#like i understand why because branching paths and etc.

[aparticularbandit]

Okay. Gonna make a small complaint here. But like - one of things I really don't like in games is when they give me a choice that isn't a choice. Like, I'm used to it in Pokemon, cool, great, whatever.

But like. When you give me a choice to tell Kirigiri about Sakura or not. I expect to be allowed to tell her when I want to tell her. Instead of being given the exact same dialogue Makoto gave me before I clicked Tell her. Like - even Pokemon usually gives me different flavor text when I pick the answer it doesn't want me to pick.

C'mon, Danganronpa.

If it isn't a choice and there's not any additional info for picking the wrong choice in this situation, then don't give me the choice. It's frustrating either way.

[blood-orange-juice]

Ok, Childe as a wuxia/xianxia trope. It's honestly a bit embarrassing how well this fits.

(blame @a-yarn-of-purple-prose for this post and if anyone here is a wuxia fan feel free to correct me, I'm new to the genre)

Wuxia is a Chinese martial arts fantasy genre you are all familiar with. An adjacent genre is called xianxia, "immortal heroes", it ramps all the fantasy elements up to eleven and skews tropes a bit (we'll get back to that).

A common trope is some kind of unorthodox school/sect or technique, allowing to achieve greater power without the usual decades of training. It could be straight-out evil or just revolving around chaos.

Such a martial school is usually called an evil/demonic sect (sect is more like a clan in that setting, not the modern concept of sect) and their techniques tend to drive practitioners to insanity. Either because they are inherently corrupting or because getting too much power without growing as a person is really not the best thing for your mental health. They are also often cast from hp points.

And then there's the archetype of a demonic sect heir. The best pupil or simply someone who has inherited a lost art. Proud, always greedy for more strength, often noble in some weird way.

*points to our calamity of a boy*

Common elements of such stories include:

Falling into some weird realm or meeting a weird person who teaches the hero a Forbidden Technique

Learning a technique too quickly through some sort of magic/alchemy/memory manipulation

Some people are so singular in their pursuit they become insane (走火入魔)

Ambition bad, loyalty and family good

Conflicting loyalties, generally a conflict between a chosen path and personal weaknesses/attachments (could be both ego and familal love, and this is more of a xianxia trope)

Fits like a horoscope so far but wait.

There's a very interesting case of Korean murim genre (their version of wuxia) where sects are less varied (I recommend this post for a basic introduction) and we get three paths:

Justice/Righteous/Orthodox/Light — theoretically they keep the Evil Faction at bay, and protect innocent people, but usually are corrupt to the core

Evil/Unorthodox/Dark — these try gaining as much power as possible and attempt ruling the whole world

Demonic Cult — usually dont take part in evil and justice battles, follow their own code of conduct based on their religion, value strength above all else.

(I'm sure there's a similar distinction in wuxia too, I just can't find it in the deluge of lore)

"Demonic" is closer to "pagan" or "heathen" than Christian idea of demonic here, their beliefs are often based on Zoroastrianism and worshipping a sacred flame. Do you remember all the Persian themes used for Khaenri'ah? And Surtalogi being the flame on Surtr's sword in Norse mythology. I also had the impression that Genshin gnostic references are based on the Zoroastrian-flavoured branch of Gnosticism.

In murim the trope of demonic sect heir is called "heavenly demon" (I believe, a more correct translation would be "supreme heathen"), they are utterly badass, live for the glory of battle, seem more like forces of nature and follow a very strict honour code often conflicting with normal human ethics.

(do I need to spell it out)

TvTropes also says this about Korean stories:

(do I need to spell it out pt.2)

I'm not sure why a Chinese studio would focus on the Korean version of this trope but I'm sure something like this exists in China as well or maybe there's a popular manhwa that inspired authors.

Xianxia extends the fantastic element further, focusing on Taoist concepts and practices and adding all kinds of magical realms (celestial, demonic, etc) and magical beings and making immortality achievable. I still need to read more about it but if I understand that right, demonic heir trope turns into a demon prince in this case. An actual visitor from the demon realm or a practitioner who achieved immortality through dubious means.

These are fae-coded in a way very similar to Childe and have a certain nonchalance towards things most humans would consider traumatic. They are simply not bothered by them, having a different set of morals or faring from a realm that is much worse.

Our boy isn't that (he's still very much human) but he's aesthetically coded like one, same as Scaramouche is yokai-coded, despite not being a yokai.

So. When people say Childe's arc is a reference to Journey to the West, it's not entirely untrue, JttW is the classic of xianxia genre and Childe does belong to the same genre. He, however, is not Sun Wukong but a different, darker trope.

This also explains why he has that "shonen anime protag but not quite" vibe. Shonen was heavily influenced by wuxia but this trope never quite made it to anime or maybe never became popular enough. It's not a deconstruction, it's a different story. Or perhaps a deconstruction of that different story.

[layzeal]

Hi! I have a mdzs question and I figure you are most likely to know the answer. In the scene where wwx and lwj are interrogating nhs about the stone castles, wwx mentions that the Nie's method of cultivation seems to deviate from the standard cultivation path. In the 7seas English edition, he says that it's "hitting a bit close to the demonic cultivation path." My question is, does he actually refer to it as "demonic cultivation"? It does make more sense in this context, but I know 7seas has a habit of mistranslating ghostly cultivation to demonic cultivation. Thank you very much for your time reading this!

Hi!! Sorry for the delay in replying. So, short answer is YES, he does refer to "demonic cultivation" (魔歪道 as written in the text), but he is not comparing it to his own cultivation (ghost cultivation, 鬼道).

Now, every xianxia novel will have its own worldbuilding and set of rules, even if they're all taking inspiration from existing tropes. Guidao, for example, while in MDZS is considered immoral by some, it still does not harm or make use of living human souls and lives, and so in MDZS's setting it is not considered actual modao (though whether or not one thinks it's moral or ethical or whatever it doesn't matter here!! we're just talking semantics), meanwhile in Liu Yao by Priest, ghost cultivation (as written there) is not only considered a branch of modao, but is seen as THE most evil and immoral type you could possibly use, because not only you're using human souls, you're imprisoning and enslaving them even after death.

@qourmet actually mentioned on twt a while ago that one close example of real demonic cultivation you can think of in MDZS are the mind-controlling nails they put into Song Land and Wen Ning, though even that's questionable considering they weren't actual alive. Xue Yang and JGY's human experiments (ie. living corpses) also come close. So in A GENERAL SENSE demonic cultivation refers to anything that makes use of and harms living humans in order to empower the cultivator, either by stealing the victim's cultivation/spiritual power, controlling them, forcing them to do things against their will, etc etc etccccccc

This is all just context to understand why WWX makes the little accusation that he did

(ch 6, 7seas)

so you can see there's nothing actually wrong with the translation in this part itself, because in this instance, "demonic cultivation" (or demonic crooked path, as directly translated) is actually being said (as it was in many other instances, like the prologue chapter where ppl talk abt wwx's death, or when jc finds the leaf doll on jin ling's back)

the only problem is that in later parts of the story, 鬼道, which is an entirely different term, is given the same translation as the former, which may cause confusion, and was a mistake also present in the original ExR translation that we all hoped would be fixed in an official one (but didn't </3). whether or not guidao counts as demonic cultivation or is evil or whatever doesn't matter here, but i only wish that the different terms had been translated as different words, so the reader could come to their own conclusion on the matter by themselves

so yeah! hope that was helpful

[crossovershipsandedits]

Please consider looking to see if characters have a canon orientation (like lesbian or gay man) before posting ships of them.

Hello! I hope you're having a wonderful day~

To address this ask, I first pose a question myself; Why?

The point of shipping, or really any fan creation, is to show your love and support for media/a character by expressing yourself, your thoughts and your theories/headcanon's through your work. The reason a lot of characters are loveable and popular is because they are fully capable of allowing fans to see themselves in them and see their versions without destroying the canon.

For example; If we look at Zoro from One Piece. As far as we're aware, bro has little to no romantic inclination. And yet his top ship is with another man on the crew, who happens to be woman loving Sanji. But it isn't something that feels wrong or out of place, because the ambiguity is there and their relationship is prebuilt, fans just need to figure out how it moves to romantic. The ability to see past the initial "Oh, Sanji loves women" and see the potential branches for this path. Yes, it's probably canon he legit loves women like that, but it could also be a trauma reaction based on his back story. Or it could ALSO be possible that he's bi/pan/etc

In short; Just because someone is shown a certain way, doesn't mean that's the only option. As fans we have the freedom to conjure up theories and beliefs based on the information presented to us.

Another good example would be Naruto. He's married to a woman, and yet it's still VERY much suggested that he loves Sasuke the same way. There is no "definite" answer. Assuming there is purely because of the canon relationships is a little closed minded in my opinion.

AND, even if it is stated, people change. We weren't born thinking "Oh heck yeah, dong". We develop our tastes as we grow and learn and experience new things. A great example would be Deadpool for this. He starts off in love with a woman (I'm speaking film wise by the way) and continues to love her, but very much over the course of their relationship begins to experiment and opens up that door for himself. Some people need to find the right person that makes them question themselves before they can confirm anything. Or, on the flip side, they need to see a lot of potential and not react lovingly/sexually to them in order to put the pieces together for aro/ace.

Life is a mystery bag of tags and labels that we as humans made to understand things better, and that's ok. Be who you are and love what/who you love. Be YOU

Anyway, I think I went a bit off tangent haha XD All I'm trying to say is, doors aren't entirely shut because of one thing or another. Fans can and will continue to express themselves and their thoughts through their loved characters, and that's ok. It's healthy even! I know people who use characters to test the waters for themselves because it can't hurt the people around them. It's harmless. A bit of fun, if you will.

I will always say this to these kinds of comments, ones where you should ask yourself "why am I bothering to send this?".

It is easier to keep scrolling past something you don't like, then drawing attention to it, and yourself, by commenting something that could hurt or upset an innocent person, and honestly makes you look like a silly grumpy guts :)

Keep sailing guys, gals and non-binary pals!!

[hedgiwithapen]

This is an odd one but Cisco as The Flash for AU headcanons?👀

I think I've read a fic with that premise (I know I have, I just. cannot recall Details like. title or writer.) So if I Plagiarize that fic by mistake please no one yell at me ok? ok. 1. now this IS partially from the fic I think, i'm already being a criminal, but like. it was still Nora Allen who died, not Ms Ramon (who I have named Pilar and no comics contradict me so!) and Eobard is very like. well shit, gotta adjust the Plans. on the one hand, can kill barry whenever, don't need him, but on the other hand what if I do? what if he also becomes the flash at the correct time for him, and this thing with Cisco doesn't work out and then I am stuck? bro's playing 5d chess against himself and it's not helping. so barry lives, for now, and Dante sits in an ugly plastic chair waiting for cisco to wake up. 2 I think for Cisco to get struck by the lightning it goes like this. Ronnie and Cisco both go into the accelerator. Two of us can get the vents (or whatever Ronnie was doing faster than one.) and the thing is it almost works. it almost works. almost is never enough. someone-- maybe hartley, in this au, maybe a distraught caitlin, closes the door at the 2 minute mark. all that energy goes up and out-- and the lightning bolt strikes into the heart of star labs along that same path. when the fema crews etc go shifting through, they find no sign of Ronnie--firestorm-- and Cisco, lightning scars branching down his body, comatose. 3. Cisco picks his name right off the bat. Barry starts writing about him-- and not very positively (barry had the blog in e1 and the writers forgot but I did not) because he what if that's the guy who killed my mom?? Joe, Joe /look/. And Cisco is a little offended! goes to confront Barry (who tries and fails to hit him with the CCPD's second shittiest microscope) and goes hey, could you not?? first " the man in the lightning " is a damn mouthful, I'd rather something like, i dunno, Sonic Boom, or The Flash, and furthermore I was all of 8 years old when your mom died so uh stop it??? there is a very tense moment and then they're Friends Now. Cisco doesn't understand why Wells is so deeply against having a CCPD liason??? we need one? this guy already believes in the impossible and also someone killed his mom and we can help! what do you mean no ??? ok fiiiiine. 4. Eddie, not Joe, is the one who sees Cisco fight Mardon. Eddie is more than happy to be the new liason to star labs, this is Great!!! he can use this to win over Iris and Barry! (he has big crushes on them both. potentially he gets over these crushes and he dates Cisco, I think that'd be fun.) 5. Cisco obviously does not build the cold gun, so Snart never actually manages to steal anything in central city, but he sure does try! it really does not work out for him. kidnapping an engineer to build you a weapon would be one thing if you could. you know. hold on to said engineer. Cisco Simply Dips. 5, right? fuck it one more for funsies 6. while cisco's in the coma Caitlin keeps a tv going with every episode of Star Trek queued up. constant background noise. Dr. Wells can't decide if he's learned his lesson about fucking with time or if he's so sick of the music he's going to go back even further the second he gets a chance and make them compose something else.

[the-owl-tree]

PLEASE tear into moth flight's vision i am so interested in hearing ur thoughts about it

look at the time the fandom hyped up dotc so hard i got my hopes up and i vehemently hate this arc because of it. it is a hotbed of misogyny, ableism, shitty characters who are never portrayed to be wrong, abuse apologia, fatphobia, and did i mention the misogyny? like wow. they fucking hate women in this arc.

and i'll be honest when i went i first read moth flight's vision, i was already going in with a negative view because i hated dotc so fucking much...and i hated it! I ended up rereading it waaaaayy later and hated it AGAIN i have no clue why people put this arc or era on such a pedestal it sucked ass so bad. i want a written apology and financial compensation from the erins after i read it.

i know im being like a little dramatic but listen to me. i need everyone to hate this arc as much as i do.

Moth Flight's super edition is a mess of ideas, half-baked executions, and honestly...just bad? It doesn't convince the reader why a cat would be pushed to do this. Everything that goes wrong is because a) Moth Flight doesn't ask for help and b) Skystar, despite being redeemed, is a continuous antagonist that fucks over anyone for the sake of the plot.

The book is so afraid of having to deal with an actual redemption that Skystar is allowed to be the reason why Micah and Tiny Branch are killed yet the narrative refuses to foist any responsibility onto him. He's not allowed to be a villain, he's just there to service the plot then walk away scot free. Why? Why am I reading this??? What is the point of 6 books of this guy being an arrogant bloody dick with a half-baked redemption only for him to saunter out to cause problems with the books need it and don't even bother with sticking to him being an antagonist?! Anytime he's on screen I'm begging for someone to kill his ass already, I don't understand why the narratives tries to also push the blame on Moth Flight.

....speaking of her, her entire conflict doesn't work. Look, the idea of an individual problem leading to an entire societal wide change that cause more problems than it solves is interesting but the book doesn't sell it! The Clans are communal, she has tons of options in asking for help. The narrative is constantly patting my back saying see? see? she can't do it therefore it makes sense why she thinks no one can do it. It's an entire book of "how can a WOMAN raise her CHILDREN without her MAN" and the answer it gives us is: she can't :'( and by the end of the book i feel like i've been spit at. There's an overwhelming sense of disdain towards parents who ask for help (how Moth Flight treats Slate is cruel) and all of it is presented as in the right because the entire thesis is that despite living in a literal communal society where there's an entire rank dedicated to looking after children, single parents (read: mothers) are unable to look after children without a partner (read: the husband).

There's nothing wrong with a law being cruel or unfair, it actually adds to the story! It makes things interesting! But her entire story doesn't sell me on why the law was made, it makes me think more and more that the erins are really fucking weird about women (which has been made even more clear by that shitty kits & queens article no i will not let that go). But Moth Flight's conflict sucks ass, I don't buy it, and I feel I'm being shown one thing and told another.

I especially don't get why they didn't go with the obvious reason of having it be for superstitious/religious reasons (this shit is already so catholic, just go even further into the nun thing). Like, okay, here's my pitch of the law: kittens of medics are thought to be more at risk of curses/sickness/etc. Having it so Moth Flight's children share the same fate as other characters who are born to Medics: doomed to a life of suffering or go onto a path of destruction.

It wouldn't be true of course, the reason these children go off the rails is because the Clans expect them to but it would still be interesting!!

and that is my rant on this shitty super edition, thank you for asking :D

[luci-in-trenchcoats]

Good evening,

Just popping in to say hi and check in on how you are doing? I’m really enjoying the pieces you have put forth for your febuwhump! There are all so good and leaving me wanting more and imagining what would happen next. I’m also loving how each piece features a different character I.e Dean, Jensen , or Beau. And especially Beau since we got to see so little of him so I’m enjoying all fics that expand on his character.

Couple of questions.

When ideas spark for a new fic with no specific character in mind. You know you want your reader to be this and dealing with that and have X Y Z happen but it doesn’t matter who is the character, my question is how do you pick. As in how do you decided to make it a Dean, AU Dean, Sam, Soilder boy etc? Do you just choose your favorite or brainstorm the world you want it happen in and then think the idea would fit if better if it was in a world with powers or spn-verse? (I hope that made sense)

Also who is your favorite non Jensen character to write for?

Lastly do you ever go back and just read your own fics for fun or simply to dive back in the world or are you the type of person who doesn’t like to read your own stuff? I find myself personally doing it a lot lately and it makes sense cause I wrote it bc I wanted it and was curious if others did the same.

Hope you are doing well. Thanks for everything!

Hi there! Things have been a little hectic lately! Overall things are good but work's been a wee bit nuts to put it mildly. I've been working late most nights this year (and last) but my boss told me to leave early today which was a win!

The febuwhump drabbles have been fun to work on! They're definitely snapshots in time that could easily keep going. There's one in particular that's not out yet that I think could draw a lot of interest for more 👀 I'm glad I'm able to jump around with the characters! It makes things a little harder which is a good thing to me since it makes me think.

For your first question of how I pick characters for stories, I try to let the plot drive the decision. If it's set in the SPN world, in cannon where the boys are hunters, I generally go with Dean because he's my favorite but also because I feel like I can write him better than say Sam. Now say it was a story about a superhero. Well let's say I've got AU Dean, AU Jensen and Soldier Boy as my options. Do I want the hero to be dark? Vulgar? Sensitive? Rich? Poor? How do I want the relationship with the reader to develop? Short answer is I ask myself a lot of questions in a short amount of time and branch down whatever path I think makes most sense. Sometimes where it really could be anyone, if I'm leaning towards someone in particular I'll pick them, or if I haven't written for them lately it'll go to them. It's a complicated answer but it really does change depending on the story!

Favorite non-Jensen character in the fanfic world to write for is Benny and Michael (I'm going to consider him separate even though he's Michael!Dean). Benny's one of my favorite side characters to throw into AU's you might notice. He's easily a good fit for a best friend character but has a certain...roughness to him that compliments Dean if that makes sense. If they do more SPN, I demand more Benny lol. As for Michael, I think he's a truly complicated character that is capable of both good and evil. When I wrote Wicked Game that was a big risk since it's a story focused so much on Michael. A reader is absent for a significant part of it even. But I just find the concept of the villain having a soft side so much fun (and writing that dark side too).

I do read my own stuff! Generally I do this with series more than one shots or imagines but I have my favorites I revisit with those too. I think all writers should re-read their stuff for fun. There's so much that's freeing when you're not being critical of the work but just enjoying it and it really helps you understand why readers might love something you think is awful. One of my favorite things is to see someone like or reblog a fic in my activity feed and then I get reacquainted with a story I completely forgot about! You're definitely not alone in re-reading!

I hope you're doing good and have a great day!

[neutrallyobsessed]

òwô what's this?? some info dumping bout my ttte stand user au?

....or stand au, cause the humanized versions are the stands but that's besides the point buT YEAHHH not everything is complete, but that's the fun about it, i just want you to read some of my thought process and maybe you can help me fill some blanks x3

General Info About The Stands:

The locomotives and other vehicles are alive! i don't know why (yet?), so moving on. All of them can manifest a human form called Stand, they are shaped like that because engines always think on what could be the most useful. Engines and Stands co-exist so we can have double the blorbos! Two of Them™ :D! They work togheter and are either a good moral compass that helps their desicion making for what would be best or enablers agents of chaos, it depends of the mood, circumstances, if they've been bothered by another engine, etc.

Stands may look human but they're definitely not humans. The grey skin is the first giveaway; then there's the fact that they can hover, basically float like a couple of cms off the air and be (almost) as fast (also strong) as their locomotive counterparts so they can follow them as they steam along the railway~. Tho they usually just sit on the boiler, another thing a human couldn't do, plus they control their tangibility at will, so waist-down can be tangible to sit on top of the train while leaving the rest of the body untangible thus unnaffected by the wind caused by the high speeds.

I'm not thinking too deeply about their digestive systems but they can eat pretty much everything... as long as it can be easily destroyed by fire. So apart from being able to consume their fuel by mouth they can enjoy "human food" if they so desire. Among... other things.

I haven't decided on distance ranges but they do differ depending on the type of ability or lack thereof

「STAND MASTER」: Thomas

「STAND NAME」: Ride The Blue Limbo

Ability: Shadow Travelling. He can enter a shadow and come out of a different one. He's invisible and bidimensional during the travelling but one can see the movement around, like if he is going through a path with rocks you'd see the rocks moving, just not who is moving them.

「STAND MASTER」: Edward

He doesn't have an ability besides the human form, but some people say that its a lack of aging. Will expand on the character sheet coming this millenium A

「STAND MASTER」: Henry

「STAND NAME」: Niwashi King

Ability: Botanokinesis. Can creat and manipulate fertile soil and the plants that can grow out of it, including concrete. The speed on which the grow depends on the final size (ie. grass grows in an instant but a tree could only spark a small branch look in a minute).

「STAND MASTER」: Gordon

「STAND NAME」:

Ability: Fast Travelling. It kinda looks like teleportation, with the way he stands in one place and then he is 100mts away but it is just running/hovering really fast 'cause it can be caught on camera.

「STAND MASTER」: James

「STAND NAME」:

Ability: Red Glitter. He can produce glitter out of his hands which not only makes him sparkle and look even more dashing as he goes by but also can be a great distraction weapon. Imagine getting that shit in your eyes. Terrible! It dissapears after 30 mins.

「STAND MASTER」: Percy

「STAND NAME」: Fly Away

Ability: Flying. xd.

「STAND MASTER」: Toby

「STAND NAME」: Caramell (yes THAT Caramell xd)

Ability: Much like a cat, he can fit his body in very small things, as long as his head fits. Very flexible the old champ

「STAND MASTER」: Donald/Douglas

「STAND NAME」: [name of vinyl record] Side A/B

Ability: Foresight/Hindsight. Whoever is the funni one has the foresight of 10 seconds, so it's usually used like this. The sane one has the hindsight ability which is mostly him saying "you shouldn't have done that" ............ i don't know which is which i am a dissapointment to this fandom i'll try to do better ówò

「STAND MASTER」: Oliver

「STAND NAME」: Mr. Worldwide

Ability: Multilanguage understanding. Another fact of locomotives and stands is that since they don't have ears, spoken communication is done by feeling vibrations and lip-reading. So Oliver's ability consists in being able to understand the lip movements and vibrations of all other languages

「STAND MASTER」: Emily

「STAND NAME」: Plastic Beach

Ability: Circular Saws she can summon at will replacing her hands or feet. They have a radius of her forearms.

「STAND MASTER」: Nia

「STAND NAME」: Asheru MEGALOPOLIS PATROL HELL YEAH SOUL'D OUT IS FINALLY HERE GREATEST REFERENCE OF ALL TIME EVERYTHING CONNECTS OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ability: Creating chairs (one at a time) or any sitting furniture she can lift. They can be used for anything she wants, but they are usually used as throwing weapons

____

aaaand that's all i have for the moment. like,, i do have some other design for other characters but when it comes to their abilties, that's about it, anyways thanks for reading and i'll be listening to your song recs (and they better be good because i am extremely picky and super annoying about music, i love and hate everything at the same time, you could say im a neutral extremist :v)

[sansiecle]

TWINS have a mutually recognised depth/ quality of connection that’s undefined by logic, reason, or human understanding (see quantum entanglement theory). TWINS don’t look for a twin flame, that’s a mental construct. Their physical meeting is divinely orchestrated and when this happens, they don’t ask themselves “Is he/she my twin flame”? They simply acknowledge the POWER of a connection that’s unlike anything they’ve ever known, and move forward with it!

The TWIN FLAME JOURNEY shatters your paradigm, questions your sanity, questions your reality and the nature of relationships as you’ve come to know them. Why? Because LOVE between twins isn’t determined by your conditions for what love is or how it should look like. Even when you want it to end so you can go back to living a “normal” life! It doesn’t work like that for twin flames. You know how your alarm goes off in the morning but you just want to sleep some more? Your twin flame is your alarm. Your divine AWAKENING into the true nature of your ONE SOUL! This is not to be understood which is why no one will understand you. This is a journey to be lived, experienced, and integrated!

Twins share an identical CORE ENERGY and VIBRATIONAL SIGNATURE that’s determined by the blueprint of their light codes. SOUL MATES share a similar CORE ENERGY that compliments each other at best! We can have many soul mates. We only have one twin flame. SOUL MATES are branches with whom we share roots. Twins don’t share the same roots. They ARE the ONE root!

The question of twin flame/soul mate SIGNS becomes less important as you commit to walking YOUR SOUL JOURNEY. Inside you’ll discover all the lessons, and receive all the gifts that are part of the mission you are on. EVERY interaction will serve as a SIGN because ultimately everything is a mirror. The more connected you are to your soul, the more guidance is available for you! You will attract SOUL BASED relationships, and learn to discern the fabric of each particular one.

Here are a few SIGNS/ DISCERNMENTS I have to reflect upon through my journey;

SOUL MATE:

shares common ground of some sort & can share a strong physical/sexual attraction

compliments each other on their soul path/ collective mission

Assigns roles to play for one another for the purpose of growth and specific lessons

can come from many forms- friendships, romantic, business partnerships, etc

can be compatible life partners but equally can cut chords if the relationship ends. Its painful but you learn to move on.

TWIN FLAME:

An activation of a souls core energy on every sphere/ plane of existence (multi dimensional)

An initiation into oneness with you and your soul. Ascension process MUST takes place some time after TF activation

Defies the parameters and paradigm of a traditional relationships ( cannot be understood from the outside looking in)

Beyond the purpose of procreation (even if you do have children together)

Cannot cut chords as you’re connected through the one chord and travel back to source in unison.

A twin flame sounds like a romantic concept marked by undying love! That’s until you realise YOU are the one that dies on this journey back to your original self!

I am by no means an authority on this subject, but I hope my perspective helps! 🙏

[yakourinka]

You know,

For all that

I am more curious about WHY IL Dan Heng would turn Blade into an Unauthorized Immortal. Because my views on immortality is I would pass on it every single time. Because no matter what deal it offers, it seems to be shit.

Was it because Blade was on the verge of death? And IL went "No, bestie, babygirl, beloved, you don't get to die with me by your side".

Did Blade get mara struck? And Dan Heng thought "Well, this might help". And it did. And it didn't. On one hand Blade sure isn't a Mara zombie. On the other, he isn't sane and lucid either.

Because I doubt IL didn't understand the weight of what he was about to do. So I doubt Blade CAME TO BARGAIN (C) and IL eventually relented. What he did was extremely risky and taboo and he did it anyway, so extreme circumstances must have pushed him to commit this crime.

Also, Blade is fucking stupid. The artifact set says how his body is constantly falling apart and repairing, so it causes him a lot of pain. What does Blade with his technique? Cuts his wrist with his sword. Yeah baby fuck those tendons!

I think it's highly likely that blade/the person he was is mara-struck. the curse of immortality, he was the newborn flower on the dead branch, etc. %100 plant based edgelord. interestingly enough the withered branch he stuck into his hair began to sprout, so maybe he's even like, super mara-struck lmao. spreading that sweet abundance curse wherever he goes. that'd be funny. could be that what DH did caused him to be stricken with mara?

yeah I agree totally, whatever went down I think what DH did to him was without his consent. blade doesn't seem to take much responsibility in his becoming a half-lucid immortal thing. like it's more like he wants to die because what he is is a sin and also he really just wants to die period, not because oh no I made myself a monster, how could this happen to meeeee, someone kill me. he's not on a path to atone, he's on a path for revenge.

[mangodestroyer]

You know what? I'm kind of glad that there are some branches of math that aren't so heavy when it comes to Calculus.

Personally, I'm okay with Calculus. I mean, I do sometimes hate integrals, but I also love them, when it comes to finding volume, area, distance, displacement, etc. of some weird ass shit (I used to always wonder how people measured the areas and volumes of wonky ass shapes when I was a kid and I'm happy to now know one of the methods).

I also love sequences (even if I'm still learning about them and don't have them down). I like derivatives and limits. I hate partial differentiation problems because looking at them causes me anxiety and ig I just need to get over it and figure them out already. I think the stuff we're going to learn about in Calculus three next semester looks a lot more interesting than the first two courses.

But if college level math was ONLY calculus? I wouldn't be a math major. And I 100% understand why some people end up switching out of STEM when they encounter Calculus.

So far, I like linear algebra a lot more. For some reason, I had to do the first eight weeks of my calc II class before I was allowed to do the accelerated linear algebra class. And I'm five weeks in and... where's the calculus? Idk, but I like this course a lot more than calc. I remember in my History of Math class liking the concepts involving sequences, number theory, and algorithms a lot too. I also like geometry. I've liked algebraic topology ever since hs. I also like the idea of modeling mathematics.

I've had Game theory and Graph theory recommended to me as possible areas of study. Ofc, I'm still brain storming what I should do in grad school, and I'm finding it reassuring that some branches of math seem to be sticking with me. And I mean for long periods of time too. Others, unfortunately, haven't stuck so well. And yeah, I do get hung up on it. I want to have a strong foundation in math and constantly feel like I don't know nearly enough. In all fairness, I probably don't. Idk, I get good grades in the courses but I feel like there's something deeper to understand about all this that I'm just missing. And I don't actually understand all of it. Yet, so far, it's the only major I've tried where I felt like I belonged. Idk why, but with everything else, I felt out of place, couldn't get into the material as much, and I felt like people kind of knew it wasn't for me. I mean, during labs and such, I would kind of look like a dumbass. But with math discussions and essays, I feel more competent.

Ig pure math just ended up being more of my thing. Applied sciences, maybe not so much.

And I really do wish I was pushed to do more math when I was younger. I literally BEGGED my school to let me go further with it. I was always so bored in math class because I'd get everything immediately and be done with the work long before everyone else. But I felt kind of discouraged that they wouldn't let me. I remember not taking school that seriously as a kid. I got good grades still, but could have easily gotten a perfect GPA. I fucked around with standardized testing/never bothered to get good at it when I easily could have. Still got decent test scores in the end. Never studied for tests all that much either. I had to LEARN how to study in college.

Did anyone else feel dissatisfied with grade school? I think it didn't help that I was neurodivergent and had communication issues. And possibly issues with my attention span that went unnoticed (I'm AFAB). I just had no idea what to do with life because quite frankly, I found school discouraging and boring and the world didn't make sense to me.

Idk, this went off topic, but ig I'm trying to say that I'm still finding myself. And considering paths I didn't even know existed until very recently. I think being neurodivegent complicates things a lot because I'm really not on the same wavelength as a lot of people. My brain is different and I learn very differently from a lot of other people.

And in the adult world, this can be a little isolating. I think that's one reason I need to go back on campus for grad school and start talking to other people in my field more. I understand human interaction a lot better than I did as a child (I was borderline non-verbal, and kind of by choice). I can kind of mirror it now and wing it at times? Other times, if I'm, say, tired, I just don't care to mask as much. But I hear lots of mathematicians were really weird, so maybe I'll find some people in grad school who will get me more.

[titoist]

trying to articulate something, trying to articulate something, trying to articulate something... (if you ever encounter someone repeating this to themselves, it's a sign that they should be 'Put Down' like a dog) i guess it may sound strange, no matter how i put it... i've noticed that coming into contact with any music i may or may not have listened to in the past tends to put me extremely on edge. an almost deep unease, i would almost describe it as a deep & instinctual horror. like something nesting in the very most basal part of my throat, urging me to run away. what i think is obvious: this seems like a reflexive reaction formed during a personal episode, in where - driven by the maddening feeling of total, unrelenting suffocation - i attempted to burn all my personal bridges, disassociate myself entirely with any and all of my past, attempt to bring about conditions conducive to a wish of evolving into a completely different person... like locking someone in a room with no electronics or the internet, forcing them to read a book they don't particularly understand, but which they are unable to seek outside interpretation of. rereading it over & over, coming up with autodidactic, internal modes of thinking... etc. what i also think might be obvious: this plays heavily into a deep distrust, discomfort at my own past that i can't quite seem to identify. and i'm afraid that i might not even be able to identify it... it seems deeper than i am, and wider than i could ever hope to cover. what strikes me as strange: this fear of the past seems to not be exclusive merely to my own, personal ephemera... not localized only to the mental flavors that photos and songs capture only in retrospect, like recalling a dream - but it branches out into foreign pasts, too. pasts i might not have even been around for. when a friend, happily & friendlily, hands me a song that was extremely influential for them in the past.. it evokes that same feeling. but why, exactly? i have never interacted with this song before. i only now it now, in the moment. subjectively, to me, it is localized wholly & totally in the present moment. but that same deep & instinctual horror takes hold again, only now (crucially, maybe) reflected off another person... maybe it feels like i'm being overwhelmed by their past? so, at that point, maybe it stops even being a personal phenomena - i'm just scared of the past, in toto? because it necessarily feels like the past knows my vulnerabilities... like it's going to hurt me if i stare too long into it. like i'll hurt myself if i long for this moment in the past, which is now shriveled, this branch of the future that has shriveled and become detritus of the past. this moment which is now dead. that doesn't seem good, does it? the past should be a neutral thing. not something to be protectively guarded, but not something to be scared and fought against, either. one should be able to find joy in old memories, but not necessarily be attempting to retreat into them... i have to find a way to let it be a third, neutral thing. but what makes it hard is that i seem to have a propensity for sticking myself to one extreme of any given spectrum, & then denying the existence of anything in-between. which is a bit personally betraying. you might notice i'm not speaking with an authoritative tone, here. mmmwell, i can't in good conscience be doing that, i think, since i also find myself quite confused, here... but it feels like i'm on the right path, here. just need to find something... i feel like i can't keep being so scared of my own subconscious - tip to toe, it's all me! ...and maybe that's what's frightening?

[mordigen]

Unpopular opinion: Christians are not witches

I said it. Fight me.

There has been a trend that has been growing ever more problematic recently: overbearing, hyper-zealous, hyper-vigilant "acceptance" This means the pagan community is an absolute free-for all, and you are not allowed to so much as even feign the possibility that you do not agree with absolutely 100% of everything, lest you be named a gatekeeping, ignorant bigot.

Whether you like it or not - there ARE paths out there that have specific rules...regulations...stipulations...tenets - whatever the hell you want to call or classify them. End. Period. There's no other colour that comes in - that's it. Sorry for you, but they DO exist. In fact, there are many of them.

If you do not follow those rules, tenets, etc..., then you are not of that path. Point. Blank. And there is nothing wrong with that - it simply means that you are of some other path. That's it! That's all that means! It may be *nearly* identical to the path in question - but it is not, hence the 'nearly'.

If you happen to be a part of one of these paths, there is absolutely nothing wrong with saying so. If someone claims to be a part of one of these paths, but are absolutely, blatantly not - there is nothing wrong with saying that, and explaining why that is. Some people just honestly don't know there is a difference, or that these certain prerequisites are indeed a definitive factor - so they learn something, they broaden their horizons. Everyone seems to be all about educating themselves about being sensitive to other cultures and customs - except the pagan community, apparently, because this mentality does not translate across that pagan/witch line. Instead of taking it as a learning experience, you are immediately pounced on with notions of 'there are no rules!' 'you can't tell someone what to do on their own path!' Or, simply, the name calling. Well yes, while all of that is true - it still remains that how ever you want to practice or whatever you personally decide to do, may just simply not be what you are claiming, or calling it. It may just be semantics - but semantics matter when dealing with nuance. And paganism is extremely nuanced.

You can call a tomato an orange all you want to - but that thing will never be an orange, no matter how much you believe in it. And people are not wrong for informing you that you may have the wrong name, that is in fact, a tomato. If you go on deciding to call it an orange, you can do that - but that is willful ignorance. So, in your fight to be unapologetically accepting of every ridiculous notion, you are perpetuating willful ignorance - whilst being directly in opposition of your goal and being, *GASP*, unaccepting to those who follow a path where distinction and definition matters. You are completely invalidating those people's paths and beliefs while trying to defend another's (another who may, in fact, actually be wrong) and actively using their path & beliefs as the very reason to berate and ostracize them. Pretty fantastically hypocritical of you. Now...on to the second problem. I do not, at all, in any form, believe in "ritual magick" - as perpetuated by Aleister Crowley hardons. And no, that is not a knock on Crowley, just the idiot followers that don't understand half of what he taught and latch onto the superficial.

When you look at the origins and make up of magical beliefs, and magic itself as a separate entity - no matter which particular branch - they were all created by religion. They all have roots in highly spiritual cultures and customs. So, I absolutely do not believe for one second that you can believe in magic without SOME form of religion - whatever one you adhere to is your choice, but you cannot have the first without the latter. You cannot. Even if you claim that you have no religion, or spiritual faith, your practices absolutely do. You are calling on elements and agencies that absolutely have divine ties and connections one way or another. Oh, how many atheists I see calling on the seals of Arch Angels.... are you fucking shittin me? Really?? So let's bring it all together now - with the fact that many faiths DO have prerequisites, AND the fact that magic is religious/spiritual -- Christians are not, and cannot be witches or pagans. They are mutually exclusive. Not only because so many various paths have such prerequisites, and very define religious/spiritual beliefs that are contradictory to others - but simply because Christianity DOES, very much, have very clear and stringently defined Do's & Don'ts, and obviously the religious aspect itself clashes with the religious beliefs of others. Their religious beliefs clash with people who believe in their same god - so how could they not with those who believe in other gods?? Considering this, no other path would even need such stipulations themselves for them to be mutually exclusive, as Christianity already covers that issue so completely, but the fact that so many pagan paths do only exacerbates an already existing problem. That being said - that does not mean you cannot believe in the Christian 'god', by whatever name you know him by - or that you cannot believe in Jesus, and also be a witch or pagan. In fact the latter has an even bigger argument for believing in both, as paganism, generically, in itself is polytheistic, so it is very fitting to simply have the Christian god and Jesus amongst the many deities being worshipped. But those two things alone is not what makes Christianity. A good start, yes, but that is not all it takes - in fact, there are many that are shunned, excommunicated, banned, condemned and moreso whilst having those very two qualifying factors. You can find this in *every single* sect of Christianity, so...the proof is in the pudding, as they say, that it is much more than simply believing in 'God' and Jesus that makes a 'Christian'. And if you take that to heart and follow all those rules - you cannot be a witch or pagan, many times over, as you would be in direct opposition, or violation, of a number of their teachings - both on the aspect of simple 'rules', but also on a much deeper spiritual level of the entire foundation of their faith. Cannot serve two masters, and all that... If you do not follow those rules, then sure, you could be a witch or a pagan - but then you cannot be a Christian. That is just the facts.

Many people like to argue the use of magic and mysticism in the bible - but the issue is what parts of the bible they are found, and all the amendments of the further books. Again, what really carves out being a Christian vs. any of the other sects of Abrahamic beliefs. As, news flash - there is far more than just Christianity. And some of them, do, in fact, do hand in hand with magic. The Kabbalah is an astounding example of that - and, in fact, where a lot of the so called *ahem* 'non'-religious 'ritual magick' comes from. In this same vein, I would like to note that I have never had any issue or seen conflict with the Hebrew or Jewish take on shamans, mystics and witches, as they really do go hand in hand - They have their own very in depth, detailed, spiritual and sentimental form of mysticism that was a natural progression from pre-Abrahamic religions and culture, and grew into their teachings and belief system, so it does not go against their core beliefs the same way it very stringently does in Christian theology. Considering their ethnical histories and cultural heritage - this is a brilliant example of the natural evolution and progression of faiths - not simply ripped from the hands of the brutally oppressed and rewritten as a mockery to wipe out the preexisting notion of faiths -- as the Church has a history of doing. The Book of Enoch is another shining example of Biblical magic, or Angelic magic. But, this also also turns my point into a self fulfilling prophecy, as in the fact that it is accepted amongst all denominations as heresy, and it is taught that these magics - though they do, in fact, exist, were for the angels and completely forbidden from mankind. So, thusly, if you are a follower of Enoch, you are not a 'Christian', by name and membership, as you are outright going against it's teachings. You are a heretic, a blasphemer. Perhaps you may be one of the many other forms of the Christian god's followers - but not a Christian, as being Christian denotes a very specific set of beliefs and tenets - end of story. Magic, and paganism, is in direct conflict with those teachings, and therefore, cannot coexist.

On top of the logic - there is also the emotional issue. Christianity has a long history of abuse towards various pagan, tribal and indigenous faiths, while stealing our beliefs as their own, and demonizing those they couldn't successfully acclimate into theirs. To now be expected to be OK with this faith, yet again, latching on to *our* sacred rites and practices as being a part of their own is a hard pill to swallow at best, a slap in the face to most, and flat out perpetuating trauma at worst. Once upon a time, people sought out these very same communities and groups within their pagan circles as an escape, a safe space, and a shield and guardian against the Christian onslaught, torment, oppression, or just exhaustion - and now, we must not only tolerate them invading our private spaces, but must now welcome them with open arms and expected to be happy about it? Forgive me if I don't sympathize....

If we are going to now be forced into being shoulder to shoulder with them, the very least you can offer us is neutrality. You can be accepting of all and still be neutral grounds - not taking any one side anywhere, all you have to do is be respectful to each other. Disagreement is not disrespectful. Could someone who disagrees with a certain viewpoint *become* disrespectful? Sure, of course they could. But simply the act of disagreement is nothing hateful or hurtful in any way shape or form - in fact, good discourse is how progress is made. So we need to remain neutral grounds and normalize the acceptance of different viewpoints - we need to recognize and accept that, yes, there are paths out there that do have specific requirements, expectations and limits - there are paths that are going to disagree, or just flat out not believe in something. Instead of name calling, when someone of those paths decides to speak up and enlighten and elaborate on information that may be inaccurately described or depicted, you need to LISTEN and learn, and not just bludgeon them with presumptive judgement. You also need to accept that there are many, various different closed practices out there - beyond Native American & Voodoo practices (as those seem to be the only ones the pagan community recognizes) and if someone of those closed faiths tell you - no, you are not xy or z, that is also not being judgmental or hateful or hurtful - that simply is. ....a very important side note here is that acknowledging closed practices is also not a carte blanche for screaming about cultural appropriation. Please shut the fuck up about cultural appropriation. Not being of a specific faith is not equivalent to cultural appropriation - Telling someone "no, you're not xyz" is very different from telling someone "no, you can't practice xyz" (looking at you smudge-Nazis) You can enjoy, practice, learn or celebrate anything you want of any faith you want while not actually being apart of it - that's the beauty of sharing and learning. And I think that is where all the trouble boils down from:

Yes, you can do whatever you want and can create whatever path you want for yourself...just don't misrepresent it, don't call it something it is not, and don't deny those who are more educated & experienced in that particular department. We get enough of that from outsiders to start doing it to each other.

[bookish-bi-mormon]

Question, what exactly do you mean when you say you’re a witch? I’m LDS too, but isn’t witchcraft not something we believe in/condone-? I’m not asking in a judgemental way. I just really like all of the witchy stuff that’s rising right now, but I can’t make myself believe that it does anything. I don’t want to do witchy things “for the aesthetic” or just for the intentions, because that seems disrespectful to the people who do think that magic is real. Thoughts? (Sorry if this is totally incomprehensible.)

Hi! This is a fantastic question, one I was asking myself just a few months ago (and honestly am still asking myself, cause I'm still figuring everything out)

A couple things you have to understand about me first:

My relationship with Mormonism is weird. I'm bi and nonbinary, and there are a few BIG tenets of the LDS Church* that I don't subscribe to. So what I have to say on the subject is definitely not church sanctioned. I still go to church pretty regularly but I'm planning my queer wedding right now, so my future with the church as an organization is a little uncertain. (I see from you're bio you're also a "progressive latter-day saint" but I still felt this disclaimer was important)

I just started researching Witchcraft in March, so my knowledge of the craft is extreeeemely limited. Witchcraft is a very complex, almost "create your own" buffet style kind of spiritual path. There are a few things that you need, but there a lot of different paths to follow and ways to be a witch, and I have just barely scratched the surface of all that.

So basically take everything I saw with a grain of salt, or two. Or like twenty handfuls of salt. I'm just trying to figure stuff out.

But I feel like the core of your question is "is being a witch contrary to Heavenly Father's commandments and/or can you practice witchcraft while not believing the same as other witches"

More under the cut cause this got LONG

I first got interested in the idea of "Mormon witchcraft" because there is a man named Josh Baird who is creating a Mormon Tarot deck (each card has figures from Mormon history). On his Patreon there is an article that mentions the "folk magic" that was common among early Saints in Josephs' day.

I found a book called "Early Mormonism and the Modern Worldview" by D. Michael Quinn that explores in depth these "magical" practices. Lucy Mack Smith was a palm reader. Seer stones, tarot cards, folk healing, etc was believed in by many.

There are a lot of things inherent to Mormonism that make it more "magical" than other protestant Christian religions. Namely: Patriarchal Blessings (fortune telling), Ordinances for those who have passed (affecting the afterlife), as well as other aspects of Temple worship (signs and marks). I've always felt the Priesthood was a kind of Magic.

The Temple Endowment was reportedly somewhat inspired by Joseph Smith's membership with Freemasonry, which I don't know much about but I know most of the world sees them as a kind of "occult" group.

I already know a lot of members of the church who practice Tarot and no one seems to think much of it, so why not branch out into other "witchy" practices?

I have felt the spirit more strongly in my life since I've started learning about the way witches think about the world, nature, and energies, and I've had a few tarot readings that I truly believe were led by Our Heavenly Parents.

Will it offend other witches?

Witch beliefs come in all shapes and colors, there are agnostic and atheist witches, who practice spells with a belief that the intentions and energies have an affect on themselves and the world around them, without any kind of divine intervention. Witchcraft is open to any kind of belief system (although, I suppose you do have to believe that the magic will do something, if only to yourself (like help you be more confident etc)).

There are Christian Witches who follow Jesus Christ and adapt wiccan/witchy** beliefs to their Christian life. If other Christians can do it, why not us? (I have a book by a Christian Witch that addresses the general Christian aversion/condemnation of witchcraft and I'd be happy to share their explanation with you, it's long though and this post is already super long

What is the difference between a prayer and a spell? A prayer is me connecting with God, thanking him, talking with Him about the things I need and want, and asking for His guidance. A Spell is very similar, it just also uses the physical elements of this world that Our Heavenly Parents created, to help ground and specify our desires and intentions. Spells can be used as a way to give thanks or a way to ask for things we feel we need. Tarot is one way to ask for guidance and get a more tangible answer (for me that helps a lot). It still takes intuition, and listening to the Spirit's voice. I don't believe that my intention and spells have any power to go against the Will of God, any more than my regular prayers do, but it does help me to feel more involved in the process.

Keep in mind I've done like 2 spells. And they were both about helping myself emotionally. Like I said, I'm pretty new at this.

Many witches will warn you of the need to purify, cleanse, and protect when you are doing spells. I don't have much experience with this, but I always say a prayer when I'm attempting anything magical. I ask Our Heavenly Parents to be with me, and I always close in the name of Jesus Christ. If there are malevolent spirits that can harm you while doing magic, I believe these prayers protect me. (please do more research on this I don't know, I need to do more research before I do more complex spells).

Feel free to DM me if you'd like to know more! I have a few books and discord servers I can share if you're interested. Learning is always good, even if (and maybe especially if) you discover this isn't the right path for you!

*I use "Mormon" and "LDS church" separately, one to mean the belief system set in motion by Joseph Smith in general, the other to specifically refer to the institution run from Salt Lake city, although I'm currently a member of both I find myself pulling from historical Mormon beliefs that have been out of practice in the church for a long time, so "Mormon" feels more apt to me. I know we were asked to stop using it but I'm not sure how else to refer to my belief system when it stretches outside of the Church's definitions.

**Wicca is a specific religion with a theology and covens and specific deities. Wiccans are witches, but not all witches are Wiccan. There are witches who follow norse, greek, egyptian, celtic etc. pantheons, among many many other types.

[arinlangdon]

I've seen some people who prefer more traditional visual novels (with impactful choices and branching paths and all) complain about the way Lovestruck handled their narratives, and i can understand where they're coming from. yes, it can be fun to replay and pick different options to see how they affect your outcome, and it can make you feel like you got your money's worth or like you have agency, etc. but i think there's an upside to the more linear approach, and i have always defended it.

because instead of having one main storyline where you only ever get to have small scenes here and there with your chosen LI, branching off from and reconverging with the main path, LS gave us entirely unique storylines tailor-made for your chosen LI. this allowed for more time with and a deeper exploration of the character and a more diverse experience of the setting. imo, this strength is most evident in lore-heavy canons like RP and EAA.

and why not implement branching paths for a single route? they were a small company; there was a constraint on budget/time/programming, so number and diversity of LIs would be the trade-off.

and lastly, eliminating the possibility of a wrong choice or a bad end meant that you could never waste your tickets on an outcome you'd rather have avoided. happy endings are guaranteed. that's the Lovestruck philosophy.

[interact-if]

Day 5 of the interviews! let’s give it up for Ligia! :chinhands:

Ligia, author of Love the Guard, Be the King

Latino Heritage Month Featured Author

Mathias' heart has been bleeding since his father, the former King, decided to punish you for his mistakes. As the youngest child of a lesser bourgeois, you were raised in the castle, between the King’s cruelty, the Queen’s friendship, and  Mathias’s kindness (or supposed kindness?).

Now, more than twenty Carnivals since your arrival, the King is dead and the Queen’s sickness  worsens each day. As the azure taint spreads in the kingdom and the Opalean Wars come to an end, it’s Mathias’s time to sit on the throne.

Will the docile Prince become a kind King, a violent Monarch, or a ruthless Tyrant? Will you have any say in it? And how much will your relationship change?

Love the Guard, Be the King Demo | Author’s Kofi | Read more [here]

Tags: historical, romance

(INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT UNDER THE CUT)

Q1: So, tell us a little bit about the projects you’re working on!

With pleasure! Right now, I’m working on three main projects. My personal Visual Novel project, “Love the Guard, Be the King,” a second Visual Novel I’ve been secretly working on with a good friend for the past 10 months or so, and I also have an ongoing book series about hot, quirky supervillains—but I’ll focus only on the first two cause that’s what we’re here for, right? Hahaha.

LtGBtK is a really intimist experience, focused more on the MC’s and RO’s character arcs and how we can change depending on our experiences and how we feel about them. The entire plot happens in only four days, but it takes into account almost 30 years of history—basically Mathias’s (the only RO) entire life!

“Crystal Library” has mystery, romance, magic, 6 ROs, and a ton of memorable scenes already. I’m working on the graphics and the programming for this one, while Coco Nichole (@dreamybard), one of my favorite writers ever, is the brilliant mind behind the plot and all of CL’s characters! I can’t wait to share this one with you all. Romance is optional in both. :)

Q2: What excites you most about using interactive fiction? What are some of the biggest challenges?

What I LOVE and FEAR about all types of interactive fiction is how it invites players to, on a much deeper level, be part of the narrative. When reading books, we all work hard to translate beautiful sentences and scenes into images in your head. We interact with it, yes, but when playing IFs, we also explore the narrative in a different way; we have so much more agency over what happens! We sometimes have different paths to choose from, beautiful illustrations to unlock, or character traits that change depending on our choices… it’s amazing, and, IMO, it’s a very unique way to experience narratives.

But it’s also very complex, very demanding, and it can easily get out of hand if you give the players too many options/branches to follow, mainly when working with small teams or, in my case for LtGBtK, alone. *takes a deep breath* I just hope I’m doing a good job. .-.

Q3: What has been something in your project you’ve had to do a weird amount of research for?

Besides programming lol basically everything. For LtGBtK, I’m trying to create this weird fantasy with a modern-medieval society (?), so I’m constantly researching medieval customs, traditions, tools, and weirdly specific stuff like socks. Did people wear socks in the medieval era? What were their playing cards made of? When was ice cream invented? How did they shave? How did kids become knights? What were their perfumes made of? And soaps? What did they eat? How different was their wine? And what kind of materials or slang or fabrics can I use, and what can I change without completely breaking immersion?

 And then I shove all that into a pot and adapt it to a world where Mathias can literally put the world on fire with a wave of his hands. ♥

Q4: Which of your characters is most like you? How?

I think I’m a mix of them all, but mainly Mandra and Rafa (one of my main characters in my supervillain books). They have wildly different personalities and stories, but those two have clear views of the kind of person they want to be, they’re not afraid of their soft sides, and they are ready to work hard to become good at what they love. Rafa has a specially strong connection to her brother, like my siblings and I, and Mand is often locked in an eternal state of wanting to be alone and wanting to be surrounded by family/loved ones, so I guess we meet there too!

Q5: Does your heritage influence your characters as you create them? (How? Why or why not?)

Yes! There are the very basic ways, like habits, names, food, family dynamics, settings (mainly in my books, which are all very Brazilian), and Holidays. And then there’s a more personal way that I’m not entirely sure I can explain because I lived in Brazil for 28 years, and I’m not sure I can put that into words. The classics of our literature are different, Art, architecture, and music developed differently, my country was violently colonized and still faces the results of that violence (including but not limited to structural racism, classism, misogyny etc), I learned some Capoeira in my physical education class at school, we call non-Brazilians “gringos,” and so on. This is my normal, and this is what my characters would see as normal too, because I don’t know any different.

At the very core, all my characters are influenced by my country’s history, by our relationship with other countries, and by the values my parents taught me, passed down to them by my Indigeous-Spanish-Portuguese-German foremothers/fathers. :P

The main, more palpable way my heritage influences my characters, though, is through humor and theme. I think Brazilians have a very specific, sharp, and often very smart kind of humor that, IMO, stems from the type of history our country has, and the way we look at life, sometimes translating pain into humor. As for themes, I usually write about what makes me angry... and there’s a lot in Brazil’s history and modern society that causes me that. :)

But all I know for sure is that I want to show the world Brazilians are much more than samba and soccer.

 Q6: What is something you love to see in interactive fiction?

Other people! In the same way I add my history and worldview to my creations, I always approach stories thinking that there’s a whole, well, history behind them. And I love that! Also, I adore choices that feel impactful + good friendships and family relationships + soft romances with mutual respect. ♥

Q7: Any advice to give?

Hmm. Be proud and celebrate who you are and where you’re from. Learning and understanding the world inside us is a life-long process, so it’s always a victory to discover new pieces of ourselves. :) Also, if you can, talk to people that come from different cultures than yours to expand your worldview, don’t be afraid to be soft (the world needs more kindness), and please study personal finance. Seriously. XD