#speaking of which. first things first i got three out of four designs down

[wild0moon]

eating up ur captain design............ /pos

can i ask how pico and captain met in your au (i think its an au anyway)?

very canon adjacent, but it's an au, yeah. my friend and i's funky little universe just to the left of canon where we take things too seriously, you feel me

short version: they happened to meet at a cop shop while pico was waiting for (yet another) police interrogation, weeks to a month after the events of pico's school. john took an interest in pico and offered, mostly as a joke, to teach pico how to handle a gun properly. what was supposed to be a one-off lesson for a quick bit of entertainment turned into regular practice sessions and accidental (but immediate) emotional attachment from both parties. whoops!

and if you'll indulge me, here's the long version, because it's been brewing in my brain recently and i guess my hand slipped

(WARNING: descriptions of and vague flashbacks to the events of pico's school)

💚💚💚💚💚

The police station was usually quiet at this time of day. Idle tapping of fingers against a keyboard, muffled sounds of cars passing outside or of people talking in another room, none obtrusive enough to disturb the thoughts swirling in his head.

Now though, he was entirely preoccupied by annoyance.

Shut up. Why are you so loud? If you don't like pigs, why did you even come in here?

Pico had seen the strange man in black from the corner of his eye, swaggering in like he owned the place, only to start chatting to the receptionist with all the warm familiarity of two former classmates who never really liked each other very much. Derisive whispers in Pico's head grew louder in concert with his rising stress, adding to the noise, birthing a cacophony he couldn't escape from.

The man went quiet, and for a brief moment, Pico was sure he felt eyes on him. His own gaze stayed firmly on his sneakers.

The receptionist finally piped up with something other than a disinterested hum. "That's, uh, that Pico kid. Pico Fulp?"

"Ohh, so you're the kid who shot up his school."

Pico's head snapped up.

In an instant, his vision was dyed red, blood running so hot it threatened to burn him up from the inside. He didn't know when he got to his feet, but he was already taking steps toward the man.

"It wasn't me!" he snarled, words bubbling up and bursting out before he could stop them. "It wasn't! Watch your fucking mouth or I'll break your jaw, you stupid—"

"I got it, kid, calm down," the man talked him down, in a far more stern tone than Pico had been ready for, stopping him in his tracks. Matter-of-factly, he added: "I don't care how tough you are, you've got another thing coming if you think you can break any bone in my body."

Pico grit his teeth, fists clenched at his sides.

The white-hot fire of rage burnt out almost as quickly as it ignited, his little body only growing colder as he actually looked at the man standing before him, red giving way to black and white.

Tall and broad-shouldered, wearing sunglasses so dark it was almost impossible to see the inscrutable eyes behind them. He was uniformed — the army, not the police. Which rank was the three stripes for? Was the 'Captain' on the tag his rank, or his name?

Pico dared to speak up again. "It wasn't me," he repeated, far softer than before.

Captain turned bodily to face him. "I heard you the first time. So, what did you actually do?"

He looked away again, wringing his freshly scarred hands. "I... I stopped it, sir. I killed the shooters."

The slight movement of Captain's eyebrows snared the corner of Pico's vision. "Really now?"

"I... I found a big gun in the janitor's closet, they must've stashed it in there," the words spilled forth, as if he were back in that vile interrogation room already. "So I took it, and I shot them. All of them. There were four, a-and I didn't even know what I was doing, I was scared out of my mind, I'd never held a gun before in my life, I don't know how I—"

"You've never used a gun, but you still managed to take down four armed threats all by yourself?" There was a note of interest in Captain's voice, despite him crossing his arms.

Pico swallowed thickly.

"Please leave me alone!"

"I was told to just scare you! I wasn't gonna kill you!"

"...Two of them weren't moving, sir. I'd disarmed them, and they were afraid..."

Captain hummed. "Right. And the other two?"

No answer. Memories of callous men in blue giving him withering looks or laughing in his face when he told the truth kept his jaw clamped shut.

Captain lifted his head, looking around the otherwise empty room. "Where are your parents?"

A half-hearted shrug. "They don't want anything to do with me right now, sir."

They never did in the first place.

The soldier's thick eyebrows furrowed, but for the life of him, Pico wasn't sure what it meant. The man was as easy to read as a book with all its pages glued together. That, or he was just illiterate.

"I probably only lived because we were all just kids who barely knew what we were doing," Pico found himself saying, as if he hadn't also slaughtered a giant alien that day — Cassandra had been young and inexperienced in her own way, too. "If something like that happened again, I… I dunno."

Captain said nothing, just staring down at him, seeming thoughtful.

Silence fell over the room for a long moment, disturbed faintly by the nasty voices Pico had learned only he could hear. When the man's voice broke through the murmurs again, it hardly sounded any kinder.

"Look, if I were you, I'd stop pissing myself and go get some actual experience under my belt."

"But—"

He wasn't done. "You know where the gun range is, right? The one five minutes north of here? Meet me there at thirteen-hundred tomorrow. Even a minute late and the offer expires, got it?"

…What?

Pico lifted his gaze to meet Captain's, incredulous. "You mean... But, why would you help me?"

It was Captain's turn to offer a lazy shrug. "I'm bored outta my skull, and this is the most entertainment I've gotten in months."

He said that, but he didn't look very amused. Besides, a soldier like him surely didn't have time to waste on such petty entertainment as watching a child grappling with fear. Pico tried scrutinizing the man's face for a moment longer, unsure what he was even searching for, but quickly found himself at a loss.

The easy answer was that it was a genuine offer to help, to teach him how to properly handle a firearm and put that aspect of his trepidation to rest. Pico wasn't sure if he believed that, but for some reason, he really hoped it was true. That would mean that Captain saw something in him, something more than the unfortunate kid and murderer that the other adults saw, something worth taking a chance on.

Nice. This man, a total stranger, was being nice.

When was the last time anyone said something nice to him?

(Weeks ago, in a sterile hospital room, two hands gently clasping one of his own, their owner smiling in spite of the anxiety behind those pretty black eyes, the sweetest voice Pico had ever heard telling him over and over how everything was going to be okay—)

Pico shook his head, as if he could physically clear the memory away.

He's gone now. Stop thinking about him.

By the time Pico dragged himself back to the present, Captain was already on the way out, muttering something about the stench of hogs. Pico watched him walk away, until he disappeared from view.

"Prick," the receptionist muttered, returning their attention to their computer.

With little else to do, Pico returned to his seat. His own thoughts quickly took center stage as usual, but they were different now, looking tentatively to the future, rather than the bloody memories that tugged insistently at his back.

It had been a while since he had something to look forward to.

[bluecatwriter]

I watched the Wildhorn/Black/Hampton Dracula rock opera!

Okay, okay, okay. As some of you know, one of the guys in my theater troupe got me comp tickets to see him in Dracula: The Musical. You guys. It was an EGREGIOUS adaptation that didn't even make narrative sense on its own terms. I also had a TOTAL BLAST. 

If you like the musical, no shade to you— please just keep scrolling and like what you like! However, I had so many thoughts about this that I had to word-vomit about it, and thought some of you might have fun reading my thoughts on the good, the bad, and ugly for 3,000 words.

TL:DR: Very fun experience, so glad I went, the play's narrative choices make me want to throw hands in a Denny's parking lot, much dunking/adaptation-hate ahead, my friends are amazing, I'm writing my own play now.

(CW discussion of rape, ableism, drug use, suicide)

-First of all, everyone take a moment to appreciate my eyeliner. I do not usually draw eyeliner that well so I was very proud of myself.

-I went with my sister, since we both knew people in the cast. (I thought we knew three, but we actually knew four: the actors who played Dracula, Mina, Lucy, and Quincey.) My sister didn't know anything about Dracula except what she'd picked up from my incoherent ramblings (which I generally keep to a minimum around her). 

-It was a black-box theater, which I didn't expect: six or so rows of chairs on each side of the theater, facing each other across the relatively small room, with the stage in the middle and a live orchestra (!!!) on one end. The set was a minimalist Gothic castle design, with windows, a freestanding moving wall, and a large platform that, throughout the play, served as Dracula's coffin, a table, Lucy's bed, Lucy's coffin, and just a general place to stand and sing in a badass way. I absolutely LOVE black box shows because they're so intimate: you can almost reach out and touch the actors, and you can see every minute facial expression and gesture, the light glittering in their eyes, and so on. (Acting in a black box theater is much more like movie acting because the audience can see what you're doing with your eyes in a way that regular theater doesn't allow, meaning that things like eye contact between characters is much more electric and effective.)

-The sound design and lighting effects were doing a lot of heavy lifting in this show, and they nailed it. Very spooky!

-The play began with the weird sisters, and they were consistently my favorite part of the play— the actresses killed it (ha), bringing an intense, spooky energy to the story, often serving as narrators, background singers, extras, special effects handlers (such as portraying the wreck of the Demeter), and the physical manifestation of Dracula's will/presence. They were AWESOME.

-I had decided in advance that this play was a fanfiction written by Dracula about himself, and nothing about the show dissuaded me from this idea. The guy who played Dracula served major cunt from the moment he stepped onstage, wearing leather pants with laces up the side and a big sweeping coat and a huge amount of eyeliner that really brought out his unnervingly blue eyes. ("All guys should wear eyeliner and leather pants," I joked to my sister after the show, and she responded, with the most haunted look I've ever seen, "I agree about the eyeliner, but not the pants. I lived in San Francisco for three years, and you know not what you speak of. There are things I cannot unsee.")

-Actually, to be honest I liked Dracula's characterization (until the end; see below); whether because of the director or the actor or both, this version really did not downplay what a bastard he is. He was incredibly ruthless, in all senses of the word: focused on a single goal and not caring who got mowed down in the process. Anytime his sung lines talked about him being lonely or sad or whatever, the actor played it off as him trying to garner sympathy from his listener, rather than expressing his true feelings, which was a directing/acting choice I really appreciated.

-When Jonathan came on stage (from the door just a few feet away) I nearly squealed with delight! He just RADIATED "biggest sweetheart you've ever met" energy: tall and lanky and with a scruffy lil beard and clothes that didn't quite fit. I was in love with him from the beginning. Also he got to mention his Kodak camera, and I remembered that I could not actually cheer at moments like that because that would be weird.

-The Dracula-Mina "romance" was introduced very early, which I appreciated; from a storytelling perspective, it was good to have that continuous thread. Dracula looks at a picture of Mina, mentions how young she is, asks Jonathan if she is "pure," and then decides that they're soulmates. It was SO PERVY. Once again, I loved the Dracula characterization. If only it had stayed one-sided…

-I was fortunately warned that in this version Jonathan takes the crucifix off so the weird sisters can continue attacking him, but I still had to suppress a "BOOOOO!" (I did whisper "NOT CANON!" to my sister, and later she said that when that happened in the play she was like, "Oh, okay, I don't care what happens to this guy now.") But I guess it did have the effect of making him less sympathetic, which served the story the play was trying to tell.

-I was pleased that there was a Drac-drinking-from-Jonathan scene, and consistent with the storytelling, Drac had a whole song about how he needs Jonathan's blood so he can be young and hot and go seduce Mina (which, again, fits with the story they were telling). They decided not to have any sexual tension between Dracula and Jonathan, so the blood-drinking scene was pretty brutal (complimentary)— Jonathan laid out on the platform with Drac just. gnawing on his neck while Jonathan writhed and convulsed. It was still kinda hot though not gonna lie

-Lucy's characterization at first was pretty interesting, because her song about the three suitors (and the directing/acting) made it seem like she was just kinda stuck with three mediocre choices, and chose the least offensive one (Arthur, who she describes as boring and can't even think of one nice thing to say about him) and tried to convince herself that she would be happy. This was honestly the biggest moment where I had to just squirm in my seat to keep from actively booing. Don't be so mean 2 my boy! From a storytelling perspective, it wasn't clear at all why she chose Arthur, because Quincey was the only one of the suitors who had any personality at all (even Jack was bland. JACK. WAS BLAND. YOU COULDN'T HAVE HIM SIT ON HIS HAT OR AT LEAST FIDDLE WITH HIS LANCET? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU???). Anyway, Arthur was actually totally fine after that song (and had some nice lines in the group songs).

-Meanwhile, Drac is creeping on Mina by entering her thoughts without her consent and being like, "We're soulmates," and she just…. goes along with it???? With literally no rhyme or reason to her decision???? I know some of this is that I hate the whole concept of soulmates, but I expected at least SOME justification for why she was interested in him. There was no indication she was unhappy with Jonathan; there was no hint of any emotional connection; there wasn't even some weird "reincarnated lover" story to try to soften how incredibly strange it felt that Mina was randomly in love with this guy's voice in her head. His baritone is sexy BUT IT IS NOT THAT SEXY. GIRL PLEASE.

-In this version Dracula bites Lucy because he's trying to call Mina to him and Lucy comes by accident and he's like, "Well, nothin' I can do about that. CHOMP." Which, again, I honestly liked this characterization because he's not apologetic about who he is; he is just destroying everyone in his way and not caring about them as people. He just has a goal and he'll do anything to reach it.

-Then of course Lucy's like, "Oooh that was actually so sexy and I never want to wake up from that dream of him chomping on my throat." The directly seemed to imply that being bitten by a vampire just. instantly turns you into something that's not yourself, so I could kinda excuse it if I squinted, but it was still pretty icky.

-Renfield got to stab Jack! My sister felt sorry for Jack (because all his unethical science got shaved off in this adaptation) and I was just like, "YESSS RENFIELD YOU GO!" 

-Jonathan shows up again, in a wheelchair (a really cool old-fashioned one), and Mina goes to marry him, and their marriage is paralleled with Lucy and Arthur's while Drac looms in the background. The double wedding was a nice staging choice, although the optics of Mina somewhat reluctantly marrying disabled Jonathan while abled Dracula is standing by being All Sexy was… uh, it was not great. But on the plus side, maybe it emphasizes the ableism that a lot of people have toward Jonathan's disabilities in the story, bringing them out into the open? (I am grasping at straws here.)

-Van Helsing was perfect! The actor had wild gray hair and forehead bumps and a tenor voice that could shatter your heart into a million pieces. He did a great job of having the "weird professor" vibes even though his lines were more coherent and to-the-point than they are in the book. 

-No blood transfusions, sadly, but I see why they cut that part.

-Lucy turning vamp was very well done. I think I should mention at this point that the actors who played Dracula and Lucy are actually married to each other in real life, and they had really crackling chemistry and it was clear in every scene they were together that they were having just the best time. "Life After Life" was my second-favorite song in the play because it's just Dracula sending Lucy out to eat people— and again, both actors were clearly having SO MUCH FUN performing this song together. At the end of the scene I was all pumped up, like, "Yeah Lucy! Go eat some people!!!"

-Intermission. I told my sister this was like the part in Rashomon where the rapist tells the court his point of view and is like, "Oh, she totally wanted it." My sister shook her head at me and chuckled.

-The graveyard/Bloofer Lady scene was genuinely horrifying; Lucy's actress did an AMAZING job of amping up the horror, beginning the scene by cradling a baby and singing it a lullaby, then just CHOMPING down on it, and throwing it down and hissing like an animal when the Crew of Light approached her. Mina and Jonathan were in that scene, too, and even though Mina didn't have any lines, seeing her reacting to it (rushing to grab the child, dodging out of Bloofer!Lucy's snapping jaws) gave the scene a lot of emotional intensity. 

-Both Bloofer!Lucy's death and Renfield's death were directed beautifully; they were both somewhat quiet, almost slow motion, focused not on the violence but on the emotional weight of both their lives ending.

-Jonathan and Arthur, while both being incredibly bland characters, have I think more dialogue in this play than they do in the book. Every time they spoke I was like, :D :D :D! My blorbos!!!

-Throughout Mina's whole song "Please Don't Make Me Love You" (sung, of course, to Dracula) I focused VERY HARD on my friend's amazing acting, her beautiful voice, the way she was playing this with absolute conviction, while in the back of my head I was screaming. Just a primal, Nazgul-like shriek. GIRL WHY (I think my sister was amused by how much I was squirming)

-Van Helsing has a nice little song about his dead wife, saying that it was a vampire that killed her and that's why he's a vampire hunter now. He was also shooting up with a comically large syringe during this song, but sure, yeah, that's fine. Like I said, his voice was SO BEAUTIFUL, so I was entranced. If only he had gotten a chance to find connection and family ties in order to continue that character arc HINT HINT

-Ah, then we get the Blood Baptism scene. Mina sings a song about how she doesn't want to run away (because of that sexy baritone voice I guess) so she invites Dracula into her room, he knocks out Jonathan, and then they make out over Jonathan's body. Le sigh. The funniest part of this scene is that they had her drink from his chest but they didn't use any fake blood, so he just unbuttons his shirt and she buries her face in his boobs, no context. I asked my sister afterward, "What did you think was going on in that scene?" and she said, "I figured she was drinking from his vampire-milk titties."

-Van Helsing and Dracula got an "I will take you down!"-style song that was actually really cool.

-Then, suddenly, out of nowhere, BOOK-CANON MINA SHOWS UP! She was in a wheelchair now (a great directing choice, I thought), and demanded that Van Helsing hypnotize her, insisted on them keeping the information from her so that Dracula can't get to it, makes them all vow to kill her, and figures out where Dracula is going based on the maps. I was like THERE SHE IS! THERE'S MY GIRL! …But unfortunately this characterization makes no sense in the story the musical is actually telling. Why is Mina leading them to him? Why is she taking such pains to make sure Dracula is not warned of their coming? It didn't fit with any of her characterization in the rest of the play (and especially not with the ending), so it felt really cobbled-together and odd.

-Also Jonathan vows to kill her and there's a whole song about how sad he is that he will have to do that. I was gritting my teeth the whole song being like It's a storytelling choice it's a storytelling choice it's a storytelling choice it's a storytelling choice it's a

-Okay. YOU GUYS. YOU GUYS. The song "Deep in the Darkest Night" WAS AMAZING. It's a song by the Crew of Light (and in this version, sung by all six of them, including Mina) about their quest, and how they must be points of light in the darkness. It was SO BEAUTIFUL and SO THEMATICALLY ON POINT and it was EVERYTHING I WANTED from a Dracula musical and it is a CRIME that the whole play was not built around these themes and motifs!! *chewing on the scenery* Also, holy cow, everyone in the cast could sing like nothing else. Full-body chills. Stunning, incredible, showstopping, no notes.

-In one of the hypnotic sessions, Dracula came to stand behind Mina and they sang a duet, a reprise of "Life After Life" (the song for Bloofer!Lucy), and that was an incredibly effective storytelling choice (also their voices just blended so. well. together that even in the songs I hated, I still got chills because their voices were SO DANG BEAUTIFUL TOGETHER). Again, I am haunted by what this play could've been if the Drac/Mina thing was one-sided.

-In this version, Quincey gives Mina his Bowie knife for protection, which I thought was sweet.

-Drac has a big sad-boy song about how he's actually in love with Mina now. BOOHOO MOTHERFUCKER. NO ONE CARES.

-Quincey got killed by trying to stake Dracula and Drac grabbing the stake and shoving it into his stomach. (My sister gasped and squeaked, "No!" when this happened.)

-Meanwhile, Van Helsing and Mina get separated, and Mina has a whole song about how she's made her final decision: she's gonna become a vampire and live with Dracula forever. At this point in the play I was like, Okay, girl, whatever, you do you…

-But then. BUT THEN. *frothing at the mouth*

-(Don Black and Christopher Hampton meet me in the Denny's parking lot I just want to talk)

-Drac's like, "Ooooh no actually I don't want you to be a vampire so you need to kill me now."

-Mina's like, "Nooooo this makes me so sad I have chosen to be a vampire and it is what I truly want!"

-Drac's like "Nobody cares what you want because the authors couldn't care less about your agency as a person"

-Mina's like "nooooooooo i'm so saaaaaad!"

-(Me: *still frothing at the mouth*)

-Finally, weeping, she takes Quincey's knife and places it over his heart.

-And then SHE DOESN'T EVEN FUCKING KILL HIM HE JUST GRABS HER HAND WITH THE KNIFE IN IT AND KILLS HIMSELF

-Like, I am just so mad that Mina doesn't even get the tiniest bit of agency here at the end. She is just blown about by the whims of the men, and at the end none of her narrative choices are respected in any way. A lot of this is, I'm sure, the directing for this particular performance: if I were trying to make this ending a bit more narratively satisfying, I would give Mina a moment where you can see her agreeing with him and deciding to kill him herself. This ending just felt… cheap. It didn't even form a satisfying closing even based on the rules of its own storytelling. It was so ridiculous that I actually had to cover my mouth to keep from laughing. 

-After the show we got to talk to all our friends who were in it and it was easy to sincerely compliment them because they all did an AMAZING job. I feel so honored to be friends with such amazingly talented people!

-We drove home in a lightning storm while blasting Blondie's song "One Way or Another" (my sister said she was thinking of this song all through the Drac/Mina story arc) and singing loudly along. "ONE WAY OR ANOTHER/I'M GONNA FIND YA/I'M GONNA GETCHA GETCHA GETCHA GETCHA!"

-I asked her which two characters she thought I shipped the most and she guessed Jonathan/Quincey. Not a bad guess.

-Got home, rambled to my very tired spouse, curled up in bed, turned to him and said, "I promise to never leave you for some random dude who speaks in my head and says we're soulmates," and he replied, "And I promise to never leave you for three sexy vampire ladies," and if that's not a wedding vow renewal I don't know what is.

-Laid awake for nearly two hours brainstorming a Dracula play (not a musical, I'm not that talented). And, uh… yeah. A script is gonna happen. I've written plenty of plays (and co-directed/co-produced a few times), so it's definitely in my wheelhouse, and my brain will not shut up with ideas. So! *tosses it onto list of creative projects*

----

(P.S. If you reblog, please don't tag this as the Dracula musical because I don't want any fans to be exposed to the hate. Thanks!)

[surachibee]

if you’ve been following a lot of my recent stuff, you’ve probably noticed (or maybe you haven’t, idk!) that I’ve been tagging a few art posts as ‘pitverse’. You’ve also probably noticed that I’ve provided no context to these posts what-so-ever! and that sucks! So to explain a bit, I present:

”surachi what the heck is pitverse”

Okay, first. ‘Pitverse’ is a working title. Maybe. It’s cheesy, but I kinda like it because it’s cheesy.

Anyways, if you’ve been following me for a while, you may or may not remember this art where I designed a bunch of pits that were loosely based on the different ending to the original Kid Icarus on the NES. Some took influence from different places (eg. the solider ending heavily drawing inspiration from Kid Icarus: of Myths and Monsters) and some were completely made up (eg. the farm ending’s design). It was fun! And it pretty much started this whole idea to begin with.

I’d draw some stuff here and there for it, but other than that I never really did much with the idea other than ‘oh hey look designs’. That is until it came up again a couple years later when I started to get *really* into oMaM stuff, which led to me coming back to the idea of a weird multiverse thing.

Thanks to a few friends, we talked about it and eventually it became like a four-swords adventure multiverse labyrinth thing. Pandora’s Labyrinth times twelve. So as it is right now, it’s like a hypothetical game where some new *evil big bad* takes a handful of Pits from different universes/timelines and plops them into some pocket dimension of different levels and challenges, and together, they have to find out what the heck going on.

Right now, I think I’m gonna try to keep it to three Pits for simplicity sake. Obviously, Pit from Kid Icarus: Uprising has to be here, that’s our guy. He’s also the protagonist! He’s left relatively unchanged in this AU. This also takes place in a post-game setting, so he’s already fought Hades. This applies to the other guys as well, even if their hypothetical “games” and adventures aren’t actually real (Factor) or heavily rewritten (Myth) here.

Good news is that Uprising Pit can still communicate with Palutena! But he’s the only one out of the bunch that can. (Would’nt that have been nice? Imagine all the work you could get done with THREE Palutenas [haha reference]). In this AU’s logic, Uprising’s world in the pocket-dimension what-ch-ma-have-it space is closer to the one where this takes place, so (Uprising) Palutena is able to establish a decent enough connection to at least communicate, though it’s not the best. The other Pit’s worlds are further away, so communication with their respective realms are off the table. This also causes other problems like occasionally “bugging out” and forgetting stuff since they’re so far from their original worlds. So Uprising Pit got kinda lucky.

Speaking of other Pits, there’s other Pits! Both of them draw inspiration from things previously done/involved in the franchise so they’re not entirely made up, but they do stray pretty far from their source material. Anyway..first, we have Factor! He’s heavily inspired by Factor 5’s rendition of Pit from their “Icarus” project back in 2007-2008 that was turned down. Here, this AU’s interpretation of the idea is a little more in line with the franchise’s overall light-hearted and goofy nature. (In this AU the Pit’s are taken from different points in time, so he would’ve been plucked from the future. I did this so 1. They all could look visually distinct from each other, and 2. the thought of Factor going “oh he doesn’t know about [x] yet” or Uprising Pit insisting Myth to NOT go after the wish seed in the future was funny.)

Next…there’s Myth! He’s based on Kid Icarus: of Myths and Monsters, and besides a few plot points he’s pretty much just a modern take on the character. He was easier to pin down because while the concept of Factor’s story was interesting, being banished from the heavens for some unspecified crime, it’s pretty vague in comparison. With Myth, there’s an entire game with a plot to go off of, even if this AU strays a bit from it.

That’s pretty much the basics of this AU! Just a couple of Pits going on an adventure getting into other-worldly shenanigans. I’m having a ton of fun with it and hopefully I can develop the idea more as I go along. Thanks for reading! There’s some extra footnotes and miscellaneous doodles below.

• This AU follows the idea that oMaM takes place in a different timeline than Kid Icarus: Uprising, hence it not being referenced (at least not on purpose, I’m looking at you aurum track accidentally having the same intro motif) or mentioned. Plus y’know, Sakurai not knowing it existed so there’s that. Might as well rework it into a weird explanation. (coping)

• All of these worlds take place in different timelines, so Factor isn’t an older version of Uprising Pit, nor is Uprising an older version of Myth. They’re all still Pit, and all of them have fought Medusa, but it had different outcomes (somewhat based on the endings) and at that point they diverged from each other. • I’ll probably change the naming of the Pits at some point. While they’re good right now, I’m not sure if I wanna keep Factor named after a company. Might have their names based off the titles of their respective games, so instead of “Factor”, “Myth”, and “Uprising” it’d be “Icarus” (based on the project’s internal name), “Myth”, and “Uprising”.

[floralcrematorium]

If you could picture FrUk (either as individuals or as a duo) at only one point in time (present, past, or future) where in time and space would they fit ideally? What AU do they permanently live in for you?

!!! Thanks for the ask!

I tend to stick to human AUs because the whole immortality thing freaks me out a little bit (my personal and chronic existential dread...) and I genuinely cannot get a grip on how interpersonal relationships between characters would work when you consider personal strife as well as actual politics and history. Plus in human AUs, I can just stick 'em in silly situations. For a while I entertained myself with a silly grocery store AU that led to some very fun New Character Groups (EX: I put Natalya, Piri, and Feliks in customer service bc I think the three of them together would actually be really fun, but this post isn't about them.). Does it make sense to stick Heta characters in an American style grocery store? No. But the shenanigans entertain me.

Cough. FrUK. Buckle up.

I'm an absolute sucker for FACE fam AUs and just soft FrUK content, so I really enjoy slice of life modern things with them. I realistically could enjoy putting them in any time period, but FrUK is just comfort to me atp. Literally talking with friends, I'll send cat videos and be like "wow this is so FrUK"

Speaking of cats. I yap with @jaynuu (hi sorry for the ping) a bunch abt FrUK + them owning their nekotalia counterparts. Them owning the cats can literally be applied to nationverse, human AU, human AU with FACE fam, etc etc it goes on and on - there are so many variables

Together we've surmised that Arthur owned Neko-France first; a fluffy little monster who has known nothing but the lavish comfort of the indoors. Whether or not Arthur's got Neko-Fran before he and Francis are together/living together depends on the situation, but Neko-Eng comes along after. Francis manages to tame this absolutely feral cat, and nobody understands how, because he seems to hate everyone but Francis. Neko FRUK get along very well. FrUK just have gay cats now.

Neko-Fran is a strictly indoor cat while Neko-Eng is allowed to go outside (the guy would NOT stop howling to be let out, after all, he did spend most of his life outdoors). One afternoon FrUK come back home to find Neko-Eng out on the front doorstep with two kittens he's randomly acquired????? They're on the younger side and both a vet visit and asking around yield no results as to where the kittens came from, so Francis and Arthur just have two??? New cats?? Which are Neko-NA bros. Neko-FrUK take to caring for the kittens as their own and shenanigans ensue in a household with FOUR cats

I have been trying to dip my feet into some historical works, but through a piece with Miss Ukraine, I'm learning I'm just not very good at it due to writing the dialogue and worrying about if I'm getting things correct. I would eventually like to play around with FrUK from 1300s-1600s with the Hundred Years' War, the Wars of the Roses, and the Tudor Period as a whole. I've been DYING to play with the Field of Cloth of Gold for a hot minute. While it's something I'd love to do, I don't know if I'll ever get around to it because in the last year or so I just have lost a lot of braincells. If I could think coherently, I'd love to sit down, research, and craft some story, but alas. I can't decide if I'd use regular 1P FrUK or if I'd use nyo!FrUK either. I would LOVE to play around with designing some 16th century outfits for the girlies

[imtooscaredforthis]

Entrapment

Chapter Twenty: Cat & Mouse

Mentions of: Murder, Stalking, Paranoia, Manipulation, Stabbing, Blood, Fighting, etc.

A/N: A pretty heated chapter..Enjoy!!

Tags: @dead-bxxxtch-walking @vandeaad @mama-miya @stwbwwwychan @the-fandoms-georgie @moonshineinasippycup

“Hey Jed? What are these?” You asked, pulling out a file from a box with information on Ghostface. It was something he had been collecting for awhile, for writing and for you to learn more about him.

He looked over your shoulder at what you had in hand, leaning in close. He was so close that you could smell his cologne, and it made you dizzy. “Oh, these? They’re copies of police reports about his previous victims. Just a warning, they can get pretty gorey, and a good amount of information is blocked out due to confidentiality.”

You pulled them out, and placed them on your desk, going through the different reports. You grabbed a notepad to take notes.

The first thing you wrote down was the dates. Each murder was at least two weeks apart. While he mostly went for single victims, he would occasionally go for more..two, three, sometimes even four. But those murders had more of a time gap between them, which makes sense. He would need more time for planning.

As you continued flipping through the files, you found a sticky note on one of them. Some victims report seeing a hooded figure following them…Stalking??

That made your heart drop as you remembered your possessions being moved around your apartment and stolen, and the phone call you received from him. It was all him.

A shiver went down your spine as you realized..He was following you..stalking you for god knows how long. How could you not see it? You always thought you paid attention, always thought you were aware, but you missed it. Was he still following you now? Watching, waiting for the perfect time to strike? You felt like you were going to be sick.

Are you his next victim?

Panic surged through you, as you thought back to that fateful night and you realized..You were different. He had called you, spoken to you, unlike his other victims, and he spared you, and seemed to intend on keeping you alive…wanting to speak to you again.

He was playing a cat and mouse game with you, and he was going to keep you alive for as long as you entertained him.

“Are you alright over there? You look like you’ve got something on your mind.” Jed asked, snapping you out of your thoughts.

“I’m fine, thanks. I was just reading and I got a little lost in my head, I guess.” You admitted. He put a gentle hand over yours. “You don’t have to read these, and you don’t have to do this. If it’s too much, just let me know.”

You would typically be flustered by his caring actions, but you were too focused to care. “Thanks, Jed, but I’m good. I can do this.”

You’d play his game, but you weren’t going to be the mouse. He was.

–

That evening, you went to one of his victims home’s, armed with a taser you had bought a week after the murders you witnessed, and a camera. It was in a safe upper middle class suburban community, which Ghostface had infiltrated with ease. He had murdered a family of four. The house was condemned, and no one stepped foot inside ever since.

Well, until now. You stared at the rather large house in front of you, taking a deep shaky breath, before pulling off the wood panels blocking the door, and stepping inside.

It was a rather nice home, besides the dust, the stench of bleach, and lack of furniture. You read that it was designed by the patriarch and father, Paul. You shut the door behind you, walking through the entryway, before pausing.

You meandered to the kitchen, spotting an old blood stain on the tiled floor. You raised your camera, taking a picture. That was where the daughter, May, had her throat slit.

Orange light shone through the boarded up windows from the sunset outside. You went through some cabinets and drawers in the kitchen, not finding anything. During your search, you pushed against something, causing a loud, creaking, making your heart practically leap out of your chest.

You jumped, swearing under your breath, before realizing it was just the basement door. You slowly went down, the area becoming darker with each step you took. Thankfully, you managed to find the string to a light bulb, pulling it and illuminating the room.

There was a space where the washer/dryer was, and another blood stain, from the mother’s death. She had been stabbed in the back, and three times in the chest.

Suddenly, there was a loud popping sound, the lightbulb exploding. You jumped, throwing your camera. You moved your hand around the dark, searching for it, before you felt something touch you.

“Fuck this.” You muttered under your breath, taking off up the stairs, slamming the door shut. After a moment or two, you opened the door again, seeing if there was anything waiting for you at the bottom of the steps. There was nothing there. You let out a sigh of relief.

Okay, I’m losing it. I need to stay calm and focus. Figure out what’s going through his head. What’s he thinking about? What’s he plotting?

“Looking for something?” A voice asked from behind you…A voice that you could never forget…A voice that haunts your dreams. You spun around on your heels, spotting Ghostface standing before you. “Surprise.”

Fuck. You turned to run, but he grabbed your arm, pulling you backward. You struggled against his grip, but he was too strong. He shoved you to the ground, your head knocking against the floor.

You groaned in pain, your head throbbing and feeling dizzy and disoriented from the fall. He circled you like a shark in water, his boots making the floorboards creak.

“So, you decided to play detective, huh? How cute. You should know it’s dangerous to snoop around..especially when there’s a killer roaming the streets.” He knelt down above you, while you reached for the taser in your pocket.

You flicked it on, and swung at him, but he slashed at your arm with his knife, cutting you and making you drop the device and yelp in pain. He tsked, flicking it off. “You seriously thought this was going to stop me? Silly girl…You should behave yourself.”

“Fuck you, you sadistic shithead!” You snapped, punching him across the face with your good hand. You hit him hard. So hard that his mask had shifted to the other side of his face, and blood dropped onto the floor.

He wiped the blood from the cloth of his mask, staying eerily quiet and still. You got to your feet, springing up and running to the door. Just before you could open it, he grabbed you by your hair, pulling your head and slamming you up against a wall.

“Little fucking bitch. You’re going to pay for that.” He bashed your head against the wall a couple more times, before wrapping a hand around your throat and squeezing, his knife pressing against your chest, just inches away from your heart.

“If you’re going to kill me, get it over with already.” You said, your voice raspy from the lack of oxygen. That only got him to press down harder. “You stupid whore, don’t you want to live?”

“I’d rather die— f-fighting than live— and listen to you.” You spoke between wheezes. He strangled you harder, to the point where you felt like you were going to pass out, but just before he could, he let you go, pressing his mask to your ear.

“You’ll die when I want you to.” He hissed, before his voice turned back to it’s typical condescending and playful tone. “For now, you can keep it up with your little investigation. It’s quite entertaining, actually. Who knows, maybe you’ll crack the case. But if I were you, I would focus on who I’m going to kill next. Hopefully, it’s not your little friend.”

“No- don’t-” Before she could speak anymore, he put a finger to her lips, silencing her. “Be a good girl, and don’t break my rules, and I’ll find someone else. Now, run along, and take care of that arm. You don’t want it getting infected. Get some ice for your head too. See you around, doll.”

And with that, he let you go, shoving you out the front door.

[youtastelike-sunlight]

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25 for the tattoo asks! Thanks! 🤪✌️

Katey for the love of god just tell me you want a video call where I strip down and show off my ink 🤣

(Also, the number of times I checked this list absolutely convinced you would have skipped ONE for the lulz)

1. How many tattoos do you have?

Uh. Somewhere around 35-ish? There's been a lot of, like, building out on existing ones and making them cohesive, so it's really hard to say. 40-50 sessions in the chair, for sure.

2. What is your favourite tattoo you've gotten?

Stop asking pansexual ADHDers to pick favourites. Actually, speaking of, that joke on Dropout's Breaking News a few weeks ago about how Dropout fans are "pansexual nerds with drama mask tattoos and anxiety disorders" called me the fuck out, four for four baby, so maybe right now it's my drama masks with a Shakespeare quote 😅

3. What is the most meaningful tattoo you've gotten?

Any of the multiple memorial tattoos for deceased family members, or the matching tattoo I got with my spouse after our wedding

4. What is your dream tattoo?

I'm hoping to get something cool on my chest post-top surgery, but that's a long-ass way away yet.

5. What was the most painful tattoo?

I fully used numbing cream when I got my inner thigh tattooed, but I missed a spot. Ask me how I realised.

Also my knuckles, jfc. Fully cussed my tattoo guy out for that one, it was his idea to extend the design down to cover a couple of knuckles in the first place lmfao.

6. What was your first ever tattoo and how old were you when you got it?

My uncle's initials after he died when I was 17. I had this deal with my mum that I could get all the facial piercings I wanted, dye my hair all the batshit colours I wanted, as long as I didn't get a tattoo until I turned 18. And I'm grateful for that, because I wanted some tacky-ass shit at 15-16. But we negotiated for the one at 17, which there was little to no chance of me regretting.

7. What is your most recent tattoo?

An envelope with a piece of paper coming out of it that says "wish you were queer xo" for a flash day fundraiser for RainbowYOUTH.

8. What does your family think about your tattoos?

My mum is fucking petrified of needles, so her objection isn't to the permanent ink on my skin so much as willingly subjecting myself to being stabbed lmao. I hid them from my paternal grandparents until my wedding day and then said 'fuck it they can't yell at me today!' and they have never, ever mentioned them since. My maternal grandmother hated my first few, offered to pay to get them laser removed when I was at about 4 or 5, then begrudgingly acknowledged that some of them weren't terrible, and when she went into hospice in 2017 she gave me a list of the sorts of things she wanted included in her memorial tattoo 🤣

9. What meaning do your tattoos have?

Everything from very personal connections/memories/experiences in the memorial tattoos down to "I rolled three dice and got three words and the artist designed something based on that and slapped it on my body", and everything in between.

10. How many tattoos do you want?

As many as I have good ideas.

11. Where is the most painful place you've been tattooed?

Is this a different question to #5?

I will say - back of calf tattoos are surprisingly difficult. Not the MOST painful place, but probably the longest I've been really genuinely uncomfortable? (Though, again, sans numbing cream on my inner thigh this would be a VERY different convo)

12. Where is a place on your body that you will NEVER get tattooed?

I dunno... butthole? Eyeball?

I'm unlikely to do a face tattoo, but who knows, really.

13. What is a design you love on others but would never get for yourself?

I can't think of a specific design!

14. What is your favourite style of tattoo?

New School, for sure. Though I have a bit of nearly everything 🤣

15. Would you trust a friend to choose the design of your tattoo?

Depends on the friend. Katey, you will not be designing a Fiona/Dragon tattoo for me, soz.

16. What are some tattoo assumptions you think need to die?

That having ever gotten a tattoo in the past means you have a ton of disposable income now (the amount of "omg they're on a benefit but they have tattoos" I've heard from dipshits how the fuck do you think tattoos work?????), that it's not a valid and fucking impressive form of artwork.

17. Do you have one tattoo artist who does all of your art or a stand out tattoo artist? Hype them up!

These days I do! Only since I moved back to my current city in 2017, though, so a lot of my older stuff is by other artists. His name's Steve, he's a fucking delight, every day I'm in his chair is a fucking party. When my grandad died I just booked him out for the day and chatted to him about my grandad for the morning until inspo struck him and then he turned his iPad around with the loveliest design on it.

18. Is there any artist you would love to get work done by? Tell us about them!

There are lots of incredible artists out there, but I don't think I have, like, one bucket list person.

19. What is your worst tattoo experience?

I had an apprentice go too deep on my pansexual tattoo and I still have a bit of raised scar tissue there lmao

20. What has been your best tattoo experience?

Getting my grandmother's memorial tattoo designed and tattooed. Per #8 I went in with a bit of a chaotic list and what the artist put together was just fucking stunning. It's my whole upper arm and every single element of it has really personal meaning.

21. Do you have any matching tattoos with people?

Yep! My spouse and I got matching Doctor Who tattoos after our wedding. I'm a DW fan of old, got my spouse into the show after we got together, and we had a reference in our ceremony but without discussing it, we'd both put references in our individual vows as well lmao.

I also have a few like... standard tattoos, for lack of a better word? As well as a few flash sheet designs. So I definitely have matching tattoos with strangers 🤣

22. What is your opinion on face tattoos?

Follow your bliss, babes, but you know the society we live in and you're accepting the potential bullshit. (I have hand tattoos!! I'm not saying it's RIGHT I'm saying it IS.)

23. Do you think tattoos make people look less professional?

No, but I know people think they do. Where's that tweet about how tattoos make you perfect for corporate culture because it shows you can sit through the most painful bullshit and that's every corporate meeting ever?

24. Post a picture of your favourite tattoo.

It me, the Dropout fan.

25. Give us a tattoo tour!

Katey I will absolutely get booted off tumblr if I do that.

[tattoo asks... except katey's already asked them all so]

[nrd-answers]

The local group, in the words of Seven Rules, Four Undone

“Needled Rains Descending hmm.. my first design, when I was first sponsored for such a massive project. I had attempted to locate it somewhere as close as possible to its work to minimize retrieval time.

Its name means Death. Imminent, swift, and inescapable. I programmed it to be cooperative, respectful, and hardworking.

…being called beloved parent grates at my nerves. I cannot seem to find the data and remove it.”

“Ah yes, Longing Within Reason. My second design. Quite close to the NRD model, though I had attempted to improve upon what I manufactured

In the end however, I had to rebuild it from scratch, which seems to have left a bit of a structural toll on the iterator. Oh well.

Its name comes from the rationality of thought. Of satisfying desires to a normal amount, instead of constantly destroying yourself for unattainable goals. I may have been.. emotionally compromised when building it.”

“Branching Endless Timelines, my largest design. I placed it on the peak of a mountain to stave off excess heat. This was an.. attempt at an unconventional cooling agent. I believe it’s structurally sound.

Its name comes from the lesser known cycle theory that when we die, we join a timeline where we didn’t die, branching out into a new timeline so to speak. It was another attempt at something new, yet efficient.”

“Without Lungs and Breathing. An experiment in more organic integrations to the iterator. It required much more water and ventilation because of the extra heat from the flesh and body configurations.

However, I got it to work. A more risky decision on my part, almost as risky as my first model.

The name I gave this model was to accentuate how, despite our deaths, we always end up living once more. Persisting beyond logic.”

“Circles in Cycles of Circles. One of my proudest works. Water pressure is an entirely different hurdle to cross, after all. So many changes to a traditional iterator’s blueprint! I’ll admit I had a bit of fun.

Because of the difficulties building under water causes, I had to scale the model down to a more traditional size. I personally like larger puppet designs, but it was necessary.

Its name represents the loops of cycles, the parallels in sameness, moving onward in one motion.”

“Wings Unflown. An iterator I had attempted to divide into three towers in the hopes to cut down on heat and condensed workings. One of my most expensive projects. Other than the extended broadcast range, the model isn’t that special

Its name stems from the lost opportunities we may have in life, simply by holding onto things we do not need, thereby ‘letting our wings stay unflown.’”

“Horns of Four. My most recent iterator that I built upon an island with a dead volcano. It made for a very simple building plan, though transporting the materials was quite a difficult endeavor. In hindsight I should’ve just stayed a more simpler and easier location, such as BET. It handles heat in the most efficient way, however. More traditional.

The model’s name refers to the first four sins: violence, lust, attachment, and gluttony.”

“I have no intention of building more. Maintaining seven by myself is more than enough to keep myself occupied.”

[blysse-and-blunder]

in lieu of a rainy day

10pm, sunday, nov 26, 2023

went to a gig for a friend's band last night, but otherwise it's been an extremely lowkey and indoor weekend. living that housecat lifestyle. aside from the sunday scaries (but, like, for the semester....for the year....) all in all the past week+ has been Okay. whoever is in charge of my calendar (which is me) made a pretty big gamble booking three-four medical-esque appointments back-to-back-to-back this week, but it paid off, we got through it, and the decks are cleared (so to speak) for writing between now and the holidays.

reading i got briefly very into freya marske's books a marvellous light and now a restless truth, though i will admit to having calmed (slowed) down a lot in reading the sequel, after tearing through the first one like there was a deadline. the world building and magic system are very fun, i am a big fan of the aesthetic; they're extremely sexy but not at the expense of plot or dialogue or characters' having their own real personalities, flaws and hobbies and all. excited to read the third one.

listening a quick skim of the previous few ilcb entries (have there really only been three all fall, dear me) to check i hadn't already posted this, and it doesn't seem like it? so, gregory alan isakov with the colorado symphony. the additional strings, the additional brass, it adds such a gorgeous dimension to this already pretty good song; the way things build from 1:20 on or so, to burst into full color and light from 1:59 to 2:14.... i've turned a few afternoons around lately just leaning into that orchestra swell in my headphones. wish it lasted a full 10 minutes, wish it had multiple movements.

watching more burrow's end; finished arcane season 1 with @hematiterings and began watching the first season of stranger things since she's never seen it; the nostalgia and affection i feel! the real satisfaction in how good season 1 is, how young they all are!! also started season 2 of slings and arrows with the housemates, which is new territory for me and which is similarly filling me with affection for characters i've known a long time, and fascination at seeing them doing new things and making new bad decisions. also started the second season of wheel of time on my own, as background while doing some unpaid graphic design/newsletter prep; my gratitude for this show making something so rich and visually interesting and real out of the books is unabated, even though i'm not feeling anyone's storyline very intensely at the moment. rand meeting logain was cool; perrin has been captured and that's bad; mat is now traveling with min, which is also cool because it's probably a set-up; i'm sorry that nynaeve had such a hard time in the arches but her romance subplot with lan has always left me extremely cold; moiraine is being frustrating! the show has a nice way of showing us other characters, minor characters, too-- moiraine's sister, for one, and starting that encounter by showing us her sister's morning routine, clarifying the difference in their ages where one is aes sedai and aging very, very differently. egwene and the daughter heir are in a magical boarding school subplot which is surprisingly delightful.

playing dnd campaign a had a session for the first time in aaaaages not too long ago, and it was good. spoke to the gods briefly, got started trying to appease them with sports as opposed to human sacrifice, and ended the night beta testing a phone-based game a friend of the dm's wanted us to try which involved a lot of bluffing and bs and laughter. campaign b, meanwhile, is in combat with some were creatures; @dimir-charmer's character has maintained this whole time that she is Not a Werewolf but circumstances may be, in fact, conspiring against her...... worrying!

making not a whole lot. i bought a box of cards since the closest thing i've come to a hobby recently has been sending a few cards (well, one and a half); i feel the pull of stickers and sealing wax and stamps.... wandered through an art supply store only a little while ago and came so close to buying the vinyl stamp making kit, but the only paint i could find to go with vinyl stamps was metallic so i decided to wait. contemplating making potato stamps, like i do every year around this time, but again the ink or paint or whatever is the limiting factor there.

working on taught my second and final guest lecture of the semester! read back through the written feedback on my conference paper! have started to look at integrating said paper back into the chapter whence it came, and had to have a little lie-down, but that's the big project remaining. at the same time, the running commentary at the back of my brain is about lecture prep for the course i'm teaching in the spring, specifically, what i'll say to situate/contextualize/prepare students to handle the material, how i'll thread various needles, which texts i'm going to ultimately assign, and on and on. i've started trying to turn this background noise into brainstorming/writing/limited, focused bursts of work on said course, in the hopes that getting a little of it out of the way will let me brain settle back in to other projects afterwards. i've also realized i've started doing the Discretionary stuff first, i.e. the reading extra articles, the looking at post docs or awards or things to apply for, the stuff that won't happen if i don't allow myself 15 min to look into it, because the Actual Work will be enforced, it will have to happen eventually, and the discretionary stuff won't. jury's very much out as to whether this will pay off, especially when it's not discretionary work at all, but discretionary attending-a-lecture time, or -coffee-with-a-friend time, or discretionary-at-the-gym time. time spent with the cat, of course, is non-discretionary.

[daboyau]

Chapter seven of the Leave AU. You know the bandages and injuries we’ve seen on One and Two? We get an up close and personal look at what caused them this chapter, so be warned.

@boots-with-the-fur-club

@sharksandturtlesandspiders

@qwerty-keyboard-is-superior

When Draxum called him into his office, Four didn’t know what to expect. He’d thought that maybe this would be an impromptu medical exam or a punishment for his poor performance during the most recent joint training exercise. He tried not to think about what Two had told him, because if he thought about it then Draxum might notice that he was keeping secrets and then they’d all be in big big trouble. 

The sight of the rainbow eyed yokai perched in the armchair in the corner of the room made his heart sink as he suddenly realized what he had been summoned for. It watched him, head turning slowly to follow as he inched deeper into the room to stand before Draxum’s desk, wishing he was the only threat to be faced. He’d seen the incisions and the bruises and the haunted looks on his brothers’ faces; he had been dreading the day that it would be his turn, too.

“You are aware that the Counsel has been conducting an inquiry and performing their own experiments,” Draxum began in a carefully measured voice, his lip curling in poorly disguised disdain for the practice. He hated when others tried to butt in on his experiments. Two had been disciplined for it a lot when they were younger, before he learned to just focus on his own work, even if their creator’s project was more interesting. “The others’ trials have already begun, but I deemed you too young at the time. As you are now the same age as Two and Three were for their first exam, the Counsel has decided you are old enough as well.”

Four nodded, unable to speak around the little knot of anxiety that had curled itself tighter and tighter inside his chest. The yokai rose from its chair and glided over on silent feet, the rustling fabric of its robes and the crackle of the fire in the hearth the only sounds in the room. It felt like even Draxum was holding his breath. Four’s eyes lingered on the duffel bag it had left sitting innocently on the floor beside the chair, mind racing with thoughts of what sorts of things might be inside. His gaze snapped back to the yokai as it got close enough to pose an immediate danger. His heart was hammering inside his chest, and he just hoped that neither Draxum nor this yokai would be able to hear it.

“What is your designation?” the yokai asked, which Four thought was a silly question considering he knew they’d already met his brothers and could have figured out on their own what number came next. Still, he swallowed down his worries and his annoyance and made himself smile.

“I’m Four.”

“Hm, yes, of course you are. Your master’s creativity knows no bounds,” the yokai drawled, tone dripping with sarcasm, and Four had to stop himself from cringing when he saw Draxum go stiff from the corner of his eye. He was practically radiating fury.

“It’s practical,” he began, but the yokai waved him off before he could say anything more. 

“Yes, I’ve heard.” 

It took everything in him not to snap his head between the two as they spoke over him. He didn’t want Draxum to think he was judging him or anything like that! But…he was surprised at how unconcerned the Counsel yokai was. Didn’t it know that Draxum could hurt them if he wanted to?

Four shifted a bit, and the rainbows in five of its eyes began to whirl and change as they tracked his movement. He watched, entranced by the colors and patterns, and the yokai stared back with its other two eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Four swallowed down his nerves and offered another small smile.

“Tell me what you are thinking,” the yokai commanded in a low voice.

“You have pretty eyes,” Four answered before he could think better of it, and immediately flinched back at the soft snort of displeasure he heard from Draxum. The skin around the yokai’s many eyes crinkled as it smiled, and despite the prickling nerves that were climbing up and down his shell, Four felt himself relax just the tiniest bit. Maybe the counsel yokai wasn’t that bad after all? Maybe he’d been misunderstanding what was going on?

“It’s more simple than the others, isn’t it?” the yokai hummed, pulling out a file with a picture of Four’s face clipped to the top of it from beneath its robes. It flipped it open, papers inside rustling as it shifted through them. Then, it grabbed a pen and scribbled something on one of the papers inside. Four wished he could see what it was writing. “No attempts at manipulation or masking its thoughts. Still just a naive child. It would be prudent to have the next batch mature more quickly. Your so-called warriorswill be of little use to the Counsel of Heads otherwise.”

“Of course.” Draxum’s voice was tight. The taste of blood filled Four’s mouth as he bit down on his tongue, sharp fangs piercing through it easily as he did his best to keep his expression from faltering and his hands from trembling. Though the yokai’s voice was smooth and light with amusement, its words didn’t seem very nice. They felt dangerous. 

He tried not to think about white bandages and red blood and dark bruises and black stitches, but his eyes kept straying over towards the bag sitting innocently beside the chair. That was probably where the yokai kept all their medical supplies, right? What else did it carry around in that bag that could cause those wounds in the first place? The thought made him feel all jittery and sick.

“Where shall we begin our session today, Baron Draxum?” the yokai asked, its eyes narrowed as it smiled. It said his name like it was mocking him. 

“In the lab,” he replied through gritted teeth. Four could see Draxum’s hands clenching and unclenching at his side. “As usual.”

“Ah, yes, of course. Easier clean up.” 

Four locked his knees to hide the way those words made his legs shake. He didn’t complain or try to hide when Draxum turned and led them towards his lab. Neither of them seemed to mind that Four fell behind a little, toddling along on legs that felt more like jelly than anything else. All they cared about was that he didn’t protest when he was instructed to climb up onto the specimen table. 

He had to hop a little bit to reach. It felt embarrassing to have the yokai see him struggle to climb onto the slippery metal surface, doing his best not to use his claws for grip and risk damaging it. He hoped Draxum wouldn’t be angry at him.

Four settled himself onto the edge of the table, legs swinging to bleed off some of the nervous energy, and he looked between Draxum’s blank expression and the yokai’s face. It was not smiling anymore, but its many eyes were alight as it stared back. He waited, not sure what else to do until he was given an order. He felt small and out of his depths in a way he wasn’t used to. At least during training he knew what was expected of him; he could fight, and then he could win or lose. Sitting on the cold metal table with both Draxum and the counsel yokai watching him, he didn’t know what the next step was supposed to be.

The counsel yokai placed a hand on his knee, stilling the swing of his legs. Its sharp claws pricked at his scales, and beads of blood welled up around them. The red looked too bright against the dull green of his flesh. Four swallowed hard around the fear filling his chest and blocking his throat, and when the yokai met his gaze it was only that lump in his throat that kept him from whimpering.

“Lay down,” the yokai said softly, claws still digging into his knee. Four did as he was told, resisting the urge to wince as the movement tore those claws from his flesh. His heart pounded heavy in his chest, beating almost painfully against his plastron. “If you squirm or fight me in any way, I will have no choice but to tie you down. You will not like it if I have to do that. Do you understand?” 

Four nodded, unable to speak around the tightness in his throat. He took a deep breath, willing the burning in his eyes to go away, terrified that he would only make the yokai angry if he cried. His fingers curled at his sides and he did his best to focus on his breathing as the yokai’s hands prodded at his calves and ankles. He felt it pinch his Achilles tendon, tap at his knee, run curious fingers across his calf muscle, and dig its claws into the arch of his foot and the pads of his toes. It hummed thoughtfully, and then it withdrew. For one brief and foolish moment, Four hoped that maybe that would be it. Just a quick medical examination. (He already knew that was too good to be true.)

Then, he heard the rustling of fabric and the soft tinkling of metal against metal. The sound he made when the yokai appeared in his field of vision again with a scalpel would have been embarrassing in any other situation. It would have had One fussing over him with big sad eyes, and Three teasing him and trying to make him smile, and Two trying to distract him with long winded explanations about fear responses. All it did now was make the yokai tip its head, eyes narrowed and whirling, before it flashed him a small smile.

“No moving,” it reminded him. Four’s wide eyes darted towards Draxum, but his creator was turned away, head lowered and eyes shut.

There was the tickle of feather light touches over his calf again. They were almost gentle. He gritted his teeth, trying to be brave. Then, the scalpel replaced those careful touches, and all his tentative resolve was ripped away.

Four couldn’t stop the cry that ripped from his throat as he felt the blade trace a burning path up his leg. He knew that tensing up would only make it worse, but he couldn’t help it; it was all he could do to keep himself from thrashing and making the methodical cuts turn into jagged slashes.

He was no stranger to pain. He knew all about the blood soaked, adrenaline fueled sting of a fight, or the slow dull drain of a blood draw. He could endure hunger and thirst and exhaustion. He knew how to keep pushing through hour after hour of intense training, through bleeding and sores and trembling limbs. Draxum had taught him how to control his breathing and disappear into his own mind as he held his hands and carefully snapped the bones of each finger in quick, precise movements, and then set them right after so they would heal correctly. 

This was nothing at all like any of that. It was slow. Methodical. Torturous.

Four clutched the side of the table, fingers slipping in the hot, wet, red. He didn’t know how it got up here. Had he torn off a fingernail while scrabbling at the metal, or was it because of arterial spray? The yokai made a low sound, something that might have been meant to soothe in a different situation. He was pretty sure it was just mocking him now, though. 

Its hand was on his knee again, squeezing so tightly he was worried it might shatter his kneecap as it held him still. The scalpel traced another careful line from his ankle to where its hand rested, cutting through skin and muscle, scraping against bone. He could smell blood in the air. He could taste it on his tongue and in the back of his throat. He turned his head to the side, trying not to heave, afraid that if he did the blade would find the tendons and cut through those, too. 

He’d been hurt worse before. He’d lived through broken bones and a cracked shell and bites that ripped and maimed and the way his brothers looked at him after they’d all torn each other to shreds. He knew what it felt like to press his hands to a wound - both his own and the people he loves - to try to stem the bleeding. He knew how to be hurt. 

Somehow, this careful shredding and peeling of his leg was so much worse. The intent to cause him pain and the satisfaction the yokai was taking in it was new. He tried his hardest to think about his brothers as the scalpel brought wave after wave of agony. They had been strong, so that meant that he had to be, too. But the pain seemed like it was never going to end, and as tears clouded his vision, he squeezed his eyes shut and wondered how much more any of them could take. 

[markerofthemidnight]

Chonny Jash Design Details And Other Headcanons (Until I’m Comfortable Enough Sharing My Designs)

So funny story: I’m only now thinking about the fact that I’ve never shown you guys my HMS designs. I’ve turned them into bugs- twice- and incomprehensible abominations, but I’ve not shown you my normal designs for how they look.

So until I feel confident enough to show you all the designs, here’s some visualisation!

Also, today marks the first anniversary for me coming up with these designs (although I’ve polished them since)! So… yeah!

Heart

Basic Design

My Heart design is honestly pretty simple

Mainly because the first “lore-heavy” CCCC video I watched (and continued to watch for like a day) was The Mind Electric, and Heart was the one we saw the most of

He’s got all the things people think of when they think “Heart design”: the blindfold, the white sweater, the wings with purple tips, etc

However, the sweater is covered in noticeable purple patches that tend to get brighter in certain places

This is because, when he’s injured in battle and it gets torn, the sweater starts repairing itself, but the scarred places always come back in a light shade of purple

The brighter the colour, the more times it’s been scarred

Speaking of which, there are long, thin purple marks running down his cheeks, starting where his eyes would be

Are they scars? Are they tear marks? Who knows?

Oh, and underneath his blindfold, his face is heavily covered in purple scars

And as for the eyes themselves… they’re just not there. Just giant black holes in his face

He also has tail feathers. and his neck works off of owl logic

His wings change depending on his emotions: they shimmer and start glowing when he’s happy, lose their colours when he’s sad, and when he’s angry they light on FIRE (PURPLE fire) and become big enough for him to actually fly

Extra Details + Headcanons

Stims by flapping his wings!!!

Is actually a whole lot more capable than the others seem to act like he is… but honestly, I didn’t need to tell you that

For example, him being blind means he needs to focus more on hearing to get around: memorising audial cues in his friends’ voices and such

With this in mind, it’s possible he’s actually the most perceptive of the three

Also: despite how much he cares about being treated fairly by the other two, he loves self-depreciating humour

In fact, the only reason why Mind and Soul are so comfortable making blind jokes around him is because he’s the one who does it the most

Also likes warmth. His room has little sources of light- and therefore also heat- so he needs all the warmth he can get

Mind

Basic Design

Mind is an android. I feel like I have to get this out of the way first

He wears a skinsuit which conceals this mostly, but it’s removed around his hands and upper head, revealing the mechanical features beneath

He wears a wig since his actual fake hair was torn off by Heart in a particularly nasty fight, as well as most of his forehead area

(the wig was actually a very recent addition on my half: without it I felt like he stood out too much, him having a wig fit the lore I have for him, and also if I showed you guys a design of him without hair you’d probably just call him a boiled egg)

He wears a suit, and generally his dress sense has a pretty “sophisticated yet casual” vibe

He has four-fingered claws and an electric watch permanently fused to his right wrist

Well, he calls it a watch, but really it’s more like a phone

It has a whole variety of functions, though it’s mostly used for note-taking, and also contains his charge plug

Extra Details + Headcanons

HOO BOY DO I HAVE A LOT OF THOSE FOR THIS MAN.

First of all, I feel like I need to go more into the charging thing: Heart and Soul can sleep, although they don’t necessarily need to, but he charges instead

He can go for a whole week without needing to recharge, and low battery only starts to affect him at 5%

He acts tired for a little while whilst basically forcing himself to go as long as possible without charging, only deciding to go back and recharge at 1%

Whilst doing so, he basically acts surprisingly nice and polite and almost kinda drunk for a few minutes before passing out, only waking up when he hits EXACTLY 100%

He’s well aware of how “submissive” he is when he’s charging, so that’s why he avoids it like the plague

Anyways, he is- as we all know- an absolute jackass, but he’s immediately impressed by you if you can tell him things even he doesn’t know

The man hoards trivia like a dragon. The more practical uses the information has, the more valuable it is to him

This means he’s a very good hacker, because what information would a robot find more valuable than coding?

He also likes gaming in what little spare time he allows himself to have, but he does NOT let Heart and Soul find out

He inwardly panics at the presence of all genuine emotion, especially big overpowering ones

And now for my favourite headcanon about Mind: he doesn’t let it show, but he is incredibly self-conscious about being a robot

He’s pretty much incapable of interacting with strangers, since he only exists in Soul’s head, but if he was, he would go to all lengths necessary to conceal his face and hands

The reasoning behind this? Well, when he and Heart were first born, they had no identities besides Soul’s and had to figure out who they were for themselves

In other words: it took Mind weeks of existing in the Headspace to even figure out that he was a robot.

He had his suspicions that something was wrong the second he mysteriously passed out whilst charging his “watch” and woke up just as it hit 100%, but he didn’t really figure it out until a particularly bad fight with Heart revealed one of his eyes was actually mechanical

As for the not needing to eat or sleep, or the four fingers, or the fact that he couldn’t take off his watch no matter how hard he tried? He just blamed that on the Headspace being weird. It’s surprising how many leaps in logic the brain is willing to take in order to ignore the truth.

It’s been long enough since then that he’s been able to mostly fight off the existential dread, but he’s still uncomfortable with it

After all, he used to be human. He knows that- he has memories of being human, even if those memories are rightfully Soul/Whole’s.

He knows he’s not a robot, yet his body tells a different story. Wouldn’t you feel the same about that?

Soul

Basic Design

For the most part, his design’s pretty simple

Hypnotic, pure red eyes with white pupils (as seen on the right side of my Abstracted Soul design)

He wears a light brown cloak complete with a hood that, when pulled over his face, obscures his whole face except for his eyes

He also has fangs, pointy ears and a snake tongue >:3

His fingers become red and start glowing near the tips: he also has claws

he has chicken slippers. this is the most important piece of information.

If he was REALLY being serious on that particular day though he’d probably change to something more threatening…

imagine like armour or something? Idk I need to polish that part of the design out more

OH AND ALSO. The trident has a sheath: his head. It literally phases into his hair when he’s not using it and you can see its tips poking out like a little crown.

Extra Details + Headcanons

He’s the only one who (usually) takes control of the real body, only coming to the Headspace while asleep: hence why Heart and Mind are able to fight so often

Actually doesn’t like Monster as much as people think.

He only drinks it so much because he needs a good source of caffeine and he doesn’t like coffee

After all, this man has absolutely NO internal clock, especially inside the headspace

There are certain moments where he’ll just… pass out, for no reason… so most of the time Heart and Mind can tell when he’s asleep because like:

*CRASH. CLATTER. BANG.*

”Oh, Soul’s asleep again.”

However: he does like chickens. He has no Darrel in my version but he’s still a big fan of birds, flightless ones specifically

He thinks flightless birds are the coolest things ever: because honestly, who doesn’t?

Favourite song from CCCC, assuming he’s aware of it in this universe or whatever, is Mucka Blucka because it combines his two favourite things: music and chickens

(though he likes the OG Mucka Blucka better, because that’s just the same song except he doesn’t also have to deal with Heart and Mind)

His power stems from all the raw magic inside the Headspace. With the Trident, he can harness this magic (although he can’t do EVERYTHING)

He likes to refer to himself as a warlock, because that really suits his style

He’s pretty bad at hiding how love-hate his relationship with those two is. It’s like 15% love and 85% hate, though.

As I discussed in an earlier post, his problem- at core- is the fact that he’s so obsessed with trying to bring back the past that he doesn’t realise the problems he’s causing

HE is actually the reason why the three can’t stay Whole: and he’s so focused on his goals that this possibility hasn’t even crossed his mind

(or the other’s minds, for that matter. Which says a lot about Heart’s confidence, and Mind’s resentment towards his emotional half).

At the end of the day, I fully believe that the story will only be resolved once he finally figures out that, after all the heartbreak they’ve been through trying to become Whole… maybe it’d be easier for all of them to just stay split.

And that’s all!

[gascon-en-exil]

Putting a Ring on It Before Engage Made It Cool

I've long been in the habit of ignoring Three Houses's S ranks. They're awkwardly-written monologues just like all of Byleth's supports, and I've always been happy to grab them just to fill out the support log or even exploit the system and buy them with Renown along the way to 100%. The actual substance of them might as well not exist as far as I'm concerned.

But @fantasyinvader recently noted something about the S ranks that got me curious about the ring exchanges in these conversations. Unlike Engage's Pact Ring and its totally-not-an-engagement-ring ploy, the procedure and sometimes even the ring itself vary in these scenes. Generally speaking, male characters give rings to Byleth, while female characters receive Byleth's ring. But there are exception to this rule.

First off, there are four different rings used in the S ranks. This one, which is Byleth's Ring,

what I'll refer to as the Standard Ring for other characters, which is the design used if I don't mention otherwise,

a more Ornate Ring for the extra-fancy among the cast,

and a more Simple Ring mostly associated with commoner characters, although the noble Wolves also use this one as they're both strapped for cash.

Most S ranks see only one ring given out. However, a handful of them feature a ring exchange. In these scenes, the other character always gives Byleth their ring first, except with Shamir where the exchange happens at the same time.

Female characters have fewer variations, as most of them merely receive Byleth's Ring which is of course always the same. This is the case for all except the four below.

Shamir, Constance, and Rhea exchange rings, with Rhea using the Standard Ring while the other two use the Simple Ring.

Marianne, a bit surprisingly, is the only female character to give Byleth a ring without receiving one. This is presumably meant to reflect the extent of her growing assertiveness.

Male characters most often give their rings to Byleth, which causes more variation based on the ring types. To break it down:

Simple Ring: Dedue, Raphael, Ignatz, Yuri, Balthus

Standard Ring: Claude, Linhardt, Felix, Sylvain, Seteth, Hanneman

Ornate Ring: Ferdinand, Lorenz

You just knew it was going to be those two going for the most expensive option.

Dimitri and Ashe exchange rings with Byleth, with Dimitri using the Standard Ring and Ashe using the Simple Ring.

Meanwhile, Hubert, Caspar, and Cyril receive Byleth's Ring without giving one in return. Caspar's habitually clueless about romance and Cyril's likely too young to have considered a ring, but I'm guessing Hubert's here because he would have only ever given one to Edelgard but at least now he'll get to enjoy voyeuristic jerking to the inevitable lesbian cuckoldry.

Finally, Gilbert, Alois, and Jeritza's S ranks are the only ones with no ring exchanged at all. Gilbert and Alois are already married and their S ranks are platonic, while Jeritza is...special. His vows undoubtedly entail that weirdly orgasmic fight to the death he fantasizes about in the A rank.

One more thing to note is that the only bi-for-Byleth option who breaks from the usual give/receive pattern in any way is Rhea with her ring exchange. Japanese connection between lilies and lesbianism being what it is, was this the only one of the ten the writers were ever seriously thinking about as a same-sex romance?

...for entirely wholesome and not at all horny reasons, surely.

[frog-the-author]

Chapter Four: The true

Yes I’m back with other chapter! I’m not sick anymore which is great! But during my time of being sick I was not able to eat nothing or a whole bunch of food and I also went sleep deprived so I had to force myself to sleep which is great! Not a lot of interesting things happened yet but the only thing interesting is happening that I’m going to a camp for a week so chapters will be coming out late again! It’s that great sorry for keeping you waiting for all this time again! But now enjoy this amazing chapter that I made for you all! ENJOY READERS

This chapter is unfinished and I will finish it soon because I just have low motivation to get it done :)

_____________________________

"And that's the gospel truth." They all sang together. They move out of the way and there is a painting of sheep and hills and trees. The sheep were eating grass from the hills.

The sun shines in the sky, the sheep are eating the fresh grass on the ground and there is a dirt path in the middle of the hill. Then a wooden wheelbarrow with haystacks on it went flying down the dirt pathway heading straight towards the market that is down hill. In front of the wheelbarrow is Hua Cheng sitting and a donkey with a broken ankle and Lang Qianqiu who is pulling the wheelbarrow with his strength. "Lang Qianqiu! Slow down!" Hua Cheng told him while holding his hat that was on his head. When they reached the market there were three men on top of the entire building entrance. "Look out!" Hua Cheng told Lang while pointing at the man. "Oops! S-Sorry guys!" Lang apologized with a nervous tone while going through the entire way.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" A random person said to Lang while he was pulling the wheelbarrow. "Sunday driver." Another person said under their breath. People in the crowd are screaming because of Lang's not so good driving skills. Then he stopped the wheelbarrow and now he is stuck in a hole that he made while stopping the wheelbarrow that he was pulling. "Thanks son." Hua Cheng told Lang while he got out of the hole and sighed. "Where old Penelope twisted her ankle back there...I thought we were done for." He told his son while looking at the donkey's ankle. Lang Qianqiu walked towards the wheelbarrow and began lifting up the stack of hay. "No problem Pop." Lang told his father.

"Uh don't unload just yet," he told Lang. "First I have to finagle with Yin Yu." He explained to Lang Qianqiu. "Okay." Lang replied and put down the stack of back on the back of the wheelbarrow. Lang walked towards Hua Cheng and Hua Cheng began to speak to Lang before he left to talk to Yin Yu. "Now Lang this time please just." He began to explain to Lang Qianqiu. "I know I know.." Lang sighed. "Stay by the cart." Lang agreed sadly then Hua Cheng rubbed Lang's hair. "That's my boy." He exclaimed and walked away. There is a young man with a big pot that has the most beautiful design on it. ¨Oh my goodness! Whoa!¨ The man said to themself under their breath while almost falling backwards. ¨Careful!¨ Said Lang while he helped the young man with the pot with his hands on the bottom of it. ¨Why thank you.¨said the young man to the person that helped him and it was unknown that the person who helped him was Lang Qianqiu until he spoke. ¨No problem!¨ replied Lang. ¨W-why Lang qianqiu!¨ The young man sputtered. ¨It is you!¨ He finished his words. ¨Let me help you with that.¨ Lang offers the young man. ¨No no no no. I got it!¨ he told Lang then he turned around and went away from him and this shocked Lang then tried to help him again ¨ I'm fine! You just run along Lang now Lang.¨ He said, trying to get Lang to leave. ¨Are you sure?¨ Lang questioned him then he nodded. ¨Oh yes. Absolutely!¨ He told him and Lang left the room and the young man closed the long red curtain and Lang was standing there when he closed it. Lang began to walk away then disc appeared and fell on the ground next to his foot he bent down and grabbed the disc then he went back to standing up straight once again. ¨Yo! Give it here!¨ A random kid said while running towards him then he gasped when he saw who got his disc and some of his friends were behind him. ¨Hey..you need an extra guy?" He asked them if they wanted to play with them. ¨humm.¨ said the blonde kid. ¨Sorry Lang.¨ The blonde kid told him while rubbing the back of his neck. ¨But we already got five. We want to keep it an even number.¨ He told Lang. ¨Hey..wait a second. Five isn't an even.¨ Lang said he didn't get a chance to finish what he's about to say, so the blonde kid took the disc from his hand and ran away from him. ¨See ya Lang.¨ the blonde kid said and one of his friends said this to him.¨What a geek.¨ ¨Destructo boy!.¨ one of them said while laughing then another one said this.¨Maybe we should started calling him jerking!¨They all laugh together.

Lang walked away from them with his head looking at the ground while looking at his feet and sighed with sadness in his eyes then slowly looked up and sat down at the well that is somewhat in the middle of the market that he and his Father is at. Then the disc was flying in the air and Lang looked up and saw it. "Head up!" Said a random boy and Lang got up and ran towards the disc and tried to catch it. "I got it!" Lang said then jumped in the air to get the disc but failed and his body slammed on to the pillar. "No! Stop!" Said another kid but it was late. Lang crashed into a tall white pillar face first and fell down back on the ground making it crack underneath him.

[ddddd-pixels]

Who is one of your favorite characters in Zan Evolution Butouden?

This was a nice thing to wake up to; my first ask (not counting joke asks from my sibling). I might take a while to answer, but that's because I may have forgotten how to speak like a normal person... lol

When I first played it, I was not very good at performing half-circle motions (I can do them fine usually, but I play M.U.G.E.N. and all that on keyboard, which is a whole other problem) – most characters in Z.E.B. have at least one move with that motion, so it reduced who I could play as down to only a few characters (from my recollection; Taka Hoppa, Warsnite and Sinkage? May have forgotten someone, though). I'm quite good as all three, I think – I know some easy high-damage combos as Sinkage, specifically – but early on I almost exclusively played as Taka, despite not usually going for charge characters. I'm still pretty good as him; I found that in the corner his supers can combo into each other for some big damage, which is neat.

Now that I've got the hang of half-circles, though, I play as Fanhua the most – she kind of reminds me of my OC a little, so it's the closest I can do to playing as her (for now, teehee...); and her moveset is also just really fun to use. One thing that Z.E.B. does that I like is that characters have quite large movesets – Fanhua has seven special moves herself (and I think the least any character has is Warsnite's four) – so I can vary my playstyle and combos by quite a bit.

Sorry if I rambled on for a bit, I've never had a proper ask before and I got excited, lol. Your game is very fun and well-made, though, and your character designs are neat! I look forward to seeing how Ciara's moveset plays out!

[deusvervemakesgames]

Project RBH Devlog 0011

This last week has been something of a busy one. I managed to get quite a bit of groundwork laid for future developments. I’ve been expanding the list of possible upgrades that you can receive, and that means I need to also have the bullet and damage functionality to make those upgrades actually do something. Strictly speaking, I only got two or three upgrades added to the list, but I’m quite pleased with what I had to do to make those work.

The first thing I implemented was the Critical Hit system! That’s right, you can now land crits against enemies! I’ll have to go back and revise this system to make it play nicer with the rest of the damage systems, which I don’t think will be hard since all I have to do is move the code from one script into another and make sure the variable references don’t try to make an invalid reference, but I’ve done that sort of thing before—including with the other thing I did last week—and it shouldn’t be hard at all.

I’m also very pleased with how specifically implemented the system. Like most creative types, game designers are magpies; we steal anything shiny enough to catch our interest. And there’s one Critical Hit system that always comes to mind for me before any other: the Yellow, Orange, and Red Crits from Warframe.

If you don’t know what Warframe is, it’s free, go play it. What’s important here is that in Warframe, it is possible to upgrade a weapon so that its chance of landing a Critical Hit is more than 100%. There’s no official name for this, but damage numbers in Warframe are color-coded, hence why I referred to these as Orange and Red Crits last paragraph. The basic way the system works is that you can Crit multiple times with one attack, with each Crit reapplying the Critical Hit Damage Multiplier. For example, if your weapon has a 150% Critical Hit Chance and a 2x Critical Damage Multiplier, you are guaranteed to do twice as much as your base damage, with a further 50% chance to do four times as much damage instead.

I refer to this as an Overcrit, since Warframe players always refer to this by the color of the damage number—Yellow for a normal crit, Orange for two Crits, Red for three.

And it turns out the Overcrit system is actually super easy to implement! You take a For loop that randomizes an integer between 0 and 100, and if it’s lower than the Critical Chance, apply the Damage Multiplier, subtract 100 from the Critical Chance, and repeat the loop until it fails. I haven’t capped this number yet, meaning that if you could somehow get 1,000% Crit Chance or something you’d have some frankly absurd damage multipliers applied, but that’s half the fun of crazy builds in Roguelikes/lites! If it becomes a problem I can easily fix it later.

(I also took a quick break to fix the upgrade system crashing the game due to an invalid reference when upgrading the player’s Bullet Movement Speed. Like I said before I’ve done this fix a lot; it’s pretty easy. In this case, I took the chance to improve the versatility of the code, as well.)

But when people think of dedicated builds in games like this, one of the ways I generally see it broken down is a Critical Hit Build versus a Status Effect Build, and you’d better believe that I implemented some status effects! Or, one status effect, but the system is designed to be easily expandable, like pretty much everything else in the game. Future-proofing your code is extremely important to avoid coding conflicts later down the line. The further you are in production, the harder adding new things becomes.

Anyway, I Added a simple Burning status effect. I don’t have Overstatuses the way I have Overcrits as a way to further make them play differently from each other, so the Status Check only runs once per Status Effect. Having a dedicated script for handling all my damage handling makes it extremely simple to add new code to it.

There was an issue where I forgot how arrays worked for something like two hours which resulted in my conditional statements failing to find the status effect I was looking for in the array because the arrays were nesting, but once I figures out the problem it wasn’t that hard to fix, albeit somewhat convoluted. Combining arrays like that without duplicating any statuses means I need another For loop to check each entry in the array storing the Bullet’s statuses against the target’s active statuses, and adding any that aren’t there. I also only have a single Status Chance variable, meaning that all status effects have the same chance of applying in a single shot—which doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s all or nothing, but that it’s currently impossible to have a build where you have a better chance of any one status over another. That might be worth changing, but that’s something only playtesting can prove.

For the sake of simple implementation, I created a script that runs every frame to apply every status so that the entire Status Effect Code within each enemy is a single line. Much like the array comparison from before, this is handled with a simple For loop, checking each item in the Status Effect Array and then executing the corresponding script. While this makes it very easy to implement, it made it somewhat tricky for the status effects to actually wear off. See, if I ever set the duration within the script, then it would reset the timer back to full every frame of the game, which isn’t exactly ideal. In the end I had to initialize a specific variable for that status effect, which I set equal to another variable: the player’s Status Duration. This means I can also have upgrades that make status effects last longer, but I’ll also need every enemy to have a timer variable for each status effect. I’ll probably move that to its own script to save me some time, and so that I can update those variables whenever the player gets a Status Duration upgrade.

It also took me some fiddling to get the Damage Over Time of the enemy burning just right. I don’t want a basic enemy to burn to death after a single bullet with no other upgrades, but I also don’t want to damage to be so little that it’s unnoticeable. But after a few different tests of frequency and damage, I got something that I’m happy with.

This is also useful for me for future Status Effects. For example, I want a Bleed Status unique to Critical Hits (once you have the associated upgrade, of course) that’s distinct from Burning or Poison or whatever other Damage Over Time I end up doing. These experiments to get Burning just right will be invaluable for that later.

Though I do need to also adjust some other things so that the Status Effects have other, additional effects, like increasing how much damage an enemy does or takes, for example. That shouldn’t be too difficult, I don’t think, so long as I make sure not to double-up on those effects and accidentally adjust a parameter in a way I wasn’t expecting.

And I got a new keyboard, too, since my last one was having trouble reading my inputs, especially on certain keys.

All in all I think it was a successful week.

Until next Devlog!

-DeusVerve

Special thanks to my Tier 3 Patrons, Haelerin and Christos Kempf!

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[sickknotdoom]

i love sparklecare ( i really do ) but i don't understand the cometcare au at all and i don't get its hype. the designs look SO rushed ( like it was put together in a 10 minute art challenge ) and is it just me or. is the art style progressively getting worse ( for both sparklecare and cometcare ). i hate how random cometcare is too, i tried reading it and my brain got so fried. i had no idea what was happening. i loved cometcare at first, it was cool when it was JUST pollarrydoomi then they threw in these random ass characters and went "oh yeah. ur dating and have a child." ???? especially with hemera, the only (?) aroace character, why is she with caroline and why does she have a kid. adding hemera and miley into the mix was SUCH a bad idea. also. caroline x doom???? carruni s/x canon ( even though uni is aegosexual/asexual ... ) cometcare had so much potential and it all went down the drain by adding 10 thousand nearsiblings

FORGIVE ME FOR HOW LONG THIS RESPONSE IS

ive been saying exactly this ever since i found out about the cometcare au. literally everybody has a million children with everyone else and im like. why.

this may be a controversial opinion but i am not a fan of carroom (caroline x doom) in the slightest, since caroline is literally shown to hate doom in the main comic. literally all of their interactions involve caroline insulting doom, not to mention the earlier half of volume three.

i know enemies to lovers is a thing but if somebody chucked a full bucket of puke on my head, and then gave my sister this Judgemental Ass Look for offering to clean it up, i would honestly Kill Them. regardless of if they secretly had a crush on me or i secretly had a crush on them or whatever. you cannot convince me these two dont fucking hate eachother.

also i mean this in the most respectful way possible but i feel like theyre sorta erasing carolines sexuality with this? i may be attracted exclusively to men, but allow me to speak for a bit.

i am not at all trying to invalidate dooms agender identity, but. speaking as someone whos agender myself. i look exactly like a cis man. i am assigned male at birth, my testosterone is absolutely thriving since im going through puberty, i look like a man and i have zero intent to ever change that. if someone was NOT attracted to men, they would NOT be attracted to me, regardless of me actually being agender. especially not if i Tortured And Murdered Their Friends.

this isnt invalidating dooms gender identity nor is it invalidating mine, im definitely into something here. as someone whos gay (nblm) i wouldnt instantly develop a crush on lizzo if she came out as agender, especially not after the fucked up shit she did. now apply this to carroom, and miloom (miley x doom). but mainly carroom.

i understand carruni since unis a closeted trans woman, but thats different from carroom in a lot of ways. it would make sense for uni to not alter her gender expression as long as shes in the closet, since she isnt ready to explain to anyone else what she really is to anybody else. caroline and uni have an extremely deep bond too, so ofcourse shed come out to caroline first, and ofcourse theyd develop crushes on eachother. in the future (going off of au's and such), when uni is out of the closet, she is shown to present as her authentic self, and she. does a really good job at it. shes fucking gorgeous in cometcare. so it makes sense for caroline to be attracted to her.

and also uni isnt a serial killer. caroline seems to really dislike serial killers to the point where shed throw full buckets of vomit on them, which is. reasonable.

however again, unis aegosexual (if i recall correctly, uni and hemera are the only characters confirmed to be on the asexual spectrum as of volume four, not including characters that havent appeared yet) so it feels wrong to explicitly sexualize her regardless, especially if the clowns are "uncomfortable" with fans doing the same.

while were on this topic, agreed. hemera (the only aroace character in the entire sparklecare universe so far, including au's last time i checked) has like four other partners in cometcare. i dont think thats a very good idea considering they made it a point to explicitly point out her being aromantic in volume two.

and yeah, the artstyle has been very clearly degrading, i have another post about that.

how the fuck do i end this

[writing-rat]

That's What Friends are For, Right?

Summary: Robin comes in at the wrong time... or right time as she would say.

TW: Self harm, use of the slur retard

It was a late night, a late night in Steve’s parentless house. This left Steve to his own devices, self-hate. He couldn’t go anywhere to his friends house, because they were either his children, his ex, or his best friend which he didn’t want to deal with when he felt like this. He knew Robin would worry too much, and be all over him.

As he stayed in the shower, he rethought his life. How his parents hated him, how he was a mistake and also frustration at himself in general. To be clear, his parents had told him for many years in a row after grade four in elementary school how he was a mistake, and a retard. He was only called the slur because of his reading skills, they were at grade 2, not grade 4. Steve remembered being broken at that moment, then being told he was a mistake broke him. That’s also when his parents started to ditch him even more for business trips, his mom going with just so she could watch her husband in case he cheated.

Once it happened more and more as he got older, going from one month to six to a year, he learnt to be independent and that he could have house parties, which he regretted now. It caused a lot of harm in his life, which caused his love life to be shit and his mental state turn upside down, pun intended.

That’s when Steve saw the razor. He looked at it, desperation in his eyes, then determination. His thoughts were winning as he looked at it, his breathing getting harder and harder, faster and faster. He hastily picked up the razor then, his thoughts speaking to him. ‘Your a retard’. One cut. ‘Why are you so dumb?’ Two cuts. ‘You we’re just a mistake anyway’. Three cuts. As the thoughts conquered his brain, he cut to each one of them. His left arm ended up with 10, his right with 5. He soon finished his shower, and got a first aid kit out when a knock ended up on his door. Cursing out loud, he haphazardly put on bandages and a long sleeve shirt before he went downstairs, dripping wet in his boxers, designed with pineapples over them and a plain grey long sleeved shirt.

What he didn’t expect was Robin at his doorway, looking down. “I had a nightmare and my parents are home and I don’t want to be there,” she said explaining herself immediately. Her parents were terrible with her, always forcing her to do things and forcing her to sleep in the dark, causing nightmares of Vecna cursing Nancy and killing her.

Steve nodded and smiled. “Mi casa es tu casa,” he said simply enough, as Robin stepped in, then looked at his attire. What he didn’t realise was that there was blood on his sweatshirt from the cuts bleeding through the bandages. Robin went to grab his sleeve instinctively as she closed the door. Steve flinched away, which caused Robin, to go toppling over her own feet, and accidentally pushed herself on a backed up Steve, which caused them both to topple. Robin landed on his arm however, causing Steve to yell out a loud, pained scream. Robin’s worry took visibility then as she grabbed his upper arm, dragging him to the bathroom he previously occupied.

“Explain? Because I don’t know how else I can help and I don’t want your wounds to get infected. If they do that can lead to sepsis, which can lead to organ failure which would cause an easy de-“ she rambled before Steve cut her off. “It’s nothing, I’m fine, you can just go to your bedroom,” he said. Robin adamantly shook her head before she lifted up Steve sleeve’s and saw the messy bandaging.

It then hit her what happened. She froze then looked up at Steve, who’s eyes were filled with guilt, Robin could tell even if she couldn’t tell social cues. “Steve…” she said, gently. Hesitant to see his handiwork, she took off the bandage. What she saw broke her heart. Old scars ran down his upper arms, it seemed this was the first time he did his lower arm. Steve started to cry silently as he looked down, scared to show this side of him off. Robin started to clean the cuts as she put water on a tissue, seeing a few were still bleeding so she grabbed a towel. She put pressure on the bleeding ones. After a minute or 2 they stopped, and Robin soon got some anti-bacterial wipes, starting to clean them. “Fuck, shit,” Steve cursed out, sobbing at this point as he closed his eyes. Robin looked at him as she was trying to be gentle but couldn’t when he was this sensitive. After what seemed like an hours silence, the girl silently asked,”Why did you do this?” Steve didn’t know what to say before he muttered out,”my parents… and Eddie… I should’ve been there with them…” Steve said looking down as he cried. Robin kept cleaning gently as she took pity. “Your parents are dicks, and Eddie’s death isn’t your fault. If anything he saved us time,” she said gently, soon grabbing bandages and bandages his arms up. Once she finished, she hugged him. The older boy hugged back as he was breaking down. They sat there for another 30 minutes before the man finally calmed down, mumbling out a small thank you. “It’s no problem, it’s the least I could do since you’ve helped me out a lot,” Robin said shrugging. “Nice boxers by the way, got me a pair?” Robin joked. Immediately, Steve laughed and rubbed his eyes as he looked up and was thinking. “Why does everything happen in the bathroom?” he asked, causing both Steve and Robin to laugh, holding one another, their bond had grown stronger over this, Robin would come over more to help support Steve in a crisis.