#first discord. then steam. now tumblr.

[skeletalheartattack]

whatta heall? mwho are you? im going o atackk you fortevetr

you think you can survive?

[okartichoke]

HIII KITH AND KIN !!!!!! i'm finally officially rebranding myself as squirrel, just as god intended. (i <3 squirrels)

if anybody wants to ask me abt this character i would love u forever~~ :333333 (read as: in my first draft of this post, i rambled about him for way too long, then subsequently got embarrassed and deleted it all LOL)

more squirrel related screaming in the tags if you are interested >:3333 ok bye i hope you're doing well bye !!!

[ravenstargames]

✦ Lost in Limbo Masterpost (12/09/2024)

Lost in Limbo is a dark fantasy romance visual novel taking place in the mysterious realm of Limbo. Take the role of River Winchester, a human dealing with common-life problems, as you find yourself trapped in a foreign world.

✦ Lost in Limbo explores themes such as the duality of immortality, family bonds, healing from trauma, forgiveness, acceptance, letting go of guilt, and love. 

✦ The full game will be rated +17 and will include flashing lights, disturbing imagery, mild horror, mild jumpscares, body horror, suggestive sexual scenes and discussions, sensitive topics such as toxic family relationships, anxiety, depression, mentions of suicide, depictions of alcohol / drug use, etc. Each route will have individual content warnings available for the player.

✦ LOST IN LIMBO FAQ + TUMBLR ASKS

Face the nightmares of your childhood and uncover the mysteries behind your summoning to the realm of Limbo. Tie your fate to one of seven deities sworn to be your protectors and survive a world facing its demise.

Will love be the key to your freedom, or the first chapter of your downfall?

Our first demo features over 42k words (around three hours of gameplay), partial voice acting, seven CGs, over 25 different choices...and one bad ending?!

To obtain every CG, we reccommend playing the demo twice and testing different options! 

✦ PLAY OUR DEMO NOW ON:

🔮 STEAM (MAC, LINUX, WINDOWS)

🔮 ITCH.IO (MAC, LINUX, WINDOWS)

🔮 GOOGLE PLAY

When you finally quit your dead-end job and move back to your mother's house in the ever-peaceful town of Faybourne, you think things could only get better. However, the moment you set foot in your childhood home, a harrowing nightmare long forgotten appears to haunt you once more. 

A tower that crumbles in the vastness of a bleeding sky. A voice that mourns and yearns for something.

Torn away from your peaceful life and thrown into a world of danger and deceit, you are at the mercy of the Seven Sovereigns of Limbo. Navigate the Realm Between as it faces an impending cataclysm that threatens to swallow you and those you love whole.

Whether you fall in love or in disgrace... is up to you. 

 Lost in Limbo features seven love interests and a wide cast of secondary characters.

VA: Patrick 'Pat' Langner

God and creator of Limbo, Father Pride has witnessed eons of change in both his world and yours. Aware of the delicate barrier that keeps each world separate and whole, it is his duty to both protect his people and safeguard the endless knowledge his immortality has granted him. 

The Father of All is beloved by his family and worshiped as an invincible leader by the inhabitants of Limbo, but he ultimately remains removed from others; a mysterious, unreachable idol. The life of a deity of unfathomable power is solitary, and you can't help but wonder if there's any trace of humanity in him.

Can you truly trust a being whose power is beyond human comprehension, or are you just another tool for him? 

VA: Brian Vaughn

His father's promises of glory, and legends of a destiny full of wonders awaiting him, drove Amon to build Dagalis, his city, as a mirror image of himself. Flamboyant, free, and absolutely magnificent—Amon lives his immortal life to the very fullest, often ignoring the consequences.

When you fall into his care, you become the Dragon’s newest toy; he is determined to dazzle you, and the temptation to surrender to him is overwhelming. However, Amon can only look away from the ticking bombs within Dagalis for so long, and you will inevitably be dragged down with him if the worst comes to pass. 

Can you rely on each other to save yourselves, or is your love destined to burn you and Dagalis down?

VA: Silvairre Devereaux

Raeya earned her title of Praefectus, leader of Limbo’s military forces and safekeeper of the realm, after centuries of hard work and devotion. Her oath to protect the people of Limbo is an extension of herself, one she wields in the battlefield against the voidbound and against anyone who dares to defile what she believes is just.

However, the truth behind the realm's darkest times will soon put Raeya's loyalty to the test, and with it, her ability to keep you out of harm's way.

When the inevitable cruelty of the Realm Between unfolds before you, what will you be willing to sacrifice to save what you love the most?

VA: Abi Kumar

As ominous as his alias may sound, there has never been a kinder person in all of Limbo than Master Gael. However, rumors tainting the Master's image have begun to spread, and the streets murmur of a plot to overthrow him. Master Gael is facing a crisis in his mandate, and with your unexpected arrival, strategy is more important than ever.

You are met with an offer that's hard to refuse; if you play your part as Gael’s fiancée and help him secure his win in the upcoming Master elections once more, a ritual to return you to your world may be within reach. 

But with powerful individuals keeping an eye on every movement of the Master and his lover, what are the chances of obtaining a victory for you both?

VA: Aaron Moy

Stripped of their name and shunned after commiting treason, the Sovereign now known as Lord Envy resides alone in the Black Citadel, forgotten by those who fled the city and hated by the ones who refused to leave. 

It doesn't take you too long to realize you two have nothing in common besides the fact that you hate each other to death. Envy is harsh, impertinent and unmoved by your plight. However, behind that mask of hatred lies a being that has been hurt almost beyond repair, and their call for help is too painful to ignore.

Can you break the walls they have built around themselves for centuries, or will you remain a prisoner in his castle for all eternity?

VA: Zaria Weems

Ara seems ready to be your ally from the very beginning. Her desire to help you get back to your family seems genuine, and her fervent will to act as your protector impresses you. She believes you are the key to summoning her childhood hero, The Wanderer of Worlds, a mythical figure that is able to walk in every world to bring forth peace.

Ara's passionate personality is incredibly charming, but it hides an ambition that seems almost insatiable...and that may come with problems that are too big for you two. 

What will you do when you find out how far she's willing to go?

VA: Francfil Pontañeles

Seen as an ‘afterthought’ by the people of Limbo, no one has ever expected anything from Xal, not even himself. When you end up in his care, you fear you're going to spend the rest of your life watching him tinker with gadgets, but Xal swiftly proves you wrong when he discovers a ritual that could send you back home in no time.

However, a crucial mistake turns the tables, and you're not the only one to reappear in Faybourne. With no fearless gods with incredible powers around to aid you, you'll have to face the consequences your disappearance left behind...and somehow help Xal go back to his siblings.

But what if Xal doesn't want to leave—and you don't want him to go?

Lázaro and Cécile's routes are Side Routes that will be produced after the Main Love Interests'. As they were not unlocked via Kickstarter, they'll take time to become available!

VA: Callum Sanders

After your encounter in Master Lysander's occult shop, you hoped you would never see those golden eyes again. Destiny, as always, is a capricious thing.

Your rocky return to Faybourne not only brings more questions to the table; it also gives you the opportunity to cross paths with the person who started it all. However, as you confront Lázaro—as they graciously introduce themself— they pretend they don't know anything about what happened in that suffocating room that summer morning.

You refuse to let them go that easily after what they did to you, and soon enough you're dragged into Lázaro's personal hell.

When your world quickly proves to be as dangerous as the realm of Limbo, will you trust the person who started it all?

VA: TBA

When you first meet Cécile, Gael's bodyguard, you can't stop from shivering under the gaze of his bloodthirsty eyes. The Master's Dog, as everyone whispers behind his back, smells of death and despair; it is all he has known since he was born. Revenge on those who snatched his soul away from him is the only thing in his mind—only after serving his Master, who he so greatly worships.

He has no interest in you. In fact, he openly dislikes you. You can tell by the way he looks at you; if it were his choice, his hands would already be around your neck. And yet, you can't deny the attraction pulling you towards him, oblivious of how dangerous it would be if he were to worship you instead of his Master.

Can you survive the love of an obsessed killer, or will you meet your end at the raw passion of his hands?

✦ The MC is written as a young adult who is at least 21 years old. The player can headcanon their character as any age they desire, but every route is written so the MC is of an age similar to that of their chosen love interest, except for Father Pride who is older than the MC.

✦ The MC is a strong-willed individual who isn't afraid to jump into action. In the game, you'll be able to channel these characteristics in different ways. River is funny, kind and a bit too stubborn—but you choose how to manage those traits and whether to let them shine or not. The game will remember, so if you are not too athletic, maybe hitting that monster with a chair isn't a very good idea.

✦ The MC also has some default tastes, hobbies and memories. During the game, you'll be able to personalize how the Main Character feels about their interests, add new ones, or reflect about how the past affected them. The characters will remember this.

✦ The MC doesn't have an established appearance, therefore, you won't see them in game.

The beautifully deadly world of Limbo, The Realm Between. Woven in the eternal canvas that is the Great Void, it is a breathing world that lives in constant symbiosis with those who dwell therein. It rests in the custody of the Seven Sovereigns of Limbo, immortal guardians of unbelievable strength.

Few are those who venture past the Beyond; none have ever returned However, Limbo’s land is deteriorating fast. The balance that holds the threads of life are at the cusp of being consumed by the Midnight Tower, an entity beyond sense and reason that has grown dangerously close to the barrier between worlds. The voidbound, creatures made from the essence of nightmares, are stalking the cities closer to the Tower’s domain, leaving behind nothing but chaos and decay.

Explore the Seven Circles of Limbo and its seven capital cities, and get to know its people, their customs and their culture, inspired by Spanish provinces and cities such as the Valencian Community, Andalucía, Galicia and Aragón. Enjoy the unique animated backgrounds, whether you're lost in a harrowing swamp or just wandering through a boisterous main street.

✦ Seven love interests with independent routes and different kinds of romance. Live a passionate, mature and erotic experience with Amon, or a first love romance with Xal.

✦ Around 80+ hours of gameplay total. Each route will be around 15+ hours. 

✦ Customizable Main Character (full name and pronouns changeable between he/him, she/her or they/them).

✦ Approximately 6 endings per character. Escape from the claws of despair with your loved one or succumb to the pressure of a world breaking to pieces...or perhaps something in the middle.

✦ A mature, sex-positive narrative point of view. Lost in Limbo treats consensual sex as a natural, integral and fun part of the game. The game therefore includes textually and slightly explicit love scenes, and the player has the option not to engage, stop or skip these scenes anytime.*

✦ Player choices can shape the Main Character's personality, traits, likes & dislikes, etc.

✦ A wide cast of side characters to make the world feel alive, each one of them with their opinion and relationship with the Main Character.

✦ A compendium to keep track of events, important information, etc. 

*An exception of this is Amon's route, centered in the sexual tension between him and the MC. His sexual scenes with the Main Character are core to the story and therefore, happen no matter what. The player can still skip these scenes.

In Lost in Limbo, not everything is as it seems. Every route offers pieces of a much bigger puzzle ready to be solved, but small details mattter. Characters will remember how you treat them, what you tell them, and what you don't. Keeping your cards close to your chest may be wise, but in a world where you don't have the upper hand, choosing who to trust is key to survive.

✦ There will be four different choice systems that will give shape to your playthrough:

Trust Points centered around your love interest and the side characters; a low level of trust can translate into bad endings*.

Plot-driving choices that will shape the story and its possible endings, as well as the final fate of the characters.

Personality choices that will determine the nature of the Main Character's relationship with their love interest, as well as how the MC reacts to certain events, their abilities, hobbies, etc.

Flavor choices! These don't impact the game directly, but are there for the main objective of the game: having fun! Do you want ice cream, or perhaps a caramelized apple?

*In Lost in Limbo, there's not only one correct answer and one wrong answer. There's different ways of earning trust points without having to stick for the "one and only right answer", and mistakes can be redeemed...sometimes.

Please note that this may be subjected to changes in the future, but always keeping in mind player's opinions and always in favor of improving the game experience.

We'll first start working on an extended demo / prologue that will be offered for free. This will include an overhaul of sprites, several secondary characters mentioned in our first demo, etc. After that, we'll move to the character routes, and the first episode of each one of them will be offered for free to the public.

Two routes will always be worked on at the same time to make sure they complement each other well. The order in which we'll work on the routes is as follows.

✦ Amon / Gael > Ara / Xal > Envy / Raeya > Father Pride

We estimate that with our current team, development for the seven routes will take  three years. Therefore, our first release plan aims for a full release in 2027.

Please remember there's only four of us; our writer is also our programmer, our artists are in charge of all the art departments, etc.

As stated above, outsourcing would speed up this process, but we want to be cautious with our release plan. If everything goes faster than expected, all the better!

✦ OUR SOCIALS ✦

For more info about our team etc., feel free to visit our official webpage, ravenstar.games!

🔮 TWITTER / X

🔮 OFFICIAL DISCORD SERVER

🔮 TIKTOK

YOU CAN CONTACT US AT INFO@RAVENSTAR.GAMES FOR ANY INQUIRIES!

[larkingame]

Hiring Community & Social Media Manager (CLOSED 12/3)

Hello!

My name is KC Malik and I'm hoping to hire a Community & Social Media Manager for the commercial text-based RPG "Larkin". As of right now Larkin is being worked on by a small team of creatives and we would love for you to join our team.

Larkin is a Vampire-Western that focuses on romance, religious-horror and complex family dynamics. It's rated 18+ for violence/horror and sexually explicit content. It will be released in an episodic format on itch.io, Steam and the Google Play Store.

Here is our website.

Intro Post

I'm looking for people with specific proven experience in social media platforms like twitter/X, discord, twitch, tiktok and instagram, especially those with an interest in indie game development and an understanding of interactive fiction/visual novels/dating simulators and the communities that surround them. Traditional degrees are less important to me than demonstrable work experience.

Your main responsibilities with this position will be:

Helping grow Larkin fan communities on platforms like Discord, Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram

Moderating communities like Discord/Reddit/Tumblr Community

Engaging with community members & building a relationship (examples: helping answer asks/questions, replying to messages, etc.)

Social Media Posts/Planning - using social media strategies and timelines to produce growth in terms of audience & reach

Payment will be done via Paypal at the applicants usual asking rates.

Traditional Applications Are Welcome, But Please Be Sure to Include:

Estimated Pricing

Examples of previous work (like posts, accounts, something demonstrable that you've done.)

Links to your social media/website/somewhere else your work can be found.

Work experience, if applicable

Confirmation you'll be able to work on the project for an extended time frame (10+ Months)

If interested, please email the above information to:

larkininteractivefiction@gmail.com

While a more traditional "job post" will be made along the usual avenues in a few days--I wanted to reach out here first as Larkin's tumblr audience is what fostered it's initial growth <3

Thank you and Reblogs are very much appreciated!

[celestialcrownsvn]

Update 7/17/24

Hello Tumblr, I'm back! I'm so sorry for the unmentioned hiatus. I just had a lot of stuff going on that I had to deal with and didn't have the mental capacity to keep up with socials. I'm trying to ease myself back into it, so I will be resuming my once a week posts on tumblr, and I am aiming for two twitter posts a week.

So despite the fact that I've been away, there has been some serious progress made on the game. Specifically, backgrounds!

Backgrounds

Sorry for the duplicate, I just loved Aalam's room so much I had to share twice ^^

That's right, this is our first look at Aalam's room, and the full city of Andromeda! Mika has been doing a fantastic job with the backgrounds and there are only a few left! Which means that I'll be able to program in style and see the game really come to life as I keep writing.

We also have both the Laute and Andromeda infirmary, the Laute dungeon, and Aalam's family cabin!

Community Goal Reached

We hit one of our community goals--1000 steam wishlists! 🥳

This means that I will be adding an additional CG to the game! It will be in the first few chapters, so I've asked the CG artist to prioritize it so I can get an updated demo out. Look out for sketches in the Discord sneak peak channel if you pledged at that tier!

Writing

I have continued writing and am currently working on a new Aalam scene! Here's a look:

In this scene, Aalam takes Terra on a romantic sleigh ride. Who knows what might happen...?

Music

I have decided to add three more songs to the game, specifically theme songs for the LIs. So I will be speaking with the composers soon about those!

Conclusion

I am steadily moving along! Now that I've started writing again I'm hoping to have some meatier updates moving forward, but it's always difficult because I don't want to give too many spoilers.

Thank you all for being so patient!

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

So I’m in a dnd group and have been for several years. Our dm has struggled with uh. Lots that I can’t really get into, but I worry about him bc he’s my friend. We’ve all had our problems with this guy, but I try to be nice as I can because I’m a nice person, I like him, and he’s a really good dm. Out of nowhere, he texts me and says that our campaign could be cancelled, because the two other party members did something very rude to him. He made it sound like they had done some terrible horrible sleight against him. I wanted to try to help the situation, and he didn’t respond. So, I asked the other people involved what happened, since it sounded like a big fight broke out between them. They seemed very confused, until they realized what he was so upset about.

Simply put, they were playing a video game and didn’t extend an invitation to him. That’s all. They were playing a round of civ 6 and didn’t let him join. When they realized that he had unfriended them on discord and steam because of this, they started talking about a confrontation due to the fact that this isn’t the most egregious thing that he’s done. I’m not a very confrontational person, and with his mental health issues, I strongly discouraged them from doing any sort of confrontation. It’s inexcusable, yes, but also not worth seeing him spiral. Now I feel like an asshole for trying to fix things in the first place.

So, tumblr, am I the asshole?

What are these acronyms?

[alexanderwales]

The Current WIP List

Inspired by this post by @a-memory-a-distant-echo, this is a list of ongoing works-in-progress, where "in progress" I will define as "I have added at least one sentence in the last year as an indicator of actual mental load being used". This does not include worldbuilding or planning documents, which spring up like weeds. I am also including the ones that I get paid for via Patreon or publication deals or whatever.

Thresholder is my currently ongoing web serial, publishing two chapters a week (in theory ...). It's about a guy who travels between worlds and fights other people who travel between worlds, with each world being a relatively contained book. Currently about 750K words.

Doomsday Pivot! is, in theory, the follow-up to Thresholder, about a start-up that has to make a sudden change in plans when the end of the world gives everyone a character class. First book is rough draft complete but needs some responses to developmental editing, sitting at 104K words. (You can read a noncanonical first chapter here, which I had previously made public on my discord.)

Millennial Scarlet is a webcomic I write about a gig-economy demon hunter. Writing comics is awesome, mostly because I get to see my words come to life. In word count ... I'm not sure right now, but probably not all that much. In the middle of writing the fourth issue right now.

Glimwarden was a web serial that I abandoned, a black mark on my record. I intend to go back to it at some point, because it was my wife's favorite. You can read it up to the point where it was abandoned here. There are currently ~3 unreleased chapters, but most of the effort put into it has been rewriting it and bringing it up to snuff, as well as fixing some problems with it. Will get a relaunch at some point, probably, when I'm ready to commit to that. No idea on the word count.

Untitled Dance Magic story is probably a short story, currently ~5K words. It's based around a magic system where people do ballroom dance to create architecture, and is a somewhat traditional romance and/or coming of age story. I started writing it on a whim after a conversation with @etirabys at LessOnline, and hopefully they haven't started their own story, and hopefully if they have, hopefully their story doesn't overlap mine. I'll check before posting, hoping to get this one finished and out there.

Kensuke Fucks the World is an existentialist horror erotic novel, which I describe as being "like the Erogamer, but sad". Currently 75K words, and might never see the light of day. I think I can wrap it up in another 25K words, but I think it needs a lot of work.

Long Stairs will probably be novella length in its finished form, and will probably not be finished. It's an old story, which predates Worth the Candle by a few months, and is about a military fireteam making a routine delve into an endless shifting dungeon that the US military has already pulled a lot of magic out of. Medics with clerical healing, wands and firearms, high fantasy and military. There's unfortunately some stuff in there that I cannibalized for WtC that needs to be changed so it's not a repeat, but nothing structural, and there are a lot of plot beats that I enjoy in both the 15K words that are already written and what's in the notes. I did not put a bunch of work into this one, but it was one of those cases where I was reading through old stuff and got enough of a head of steam that it latched onto me again. (I also don't know enough about the military or how to write that kind of stuff, which is one of the reasons that this fic never got my full attention.)

The Lot is a story that's basically just "the backrooms, but with cars". It think it was inspired by a tumblr post, but probably won't be finished, since it's probably novella length. Currently 9K words, more a character study than it is about people stuck in an infinite parking lot and scrounging off what they can find in glove compartments.

Kitchen Sink is a bureauporn/bureaupunk novel about the agency created to deal with the rise of mutants circa 1977. Currently a mere 9K words, but the plan was for each successive part of the book to focus on another genre being discovered by the department, so you'd get a book with wizards, with vampires, with aliens, etc., mostly with a focus on how these are handled on an administrative level. No way I would ever be able to sell it, unfortunately.

Robot Team Isekai (not its real title) is about a van full of kids on their way to a robotics team meet that get transported to another world where their individual specialties grant them awesome abilities in a "your hyperfixation makes you perfectly adapted to the fantasy world" kind of way, but for five people with different hyperfixations. 2K words, probably will never see the light of day.

Full Meta vol. 2 is a novel about a group of high school students who get metafiction powers, so like ... one girl gets the ability to read the text of the novel they're in whenever someone is engaging in exposition, one guy can read the flashbacks, someone can read all the romance scenes or whatever, and they have a dysfunctional time dealing with each other through college and into adulthood. I fully recognize that calling it "Full Meta vol. 2" when no first volume exists is a gimmick title and would be confusing enough to immediately turn people away.

Dark Wizard of Donkerk was an old NaNo novel, but got halfway dev edited before my dev editor on that one flaked. I think it's a good story, just a matter of getting into the guts of it and making it great, but that takes time. 173K words, but this is old old. If you like rough, unpolished creative output, you can read it on my website.

Untitled Hermione/Draco fanfic is, uh ... I guess according to the logs was something that I put effort into in late 2023. I have read vanishingly little HP fanfic, and I'm sure there's a ton of this stuff, and that some of it is even good. This one doesn't adhere too much to canon or fanon, and is mostly about trying to write a realistic racist who falls in love with someone he's racist against. 14K words, I cannot believe I added anything to this recently, but apparently I have.

Technically by the criteria set out, I should count all seven of the NaNo test chapters I wrote. Of those, the only ones that have retained any brain space are "The Inevitable Return of Nathaniel Greene" and "Dungeon Core".

There are a few more that are technically outside the arbitrary time limit of one year, but I'm going to include them because I have thought about them in the last year (and will not include the ones that I have not thought about).

Of Witches and Wizards is what I thought was a romance but was told does not fit the apparently pretty exacting mold of a "romance novel". It's about a widowed witch whose two sons have left for college and a wizard who travels the world writing about places for a travel guide. They fall in love. Tons of worldbuilding stuff as they visit different cities and see the breadth and beauty of magic in the world. 15K words right now, was going to be a nice and slender novel.

Eager Readers in Your Area was a short story I wrote a year and a half ago. The WIP is a novel-length version of that about ... art, artists, AI art, dealing with people online, and a bunch of other stuff. I wrote an outline I thought was quite good, but if the short story is the first chapter, then I want an equally good and tight second chapter, and that's hard to do.

Slaver Slayer (not final title) was about a slave who assassinates a high-ranking member of the kingdom and through an oversight gets a magical artifact that might possibly let her kill her way through the monarchy in an attempt to end the institution of slavery. The other protagonist is a detective who's grappling with his complicity in the system and is trying to stop her. Made it to 13K words. Another one of those that was outlined to be a nice tight novel.

[skyllion-uwu]

Okay I'm back now since I had therapy earlier and feel a bit better, other things that happened during my break

Gay Twink Coworker has become Gay Twink Work Friend (he said he was thinking of quitting and named me as someone he'd miss) (do I ask him if he has Tumblr or Discord or Steam to keep in touch or would that be too embarrassing)

I tried to do a facial mask and kept laughing at my reflection because facial masks look very, very stupid

Went to see the Garfield movie (it was a generic kid's movie not sure what I expected. I got a bit more enjoyment from it than the Mario Movie but that may be because I'm a Garf head) (I got a cute popcorn bucket and drink cup though!)

Had popcorn for the first time in three years (YUM I DIDN'T REALIZE HOW MUCH I MISSED YOU)

Realized I do in fact have a mild peanut allergy :(

Told my dad what happened (he reacted better than I thought but still asked the dreaded "did you learn anything from this?" question)

Reapplied to be a library page (fingers crossed I get it this time please hire me please hire me please please please please)

MY YOUTOOZ FINALLY REACHED LAND THEY ARE BEING DRIVEN FROM LONG BEACH but I never got the e-mail from them with my codes so uh. When's that coming

That's about it tbh

[saysike-skedoodles]

Constellation Cat

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OK I know it seemed like I completely forgot about Stacy when it came to all of this but I DIDN'T I SWEAR- it was just a case of Bex and Silly's drawings taking a LOT longer than I hoped for and it had me running out of steam when it came to drawing them. But hey, this is actually perfect timing to post Stacy's art. The MLP villain of choice for her is Nightmare Moon! I was actually stuck between Chrysalis and her for Stacy, but then settled with Nightmare Moon since I realised that Galactica!Stacy exists so why not make another drawing that incorporated both Stacy and space.

So that's what I did! It was a bit difficult to try and work with Nightmare Moon's design into an outfit of sorts- originally she wasn't meant to wear a dress but in the end I settled with this long flowing one. I also made the crown work as a horn too, just to further tie into the alicorn idea. Kinda like what I did with Silly and her Sombra outfit/look with how the spike headband looks like Sombra's horn. That but make it more elegant looking since this is Stacy I'm drawing and she's the definition of gorgeous. Honestly it was fun to lean into a more "evil" expression for Stacy in this art. I don't typically draw those types of expressions (obviously since Stacy is one of the main protagonists, so she's obviously a good gal), so it was fun to see a different side to a character like Stacy when it came to expressions. I definitely think she wouldn't be as over the top evil compared to Discord Bex or Sombra Silly. It would be a more "sly" evil if you get me. Whether Discord Bex is making never ending mazes full of tricks and illusions, or Sombra Silly showing people their worst nightmares through corrupted hate fueled magic doorways. Nightmare Moon Stacy could just give a certain look to someone and you'd KNOW she's up to something sinister, she doesn't need to say or do anything, but you would know. Did that make sense? If not then blame Discord Bex for putting a nonsense spell on me while I was midway through typing this HAH. I have a LOT of ideas for these 3 if you couldn't tell- I've been feeling nostalgic once again for MLP as a whole, and while, yeah, the show isn't for me now, I still like to look back or listen to some of its music when I can. Cuz it's a really nice show and it was the reason I started to draw in the first place. So I have appreciation for the impact it had on little me whatever number or years ago when they decided to pick up a pencil and learn how to draw their favourite ponies. (Which does explain why my style is so 2010s-)

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I'm starting to just rant on, if yall would be interested in seeing sketches/doodles of these 3 don't be afraid to say. I'll probably post them anyways but if you guys would like to see more sketches/non-finished work then feel free to pop in and mention it

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Deviantart

Tumblr

Art Tumblr

Youtube

TMM Official Tumblr

Newgrounds

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[all content I post is automatically 13+ if not stated in the title or the content itself]

[amadeusgame]

Devlog: NEW OPENING CINEMATIC & Release Timeline

The most important announcement I'd like to make in this month's devlog is that Amadeus now has an anime-ass opening that will play after the prologue.

...but all you cool gamers who follow this blog already knew that, because I announced it here early. ;)

The final version may be tweaked, but please enjoy the current version, now as a direct upload:

I think this does a better job of communicating everything I'm excited about coming in the new demo, to be followed shortly by the full game release, than talking about it in prose. Most notably the Witch's new design!

This opening will be implemented in the new demo build.

Want to know when you'll be able to play it? The rest of this post outlines the timeline between now and release. Read on below the cut.

More on Amadeus: linktr.ee/amadeusgame

MAGWest, September 27-29 ~ New Gameplay Demo

What: short, new gameplay demo Where: MAGWest only... or ask me nicely (Discord server, Tumblr blog) When: September 27-29

This demo will be the first public showcase of all the work I've put into this game since February. All of the new mechanics - text scrolling with pauses, rich text, point-and-click improvements, a glossary menu, save & load - will be included. The demo will also feature new assets & narrative changes to reflect the direction of the full game. However, it will NOT be a replacement for the current demo, as it only features a few scenes. It will NOT be published on the Amadeus store pages. It WILL have the cinematic OP.

You can play it either in-person at MAGWest, or online by asking me nicely, after September 27.

October ~ Full New Demo

What: new demo of the full game's complete vision Where: itch & Steam When: October, date TBA

This will be a complete update and replacement to the currently published demo. The changes showcased in the MAGWest demo will be implemented in all scenes correlating to the current demo, so you can experience the introduction to the story in its near-final form. This demo will be published on the existing store pages. It will accurately represent how the full episode will read, sound, look, and feel. Pay careful attention to the story, as many details have changed!

You can play it on itch or Steam, where the current demo is live, in October. Date TBA in next month's devlog.

November ~ Episode One Release (tentative)

What: Episode One ~ Waltz Where: itch & Steam When: November (tentative), date TBA

This is it! The full episode, part one of five. While that "tentative" may not inspire confidence, I want to avoid announcing a date that I can't meet. November is the goal, and I will let you know after the full demo is complete if I am still on track for it.

You can play it on itch or Steam, but it will have a price point. The month will be confirmed after the new demo release in October.

The free demo will stay up indefinitely after release!

Final Notes

If you'd like to see some of the new visual assets I made for the opening (such as the full art for Amadeus, Solea, and the Witch), those will be posted on the Amadeus Tumblr blog in the coming weeks.

You can find that, and all other resources pertaining to the game, here: linktr.ee/amadeusgame

Thank you so much for your sustained interest. Development is in the final stretch, and it's all starting to feel very real! After working on this game for about 2 years now, I certainly understand why the conventional wisdom is to not make your first game a hugely ambitious and deeply personal project. But I'm proud to have ignored that wisdom. I'm making something that means a lot to me, and perhaps more importantly, something that I think is awesome.

I've stubbornly refused to compromise on the self-indulgent core vision of the game, and at long last, it is all coming together.

Please look forward to a pretty wild journey.

[ejsuperstar]

SOULBREAKER DIGEST: June 2024

[<- Prev] [No Next]

Another month another written devlog on the cryodon website!

I wont be going over what was said in the log, I only do that for videos, but I will be showing off what happened in the discord right after it was posted! Dingo and Felix shared some goodies with us!... And also I am going to show ONE image from the devlog... LOOK AN INGAME SCREENSHOT FINALLY!!! IM SO EXCITED

First order of business is that:

Felix has confirmed the Soulbreaker DOES indeed have heterochromia! This can obviously seen from the image shown in the new devlog, but it's nice to have written confirmation... AS WELL

Felix has also confirmed that the image we see of the soulbreaker in the devlog is their new official dialogue sprite!! (Which also means no silent protagonist yay!)

In unrelated (not) news, Felix has declared me, Soy, and Alyn to be the top three Soulbreaker fans. (I have taken this to mean that I am #1, because I am unreasonably obsessed with Soulbreaker.)

As well, Felix dropped us a blank of the Soulbreaker's talk sprite to play with after I asked!

And OO boy as a server we had fun with this.

I'd include more but Tumblr is struggling to let me and I'm worried I might hit image limit! For more please chech #soulbreaker-chat in the Fool's Gold Discord...!

Ok... One more...

Felix... Felix Didnt like this one...

After this the shennanigans died down... Until dingo slipped into chat to drop a few more official talksprites!

Unlike all the ones I've shown until now, these were drawn by Dingo!

One interesting thing is that the images Dingo sent have a slightly different looking base on the horn. It's probably nothing but it is something I noticed

After that not much more happened, I simply did some more official looking edits of the Soulbreaker talk sprite blank, that I will post later in their own post!

Thanks for reading the Soulbreaker Digest! Remember to wishlist Soulbreaker on steam!

[monolite001]

I had parents who were very strict about internet usage

I never got allowed to read web comics or play mobile games so I could only get to text-heavy websites

Which led me to spending time reading Korean equivalent of Wikipedia

One day in 2016 on tis website I read an article about a trending, award-winning video game called "Undertale". I was 14.

Something about this game appealed to me immediately. I bought it on Steam. That was the first time I ever purchased a video game.

Needed a language patch because I wasn't fluent in English back then. Became a member of a video game community just to have the language patch. That was my first time I ever got into an online community.

Finished the game without searching anything up. Finished every route. I loved the game. I started to look for more secrets and info from the community mentioned above.

People posted fan arts and fan fics there. I read them. I loved them. That was my first ever exposure to a fandom.

I watched the fandom grow. AUs started to develop. I liked them. Got interested in reading the original contents for the AUs, which were mostly in English.

And that just HAPPENED to be around the time I came to America and my English started to improve

I could read so many comics. I looked at so many different Tumblr blogs. Then I learned AO3 was a thing. That was a huge different world full of fan fictions.

I found that Error was my favorite. If it involved Error, I gave it a try. Mostly oneshots tho, because English still wasn't my first language and I was the world's slowest reader.

Then one day I came across a 25 chapter, 140k-word-long fic. The prologue already was half an hour of reading for me.

And I somehow decided to keep reading it. Knowing fully well it would take me at least a month with my normal reading speed. I just felt like I would like this fic.

And that was The Council of the Inevitable. I read all of it in 3 days, from start to finish, doing nothing else during those days.

That story was breathtaking. Literally. I never felt so absorbed into anything ever before. I ranted about it in my personal notes. I ranted about how much I loved the author wrote the characters just so perfectly and how brilliant the plot was. I also started writing my own little analysis and theories amd predictions.

I re read the fic. And I re re read it. I wrote more notes. I did that for 3 years, from 2020 to 2023. I wrote over 200 notes about it.

And I decided that it was physically unberable to keep that level of excietment and passion just to myself. I wrote an ask to the author's Tumblr blog I had found, including a fanart and a message about how much I loved her fic.

And she replied. She followed me back. I posted a couple more fan arts I had made and she liked them too.

And she had a Discord server. I looked at it and thought, maybe in there are people who love this story just as much as I do. I downloaded Discord created an account. I joined the server.

And I was right. And I never knew how much fun it was to have people who love the same thing as I do. Someone to share my excitement with.

So I'm really not exaggerating when I say everything regarding TCOTI was a miracle.

If any of the things listed above didn't happen I wouldn't have been here right now. What are the odds, really?

So if THIS happened, who's to say something as good as this wouldn't happen again?

TL;DR: My parents were strict. This led me to shipping copies of the same skeleton falling in love with each other.

[munchbell45]

No ask game. I just want to know: How did you get into writing? Was it easy for you or was it something you had to work at?

Thanks for asking! This is going to be long, you have been warned.

So, about a few years ago, I was getting back into Naruto and decided to visit Naruto-related subreddits. I had also been thinking of funky ideas related to the series, but I was hesitant to write them. I never enjoyed writing for school projects, so I figured i just didn't like writing.

One of the subreddits was r/narutofanfiction, a subreddit specifically for Naruto fanfics, like the name says. This was in 2022, BTW.

I was mostly lurking on that subreddit until one time, I read a post that someone created. They had wanted help coming up with some cool titles for some OCs. We then had a little chat, and I said something like this. "Maybe I should write a fanfic sometime. I know I've got a bunch of ideas knocking around." The dude said that i should go ahead and do it.

I decided to write my first Naruto fanfic, which was a one-shot based on idea I had. It was called Returning Home, and it was about a former member of the Hidden Stone's Explosion Corps (he left due to losing a hand years ago) returning home from work. However, something horrific happens that leaves him in shock. Fun fact: the fic is VERY loosely based on a song called "Story 2" by the band Clipping. https://archiveofourown.org/works/41908419

While I was writing it, I had a thankfully mild case of CVID, but I still stayed home. I think that gave me extra motivation.

Anyways, I later made a post asking for fics about the Ame Orphans, and sparked up a conversation with a commenter. They were kind enough to beta read the one-shot, and they told me that I had to wait a few days for an AO3 invite. So, I did my editing while I waited.

It was a long while before I started regularly writing after that. I had a fic idea that involved a scientist OC with an original kekkei genial who escaped from the Hidden Sound with some allies, and they stole Orochimaru's Akatsuki ring. Then, they were supposed to work with the Akatsuki and the OC was supposed to be like a yandere for Deidara.

I put off writing it, and I had hated what i wrote, so it never went anywhere. Frankly, it was going to be an edgiest and deal with subject matter that I probably couldn't pull off tastefully, so i think it was for the best.

Now, I actually started writing regularly in 2023, when the r/narutofanfiction discord server posted a spreadsheet with a daily writing challenge. I decided to join, and I found it to be a great motivator.

My second fanfic, The Ame Orphans' First Valentine's Day (https://archiveofourown.org/works/45018589 ,) was inspired by a piece of fanart that I had commissioned from moonamayillu on tumblr (https://www.tumblr.com/moonamayillu/707530031815114752/commission-for-munchbell45-thank-you-so-much?source=share) .

I was working in the Valentine's Day section at my retail job, which made me crave art of the Ame Orphans giving each other Valentine's Day gifts. So, I commissioned moonamayillu and the art was so good that I decided to write a fic based on it. people liked that fic, so I kept on writing other fics.

TL;DR: Someone suggested that I write, so I did. I lost steam, but a daily writing spreadsheet on a Discord server motivated me to write, as well as some banger fanart that motivated me to write my second fic.

[night-market-if]

omg. hi! I just discovered this miracle, your game, just five hours ago, read the first three chapters and fell in love! with your writing style (the text seems to breathe??), with the worldbuilding, with the characters (like, I haven’t been so interested in anyone for a long time, I’m ready to spend the whole weekend going through all possible paths). so please! accept my thanks for this gift! (utterly smitten)

and If you don't mind, I have a couple of questions? do you have any plans to release additional content from patreon on steam as a dlc? I want to support you, but, simply speaking, I cannot pay from my country for something that is not in my country. but there are ways to buy from steam... which can't be said about patreon, unfortunately.

and the second question: is it impossible to have a monogamous relationship with Milo? I mean, will he be in romantic relationship with Mal under any circumstances or I just misunderstude?

Hey anon!

You are coming in at a great time. The wip portion of this book is now done and I'm going to start the editing process. Binge reading will be perfect. :)

So, for your questions. I am actually working on an ebook and a physical book of all the Patreon book 1 stories. That way, for people who have no been able to join Patreon due to their countries restrictions, you should be able to buy this and read all the stories there. If I can figure it out, I will release it as a Steam add on to the game too. Just might take me a bit.

As for Milo. Milo is not a monogamous character so while you can have a relationship with him and not have one with another person, he will still have a relationship outside of you. Now, given that you haven't read the end of the book, it is 110% more complicated than that but I don't want to spoil that for you at all. Milo and Mal will always be in each others lives in some capacity, however. Though, that is far more complicated and I think a lot of people assume when I say that, you will be seeing a relationship thrown in the MC's face. Which is not the case at all. In a few months I think I can probably outline things a bit differently without a massive spoiler discussion but for now, it's kind of hard to put out on Tumblr. If you can, I would encourage you to join my discord. I am really active on there and can have a ton of conversations there that I can't really have here on Tumblr, if that makes sense.

Again, thank you so much for reading! I am so glad you have discovered this game!

🪷✨🪷✨ If you want to support me 🪷 ✨🪷✨ 

Demo 🌿 Patreon 🌿 Ko-fi 🌿Discord🌿Kickstarter

[paulmezcal]

20 questions for fic writers

ty. for the tag, @hangmanbradshaw! between you and mo, i feel v welcomed to tumblr haha

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 7

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 75,042 (writing this after seeing yours was humbling)

3. What fandoms do you write for? top gun with a sprinkle of marauders-era in my drafts but shhh

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

there's a limit to your love -- sereshaw amnesia fic

caught a fever from the inside -- bradley fixing all of jake's self doubt and thought spiraling issues with his wang

sugar on my tongue -- pierced nip fic no. 1

when bradley falls in love (goose&carole's version) -- iwtby companion piece for someone's birthday

you've got the win in your bag -- pierced nip fic no. 2

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? yes! from the point that i started doing it (i don't have the attention span to go back, sorry) but moving forward i do! i eat every comment i get as crunch croutons on my soup

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? LOL can i answer with some ideas on my "to write" list here because...

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? fever's got a pretty happy ending for how spiral-y it starts off with

8. Do you get hate on fics? nah

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? stares at the 20k series i wrote about jake seresin with nipple ring(s)

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? technically i wrote an in-fandom crossover in the iwtby-verse! but nothing so far

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? doubt it!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? nope!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? i did a round robin fic that was pretty fun, but otherwise no(t yet). i vibe with group writing though, wouldn't be opposed to doing it more!

14. What’s your all time favorite ship? jake/bradley right now! took a fandom break for a long while, but was definitely a deancas girl for a while, also i have read a large chunk of "the man from uncle" illya kuryakin/napoleon solo fic, i'm not sorry.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? ahhh there's a few i am afraid i have preemptively lost steam before even starting but i am not giving up (yet)! there's a reverse-hanahaki-disease jake/bradley that got riffed on discord that i really want to write.

16. What are your writing strengths? idk maybe thought spiraling and angst?

17. What are your writing weaknesses? keeping things short/to the point hahaha

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? fine with it, but i do judge the google translate options from french when i read it (sorry)

19. First fandom you wrote for? probably supernatural or harry potter, i can't remember

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? fever is definitely my fav, both 'cause it's the first thing i wrote in a long time and kinda dragged me back into fandom, and because i love me some self-deprecating introspective character studies. limits might take this place when i finish it!

i tag @magdarko in response :) and @lewispullsman also for all your tumblr pro tips! (no pressure)

[celestialcrownsvn]

11/12/23

Weekly update time!

Backerkit Surveys

Another reminder--fill out your backerkit survey! There are still about 40 people who haven't.

Community Goals

We have other 600 wishlists on Steam!! This is over halfway to our community goal of 1,000. If we hit it, I'll add another CG to the prologue!

Another community goal is 700 followers on tumblr. We just need 200 more!

I want to add more discord rewards for people very soon, like custom emotes/stickers!

This week's progress

I have been working on Lune's bad end, as well as a new sprite for Sahi that will be used when he's on horseback for more immersion. It looks SO GOOD! I've posted the sketch in the sneak peek channel in the discord. If you pledged in the Kickstarter at a level to unlock that, GO CHECK IT OUT RIGHT NOW!

I'll be posting the finished version on my socials once it's complete.

New CGs

The CG artist has added the new skin tones to Sahi's sprite!

She has also finished TWO new CG sketches that are ABSOLUTELY AMAZING and are in the sneak peek channel as well. Unfortunately I couldn't show too much of them due to spoilers, but what is there you're not gonna wanna miss.

BGs

The BG artist has informed me they're working on the first new BG--the dungeon! This will be used for various scenes in all routes, so I'm excited to have it done.

Conclusion

I had some really bad news this week--my 9 to 5 is laying my whole team off due to budget cuts. It sucks, but for the time being, I still have my big freelance contract, so that will tide me over for a while. I'm going to take this opportunity to try and really dig into Celestial Crowns, and since the holidays are coming up, I've decided not to start job hunting again until early next year.

With any luck I'll be able to find another job that will allow me the same freedoms the previous one had (i.e., remote work) so that I can still give Celestial Crowns my all when I start a regular work schedule again.