written by ru

±

October Winners and Updates

MotM: Standard Hero Review: Hataraku Mao-sama!

UCongratulations to Ru and Damian Itami, the winners of our special October contests for our first

annual This is Halloween! event.Donned from head to toe in black and white Ru strutted her stuff as the zany Beetlejuice! She

added a bit of spunk to the ensemble with spiked bracelets, curb stomping boots, and lace. With her signature crazy tongue face she won first place in our Costume Contest!

Scurrying around searching for clues for our Murder Mystery: A Sinful Supper event really did wear some of our members out! With 31 clues in total all spread throughout the entire site it is a wonder members managed to find enough to get the Watson Award. Not only did Damian Itami accomplish this feat, but he was also the first to find out who killed our poor Kenneth Rodney!

With seven suspects it was near impossible to narrow it down to who cut the man’s head clean off. From his daughters to his employees. From his mistress to the men taking over when he passed on. All had their own reasons they could have done it, but who was it that took his life into their own hands?

None other than Damon Durbon! Mr. Durbon was one of the men told they had a chance to become the next CEO of the company after Mr. Rodney passed. However, after overhearing a conversation not meant for his ears, he found out William Mason was getting the position instead! Enraged, he came up with an elaborate scheme to blame everyone but himself for the death of beloved Mr. Rodney. Good detective skills, Damian!

Congrats to both of our contest winners!

Just as a heads up, we are testing out some new features for Dearly Sweet as well as getting ready for our winter event. We won’t leak out too many secrets yet, but we can assure you it will be loads of fun! The feedback we received from This is Halloween! really helped us figure out the route to take when it came to this one.

Now, now, there won’t be as many contests, but it is sure to be a lot of fun!As for new features, one that we are testing will allow users to tag each other in posts and be notified when someone does

so. We will also be playing around with a new layout for profile pages, so please do NOT use your Personal Notes until we have finalized this! Personal Notes may be removed entirely, if we get this to work right.

Would you like to see something on Dearly Sweet we don’t have yet? Please head on over to our Suggestions & Questions area and let us know!

“Not yesterday I learned to know The love of bare November daysBefore the coming of the snow...”

—Robert Frost

November marks a clean slate, a clean slate in the land as well as in our hearts. If ever you are to give thanks, November is surely the month for it. It’s that time of year when the temperature drops; the night is quiet and still; and the woods are naked. It’s the time where families rally for festivities and warmth, love, and all it does is take a smile to break the chill of a frozen heart.

With wailing winds, a kiss of breath upon the air, and the promise of winter around the corner, it is hard for one to deny the pleasure that the month brings. In all the calmness, all the silence, it soothes the soul and urges us to reflect back over the past ten months.

November is the month to give thanks, and because of that, this month our Member of the Month is a truly special individual. One that has been with us on and off for quite some time now. Though he may not be as active as he once was, he is slowly coming into the light again and shinning like the brightest star in the autumn sky.

He is an avid and gifted writer, and though at times, especially now, he may question that, he has always inspired me to do the best that I can. Much like the November

beetlejuice by ru

I just finished watching this for the second time, so that more or less answers the question of do I think it’s good or not. But let’s pretend you didn’t hear that and I’ll go further into detail now.

In the land of Ente Isla, a great war between human and demonkind wages. The humans make their final assault on the Dark Lord Satan’s palace, lead by the Hero Emilia and her basic fantasy party of mage, priest, and fighter. Everyone save Emilia is distracted by one thing or another while their leader duels to the death with Satan himself. Except as she lands a blow severing his horn, Satan and his #2 Alsiel retreat into a portal, vowing to return again one day. Thinking quickly, Emilia pursues.

Satan and Alsiel appear in modern day Japan, brought in by police officers because, in their eyes, two men in fantasy armor speaking in a different language are just random cosplayers. Of course, being demons, they don’t take this lightly, only to find that their magic doesn’t seem to work that well in our world and they are stuck in human bodies.

Satan and Alsiel take up residence in a small apartment to buy time, but with their magic severly low and no way to replenish it, Satan gets a job at a McDonalds while Alsiel essentially becomes a house husband. Shenanigans ensue as Emilia and Satan butt heads in between their working hours yet fail to kill each other as neither has proper means to get home and Satan, well, just doesn’t seem to be into killing any more. He’s much more interested in moving up the ladder at McDonalds and even has the admiration of his coworkers.

What’s great about this plot is every now and then some character falls into speaking like fantasy stereotypes only to be shot down by other characters for acting so out of place; such as Emilia giving some sort of noble declaration in the middle of public and Satan tells her to chill out and that she’s making a scene. There’s some good humor in this and things develop as more characters jump through the portal to see why no one has returned yet, only to end up being stuck there themselves.

Even though a lot of Hataraku Maou-sama! deconstructs common anime tropes, it still has plenty. Such as the seemingly mandatory beach episode, one sided romance, characters calling the main character a pervert and hitting them, and just fan service in general.

However, it’s a solid anime and worth a watch even though it’s merely a short 13 episodes.

hataraku mao-sama; dsa does not own this.

continued on page 3

written by sin

NOVEMBER 2014 NEWSLETTER

written by mr. scarlet

«««««««¸

standard’s avatar

beetlejuice by ru

http://www.estampes-japonaises.org/tag/illustration/page/2/

written by mozaic

continued on page 3

Elements Updates

Featured: Chin ChinThe EVERYTHING CompetitionZ

FORBIDDEN FORESTThe twin arcs unleashed by Damian resulted in the oozing creature splitting into three! Much like the hydra’s heads in the legend of Hercules, the beast

became several entities increasing the number the group had to kill. Grunts and groans could be heard throughout the group as many gave up hope entirely for defeating this creature. If slamming it in the face with a large stump and attacking it with a magical sword did nothing but increase its odds of winning then what hope was there?

At the announcement Ben made asking if any of them were ice Elementals, Oddsiu trembled from her fingertips to the end of her long tail. Sure, she did know how to wield ice... but being a Lamia meant there was a risk of death involved. She kept her mouth shut, weighing the pros and cons in her head. If she did nothing the chances of them dying increased exponentially. However, if she did try the risk of her dying was far more likely. Either way death was inevitable for her.

She tried to bring forth ice, fingers curled inwards facing each other. A few ice sparks here and there, but nothing that could thwart the beast. Conquering her fear of death was harder than she had expected. The thought of dying by her own cold was far more horrific than melting by the creature to her. The effort was futile and she was about to give up when Sertheon noticed what the Lamia was attempting to do.

“Young dragon! I believe you were referred to as Adira?” Sertheon barked at the young dragon Adira. “Do whatever you can to keep the Lamia warm. Dragon’s fire — anything! Lamia, I saw you attempt to create ice. We need to get this beast to cool down. Freeze it if you can.” She hoped Ben’s theory was correct, putting the two in danger on a blind hunch did not sit well with her.

Adira did as she was told, but not because Sertheon shouted the orders to her. Without a word from the older dragon she knew how dangerous the whole ordeal was. This plan was fragile. There was a chance of it working and of it backfiring. Though, it gave her an excuse to touch Odd’s body, which was enough for the young dragon to go along with it.

Carefully she wrapped her hands around the Lamia’s shoulders. With no more of a warning than, “Hold still,” Adira willed forth a steady stream of dirt, making sure to get rid of bugs and other debris, as she formed a sort of armor around Odd’s body. She made sure certain areas were softer to allow for her to move around, otherwise from her neck to tail it was rock hard. Then she proceeded to muster up as much Dragon’s Fire as she could, though, admittedly, she had not used it in quite some time.

One of the other dragons, or even the only fire Elemental, would have been better for this task when it came to the strength of the fire. It was not why Sertheon picked her specifically. Odd’s skittish demeanor was evident. The woman had refused to speak up concerning her ability to wield ice and had barely moved an inch from the spot she landed in. If anyone was to get her to calm down and wield her magic it was the dragoness she came here with. The only

�

Z

continued on page 3

Never be lazy. Never be messy. These are things to keep in mind if you would like not to catch the attention of a very wrathful fairy. Doesn’t sound intimidating? Well in many cases it can be quite troublesome. For one such instance there is the Chin Chin Kobakama. This fairy takes its origin from Japan, and tales of it were written down by an author known as T. Hasegawa in 1903.

The Element Encyclopedia of Fairies says for one story he wrote about a little girl who was very lazy. Every time she ate plums she would hide the seeds underneath the matting of her bedroom floor. This angered the fairies so they decided they would punish her. Every night during the hour of the ox (2am western time) the fairies would rise from the matting as tiny women dressed in red robes. The fairies danced around making faces, taunting the girl, while singing:

Chin-chin Kobakama,Yomo fuké soro,

Oshizumare, Hime-gimi!Ya ton-ton!

Which translates to “We are the Chin-chin Kobakama, sleep, honorable noble darling!”

As this continued for many nights the little girl began to grow frightened. Her mother noticed this, and one of these nights she stayed up with her

“There’s a noise circling the halls, it’s above my head and in the wallsIt’s the same noise that when it calls I feel as if my skin begins to crawl

Like wind it will come and it will go, that’s the end of this line, onto another show

If I could recollect how many times my ghosts visit me in my sleepI’d give up much more time and dig a hole so very deep

There’s a saying that goes around, its here so often I could wear it like a crown

It gets inside my head and, remember that noise I mentioned? It crawls around.

There’s a hum circling the halls, it’s under my bed and friends with the walls

I’d say it’s a pleasant visit but I wouldn’t be telling you the truthI’d say it’s a nice stay but all I ever hear are echoes from the roof

I can’t tell whether it’s here nor there, maybe it’s actually everywhereWhat I do know is how much of it no one hears, yet it’s like music

meant for my earsIt’s an irrational oh so illogical misplacement of emotional

communications with my brain through which the chemical reaction is doing nothing but driving me literally insane.

You could say I’m something of a genius, maybe a lyricist in his prime, but all of that will be lost to the noises in the walls that take up so very

much of my timeSo when you call me, and I have no response, it’s not that I’m ignoring

you it may just be I’m trying to translate the noises and haven’t even got a clue.

So call my name maybe once, twice, three times, but you’ll have to be loud and you’ll have to be fast because the noises no how to put up a fight

and make sure they can lastThey followed me from home to home, it doesn’t seem to matter from

where I roamThe noises will circle the halls and get to know the walls, they’ll feed me

their version of truths and hang out with the cobwebs in the roofs. They’ll sell me something that’s easily bought and I’ll eat it up without a second

thought.So welcome to my home and without further ado let me be the first to

introduce you.To the madman who haunts the halls and the memories that befriend

his walls.” —Madman’s Manor by Standard Hero

Congrats to Standard Hero for his winning this month’s TEC with the theme of HAUNTED!

The EVERYTHING Competition #5 is already up and waiting for entries. The theme this go round? HOPE. So blast your piece over to our lovely co-administrator Mozaic who eagerly awaits your submissions!

Elements Update Continued

MotM: Standard Hero Con.

Chin Chin Continued

scenery, his writing has a way of soothing the soul and demanding a reaction from its readers.

This member also happens to love gaming. I cannot tell you how many times that I’ve messaged him for him to respond hours later saying “AHHH. GAME. ARGARGARG,” well, something along those lines at least. He recently moved from Texas and all the way to Canada for personal reasons. He’s married ladies, I’m sorry to say.

So without further delay, please everyone; join me in thanking and congratulating DSA’s November Member of the Month: Standard Hero!

Thank you for being you, Aubrey!

continued from page 3

daughter. When the hour of the ox came the little women appeared, and the mother struck them down. They fell to the floor as plum seeds, revealing the misdeeds and laziness of the young girl. From that moment on she was very well behaved.

There is a similar story I found on Myth Beasts. It is about the wife of a Japanese warrior. She had grown with many servants as a child with hardly anything to do so the couple had only a few servants in their home. She was able to do more, but after a while there was not much left for her to do. She became very lazy.

One night she awoke to hearing voices singing, “Chin-chin Kobakama, Yomo fuké soro, Oshizumare, Hime-gimi! Ya ton-ton!” When she looked down at the floor mat tiny Japanese warriors dressed like her husband with “shoulder pads, a long robe, hair tied back and armed with spears.”

Fearing her husband would mock her for being afraid of fairies she kept it to herself. However, her husband noticed her distress, and confronted her about it. She told him about the tiny warriors, and how they came each night taunting her. He didn’t laugh instead he asked her, when did they appear? She said, “At the hour of the ox.”

For that night he hid in the closet. When 2am came nothing appeared at first. Then suddenly they rose up from the mat dancing, and mocking the woman. With his sword unsheathed he dashed out of the closet, but when he went to strike all that remained were toothpicks. The fairies had enchanted them to become the warriors to teach the woman to dispose of her toothpicks in the bin. They burned the toothpicks and were never troubled again.

continued from page 2one she screamed to move when the creature could have killed her. Trust was a necessity for this plan to work.

“Oh, Shikyo… Praise be you in the heavens above,” hands clamped desperately as the Lamia prayed to the goddess of creation for dear life. Control of her body was lost as it shook uncontrollably and her lids shut tightly. “Please, oh please, lend me your strength and guidance through this trial…” She calmed as Adira trailed her hands, and dirt, over her. The warmth of the dragoness’ fire comforted her. Confidence rising, certainly she could use her ice powers now.

Odd’s first attempt was a failure, resulting in sputtered ice crystals. Her second managed to freeze the beast closest to her.

Sertheon kept the terrified android close behind her, ready to attack anything that threatened to cause her harm. Once the beast was frozen she yelled for anyone to attack it, for surely it should crumble to pieces — in theory.

Meanwhile Cronos quickly teleported the small group consisting of himself, Lamonte, and the three children away from their current position. One of the beasties was determined to get the young ones inside and he was having none of that.

They landed on a light platform he created with the children still safe in their bubble. The two young men sat together side by side as they watched the fighting unfold.

With a better view Lamonte was able to see everything around them, including where Anastasia was. He kept a close eye, ready to defend his friend if necessary.

Ben pulled the twins close to him, ready to distract the beastie if he had to. He was far too fascinated with watching it to think of much else to do.

Damian was about to give up, especially given Odd’s numerous failed attempts, when she succeeded at freezing one of them. Without hesitation he repeated his attack, praying this time it would slay it instead. As luck would have it did! One horrible lava monster down... Two to go. Great.

He retreated with a quick leap backwards, yelling at the Lamia to freeze the other two.

Will Oddsiu be able to freeze the last of the monsters? Can they kill them without any casualties?

continued from page 2

inakie digital drawing by mozaic

photography by mozaic

photo of standard hero boop digital drawing by ru