#as one of the options for what kind of story content that players wanted

[un-fwuit-un-fwog]

HELLOOO👋🏻

Since your requests were open could you do a Leona x fem!reader??

Where the reader is initially wary of men due to past experiences back in her world. So when she's in twst world (more specifically in NRC) she's cautious around boys, but Leona notices and tries to gain her trust. Alot of people misunderstood him being a player, womanizer, mean cruel man etc when he's actually not like that. I guess you're my only hope for a Leona x reader request lololol 😭

Hope you have time to do this req!

Thank you for the request! I've been itching to write more Leona content, and you gave me an excuse to take a moment away from my The Rain series to do so! (I've had a somewhat similar idea rolling around in my head for months, but I'll save that for another fic ;))

I tried not to let the story or its themes veer too far off into. . .unsavory directions/topics, but some things have to be at least acknowledged in a vague way when discussing this topic. I tried to do so as respectfully as possible, but if I failed, please tell me so I can do better!

Synopsis: Fem! Reader who is wary of men grows to trust Leona.

TW: mentions of the reader having previous bad experiences with men, but I tried to keep it rather vague; reader has anxiety about being in a school full of men as well as having to stay with them in the events of book 3; reader gets chased by a guy that wants to beat her up near the end, but Leona steps in (I tried not to make it a princess in distress situation, but tell me if it comes off too much that way)

Being thrown into an unfamiliar world is awful. Being thrown into an unfamiliar world and being stuck in an all male school there? You had to question what kind atrocities you committed in your past life to deserve this fate.

It took you a while, but you managed to make. . .friends here. However, even those bonds were rather unsteady and fragile.

It's not that you hated men. You were simply wary of them. You had had past experiences that were. . .unsavory: being catcalled, the uncomfortable conversations with men who approached you in scarcely populated gas stations at night, the jokes no woman in her right mind would find funny, and even some experiences that to this day keep you up at night wondering what your fate would have been if you had done even the slightest thing differently.

You tried to trust the clearly good-hearted people who you logically knew had no ulterior motives hidden behind their kindness, but it was hard. Traumas are not easily forgotten or healed.

That's why, when the events with Octavinelle went down, you were on the verge of hyperventilating. You were friends with Ace and Deuce, and you trusted them as much as you could muster yourself to allow, but that was them. You didn't know, and certainly didn't trust, everyone who resided in Heartslabyul.

Jack's offer didn't seem much better to you, but when it came down to it, you didn't exactly have any other options.

The arrangement ended up being that you would stay with Leona in his room. You weren't sure if you'd prefer this over staying in a packed room with more people.

He barely acknowledged you, or, at least, it seemed that way at first. As your short time staying with him passed, you noticed some things. For one, Ruggie always complained that when he was waking up Leona, the lion wouldn't even wait for Ruggie to get out of the room to begin getting dressed, but Leona had always changed in the bathroom connected to his room for as long as you had stayed there. He also never got too close to you; and when anyone else did, he'd come up with a conveniently timed task for them to do. He didn't use his bathroom for anything other than changing while you were there, and instead used the dorm showers, leaving you his bathroom to yourself.

Don't get me wrong, he didn't go easy on you. He simply respected you and your right to space and privacy. You aren't sure if this was simply how he was raised, if he had noticed your wariness and acted so as not to worsen it, or if it was a mix of both.

By the end of your stay in Savanaclaw, you had somehow managed to find a sense of security in being there with the lion.

As time passed after your stay at Savanaclaw, you found yourself continuing to sit in the botanical garden during lunch. When Crowley decided you would be required to join a club, you joined the Spelldrive Club as a manager. On the rare occasion you had joint alchemy classes with Leona's class, he was unexpectedly present to class and would always 'begrudgingly' agree to be your partner.

However, what really cemented him in your mind as someone who could be trusted was the incident.

You had to stay after school as Grim had caused trouble again and gotten the two of you into detention. You were allowed to leave a bit early as you hadn't caused as much trouble, and you did because you had errands you had some items you needed to pick up from Sam's shop before it closed for the night.

As you walked through the hallways, you were distracted making a mental grocery list. In your somewhat spacey state, you bumped into another student.

He accused you of bumping into him purposefully and it soon became clear he wasn't planning to let you go unscathed. He was massive compared to you, so you knew that if things were to get physical you wouldn't have a great chance of coming out of things on top, so, you did the only thing you could do at the time and ran.

The other student shouted after you and took chase. You ran for what felt like an eternity. Your legs burned so bad you were astonished you were still managing to take steps, and your lungs felt as though they were on the verge of imploding. You weren't consciously thinking of where you were going as you ran, but you found yourself approaching the botanical garden with the other student hot on your heels.

Telling yourself that if you just gained a little more distance you'd be able to find a spot in the plants to hide without him noticing, you urged your legs to pick up the pace.

However, luck wasn't on your side, and, when you got into the garden, you tripped over an uneven brick on the path and toppled face first into the unforgiving stone. You skidded painfully across the bricks, your knees and palms being skinned in the process.

You did your best to scramble to your feet, but your legs had finally given out.

"Gotcha."

You heard a sickening voice not that far away as footsteps approached you at far too fast a rate for you to crawl into a bush before he reached you.

It was when you were searching the foliage on the sides of the path that you noticed what you had at first mistaken as a stick laying in the path, but upon further inspection you realized to be a tail.

You took in a deep breath before screaming "LEONA!" and praying it would be enough to wake the lion.

"The hell are you babbling about!" The voice of the other student snarled before you felt a harsh grip on your collar yank you up. "I was originally just gonna make you pay up for bumping into me so rudely, but after that chase you put me through, I think my fists have some anger pent up."

You ducked your head and braced for impact, but it never came. What did come was a soft warmth that caught you and held you up once the student's hand had finally released its grip on you. When you opened your eyes, you saw a clearly ticked off Lion.

He had one arm snaked under your shoulder and around your stomach to keep you up, and his other had a firm grip on the guy's wrist.

You were too dazed and hyped up on adrenaline to take in the words the two exchanged, but you swore you heard a crack moments before Leona let go of his wrist. The guy fled and were sure that if he were a beastman he'd have his tail between his legs.

You were torn out of your daze by an uncharacteristically soft, but still gruff voice: "Can you walk?"

It took you a moment to form words, but you eventually managed to reply: "I'm not hurt, but-"

Before you could finish your sentence, your legs were swept out from under you. A brief "'scuse me" left Leona's lips as he picked you up, and an unfamiliar feeling blossomed in your chest.

Seeing the shift in your expression, Leona sighed "Look, I know you like your personal space, but you can't walk and I'd feel like crap if I left ya out here, so I gotta carry you to the infirmary. I woulda asked, but it's not like I could get ya there any other way. You can punch me later if ya want."

The trip to the infirmary was silent. Thoughts raced through your head, but one of the most prominent was: "I called out for him."

You had no other choice but to come to terms with the terrifying realization that you trusted this man. For better or for worse, you trusted him. . .and while it scared you, it also bloomed this warm feeling in your chest.

You let your head fall against his chest as he carried you, and if he took note of that, he didn't let it show.

After you got checked out at the infirmary and reported the incident to Professor Crewel (because we all know Crowley is too incompetent at his job to do anything), Leona walked you back to your dorm.

The two of you never verbally acknowledged the events of that day again, nor did you talk about the feelings that came with them.

He was never not there after that, and you didn't mind the company.

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[zegrasdrysdale]

“shh! they’ll hear us”

with nico hischier

part of the 1k celly event

summary : Nico and his girlfriend host a Christmas party on the eve of the holiday for the Devils before their roadie begins right after Christmas

warning(s) : nsfw ! sexual content, fingering, oral (f receiving), public teasing, dirty talk

author’s note : happy holidays to all who celebrate ! decided that my gift to y'all is another installment of the 1k celly series. enjoy whatever holiday you and your family celebrate <33

༺──────────────༻

Something is wrong with Nico.

Not physically wrong, but he’s just acting different. This behavior didn’t start until his teammates and coaches began showing up at their loft apartment for the party they’re hosting for the Devils players and staff. She been playing captain's girlfriend and has answered every doorbell then began making rounds to greet each player and coach.

All while Nico keeps a hand on her.

Her boyfriend isn’t usually the one to be affectionate in public so his hand constantly being on some part of her body is throwing her off her game. She’s more focused on his touch than conversing with her guests.

She doesn’t know what brought on this side of Nico, but she kind of likes it. She’s always wanted to be more affectionate around their friends and family, but Nico was never a huge fan and she didn't push it. All eyes were already on her since she's Nico's girlfriend so early on, she didn't care.

Right now though, she's curious.

Coach Keefe and his family arrive last, which signals the end of her time greeting teammates and coaches that arrive at their apartment for the party. She focuses on conversing with her guests and making sure everyone is okay.

What usually feels like a very large apartment feels very small at the moment. There is an entire NHL team scattered throughout the loft with their families. She can't even escape to the kitchen like she often does when there are so many people because there is a catering group preparing the meal.

Nico doesn't leave her side as they socialize amongst the players and coaches in attendance. He doesn't stop touching her either. He rests a hand on her waist or on her lower back now that they've started to have longer conversations and not running to the door to answer it.

Okay, that's very different. His behavior is making her very curious. It makes her wonder if there is something going on that he's not telling her.

Dinner is served around six. A mix of vegan and non-vegan options so everyone has something to eat. They've brought in extra tables and chairs so the adults can fit around the dining room table. Within their parents' eyesight, the kids sit at a smaller table together to eat. They are out of earshot though so the adults can have conversations that little ears shouldn't hear.

Her first serving is lasagna. It's probably the best lasagna she’s ever had. Perfect cheese to sauce to pasta ratio. Some of everything in every bite she takes. She lets out a borderline pornographic moan as she chews the bite.

Nico laughs beside her as he eats some of the steak he grabbed. “That good?” he asks with a grin.

“So good, Nico,” she tells him with a full mouth. “Oh my God. We are absolutely going to get this catering group again next time we host a party. Fuck.”

He laughs again and takes another bite of his steak.

She begins a conversation with Kristen Haula on her left side. The women talk about how well the boys have played, complimenting the other’s significant other as they talk. Their laughs are among others as small talk continues at the table.

Everyone’s plates are nearly empty about a half an hour later. Erik has jumped into her conversation with his wife while Nico converses with Jack and Luke on the other side of him.

Yet, his hand comes down on her knee under the table cloth. She folds her hands and holds them in front of her mouth as she presses her lips into a line. She listens to the Haulas share a story about their kids, and Nico’s hand slides up her thigh to the hem of her skirt.

Bold considering his teammates and coaches surround him. If any of them see him, he’s probably going to be incredibly embarrassed since it’s very rare that he’s this affectionate in public. Even in his own apartment.

She doesn’t stop him though. She should, but she lets him keep going. Even after his finger dip under the hem of her tight skirt. Her teeth pull at her bottom lip behind her hands. She begins to tune out the story that Kristen is telling her, focusing on Nico’s touch that moves closer to her uncovered core. Yes, she decided to go without a pair of panties because they would have shown through her dress via lines. Her dress is skin tight and she didn’t think she’d be doing much leaning over.

Little did she know that Nico’s fingers would be inches away from said core while his teammates and coaches sit at the table around him. She didn’t think that Nico would try to do this while at the table with his friends.

His fingers trace shapes under the skirt, teasing her since they’re so close to her core. She can feel butterflies begin to flutter in the pit of her stomach, the possibility of getting caught like this turning her on.

She’s about to make a comment about the story that the Haulas shared when Nico’s fingers dip between her crossed legs and graze her clit. His fingers run between her folds and dips into her.

She gasps at the action and covers her mouth as if she let out a hiccup.

“I, um …” she trails off as Nico shallowly fingers her. “I’m going to run to the ladies room very quickly. Excuse me.” She pushes her chair back and Nico’s hands slides out from under her skirt.

As normally as she can, she disappears down the hallway toward the bedroom she shares with Nico. She closes the door and leans against the wood. She clears her throat and lets out a heavy sigh.

The feeling of Nico’s hand between her legs is still there and she presses her thighs together to get some kind of friction.

Why would he do that? Now of all times? He has every opportunity in the world to finger her and he does it at Christmas Eve dinner with his team around him?

Something is wrong with Nico.

A soft knock rings throughout the empty room. She is quick to turn and open the bedroom door, coming face to face with her boyfriend.

“You are insane, you know that?” she questions. “God. If anyone saw what you were doing-”

“Good thing no one did then.”

He steps into the room and shuts the door with a click. Her mind races a thousand miles a second as Nico looks at her. “You are genuinely the craziest person I have ever met,” she reiterates.

“Mhm,” Nico hums as he takes a step toward her. “Tell me more.”

She takes a step back every time he takes a step toward her. “You did all that for what?” she asks. “You go from rarely every touching me or holding my hand to putting your fingers inside me at a table filled with your coaches and teammates. If that was your way of telling me that you want to be more affectionate in front of people then good job-”

Her knees hit the edge of the mattress and she is forced to sit when she falls. She looks up at Nico, who nudges her knees apart and stands between them.

“Are you done?” he asks as he traces her jaw with the game fingers he had inside her a few minutes ago. “Or are you going to let me finish what I started at the table?”

Heat rushes to her cheeks when Nico mentions the table. She nods in response to his question.

Nico sinks to his knees in front of her. Her eyes track his moment as he pushes her knees apart to get a perfect view of her glistening core. His lip drags across his bottom lip before he presses a trail of kisses up her thigh from her knee.

“Oh my God,” she gasps when his lips touch her core. She leans back and props herself up on her elbows. She drops her head back at the same time Nico pushes her skirt up so it pools around her waist.

His tongue runs through her soaked folds and she sighs at the feeling. Nico hasn’t shaved in a few days either so it feels really good to have his mouth on her. She arches her back when Nico’s tongue pushes inside of her.

“Fuck!” she cries out. “Nico!”

“Shh!” Nico tells her. “They’ll hear us. You need to be a little more quiet. Or I’ll have no choice but to stop and leave you like this.”

She shakes her head and Nico smiles up at her before he puts his mouth on her core. Her jaw drops when he slips a finger inside of her. It takes everything to not cry out his name again as he fingers her closer to her inevitable orgasm.

Between his mouth and his fingers, it won’t be long until she comes anyway.

Nico slowly works her closer to the edge, quickening and slowing his pace to keep her from coming before he’s ready to let her. She’s a panting mess under his touch and the knot in her stomach tightens to the point where it’s almost painful.

Her legs shake where they rest on Nico’s shoulders. She looks down and finds Nico looking up at her through his eyelashes.

His fingers curl in a ‘come here’ motion inside her at the same time he sucks on her clit. “Fuck,” she sighs. “Fuck, Neeks. Wanna come. Wanna make a mess on your face and fingers. Please, please please please. Wanna come.”

“Come then,” he mumbles against her sensitive skin. “You wanna make a mess on my face? Then come, baby.”

It only takes a few more curls of his fingers and sucks on her clit before she’s coming. Her entire body tenses as she comes. She cries out his name in soft whispers so their guests don’t hear her. Her vision whitens and she sees stars behind closed eyes.

Her body melt into the mattress beneath her. She whines at the loss of contact. Her legs drop off his shoulders as he stands up. He grabs something to clean her up. She sits up when he’s done, grabbing his waist before he has a chance to clean his face.

With wobbly legs, she stands up and wraps her arms around his neck. “Come here,” she breathes out. Nico smiles and leans down, initiating a soft kiss. She hums when she tastes herself on his lips. She deepens the kiss a bit and runs her fingers through his hair.

“What you did at the table was kind of hot,” she mumbles against his lips. “The idea of getting caught with your fingers inside me kind of turned me on. I won’t lie to you.”

Nico grins and pulls back from the kiss.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

༺──────────────༻

MASTERLIST | 1K CELLY EVENT

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[sanguinesky-if]

Sanguine Sky

DEMO [Public] [Updated 07/12/2024] genres: romance, modern-fantasy, supernatural, mystery, dark-fantasy.

Sanguine Sky is a work-in-progress modern dark-fantasy interactive novel. The story is heavily focused on romance, characters, and relationships.

The story rated 18+, contains mature and distressing content that may be triggering to certain individuals. It is recommend to check the full list of warnings before you proceed to the story. Please exercise caution and take care of yourself.

Total word count: 197k words [excl. code] | 227k words [incl. code].

You are a detective, tasked with investigating mysterious murders that have taken place in your normally quiet and peaceful hometown, Fallenmor. 

With two victims confirmed already, the initial one being your former mentor, Detective Bergmann, the situation couldn't seem more dire. Or so you thought until you received the news of another body, a possible third victim, discovered at the police station. In your very own office. 

An accident, a mere coincidence, a straightforward warning, a looming threat, or something entirely else… Whatever is happening, you feel it affecting you, awakening something both significantly familiar and distinctly foreign inside of you.

If only you knew that this was just the beginning… Things could have been different. 

But back then, in your ignorance, your singular concern lay with a pressing question: if you failed to find the murderer, who would become the next victim?

➤ Play as male, female, non-binary or trans; straight, gay, or bisexual.

➤ Customize your appearance and shape your personality.

➤ Take on the role of a detective, immerse yourself in the work of the police station.

➤ Embrace the mystery of your existence, or reject that inner sight of you.

➤ Seven romance options to choose from. Select their gender, be assertive or reserved, or focus on your goal without pursuing anyone.

All ROs are player-sexual and gender-selectable [M/F].

Kyle / Keira Moreno

Your colleague, a police inspector, and one of the rudest people you have ever met. Sharp and stern, K is surprisingly perceptive, and they use it to really see you. The good, the bad. Everything. Appearance: icy blue eyes, dark red hair, very pale skin.

Alexis 'Lex / Lexie' Conlan

Your best friend, and also your former partner from times when you were just a patrol officer. With a heart of gold and an approachable attitude, L always chooses you over the others. Appearance: forest green eyes, copper hair, beige freckled skin.

Morgan Schoivell

Your other colleague, a highly-skilled lab technician. M is rather reserved when it comes to emotions, and after almost a year of working together, M is still a walking mystery for you. Appearance: dark brown eyes, ash blond hair, light skin.

Roderick / Rebecca Reyes

The commanding agent of the Criminal Investigative Division (CID) team sent to catch the killer. Overbearing and ruthless, R has their own way of getting things done. Appearance: gray eyes, blond hair, pale skin.

Theodore 'Theo' / Theresa 'Tess' Vazquez

Another member of the CID team. With a cocky smile, T is full of flirts and sneering comments, regardless of the occasion. T has no doubts about what they want and isn't afraid to vocalize it. Appearance: dark green eyes, black curly hair, rich brown skin.

Isaac / Iris Brailsford

I looks the most mature and approachable of CID's fellow agents. Looks can be deceiving, though. Working behind the scene and watching from afar, I carries all the scars within. Appearance: hazel eyes, dark brown hair, olive skin.

Sebastian / Selena Goldstein

Someone new and temporary, S has a velvety voice and a perfect smile that doesn't reach their eyes. You're not sure if your paths will cross in the future, but something tells you S can't be trusted. Appearance: black eyes, long black wavy hair, bronze skin.

Other notable characters:

Your twin-sister: Your sweet, kind, caring, and gentle twin sister. She always tries to be there for you, and show how much she appreciates you, no matter what. Chief of Police, Kendrick Nash: Your boss, who is not handling his job so well after the recent death of his husband, Klemens Bergmann. Detective Klemens Bergmann: Police chief's husband, who happened to be a senior detective and your mentor. He was the first victim, murdered under mysterious circumstances.

A full list of warnings is available in the demo before beginning of the story. I recommend to check it before you proceed to reading.

Links: DEMO | CoG Forum | Q&A | Romance | Tags & Links | Patreon | Ko-Fi | Error Reports |

Thank you for your interest ♥

[freezerbnuuy]

I wrote a guide on my main blog on writing SimLit a while back, but I figured I'd amend it to make it more suitable to Tumblr and post it here as well.

Please note, that there is no one way to write SimLit; creative work is always subjective. You do not have to do everything in this guide, obviously- just focus on the bits that apply to you and what you want to write. This is a gathering of my own ideas, the way I do things, and other options as well. Depending on your writing style, some of this will be more relevant to you than other bits will. This is both for the challenge players and the people who write stories with little basis off anything going on in the game.

I have made a story / challenge-planning document that you can read about here that will give you a place to put all your ideas!

The fun part...sort of...is coming up with all your rough ideas. Things to think about are:

. Where you'll put your story: The most popular place for SimLit these days seems to be Wordpress, but there is always Blogger and LiveJournal as another option for a place to put your story. Tumblr is a great place for stories that are more picture-based and less textual, or if you plan to only have dialogue for your story text. Have a look at what different platforms have to offer to see what suits you.

Whilst I would say Blogger is a bit harder to properly customise than Wordpress and you have to rely on custom templates made by other people and some HTML editing if you want a nice blog template, it is very generous in terms of picture limit. To my knowledge, any image under 2048 on the longer width won't count toward your Photo space (as of 2025).

. Narrative or Gameplay-Driven: Some writers will write commentaries to go alongside images of challenges they're doing. Some write commentary for their general gameplay. Others use Sims solely as a way to 'direct' a story they've come up with themselves instead. Others make comics. Some do a mix of various things... Have a think about what kind of story you want to do. It might even change halfway through writing, you never know!

. Genre: You won't always have an easily-defined genre for your story, but you might have some ideas. Romance, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Horror, Family...the options are more or less endless. 

. Custom Content: If you use CC, it can help to look for CC you might need for your story- whether that's poses, CAS items or Build/Buy items. 

. How you will plan your story: Some SimLit authors write entirely around the game and don't pre-plan anything (brave people you are going by the seat of your pants, I used to do this but now I could never), but others like to plan story points and character notes beforehand. There are plenty of ways to plan your story, whether that's jotting ideas in a notebook or on a word processing document. There is one I already made linked at the beginning of this section.

There are also programs like Scrivener designed for writers to plan stories (it's not free, though). It depends how in-depth you need to plan things out before you write. With me, it really depends. Some story ideas, I have most of the plot planned in my head from the get-go. Other times, I only have a rough idea and have to go from there.  

. What challenge you will do: If you want to write a commentary/story around a challenge, look for one you'll find fun first. Long or short? What rules will you change or omit? How much will you let the challenge and game drive the story? Will you be writing commentary, or will you be writing in a narrrative-type style inspired by what happens in the challenge?

. Rough plot / character ideas: Write down any plot or character notes that immediately come to mind, even if you don't know if you will use them. Anything that comes to you straight away is a good place to build on later and should be jotted down whilst it's still fresh in your mind.

. How you will write your story: - Commentary VS. Narrative: Will you write a commentary around your screenshots/gameplay, or will you write it in the style of a prose-like story? You can also mix both of these approaches in various ways.

Or do you want to go about it in a different way? Maybe you could use your screenshots to make a comic-style story. Another option is to possibly have something like an epistolary novel (written almost entirely in letters) or even a 'scrapbook story' (a story told in multiple ways with multiple artifacts- letters, newspaper clippings, phone calls, almost anything).

- Tense and Viewpoint: Will you write in past tense or present tense? Will you write in third person, or first person? How many different characters' viewpoints will you have if you write in first person? (...Or are you like me, and will accidentally switch between tenses throughout the whole story?)

. Themes: It's good to think more in-depth of what themes will appear in your story. Family bonds, friendships, relationships in general, dealing with various aspects of life, prejudices, overcoming fear...the list goes on forever. Whilst I personally don't like reducing stories to tropes, tropes are always a place to start if it works for you.

. General length: Do you want to ideally write a short story, or something longer? This won't always be something you'll have in mind straight away, but that's fine. 

. How much to plan and when to start: It's up to you how much you need to pre-plan and when to start writing, but I don't start writing until I'm at a point where I know that the story can be resolved. I don't start writing straight away, in case I end up with a story I somehow can't finish. 

. Upload frequency: You won't always stick to this, since most of us are busy, sad and tired adults- but it's good to try and think about how often you want to upload chapters. Are you aiming for weekly, monthly, or just whenever you manage to get a chapter out? What I will say is please TRY NOT TO STRESS about schedules. If your readers are impatient that's their problem and they can wait until you're ready!

. Gather inspiration: Whether it's authors, shows, films, art, music...anything that gets you in the right mood and frame of mind for what you want to do. Moodboards are sometimes a good idea as well for collecting inspiring pictures. Make inspiring playlists of songs that get you in the mood for the story or characters.

. The sliding scale of 'Utopia' and 'Dystopia': On a scale of 'Paradise' to 'Hell-hole world', what's the rough state of the world in your story like? Maybe it isn't that simple, but it helps to have an idea if it's thematically relevant somehow.

. Any messages or lessons: Are there any messages you hope to get across in your story, or anything that a reader may be able to learn from it at all? Not always the case with every story, and this is not the sort of thing that you'll do intentionally. For my own story, it's very much just a snapshot of history so there isn't really much of a defined moral to the story.

This is geared more towards people who are writing mostly story-driven SimLit, since commentary and gameplay-driven stories often don't require any sort of major world-building. That, and the challenge you are doing might already have the worldbuilding situation laid out for you, like the Apocalypse Challenge or the Alien Adoption challenge, but I'll build on this a bit too.

As someone who has been Game Master for DnD and Pathfinder, I'm used to fleshing out worlds, building on lore and the like- and being a Game Master often requires you to do it on the spot sometimes. For me, it's good to have some level of lore and world-building written out. I like having a certain set of 'rules' to stick with, mainly to help keep consistency of the universe's 'rules'. This is especially important with my Magic Universe since the magic system needs a level of consistency I have to try and stick to. (That said, I have occasionally changed tiny less-significant bits of lore as I go...shh...don't tell anyone!)

But where do you start with such a thing? First off, this isn't something you have to do in massive levels of detail (unless you want to!).

Here's the general way of how I do things. Feel free to pick and choose which bits will apply to your story; you don't have to pre-plan every little last detail about your world if you don't need/want to.

--Starting with the already-established relevant worlds and lore--

I almost always start out with the 'official' stuff first. You can find this in-game, in item and world descriptions, in trailers, and on Sims Wikis. Sims isn't the most lore-heavy game for obvious reasons, but now and again you've got something to work with. It all depends on exactly what you're writing about, and how much your story will revolve around the actual Sims universe. 

--Seeing what I want to keep from the already-established worlds and lore, and what to get rid of--

I don't keep everything all of the time, and it's unlikely you will either. Sometimes your idea is better, or fits better with what you've already got in mind. Or perhaps the Sims 'lore' behind the thing is too comical and wouldn't fit a slightly more serious story.

--Start stealing ideas! (Go careful though)--

Writers worry way too much about originality, but everyone takes little bits of ideas off each other all of the time- everything is inspired by something. That, and in my opinion there’s absolutely nothing wrong with doing a story that’s a ‘love letter’ to a genre with all the tropes and cliches you can think of. 

So gather up some inspiration and see what ideas others have; have a quick read of SimLits that are similar to your idea. Look at the lore behind shows or video games that are the same genre as you are writing. Think about your favourite shows, films and video games as well. Or even look at the official Sims forum or Tumblr to see what people have done with worlds, premade characters and the like. On the official forum, there are a lot of ‘What have you done with…’ threads where people discuss what they have done with premades and in-game places.

One thing I tend to focus on the most when worldbuilding, is the sort of socio-political aspect of the world. 'But why does everything have to be political?', you say, but everyone's life is governed by social and political ideas - some more than others, so for me it's what makes up a big chunk of the worldbuilding because of how much it influences the characters living in that world. That, and a few big historical events I tend to think of as well to flesh the world out. If this sounds like something you feel like delving into, then here's some ideas:

NOTE: Some of this won't apply to your world or focus, so just ignore the stuff that isn't relevant to your story.

--Events in history leading up to your story--

This will depend entirely on what you story is about, but events to think about are:

. Inspiring figures from the past: For example, if you're writing about vampires, are there any in history who are still iconic to this day? What made them iconic?

. Any miscellaneous important events? My more specific ones are geared more towards conflict, but there's always going to be important events that happened that stay with people that happen in the world and they aren't always going to be bad. (Yes, the author of Divided really did just say that.)

.Changes in laws and/or major attitudes towards groups: Were there any rules or legislations that came into play that completely shook the world of your story?

.Conflicts: Wars and other major conflicts in history will linger around for years and years in various ways

Modern society 

This is looking at your present day in the story in more depth. This can help you with characterisation as well- how has modern society affected your character and their development and current attitudes? 

. Attitudes towards certain groups: Who or what is celebrated in society? Who has to deal with negative attitudes and why? How are people choosing to fight back, positively or negatively, against positive or negative change? Is there any prejudice at all, or is your world almost entirely accepting of different types of people?

. General morale: How happy are the different groups of people in your world? Is there still need for change, or are people more or less okay with the way things are? Is there an imbalance in the welfare of different groups and why?

. What's/who's popular: From people to events relevant to the story you're trying to tell, what's popular and well-known? Are there any events or people that are causing change or debate that might be addressed later?

. Fashions: It helps to think about what's fashionable in your universe sometimes, but maybe that will all depend on what kind of CC you can get a hold of.

. What the future holds: What ideas do people have for the way things may change as time passes?

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Magic, superpowers, or other power systems

If your story has some kind of system of 'special' power- magic, or superhero powers, certain chemicals, powers granted from deities or the like- it's good to have some rough idea for how they work:

. Is this power innate? Can it be learned? Is it within the person, or is it an outside source of some kind?

. Is this power a finite or infinite source? Is it a physical object, is it ethereal/energy, a chemical, etc?

. What limits are there to the use of this power? When can it/can't it be used? What downsides are there to using this power (illnesses, magical overcharge, death, etc)? What consequences are there for overuse of the power?

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Beliefs and belief systems

Your story might have some sort of 'collective' belief systems- common superstitions, or religions like Sims Medieval’s Jacoban or Peteran faiths, or maybe even cults. If so, it's good to outline those, though the amount of detail you'll need for it will depend on the kinds of beliefs and the story you're telling.

. What are the core / defining rules / lessons /ways of living of this belief?

. What actions/attitudes etc are rewarded, and what attitudes are frowned upon? What rewards and punishments are there for such things, if any?

. How has this belief system affected other people outside of that belief system? What do 'outsiders' think of the belief and the people that practice it?

. Are there any key figures in this belief system? Are they real objects/people, metaphysical beings, or are they not real at all? 

. Are there any specific meetings or practices etc. associated with this belief? 

. Do people of this belief own specific special clothes or objects? What significance do they have?

IMPORTANT SIDE NOTE: When it comes to world-building, ALWAYS go careful when using any real-life cultures, beliefs or events outside of your own culture etc- especially those of marginalised groups. Try to do your research as thoroughly as possible.

To avoid potential upset or misrepresentation, I either rely on fictional creations or keep things vague. For example, I'm using the lore behind the Sims Medieval's Jacoban and Peteran religions in an upcoming story to avoid making a fictional religion that people might mistake as a parody of an existing one.

Do any research you need to do

Once again, how in-depth you go depends on how far you want to go- how realistic you want it to be, how historically-accurate you want it to be...Sometimes it's good to just have enough to get a rough idea of something to add on to. For example, if you're doing a historical story, it might be worth just seeing what big events happened, social taboos, etiquette etc. just to get a feel for the rough world of your story. For anything that isn't an important topic, I'm not bothered if it's inaccurate. For example: if it turns out the soft background science of something in my work is a bit wonky, I don't entirely care. However, for serious subjects like mental health etc, I always make sure to get a good idea of what I'm doing before I write it. If I get it wrong, I could end up spreading massive misconceptions and that's the last thing I want to do. -

World-building towns and cities

Not everyone's story is going to have a huge deal of focus on this sort of thing, and additionally to the top you might want to go even further with building onto what's already given to us. So here's some other things that might be worth thinking about if you want to do a bit of extra fleshing-out for the game worlds. When I say 'individual world' I mean the actual playable worlds on their own as opposed to the ts4 worlds altogether at once. If you're doing a challenge and the challenge has worldbuilding aspects, like Alien Adoption Challenge or the Apocalypse Challenge then that is a brilliant thing to give you some level of a framework for some aspects of your story's world.

. Rough population of the individual world etc.

.Landmarks and their significance

.Tourism, what do other people like to do whilst they're there

.What sorts of people tend to live there

. What the individual world is known for the most, what puts them 'on the map', so to speak

Characters are my main focus as both a writer and a reader. I can have a good story with great characters and a thin plot, but a story with a great plot and boring characters is never going to interest me. They can also be difficult to come up with ideas for. Here is a rough idea of how I come up with characters, and how I build on pre-made characters.

Some people have written 'character interviews' - these can sometimes be helpful. You fill them out from the characters' point of view, or from a third-person perspective but about the character. The 'Marcel Proust' character interview is a great one to use, since it asks questions that will no doubt be relevant to both the character and the plot later on. Some of them have questions about favourite food, colours etc. but for me, this is more often extraneous than not. Then again, knowing too much about your character for some people is better than not knowing enough.

My own character 'interview' is here. It's technically not an interview and is just a list of things to consider about your character. You may get some use out of it.

First off, before anything: think of what to base your character on, roughly. Think of the traits of people you know or have known, think of aspects about yourself. Of course, we can't forget basing characters off of your favourite fictional characters! 

If you are writing a premade character, and you're unsure on what to expand on, first off look at their in-game traits, any information provided in trailers/promotional material, and then look at fan theories and ideas about the character. Those are good places to start if you're using a premade Sim.

As well as specific characters, think of your favourite traits, archetypes, and development types as well. One of my favourites is the downfall of a character, a tragic character whose constant screw-ups land them in a deeper and deeper mess. Even better when they start going off the rails a bit as well. I also love characters who struggle with others' kindness, who learn to let themselves be loved over time.  

Then you can get to outlining them.

The basics about your character

. Name: Is there any meaning behind this name in-story? Did the character choose it themselves or is it their birth name? What nicknames do they have, if any? Which do they like, and which do they hate? (Names don't have to have meaning. I only use meaningful names in certain contexts- most names are just names I like, names that just fit for some reason, or that a character's parents thought sounded nice). 

NOTE ON NAMES: If you want an authentic name for a character from a specific time period, look at census records for the country if they're available or see if you can find articles on people from that country and time period. You can also Google naming conventions, as they can change within a country over time as well. I also recommend avoiding baby name websites or baby-related websites when you want authentic names for characters that aren't English or American. It's best to find blogs written by people from that country. Sometimes travel blogs for the country will sometimes talk about names, authenticity and such. Sometimes Wikipedia has lists of names as well, but it's worth double-checking any info found there.

. Rough description: Height, rough weight, colours of skin/hair/eyes, the general 'vibe' of their attire or a more in-depth description. Anything notable about them, like specific jewellery, clothes, tattoos or scars/other injuries?

. Identity: This could be anything from where they grew up, gender, race, sexual orientation, or if they are an occult sim or some other made-up species or race. How has their identity affected their life? Do they face any prejudice or mistreatment for any of it at all, or does it give them more of an advantage over others?

. Family: People in a character's family, whether blood family or found family.

.Beliefs: What they do (and maybe don't) believe in.

. Protagonist or antagonist: Not always this black and white for every character, but good to think about your character's rough place in the story. Of course, one can become the other as the story progresses.

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Character-defining aspects 

. General personality traits: You can use in-game traits and Randomise to give you ideas, or you can think of your own personality traits for the character.

. Upbringing: What it was like growing up for them. Who was good to them? Who wasn't? How have these people and experiences shaped who they are today? How was the world different growing up to what it's like now? Does the character mourn the old ways of the world or do they like the change?

. Social class: How has this affected their life?

. Education: Might also connect with upbringing here- how was school/university etc. for them?4

. Goals/dreams: Almost everyone has a goal, even if they never achieve it. Even if it's just getting out of bed to make breakfast and then getting back in again.

. Social life: Extrovert, introvert or somewhere in the middlle? What do they do when they hang out with friends etc?

. Fears: What are they afraid of? What do they do to avoid that fear, if anything?

. Any conditions, illnesses, or neurodivergence: (ONCE AGAIN, go careful when writing things like this and do research where it's needed.) How have they affected the character's life and their outlook in general? How does it affect how others percieve them, if it does at all? If applicable, what caused them?

. If not that, then general physical/mental health: How well (or not) does the character look after themselves in these ways? What do they do for self-care and distraction?

. Likes and dislikes: People, things, events, hobbies...What makes them happy and what makes them want to punch a wall? 

. Character 'flaws': Flaws don't necessarily have to be absolutely-horrible things, it can be just things that can hold the character back in some way. Some things that characters may overcome in a story might not necessarily be flaws as well- for example, introversion isn't a flaw (I wish writers would stop treating it as one), but possibly some characters may seek to try and 'come out of their shell' socially a little. Most characters have some kind of flaw or personality 'aspect' to overcome or learn to deal with, but the best kind of character flaws are the ones that actually get in the character's way in the story. The joy is in seeing how the character overcomes these flaws...or even how the character gives into them more and more as the story goes on. Wretched excess is fun sometimes!

. What they're good/bad at: Where do they excel, where do they need a little practice, and what are they absolutely terrible at?

. Any special ablities or powers: What can this character do? What are the limits of this power? How do they feel about this power? 

. Things they are known for: Whether by friends, family, colleagues or the world. What are they known for? What do people like and dislike about them?

. Ideas for development: How do you (at the moment) see the character changing? If you have any ideas for it, who or what will help to influence that change?

. Relationships with other characters: How they do (and don't) get along with other established characters, and maybe why. -

Things to think about character-wise when writing your story

Once you get to writing your character, here's a couple of things that it helps to think about- though some of it is more relevant if writing in the first person.

. What your character does and doesn't notice: How do they approach the world around them? What sort of things do they notice first in their surroundings?

. Manner of speech: Formal, or informal? Do they have any mottos, catchphrases or words they use often? Do they speak about feelings a lot? Do they lie, and how often? Sometimes what isn't spoken can say as much as what is spoken.

. How they socialise and deal with others: Do they overthink things in discussion? Do they pick up on social cues? Do they often over-analyse the actions of others, or do they let everything go over their head? Are they confident in socialising, or not? Maybe their out-of-dialogue musings are complex, but they keep to not revealing much in their speech.

. How they cope with negative emotions: Do they break down, or blame others? Or do they power through it?

. In connection to some of the above points, think about your character both from the outside and inside: How do others see them? How do they think they come across to others? How do they come across to themselves? And finally, who are they really on the inside?

An important aspect to think about especially is character motivation. I've written this one separately from the bullet points since I think it's especially important given character motivation will play a major part in driving the plot along, as well as relationships with the other characters. This might not be something you'll have a solid answer to until you start writing, but it's good to have some starting ideas.

. In the broadest and simplest sense, what does your character want? Money, fame, honour, redemption, happiness, revenge...Have a think about what it is that they strive for deep down. (If you're struggling for ideas, maybe it might help to look at the in-game Aspirations, or maybe even the Traits will give you some ideas).

. How far are they willing to go to get it? Are there limits they won't go to in order to get what they want? Or are they willing to step on whoever's toes? This might be a change that occurs over the story, that's always an interesting concept. Seeing the well-behaved character slowly and gradually challenge what is acceptable...

. Who, or what 'kickstarted' this motivation? Some people just naturally come to want something, maybe as they grow up and/or their general interests, hobbies etc. change. Some motivations are brought on by events, though. Maybe harm done to a loved one motivates them to seek revenge, or something they did in their past motivates them to seek forgiveness or redemption for their actions. 

For challenge players, you can always define your characters through funny commentary, I always like seeing that. One story had one generation founder constantly break the fourth wall and be the only one who realised they were in a game and it made them stand out in a comical way.

 Let me start off by saying: Plot is my weak point. I struggle to organise ideas when both reading and writing, I always have done. As usual, for plots it's best to think of your favourite plots from stories or a 'stock plot' like The Hero's Journey, Wretched Excess etc. It's also good to think about any potential plot points that come to mind straight away, so then you have starting points and can fill in the gaps- this is generally what I do. And honestly, I don't think it's that bad to re-use themes and plot pieces sometimes. Sometimes it works better to stick with what you're familiar with, than it is to try a thousand things at once that are new or different to you.

Do you see yourself as a 'plotter' or a 'pantser'? I'm a bit of both, though I'm leaning towards more of a plotter now. I wish I could write everything by the seat of my pants, but sadly I can't. 

The way I initially began planning for a longer, more in-depth story is by making a table in a word processing document that is one column wide, with loads of rows. Just one giant row of loads of columns. Each box in this table will be for specific notes, and the order of these notes in the planning table goes like this:

. Title ideas/preliminary ideas: What it says on the tin, and the very, very first ideas for the story.

. Rough story ideas: Any ideas that come to me in the pre-planning stage go here. Ideas for anything at all- screenshots, scenes, lines of dialogue, anything!

.Background information to be aware of: Any relevant lore or research goes here. Sometimes I keep story research in a separate document.

. Previous story points to be aware of: Any previous characters or events to be aware of to aid in consistency.

. Current plot threads: Keeping track of plot threads that need to be resolved in some way, to help prevent plot holes.

. Character info: Character information in varying levels of depth. At this point, this usually only covers main characters.

. Character Development:  This almost always changes halfway through, but this is my plan for how characters will change as the story goes on, and the events and characters that will be catalysts for that change.

. Backstory: Character backstory goes here instead, to keep things organised.

. Ideas for future chapters: Any ideas at all for upcoming chapters, no matter how vague. This also includes things that absolutely have to happen later on.

. Story ideas: Various boxes, all of which have more detailed story ideas. At the moment these are defined by specific events, and these are just for the direction of the story.

. Chapter (X): The main story planning, with one box for every chapter. This is where the story starts to be sorted by chapters as opposed to just events. Things always get swapped around during the writing process: Some things get moved until later, moved to happen earlier, or omitted/changed entirely.

The general idea as I'm going, is that each chapter has to move at least something forward. We learn something new about someone, a character's actions have changed something or caused a consequence, a character has learned something, etc. Somehow things have to be different from the beginning of the chapter to the end of the chapter and that is generally how I go about it. Whilst a lot of people frown on whole chapters that 'info-dump', for some stories it might be necessary- especially for futuristic or alternate history stories where the author will need some filling-in on the general state of this unfamiliar world.

Again, how much you want to/need to plan depends on what you're doing. Nowadays I write narratively, and the game has little bearing on the actual story.

If you're going with a gameplay or challenge-driven story you probably won't need much planning, if any at all.If it helps, it's worth doing what you can to create associations of some type within your planning- whether it's symbols, bold/italic, colour-coding, anything. That might aid you in keeping important bits of the notes tied together somehow, whether it's done by scene, character, important plot points etc.

It may help to highlight important bits as well in your word processor, so you can easily find things you know you have to go back to soon. I sometimes do this since I easily get lost in my own notes...

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Other Planning Ideas

. Starting from the end: It might be easier to go backwards if you come up with your ending before your intro. You can always start with your end point, and then figure out how you got there. 

. Mind-maps: If a massive list of boxes doesn't sound ideal, it might help do a sort of mind-map or flowchart. This is better if you are the sort of person who'd rather take in small bite-sized pieces at a time. You could have one mind-map for the beginning, middle and end, and then do little branches off for different events. And then from those branches, possibly add more for other details surrounding that specific story event, or things to remember for later on down the line. 

. 'Snowflake method': Put simply, it's writing down a simple plot point or idea and then continually expanding on it until it's at the level of detail you need for your plan- the way a typical snowflake's points branch out. As a random example: - Dave goes to get some cheese. - Dave has discovered a monster in his kitchen, and it demands a block of cheese or Dave's life. Terrified, Dave goes out to get some cheese to appease the monster. - A monster that can only live off of cheese is used to eating the bits of dropped cheese off Dave's kitchen floor, but Dave has decided to do more cleaning now his girlfriend is moving in. Desperate for survival, the monster has escaped its hiding place, demanding a block of cheese from Dave for its survival. If Dave does not supply cheese, he will be killed by the monster.

. 'Five-part narrative'/Pyramid: Breaking down your story into the five main parts of most stories: - Exposition: This is mainly setting up the world of your story - the setting, the main goings-on in the area, the characters we will be following throughout the story, and also the driving point which sets the main characters ahead doing plot stuff. - Rising action: The rising action is generally the part where the characters' antics, or possibly something caused by the world around them, sets stakes higher and puts more pressure on them. Perhaps the character has made a grave mistake. People could be after them. Or perhaps some kind of natural disaster has caused massive issues for the character. How will they come to navigate all of this? - Climax: The rise up to the 'turning point' or the height of the drama in your story. Maybe your character finally has some kind of breakdown, their actions have led them into the worst situation possible, but good can arise from this...or your character can just keep going down the slippery slope. - Falling Action: This is generally the process of gradually resolving all that has happened during the story. Maybe the main characters have realised their mistakes and aim to solve them, or perhaps your characters have overcome the main antagonist, or possibly made peace with them somehow. - Denouement: The resolution to the story, or at least where the characters end up. Then again, who's to say that everything will be resolved by the end if you want to make a series rather than a one-off? And who's to say the resolution will be a clean pretty one?

. For the challenge/game-driven writers: It helps to make notes of anything that happens in-game that could become a plot idea. Whether it's something from a mod, Lifestyles, Sentiments, or other autonomous actions- anything that gives you idea for a potential relationship change, conflict or story point, jot it down and maybe you can build on it later. If your Sims end up with positive or negative Sentiments for each other, then maybe it could be fun to come up with a reason why they feel that way.

My biggest piece of advice is: If you are stuck with what to do next in a story, let the game do some of the storytelling for you if you need to. Look at what happens autonomously, Likes/Dislikes, traits, anything caused by mods that add story depth to the game, Sentiments that people have for others etc. You probably even have mods that actually add some real depth to the game that you can go off of. It's a great way to help you get new ideas. It's gotten me through a lot of brick walls in the plot.

. Do not use ChatGPT or any generative AI! The whole point of creative writing is the CREATIVE part and neither of these are at all creative. Don't bother writing a story if you can't be bothered to do the writing.

. Be sure to try and use content warnings for aspects of the story that may need it. You can use the trigger tags and can warn in chapter headers. You can't catch everything, of course you can't, but it's a helpful way to help a reader decide whether or not it's worth getting into a story, or whether they may want to skip a page or chapter. My own story has a lot of potential triggers so I warn about them as much as possible.

. Portrayal is not automatically endorsement. Your story does not have to be entirely morally-pure and neither do your characters. Not every story is about the perfect people who do no wrong and somehow manage to tick every box on how to be the perfect Leftist. You also don't have to provide disclaimers on the fact you are not okay with what's being portrayed, but you can do so if you want to save your own skin.

. Do not worry too much about word counts. Some people like to keep an eye on word counts, but make sure you're not letting it dictate your entire workflow. It's great to have goals to keep you going, but to let them define your work entirely can get stressful. If you miss your goals, don't beat yourself up about it. 

. Use online generators if necessary! Names, plot points, rough plot outlines, there are generators for everything online. They are there both for fun and to help you get a starting point, and you are NOT cheating for using them! No other writer ever does absolutely everything themselves. We all get ideas from somewhere, so there's absolutely zero shame in using generators for ideas and such. 

. Do not get hung up on looking for writing advice. I know, I just gave my advice and yet I'm saying this! Over the years I've looked at so many writing advice blogs, and almost all of it has been useless to me in the long run. Most of my learning has been from reading others' writing, and I have also learned from other kinds of art as well- films, pictures, etc. Do not rely too much on one person's style or advice. It's no good wanting to be someone else, and take that from someone who's been super jealous of loads of creators over the years. Whether it's art or writing, I've learned more from looking at others' art than I ever have from people who've told me how to do it.  On top of that, don't let others' advice dictate what you do too much. After all, people are so quick to label absolutely anything as 'bad writing' these days. Continuing on from this point...

. Do not let others' writing advice become super-strict rules. Including my own! The problem with some people and their advice, is that they tend to think their way is the only way, for everyone. And as I mentioned earlier, people are quick to slap the latest cool 'smart writer's term on anything. Remember when Mary-Sue/Marty-Stu started off as an overpowered character who never faces consequences, but then seemingly became any character with supernatural powers and/or unnatural hair and eye colours? Remember when we got taught 'said is dead' in primary school, and then authors and Internet writers suddenly became obsessed with it to the point where you were terrible for using 'said' at all?

All of those writing blogs demanding complete originality when every conceivable story is inspired by something, subconsciously or otherwise? Getting thrown overboard for using clichés? The same three authors being used as a style model? It's great to take inspiration from other people, but don't think that others' writing advice is always 100% going to improve your writing because as I have said ad nauseum throughout this whole thing- art is subjective. Even if the advice-giver is an excellent author that's been published 1205 times, that doesn't necessarily mean their way is the only way for everyone. My likes and dislikes are not ultimate. Neither are theirs, and neither are yours. Write the clichéd character, add the cool thing because it's fun, use 'said' all of the time, enjoy yourself.

. Also worth adding that just because someone writes their writing 'advice' in an incredibly harsh or 'my way is the only way' manner, it doesn't mean they're 100% right and that you should change how you do things because a bored stranger on the Internet thinks they're the last word on how to create things. You are not going to please everyone, and that's fine. And let's face it- some people are never pleased. Ever. Don’t write to please these types of people, it’s not worth it. I've come across them plenty of times in the past on creative websites, and I've fallen into the trap of trying to do what they say because they must be right, right? And really, why should I? Why should anyone?

Don't fall into the trap of feeling like you have to do what the angry man on Wordpress told everyone to do. Maybe these types occasionally have something good to share, but you should only use writing advice you find genuinely helpful to you.

. When it comes to doing research on things like stereotypes or tired archetypes / plotlines for certain marginalised groups, be aware that everyone has a different opinion on what is harmful and what isn't. You cannot write a character of any experience that every single person will agree with or consider to be a sympathetic portrayal. One man's good representation is another man's problematic.

You are also occasionally going to find some people writing these portrayal guides who will consider every experience out of their own individual one to be wrong (I've come across plenty of 'how to write autistic characters' guides where the autistic writer is convinced their experiences are the only kind of 'proper' autistic experience... and we are all very different people in reality!). Try to get a rough idea from multiple sources and go from there.

. In addition to the above: Go careful where you get your research/advice from. I will happily admit when I don't know what I'm talking about sometimes. Other people, not so much. Go careful who you choose to do any research from. On top of that, when you are looking for advice specific to a culture or identity, most of the time it's best to find things written by people who are actually a part of the group. It's good to be as thorough as you can.

. Be imperfect. No-one is a perfect writer, though some certainly think they are! Perfectionism is common, but in my opinion it holds people back a lot of the time. Don't stress too much- SimLit is meant to be a fun hobby.

. Always aim to finish your work. Even if you have to pull a plot point out of your backside to do it, try to finish everything where you can. I have only ever discontinued one story, and that was only five chapters into it. If you're having trouble, don't be afraid to leave a project for a while. I find in the meantime, I come up with new ideas. Sometimes a necessary distance to a project is needed to see it in a different light, and then any issues can be (hopefully) figured out.

. Don't get caught up in the 'reboot loop'. It's a dangerous game, to constantly want to re-do your work. I'd know - I have a personal project that's been rebooted over 10 times and still not completed that's been a work-in-progress since almost 2014. Don't get caught up in it otherwise you'll never finish anything. If there's something you don't like, assess first if it's best to just move on with the story despite it. In connection to my above point, I'd rather a story be finished badly, personally, than not finished at all.

. Do not get put off by low reader numbers or lack of comments. It's part of the creative process- either you'll get feedback or you won't. People nowadays tend to go for shorter stories either due to not having time, language barriers are also a thing that can put people off a longer prose-based story, or due to the modern age trying to make everything as succinct as possible - and like I said earlier, a lot of people are tired busy adults and likely won't have time.

Some things are also typically more niche than others.

Do not publicly whine or guilt-trip people over lack of feedback or attention. There are always going to be times where lack of attention to your work will get you down, and in my eyes, that's a good sign to take a break from it until the passion for creation comes back to you. Otherwise the story will likely suffer for it as will your wellbeing.

. Do not get put off by negative critique. Critique can be helpful, but let's face it, many people often don't know how to write a good or useful critique and a lot of people nowadays want to be a edgy, feisty caustic critic, might as well say it. Even if someone is nice about it, your first reaction might be ‘owch’.

Keep the useful critique in mind, bin the rest. You don't need to change anything about your story, at the end of the day nobody can force you to do that - but it's also not healthy to ignore absolutely all critique completely. Sometimes others' ideas can be helpful. Sometimes.

. Jarte - A free fancier version of Wordpad that I use for note-taking and plot-planning.

. My planning document and character questions linked earlier.

. MyNoise - If you like background noise to focus but music isn't for you, these are various noise machines. It includes chanting, white noise, natural sounds (thunder, rain etc), bar ambience and much more. There's an amazing selection.

. Writing Plot Prompts and Generators - A bunch of generators for plot-related events. Rough plots, possible things that could go wrong, ideas for how characters meet and general writing prompts. 

. Character Generator - A bunch of character-related generators that will generate all sorts of ideas- from rough descriptions, to in-detail outlines, to causes of death, and a separate generator for ideas for LGBT+ characters as well.

. Evernote- a free (with paid options) note-taking app for mobile and for PC. It allows you to create to-do lists, clip whole web pages, screenshots, articles PDFs and bookmarks - great for storing research or other important things! You can also sync your PC notes with your mobile ones so you always have a space to dump your ideas wherever you come up with them.

. Random Town Name Generator - with some fun tidbits about town naming in general.

. Fantasy Map Generator - for the super-world-builders!

I hope this has given you something of a starting point, or has otherwise given you something else to think about. Happy writing!

[awhisperofbluevn]

Happy (belated) new year !

Okay, I'm a little late, but we're still in January so it's still time ! Take thie merman drawing as an apology !

To be honest, with all the festivities, I just wanted to take a break with social medias.

With that being said, let me wish you all a happy 2025, and hope it will be a successful year for us all !

Now I think is a great opportunity to make an update about the development and my plans for the game in the future.

It's probably going to be a bit long, so I'll leave the rest under the cut for those who just want to enjoy the merman's face.

I'm going to say it now, but I don't know when the full game will be done.

To be honest, it probably won't be in 2025, as I'm still very much alone to write, program and draw. I don't want to put too much pressure on myself for a first game but I still want something clean in the end.

Honestly, I'd want to make a complex game with different routes depending on the kind of relationship you have with the love interest and the MC's personality, add a million different choices so each player have a different exprience, but I think that's still too complex for me at this moment, so I'll have to lower my ambitions. I can only offer very basic personalization options for the MC and a classic system of affection points. But maybe for a future game when I'll gain experience, who knows...? (yes I do have ideas, but one project at a time)

Now what I can say is that I'm planning two to three big updates in total (excluding small updates to correct bugs and fix typos).

I'm not exactly sure because while I do have the main story in my head, I don't know how long each part will be yet. I'd like to make them at least as long as the current demo, but I'll have to actually write it to know exactly how to divise those parts.

Now, about what I'd like to add/change in the current game :

The menu. If I can, I'd like something more dynamic and less... I don't know. I think it looks too basic.

CGs for bad endings. Not a priority, as I'd rather work on the main route and it's just going to add to my workload, but I still think it'll be nice.

A gallery button. I don't know how to do that yet, but I think it'll be cool for people to see all the CGs and see which ending they didn't get, plus it just makes sense if I add bad ending CGs.

A guide for all endings. Again, not a priority since there's currently not much content, but it will be done when the game will be at a more advanced stage.

Finally, I can't share much for the next update, but I can tell you what to expect !

New characters.

New backgrounds.

New CGs.

And probably more, but I don't want to make promises too quickly.

I don't know when the next update will be exactly, give it a few months.

And that's all I can share with you !

I'll go back to answer asks soon enough, my askbox is still open !

Once again, happy new year to you all !💙

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

(since there was a collab ask recently) so if Twisted Wonderland likely wouldn't collaborate with anything that's not under the Disney company label, does that potentially stop them from having their content in other games?? Mostly asking cos I saw that Identity V had "disney villains" as a relevant option for crossovers, which means they can get disney licencing I guess???

But for example, twst won't do anything in their game, but IDV can still run an event with costumes of the twst characters.

Just wanted a second opinion because I don't know much on the patterns of twst's events, especially since it's up to the devs at the end of the day if they want to suddenly change how they do their collabs!

[Referencing this post!]

I'm not exactly sure how game collabs work (especially since we're looking at this from the standpoint of Japanese law, which I'm not acquainted with at all), but I think that having Twst feature in other games is a separate matter from having other games feature in Twst. However, it's unlikely that something like this would only go in one direction; the point of these kinds of agreements is so both games get cross-promotion, not just one of them. If, for example, IDV introduces costumes of Twst characters but Twst has no IDV content in their own game, then IDV might attract new players (ie Twst fans) but Twst itself clearly isn't benefitting as much from the collab--so what's the point of collabing in the first place? I'd like to point out that Disney Villains is considered a separate IP from Twisted Wonderland, even if both belong to Disney or Disney Villains is a strong influence on Twst. I don't think picking Disney Villains in that survey you mentioned would mean it extends to licensing for Twisted Wonderland as well.

So far, Twst has only really collaborated with other Disney properties. For example:

The LINE Disney Tsum Tsum mobile game; this resulted in the Tsumsitter line of cards and three installments of the story event Tsumsted Wonderland. Additionally, the Tsum Tsum game itself featured limited time Tsums of Twst characters and ran Twst-themed missions and events.

Disney films themselves; this resulted in the Lost in the Book story events, which feature the Twst characters actually meeting and interacting with Disney characters from the films. So far, we've met Stitch + Gantu, as well as Jack Skellington + the residents of Halloween Town. A large selling point of these events is nostalgia and attachment that players have to the Disney characters and movies featured.

Disney live-action remake films; this resulted in a few log=in campaigns where players were granted free materials. These periods would typically run close to the release dates of new live action films (such as The Little Mermaid) to serve as promotion for them.

The only other Twst collabs I can think of are outside of the game itself and stretch into other industries. For example, Twst often collabs with jewelry, lifestyle, and clothing brands to make merchandise, They also collab with Disney establishments or other companies to run events such as cafe collabs or special themed menus at preestablished restaurants.

Based on this history, I'd say there's a pretty low chance of Twst collaborating with anything that doesn't already have the Disney name already stamped onto it.

[depression-napping]

Topics of Vincent

(Your resident translator was on a plane and had plenty of time to do some work so here we go with the second page of his profile ❤️)

This is long so content is under the cut

1) 身体に秘めたる魔獣の因子

The factor of the magical beasts hidden in his body

ヴィンセントはその体内に魔獣の因子を宿しており、ガリアンビーストに変身する能力を持つ。変身後は、俊敏さと力強さを兼ね備えた、文字どおり人間離れした動きが可能となる一方で、理性を失って暴走するため、肉体にはかなりの負荷がかかってしまう模様。ヴィンセントが睡眠に多くの時間を割くのは、特殊な体質のせいなのかもしれない。

Because of the factor that Vincent houses magical beasts within his body, he has the ability to transform into Galian Beast. After transforming, he gains the ability to move with both speed and strength that is literally superhuman. At the same time, his rational mind gives way to wild rampaging, and it seems to take quite a toll on his body. The fact that Vincent spares a lot of time sleeping may be due to the peculiar nature of his physical make-up.

2) 新しめの機械には弱い？

Is he bad with new technology?

ヴィンセントは、電源が入っていないカードリーダーを故障していると思い込み、起動させられずに四苦八苦*するなど、機械のあつかいには不慣れな様子を見せる。とはいえ、機械全般にわけではなく、タイニーブロンコに搭載された旧式の無線機は難なく使いこなしており、どちらかといえば古めの機械のほうがなじみがあるようだ。

Vincent has the mistaken impression that the card reader doesn’t work as it’s lacking a power source, and the device not activating seems to cause him all manner of distress*. [Please see the footnote this phrase is amazing] It seems he is inexperienced with handling such devices. Even so, it doesn’t mean he is generally bad with all technology per se, as he was able to easily handle the wireless radio on the Tiny Bronco. That is to say, he seems to be more familiar with older machines.

(*I just want to talk about this phrase 四苦八苦. It almost sent me into hysterics. It’s pronounced “shikuhakku” and it means great distress, but literally translates to “four and eight kinds of suffering.” It’s another idiomatic expression with Buddhist roots that refers to “birth, old age, disease, death, parting from loved ones, meeting disliked ones, not getting what one seeks,” and so on. Basically a summary of his life so far, minus the old age. But the fact that they used this term specifically to talk about his distress at newfangled technology just sent me. Literally you can read this as “modern technology causes him four and eight kinds of suffering.” Like the rest of what he’s gone through isn’t 四苦八苦? But the card reader not working is. I’m dead ya’ll. Like. Vincent needs this on a shirt. I need this on a shirt.)

3) Original VII Playback (Vincent Summary)

仲間に加えるかどうかを任意で選べるキャラクターながら、セフィロスや宝条と深い因縁があり、物語の背景を知るうえでは重要な役どころだった。関連作品のひとつ「Dirge of Cerberus -FFVII-」では主人公を務める。

The player can choose whether to befriend Vincent as he is an optional character. Since he has a deep connection to Sephiroth and Hojo, viewed in the context of the game’s background story, the role he plays is essential. He takes on the role of the main character in the related game, Dirge of Cerberus.

「フ… 悪夢にうなされる長き眠りこそ

私に与えられたつぐないの時間」

“Hmph… my long, nightmare-laden sleep has given me time to atone…”

(Picture captions)

追い詰められると、咆哮とともに赤黒いオーラをまとい、凶暴性さらに増す。

When pushed to the wall, with a loud roar, clad in a dark red aura, his savage nature increases further.

壊れた思ったものを叩いたり振ったりして直そうとするあたりは、どことなく前世代的。

When he tries to fix something he thought was broken by hitting and shaking it, somehow it seems like he’s from another generation.

[theresattrpgforthat]

i want to go treasure hunting with maps n traps. any recs?

THEME: Maps, Traps & Treasure.

Hello friend, you seem to be in the market for a dungeon game. I have good news for you: there are many dungeon games!

For most OSR games, the book might come with some rules on how to make your own dungeon, rather than coming with pre-written maps. If you don’t want to create your own dungeon, there are oodles of pre-written dungeons that should be pretty easily convertible for whatever OSR game you choose to play. I’ll list a few below!

Dungeoneering, by Grinning Rat.

DUNGEONEERING is a quick-and-dirty tabletop role-playing game where players explore dungeons, gather treasure, and fight monsters. Game Masters are encouraged to use the sample dungeon within, or generate their own with the creation tools, to facilitate these dangerous delves.

Dungeoneering feels like a quick one-shot type experience about gathering as much loot as you can inside a dungeon run. The amount of treasure you gather is also a measure of how well you did - a “score”, if you will. The game states that it is best built for exactly 4 players, each with a different character class and skill-set. For the dungeon master, the game has instructions on how to build a dungeon, complete with roll-tables for dungeon types and layout. You’ll probably do well enough with a grid map and some markers, although the creators of the game have a few supplements available: Catalysts, which expands character options and Wanderers which not only provide two new roles, but also gives you more dungeon options and loot.

Errant, by Kill Jester.

You have no home. You have no job. You have no friends. You have no family. You have no prospects.

What you do have are a handful of pennies, a blithe disregard for your own life, and a particular set of skills. The kind of skills that make respectable folks avoid you. 

Out there, beyond civilization, lies danger: monsters and magic and  ancient ruins pregnant with treasure. Death is likely, but what did you  have to live for anyway? At least out there is the chance to make  something of yourself, and maybe even get back at those who wronged you. This is no life for decent folk, but you’re not decent folk. You are an Errant.

What is Errant? Errant is a classic fantasy role-playing game in the vein of the first few editions of that role-playing game and its many imitators and descendants such as Knave, Into the Odd, and The Black Hack. It is freely compatible with material for all those games as well as the newest edition of that role-playing game, with conversion guides provided within.

With over 200 pages of rules, Errant provides detailed instructions for all kinds of things that could happen in play: travel, magic retainers, exploration, combat, and more. The players will create a map as they play, filling it in according to what they understand - and importantly, not necessarily accurately. The GM’s map may have many more secrets or truths that the characters will likely have to work to discover.

Errant happens over the course of different kinds of turns, which have a different procedure depending on what is happening in the game. There is a process for Exploration, for Combat, and for Downtime, which might provide you with the structure to move from one part of the story to the next… but it also might be a bit slower than the kind of game you’re looking for.

If you want content for Errant, it’s certainly out there! Kill Jester has an adventure called Tomb Robbers of the Crystal Frontier, as well as a module called The Curse of the Ganshogger, to get you started.

Crowns, by Ward Against Evil.

Humanity hides in sheltered villages. Monsters prowl the wilderness.  You are the few foolish enough to leave safety. Find your fortunes in the dungeon. And try not to die.

Crowns is a simple enough dungeon system with advancement tied to the amount of gold you acquire - so I think it meets the treasure requirement for sure! There are very specific rules for line of sight, doors, lighting, and creating your own openings in the cracks and nooks of the dungeon, which can help make the dungeon feel alive and exciting - although definitely not safe.

As is typical in the OSR style, you won’t find a fully fleshed out dungeon in the rules, although you will find rules on how to make your own. If you want some extra bits to play with, Crowns does have some interesting supplements, such as Season of Crows, a war-based expansion event, and Armies of Man, a bestiary that looks like it works rather well with Season of Crows.

Crawlr: Basic, by BLK Feather Press.

From the Black Sludge seeping from the lip of the Primordial Cauldron crawls the descendants of dead men. YOU are born from that sludge, and when you die, you shall return to the sludge.

CRAWLR is a table-top role-playing game where you and your friends take on the role of adventurers, cutthroats, profiteers, and even heroes all in the collective imagination of your minds. All you need is pen, paper, and 2d6.

Crawlr: Basic is rather lightweight, but it has rules for changing the dungeon as you go, and a neat little mechanic for timing how long a torch lasts, which might heighten the danger of the dungeon. It also has a table for creatures’ reactions upon stumbling upon you, and a d66 table for useful items that you might pick up. When it comes to traps, I think you might have to get ideas from other modules, but the creator looks like they might be releasing an “Advanced” version in the future.

You can also get blank monster cards and character sheets for free!

.dungeon remastered, by snow.

Welcome to the ruins of Annwn. The once populated hills of this massively multiplayer online game are now void. They call it a Dead MMO. A polygonal mess of PS1-era graphics, empty plains, and dungeons that grow and grow and grow from the inside of the planet's wounds. Up above, the eye of the sad god glares its chromatic light down upon the remaining players, while its tormented hand contorts into magical shapes, rarely crossing paths in their messy orbit. When they do, the shadow magic that powers the game explodes with its ancient might.

In .dungeon, you play through character creation as if it was a game of its own, with each step formatted like the room of a dungeon. You generate the world using dice rolls, while the game itself is played using a hex map. You can run an adventure like a hex crawl, which generates interesting encounters and scenery every time your characters move to a new hex. You can use elements from the book to generate a hex crawl, but it looks like there’s also a “tutorial” level that your characters will encounter directly after character creation.

.dungeon is also fantasy-ish: it takes place in a video game, so your adventurers are likely to run into a few places or things that have something a bit more sci-fi in nature. I think that overall, the layout of this book makes the game easier for the group to learn how to all play at the same time, which might be good for a GM who wants to spread the responsibility of game knowledge a bit more evenly. I’m not entirely sure how a hex-crawl would map onto a dungeon, but I think that a lot of the vibes carry across.

Slash Hex, by Danielaurence

Slash Hex is an adventure role-playing game in which players will use their creativity and imaginations to explore a wild and dangerous world, hunting for treasure, defeating monsters, and engaging in other mostly heroic exploits.

This game is heavily inspired by giants that have come before, most notably in name by the /X side of the original B/X books, but also Basic Fantasy, Knave, White Box, and The Black Hack.

While it is inspired by the aforementioned games, Slash Hex has morphed into something that has a footprint of its own, while still remaining largely compatible with classic modules.

What I think Slash/Hex has going for it is the list of fantasy monsters - typical monsters, but there’s a lot of them - as well as the well-detailed list of magic items that you can pick up and use while exploring a dungeon. Most of the focus of this game is on character abilities, so if you want a more unique character, you might like this game. The downside is that the game as it is has little to no advice on how to create a dungeon; I’m thinking that perhaps the creator is relying on you to find other established dungeon modules and use their rules to run through those.

Dungeon Crawl Classics, by Goodman Games.

You’re no hero. You’re an adventurer: a reaver, a cutpurse, a heathen-slayer, a tight-lipped warlock guarding long-dead secrets. You seek gold and glory, winning it with sword and spell, caked in the blood and filth of the weak, the dark, the demons, and the vanquished. There are treasures to be won deep underneath, and you shall have them. 

Return to the glory days of fantasy with the Dungeon Crawl Classics Role-Playing Game. Adventure as 1974 intended, with modern rules grounded in the origins of sword & sorcery. Fast play, cryptic secrets, and a mysterious past await you: turn the page…

DCC RPG is a fast-paced, open-feeling rules set allowing for epic game experiences without unnecessary tethers. It uses modern game-play while paying homage to the origins of role-playing and the fun that it inspired.

Dungeon Crawl Classics is one of the largest, most popular OSR titles, with more than just fantasy up its sleeve. You can find the same rule-set in its sister products, such as Mutant Crawl Classics (post-apocalyptic), or X Crawl Classics (dystopian fantasy). There’s also oodles of content built for this rule-set, which will give you a story or adventure ready to run right out of the box. This is traditional dungeon-crawling, complete with treasure as a reward, and plenty of puzzles and traps to work through.

You can get the free Quickstart rules here, and I’ve heard that the fanbase and creative community is also very supportive!

Some dungeon modules to consider include:

White Scales, by 1pagedungeons, which introduces a low-level dragon.

The Valley of Flowers, by Phantom Mill, which was Ennie-nominated this year!

Trouble in the Gladden Brook Reservoir, by AoSmiles, a short tri-fold adventure about a body of water that refines crude magic.

Candleberry Jam by GLASS/CUTTER, a murder mystery on a sleepy island!

Other Notes….

You might also like Cairn, by Yochai Gal, which has a 1st and a 2nd edition, both of which are free. There are many many supplements for this game, and it often matches well with Into the Odd adventures as well.

I’ve also talked about Sojourn in the past, as a dungeon-crawling game with some solid high-ranking reviews.

You can also give me a tip by donating to my Ko-fi!

[wnbawag]

Jacked and Kind

Pairing: Breanna Stewart x popstar!reader

Summary: Popstar!reader - think Chappell Roan.

Word Count: 2.1k

Note: Not proofread, I totally wrote this in one sitting and it's not the best lol :)

My Masterlist

The 2025 Grammy’s

“And the award for the Best New Artist goes to:”

The entire building seemed to hold its breath, all the contestants trying to school their features, camera’s panning to each contestant in turn.

“Y/N Y/L/N!”

The artist’s hit song, Pink Pony Club, played in the background as the cameras zoomed in on the winner, who was currently holding back tears while she hugged the people around her.

The building was on their feet, cheering as she made her way through the crowd, accepting high fives and handshakes from various industry giants before finally getting onto the stage.

The announcer gave her a hug, whispering how proud of her she was, before standing back to let Y/N get to the mic.

“Y’all I’m shaking so much, thank you so much,” Y/N said into the mic, lip visibly trembling as she looked around the room.

It was that moment that the entire building was reminded of just how young Y/N was, and they immediately supported her by cheering.

“I remember writing this album, these songs, back home in Kentucky, never thinking anyone would ever hear them. I’m just so happy that you all love them as much as I do, thank you all so much,”

Y/N stepped back from the mic, waved at the audience, and wiped away her happy tears as she was led off stage to do her interviews.

Post – Grammy Interviews

“Y/N Y/L/N, winner of Best New Artist tonight, here with us for a few questions. Now Y/N, you’ve answered a lot of questions about your music tonight, so I have something different. You repost lots of women’s basketball to your Instagram story, specifically about the new Unrivaled league in Miami. Tell us what basketball means to you and why you seem so passionate about women’s sports?”

“What a great question, yes I love women’s sports, and I am guilty of reposting almost everything I see related to Unrivaled,” Y/N said with a giggle, flashing a smile to the camera at her right.

“I love what Stewie and Phee have done with the league; I played basketball when I was younger, so I’ve always been a big basketball fan. I’m really excited that these women have another option in the off season, rather than going overseas being the only option. I love the idea of Unrivaled and it’s been so successful so far.”

“Is there anything you’d want to say to the league or the players who may be watching this?”

“Of course! I want to sponsor something or contribute, I’m not sure what but I’m sure they could help me figure that out! Stewie, Phee, or admin, hit me up!”

And with that, Y/N signed off, giving the camera a big smile and wave before walking off.

Little did they know that interaction was going to change their entire trajectory.

February 2025 – Miami, Florida

The past week had felt like a fever dream. Almost immediately after the Grammy’s, you got an Instagram DM from the Unrivaled Instagram account, asking about a good phone number to discuss a partnership.

This led to several meetings over the span of two days with the Unrivaled board of directors, who decided that they wanted your partnership in the form of content with the players.

Something you were so excited for.

They had you flying out by the end of the week with a schedule of content to make with the different teams.

Of course, you vlogged the whole way there. They were keeping you joining as a secret until you landed, so the content you filmed got sent directly to the media team to edit and have ready to post.

After landing, you were met with an Unrivaled rep at the Miami airport and driven back to the headquarters.

They got you settled in your own Unrivaled apartment, showered you with Unrivaled merch, and debriefed what you would be doing first.

Their first content idea had you hyped.

You would be joining the Mist for a practice.

The entire concept was so unserious. They didn’t expect you to really be able to keep up, they just wanted you to give it a go and build some chemistry with the players while the cameras rolled.

The idea was to get you doing basketball things with the different teams, then have you participate in the Celebrity game close to the end of the Unrivaled season, which would be a 3v3 of 3 celebrities vs. 3 Unrivaled players.

You thought the entire idea was super entertaining and were excited to get started the next day, bright and early.

Unrivaled Practice Facility – Mist Practice

“Alright guys, Y/N here, star basketball player, obviously, here to show some amateurs how it’s done,” You winked at the camera, mic attached to your shirt. You were dressed head to toe in Unrivaled merch, Mist shirt and basketball shorts proudly on display.

You had mentioned in one of the meetings with the board that you were good on shoes, you had Jordans.

Then found a brand-new pair of Stewie 2’s in the numerous boxes of merch for you, with a handwritten note from Stewie.

‘Don’t want you dirtying your pretty Jordans – Stewie’

So, of course, you were repping Stewie 2’s paired with some WNBA socks.

You pushed open the doors to the practice court, catching the attention of all the Mist players.

“Okay girls let’s get this,” You stated proudly, strutting in with the cameras following, goofy grin on your face.

You were met with lighthearted giggles from the team as they all came to introduce themselves, several telling you what big fans they were of your music.

Stewie was last to greet you, she had to lean down to hug you properly, whispering that she was so excited you were here.

After she stood back up, you realized just how tall she was, but she looked down at your shoes and smiled.

“Nice shoes, they look good on you,” And winked.

You might’ve felt your heart skip a beat, but that wasn’t important.

Phil Handy greeted you, shaking your hand and telling you he wasn’t going to go easy on you, with an unserious look on his face, before telling the team to line up at the court lines.

He explained a quick handling drill which comprised mostly of between the leg dribbles.

It was that moment you realized you didn’t know how to dribble between the legs.

Standing beside Stewie, you nudged her side urgently.

She looked down at you with a questioning gaze.

“Uh, Stewie? I don’t know how to go in between the legs,” Stewie’s eyebrows raised in understanding, she glanced and motioned to Phil, who nodded.

Stewie took you a few paces to the side and began showing you how to dribble in between the legs.

“You need to be lower than you think, yeah bend over a little, little more. Yup just like that. Keep your knees bent, I know it feels like you look weird, but I promise you don’t. Yup now just bounce it- yes exactly!” Stewie gave a little bounce once you got it, shooting a big grin your way.

Of course, the cameras were catching every interaction and eating up you and Stewie.

The two of you rejoined the drill and made the pass with the team. You were slow about getting across the floor, losing your ball several times as you bounced off your foot.

It could’ve been embarrassing, but Stewie matched your pace, laughing loudly with you whenever you lost your ball, and it seemed every bit of social anxiety drained out of your system with her beside you.

That’s how all the drills went, Stewie showing you exactly how to do the different handles, adjusting your stance on shooting, and explain the 3v3 and 1v1 rules as Phil ran drills. She partnered with you for every drill, giggling with you whenever you failed miserably and cheering when you managed to dribble correctly or sink a basket.

Even though it was all fun and games, you managed to dribble a ball behind your back in a cross over in a 1v1 drill against Stewie, then sink a 2-pointer.

You totally knew Stewie left you wide open on purpose, but you didn’t care when she cheered louder than you did as the ball sunk through net.

You understood why everyone who met this woman loved her.

As practice ended, Phil and the practice players had left the court while the rest of the team crowded around you to ask questions and talk.

At some point, Stewie had asked if there was anything you had ever wanted to do on a court, to which you responded you wished you could dunk.

Which led to Stewie leading you to the basket, ball in her hand. She passed you the ball, telling you to hold it while she put her hands on your waist, moving you to just to the side under the basket.

She leaned down, standing behind you, till her lips were level with your ear.

“When I say jump, jump straight up. Trust me, I got you,”

You definitely didn’t shiver at that.

She told you to jump, which you did.

You felt her strong hands on your waist lift, and you went straight to the basket, your head peeking just over it.

You excitedly dropped the ball in, giggling as Stewie carefully lowered you to the ground, hands never leaving your hips, even when your feet were safely on the ground.

You were barely paying attention to Rickea and Aaliyah yapping about some Tik Tok trend, barely paid attention when Stewie nodded in agreement, you nodded just to agree with Stewie.

And somehow found yourself in the Mist locker room, filming a Tik Tok. You heard the music “a boy who’s jacked and kind” come from Rikea’s phone and you immediately knew what you were in for.

But couldn’t find it in yourself to care as you and Stewie faced the camera, her easily lifting you up and onto her shoulder.

She shot you a smile before smirking at the camera and flexing the bicep that wasn’t holding you in place.

You couldn’t help the soft smile that graced your own features at her antics.

Stewie came along as you filmed other content with other teams for the rest of the day, claiming it was ‘co-founder duties’.

You didn’t miss the eye roll from Phee when she said that.

The two of you made eye contact several times during the Owls content, silently bonding over amusement from Stewie not leaving your side.

She found several excuses to pick you up throughout the day, saying she had never met someone so small.

You felt you should’ve been offended at the constant comments about your height, but you couldn’t bring yourself to care when Stewie’s strong arms were wrapped around you.

Several times, you caught yourself staring at her lips as she yapped, something you were sure the cameras had picked up on.

Not that you really cared.

Board of Directors Dinner

The Board had invited you to a dinner after your first day, you were unsurprised when Stewie said she was going too.

Phee looked at her in surprise.

“Didn’t you say those things were stupid and you would never go-”

“Nope, I never said that. I live for stupid dinners,”

You and Phee made exasperated eye contact, choosing to not comment about the sneaky arm that had made its way around your shoulders.

You leaned into it during the dinner, keeping a hand on Stewie’s thigh or fiddling with her fingers under the table.

You definitely knew you were driving her crazy the entire dinner. Not that you cared.

Stewie had insisted on walking you home, even though you were living in the same building as everyone else for the time being. But you let her, leaning into her side while she wrapped a hand around to your hip, you let your own arm wrap around her waist.

Once the two of you were in the building, Stewie looked at you with a hesitant look on her face.

“I know we like, just met, but- only if you want to, no pressure or anything, but would you want to come back to my place and- y’know,” Stewie blushed, looking down at her shoes.

You giggled, the light sound bringing her attention back to you.

“I’ve been waiting for you to ask,”

[splatsvilles-fashionista]

Been thinking about the possibility of a Splatoon 3 Switch 2 Edition again. I wrote it off initially because it wasn't in the Switch 2 Direct, but fool that I am I completely forgot that this year is going to be Splatoon's tenth anniversary, so they might be saving any announcements until then.

Though this had me thinking about what a Switch 2 upgrade pack for Splatoon 3 would even be. Performance boosts and changes to utilize the new technology they're building into the console of course, but would that be it? I can't imagine they'd lock actual new multiplayer content behind a paywall like that. It's not impossible of course, but Nintendo's clearly figured out long ago that that's not how they want to structure their paid content for their premiere multiplayer series. Splitting your players like that just isn't a good idea.

If the Switch 2 version of the game gets any exclusive content at all I think some kind of singleplayer DLC is more likely. Maybe we finally get a story focused on Deep Cut, or maybe those minor cuttlefish teases the game has here and there will finally pay off?

And of course, more multiplayer stuff is still a possibility, just unlikely to be just for the Switch 2 version. New weapons and stages would be the perfect way for Nintendo to breathe new life into the game in time for the new console and revitalize the fandom, and that's good for nintendo no matter which console people are playing on.

The one thing that makes me hesitate to call it a sure thing is that Grand Festival felt so confidently final that it'd almost be weird to keep adding stuff to the game after making that kind of statement, even if the devs didn't explicitly say it was the end. Extending Splatoon 3 is an option, but it's just as likely that the devs would rather start the new console with a clean slate.

We'll just have to wait and see, I suppose. I'm sure they'll do something for the tenth anniversary, so we've just gotta sit tight for now.

[hello-mishki]

How to create your OC in RDR2 story mode!

So I've been asked how I create my OC in screenshots and figured I'd to a tutorial on how to do this.

It's a long one, with visual references, so I'll stick this under the cut to spare those of you not interested in this kind of thing. It's divided into 2 parts:

Mods

Creating your OC and getting it ready for animating/creating a scene

I will create a separate tutorial post on how to animate characters as this will be way too long otherwise.

Part 1: Install the required mods

Rampage Trainer 

So we can change models, add animations etc. https://www.nexusmods.com/reddeadredemption2/mods/233 (Read the requirements and install information thoroughly as we need ScriptHook for this mod to work)

Outfit Changer 

So we can outfit our models, also has all the items from RDO https://www.rdr2mods.com/downloads/rdr2/scripts/12-rdr-2-outfit-changer/

Animation dictionary list for Rampage Trainer By default Rampage comes with only a very limited amount of animations, so we want to fix that. 1. Download the full animation list here: https://github.com/kaphzi/RDR2_stuff/blob/main/PedAnimList.txt 2. Move it into your RampageFiles/Lists folder to replace the original PedAnimList.txt

Optional mods:

RDR2 2025 Enhanced Edition Reshade 

This is just a personal preference but I like the overall aesthetic which means i don't have to edit my screenshots, also having ReShade installed means i can save higher quality screenshot files and add DoF https://www.nexusmods.com/reddeadredemption2/mods/5549

Otis_Inf RDR2 photomode tools https://opm.fransbouma.com/Cameras/rdr2.htm

I use this exclusively for all my screenshots and recordings but it costs money (once-off via Patreon)

Photo Mode Enhancer https://www.rdr2mods.com/downloads/rdr2/scripts/8-photo-mode-enhancer/

A free alternative which is still heaps better than the standard photomode in RDR2

Notes

If this is your first time installing mods: I highly recommend you take a screenshot of your RDR2 folder so you can reference what it should look like with mods disabled and have a mods backup folder somewhere easily accessible to you so you can always reference which mods you are using. (In case of mod issues or you want to switch to online mode)

Here is a handy tutorial if you are new to RDR2 modding: https://youtu.be/msrGfWySX_0?si=N1FfbUbTwzfAPJUi

If you already have other mods installed: Outfit Changer does not work with WhyEm’s DLC and has issues with other online content mods like Red Dead Offline and Online Content Unlocker, so make sure you turn them off.

If you installed the mods correctly you should hear 3 beeping sounds when you launch the game.

Part 2: Creating your OC in story mode

So you’ve loaded up the game and the mods are working fine, so lets start creating our OC in-game!

Mod Settings F5 - Opens Rampage Trainer

F2 - Opens Outfit Changer

Step 1: Create your character

Open Rampage (F5) and go to Player > Wardrobe

Select Model Changer

Go down to Search for Peds and select Search for a Ped

Enter mp_female or mp_male (for this tutorial we will be using female)

Select the model and it will load looking a bit strange with missing limbs, that’s fine we will add these with outfit changer soon.

Go back to Wardrobe and select Walk Styles

Select Brave (this fixes the fatigued stance the models seem to load with)

Step 2: Add model parts and clothing

Close Rampage (F5) and open Outfit Changer (F2)

The first things we want to add to the model before we start building an outfit are Head, Torso, and Legs - write down the values for later use (in case you accidentally delete or overwrite the config files or the game crashes while doing this step)

I would personally leave hair until we have fine-tuned our face later or pick a hairstyle that doesn't obscure the face.

These aren't going to look the best straight away (if you’ve ever made a character in RDO we know how hard it is to make a decent character) but we will tweak the body model later in rampage trainer. Now we can start building the outfit.

Select "Change Ped Components MP Female" (or male depending on which model you chose)

Once you’re happy with the base model and outfit, save it in the Save Current Outfit option so we don’t have to build this base model and outfit again next time we log in. You can save multiple outfits so have fun!

Step 3: Fine tuning our character’s look

This is where something like Otif camera tools come in handy so we can really get the camera up close while we work on the face.

Open Rampage (F5) and go to Player > Wardrobe

Select Meta Tag Expressions

Tweak these to your heart's desire and trust the process! When you’re happy with the final outcome I would write down any changes you made so you can recreate your character in future, at present there is no way to save these meta tag expressions that I'm aware of so you have to do this every time you want to use your OC!

You can now go back to the Outfit Changer and add whatever hairstyle and hat you want. (Don't forget to save!)

Step 4: Setting up finalised character to use

Now, we need to clone our character so it’s its own character to use and pose how we like. 

Go back to Rampage trainer and in the Player menu, scroll down to ‘Clone Player’ and select. Voila! There is your OC!

Now let's change back to Arthur. Back in the Player > Wardrobe > Model Changer menu, select Reset

Now we can change Arthur to another character much like we did when we changed them to the mp_female model or we can spawn in other peds.

I normally like to leave Arthur as is and then spawn in other Peds.

Additional: Spawning in other characters to create a scene.

In this example I’m going to spawn in Micah to create a scene with.

Go to Spawner > Peds > Spawner Settings

Make sure Frozen is ticked

Go back to the Ped Spawner and select ‘Search Peds’

Just enter in Micah and enter

From the list select CS_MICAHBELL and our stinky lil' man will spawn in

So, to use these characters we’ve added, we need to add them to the Ped Database so we can select them and switch to them any time we want.

There’s a few ways to do this but this is how i like to do it:

Back in the Spawner menu, go to Objects

Go to Cam Settings turn off Take Player With Cam

Go back and click to turn on Creator Cam

Now we can use our mouse to move the characters around, yay!

This is what we’ll be using to position our characters in scenes easily.

We need to add our OC and Micah to the database so we can use them with their own context menus, so lets right click on our character to select them and then click E to add them to the database, do the same for any other characters you want to use.

Back in our Spawner Ped menu, if we go to Ped Database, we should now see mp_female and CS_MICAHBELL in there

Scroll to a character in the list, and click them to get to their own context menus

To change Micah’s outfit for example, we would make sure we had selected them in the database so we can access their context menu and in the Outfit Variation section, choose one we like. Now that we’ve created our characters for a scene and added them to the database so we can use them via their own context menus, we can move on to animating them. How to animate your characters: https://www.tumblr.com/hello-mishki/781576015936995328/how-to-create-your-oc-in-rdr2-story-mode-part-ii?source=share

[bagelofhope]

Unnecessarily long thllda theories/predictions/analysis post

Hi! Very normal hundred line fan here :)

I’ve always wanted to make a predictions kind of post and I also just wanna yap about my thoughts on the game so far. I’ve been lurking on hndr tumblr + twt and have consumed a LOT of promo content. So I’m gonna dump my thoughts here before some promo trailer debunks all my theories! Be warned: this is gonna be long and unorganized, and i dont plan on proofreading it. Also, spoilers since im gonna use promo media from beyond the demo.

What happens for the next few days after Day 7

I’ve seen several images showing members from the current group talking about not having/looking for food. Im 99% sure the current group is gonna face a hunger situation (like in SDR2) but this time, the food is being gatekept by a fellow member-

I def think Hiruko is gonna set up some scheme to push the non-fighters to join the fight—even if it’s something like breaking the Ration-o-matic with her axe– to force the non-fighters to look for food. Since she’s been fighting invaders even before the entrance exam and seems a lot more war-focused than others, I think removing the group’s only food source wouldn’t be too far off for her. In the demo, she even said she didn’t think too hard about her situation in the TRC or the consequences of not fully understanding the war— the stance opposite of Eito in the demo. Or maybe it’s because she knows more? But anyway, this hunger sitch could in turn motivate Takumi to convince the non-fighters to join through a Shot Through the Heart-like minigame.

In this lets play, seeing that there's only 2 non-fighters who joined, maybe the player is only able to convince up to 2 non-fighters to join in the limited free time? The choice of who to recruit could also be one of the things that leads to different endings, which brings me to:

The Choice System - Are there really 100 endings?

I believe the multiple endings thing is more Uchikoshi’s lane. However other than Hndr, I really only know Danganronpa so I’m mostly using my imagination here. Luckily while I was writing this, we got an interview with Uchikoshi in the hundred line blogs ^^ It clarifies a bunch of things about the 100 endings so if you are still in doubt about that, I recommend reading it!

Just as the blog says, I do genuinely believe there will be 100 endings with different kinds of genres and storylines. The game probably has enough characters and mysteries to expand the game to that extent. My main worry though, is that once players get up to something like 30 endings, trying to finish the game might start to feel tedious. Was Hundred Line's story really worth expanding in 100 different ways, rather than focusing on creating fewer, but consistently dense stories?

If Hundred Line had, say, 50 endings, that number would still be impressive—and each one would probably feel more fleshed-out and memorable. But how well each ending holds up really comes down to the other 9 writers (who we don’t really know much about).

I’m keeping my hopes up, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if half the endings end up being a lot less interesting than the other half. Here’s a very rough representation of how I envision the choice/routes flowchart:

I remember reading somewhere (twitter maybe) Kodaka saying that players can go for routes where they can finish the game the fastest– so I do think some routes/endings are shorter than others. Having some shorter routes also makes 100 endings a bit easier to accomplish!

In the demo, we got to see a glimpse of the choice mechanic (I think it doesn’t actually count as 1 of the 100 endings though). Based on this, I think there will be certain “events” occurring throughout the game that ask the player to choose between 2 options. For example, the player needs to choose either to: try to save everyone or decide who to kill off (kinda like YTTD). There would be several routes with the same events but as the player’s choices stray further away from the “true” route, the routes branch off to new crazier routes. I do wonder if it’ll be clear which one is the “True route”, or if Kodaka/Uchikoshi will reveal it outside the game. The in-game flowchart, which I think will appear when we make the first “event choice”, is gonna be really helpful in showing all the different crazy route branches. To summarize, I think the endings will vary depending on:

Who you recruit

How many die permanently

Who and how many times someone dies in battle but gets hemoanima-revived

Who and how many times someone does the final blow

Random 2-option choices in important events (like in the demo)

Types of endings:

20 bad-ish endings that end before Day 50.

20 bad-ish endings that end before Day 80.

20 bad endings that reach Day 100 where only Takumi and 1 other character survive.

15 good endings that reach Day 100 where the majority of people survive.

15 good-ish endings that reach Day 100 where 3-5 people survive.

1 bad ending where only Takumi survives

1 good ending where everyone survives (true ending?)

The rest are bad endings where no one survives

There will probably be more to it– like gameplay mechanics that haven’t been revealed yet that also affect the endings.

More on that part where someone gets revived:

Hemoanima is def some double-edged sword. I’d say it’s like a representation of “power”, seeing that war is the game’s theme. In fact, I’m very interested to see how far the game goes in showing the nuances of war conflicts, the tragedy of losing members, complex relationships– all that good stuff! Hemoanima raises your power, but in turn, it can turn people insane, power-hungry, or even–

yeah this game is gonna be fucked up.

What made me like Danganronpa (despite its many flaws) was seeing how interesting characters deal with absurd out-of-the-ordinary scenarios. Maybe a beloved Chiaki-like character (im looking at you Nozomi) dies and almost everyone turns into despair-filled zombies. Or maybe they find *hope* and get through the rest of the 100 days together with the power of friendship! EIther way, I’m very excited to see these kinds of arcs in the game.

Something else I’m excited to see is:

In Joey’s interview, Kodaka mentions *gasp* that the story splits later on! This could just be referring to a different major plot event but my crazy theory is that Nozomi is our 2nd protagonist and the player will get the choice to play as Takumi or her. If 1 of them dies, we will be locked to the other protag. I’m not exactly sure how this 2-protags thing would work but if this is true, then the endings will be much more interesting!

Having Nozomi as the 2nd protag could also explain… this:

This is the rating summary from esrb. Maybe the term “players’ character” was used since Nozomi being the 2nd protag would be a spoiler. (Having a 2nd protag probably adds a whole new layer to my theories but I’ll just refer to Takumi as the sole protag for now)

Day 28 - The 2nd-To-Last Defense Academy Students

Oop, totally forgot to talk about this. So it’s been sorta leaked that Day 28 is when the other students meet up with us.

I’m guessing we meet up during battle where the gang is “saved” by them. Maybe there’s 5 waves and we get to play one person from the 2nd group each wave, introducing us to each new student one at a time? Meeting new characters 20+ days in would be pretty exciting! Again, Nozomi being the leader of this group kinda reminds me of Chiaki being class rep in the anime.

Is Nozomi Karua?

I’m gonna say, not really. My biggest theory is that we’re dealing with an Alternate Parallel Universes thing (Spiderman comes to mind), not a VR sim or amnesia thing or whatever. In all universes, the war is somehow inevitable and the gang is brought to this one universe that keeps the one thing that keeps all universes intact (hidden in the secret room). So Nozomi would be like a parallel version of Karua, who was chosen by Sirei. Maybe there’s some dialogue where Nozomi reveals she had a childhood bestie who died early (like Takumi)? Then without someone to “protect” her, she learned to protect herself and became war-ready. 

About her mom being a researcher, like many people I’m sure this isn’t just a random cool fact. I think both her parents were/are involved in the war and knew about it. Theory: Being a researcher, her mom found a way to avoid hemoanima from “corrupting” her daughter. In turn, Nozomi got sickly and doesn’t have hemoanima-compatible blood. Hence, the blue light things in her transformation instead of a blood tornado? Nozomi’s part in the story is one of the most interesting mysteries so far, and I would love to see her perspective as a protag!

Why did Sirei choose the gang?

Shouma mentioned something very interesting about his entrance exam.

(Couldnt find the clip, but heres a snippet from the wiki)

He was too scared to fight so Sirei stabbed him himself to activate the hemoanima. Veeery interesting that the students don't have to stab themselves to activate it, but Sirei encourages them to do so anyway. I think this– plus how Sirei pushes for them to fight before giving more info– plus foreshadowing from Eito who wants to know more about the sitch– all leads to my theory that Sirei wants the students to feel that responsibility. Heard of the phrase, “Once you’ve killed someone, there’s no turning back?” In this case, it would be “Once your blood gets hemoanima-corrupted, there’s no going back to the way you were before.” Stabbing yourself with the hemoanima infuser means taking responsibility for the deaths you’ll cause. Or something. I’m also guessing that Sirei chose characters from very specific universes. Because of the Shouma thing, I’m guessing he already had people in mind to recruit but he also had to choose which one is the “best” version for war. This could make for such an interesting pre-LDA story for each character! The Takumi chosen was the one who was so motivated to protect his friend that he would stab himself. The Hiruko chosen was the one who already had practice fighting the invaders. The Darumi chosen was the one who was so discontent with her life she would pounce at an opportunity to be in a killing game. Perhaps the entrance exam was done on several versions of themselves, though only 1 had succeeded in all universes? (Though I doubt that’s true for someone like Hiruko) As to why Sirei recruited a bunch of mostly battle-inexperienced highschoolers, I don’t really have a theory for. 

Who’re the invaders?

I don’t know about the small weaker invaders, but I’m pretty sure that the enemy commanders are *corrupted* former humans who can no longer communicate properly. The only thing that keeps them alive is their hemoanima-infected blood and a decaying husk of flesh. They probably have little to no human blood left in their system, leaving them power-fueled zombies.

And yes, I think every student has at least one route where they get corrupted at some point (including Takumi!).

I have 2 theories for this very cute Moko and Nozomi CG. One, it happens right after the Day 28 battle where Moko gets seriously injured after helping rescue the 1st group. Two, it happens after she gets corrupted by hemoanima at some route, then gets “decorrupted?” somehow and turns back human. Either way, I’m sure I’m gonna enjoy their scenes together even though I doubt actual yuri will happen. Speaking of…

That Aotsumi/Takueito CG

Sorry but I really doubt there’s gonna be any wholesome cute yaoi (or any good canon LGBT rep) in a game co-written by Kodaka (Idk abt Uchikoshi or the other writers tho). In this route, I do think that both Eito and Takumi have gone through a lot of “bad choice” event branches here. Eito ends up insane while Takumi ends up lifeless. There’s been many theories but here’s my thoughts– If this was Takumi missing a dead Eito where the Eito here is a dream/hallucination, then I don’t think Eito would be shown looking crazy and nude. Usually when it comes to remembering dead well-liked characters, the protag would be thinking of a cute memory or imagining them talking reminiscently beside them. Like that ending scene in the anime with Hajime and Chiaki or ghost Kaede playing Clair de Lune. I also don’t think it’s like a sudden one-sided Eito thing where he forces himself on Takumi since Takumi doesn't seem fazed. Plus he's also naked. I think they’re both messed in the head here. But honestly, I will happily take any queerbait crumbs I can get. (I’m already too far gone in the takueito and nozomoko train)

Might just be the soft takueito truther in me but I also think Eito isn’t gonna be as crazy as people are making him out to be. I think every student will go insane at some point- though I’m sure each one will also have some likable traits— especially since we get to explore more of their backstories and actually see their potential realized, unlike ⅓ of the Danganronpa cast tbh. A cast full of big personalities would probably be better handled in a game like Hundred line, where each character gets a chance to be connected to the main story. Speaking of potential…

I’m proud to say I’ve invested in IMACOIN✨

There’s a really disturbing scene from the jp hndr twitter account and this Kodaka tweet–

– that’s really testing the imacoin stocks but here’s my 2 cents (imacents?):

In the demo, it’s implied that the twins had a rough childhood. Since Ima has the “Special Misconduct” skill while Kako has “Special Good Conduct,” I’m guessing Ima had to do a lot of shady crafty things to support them growing up. He developed a need to protect her innocence because of all the shit he went through as a kid, which led to– lets call it– his “possessiveness” over her. BUT his motivation to keep doing that kinda stuff to keep them afloat is born out of both love and resentment for her. She became his reason to live– and his reason to keep suffering, never putting himself before her safety, always putting himself in front of her. One thing that I hope isn’t true is the very blatant suggestive implications of actual incest happening. Never been a fan of incest plots in Danganronpa. My very optimistic theory (and the one that’s fueling my imacoin investment) is that Ima is blatantly acting overprotective of his sis to not let anyone come anywhere close to harming her. He is self-aware and being very suggestive on purpose so that people are weirded out and don’t try anything. Kinda like acting as if “she’s mine” even though that’s not how he actually feels about Kako. Still weird for Ima but that’s the most non-toxic dynamic I’ve thought of so far. I’ll just say that I’m looking forward to seeing his Ima redemption arc when Kako gets the guts to do her own thing (or when Kako dies). Invest in Imacoin! (or don’t, totally reasonable if you don’t)

So! I’ve covered most of my main theories! Here’s some more about some random CGs we’ve seen.

The gang eats a nice big meal together after finding food following their first battles. (Notice Hiruko isn't here)

Kurara punching Gaku team rocket-style after he tries to touch her tomato head

Takemaru and Shouma training arc after mecha-Shouma impresses him

Thanks for reading! There definitely isn’t enough context to guess the whole game but it was fun to gather my thoughts like this ^^ I wanna do an “endings im hoping for” kinda post next!

[sluggybunny]

posted a buncha rambling about this on my other blog but i want to be very brave and try to post about it here. warning it's very yappy, i'm not in a good headspace and i esp wasn't last night. but i want to talk about it anyway

this month i started a new little project/interactive game type stuff. it started because i was struggling to write cj and I was in the mood for dark fantasy (turns out that's my niche, i just start TYPING AWAY when it's that). it kind of spiraled and now i'm 120k deep

I don’t have a name for this project, I am very bad at naming things. But the premise/setting is a grimdark fantasy esque world. And there’s this type of magic that is actually more like a parasitic disease.

I really love the idea of magic as something that represents mental illness. And writing surrealism, dreams, memory issues, etc is my fave.

Combining it with a dream I had a long time ago of a world where they used children in war, this type of magic can be learned by anyone but they have to “survive” the initial sickness. And children are more resilient to surviving.

Because magic becomes a useful commodity in society (military, industrial, labor) there is an incentive to have a lot of magic users. So you end up with a society exposing children to a dangerous, not well understood phenomenon in order to shape them into something useful. A lot of children die or suffer very severe side effects that permanently alter their mind or body

That’s the setting, though. The main plot is more concerned with other stuff.

I just like world building fantasy stuff.

I wrote two origins the player can pick but one is sort of shelved until I can figure out the family situation. That one is the noble background and has deeply fucked family dynamics and I’m stuck on 1) did I make this too fucked up 2) I want to use character sprites because I’m an artist(tm) but if they’re related to the protag, how do I make it inclusive

The other one is you’re an orphan sent to a nice orphanage that’s really there to produce magic users. This one has the most content for now, since orphan means no family members I gotta worry about. further background customization would include having beef with the church, evil magic... stuff. this is called the scholar origin

Then there's the main story after all the origins (i want the origins to be kind of lengthy so they can deeply effect all the stuff on the main story, since there are lot of choices within those origins to shape your character) and I started writing it in a sort of episodic way or "arcs". The first arc is in the mountains with a necromancer.

I'm trying VERY HARD to not include complicated mechanics, I just looove coding so much. But I did include some exploring and stats/skills that are chosen in the beginning and can later be influenced... can't help it! 🥲

other stuff:

I kinda wrote in-universe misogyny . Maybe it’s wrong of me but I like settings that include that. Again kinda makes it hard for player options... also i know that's not everyone's jam but i'm writing for myself since I have no plans on making a commercial product

In the scholar origin, you get close friend, your mentor, a knight, and a priest. You can choose a variety of interactions with the, dynamics, etc

If you play female, the knight might be creepy to you. Otherwise he’s actually very likable and cool. I thought that could emphasize the reality of those situations If that makes sense (the predators/creeps in people's lives appearing as Just A Chill Guy To Everyone Else) Your childhood friend has potential to be an incel-like guy, a rival, or truly your closest friend depending on the choices. And the mentor is a major character to the main story and his dynamic with the player is variable. I put in so many options and branching stories, that's really what ended up making the word count when I started writing the script lol. Idk how to put a percentage on it but most of the background/origins are done and i'm midway into the first arc.

I haven't designed any visuals yet, I'm super focused on writing. WILD since i am an artist, you'd think that's what i go to first. But I get stuck in my head too much when making A Public Thing and not just my personal ocs so I'm constantly worried about the designs being palatable. I got to 120k now. It's impressive from an output number but i feel like game itself is barely any content... there's just A LOT of player reactivity. that's my fave thing in any rpg and i always crave more, so that was a leading factor in writing.

if you read any of this, i love you lol

I struggle to complete projects sooo bad but the amount i made for this gives me confidence it's going somewhere. also setting limits on myself so i don't add too much rpg elements (I wanna code a combat system sooo bad but that is some difficult work and I want to actually write interactive fiction pls)

ok good bye thanks to anyone who read it. let me know if it interests you, i'm looking for some homies that like this stuff and would be down to discussing it with me because feedback is key with games

also if anyone wants to be tagged when i talk about this let me know. two people showed interest and i got so excited over that hsfhshrh

[hellobitchlet]

Some brief-ish notes on what happened in the 'collab' event, for hsr players who don't have hi3:

-I'm not going to go too deep into explaining the story, because a lot of it would involve me trying to explain why there is a 4th wall breaking chibi who is canonically an hi3 player transported into the game by a character who was never supposed to canonically exist. I don't want to do that, and it was complete bullshit anyways.

-here's the actual important part; Sparkle has decided that she really likes Vita, the gray haired girl you've probably seen in the 'collab' promotional stuff. It's generally implied that she's trying to convince her to become a masked fool. She set up a simulation/game for her and Vita to play, where you have to play a card game called a fool's hand (clearly based off of poker) with npc's to get to the next world. She then threatened to wreck havoc on Mars or something (I don't remember exactly what it was) (there's a civilization on Mars. Vita is protecting Mars. It's a long story) and framed Sampo by somehow dragging him into the game and making him be the 'mastermind'. It's never explained how she got Sampo there. She then erased her memories of creating the game, bc Vita is a psychic and would've clocked her instantly otherwise, and made herself one of the players.

-the chibi is also following them around, because it's not like you could just, oh idk... play as Sparkle or Vita? So long story short, chibi, Vita, and Sparkle go through a weird simulation/shallow video game to 'defeat a masked fool' because otherwise, they will 'attack Mars' or something. In the last part of the story, Sampo is framed as the mastermind, and Sparkle gets her memories back. But when they finally get to Sampo, he blames everything on Sparkle, pretty much acting the same way towards her that he does in Masquerade Duet. Vita and Sparkle fight Sampo and win, and it's revealed that Sparkle was the real mastermind. She puts on her new hi3 skin (for some reason?) and runs off.

-the 'worlds' in the game are basically hsr's worlds. You go through a largely boring Herta Space Station, a Belobog where everyone is a buff trashcan because Hoyo refuses to let go of that, a Luofu where everything seems normal until npc Welt casually reveals that he's the general and that he abandoned his job bc he doesn't like it(no, I'm not kidding), and a place that's sort of supposed to be Penacony but not really? it's a long story.

-oh yeah, and there was an npc Void Archives who replaced Luocha in Luofu's story pretty much. They tried to blow Sparkle and Vita up and then lost to them in the card game. That also happened.

-I'm doubtful that Hoyo thought anything in this event through, but I am kind of curious about one detail; Roza and Lili. These 2 don't currently have hsr expies, yet Sparkle made npc's for them in both Belobog and the Luofu. I mean, they're not the only ones- there's also Einstein, Tesla, and Rita. But Roza and Lili were the only ch's who appeared in multiple worlds (which chibi points out), and they appeared a lot more than other ch's who aren't playing as a hsr ch. I wouldn't expect this to mean anything, but it would be cool if this were foreshadowing Roza and Lili getting hsr expies whom Sparkle knows.

-(speaking of the game's content not meaning anything, how does Sparkle even know like.. half of the info in this game? Either she knows what a lot of hi3 ch's look like, about hi3 Seele's did AND Veliona's exact personality AND relationship to Seele, Luocha doing suspicious stuff on the Luofu, and Welt creating Arahato and being obsessed with mechs... or the devs just weren't thinking when they made this. It's probably the second option)

-Sparkle says some interesting things about Sampo-

-upon finally confronting each other and fighting about which one of them created the game, Sampo and Sparkle go straight to playing poker a fool's hand upon coming into conflict with each other. Which implies that either all of the masked fool's use this game to solve conflicts between them, or Sampo and Sparkle specifically use it to solve stuff between each other. The first option is more likely, but the second option is funnier.

-upon losing another hand against Vita, Sparkle steals one of Sampo's smoke bombs and escapes, with an admittedly cool looking cg of her in her new hi3 skin.

-Sparkle implies that she's going to come back and try to convince Vita again at some point.

-somehow, the story ends with Sampo talking to the chibi, saying that the other 4th wall breaking character told him to play hi3. He then whines about not knowing where to start because of how much content there is, and the chibi gets mad at him and tells him to just start with ch 1. I don't know why Hoyo thought that making fun of non-hi3 players who feel intimidated by how big (and unorganized, and confusing) hi3's story is was a good idea.

[vayle]

Hey everyone, dunno how long this might be, kind of doing a stream of consciousness style ramble about TNTF and me and stuff :)

alright so, tntf is getting a huge rework, this is my first if game ever, the coding is a little overwhelming, i know it’s fairly simple but it’s A LOT.

the reason i’ve been pretty quiet is mostly due to burnout, as some of you know i have health issues, i have crohns disease, i’m also autistic with adhd—something i love about this community is the understanding and acceptance for people/authors like me who may want to write but are just too stuck to be able to do it.

i know everyone is so jazzed for the next update, and i am too, there’s a few changes i’m making in regards to the technical aspects of the story, i’m removing stats, for the MC and for relationships. part of it is… i’m not a numbers person, trying to balance out the stats going up and down is a pain when this is planned to be a pretty damn long story. i also just don’t like it for my story personally, i don’t want you, as the player to feel like you have to game-ify personality or relationships.

this also opens the option for me to write more player responses to situations without having all of that annoying code in my brain~ MORE FLAVOR!

My writing has also vastly improved when it comes to fiction, a lot because i have been practicing so much while i’ve been sick (i’ve been playing with and writing AI chatbots on Janitor.AI, learning how to create a complex and realistic personality, an engaging character and world.) It’s been useful as a stress reliever and as a tool to help me write better, more descriptive etc.

on that note, smut in my game is also a very yes, i feel much more comfortable writing it now… heh.

i’ve also decided that all of my books are going to remain free, tntf was a planned three book series, it may just be one or two HUGE books, we’re going to have to see what i, and twine are capable of. but the story is going to span four countries and two continents of the world, so yeah.

the new rewrite is also going to slow things down considerably, because now we’ll have MC on a ship for four months as the intro, then meeting maddock and spending <insert amount of time here> with him while traveling to that little inn. it also gives me more room to introduce the characters a lot earlier but in their own POVs and not just while they’re with MC. i want the world to feel alive.

my decision to make and keep tntf free is because i want to.

i would not appreciate minors interacting with my content, but i also grew up with the internet, i know that no matter how much prevention we put in, minors are going to access our content regardless if it’s free or not. i just ask that if you are a minor and reading adult fiction, please don’t comment, dm or whatever, this is for your safety in the community as well as, i don’t want to deal with other people’s children on the internet, it’s nothing against any of ya’ll, you’re awesome, children are great but i’m almost 26, i really don’t want to deal with kids in what’s pretty much an adult space (i haven’t really seen books catered to the younger than 18 crowd, but like i’m saying, i’m more interested in forging connections with the adult community here, considering i am one, lmao *bats children away with pool noodles*)

i think that’s it

i might post more stuff but that’s my general direction

also to the asks in my inbox from last year on my birthday and forward… I READ THEM ALL AND APPRECIATE EVERY WELL WISH AND FEEDBACK, GENUINELY. i’m just bad at social media.

[nokillbananashelter]

A HUGE portion of the criticisms for BOTW and TOTK boil down to “there isnt (xyz) in this game like other games!” And the answer to it is almost always “yes there is, you are just ignoring it or actively avoiding it or willfully engaging in it in a way that is breaking it and then getting mad that it broke”

Like, if you want a tight 50 hour 3d zelda with a full ACTIVE PRESENT story and linear story/mechanical progression & big dungeons….just listen to what the game is telling you to do and inviting you to see when you see it and you will literally get a classic linear 3d zelda experience complete with “yes, we did infact have ONE PARTICULAR solution in mind for this puzzle!”, deep lore implications, extremely melodic and complex orchestral music, progression, & a zany cast of characters.

Both of these games are so much more than that though, and contains so much more content that people don’t see that meat and potatoes run because of their own choices and desire to break the game wins out over wanting to meet the game where its at. And to be fair, that is a major component to what these games are daring you to do. And you should engage with those, but if you really did want the classic experience, it should be obvious you should treat it like the OOT era games and it will LITERALLY provide that for you in neon blinking lights and guardrails.

I really do feel like these two games are sort of an exercise in discipline /listening /spotting subtly /recognizing things in their new shape as much as they are an invitation to explore experiment and fuck off, and people are mad that the option to break from the path exists at all because they dont have the control or desire or sight to focus in on whats being asked of them and they don’t want to accept the shape of what the game is working with.

I’m not saying these people are playing the game wrong, but the attitude and closed mindedness is the problem. it’s almost always the source of these kinds criticisms that want to present these games as empty repetitive experiences, when these two games give the entire franchise a run for its money on uniqueness and novelty and story depth and profoundness.

You went in for a bad time, didnt want to play, and got exactly what you worked for- a lame, monotonous level skip that jumps ahead of itself, disrespects the intention of the developers, and misses the point of very obviously and enticingly marked gametunnels they made for you.

Like, seriously here, both but totk especially is quite literally an on-rails CINEMATIC GAMEPLAY experience if you want it to be, it literally has a path that is like 99% laid out in such a way that you are directly on mine cart rails and jumping up and down on direct vertical pathways. The regions-to-temple pathways are about as much of a bee-line as you can get. The skylands & cave systems are effectively old oot era compartmentalized zones. Same with shrines. There are so many ways they have created pathways and say “GO THIS WAY” that if you ignore those and get lost its kinda on you for not being observant….. which has always been one of the top asks of the player required to beat a Zelda game.

The biggest difference between these two games and other 3-D Zelda’s is that it just has taken the roof and some walls off the design. It Lets you experience more in context to your journey at any given time and that gives you a lot of freedom and agency to break from the path or stay on your goals, and both enrich your experience and inform what links journey is going to be and how narratively/mechanically/progression cohesive it will be.