <3 But then you can clearly see multiple times that she's not some helpless thing. She can and will take charge and be serious (and even dangerous/frightening) when she needs to (this is also shown in other routes). And then when her and MC get together, she's just constantly showering them in love and affection and id be lying if I said I didn't absolutely adore that XDDD I think Resident Lover did a good job of making Donna feel like well...Donna! While also adding to her.

Honestly I like most interpretations of Donna, especially when they incorporate all those different aspects. 😄😄

[deltaswapjevil]

Deltarune The Other Puppet Take

Krizriel is a fusion of Kris and Asriel like Spamton is a fusion of Spam and Mettaton. They were the protagonist of an old PC game called Dragon Slayers but the game started to get really buggy and annoying almost like the player character was resisting inputs and the game faded to obscurity. Why'd this happen? Well Krizriel met a mysterious person who showed them the futility of their life. Forced to play out a game the way someone else wants to. Never following the route they want to. So they started trying to resist the players controls but even after people stopped playing the game they still feel something is controlling them from somewhere just out of their reach...they want you...no they need you to...TAKE THEIR SOUL

Suzilla was an old classroom plush that was very well loved by the children and began to deteriorate until it was simply discarded to the closest since it was leaking stuffing everywhere and beyond repair. She became a bully of the closet so she all the other closet people abandoned her (were put into boxes for clean out but she was too big) leaving her all alone. She then met a mysterious stranger who told her she was now free to be herself without worry of judgement because she's now all alone. She has grown lonely however and waits for someone to join her in her freedom where she built a colosseum for battle to THRASH YOUR ASS!!!

I might tweek the back stories a bit to focus on not wanting to be forgotten rather than wanting to be free as the secret boss freedom let Motif is swapped with Don't Forget