#are core to her character and coding so it's hard to know if what might be interpreted as queer coding might not be something else...

[mikesbasementbeets]

hi :D i found ur bi max masterpost a while ago (this one: https://www.tumblr.com/mikesbasementbeets/696412509960323072/ive-been-thinking-a-lot-about-elmax-recently-and)

and in the beginning u said that there u were focusing on max, but el has a lot of queer coding too (which i fully agree on btw). i wanted to know if u have made a post about her queer coding or if u are working on one? bc i really enjoy ur posts in general :]

hi! that's very sweet, thank you. no, unfortunately i've not done any analysis on el's queer coding (but i saw that you found someone else's post about it which i think is a good read). i think i wrote that bi max analysis in like september? (yes) so it's been a while since i've revisited those thoughts, but eImax is still so dear to me and i would love to have the brain space i had back then to analyze both of them again... but maybe i will think some more on it actually if there's interest....

[p0orbaby]

Slow Motion Mountain Climber

summary: leah signs up for pilates, what could go wrong?

warnings: none

a/n: based on this request !

word count: 981

-

Leah texts you on a Tuesday morning, right before your alarm, like she does whenever something has gone terribly wrong in her life. Like when she found out gluten was in soy sauce, or when she discovered she might have to use that godforsaken 6 train in New York. This time, it's a message that reads: Just signed up for Pilates. You may never see me again.

You roll your eyes, groaning at the incoming rant that's sure to follow. Leah's the kind of person who only does new things for one of two reasons: someone dared her, or she's trying to prove to herself that she is still young and can get away with eating three chocolate croissants in a single sitting. You suspect it’s a combination of both. She’s mentioned something about trying to build a "strong core," which you assume is code for "I'm slowly being bullied into this by the fact that all my teammates have six-packs and I have a soft spot for bread."

At 7:45 AM, just as you’re pouring coffee, Leah calls. You pick up on the third ring because you’re not a monster.

“I’m going to die,” she says, without so much as a hello

“Bold start to the day,” you reply. “Anything specific, or is it just a general feeling?”

“Pilates,” she says, and it sounds like a curse word. “Do you know what that is?”

You almost spit out your coffee because, yes, you know what Pilates is. You’re not sure what’s more shocking: that Leah doesn’t know or that she actually followed through on signing up.

“Yeah, Leah, I know what Pilates is”

“Well, it’s hell. No one told me it was this hard. And the instructor—she’s, like, smiling at me while she’s killing me. How are you supposed to trust someone who's trying to make you do something called a 'teaser' while she grins like a lunatic?”

You can picture it now. Leah, in the middle of a room full of people who've been doing this since their nannies signed them up for ballet at age three, contorting herself on a reformer like it’s some kind of medieval torture device. Meanwhile, the instructor—probably named something like Tiffani with an 'i'—is telling her to “engage her core,” as if Leah didn’t already have a job that required her to do that for 90 minutes straight, several times a week.

“Did you die, though?”

“Almost. My legs were shaking. My abs—I didn’t even know I had abs. Why does anyone do this willingly? I’ve literally been fouled by Fran Kirby, and that was less painful”

“Maybe you should stick to yoga”

“Yoga!” Leah scoffs. “I can do yoga. That’s just stretching and pretending you’re one with the universe or whatever”

You let her have that one because there’s no use arguing with someone who once mistook a meditation class for an excuse to nap in public.

Leah continues, “This class, though—it's not natural. They make you put your legs in straps. Straps! Like a harness, but for your feet. And then they expect you to lift them while you're suspended in the air like some sort of flying squirrel”

You’ve taken Pilates before, so you know exactly what she’s talking about, but you can’t help but laugh. Leah, in her infinite wisdom, probably signed up for the most advanced class because, as she said once, “Go big or go home.” Now, she’s paying for it.

“Maybe you should ask to start in a beginner class,” you suggest, knowing full well she won’t.

“Yeah, no. I already told them I’m an athlete. Can’t back down now. But I swear, if one more person tells me to ‘breathe through it,’ I’m going to punch them in the face”

You imagine the looks on the faces of her Pilates classmates as she throws a fit in the middle of a serene, candle-lit studio. You’ve seen Leah frustrated before, but this is a new level of agitation, and it’s all directed at something she willingly signed up for.

“Maybe it’s good for you,” you offer, “builds character”

“Yeah, and scars. On my pride”

You laugh again because you can see where this is going. Leah, who tackles challenges like they’re personal vendettas, is going to keep going back to that class until she can hold a plank longer than anyone else, even if it kills her. Or, more likely, until she finds something else to distract her, like knitting or extreme ironing.

"I’m just saying," she adds, after a pause, "if I end up with a six-pack, it’s because I earned it. None of this ‘strong core’ bullshit. I want abs of steel. Like, I want to be able to crack a walnut between my ribs”

You’re crying with laughter now, imagining Leah doing sit-ups in front of a mirror at home, testing her progress with various hard-shelled nuts.

“Don’t worry, babe,” you say, trying to calm yourself down. “If you do get abs of steel, I’ll make sure to bring walnuts everywhere we go”

“Good,” she replies, and you can hear her finally start to laugh along with you. “You’re on walnut duty. And if this all goes horribly wrong and I never make it out of Pilates alive, just know it was the straps that did me in”

You shake your head, still smiling. “You’ll be fine. But maybe next time, start with a class that doesn’t sound like it was designed by someone who secretly hates people”

Leah sighs dramatically. “Noted. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to spend the rest of the day lying flat on the floor and cursing Joseph Pilates”

“You do that, babe,” you say, hanging up as you imagine her sprawled out on the carpet, texting you updates about how her muscles are rebelling against her. And you can’t wait to read every single one.

[unnaturalequilibrium]

Capítulo 12

- Mafin rewatch (Sueños de Libertad)

Here we go. It’s the photographer. I don’t know if I’m ready for this yet, I haven’t even found the seatbelt yet, but we’re already taking off.

Marta wanting something modern, but knowing very well not to try to be too transgressive. A quiet kind of revolution that sneaks up on you is to be preferred. She wants a campaign ad that plays on a woman’s own agency though. I don’t know how to tell her, but that’s still a pretty hot topic no matter how much traditionalism you try to steep it in. I approve though. Sisters doing it for themselves, so to speak.

Hihi, her shocked eyebrows when he notices the perfume she’s wearing.

Oh honey. You clueless little inexperienced puppy. I can’t unsee my own perspective or hindsight, but I wonder to what extent we were supposed to believe that something might happen between her and the photographer. I assume most straights did, but even for them - I mean that opening credit. 

Either way, Marta being a clever business woman and a closeted feminist is nice. Smart and smart. Hits my spot.

Fina mocking Claudia as the lavender triplets are having coffee together is cute. She also catches on to Carmen’s sadness and ask if it’s in relation to Voldemort. Carmen reveals she’s not able to tell if she should do the right thing with Tasio or follow her heart. Fina deadpans and tells her the heart is a treacherous mistress. She is the lesbian friend every straight and bisexual woman needs.

The photographer is a bit creepy though. It’s not cool going around photographing women without their knowledge or consent. Especially not when you have a moustache, that just makes it twelve times as creepy. I’m sorry, but it’s the truth.

Carmen covering Tasio’s gambling ass. You hate to see it.

Marta for the first time on this show getting truly excited about something. Excited about her idea of selling their latest perfume through a more relatable woman than your standard model. The joy she expresses when the photographer comes back with a whole portfolio full of pictures of the shop girls is fucking pure. This isn’t just an ice queen, this is a woman trying really fucking hard to make a difference in her own way. She has a vision and I honestly don’t think it’s only about the cashflow. I do think she wants a different world for herself and for other women too.

This scene also hits with one of those lines that are pretty fundamental to her as a character, even though she likes what he’s done, she tells him she won’t make a decision “hot”. She needs to let the emotions land and turn it all over in peace. This is Marta at her core. Everything about her as an emotional being can be narrowed down into this. She did the exact same thing with Petra. She gathered the data, went away, made a case for herself and then returned with a plan of action. If you want Marta’s cheat code, then it’s this behaviour. Pretty much everything else about her will fall into place when you understand this. And the best way of breaking her is to force a reaction out of her before she’s had a chance to digest in silence.

Yeah, even if we ever were meant to think something was about to happen with the photographer they also made sure to be pretty fucking unsubtle about the real direction they were taking this story in.

[emmartian]

The three perfect things this year to keep me living much much more.

Armored Core VI Fires of Rubicon - From Software

I have a soft spot for games where “you” start so low: a corpse, an addict cop fell from grace, a drained bounty hunter sent to a planet alone to get her soul eaten by somehow gentle parasites. 

Armored Core 6 puts you in a body bag and promises to give you a meaning.

The game makes you feel in pain, both physically and mentally, yet you dance the fastest legs exquisitely, while the voices in your brain implants seem to notice you, to worry about you, to tell you you're an artist that can crave for even more.

You choose a how to see if you’re still here. And so, you fly high the miserable sky.

The Boy and the Heron - Studio Ghibli

I’ve read a lot of words about The Boy and the Heron by this point, looking to praise it by finding hidden sources, mysterious meanings and cultural roots behind its attributed “unorthodox” narrative. But I doubt this given depth was THAT intentional.

To me, this film might be the peak of Hayao Miyazaki’s philosophy for process and creation which is well known that doesn’t allow a glimpse of restraint. First and foremost, dealing with a canonical script.

A choice that brings freedom and obsession. A way to live, instead a way to create, to be the stories we tell ourselves. I strongly believe this is what the film exhales. Depth and meaning by making brilliant collaborators invested with the nurtured concepts in his brain. Depth and meaning by making us fall for the intense personality of such a hard work overall.

To grasp a gap in the system you have to be so bold. And I can't wait for what comes next.

A Guest in the House - Emily Carroll

As dear homie Sloane Leong says in her quote, a Guest in the House is a very sophisticated character study coded as a horror tale, with exquisite art, prose and pacing. 100% Emily’s trademark.

Personally, I still can't stop smiling at how it philosophically reads as an essay about evasion. On how skipping reality can be empowering and healing, and more than anything, romantic; even if, you know, it takes you to the grou… Please don't mind me.

Hide from hideous, grasp a glimpse of justice, make the self you want to be, legit. Toxic. The knight or the ghost. In Emily’s safe HUB, the guts spill into refined erotic scenarios that make the average the most dreadful place to be.

Anyway. You don't do a book on this scale alone, to save the day. The accurate craft still feels like a scream. It's the kind of work that saves the medium by making creators unsafe. Please consider reading it and support it. Emily’s writing truly is precious.

She also did a beautiful Bloodborne short out of love this year. For the fans!

[calliopefiction]

I just finished playing the demo, and from the bottom of my heart, it's been a loooong while since I played such a good game, it's definitely in my top 3, if not number 1. I usually don't like games that don't explore the characters gender and sexuality, Misplaced is the first that treats it naturally that I actually feel like it's a common part of life rather than erasure. The characters are written beautifully, it feels like they're their own people, their flaws and beliefs that might go against the main character (because fundamentally it has nothing to do with them) feel like real struggles, you can feel the blind grief in the prince, the mage doesn't care what you think about her and is thoroughly true to herself and still cares for others in a way that doesn't feel artificial or naive. Don't even get me started on Vynn, I went through "their route" and the way I've cried multiple times it's not even funny, their friendship is so deep that I think I was able to understand the whole concept of queer platonic relationship through them, even without the romantic aspect, they love each other so deeply, they're the most important people in each others lives, there's no one else, they reached nirvana, what they have is unspeakable, unthinkable, you can only feel the depth. I decided I was going through their route before even playing cause I love a cute friends to lovers trope, and then I finish playing it getting a new achievement "forever changed by the force of their love" (that one scene that goes something like "is it a love song?""maybe, I haven't finished writing it yet" has changed my brain chemistry forever). I feel like I have a lot else to say about the game, but it's 3am and my brain is not functioning properly. Thank you so much for your hard work <3

This right here is my whole reason for writing - making you feel something, touching your hearts - it just makes me so happy to know that it's working. When it comes to the execution, you know the prose, and the structure, the choices and the coding, I feel like there's still a lot for me to improve and to work on. But I do pride myself a lot on the emotional core of the story, so reading this sort of comment just makes me smile from ear to ear.

I'm also really glad that Vynn and their relationship with the MC struck such a chord with you. Their dynamic is something special indeed, and the fact that they have so much history together that the reader doesn't know about adds to that. Even knowing that they're best friends from the get go, you still get to discover how deep their care for each other goes.

Anyway, that was a wonderful comment and it's making me want to work extra hard today!

[randomnameless]

why don't you want jurgdral remakes? are you afraid they will be localised like fodlan games or modified like shadows of valentia?

Mmh...

Lolcalisation aside, I'd say the biggest thing I'm dreading with those remakes is IS' (if FEH is any indication) willingness to retcon those older games to, I suppose, make them more "trendy" or approchable for a "modern audience".

Sure, FEH might goof here and there, but take the "Miccy founded the DB" take - it's present at least in more than one unit so imo, it's no goof at all, what is it supposed to mean? That a Miccy who is only a person who joins an existing group because she embraces their ideals and thus puts them above her own "need" to hide her existence, as a Branded, is not as... bankable as a Miccy who forms her own ragtag group of randoms to fight against Daein, giving hints at her later role as the leader of the Daein army?

I've ranted enough about IS retconning Lyon and Magvel in general (tfw Eph was caught by Grado lel) but it follows the same pattern, OG!Lyon (and FE8 in general) falls because of his very human and earthly desires - he might have ideals and all, but at the end of the day, he falls because of his love and adoration/obsession for the twins and that is something he cannot fight against - FEH!Lyon sassing Fomortiis is just, no. Fomortiis always has the last laugh in FE8 (at least with Lyon and even, I'd say with the playable cast because, again, his soul isn't erased, he is stuck again in a shiny rock, just like what happened in the lore, and led to Lyon's possession. Who can be sure that in 800 years after Ephraim's adventures, L'Arachel's descendant won't be seduced by Fomortiis' power and free him from his shiny rock, like Lyon did?).

FE15 is its own thing lol - but there is a possibility for Jugdral to be pissed on like Magvel and Tellius were in FEH, and I guess, for any Jugdral fan that's terrible.

Sure, FEH seems to treat Jugdral verse with, uh, careful consideration but hey - if the Ayra wanking is any indication, even Jugdral isn't immune to retcons to make a popular character even more #badass, plot be damned.

Add some eggtivation here'n'there, and I wouldn't be surprised if we had some NPCs or even characters in support dialogues explaining how major holy blooded people aren't always better in the domain corresponding to their holy blood than non HB people because non HB people can bypass their lack of dragon blood with hard work - completely pissing on this core Jugdralian mechanic that was translated in FE4's gameplay by weapon rank.

Is it gatekeeping? idk.

For me, it's just that I fell in Jugdral Hell some years ago (nearly a decade!) and despite its defaults, I still like this verse very much so I'd like a remake that is as faithful as possible to that thing I came to know all those years ago, maybe to exchange with new (and non new lol) fans about that verse!

But if we get, idk, a very #badass Deedee who doesn't, idk, mind killing a kid or two to show how #girlboss she is, well, for me, that wouldn't be Jugdral at all, but some sort of adaptation using those characters but writing them OOC.

Of course I can't say I have a better reading and take on those characters as IS themselves, but after seeing A!Mareeta's FB where she is supposed to be at her best/peak performance, and IS still wrote her to be "below" Ayra in terms of ability when Mareeta's Major Holy Blood means her skills with the blade are naturally superior to her "great aunt" 's skills I still think there's something that's missing.

It's as if we had Reinhardt throw better spells/be stronger at Thunder Magic than Peak!Ishtar, or worse, Azelle on a pony teaching FE5!Saias how to throw fire spells.

It's just, not possible in the Jugdral verse, because Jugdral verse is pretty inequitable and major HB people are cheat codes compared to minor HB people or non HB people. Now with that being said, the story is about what those people with magic blood that are cheat codes do and if they use their powers for good or stupid things. It's not about Midayle finally showing Aidean that his skills with a bow are superior to her sister's so now, he is finally strong enough to protect her from Verdane ruffians.

But after Fodlan's false "yeah but crests aren't the alpha and omega and yet i'm never going to tell you what they do because otherwise my excuse for worldbuildling falls apart", I wouldn't be surprised if Jamke, in a support, would teach Bridget how to use a bow.

:/

So yeah, it's better not to have any remakes.

[drstonetrivia]

Chapter 206 Trivia

Post-timeskip Suika squad! They're all so cute :)

Unlike the new Perseus, the ship going to Corn City is Xeno branded rather than Kingdom of Science: it has the signature zig-zag patterns of the American Colony and Xeno's profile on the side of the boat.

Joel's crushed arm is hidden, however since no one mentions it, it's probably fully healed. Somehow.

Joel's "12" hair strands have also gotten thicker, and the strap on his watchmaker's loupe survived even though his clothes are gone…

…Except everyone is still wearing the same clothes from before anyways. Did Ukyo and the others take off their clothes for depetrification then return them?

I also wonder who's currently in possession of the medusa now.

Finally a Taiju and Yuzuriha reunion! And what's more, progress on their relationship! (Sort of…)

It seems that when they built the new Perseus, a new mobile lab was built to go with it! Judging by the tires, this one is also all-terrain and amphibious.

Has Sai not eaten in days because of his fevered code writing? Or does he deliberately ignore table manners like "don't speaking with your mouth full" as a result of trying to escape his fate in Nanami Corp.?

Holding flags has never held so much personality: Kohaku is extremely focused and lifts her flag completely vertically, very quickly. Suika twirls hers. Gen does his the slowest and is most put-out by the demonstration. Chrome lifts his loosely with one hand, but with confidence.

An XOR (said as "exclusive OR") gate is the job Suika had during the demonstration: lift the flag when Chrome OR Gen put theirs up, /excluding/ the situation where they're both up.

An AND gate was Kohaku's job: both Chrome AND Gen need their flags up for Kohaku to lift hers.

The brief moment of history for the parametron lasted under a decade. Invented by Eiichi Goto, a Japanese computer scientist, they were reliable and cheap, allowing for Japan to push forward with their computers. They didn't last long because transistors simply performed better.

Senku's parametron only requires copper and zinc, but true parametrons use some form of ferrite core. Copper and zinc aren't ferromagnetic, but ferrite is.

The result? Senku's version won't work. At all.

In case you haven't watched the anime and didn't immediately get Gen's Kung Dang Manganese song stuck in your head the instant "800" was mentioned: Gen insisting there'll be 800 of them is a reference to when they made the cellphone, and Gen was tasked with making 800 batteries.

Sai is playing a code block game designed for children. He's probably programming a moveable character on the screen at the top of the container by arranging the blocks in order. This is probably a simplified version of the Gakken EX-150, a device for easily experimenting with electronics.

Doesn't look like he knows the Konami code yet, but I'm sure he will soon enough!

I'm not sure if I'm just getting old or if this is a reference to Senku bringing back smartphones (and not just cellphones), but that isn't what I think of when someone says "calculator" haha

I love Yuzuriha's signature hard-work pose so much :)

==================== MISSING Please help me find my kohai! 🧙 Answers to the name MOZ. Last seen fighting Americans. Might stab you. If found, call Hyoga @ (555) 454 1130. Do not engage. ====================

(Seriously where'd he disappear to again?)

[zahri-melitor]

Oh my god, Gotham Knights #26. I’m screaming, crying, throwing up.

Just this. This is so damn crunchy. It’s a reminder that the core of the post-Crisis Batfamily revolves around the dynamics and dance of tensions between Dick, Babs and Tim, and how each of them relate to Bruce.

Dick’s on the upswing of his relationship with Bruce, after the adoption and the two of them hammering a bunch of issues out.

Tim’s at a low point where he’s been frozen out and deliberately hurt. Bruce revealed his identity to Steph! Plus Alfred, who’s been staying with him to punish Bruce, had just announced he’s going back to the manor, leaving Tim even more alone.

Babs is in one of her “I’m here for the rest of you; Bruce is aggravating me by being high handed again” phases (admittedly that’s…her default position unlike the other two).

And wow does the way the three of them negotiate the debate over “did Bruce kill someone�� just show off both their best and worst character traits (and also they’re all acting way more adult than Bruce, which isn’t a surprise, but what can you do).

Tim and Dick talk! Tim worries Dick is a jumper! They find out they have different opinions on Did Bruce Do It!

(I just want to EAT UP the implication that Tim is worried that Dick might be about to attempt suicide over the fact Bruce killed someone, especially just after the whole ‘killing Joker’ situation)

Dick is Extremely Offended Tim might think Bruce Did It. So what does he do? Go off to talk it through with Babs.

Babs gives Dick the reality check that Bruce has been in one of his push-everyone-away loner modes again and that Dick off in Blüdhaven isn’t having to face it personally, but Batman isn’t even patrolling with Robin right now. Also that Tim’s experiences with Bruce are necessarily different to Dick’s.

When suddenly… Tim arrives to ALSO thrash this conversation out with Babs (They are such mirrors of each other I swear).

Dick takes the opportunity to try and touch base with Tim and find common ground, leading to one of the best/most devastating pages of the Dick & Tim relationship at this point.

Dick is trying to make his baby brother feel safe. Dick would do anything for Tim. Tim however is all too aware of how hollow this promise is, as well meaning as the sentiment is, because they’ve lost people before. (And as I noted, Dick’s actually still in a GOOD cycle with Bruce while Tim really isn’t)

Which leads to THIS angst.

Tim believes in Dick. He can get by just trusting in the detective work he’s been taught and knowing that Dick holds to the Code (and we are LITERALLY only 3 months real time on since Last Laugh, Tim you have phenomenal levels of belief in Dick). Dick however, has that same level of trust in BRUCE, and so can’t cope with Tim not also feeling that way.

(And then Dick goes off to cry to Alfred because he also needed reassurance)

God I love all three of them so much it’s hard to describe. They’re so functional together even when they’re fighting as they all, at their core, trust each other implicitly.

(Alfred and Leslie have some very meaty conversations together and apart also in this, when Gotham Knights was on its game it was one of the best Bat books out there)

Finally: Babs is not having a great time here either, as she’s having to coordinate and run the investigation on Vesper Fairchild’s murder without any assistance from the primary suspect.

Working out some anger issues there, Babs? (Robin #99)

[kingprinceleo]

BET YOU DIDN'T EXPECT ME SO SOON

I did the dessert vampires playlist first since it was the shortest!

Stampede- very good interplay with the characters. Gives the vibe of I respect you but we fundamentally disagree on some big issues. Would be fun to play in the background of like a joint operation scheme? like they've gone undercover at a fancy party and this is them working together during it

Vulture- this is such a Shadow backstory song like- i don't know exactly what happens with GUN and Maria in this au but THIS is the song you play to express his feelings. The first verse at least low-key also sounds like Knuckles during or immediately post transformation to Rouge. He's very angy

Welcome to the Circus- a jaunty little tune. bar/saloon coded, probably plays wherever Amy works i think?

Recommend songs for this playlist: Desperado by Rhianna and maybe the entire Anti album based on vibes alone.

Blood Like Lemonade- strong vibes

Trouble Valerie Broussard- more Rouge centric i think

For other playlists:

Like a Vampire Catrien Maxwell, for vamp au Sonic

A Little Wicked - im thinking of Rouge for it but if it fits a different character i wouldn't be surprised

Little Girl Gone Chinchilla - very vamp au Shadow coded imo

Eve Precious Pepala- Shadow coded

All up in your mind- feels like Shadow thinking about Sonic's effect on him in vamp au

Hope these are good and have a nice timezone 🫶🏽. I go to sleep now

~🩸🎵

welcome back fhbghbjfdfdg !!

This playlist is a little more tough to explain bc i havent shared the major plotpoint that changes the whole title of the au fjgfjghf, but ill get there eventually !! Stampede- idrk know how to explain this one beyond its just Them, their conflicts their compromises, how the two are trying to work together in the situation theyre in, big time agree on the respect with huge disagreements tho, thats one of their major sticking points Vulture- RAHHHHHHH THIS IS IS KNUCKLES @ SHADOW !!!!! the entire time its knuckles rage and defiance !!! and im slamming my head into a wall so fucking hard i prommy it makes so much sense when i share the plot Welcome to the circus- its a rouge @ knuckles song ! like i said the subject itself is kinda weak but it hits on some of their core dynamic pieces --- Desperado- this one i could see being very rouge @ shadow but its a bit too forward and honest ! rouge would defo more take the angle of "im following you bc ur hopeless without me <3" Blood Like Lemonade- strong vibes on its own but doesnt particularly fit with anyone at least right now, i might come back to it after fleshing more people out (also i am sadly biased against songs that are kinda slow sob. i need that constant stimulation music {i almost didnt include vulture in the playlist bc of its speed but it was just too accurate and picks up with some heavy hitting stuff near the end}) Trouble- very correct w the rouge part !! defo eying this one up in consideration

---

Like a Vampire- defo not vampire au sonic , it actually lines up more with desert vampires rouge (i adore the singers voice btw omg) idk if its going in any of the au playlists but it sure is going in mine ! dfhhdfhg A little wicked- shrug tbh ! i see it for rouge but it feels like its missing something, her spunk, her 4kids saxaphone (im assuming if you dont specify an au you just mean for the canon gamers !) Little Girl Gone- THIS IS SO VAMPIRE AU SHADOWCORE LITTLE UNHINGED BASTARD !!! the blood on my teeth line caught my attention....and then the screaming part sold me HDSHDHF hes sooo silly <333

Eve- im so sorry im really biased against love songs so i dont see it personally !! esp not for shadow </3 All up in your mind- eeh there are a few lines there that work, but overall just misses slightly. big fan of the idea that shadows just making up all those lines tho and sonics never said any of it, thats funny fdgjfjdgfg i feel bad for not enjoying all of them wahh, but i am just really picky tbh,,, its gotta bounce the braincell right... but i appreciate the suggestions sm!!!! tyyy!! have a good sleep !!!

[eclipsecrowned]

s.tormlight for the fandom meme 🩷 & stormlight! (for the fandom thing) // @dcviline + @weavinglight

The first character I first fell in love with: Jasnah. It was immediate, and I never recovered. Her poise, her wits, her Ace rep, her capacity for good as well as her ability to be that bitch. Will not lie, my bestie hyped her up and she has not disappointed me once.

The character I never expected to love as much as I do now: He was just one-armed comic relief. Now I muse the little bastard. I thought he might be somewhat cringe comedy and tbh as it was my first Sanderson outing I didn't know what to expect when I heard 'Mexican-coded comic relief' but tbh? He's my one hand arm man, my confidant, my best friend, my silly mink. Love The Lopen, no notes.

The character everyone else loves that I don’t: This is such a cop out but I can't think of any universally beloved characters I don't like? One of the gifts of the series to me is the nuanced and thoughtful characterization of each main player, making them feel more well-rounded than a lot of fantasy without any of them bleeding into each other/relying on authorial tropes. Even stuff I don't like about them, I understand or respect from the sense of 'this character is a tool of the story and is performing that function spectacularly.' The work is put in such that I don't really dislike any of the fandom favs like the Kh0lins, Bridge Crew, Sz*th, etc -- I just side-eye some of their choices.

The character I love that everyone else hates: Moash, and it's downright pathological how much this fandom has it out for him. I get he's a villain and makes some really selfish, awful, narrative-redefining decisions, but there's some takes out there that frankly make me wonder if people read the same book I did. To wit, there is discourse surrounding if this man kicked a literal infant. I, meanwhile, am damn near his public defender at this point. He has layers. He's so Cool Motive Still Murder coded.

The character I used to love but don’t any longer: Dalinar is really one of those characters where your feelings about him get more complicated on a reread. He's still wonderful in narrative and a favorite because no one else in the genre is doing it like him but... Holy shit dude. The way his flashbacks reframe everything. Where is the justice for my girl Evi --

The character I would totally smooch: OK SO FUNNY STORY ax the bestie that got me into the series called my dyke ass would be bewitched by Jasnah. She's so my type it hurts. But they forgot a core aspect of my being: I'd do anything for a MILF. I love Jasnah -- twenty years older and a little more plush, since it's established she's a younger version of her mother. The LOML. My queen. Navani. I get choked up remembering she wasn't getting the good good for 6 years --

The character I’d want to be like: The way I actually want a Dalinar quote tattooed on my body. The way I strive for that level of getting my shit together and turning it around. The way I want to be Evi and Navani's husband. Wait what no delete that footage --

The character I’d slap: Can I lovingly backhand my beloved Moash just to try and convince him he's in a cult and needs to get back on that whole 'destroy the system' wagon? Not even like a hard slap. Just something less taxing than killing one of his buddies to realize how far he's fallen.

A pairing that I love: Have you heard the news of our lord and savior Szopen -- Jokes aside, I am not immune to mad scientist war criminal crab milfs and their captive engineering genius morally complex human milf. Navaniel or bust. It's everything I have ever wanted in my life.

A pairing that I despise: SHALAD1N. Obscuring it so I don't post negativity in the proper ship tag but oh my God my genuine fear is that given the nature of Sandertropes Adolin is gonna be the deadpool for KoW, Shallan will be our grieving widow protag, and 15 years later she and Kaladin hook up. Don't get me wrong! I love their dynamic platonically! I'm not even opposed to Shakalodin! But they NEED that buffer, I can't stand the thought of them 1:1'ing this ship. There's too much between them, too much trauma overlap and high key inflicted on each other, for me to see the endgame appeal. I think it'd self destruct messily and leave them both worse. They need sunshine boy or the romance will tear itself apart.

[rutadales]

ooooh And the World Says looks like such a cool premise!

OHHHH thank uuuuuu!! Admittedly this is the concept I'm most excited for :'D the current summary I have for it is "In which Foolish is almost a god and Dream is the world. They meet somewhere in the middle." which. not to toot my own horn but ohhh I love the phrasing something abt it is very satisfying lol.

but yeah the whole premise came from me wanting to use Minecraft mechanics and game limitations as a core part of the story. This idea that all of the divine characters know that their world is made of code is just ugh, so juicy to me. C!Foolish essentially being a tool made to fix glitches and crashes is just a fun idea to me. fun fact: I was inspired by "How to Save the World" by talkingsoup, which is a really clever undertale fanfiction that uses game mechanics as a core plot device.

anyway anyway here's the little excerpt:

"A solution has shown up on a silver platter, a way to remember. He'd shut it down before, still so sure he could fix this. No crash is inevitable, all deaths are malleable. Things have changed though, and Foolish is running out of time and Hail Mary's. His tongue feels heavy in his mouth, flicking briefly over chapped lips. If they can't save this world, they should do everything they can to remember it. Too much had happened to just sweep it aside and forget. But still, it felt too similar to giving up and— …well. Dream might not go for it anyway, but it was a chance, however thin. One he should run by him.

"Let me talk to Dream, see what he thinks, alright? I can't just make this decision for him."

"Foolish," Death sighed, voice weighter than before, "I told you the offer can't extend to him. Dream's code isn't like a player's, he needs his world."

His world. Something about that phrasing itches in the back of Foolish's head, an omen. His nails scratch at the skin on his arm, his movements quickening, slightly, "Right, I mean, I know he's an operator but-"

"No," Death's voice is hard, immovable, "the world's lifespan and his own, they're connected. Intrinsically tied together. One cannot exist without the other. Dream cannot breathe air without the server running, and the server cannot run without Dream breathing. Do you really think it was just a coincidence that the server ended at the same time Dream's last life did?"

Death shook her head, "To move him to a different save file would do more than kill him, it would erase him completely."

"That's-" He bites back his frustration, irritation blooming inside his chest, "I can't just leave him."

[novaauster]

Three-Dimensional Characters

I did it. I’ve cracked the code.

I figured out what dimensions (or graph axes) people are talking about when they say “three-dimensional characters”. It’s “what they know about themself”, “what they don’t know about themself”, “what they show to others” and “what they don’t show to others”.

Like this!

So, for example, let’s take Katniss Everdeen. Fantastic character, iconic book series. What does she know about herself? That she loves her sister and would do anything for her. That’s the opening knowledge of the book, everything hinges on it. That makes her an active character, because she has this core of belief about herself. 

She shows that she’s angry at the Capitol. It’s imminently important to her that she do so, it makes her feel like she has personhood in a system that’s trying to strip it away. She fights and fights some more, and does not make compromises.

Of course, she doesn’t know that her anger at what is being done to her and her sister, while completely justified and probably her only available coping mechanism, actively harms her chances of survival. Like, a lot. She cannot play along, she cannot make allies (except for Peeta, who puts up with a lot because he knows she can fight better than he can), and thus she is a pretty bad leader. Even so, she makes do and starts a revolution anyway, because most people are just as angry as her.

And, finally, she doesn’t show (to other characters, not to the reader) that she’s terrified. She and her entire home district are in mortal peril, and she’s like sixteen. She doesn’t know how to protect Prim besides fight for her, and she fights so hard and so uncompromisingly that she gets in her own way. It’s an internal conflict and it makes her seem three-dimensional and very human.

These four things are kept in mind in every scene, and get specific based on each circumstance (and they’re a sliding scale too, especially on the “show” axis, she obviously trusts some people more than others). They even change over time somewhat, because she’s a dynamic character. So, yeah.

I’m gonna do the same thing for the characters I’m writing rn under the cut

Keshiro from Empty And Become Wind! He’s so fun and silly and goofy. He knows that nothing can get in the way of his duty as a Raqkesh, and he doesn’t know how to treat his own personhood, outside of his duty, with his charges. He shows that he’s kind of a funny bitch, if someone can’t understand some aspect of his identity (being an airbender, being a Raqkesh, being an agender man, what have you) then he thinks it’s hilarious to lie to them and confuse them further. He shows, to the people he trusts, that being a Raqkesh is a dead-serious thing and violence weighs on a person in the abstract. He doesn’t show, unabstractly, that he’s in pain.

Din from Empty And Become Wind! I love him so much, he’s just a Guy in Situations. He knows that he’s perfectly able to live the life he currently has, and he doesn’t know that he’s gay and the world is a lot bigger than the homophobic little Fire Nation towns he’s been in all his life. He shows that he’d like to meet someone that isn’t absolutely fucking incompetent, and he doesn’t show that, despite the haters, he is capable of whimsy and curiosity.

And those things are all on display during the scene that they meet! Din is guarded because he’s meeting someone who could, to quote popular Disney animated film Aladdin, show him the world and he doesn’t know if he trusts that, Keshiro is being a funny bitch but when someone’s actually in danger he steps up and even risks using airbending to help, and he might tell Din about his charges and the spirits, but he only references his own past (mentions Ther) when it’s imminently relevant that he explains why not having OSHA is bad, actually.

That’s why they’re so fun to write!

[casuallyyoa]

ENDLESS DUNGEON CLOSED BETA IMPRESSIONS

WHAT

After valiantly obtaining a closed beta key via Twitch drops, I could finally try out the latest closed - multiplayer only - beta for Amplitude Studios’ ENDLESS Dungeon. Yet another entry in the overarching ENDLESS universe, it’s a roguelite tactical action game in a similar vein to Dungeon of the ENDLESS. Since I have the latter, there wasn’t any question about being interested in ENDLESS Dungeon. As it’s a closed beta, there’s still time for things to change ahead of its release on 19 October 2023 - provided it’s not further delayed.

SETTINGS

The options menu doesn’t have all that much to play around, with some settings appearing to be unavailable for tweaking. The beta has the option to toggle an ‘Easy Mode’ which simply states to offer ‘several bonuses’ when you explore, but I didn’t try it out. Besides, I don’t even know if turning it on on my end will apply when I join someone else’s session.

Languages offered are:

German

English

Spanish

French

Japanese

Korean

Polish

Brazilian Portuguese

Simplified / Traditional Chinese

You can change subtitle size which is neat. There’s an interaction prompt background opacity slider, presumably not applicable to subtitles or other text boxes. There’s mouse aim assist alongside the laser sight, so that’s always nice.

PRESENTATION

Moving from the pixel top-down style of Dungeon of the ENDLESS, ENDLESS Dungeon uses 3D models in an isometric view. It does look quite nice, though I found it really hard to see certain area of effects. There are player turrets with red AOEs - obviously friendly - but then you have damaging effects from enemies which are also red. When things get hectic, I have missed seeing the warning triangles, or simply ran into terrain and wondered why I wasn’t going anywhere. 

I guess I might need to turn brightness up on my end as well; regardless I hope there’ll be improvements to visual clarity. The markers on the map are at least colour-coded for your convenience with a really long legend you can refer to. Now this kind of begs the question: where’s the colour-blind friendly options? The monster spawners don’t have unique symbols on the map, and the colours are to indicate what they’re weak to. I hope this would be added for accessibility and all.

GAMEPLAY

One thing’s for sure: it’s more, uh, action-packed than Dungeon of the ENDLESS. 

Before I get into the meat of the gameplay, there’s a little big problem with the multiplayer only closed beta. Not everyone has it for one, so games are a touch hard to find. At least, games in my region where I could hope for less than 50 ping. I connected to Europe or either United States servers during my playtime where I pretty much had an even harder time knowing when to dodge or even what was attacking me.

I bring this up early because unlike Dungeon of the ENDLESS, ENDLESS Dungeon feels like a much better time with friends as horrendously laggy as it were for me during this beta. I’m more of a turn-based, low speed kind of guy, and without being able to try the single player during this period, I wonder how the scaling is going to be like.

Anyway.

Up to three players can be in a game session at a time to descend into the Core of the space station they find themselves getting repeatedly resurrected in. With the power of friendship, guns and turrets, you and your buddies need to escort a fragile Crystal Bot through the zones while besieged by any assortment of creatures wanting pieces out of all of you. If you go down, your friend can help you back up. If the Crystal Bot goes down, all of you die. 

As you might expect, the playable characters all have their own roles. I played Shroom, the medic, just so that I wouldn’t embarrass myself dying rushing in to kill enemies (har har). Her active skill has no cooldown but requires Soul stacks to heal. Ultimates require energy to cast, gained by dealing damage to enemies. I would pretty much just hang on to my Soul stacks and spray and pray to get my ult up for the heals.

As alluded to earlier, there’s a rock paper scissors thing going on, where certain elements are more effective against certain enemies. From the beta, it seemed we’d be more likely to get collectibles than anything usable - much less worthwhile - and in one session, 98% of the weapons from either chests or merchants were only for the Zed player wielding a heavy gun which neither the Bunker player nor me could use. At least if there’s any collectible drops, the loot is locked to you when it appears so it won’t get nicked from you if it’s that crucial.

There are fixed monster spawners instead of randomly just appearing from any old dark room with waves coming in as the danger level peaks or from certain actions, like from researching new tech or moving the Crystal Bot. At least the Crystal Bot can be upgraded this time, using shards you find lying around. That does also call the horde, so best be ready. 

Action does feel more emphasized here as turrets have relatively limited range - compared to effectively covering an entire room in Dungeon - so the limited nodes have a greater impact. Likewise, the slots to build resource generators also don't feel as plentiful and monsters will go after these constructs that you can’t rebuild. Once the industry tanks, tough luck trying to make anything.

This game does let anyone be a fixer-upper to restore turret health at least, and they can get upgraded once they see enough action. Should a blackout happen, though, you’re going to have to replace all of them as they can no longer be restored. At least enemies don’t open doors you haven’t, so there’s a bit less crying about them trying to reroute your meticulous funnel. 

Unless…

At certain points of exploration, you will be moved to a separate slice of zone, cutting you off from the previous segment. If you forgot anything there, then too bad, they’re gone. You do also leave the baddies behind, so you don’t have to worry about getting ambushed. Instead, you have to be concerned over bosses! These can have their own mechanics and phases, like how the Bug Momma will become invulnerable until you find the nests to enrage her to expose her fleshy underbelly. These so-called arenas can be quite small to maneuver in, so hope you can be quick on your feet. 

It’s kinda funny that way because there are some rooms that are just so huge but have barely anything in them.

On clearing a zone, you get scored and earn Scrap that can be later used at the Saloon. This Scrap and most progression is only applicable to the host as far as I’ve experienced, which is a little of a bummer really? I wanted to go check them out in my own time in my own instance, but since I’ve only joined games and not hosted any of mine, I’ve got nothing.

Whenever you return to the Saloon, the hub area will gradually open up with a variety of things to check out and manage, or just chat up the people here.

There’s the Booster Chest at the Kiosk where you can buy a chest for some loot for your next run. Only the host can manage this so people don’t get funny ideas to throw a bunch of materials for junk. 

The Library will have all the lore you’ve encountered, as well as ‘quests’ for respective Heroes to check. This is similar to Dungeon, where the characters in between zones in the elevators can have conversations and unlock unique dialogue and / or buffs (or demerits) depending on their relationship with each other. 

From the Workshop you can find a list of equippable Chips for a Hero, but only after clearing the first step of their associated quest. The beta shows there’s at least three slots per hero as well as the Crystal Bot. This too, is currently only for the host to change.

The Hacking Post opens up different zones you can start in, so there’s a certain level of control for at least which bunch of monsters you’d prefer to fight first.

The Cafe is home to my current favourite, Fassie. You can find drink recipes as you explore and have him mix them for you. The ones I’ve gotten access to so far pretty much open up several flavours (pun not intended) of risk reward play, so pick your poison.

Normally I’d have a little section about the story of a game I play, but I haven’t been able to unlock all that much so I won’t comment on what piecemeal they have right now.

CONCLUSION

Even as I got sling-shotted across the map from lag after some rolly boys ran over me, I enjoyed the multiplayer ENDLESS Dungeon closed beta. That said, the issues with visual clarity I had are far more easily fixed than connecting to multiplayer lobbies, so if I do get the game eventually, here’s hoping single player doesn’t feel so bad. I fully acknowledge there’s likely to be a degree of skill issue, but until I can give it my best shot, we’ll leave it there for now.

Good luck on your adventures to the Core!

[mizgrownnonsense]

Some extra Sea Beast thoughts:

yes, visual literacy/media literacy! Let’s Recognize that royal crest and realize what it means to find it in print across all these texts! Let’s think critically about media narratives, who is producing them, and WHY. What a brilliant lesson to kids (and adults, ahem) about how we read, and WHO we read.

The emotional intelligence of accepting contradiction. The incredible emotional strength of this child to honor the heroism of her parents WHILE questioning their actions. Holding seeming contradictory emotions, rather than let one subsume the other (“they can’t be wrong because I loved them” or “I can’t love them because they were wrong”) is a hard thing for many of us…and this film modeled that brilliantly.

This film is Anti-Imperialist as hell 🤍. They stop! The empire ceases to expand! It’s just one line, but my god. Can you imagine telling an American audience—The direct inheritors of Manifest Destiny—“they stayed home, the unknown stayed unknown, and this was good!?” No, “I , the special one get to go.” No, “befriending the hostile other allowed me safe passage into the treasure trove of the unknown.” No, “returning transformed and wealthy from our ‘discovery.’” No, “I decided the other was spiritually/morally superior so I stayed, ‘went native’ and rose to power/authority as a leader/hero in this new context” None of that! Absolutely amazing.

No, but really—consider the role of the Hunters within that imperialism, and how they respond when faced with it. The hunters are deeply inspiring. They have a culture. A sense of their history and their future within an established tradition. A moral code. They are a found family (of stunningly-yet-effortlessly diverse characters. Holy hell, it’s beautiful to see) and they are shown repeatedly to care deeply about one another—and yet, they are still revealed to be in the wrong. They are shown to be exploited, manipulated by false, empire-serving narratives. And they see and accept this. They give up everything they know—their identity, tradition, community-as-they-know-it, life-as-they-know-it—when they realize it is built on lies that have exploited them and pitted them against false, innocent enemies. Take a moment to consider the POWER of that. What core parts of our lives might American audiences—here at the center of an imperialist, hyper-consumerist nation—give up if we could look on them with a critical eye and truly accept what we see?

[justplainwhump]

"Beg me for it." - Thane and Angel!

Thanks for the ask - I somehow drifted away with this one, but I hope it still fits!

This is a the prelude to [Angel's story], and thus far away from Dany's canon. Thane and Dami are Vee's ( @for-the-love-of-nsfwhump s) own characters.

Contains consentual sex/foreplay between adults, implied potential noncon/dubcon but it very clearly is not going to happen. Set in the BBU.

There's a hand around her neck, and another one slipped under her skirt, and Dany is more than pleased with how this night is playing out. The guy is insanely hot, she doesn't know if it's his arrogance or his face, or a bit of both. She's seen him in a movie, she thinks, but she doesn't bother putting any effort into remembering its name. Or his.

Everyone here is either famous or rich, most are both. Dany is just rich, but that seems to be enough for the guy. His lips are on the side of her neck, his breath hot against her skin, and she doesn't try to hide the moan that escapes her when his fingers brush over her panties.

"You want me that badly, huh?" he murmurs.

She smirks, and he releases his choking hold to let her speak. "Oh no," she replies, hoarse and a little raspy. She kind of likes what he did to her voice. She kind of likes a lot about this. "I think I'm the one doing you a favour here. Brooding in the corner like you were? You'd have spent New Year's all alone."

"You think so?" There's something more to his reply, a knowing undertone that makes him less attractive somehow. But his fingers under her skirt work expertly, and when he slips one past her panties, she can't help but throw her head back and moan. "You don't think I have precautions in place to make sure I get everything I want, ever? If I don't want to, I never have to sleep alone."

She can't think. Two fingers push into her, slightly crooked in just the right way, and he starts nibbling on her neck. Her hips jerk upwards, roll against his hand. "Fuck," she breathes. "Fuck yes, go on."

"Beg me for it." He bites down on her neck, and the sensation runs right to her core. She shivers under him, and he chuckles against her skin. "Angel."

"I don't -" She wants to say something. She hates pet names, she hates that one, she hates that she told him, and he still uses it.

His thumb presses down onto her clit and her protest is washed away by a moan.

"Please," she mumbles, pleasure pooling between her legs. "Please, please go o-"

"Sir." Someone is entering his hotel room, tall and lean, and with a submissive tilt to their head, and for a second their gaze and Dany's meet.

"Dami," the man groans, not even looking up. "You might be joining later. Stay put."

The newcomer drops to their knees. Dany doesn't even need to look at the bar code their wrist to know what they are. What they were made into.

"Fuck you," she calls and pushes herself back. His weight is still heavy on her, suddenly void of anything attractive.

"Fuck. No. Timeout. Quantum." She's told him her safe word. She hadn't thought she'd need it. "No!"

His fingers withdraw, and he pushes himself up, far enough for her to scurry back and pull down her skirt.

"It's alright, Angel. We don't have to include them, if you're not into that. They can just watch if you want. Or they'll leave."

"I'm not your Angel," she presses through clenched teeth. "And I don't fuck assholes who think they can own other people. I'm the one leaving."

He frowns. "It seemed like you've enjoyed yourself." He lifts his hands. "Danielle. Can I accompany you somewhere?"

"No." A hard laugh escapes her, as she grabs her purse. "Oh no, you can't. I never want to see you again."

He runs a hand through his hair, still not looking at the pet kneeling in the corner of the room. "Your call," he says. There's something irritatingly calm to his voice, but he steps back and clears the way to the door, and she doesn't feel like dwelling on it.

Dany storms out of the door, and doesn't look back.

She's horny and angry and not in the mood to find someone else for the night. It's going to be herself and her hand under the shower tonight, and she's intent on forgetting that encounter as soon as possible.

Thane Barlow, however, is not.

[whatapungames]

GamesCom: This Bed We Made - Lowbirth Games

This Bed We Made is a third-person mystery game in which you play as a maid in a 1950s hotel and snoop around strangers' rooms to uncover their deadly secrets. Discover what links the clients together in this tale of love, heartbreak and murder! (Description taken off of the steam page)

This year I got the chance to attend GamesCom again, and while I was there I had the absolute pleasure of getting a first look at the upcoming game by Lowbirth Games, as well as meet some of the people behind the game, and I've gotta say I am impressed.

At the convention, I got a chance to play the demo, a small segment of the game mainly show casing the games mechanics.

In the demo, you enter the room of one of the hotel guests, and to your horror discover that he has been secretly spying on you, having photographic evidence of your tendency to snoop around other people's belongings, going so far as even using some of the times. You are now left with the choice of prentending you never saw what happened, reporting it or getting rid of the evidence. And this is where the fun began.

What myself, and the friends I was playing with, initially thought was a choice mechanics surrounding the pictures you discovered, turned out to be a core feature of the game, and that is the ability to throw away pretty much EVERYTHING in the hotel room, including personal belongings.

We spent the rest of the demo snooping around the guest room, trying to make sure he had no other evidence linked to our shitty habit, and making sure that he had no personal or otherwise belonging...including the mans razor blade and personal letters. But any important information we found, be it letters or scarps of paper with writing

In the end we were able to open the guest safe and make sure that our character - Sophie - wouldn't be held liable for her snooping...which in hindsight might not be the best thing to cover up.

This segmented also showcased the developers clever ways of relaying information, as well as how well done the puzzles are going to be.

While in this part there wasn't much info surrounding the main story, we did get a look at the guest story - don't worry I am not going to spoil anything. As mentioned the main objective of this part seemed to be to open the guest safe and make sure there was no other evidence relating to the main characters snooping. To do so we had to figure out the code of the safe. We quickly found a little piece of paper with hints to what every number of the code is.

For obvious reasons we did not know the answers to the hints, so we did what our character does best and went snooping. We did this by looking around the room, reading letters and deducing various things from the text. This included learning personal things about the guest, the fact that the guest checked in with a fake name, and that he has been seemingly stalking our main character. None of this was obviously stated and besides the few comments Sophie made about visiting the same locations as the guest did, there was no dialogue to help progress the story.

This also meant that in the end everyone formed their own conclusion surrounding the hotel guest and Sophie. My friends and I agreed this guy was weird, and a stalker and he deserved to have his stuff thrown away, and while snooping is bad, Sophie wasn't harming anyone so we didn't care, she's a maid in hotel, probably earning less than minimum wage, let her have some fun. So despite this segment being maybe 10 - 15 minutes long, we already started to form a bond with Sophie and the world around, something some games have failed to do over the course of hours.

This also leans into the way the puzzle worked, as we really had to read the information given, and think about the hotel guest and who they are. There were sometimes where the items, such as a key needed to open a box with the final clue, were a bit hard to find, but I never found myself frustrated, rather I was excited to learn more and finally open the safe.

Once the we had completely the demo, we got a chance to talk to some of the developers behind this, and it only increased my excitement for the final release, aimed to early next year. The developers are kind, fun people who are truly creating a unique experience, I am pretty sure this game will quickly become one of my favorite once it's released.

If you are interested in the game, you can support the creators by wishlisting the game and keep up with the process on their socials and their website.