#IF Greenwarden

[fiddles-ifs]

Happy update day!!! I'm sneaking this in here super late for me (sadly I was away from my computer all day 😩) so any bugs that aren't immediately game-breaking will have to be fixed tomorrow. The new update is ~3k words, with players experiencing about 1500 of those! I'd like to have done more, but it's finals season and my graduating took priority LOL.

To experience the new content: go to McNeil's bar -> talk to the lumberjacks -> pick "Rough day at work?" -> follow Liam after he storms out. Enjoy!

CHANGELOG

Added some new content warnings to the CWs page: underage drinking and underage smoking.

Partially written the lumberjacks route at McNeil's.

Meet a certain wily coyote!! Again!!

Get weird about the concept of death.

[kithj]

the more people complain about genderlocked characters i feel like the more stubborn i get about it...

i just feel like. there's a fine line between wanting to see yourself reflected in the art you engage with (everybody wants this to some extent) versus just straight up refusing to engage with any kind of art that you can't personally relate to.

and sure you can argue it's not that deep when we're just talking about romance games i guess but usually this extends beyond just IF romance games, i see it on bookstagram or in mainstream video gaming circles, too... and particularly in IF & gaming it tends to lead to this very entitled attitude where if the thing doesn't appeal exactly to what you personally want, then it's Bad and Wrong.

i definitely understand in some instances, as a butch lesbian there is like... no game even off the top of my head that i can think of that actually has someone that looks like me in it (except for the stuff i've personally written. lol) and i do really like the gender-selection mechanic for this reason. most of the time it's the only way we get sapphic ROs. but to me that's just a band-aid and not a real solution, especially when a lot of authors tend to lean on bioessentialist ideas to depict the gender-selectable variants, and most of the time don't even seem to be aware that they're doing it.

i would much prefer actual female characters, or actual trans characters, over gender-selectable characters. because the other thing we see is that a lot of the time the male variation is the most popular, and is seen as the "default." this is through no fault of the author, really, it's just how the cookie crumbles, i guess.... i don't really know what the solution is but i do really wish people would be more mindful about... well. all of it. authors and readers alike. and maybe broaden your horizons and read something that's different for you, or write something challenging outside of your comfort zone. i get that a lot of these games are pure wish fulfillment, and that's fine, we're not all going to like or want the same things. but when most games don't include people like me, i'm forced to pick from a much smaller pool of fish than everyone else, and i don't agree with that. both in that i wish there were more options for me, obviously, but also that i shouldn't only limit myself to games that "represent" me and am still willing to reach for something different and still give it a chance. both things can be true.

now when a game is intentionally excluding entire groups of people, of course that needs to be called into question. because then it's just bigotry, and we all know bigotry is bad, yes? a game that... let's say. only allows white mcs. is going to attract a particular kind of audience. we know this we can acknowledge this. but i do also kinda think it's a waste of time to try and appeal to authors like this... i'm not against offering feedback but at the end of the day these authors excluded these people for a reason and they have no interest in us. don't bother. there are other authors out there that are writing women and trans people and poc that you can read instead of trying to get a misogynist or a racist or a transphobe to write about people they clearly don't give a shit about.

and i really feel like that encapsulates why i both like and dislike the gender-selectable mechanic... again it's just a temporary band-aid. it lets me play a sapphic mc for a little while. but the larger problem still remains which is that there are no depictions of butch lesbians (or lesbians in general) in most of these games, and there are not a lot of authors out there willing to even try. there are a lot of instances where i feel the gender-selection mechanic is just... a cop out. there's no thought or effort put into it.

i dont think every single author needs to start genderlocking or anything (that would be stupid) i just wish it was something both authors and readers would spend more time thinking about, rather than just automatically defaulting to gender-selection. people approaching Blood Choke and then complaining that it's all genderlocked but... the story is About being a lesbian. it would not exist in any other way. and the beautiful thing is that you can still read it even if you're not a lesbian! in fact i wish more people would. again, reach for something different and you might find that you actually like it. you might even connect with it in a way that surprises you. meanwhile The Northern Passage has a lot of options for the mc both in the character creator and when it comes to romance options. i have a gender-selectable character there, and a lot of people enjoy that, and i do too. and i also chose to lock Clementine originally because i knew i wanted there to be a nonbinary RO that could not be ignored (and then the other two followed shortly after once i started writing).

there's Nuance. there are lots of reasons to genderlock and there are lots of reasons why someone might not. there are games out there that let me play with an all female cast that i hate, other games with a mixed, genderlocked cast that i love. there are authors out there that do handle their gender-selectable characters well, some of my favorite games utilize it! and there are genderlocked games that are all just skinny white cis people that make me recoil. there are downsides to both. this is not an either-or situation. it's just something to think about, both when creating a character as an author and when engaging with a work as a reader.👍

[fat-rolls-frictions]

@fiddles-ifs

[superkawaiimothman]

@capriciously-loveless @fiddles-ifs

Extendo-snoot borzoi trace

[incorrectgreenwardenquotes]

tracker: i did something terrible

bautista: it's okay, i have a shovel

tracker: wait, what do you think i did??

bautista: doesn't matter. no one will ever know

[jonsart]

feb 29 2024 // jan 20 2021. redraw

[cozmiccore]

Made a simple character sheet/ID card for my Tracker after reading Greenwarden's new updated demo! I'll put the link below for the template if anyone want it, again it's free, just credit me and support the IF and author @fiddles-ifs

I made one for When Twilight Strikes yesterday because they too got a demo update, link here -> IAOS ID. *forgot to mention, it's a Canva template so you'll need to sign in.

Picrew link | PIRA ID TEMPLATE

[heart-forge]

zombie bautista still loves you. even after death. imagine this. thank you

came back wrong but it still counts as a second date

[tale-wind]

inspired by mr fiddlesticks ifs, an incomplete list of my favorite interactive fiction romantic interests

Bautista and Nazeri from Greenwarden

Azad from A Tale of Crowns

Ki-Ha from Project Hadea

Noel from Northern Passage

Aspen from A Bard’s Tale

Hadrian from The Golden Rose

Dev from Heart of the House

[callmemerry00]

"I won't give up any one of my family anymore."

[fiddles-ifs]

*crawls out of the swamp and coughs up blood* Happy Update Day!!!! A chunkier update this month (~5k words) finishing up the Bar Fight route.

CHANGELOG

Get your shit rocked in Warden's only watering hole [REQUIRES YOU TO START A FIGHT AT THE BAR]

Get patched up by Nazeri and possibly get your nose broken by Bautista

Meet a certain wily coyote

Experience some horrors

IN DEVELOPMENT

Diner, Summers' Home, and Bar: Lumberjack routes

Mobile UI (almost there...)

Font Scaling

Prettier glossary page

Updated, streamlined code

[angelwood-if]

FREYA GREENWARDEN

GREENWARDEN: a forest Sprite that holds complete mastery and control over all things nature. They can be found hanging out primarily in Lunar City’s public parks and lakes. Appearance: As a GREENWARDEN, her skin has a green tint, her hair a bright and vibrant snow-white that looks iridescent in certain lights. Her hair moves slowly like eternally underwater. Her eyelashes and brows are a dark green and she's 6'4, unusually tall for her species.

Freya is usually in a suit due to her job as a secondary officer at the LCPD. Her powers consist of nature and water, and she will kill you if she sees you don't water your plants. No one knows how old Freya is, but she has the appearance of 26.

Personality: Freya is smart, emotionally intelligent, and the warmth to her partner's ice. She has a natural maternal air about her, likely from her species. People have said she smells of outside after a rain shower.

[fat-rolls-frictions]

document added to your inventory. transcript below.

CW: referenced self-harm, implied teeth horror, torture, unreality. @fiddles-ifs

(The document is marked as CONFIDENTIAL with various administration stamps and handwritten notes on the top margin. Much of the dates and serial numbers are illegible.

A ring stain from a cup is clearly visible on the bottom right corner.)

PARANORMAL INTELLIGENCE AND RESEARCH AGENCY

TRAINEE EVALUATION REPORT

Trainee's Name: Nguyen, Kim

Subject: Mission no.06 - Simulated Interrogation

Handlers: A. Itamura, V. Wallace

(Scattered throughout are fragmented phrases. They read: "who were?" "do you even care? do you" "you did not" "remember" "do you ever? di")

Addendum-120320A: Agents reported "unexpected" degree of resistance. Preliminary injuries logged. Mission proceeded without further complications.

("They have pliers.")

Overview: Trainee's previously recorded paranoia exacerbated after preparation period. Roommates reported heightened stress unrelated to anticipation of mission; effect attributed directly to trainee. Arrangements for extraction made with regards to trainee's evals and Dr. (redacted)'s suggestions.

Proceeding:

Trainee exhibited remarkable contentiousness despite several injuries, including a fractured collarbone and mild concussion. Agents instructed to secure with force given trainee's well documented volatility. Mission hook revealed. Dr. (redacted) correctly predicted that trainee would fail to respond to accusations of collaborating, or otherwise spearheading, the information leaks. Agents instructed to proceed with physical methodologies.

Stalemate achieved approx. 0500 hours after agent Itamura di ("his hands on your this pulp is not yours"). Trainee made multiple attempts to ("retaliate / retribute / requiter / illegible text"). Evidently unsuccessful (See A-120320B below). Trainee continued to redirect attention away from mission hook, oftentimes inciting, and appearing to relish retribution from agents. Previous psychological evals point to this being a product of mere belligerence. [break] ("It's the only thing you're capable of.") Nevertheless, agents pursued this lead to its completion, as is protocol.

Agent Wallace discovered healing injuries unrelated to mission at the 0619 hour mark. Injuries appear to be self-inflicted in nature, located in both inner arms. It was surmised that [break] teeth [break] match ("you didn't mean to but it happened what kind of person do this it just happened" "you" "tear into" "fuck off") unexpected emotional and psychological reactions. Agents authorized to remove part of trainee's sleeve in order to continue the interrogation.

(Overlay in the break, nearly illegible: "they pour water down your throat and it comes spilling out then he (illegible) hands teach you again the shape of your jaws you know intimately someone stupider would say-")

Incident C133-120320 took place at 0922 hours when agent Itamura prepared to [break] after several threats to [break] if trainee did not ("repent"). Neither agents anticipated the outburst. Agent Wallace remarked that [break] ("pliers")

("-bunny". The word "bunny" repeats several times after this instance in the margins.)

("sometimes you see people they do not stop even when they should even when" "metal on molars on gum on tongue" "you are horror under a pin with not dead cells taken off piece by piece a stream of un-consciousness good for nothing but self-cannibalizing desperate for something to fill your detritus a hate for something you can't name" "a you that do not" "are not")

("sometimes you see people they forget that they are people. sometimes that is for the best.")

[break]

Addendum-120320B: Itamura submitted for performance review after mission. Agent demonstrated certain lack of discipline in carrying out the mission and was influenced easily by trainee's provocations. Additional psychological eval recommended along side with physical therapy.

Incident log C133-120320: You cannot forget how bone feels between teeth.

("something hungers in the woods somewhere and it always finds you among the trees." This sentence repeats in the background, going off the margin.)

Department of Training. 21/02/(redacted)

("you had bunny teeth. you remember

someone

calling you

puppy

though.")

[incorrectgreenwardenquotes]

tracker: i'm not "showing signs of mental illness" i'm hiding them really well actually everyone thinks i act really normal. i think. i'm pretty sure

[jdstrations]

POV you're watching Nazeri be Completely Normal about a certain Tracker that they definatelt

This spawned from discussing in the discord with someone how Nazeri would be completely abnormal if they learnt that my Tracker's first name is Briar-Rose

Bonus! I there's a template for this below for anyone to use if they want to show their little guys being the Most Normal!

[minsarasarahair]

I just realized that SP Shishio design is probably based on his EVO of SSR Shishio. Green clothes with white hair.