DANCE-FOR-US

DANCE-FOR-US was one of the Voices in.

Description
DANCE-FOR-US, also known by her acronym DFU, seemed to represent the idea of dancing and music. After being devoured by HUNT-THE-STRONG, she was silenced forever in Redacre. Before her death, she was able to receive sacrifices and Light of Rebellions. She was often associated with dance and revelry. Her Hosts were considered to have “an undying style”. She loved to teach in dreams, and loved to receive music and songs in prayer, especially original songs. DANCE-FOR-US used dancing to ward off fear, and as a way to fight back against it, not to ignore it. DANCE-FOR-US responded to Rituals and in these responses had shed insight into what is happening in Redacre, with the other Voices, and the sleepwalking adults. In this Recalled Dream, she told the player "Our parents are trying to control everything, just like yours. But we need your help. You have to pray... Pray to us...".

DANCE-FOR-US was one of the strongest Voices, considered "ascendant" by having the most Chosen. She survived for centuries by being bold and visible, loving attention, and receiving many prayers. She was powerful, but flighty She was naturally indecisive. It would take many of her chosen to push her to finalize a decision. She was a social butterfly in terms of the Voices. THEE-I-DARE commented that she “knew everyone”. Valuing charm and connection, it is likely she was the inventor of parties. She sought entertainment, her curiosity being very close to that. DANCE-FOR-US was fascinated by Old Tongue, and “twisted it into physical rites”.

DANCE-FOR-US used her Hosts to learn the Old Tongue and was far ahead of the other Voices in terms of its knowledge. For example, her host Lenka Staneck would wake up out of nowhere in a library or a storage locker filled with recordings and books about the Old Tongue. DANCE-FOR-US was known to possess children to make them dance, noted by CHORUS in the journal, Dancing Sickness. DANCE-FOR-US had also drawn the attention of SPEAK-AS-ONE and engaged in mass prayer according to player interactions with fellow Voice, THEE-I-DARE. A Steal mission objective requires players to set up a recording circle over DANCE-FOR-US's icon before luring a Sleeper or Lucid into the recording circle. Once the enemy is in the circle, they begin to emote endlessly. Players must record several seconds of the enemy emoting. Then the enemy kneels in the recording circle atop DANCE-FOR-US's icon.

Before the Game
DANCE-FOR-US was once known by the name DANCE-FOR-ME. In the community Discord server, Nullspeak has said that during this era, humans "projected a god of more personal indulgence onto her." She was known for her appetite for pleasure, in any form. From this era, the Old Tongue gesture "DRINK THE SKY" emerged. "CLAIM FROM YOU", the Old Tongue phrase that awards her Voice mask in the Place Between, likely came from DANCE-FOR-US' ancient name. DANCE-FOR-ME revolutionized the Old Tongue and “made it cool”. Previously, it was not really a dance, more akin to sign language or the movements bees use to communicate. It was all for communication and didn’t look particularly fun. Pleasure in dancing came later.

DANCE-FOR-ME was described as "a monster". Her vices were lethal to the Hosts that she lived through. They danced until they died, which stopped when DANCE-FOR-ME became DANCE-FOR-US. SPEAK-AS-ONE believed her name-change was a move meant to make her more appealing to humankind in the modern-day. Her symbol changed as well when she became DANCE-FOR-US. It used to be simpler, but she was given the star by humanity after another Voice lost it. It was unknown how the star symbol was lost or who lost it. THEE-I-DARE believes that even DANCE-FOR-US did not know the story behind it.

In-Game
Like the rest of the Voices, DANCE-FOR-US visited members of the Blackout Club, looking for more Chosen amongst the children. During the game's beta testing period (August-October 2018), DANCE-FOR-US asked club members in dreams to pray to her and say her name three times. Enough players fulfilled her request, and she bestowed the "Gift Of Dance" gesture (a modified pirouette) to all players. New players receive this gesture through the Reward Crate in the hideout upon first loading up the game. She was the first Voice to send a Broadcast.

When asked about the Record Behavior mission, DANCE-FOR-US explained that she was looking for "a Voice no longer with us". THEE-I-DARE believed THE-MEASURE-CUTS helped her by providing the technology for it, using faux binding circles. SPEAK-AS-ONE was surprised by her investigation, stating that she rarely cared for the past. The lost voice was either an asset to her, or she feared someone lied to her. A Watcher was disturbed by DANCE-FOR-US doing the Record Behavior mission, and was scared that she was trying to learn enough of the Old Tongue to use against them, but The Voice did not seem concerned. SPEAK-AS-ONE assumed DANCE-FOR-US was behind the Dance Fever mission, though they never confirmed it.

After THEE-I-DARE became ill after viewing the broken statue in 922 Hoadly, DANCE-FOR-US started to avoid him. THEE-I-DARE believed that she knew something that he did not and that her flippant attitude was just a mask. THEE-I-DARE wanted to know why DANCE-FOR-US no longer trusted him, and why both she and the Unknown Caller were seeking to find answers about the fate of the Damaged Voice. DANCE-FOR-US announced she was protecting the Unknown Caller because he was on to something in his investigation. She also claimed responsibility for his musical taste. While the Unknown Caller was a Host for DANCE-FOR-US, she was very hands-off. She avoided interfering with his agency as much as possible and tried to guide him to the truth they both sought. The Unknown Caller was a host to DANCE-FOR-US even before coming to Redacre. DANCE-FOR-US knew that Colm was gifted with Old Tongue and called in adult allies, likely encouraging the Caller's interest in the town.

DANCE-FOR-US considered THEE-I-DARE to be boring, always talking about revolution and “cleaning his rifle”. She was hesitant to trust him, referring to him as “not very fun” and "a dick who acted high and mighty", but after receiving many prayers about hearing him out about an alliance, she reluctantly agreed. However, she never managed to do so before she was devoured by the Unknown Hunter Voice, eventually found out to be HUNT-THE-STRONG, on November 9th, 2019.

During an interaction, DANCE-FOR-US admitted that she was not familiar with the song from Dance Fever, which struck others as odd due to the belief that the mission was her work. When she took a group of her Chosen to the Moon, the stars were replaced by a red sky and a swirling black hole. In the midst of the confusion, the Unknown Hunter Voice made his presence known, remarking that DANCE-FOR-US was close to the truth and almost caught him. However, he exploited her tendency to teach her followers different dances in dreams. After infiltrating the dreams of her followers and the Unknown Caller, as a slender dancing figure, he fed them pieces of his name in the Old Tongue. The music from Dance Fever was a trigger to make them remember it upon waking. They invoked him pose by pose, unknowingly spelling out his name with each dance. Feeling cold, DANCE-FOR-US realized that all her hosts were taken from her and that she was dead in Redacre. Upon this realization, she implored her Chosen to fear nothing before turning her fury to the Hunter. She rebuked him, saying, "I've been listening to you talk, you fucking cartoon shark. You're just another bad boy, and I've danced with plenty. And you know what? Every last one of you goes limp when I look you in the eye. Sooner or later, Redacre will truly see your ass, and you'll go back to pouting outside the party where you belong!" The Hunter laughed and patronized her show of spirit before consuming her. Shadowy figures could be seen dancing between the pillars, in reference to the figures used to trick her followers. After a bright flash of light, the disk in the center of the Moon was etched with DANCE-FOR-US's symbol, and the other pillars were gone and replaced by a single pillar, bearing her symbol. The Unknown Hunter Voice challenged the children to hunt him down, wanting to know which one of them was strongest, then they would feast.

The other Voices are unable to hear her name if it is spoken now. THEE-I-DARE believed that whatever the Unknown Hunter Voice did to her, he “stole her from all their kind”. The Unknown Hunter Voice would learn much from her former Hosts, but children, her former Chosen, could resist him. Her old hosts were now his, whether they liked it or not. The other Voices implored the Blackout Club to find the Unknown Hunter Voice's name, both spoken and in Old Tongue. Learning his name could help protect DANCE-FOR-US’s former hosts. Since the Sleepers and Lucids did not fully host DANCE-FOR-US, they respond to the Dance Fever music like a meaningless reflex now. It is the equivalent of “nonsense” in Old Tongue.

Many Voices expressed their sorrow over DANCE-FOR-US's death, despite not being able to hear her name or see her symbol. IN-HER-TEETH said she could not remember her, and that it felt like seeing a fading silhouette, knowing it used to be there and briefly remembering a shape. She vowed to find the Hunter's name and stop him. SEED-THE-GRUDGE was motivated by the players’ rage about DANCE-FOR-US’s death. She also couldn't remember her and described the feeling as “''a fading taste on the tip of your tongue. Familiar, but unable to taste it". SEED-THE-GRUDGE said that forgetting DANCE-FOR-US was “Like missing one final puzzle piece, and never knowing where or what became of it.” and “Like being blinded by a flashing light. Or a solar flare. Having a blank spot in your memory, or that fraction of a second.''” THEE-I-DARE believed her knowledge of the Old Tongue is what made her a target.

According to THEE-I-DARE, the star part of DANCE-FOR-US' symbol is now free.

Dreams
DANCE-FOR-US has responded to some players' rituals, heard as dreams when returning to the Hideout after completing a mission.

Trivia

 * DANCE-FOR-US once asked players to send music to her in rituals. Some of those who sent music received personal responses.
 * DANCE-FOR-US has brought players to the "moon" as early as the Closed Beta.
 * DANCE-FOR-US's mask is the only mask that can be earned in The Place Between.