#anyway another thing that's amusing in all of these playthroughs is that these guys build police stations instead of addressing

[2700k-moogie]

ive been watching a lot of Cities: Skylines 2 playthroughs lately and i saw one guy do this to "incentivize the poor people to get richer" and then like 2 episodes later undid it. and he was like "this must be a bug" because the poverty levels in his city didn't really change?? Excuse me???

[aether-friskets]

a whole line collection for heather is crazy, congrats on finishing such a big project!! do you have any favorite phrases of hers that you found out while making all this? or just in general as you played the game. something silly or touching or just showing her character maybe.

thank you!! There's definitely a lot of interesting little tidbits you can pick up, although also a lot of "there's nothing interesting here" comments lol

i guess I'll give some random tidbits that I remember and liked for one reason or another (decided to put it under a read more because it's a bit long):

That weird old detective is out there, so I'm not leaving.

This was just funny to me, like I totally missed it on all previous playthroughs. It's from the beginning of the game, if you try to exit the bathroom from the entrance door. Also puts into perspective how much the relationship between Douglas and Heather changes over the course of the game, considering how she views him later on. At this point, though, he's just some weird old guy that won't leave her alone

also, I noticed certain item descriptions can change a bit? For example, what Heather says about the knife she's carrying changes before vs after first encountering monsters in the real world.

it goes from "It's a switchblade for self-defense. I've never used it, but just in case" to "It's a switchblade for self-defense. Better with than without it against those monsters", which is a neat little detail.

the other example of it that I spotted was with the pendant, another item you have for the whole game. I didn't notice the change until the church, after reading the book on Aglaophotis, but it's possible it changed sooner. It was just the addition of "I wonder why I feel sick inside when I look at it?", which might be a bit of further hinting towards its purpose at the end of the game.

Anyway, side tangent over, back to stuff that's more actually focused on Heather.

The bottle says, 'DANGER! Do not mix!' Hmm... mix with an acidic detergent and it'll produce poisonous chlorine gas.

I also love how she finds bleach and just goes "hmm if I combined this with detergent I could make poisonous gas" just, without any prompting or anything. Like girl why did you know that

There was a nice silver ring in here the last time I came... Bummer that it's gone, huh.

(jewellery display in the mall)

I mean, I'm no thief... I might act like one now and then, though.

(silver coins in the office building)

makes me wonder if she's perhaps shoplifted now and again... lol at the very least, shes no stickler for the law, which i can respect honestly

I don't really feel like eating and drinking stuff from an alternate reality, OK?

(shelves with wine in the mall)

I'd feel weird drinking anything sold in a place like this, though.

(vending machine in the office building)

But this popcorn doesn't look right. I don't think I'll be having any. But then again, I wouldn't eat anything else here either.

(popcorn stand in amusement park)

The insistence on not trusting random food and drinks you find lying around... which is probably the smart choice tbh

Hell, I might still be sleeping here, for all I know. ...I wish I were.

She brings up the idea of dreaming and nightmares a few times in cutscenes and such, and I can see why. It would be nice to wake up from something like that and realize it didn't really happen. But, she knows that's not the case.

Is someone sleeping here...? All this red stuff around here is blood. This guy's not sleeping.

(corpse in subway)

There's a dead body inside this box thing. There's nothing interesting here.

(corpse in amusement park)

The door's open. Inside there's someone wrapped in a bag. Maybe--no, they're definitely dead.

(corpse in the church)

I think it's a little amusing seeing the range of reactions to the corpses, for some reason

like girl if its in a bag and not moving its safe to assume its dead by now, especially in a room full of corpses

I also think it's interesting seeing bits where she thinks about Alessa more near the end...

And I don't want to remember them. Because I'm not Alessa anymore... But Alessa is still me. I'm really not trying to deny it or anything.

This line surprised me because while I didn't remember seeing it before, I said pretty much the same thing in a post talking about some of my thoughts on heather a little while ago. And it does sum it up well. She's not Alessa anymore, but Alessa is still part who she is.

i also noticed Heather often switches between "I" and "her"/"Alessa" when talking about her.

It's a picture of me when I was 7. I look bored and sad. Well, of course I do. I was always like that back then.

Like in this instance of talking about a photo of Alessa...

The scribbling on the floor here is Alessa's. For some reason, she always drew monsters like this when she was alone.

vs talking about these drawings on the floor in Alessa's room.

I--no, it wasn't me. Alessa wrote this a long time ago.

Or here, where she can't even make up her mind which to use.

24 years ago, Mo... Dahlia used me to summon God.

(oh there's also this part where she almost calls Dahlia Mom but decides she doesn't deserve that title loll)

There are even a few hints of original Cheryl left, which is nice.

This is my sketchbook, from 17 years ago. On the front cover is a picture of Dad. Really awful work.

(Cheryl's sketchbook)

But I do have just a trace of one more memory left. I haven't forgotten my sweet and gentle mother.

(After reading Harry's diary)

obviously, the "sweet and gentle mother" is Jodie, because I can't imagine Dahlia described that way by her lolll

also this line just made me laugh a bit:

Helmets? Should I take them with me...? Nah, never mind. It's pretty geeky-looking.

ooh there's also a couple lines that made me sad when I found them, I'll put those here:

My home... My dad! Is he okay? I'm sure he is. He must be.

(literally a few minutes before getting back to the apartment and finding him)

I just... Don't want to remember. Get me out of here.

(Alessa's sickroom)

I used to take these dolls with me when I went to bed. Scarlett and... Damn, I forgot the other one's name. In fact, I don't even know which one is Scarlett.

(dolls in Alessa's bedroom)

I want to get out of here, but I just can't. This is for Dad... and for myself. And... For Claudia, too.

(trying to exit the final room back through the door you entered)

also...

I'm exhausted, but I don't think I can sleep now.

(heather's bed)

I'm tired, but it's no time to sleep.

(motel bed)

get this girl some REST!!

Anyway, this is a lot of random stuff, and there's probably more i could've said, but overall... It's really interesting to see all these little details! Like obviously her dialogue and actions within cutscenes says a lot, but I think getting all this insight into her mind through little item interactions is really interesting! This ended up being a bit rambling and not very actually insightful, but I hope it still gives somewhat of an idea :D

[dbdonryo]

maggie’s apartment walkthrough!

hello!

so, a new game by anatola howard came out on steam today - maggie’s apartment! i’ve been really excited for this game ever since it was first announced, so naturally i leapt on it within, oh, 30 seconds of its unlocking on steam. ha.

anyway, it took me a while to figure out some of the puzzles, but i got through my first playthrough a few hours ago. i figured i’d write a guide with the creator’s permission. that being said, i’m still going to see if there might be multiple endings or any secrets i might have missed. if i’ve missed anything, or if you have any questions, feel free to message me!

walkthrough under the cut <3

okay! i’ll try to make this as quick and concise as i can - i’ve never written a guide before lol. i’ll also try to keep it as spoiler-free as possible.

wait for the opening cutscene to play out - randy leaves and you’re suddenly informed that the apartment building is on lockdown! weird... there’s a lot to do, though, so at least maggie won’t be bored. there are plenty of things for maggie to talk about/to. there’s the depressed cactus hiding in the closet, the tv, the couch... feel free to explore the room to your heart’s content! be sure to take a quick look at the tv guide next to the television, click on the drawer beneath the radio (which is used for saving, loading, changing around game options and returning to the menu!) examine the fanclub id and speak to the cactus hiding inside the closet before moving on.

once you’re ready, go ahead and stick your head out of the northern window. there are quite a few things that maggie can look at and comment on, but the most important item is the jay walker shirt in the foreground. if you click on it, maggie will note two things: the album represented by the shirt is called “jay walkin’ away from the law” and the featured single is titled “edge”. observe whatever else you’d like, then click on the window to re-enter the apartment. 

a quick commercial will play on the radio. after it ends, go ahead and click on the western (left) wall. you’ll meet a boy named shrimp sitting on his computer. the order you click on the dialogue options in doesn’t seem to matter, but this is what i did:

>how are you? >why is the apartment locked down? >music? i love music! >i know who jay walker is! >i like how smart he is! the options you pick here do matter: >”jay walkin’ away from the law.” >”edge.” the rest of the options don’t seem to matter (still figuring it out!) but if you want to run through the rest of the conversation, you can. either way, you should have taken away two things. one; shrimp’s computer uses the power that the other next-door couple needs for their, ahem, love butler. two; shrimp illegally pirates music. for shame!

clicking on the eastern (right) wall will allow you to tune into a shouting match between the aforementioned couple after their love butler shut down. for now, there isn’t anything we can do.

click on the lower left corner of the purple rug. maggie will pull it up and discover an old candy bar. when she tosses it aside, you’ll notice that it was covering a hole in the floor! go ahead and click on it.

oh my! it seems like you can look straight into the apartment below! try talking to the police officer reclining down below. again, most of the dialogue options don’t seem to matter, but this is the order i used:

>i wasn’t planning on leaving my room, officer. >it’s true! i love my boyfriend! >do you know who randy rosebud is? >why’s the apartment on lockdown?

ask the officer the last question over and over for a series of amusing excuses (and a bit of clever foreshadowing, now that i’m replaying this lol). eventually, you’ll have the opportunity to ask,

>are you sure that’s really the reason? >some kinda watson YOU’D be, officer! >you’ve got nice legs, officer. >you sure do work hard, officer.

before asking the officer to make any arrests, he wants to get drunk. o...kay. no problem! tell him goodbye and stick your head back into your own apartment. so open the minifridge to the right of the couch and... casually remove that totally normal tank of carbon monoxide. open the minifridge again and click and drag a bottle of randy’s beer over to the hole in the floor. the police officer will chug it and tell you he’s still thirsty. okay... randy won’t miss two beers... well, long story short, you’ll need to empty the fridge and give the officer each drink, one by one. after he uses his gun to shoot the last beer open, he’ll finally be drunk enough to tell you what you need to hear. he tells you that the building is on lockdown until he finds the source of a mysterious carbon monoxide scent (whoops!). you can also ask him to arrest shrimp for pirating jay walker’s music. oh, and you’ve got his name now - officer rascal! tell him the following:

>i’ve got someone for you to arrest. >a kid called shrimp, next door. >do you know who jay walker is? >um, there’s this old singer named jay walker.

after shrimp is arrested (it’s pretty hard not to feel bad for the poor kid, even though he insulted your boyfriend), rosemary and guy can use their love butler again and they’ve stopped arguing altogether! now you can finally talk to th- oh, never mind. they blew up your tv.

at any rate, there are plenty of new things to do! it’s hard to pick a direction, so i’ll just do what i think made the most sense...?

the first thing i did was stick my head back down into the hole. you’ll see the officer’s unloaded gun, which is way too far out of reach. the newly-detached tv antennae could reach it, but there’s still no way to grab it... ah, but there is that old sticky candy! attach the tv antennae to the sticky sportsbrick by dragging the antennae on top of the candy. now the gun will stick to the antennae! however, the hole in the ceiling/floor is far too small for the gun to fit through. darn! just leave it alone for now.

click on the ceiling to the left of the ceiling fan to meet a new character: a very creepy writer named hector cheese. again, the order doesn’t matter for the most part - but this is the order i spoke to him in:

>sugar? >do i know you? >your work? >couples >you’re obsessed! >show me the song! >so, you want gossip about break-ups? okay.

now, you might have noticed that a window that was previously hidden behind your bookshelf was revealed after the explosion. click on the east-facing window (it’s to the left of the isaac newton bust). we’ve met a new character - maggie’s best friend, beauty the radish. go ahead and speak with beauty. as always, there’s no particular order regarding dialogue options, but this is what i said:

>what do you do out here all day? (this ends the conversation so click on beauty again) >the apartment’s locked down! >randy rosebud >it’s okay if you feel that way. (again, this ends the conversation so give beauty another click) >cactus in the closet >rascal’s gun

talking to beauty has given us two great hints. first, she says we need to trick dunc (the cactus) into thinking he’s grown a flower in order to coax him out of the closet. second, she mentions that rascal’s gun could easily fit through the open window. we’re going to solve the cactus puzzle first.

click on the bush to the right of maggie’s head. maggie now has two pretty flowers! go back into your apartment by clicking on the left side of the screen. sit patiently through the radio show’s break, then click on the closet door.

>”selenicereus grandiflorus”

yay! the closet door’s finally open! and look how cute dunc is! now, you’re going to want to click on the two photos taped to the inside of the closet to knock them to the ground. then, drag the flowers on top of the handsome headshot (the one that isn’t a photo of randy and maggie). drag the remaining flower over to dunc to drop it onto his... arm? finally, click on dunc.

>your flower looks beautiful!

hmm... he still wants us to prove his beauty to him. that’s no problem! open the closet door again - and this time, drag the handsome headshot on top of dunc. telling a little white lie was worth making him this happy, right? anyway, now that he’s gone out to the patio with beauty, maggie picks up a... mysterious traffic cone? a little bit ominous. for now we’ll have to leave it, as it has now become part of the scenery.

now, before we move on to the gun puzzle, we should look at the other photograph that fell from the closet door - the autographed photo! clicking on it tells a very cute little story, but more importantly, dragging it on top of the autographed poster causes maggie to realize something very fishy... and it also catches the attention of a new voice on the other side of the wall! go ahead and speak to mrs. marinara, shrimp’s mother:

>what’s your favorite song? >how did you get started being a randy rose? >autograph (mrs. marinara brings something up that seems to raise red flags for everyone but maggie) >basefoot bowl >traffic cones >love gossip >break-ups

all right! that last one is exactly what we needed! click on the ceiling to speak to hector again.

>i’ve got some hot gossip for you, cheesey. >mrs. marinara’s divorce

okay. so, hector wants a cigarette? that can wait for just a second! first, let’s finish getting that gun. drag the sportsbrick-on-a-stick to the eastern window for miss beauty to hang onto. pause for another cigarette ad on the radio, then take the remaining tv antennae to the hole in the floor. beauty will toss rascal’s gun to maggie. nice!! we finally have rascal’s service firearm, although it isn’t loaded.

next, we’ll give hector, well... something. drag the heavy isaac newton bust over to the east-facing window, then follow it out onto the patio. click on beauty. i kind of forgot to mention the fanclub option up to this point, but asking beauty about it is a vital step in solving the cigarette puzzle. go ahead and pick that option now. it’ll still work if you pick this option sooner.

>fanclub

both women seem to have gotten pretty upset. that won’t do at all! click on the white patch on beauty’s back. it reappears on the floor next to the grill - dragging it on to the grill will cause smoke to billow up to hector’s floor. and look at that! a bucket is dangling beside maggie. drag isaac newton into the bucket. ah, i’m... sure he’ll be fine.

hector cheese drops a very, very troubling note. read it, then head back into your apartment.

heeeere’s where things begin to go a little bit haywire. it’ll also be a bit harder to avoid spoilers, but i’ll do the best i can.

poor maggie! poor randy! poor small children and poor senior citizens!

so, the first thing i did was click on beauty. i asked her questions in the following order:

>where can i find a phone? >from your view, what could you see of the basefoot bowl? >i feel sick...

end the conversation, and click on the western wall (right), now labelled “love butler”. he’ll dial the phone number on the side of that traffic cone from earlier, and you’ll finally learn the truth.

we’ll briefly take on the role of beauty. it took me much longer than i’d care to admit to figure this bit out, so i’ll list each item and its dialogue options in the correct order below!

click on the fanclub id card.

>it’s not about letting other people down. you can’t be so hard on yourself.

click on randy’s autograph.

>ham was able to take down the wig and the fanclub with it for his own benefit.

click on the carbon monoxide tank.

>ham has been making you buy these tanks with his manipulative charm. >never mind.

click on the song lyrics.

>we know he wrote the note because of its mention of carbon monoxide.

click on the carbon monoxide again.

>he was going to blow you up.

click on the tv guide.

>the apartment is on lockdown. nobody can leave. >the blimp. >he was going to sing the song he wrote for you after killing randy.

okay! now we can arrange the items as follows:

the fanclub id card belongs on the rectangle labelled “1″. the autograph belongs on the rectangle labelled “2″. the tv guide belongs on the rectangle labelled “3″. the carbon monoxide belongs on the rectangle labelled “4″. the song lyrics belong on the rectangle labelled “5″.

once everything is properly arranged, you can click on each one to go through the plan, if you’d like to. whether you do so or not, click on beauty for a decidedly uncheerful cutscene. i picked the following options when talking to beauty, although, again, i don’t think the order matters:

>why does ham want to kill me? >why can’t we just run away? >i don’t want to. >i’ll eat you.

okay! all sorts of people need to be avenged in our last stand against randy. talking to dunc will give you hints, but here’s what you’ll need to do. 

(NOTE: i tried waiting it out to see if ham would get me, but aside from being startled a few times by dunc’s warnings, nothing happened. i don’t think there’s a time limit. don’t panic!)

first, click on the coat rack to knock it over. it isn’t quite secure enough - we still need something to hold it in place. click on that tie to the left of the front door, and drag it on top of dunc. maggie physically can’t wink, which will make it hard for her to aim her gun. drag beauty’s eyepatch onto maggie’s head, and that takes care of that issue!

the last thing we need to do is load officer rascal’s gun. trying to drag beauty’s tooth (it’s located on the floor, sort of above and to the left of the barrel of the gun) onto the gun won’t work - it doesn’t fit. instead, drag the tooth on top of dunc. he’ll give us the bullet we need. after that, well... enjoy the ending!

thank you so much for reading, and to anatola howard, thank you so much for making such a wonderful game!! 

if i learn about any secrets, i’ll be sure to edit this post and add them as they’re discovered.