#i love how varied each run in this game can be

[foxstens]

seriously have the seeds gotten better or am i just insanely lucky

[slitherpunk]

games i liked in 2023 (And Other)

I like games ! You know that ?! and I played a lot 2023! and I liked a lot :). They aren't in any specific order, it's just a little highlight of games that stood out to me this year. I've attempted to write a few thoughts on each so I hope take a look. I wrote playtimes for some also but that is very subjective.

-Ones that actually came out 2023-

Lunacid https://store.steampowered.com/app/1745510/Lunacid/ I think I mentioned enjoying this in 2022 but it officially released so I can say it was one of my favorite games in 2023 :3! I like to feel around this game's walls for secrets. I like the npcs that are full of hope and whimsy despite the bleakness of its world. Chill and occasionally spooky first person dungeon crawling around moody caverns and ruins varying from underground forests to vampire castles and blood lake. (Blood lake!!!! Lake of blood!!! Big creature there.) Lots of fun weapons and spells to find, I like the one that lets you turn blood into coffins.

~20 hours

Orbo's Odyssey https://feverdreamjohnny.itch.io/orbos-odyssey If you played the massively popular demo for "Peeb Adventures" by feverdreamjohnny then you know that Johnny makes some fun and funny games and this is certainly one of them. speedy and satisfying platforming! funny dracula moments! short and sweet.

~2 hours

A Walk in the Woods https://mooncaller.itch.io/a-walk-in-the-woods Quaint little GBStudio game :) Made by some friends of mine for a jam :) It's cute I like it. There's minigames where you catch bugs and birdwatch.

~30 minutes long

Undertale Yellow https://gamejolt.com/games/UndertaleYellow/136925 I've only completed the pacifist run and checked out a neutral run so far. as the title somewhat implies, this is a prequel to Undertale where you play as the fallen human who had the yellow colored soul. This Undertale fangame has a lot of charm!!! A lot of battles really feel like they could have been in the original, with quite a bit of extra flair in some circumstances.

~10 hours

vs really cool bird https://bobacupcake.itch.io/vs-really-cool-bird you know that really cool bird that rob bobacupcake made well you can fight it in undertale and it's really fun. yeah two undertale fangames. . . wat of it …

~30 minutes

Misericorde: Volume One https://xeecee.itch.io/misericorde I wont lie the main draw for me into this was cute anime nuns I sure didn't know a whole lot else about it when I dug into it. But it's (the first part of) a VN murder mystery! And I enjoyed it a whole lot. All the characters are memorable and I really enjoy how all of them have differentiating designs. The protagonist is so failgirl. She sucks so much and I love her. I'm very intrigued by the mechanics of the game's world, it clues you in near the beginning to expect something a bit supernatural/fantastical, which gives you (and later the protagonist) a curiosity about what's real and what isn't. The music is all very impressive too, with the ost reaching past 100 tracks varying through post-rock, folk, drum & bass, and others. (Remembering when the track "Scandal" played and my friends and I took a moment to be like- okay hang on this track pwns.) Big fan of its haunting locals and how the aesthetic of the game fits them well. Also the humor is a lot of fun, and I love all the moments getting to know the different characters. Very excited to see the eventual continuation of this.

~12 hours

Absolutely Perfect Specimen https://chambersoft.itch.io/absolutely-perfect-specimen It seems like a lot of people are craving toxic horror yuri lately. Here's a recommendation. It's a VN about the android maid "Pan" and the mad scientist girl who created her. Horrifying & gut wrenching & largely about having other people define you. The art and music is haunting & poignant and matches the ever increasing feeling of dread throughout. It's yuri with the chunks. Peak robotgirl horror for those who can stomach it.

~90 minutes

Wordhopper https://kokoscript.itch.io/wordhopper Very quaint word search type puzzle game for ms dos! I think its style is very slick and that's pretty impressive to see. Chill game with nice vibes and eyecandy visuals. also it was so cool to have played this and then ended up seeing the dev's booth at Vintage Computer Festival Midwest. I was like omg woah I just played this.

~bunny

Bossgame https://lilyv.itch.io/bossgame This game is yuriful as f*ck. Delightful humor and fun character dynamics! A simple-to-understand-difficult-to-master boss rush battle system that makes you satisfied to get it right, and enticing to get just a little farther if you get it wrong. There's a lot of detail and charm to this game's menus and dialogues and win screens, I remember noticing that once you beat a boss there would be some marquee text that would pass by with some prose on it. I love how it balances its silly moments with its heartfelt moments and its high octane moments. I like the character development and revelations had throughout the plot. & I like how good the protagonists are for each other :) It's very sweet. It's hype as hell. if you want some boss rush action paired well with that sweet sweet girl's love, you *will* play this game.

~5 hours

Elly's Adventure https://bikwins.itch.io/ellys-adventure Very cute and witchy!! You are the little witch girl "Elly" on an adventure to get your toys back!! Feels like a pretty authentic gameboy type experience, it takes a lot of design cues from Kirby's adventure and the like. I am a big fan of how playful it feels.

~1 hour

Nour https://store.steampowered.com/app/1141050/Nour_Play_with_Your_Food/ This was a treat for me, but I understand that not everybody is going to get it. It's a game where you play with food(and food accessories). And that's it. It knows what it was going for. I think a lot of people were expecting something else for some reason. It's a cute little toy game and I felt satisfied with my time with it.

~food

Hi-Fi Rush https://store.steampowered.com/app/1817230/HiFi_RUSH/ Do I have to say this game is super fun? It's a big one everybody probably already knows it. This game's dopey humor made me laugh a lot and I'm not afraid to admit it.

~12 hours

WHISKEY.ST2007S https://bonicle.itch.io/whiskey-st2007nes One of the last games I played in the year because it released super last minute. Does anybody else get a rush when running a shopping cart down the parking lot? This emulates that feeling. Short game where you collect whisky stones in the whisky stone dimension because you forgot to go christmas shopping until the very last minute. it rules. It's very short you can go play it right now & get a highscore.

~5 minutes

re:curse https://devpalmer.itch.io/re-curse Discovered this one near the very end of the year also. Fun little rpg maker horror/humor game about a weird scientist lady, her butch, and an evil clown computer virus that figured out how to warp reality. I got a kick out of it. and also enjoyed digging through the game's files, which was actively encouraged by the dev, which I thought was very fun.

~90 minutes

-Didn't technically get to until 2024 but released last year-

SWOLLEN TO BURSTING UNTIL I AM DISAPPEARING ON PURPOSE https://1207.itch.io/swollen-to-bursting-until-i-am-disappearing-on-purpose People love to dunk on a lot of indie rpgs for being "quirky Earthbound inspired and about depression" or whatever. Earthbound's great. If people can nail the kind of humor and absurdity it likes to pull off while also balancing difficult topics I think that deserves a high mark. SWOLLEN TO BURSTING was fun. Bizarre and charming places to explore & distressing secrets to find. I like how it blends meander-around-the-town gameplay with Yume Nikki sort of exploration and effects. Also I'm a big fan of the music. I like how it has the lofi sound which matches the early 3d look of the game.

~6 hours

HalOPE https://starbage.itch.io/halope Another for the fans of sweet little rpg maker games that have a lot of heart. HalOPE is about an incomplete little angel wondering through worlds. Each has a theme, usually to do with an emotion or feeling, and they do well at evoking that feeling as well as its antithesis. a lot of the music is very homey and charming at moments and unnerving at others, sometimes lonely, all doing well in their corresponding chapters to further the feeling of its specified theme. There are so many delightful characters and designs in this & I found myself feeling really attached to their tiny little stories. The narrative at the core of it all hit me. If I may be vulnerable, I cried a whole lot at various moments in this game. It was really cathartic. I feel very excited for people to experience this game.

~5 hours

-Favs I finally got around to that didn't come out 2023-

An Outcry https://quinnk.itch.io/an-outcry Kind of sad it took me so long to get to this one, but glad it meant I got to play the "definitive" updated version of it. Apartment wandering RPG maker horror. Bum smokes from your neighbors and use them to save the game. I wish I could unwrap a lot more of what I like about this game than I can without spoiling too much. But if I could, I'd probably go on for too long. Let me attempt to be succinct & not giving too much away. You can tell pretty early on that An Outcry is about taking action when necessary & not turning a blind eye. What it explores about player vs protagonist agency is very fascinating to me as well, and I enjoyed learning about the inspirations for why the game's narrative works the way it does. The character Anne is such a sweetie and I love her a whole lot. This game has a very tangible feeling, this apartment complex is dirty and crumby, it smells of smoke, and there's a surrounding desperation you can feel.

~5 hours

Pigments https://punkcake.itch.io/pigments Honestly I had gotten this game in a bundle and while I was playing it I hadn't looked at the name and I just kept calling it FRUIT. On call with my friends I'd be like "hey im gonna play more FRUIT". I straight up didn't read the title screen. But it's called Pigments. You play as a fruit and you try to paint the whole floor and not get sliced by buzzsaws. Fun little arcade type game.

~fruit

Bridge, October 3rd https://lowpolis.itch.io/bridge-october-3rd Very short vignette. I like it. It's what it says it is. I'm not going to overexplain.

~like a minute

-Other Games I Want To Mention-

Pseudoregalia https://store.steampowered.com/app/2365810/Pseudoregalia/ I think a lot of people might have already known this one but I felt like it was a pretty fun 3d platformer. There were a few issues I had with it (boss fight at the beginning was frustrating, and I got lost a lot [but it looks like there's been a map patch by now, so, perhaps for some that is a fix]). I enjoyed it but sure felt weird that the only accessibility option was to give the protagonist pants. What kind of joke is that?

~5 hours

Mushroom Musume https://mortallymoonstruckgames.itch.io/mushroom-musume (Disclaimer, this game is still early access, but I saw a lot of people talking about it last year. SO I will mention here?) Haven't played much of this yet, but I have enjoyed what I played so far!! As of writing I've gone through 6 playthroughs, I feel like I've hardly scratched the surface and I've been so impressed by its depth. It's very charming, you never know what sorts of fairytale shenanigans are going to happen, and it's very cool to see how your different stats will affect things. It very much plays out like a roguelike vn. Which is not the sort of thing you may expect to make much sense but it pulls this off well. Also all the mushroom girls are very cute and I love them very much. I hope the sad goopy one who had bugs in her skin rests in peace.

~mushroom

Knuckle Sandwich https://andybrophy.itch.io/knuckle-sandwich -_- Hm. Where do I start with this one. I was pretty excited for this one since the demo and kickstarter in 2018. I felt like the demo was a hell of a hook that got me curious & horrified. As time went on, it seemed to be shaping up into something really cool. turn based combat with action commands and wario-ware-type microgames?? with a banging soundtrack?? like, count me in!! Then it released and well, the gameplay, art, music all delivered. It was very fun and engaging in those aspects. But the story… oh it just devolves into disappointing nonsensical randomness. The whole hook at the beginning seemed to be completely thrown away for the wild goose chase plot that ensues, leaving you to wonder if it was ever going to be relevant again. It felt like it had no idea what it was trying to say or do. It disappointed me that a game that has so much good in so much else about it gets brought down so much for me by this plot.

~12 hours

Rhythm Doctor https://store.steampowered.com/app/774181/Rhythm_Doctor/ (Putting this one in mentions because it is early access.) I really enjoyed the act 5 release. When I first saw this game, I kind of shrugged it off, thinking "that base mechanic doesn't seem like it will last". I thought it was basically just that one ghost shooting game from Rhythm Heaven which I Hate. Well let's just say I am now seeking penitence for my previous transgressions. It's really fun. There's a lot more to it that I didn't know when I first took a look. Also, consistently amazed by people's custom levels, I had no idea that its level editor allows people to do so much in it, I look at some levels and think "This editor seems as complex as an industry standard video editor". I'm looking forward to what they're planning next, very curious how they could possibly one-up the last update.

~rhythm

El Paso Elsewhere https://strangescaffold.itch.io/el-paso-elsewhere This was really fun & funny so far but unfortunately I had been encountering an issue with a certain level where the game would crash. I reported the issue, got a response, and there has been an update since then so I think there's a possibility that it got fixed but I have not tried yet. I would like to return to this sometime but having to relearn controls midway through is always daunting to me.

~?

-Things that looked good but didn't get around to-

Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood https://store.steampowered.com/app/1340480/The_Cosmic_Wheel_Sisterhood/ Still don't know a whole lot about this. But there are witches, and I like witches.

Casette Beasts https://store.steampowered.com/app/1321440/Cassette_Beasts/ I haven't felt thrilled about Pokémon lately. I know a lot of people seemed to really enjoy this little monster-collecting-rpg. The style is appealing to me as a die-hard gen 5 fan. I started playing it but haven't set aside the dedicated time for it yet, but I'm excited to dig in more when I do.

Little Goody Two Shoes https://store.steampowered.com/app/1812370/Little_Goody_Two_Shoes/ Started watching a friend play this, and I'm certainly curious.. Some sort of horror fairytale but also there's yuri? Yum. Enjoyed the style and animation in the nightmare segments that I saw.

Venba https://store.steampowered.com/app/1491670/Venba/ I've picked this up a while ago but still haven't gotten around to it, but I'm eager to, I've heard nothing but good things.

Goodbye Volcano High https://store.steampowered.com/app/1310330/Goodbye_Volcano_High/ I think there are gay dinosaurs in a band and it's going to be the apocalypse? I have also heard nothing but good things about this.

-Things I watched friends play-

Signalis https://store.steampowered.com/app/1262350/SIGNALIS/ This was a pretty big one. You probably already know it, right? Watched a friend play this and I missed various parts but I understood a solid bit of it. hey. robotgirls are always getting put in these fucked up situations. have you noticed this? one time i got really high and cried about it. it isn't fair

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk https://store.steampowered.com/app/1353230/Bomb_Rush_Cyberfunk/ This one was also probably big enough you don't need me to sing its praises. but it looked really neat. swag.

-Various Thoughts-

Lately I've been thinking more about design and narrative. I feel like I haven't been doing as much analysis as I should be when it comes to games. I want to dissect more what games are saying and figure out meaning. Also attempt to see how the mechanics aid in that. I feel like most of my own work is pretty abstract & random. I simply make what I like. While that's fun and all, I still want to improve in a lot of ways, especially in having more of a theme or message. Figuring out how other games accomplish this is obviously a good step toward this.

If you saw games here that interest you I highly urge you to take a look, many are pretty short, and I pretty explicitly wanted to highlight some smaller titles. If you know me you know I like to uplift small games. (Save for the occasional big game, but that's rare these days) I think it's healthy for you to play and support independently developed & published works. I don't want to ramble too much this time about why that's important, but I hope that you might have found something you may enjoy here and if not then I encourage you to find small stuff that you would like. And I would like to encourage everybody to share their findings as well! Little games need our help to be seen and talked about! They don't have the budgets the big ones do for advertising, and advertising on your own is a whole ton of work. If you like something, spread the word! I'm sure the developers would very much appreciate that.

[paintbrushnebula]

Ghostflower Headcanons

As romantic gestures, Miles loves setting up these elaborate (if a little overkill) activities for Gwen to do, whether it's a special occasion or just. whenever feels like it. They're always these elaborate treasure hunts that he'll set up for her to complete. Like for Valentine's Day--Gwen never stirs in her sleep, so he'll surround her sleeping form with lilacs and peonies all around on the bed so she can wake up basking in their scent. Then this gesture will be somehow tooled as the first clue in this elaborate scavenger hunt across several dimensions, each stop being a cute little romantic gesture like a lovely written note or souvenirs from their times together. He'll have like, puzzles that require playing music or reading scores to move forward in the hunt. And Gwen LOVES them. She likes adventures and the ones Miles orchestrates for her always involve her having to use her many talents. She kinda sees Miles' games as a sweet, fun way of staying sharp. ^_^

Miles will mindlessly rub his face against Gwen's cheek whenever when he greets her or bids her farewell after a long day. A lot of people find it a little strange lol, but know better than to judge Miles in front of Gwen. 

Ghostflower's petnames....so Miles sucks at pet names. He can't think of any good ones besides whatever he's heard his Mami say to Jeff (so just the usual "mi amor.") Mamita works for her too. But aside from that, all the typical English pet names (so like "honey," "sweetie," etc) just feel weird coming off his tongue, he thinks they're cringe and he hates saying them XD. Besides there's just something about how much he loves saying Gwen's name. He loves her name. It's like music to him. And every new time he says it makes his heart flutter more than the last. Gwen's pet names for Miles on the other hand are very... eherm...varied. Like she does use all the typical English pet names, but she'll also randomly spout some very creative names that have to do with situations they're in or objects she just saw or smth, I hope I'm explaining this right 😭 So for example, "my weighted blanket" (if they were just sleeping), or "cupcake brain," "coffee bean," "my bespeckled cheekster" or some other stupid thing she randomly comes up with on the spot XD. 

Gwen is big spoon but Miles will jump off a bridge if Hobie finds out

Lol in fact, a lot of how Gwen treats Miles (fluffy pet names, cuddling him) is stuff Miles never wants Hobie to see XD. So picture Miles melting into Gwen on the couch while she runs fingers through his hair, then Hobie walks in and Miles flings himself right out of Gwen's arms, sitting up straight and clearing his throat, "aherm, wh-whassup' man." And like, Hobie probably wouldn't even give a dang XD. But Miles feels the need to keep up this... intimidating "not some feeble gumdrop" reputation around certain spiders like Hobie, Miguel, and now Peter B, etc.

Gwen hates the heat, she always has to have the AC on or at least a fan in front of her. Sometimes both. But Miles is very sensitive to the cold. So this becomes a dilemma when they're in the same room. Then it breaks out into a back and forth "no it's okay, I can turn it off/No it's okay! I can just put on a jacket!" Eventually they'll reach a compromise: Gwen can have the AC, but she has to cuddle Miles close so he can keep warm. 

Miles likes to paint or draw on Gwen a LOT. Like it basically becomes the norm Gwen's their friends and family to see her walking around with what appears to be temporary "tattoos." Sometimes there'll be "Miles x Gwen" in graffiti-styled lettering on her shoulder, or little spider-man chibis with little speech bubbles, or a jumble of illustrations of places they've been to, lyrics from songs he likes, and just colorful geometry painted all around her arm like a tattoo sleeve, or sunflowers on her cheeks, or just random lines and shapes here and there on her knuckles, arms or jawline. Miles will paint on her whenever he has the chance, whether she's in conversation with a completely different person, or she's doing work, writing, eating-anything. She always lets him, she loves it. And when they're alone and he's drawing on her, they'll sit in a comfortable silence the whole time, it's very...entrancing for Gwen when they're alone in a quiet room and he's hardly making any noise while she feels markers and paintbrushes dancing across her skin. 

[zenkindoflove]

You guys do not want to go down the road of starting to make blanket declarations that specific ships are "problematic" and "triggering". And let me explain why.

ACOTAR fandom, in my experience, is notoriously very far removed from general fandom. It's big and dispersed across many platforms that weren't created around fandoms, and so a lot of people enter it having little to no experience in other fandoms.

This discourse about what is or isn't a problematic ship and what kind of person ships a couple like that is not new. Fandoms of yesterday yore have had long fights about this and a general consensus has emerged which is anytime you start playing the morality policing game around people having fun with fictional characters, everyone loses.

Let's take this situation with Elain Archeron Week which is explicitly banning submissions for Elain with characters who are canonically known to be abusive to a romantic partner. Generally, the spirit of character weeks are to be ship neutral and importantly a concept that has emerged from prior fandom morality policing debate is the term Ship and Let Ship. Which means just because something isn't YOUR ship doesn't mean you need to come up for reasons why it isn't CORRECT to ship.

So, you think it's morally incorrect and triggering for people to see Elain paired with an abuser or a "bad guy"? That is okay for your own personal beliefs but if you start making rules around it for something that is supposed to be inclusive where do you draw the line or what that means? How about pairing Elain with the guy who runs Night Court Abu Ghraib? A role that means he actually tortures people physically and mentally to the brink that they are forced to "confess" to crimes. Is that some how morally superior to another character who emotionally abused their partner and confined them to a house?

See. That didn't feel good. Now did it? Do you actually want to get into a discussion about which wrong is morally worse than the other? Especially when it concerns a character week that is supposed to be about positivity and people having fun because they love Elain and they love the different interactions she could potentially have with characters in fanon?

And that is the entire point. When it comes to fiction, we all will be seduced by characters who have done bad things. Things that will trigger people. But, and I mean this whole heartedly, no one else is responsible for your triggers but you. You are the only one who knows what you can and cannot handle. Your Mileage May Vary. Tumblr's tag filtering system is in part for this very reason because of how fandoms use tumblr.

When you have a fandom wide event space, generally it's a bad idea to start throwing up these judgmental rules around people's character interests and shipping habits. Of course, any event runner is entitled to do what they please. But you also have to expect those who are excluded or know people who will be excluded are going to have something to say about it.

I really think the entire ACOTAR fandom could benefit from getting curious for once and actually digging into the histories of fandom, fandom lore and vocabulary, and start learning from from fandom elders. If so, we'd all be able to navigate these situations with a shared language that recognizes that the primary goal of fandom is to have fun first. And everyone's fun is going to look different and each individual is responsible for deciding what their squicks and triggers are. And the whole point of a squick is to let someone know this thing bothers me personally but I understand if it doesn't bother you. That sort of back and forth empathy across each side is how fandoms don't burn down in flames and people don't feel shame about what they like in fiction.

Now any fandom event can make whatever rules they want. But what I already see is a bunch of people (e/riels) are now actually making posts about why others who ship Elain with Tamlin are morally inferior, disgusting, perverse, and bad people. But hear me out, someone can easily think and say the same thing about you and your ship and if that is the kind of environment you'd like to fuck around in, well, aren't we all the worse off for it.

[indie-ttrpg-of-the-week]

Thirsty Sword Lesbians

Anyone here ever play Get in the Car Loser? anyways

Touchstones: Queer fanfic and media, Premade settings have many different touchstones

Genre: Swashbuckling action, can vary from group to group

What is this game?:  Thirsty Sword Lesbians is a game about being swashbuckling queers of all colors and sizes, it's got a very generic setting, as long as your setting has combat, queer romance, and evil to be defeated, TSL can run your setting

How's the gameplay?: TSL is a powered by the apocalypse game, primarily based on the classic Monsterhearts, with its Strings mechanics being outright named after the mechanic of the same name from it. It's a classic PBTA (which you can read more about here) system with the core difference being the game's mechanics, which encourage the players to do things that are not the healthiest, or to fall fall in love with the other PCs or NPCs. For example when a character falls in love, they may ask a question about that person according to your playbook, this is your trait of heart, and when trying to figure someone out mid-fight you may ask one extra question from your playbook, this is your trait of blade! and this mechanic exemplifies what everything the gameplay in TSL wishes to lead to: Heart (falling in love) and Blade (Combat)

What's the setting (If any) like?: TSL at first seems like it doesn't have a setting, and it kinda doesn't, while there are many, many, many very fun premade settings within the book, the average TSL setting only has to have 3 things: Combat, Romance, and 2 Toxic Powers, toxic powers being two entities within the universe (be it a faction, religion, power, etc) that may not Necessarily oppose the players, but are definitely a bad thing.

What's the tone?:  Tone is generally decided by the players, but there will always be two universal things: Queer Rebellion via community and people trying to put down this rebellion.

Session length: Very very variable, but usually speaking you can do a lot in the plotline in 3 hours, though at minimum I think it'd be an hour long each session

Number of Players: TSL can be run with very few players, 3-6 is preferred but there's rules for solo or even two player play

Malleability: TSL is designed to be malleable, not really having a  defined setting, its themes are designed around lesbian romance, but the game itself has MLM rep and explicitly states that trans stories can also be run within this.

Resources: TSL has free playbooks, organization sheets, a google sheet that's pretty good, and a pretty decent amount of homebrew, most of it is fanmade but its there

TSL's my favorite tabletop game. While not doing too much new, it polishes what was already established in prior games to a very very high quality extreme, it's a great time, even if you're not a lesbian.

remember to kiss girls, inject estradiol, and have homoerotic swordfights with people whose worldview and/or neuroses are injected within the fight itself!

[prof-peach]

what is the weirdest enrichment you do thats normal for the pokemon? i have a dreepy who likes to launch herself out of a modified tennis launcher. worst thing that happened is that she phased through a few house

Mud rolling for phanphy that never got that opportunity. As in, theyre nervous around their own species because of isolation, and so YOU THE PROFESSOR have to get in the mud and teach them how to phanphy. Messy but fun, no one else likes to do it weirdly, I always rather enjoyed it.

furret tube enrichment. Grey sets up a bunch of pipes all connected in weird and wild ways like a janky jungle gym, we put small treats in there, and tie "prey" ie, toys, to strings and pull them at speed through the maze to get the furrets to chase and learn that behaviour if they never got to prior.

Murkrow are VERY smart, and we have a lot of them, so theres regular scavenger hunts (with a few rules to save guests grief) that we hold for them specifically. everyone gets participation rewards, but also its a great chance for them to sharpen their problem solving skills individually and as a group.

Tug of war with guests. we got this set up that lets the bigger mons hold one end, and visitors or other pokemon are encouraged to engage with the game and try to out pull the island residents. sometimes the little pokemon all join in, but we originally set it up for the bigger ones.

Theres a couple of Tauros and girafarig that like to roll own hills with the wooloo and odd mareep, we've set up sturdier wire nets for this now the heavy mons like to partake too, to catch them all safely so they can run back up and do it again. You can imagine the chaos we had when they started doing this and didnt have that net in place, mons rolling too far towards sea cliffs.

Slugma races. This needs no explination. The staff love this one.

Movie nights, sport teams, dance sessions, story time, arts and crafts, and even band practice are clubs we hold, be it a professor or another group of staff, and many mons can come and go as they see fit, theyre all optional but we try to encourage each resident to find the thing that makes them tick, and so trying out a bunch of things is there for all. Some may not like team sport with the staff so I also offer just gym time, a personal best system in place more than a group effort and score.

It really varies from one to the next. some big mons like dainty hobbies, some of the little ones are brawlers, and everything in between. We just have to cater to it!

A nice example is a Hitmonchan that came in a while back missing a leg, they fight with me and others in the gym of course, but they also partake in a tea and stories night, a couple dozen pokemon, a few staff all cosying up in one of the event barns with readings from books, and plenty of snacks. its a firm favorite as autumn creeps in, numbers spike.

Pokemon can be complex, so offering lots is alwasy the best choice when you can, never know what they'll like until they try it!

[fujoshirat]

+Strawberry Magic! ♡ 30 Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!♡+

Chapter 7: Shouto Versus the Universe

Summary: When virgin Pro Hero Shouto turns 30, he gains the magical ability to read the minds of people that he touches. After finding out that his personal assistant has a crush on him, everything changes and Shouto finds himself lost in the stressful game called love.

Pairing: Todoroki Shouto x Reader

Warnings: Aged up characters, varying POVs, the universe has it out for Shouto (LMFAO)

"Good morning."

"Good morning, Todoroki-san!"

After greeting his interns, Shouto enters the elevator and heads up to his office. The advice that his mother gave him yesterday was still fresh in his head. Stepping inside and closing the door, he sees his coffee order on his desk. A smile creeps onto his face as he sits down and looks through the paperwork left by his assistant.

'Today will be the day that I tell L/N-san how I feel.'

.

.

.

Today was, in fact, not the day that he would tell his employee how he felt. He had rehearsed it in his head:

'L/N-san, may I speak privately with you? It won't take long.'

Shouto saw her at her desk and tapped on her shoulder.

"L/N-san, may I speak privately with you? It won't take long." She looks up at him with a small smile and nods. "Of course, Todoro-"

RINGGGGGG!

Before she could finish her sentence, the phone on her desk rang loudly. Y/N flinched and answered the call.

"Good morning! This is Shouto's Hero Agency. How may we help you?" Her eyes flicker back to the dual-toned man as she gives him an apologetic look. Shouto sees this and retreats to his office.

'Maybe later?'

♡ ♡ 

The day after was not the day either. Shouto had it all planned out:

Find Y/N and ask her to follow him to the break room after everyone finished eating lunch

Tell her how he really feels

NOPE! Just as he entered the break room, he heard Key (one of his employees, if you recall) call his name.

"Todoroki-san! We've received a report of a villain running loose near the aquarium and are being asked to assist in evacuation."

"Understood, let's head out now."

Another opportunity missed! As he heads out of the office with his team, he groans inwardly to himself. Maybe tomorrow?

...

"L/N-san!"

"L/N-san!"

"L/N-san!"

It was no use! Every time he tried to get her alone, something came up. It has been four days since Shouto has tried to confess. Each and every time, either something comes up on his end or her end.

Every.

Single.

Time.

He titles his head back and covers his face with his hands. Shouto tiredly looks at the time on his phone:

6:44pm

It was getting late and he had already finished the reports needed by tomorrow, so Shouto decided to clock out.

The universe believes in justice. And maybe, Just maybe, It believes in Todoroki Shouto too.

...

Huh?

As Mitsuru (one of the interns) grabs his coat from the coat rack, he notices a familiar, cream-colored coat. He unhangs it and walks to his classmate.

"Tsubasa-san, is L/N-san still here?"

"I think she left 10 minutes ago, why?"

"I found her coat on the coat rack! She must have left it, what do we do?"

Tsubasa thinks for a moment. Today was the last day of internships for both of them, so it wouldn't make sense for either of them to take it home. They could always just leave it hanging, but then L/N-san would have to wash it the next week. Maybe leave it with one of the pro heroes still left? But it was already 6:50, so who- DING!

In the nick of time, his boss exits the elevator and walks to the main entrance. Tsubasa looks at Mitsuru and snaps his fingers.

"I know what we should do."

...

"Todoroki-san!"

"Hm?" The pro hero looks up and sees his interns approach him.

"Ah, Tsubasa-san, Mitsuru-san, is everything alright?"

Tsubasa gestures to the womens jacket in Mitsuru's hands. "Sensei, L/N-san left her coat here. Can we leave it with you?" Before Shouto can respond, Kirishima enters the main area.

"Hey everyone! Oh? L/N-san's jacket? I thought she just clocked out."

Mitsuru nods. "She left it here. Tsubasa-san and I can't keep it with us since it's our last day of internships."

Shouto clears his throat.

"I can take it to her. It's been less than 20 minutes, right? I should be able to catch her." He takes the coat from his intern and rushes out of the office.

This was his chance, and he wasn't going to waste it.

Meanwhile, Kirishima takes out his phone and looks for Y/N's contact. "L/N-san? Ah, hey! You left your coat in the agency, so Todoroki-kun's gonna go to you! Mhm! You take the subway, right? He's heading there now so please meet him halfway!"

A/N: IM BACK FROM THE DEAD (again </3) I am so so so sorry yall, my week got FLOODED with work ToT This chapter was so fun to write and I hope you liked it!! Thank you so much to all of the readers interested in this series. Originally starting as a little headcanon, I never expected that I'd grow the balls (I'm a girl) to actually make it a story. We're almost done with the series now, and I CANNOT wait to finish chapter 8!! Thank you all for your patience and understanding. I cannot express how thankful I am for the support :DD

~entire fic and notes written by me: fujoshirat!

Taglist (thx baes <3): @boogiemansbitch, @bleedingwhiteroses222, @atashiboba

[riddlerosehearts]

thinking about floyd and riddle spending their first halloween as a couple together... i think floyd absolutely loves how varied and lively all of the different halloween traditions he's learned about since coming to live on land are, and he wants to try out as many of them as he can each year. so when riddle tells him that his mother always made him stay in his room studying on halloween, and that the only halloween activities he's ever done were those that NRC students were required to participate in, floyd decides that the two of them are just going to have to spend the day doing everything they possibly can. riddle tries to say he's far too busy for such things, but floyd will not let it go and honestly riddle is only half-heartedly protesting anyway because he secretly did always dream of doing the things that other kids got to do on halloween, and maybe it wouldn't be such a big deal to take one day off and spend time with his boyfriend.

so, riddle never got to make jack-o-lanterns? floyd decides to "borrow" about half a dozen of the pumpkins jade and azul had bought for mostro lounge and takes them to riddle's dorm room. riddle is terrible at trying to carve them at first and floyd can't help but laugh at him a little, but since he knows it's not riddle's fault he's never gotten to do this before, he says he'll show him how to do it. unfortunately floyd isn't nearly as good as he thinks he is on account of having lived in the ocean for almost his whole life and now riddle gets to laugh right back at him. they probably both get the hang of it right as they're down to their last two pumpkins.

riddle never got to go trick-or-treating with his childhood friends? floyd texts trey and convinces him to get in touch with chenya as well so that they can all go together. when they approach the first house, in the costumes they had prepared for each of their school's halloween events, riddle starts to get nervous and asks if they aren't all a little too old to be doing this. floyd shoves several huge handfuls of candy from that person's bowl into his and riddle's pumpkin-shaped buckets and tells him it's not like there's any rule that says they can't, and besides, riddle is such a cute little goldfish that he practically looks like a kid in his costume anyway! chenya stifles a laugh while trey has to stop riddle from committing murder that night.

riddle's never gone to a haunted house before? floyd and chenya both think it would be hilarious to make him go to one, so they do. riddle absolutely hates it, but it honestly does make him happy to see everyone else enjoying it--even if floyd and chenya both keep trying to egg him and trey on and get them to go down creepy corridors and check around corners by themselves, and even if floyd keeps running off to different parts of the haunted house and then coming back and hugging or even lifting riddle from behind knowing full well that he'll get freaked out by it.

riddle never got to play the apple bobbing game that's traditional in the queendom of roses? turns out there's a place right by the haunted house where they can go to do it! predictably, floyd is great at it while riddle ends up drenched without getting any apples, but just giving it a try is more fun than riddle expected.

riddle's never gotten to make candy apples before? luckily, trey knows an amazing recipe as well as what combinations of toppings work the best, and he's willing to teach them both! riddle gets very confused at imprecise directions such as being told to use "a few" drops of food coloring on the syrup or to drizzle "a little" white chocolate over it, and keeps asking trey exactly how much he should use. floyd thinks this is adorable. he also thinks it's adorable when riddle tries to scold him for ignoring half of trey's directions and just doing whatever he thinks sounds good.

riddle's never done a horror movie marathon before, or even seen any halloween movies in general? floyd insists that they marathon at least 3 movies together. after the experiences he had at the haunted house, riddle doesn't think he'll enjoy horror movies, but he tries to keep his cool throughout the first one anyway... which does not work out, because he really can't handle jumpscares or excessive gore. during the first movie they watch, floyd (who loves slasher films so much that he laughs and cheers every time the monster gets a kill) is happy to let his goldfishie cuddle up to him and grip onto his arm to keep himself from knocking the popcorn bowl onto the floor, but you know that once it's over riddle is getting teased relentlessly about how scared he was. floyd decides to be nice and put on something tamer for their next two movies, and riddle actually ends up really enjoying coraline and especially beetlejuice.

by the end of the night riddle realizes that they've stayed up way too late at night and a small part of him wants to scold floyd for keeping him up so late, insisting on having him do all of these silly activities and eat all of these terribly unhealthy snacks. another part of him wishes he could scold his mother for keeping him from doing any of these things as a kid, with his friends and the other kids in his hometown, the way you're supposed to do it... and another part of him still is just incredibly happy and grateful to floyd for finally giving him the chance.

[necrotic-nephilim]

For the ask game

Au where dick tells the titans about him and bruce when he's 18 but it's clear to everyone in the room that they've been together for a while at this point, how do think they'd react? if dick told them to keep it secret do you think they would?

for the ask game!

ooh this is SO fun. you know i love realistic reactions to complicated relationships, especially when it comes to BruDick.

i think Dick telling the Titans first serves twofold. first, he's telling people he considers family something he knows is important. and secondly, it's a sort of field test. seeing how they react will reflect on how the hero community at large will react. because now that Dick is 18, Bruce is getting more and more bold with public affection/possessiveness and people are going to notice. Dick tries to tell them casually. he drops it into conversation as if he's mentioning going on a date with a normal person his age, but inside he's panicking, waiting for a big reaction. and he doesn't really *get* one. there are shared looks, but really, they're going off of Dick's lead. if he doesn't make a big deal about it, neither will they, since they knew already. which throws Dick. the one thing Dick inherited from Bruce is his ability to keep a secret, so he's a little thrown off-kilter by the idea that they all already knew. it makes for an awkward conversation. Dick knows how this looks, even if he's in some level of denial about the whole thing actually being what it looks like, so he's ready to be on the defensive with a bunch of rehearsed arguments in his head and so to realize everyone knew already kills a lot of those arguments.

on a personal level, reactions would vary. for some like Donna or Garth or Kory, they're not entirely used to human culture and what the boundaries of accepted human relationships are. they can tell it seems unhealthy, Batman is controlling of Dick. but maybe he's just protective, so they're not sure. and i think all of the Titans notice at different times. they don't talk to each other about it because for a while, they don't know if they others know and are defaulting to keeping Dick's secret. Dick telling them would be the first time anyone's ever said it out loud, even if a few of them have shared knowing looks. on the side of the more human reactions like Wally and Roy, i think it'd be incredibly negative. Roy's life runs pretty similar to Dick's, and he couldn't *imagine* Oliver behaving that way toward him. Oliver has always been vocal to Roy about the boundaries of their relationship and how even if he's Speedy, Roy is still a kid and Oliver wants him to understand that in how he navigates social situations. Roy's always been huffy about this, feeling like it infantilizes him, but now, seeing Bruce and Dick, it clicks for Roy, what Oliver meant. i think if anyone says something, it's most likely to be Roy or Wally. Wally trusts Barry with a *lot* and will go to him about almost anything if he needs to clear his head. so it'd be hard for both of them to not say something.

when Dick finally admits to it, he does add that he doesn't want them to say anything, because the relationship is still new. he's lying out of his ass about that part and they all know it. but now that he's admitted to it, it's harder for them all not to tell people. the Titans always trust each other first, and none of them want to betray that trust, especially to Dick. i think for maybe a few days they'd keep the calm, tense atmosphere. no one says anything but everyone feels awkward about it. it'd probably be Wally who breaks first, blurting out a flurry of questions. Dick is prepared for this part. he has all his answers ready, but when he tries to start, they stop him and point out that they know it's been going on for a while. and Dick just. awkwardly deflates and is forced to be more open. he still dances around questions like how long it's *really* been going on, because the truth is, he has no clean answer. it just sort of happened gradually. they ask if Dick feels safe, if he's happy, etc. and Dick is defensive, almost too defensive with all his answers. the truth is he *is* happy with Bruce, but admitting it out loud means looking at some of the uglier sides of the relationship. he knows how possessive and overbearing Bruce can be and how that looks to an outsider. he tries to convince them it's just how Bruce is and all relationships will have their flaws, but obviously, this is different. and he knows his friends are worried about him, which is the worst part. it's all just coming from a place of love. the conversation is long, with a lot of confusion, but eventually they reach some kind of conclusion and hug it out.

the real aftermath of Dick admitting it is the Titans becoming hypervigilante of Bruce. all of them keep a close eye on him whenever they're around, do their best to sus out his feelings and intentions. i think some of the more bold members like Donna would even give Bruce something akin to a shovel talk, which Bruce would not take seriously one bit. and that's where they catch him up, because if Bruce doesn't take the Titans seriously, seeing them just as teen sidekicks, then he has to admit the same applies to Dick. so Bruce is forced to take them and their care for Dick a little more seriously. he has to have real conversations with them and accept that they're Dick's family as much as he is. because Bruce has always denied just how important the Titans are to Dick and tried to separate Dick from them. this is the first time he's acknowledging them as important members of Dick's life. it's uncomfortable for everyone involved. none of Bruce's answers satisfy the Titans, because he dances around the questions even more than Dick does. the Titans want to believe and trust Dick about this relationship, because they know at the end of the day there's nothing they can do to stop it, but it makes them uneasy and definitely untrustworthy of Bruce. even when Bruce notices this gaggle of teenagers keeping a close eye on him, there's not much he can do about it because he knows Dick will be upset if Bruce retaliates against his friends. it makes for an awkward stalemate.

i think in the end, the Titans end up telling their respective mentors. even knowing it'll betray Dick, they have to talk to real adults about this. of course most of the League members are livid. none of them would dream about viewing their own proteges in that way. long talks are had with Bruce and i do think someone like Diana or Oliver would try to remove Dick from Bruce's care altogether. but Dick *is* an adult and technically, they have no dirt proving anything illegal is going on. everyone just sort of has to accept it for what it is. and the betrayal of the Titans telling would drive a wedge between them and Dick. which of course, Bruce would spin to his advantage because he always has to find a way to win. he comforts Dick, and sows seeds in Dick's head about maybe distancing himself from the Titans, for a bit. just to let it all cool off so he can approach them with a level head. it ends up bringing Dick and Bruce closer. Dick would reconcile with the Titans eventually, but the wedge will always be there and they all know it. no one can get between Dick and Bruce so telling adults didn't even really do anything. the only real winner at the end of the day, is Bruce.

[tangent101]

What-If... Dontnod had written BtS?

I started writing this as I went off on a tangent in another post and realized... why not just keep it separate? So here we are!

I have to wonder... how would things have changed if Dontnod had decided "okay, we'll do Before the Storm and then another Max-and-Chloe adventure. No doubt it would have remained true to continuity.

The one real regret is we'd not have had Steph, and Steph is a character I very much loved from BtS even if I detest the rest of the game. And I kind of doubt we'd have had anything akin to True Colors (which really was just Square Enix letting D9 have a tiny bit of freedom before they forced more Max and Chloe games out of the little scab company).

If Dontnod had worked in an editorial or supervisory level with D9, with a veto power on stuff, then we would likely still have Steph and the like. I'm not sure how much D9 would have liked that though as they seriously wanted to throw Max under a bus in BtS (just as they threw Chloe under a bus in DE). But honestly, I think that any game that DN crafted on its own for how Chloe and Rachel met would be superior to the game we got.

That also ignores the likely executive meddling from Square Enix. While D9 is not without fault with their treatment of women and tolerance of fascists working within the company itself, I strongly suspect that SE is the rot at the core of recent bullshit.

Getting back to speculation of what BtS would have been if Dontnod had crafted the story... it depends. And by that, I mean it depends on the actual internal timeline that DN had created for Chloe's life in the Prime Timeline... and when Chloe first met Rachel. With that we can speculate better using the Timeline Photo Montage videos.

Chloe was 14 when William died. David was married to Joyce before Chloe's 16th birthday party. So the best opportunity for conflict with Chloe... is with the upcoming marriage of David and Joyce.

The photo montage prior to the wedding picture was Chloe running away from home. Chloe is wearing a tanktop in this picture, suggesting warm weather. So. What incentive is there for Chloe to run away from home? David proposing to Joyce. If David is already abusive toward Chloe, then she flees, maybe meets up with a blonde-haired girl camping with her parents as they're moving, and that is the first meeting of Rachel Amber and Chloe Price.

Here is where things get tricky. Because... DN created Rachel to be a bit of a mystery. Having Rachel in the flesh damages that mystery... unless the player is playing Rachel Amber as the main character. In this case... the player gets to choose her actions and decisions. Each person's Rachel can be different while still constrained in specific ways (sort of like how sonnets give structure you have to abide by, but freedom within that structure).

Dontnod could even create inclusion within the first Life is Strange by having the story of Rachel and Chloe meeting described within a journal that Rachel Amber left behind... and Max Caulfield finds the journal in Chloe's truck. It can be a Bae or Bay setting, Max finds the journal either while trying to recover something of hers that fell under the truck seat while driving away from Arcadia Bay's ruins, or when Joyce lets Max get some of Chloe's stuff after the funeral. Bits of the story can be narrated by Hannah Telle as Max reads the journal - and the journal are fixed points in time, the rest of the story being Max imagining how things happened.

Hell, we could even have had Hannah voicing Rachel Amber. I'm sure with a voice coach giving her guidance, she could vary her voice enough so that while it's still Hannah, it's not quite the voice we think of for Max. And given how "similar" Max and Rachel were, having Hannah voice Rachel would be an extra nod to that continuity. ;)

I know a lot of folks like Deck Nine's games. If you love BtS and DE as they are? Do so! You don't need to have this old lady ruin your views of those games. Hell, I enjoyed True Colors. I just don't think D9 can show the love and respect to Max and Chloe and Rachel that they deserve. So this little speculation of "What-If" is meant to wonder. What if?

Edit: Changed the D9 game I enjoyed to True Colors. I've not played DE and have no idea if I'd enjoy it. Nor will I play it, I'm not spending that much money on a game I have a bad feeling about.

[yumeka-sxf]

Spy x Family Operation Diary - mini-games

As mentioned in my previous post about the Operation Diary game, I'm making a second post discussing the many fun and varied mini-games that you can play!

There's seventeen total mini-games, with the first four being available right from the start, and the rest as you progress. Each mini-game has three courses that increase in difficulty. You start with the Peanuts course, and after you've paid Inspiration Points to play the game in that course three times, you'll unlock the Penguin course, and then finally the Chimera course.

Since I can't embed more than one video per post, I instead uploaded short videos of ten of the seventeen mini-games to YouTube so you can watch them via the links below (as for the remaining seven mini-games, I may upload videos of them to YouTube eventually but I'm not gonna make another post. You can follow the playlist I made here for any new Operation Diary uploads). All the videos are about 30 seconds each since that's all that the Switch allows.

Yor's Cooking

Vegetables fall from the top of the screen and you have to make Yor cut them before they fall below the blue cut line. If you cut them right as the vegetable is centered on the line, you'll get more points! After enough successful cuts, Yor's "serious mode" meter is filled and you're temporarily able to slow time so you can cut more easily. In the later courses, dog food boxes will also fall and you have to avoid cutting those.

Eden Dodgeball

You play as Anya, Becky, and Damian (you can swap between them) in a dodgeball match against Bill and two other kids. You have to hit each of your three opponents enough times to get them out of the game (deplete their health bar) while also avoiding getting hit yourself. You can dodge and jump to avoid being hit and can also catch a ball thrown at you if you press the button at the right time. Bill has the most health out of the three and throws very fast. Becky and Damian can throw super shots when their meter is filled while Anya is able to use her mind-reading to successfully dodge hits up to three times.

Loid's Escape

This is a stealth game where you play as Twilight on a mission to swap paintings in an art museum with fakes within a time limit. You have to make your way around the museum to swap 5 paintings while also avoiding the enemies with flashlights. If you run or walk near them, they'll hear you and may come after you. If they catch up, Twilight will take them out but you'll lose time. However, you also have a crouch walk that you can do which is slower, but the enemies can't hear you. Once you've successfully swapped all the paintings, all the enemies will come after you as you make a dash to the exit before time runs out.

Thorn Princess's Work

You play as Yor/Thorn Princess and have to take down a bunch of bad guys within a time limit before moving onto the next group. You can either do quick stabs with her stillettos or kick them. The former is more efficient, however kicking knocks them down, so that's good to use if you get surrounded. A few of the larger enemies will also attack back, but there will be visual cues so you can dodge them. If you get hit, you'll lose some time. After enough successful attacks, Yor's "big attack" meter will get filled, enabling you to do a really powerful attack that will take out a bunch of enemies at once.

Also, I have to say about the two aforementioned mini-games, I love how Anya's expression changes when you hover your cursor over Loid's game vs Yor's game...

She looks "waku waku" happy for Loid's...

...and terrified about Yor's 😂

Bond GO

Anya has a dream where she's riding on Bond collecting tons of stella! This is a fairly simple platforming game where you make Bond jump around the clouds to collect stella while also avoiding obstacles like the thunder clouds and crayon spikes. Each time you collect enough stella, you'll enter "fever mode" where Bond will grow larger and be temporarily invincible. However, each hit or fall off the screen will reduce your fever meter. You can collect Penguinman and Chimera for additional power-ups.

Anya's Fashion

This is a rhythm game where you have to correctly time your button presses to get the most points for Anya and Becky's fashion show! You also have the ability to dress up both of them before the show, though it has no bearing on your score.

Peanuts Bowling

You can play as either Anya, Yor, or Loid in a simple bowling tournament. On your turn, you first line up your shot, then you have to press the button at the right time to get a good angle and enough power for your throw. Each of the Forgers has a stat they specialize in: Anya has the most Luck, meaning she'll get more gold peanut pins to knock down for a higher score. Yor has the most Power, so her throws will likely knock down more pins on impact. And Loid has the best Curve stat, so any balls he throws at a curve will hit more accurately.

I love how the Forgers' stats in this game are so fitting!

Eden Old Maid

You play as any of the Eden kids against three of the others in a match of Old Maid! You take turns picking cards from each other and making pairs while avoiding picking the Joker. If you play as Anya, you're able to use her mind-reading ability to read your opponent's hand up to three times.

Yuri's Delicious Meal

Yuri has to eat all of the "meatballs" that Yor cooks while avoiding Loid's food. You have to press the button once for each meatball per plate (up to three) then move the L stick to the left once the plate is clean, or move the L stick to the right to pass Loid's cooking to Anya. Later rounds add an additional factor where you have to press another button to first lift the cover off the plate to see what's inside. The game is timed, and any mistake with your button presses results in a time loss. You'll also get a few "bonus" rounds where Yor will present Yuri with a giant meatball and you can spam the eat button as fast as possible for the most points!

Peanuts Tag

This is a Pac-Man type game where have to maneuver Anya through a maze, collecting peanuts while avoiding the bad guys that chase after you. If any of the bad guys touch you, you'll lose one of your three tries and be placed back at the beginning of the maze. However, there are a few macrons amongst the peanuts that, if you collect them, will make Anya grow bigger for a short time and be able to temporarily get rid of any bad guy she stomps on. Penguinman and Chimera also wander around the maze and you can collect them to get more points.

[transformers-synergize]

Just spent the last hour browsing your blog instead of paying attention in class, love all your designs, seriously neat. Especially a fan of how buglike some of the features are, I love when robot/bugs or bug/robots mix designs with how amour naturally works. Art make brain go brrrr.

If you have a moment, would you mind telling me about the Lambo Twins in your continuity?

aw happy ya like my stuff!!!!

sure, i can talk about the twins.

The lambo twins are well spark twins. spark twins are rare a occurrence when a newly forming spark splits into two. bots whos spark fourm in this way often have a vary deep conection with each other. sideswipe and sunstreak while not being able to read echother minds, often knows what the other will do before they do it, and can always tell what the other is feeling.

their blades can switch to a hand/servo, but the fingers are a lot longer than their other normal hand/servo because ya... it turns into a sword.

Sunstreaker is egotistical, he knows he is the best and makes sure everyone knows it too. He has the skills, the looks, and the combat prowess to back it up as well. Sunstreaker only really cares about himself and Sideswipe, considering pretty much every bots below him or not worth his time. often making sly comments, belittling or cracking jokes about bots who he deems lesser. his friends are either sideswipes friends who can tolerate him or bots who think he's cool, which is often for factors outside his personality. He's always down for a good fight being ruthless in combat while still somehow managing to get as little dirt or energon on himself as possible, sometimes being nearly spotless after a battle aside from the energon coating his blade. Sunny likes to keep himself in good condition, making sure his paint is perfect and his polish shines, it really helps accentuate how he's the best. Sunny is not a huge fan of earth or the fleshy little monkeys that run it, he just wants to go home to Cybertron.

sideswipe is the friendlier of the two brothers he's outgoing and usually pretty chill. Sideswipes is always looking for a fight. He loves the thrill of combat. He often will treat serious situations more like a game than the high danger situations he often places in. When a fight is not available, he is often sparring with his fellow autobots or trying risky stunts. He's very impulsive, often doing the first thing that comes to mind because he thought it might be fun never considering the consequences. He's kinda like a jock who treats war like a sport. His merciless approach to combat can often put him at odds with the more peaceful-minded autobots, putting some tension between him and some bots who he otherwise gets along with. He often tense and banter with other autobots, sometimes making jokes at their expense, but unlike sunny he usually knows when to stop or when he's gone too far. A sideswipe doesn't mind earth and sees it as a cool new adventure, though he is still a little homesick for cybertron.

They are a terrifying force in combat, ruthless fighting perfectly in sync with each other and usually 2 steps ahead of whoever they are put up against. when Working together they are able to take down cons over 5 times their size with ease. although not being the biggest or the strongest autobots, they are probably some of the most terrifying and efficient in combat. 

In short their both of the autobots' greatest combat assets and greatest headache.

[mahercbeaucoup]

TTRPG Design Lessons from Wildermyth

I've recently been spending a good deal of time thinking about solo RPGs and playing Rangers of Shadow Deep, a solo miniature game. My brain has been buzzing with ideas for solo game design, but I wanted to extend my research into video games, and so I found myself playing Wildermyth. This game has been on my radar for years, but I finally took the time to sit down with it. I enjoyed the game's first campaign, and I came away with some lessons for solo TTRPG design.

Procedural Stories

As your party of heroes wanders the world of Wildermyth, the player is treated to vignettes of the characters' encounters with their environment. These little stories build much of the player's connection to their band of heroes, especially the ones who join later and appear less often in the main plot.

Coming from the OSR world, a natural comparison arises to random encounters, especially during overland exploration. But whereas OSR encounters can follow any structure (and it is not uncommon for them to merely provide a moment of flavor), the Wildermyth vignettes always result in a meaningful change to the game state (as far as I can tell). A character may gain a new item, or change in some unexpected way, and the player will have a choice to make. Because a vignette always results in some sort of change, the game has a continuous feel of forward momentum.

In solo games, I struggle with developing side characters (or characterization at all, if the game is primarily skirmish-based). Looking at Wildermyth's approach, I can see the potential for a spark table to take one or two characters and create a little side-adventure for them, giving them a little color and differentiating them from the others.

Overworld Map

Wildermyth's map is broken down into regions, and each type of region contributes a different gameplay option. Some areas may have ruins you can reclaim, giving you increased resources or "Legacy Points" (a type of special currency), that you can use to grow and enhance your party. Some areas might allow you to build a bridge across a river, or tunnel through a mountain pass, into an adjacent territory. Villages provide recruitment opportunities, and new areas need to be scouted.

Crucially, every action requires time to complete, and the world is always moving on. Timers count down to the next bad event, armies march across the map and destroy settlements, and the deck of potential enemies is always growing stronger. Even when you acquire enough party members to split them up over multiple locations, it always feels like there is never enough time to get to everything you want to.

This system is simple, but it adds rich, opportunities for gameplay. I would love to experiment with this kind of campaign layer in an otherwise more traditional skirmish game. By adding simple concrete benefits to the control of a region, a huge amount of gameplay naturally emerges, even before diving deep into other sorts of quest hooks that will develop.

Enemy Behavior

When it comes to the tactical battles, the enemy AI seems to be very simplistic (as it is in most games of this type, and video games in general). But this isn't a knock against the battles, because the game's designers clearly understand that you can compensate for AI with varied enemies and scenario design.

I could very much picture running these enemies manually, each one operating by a different tactic that is simple enough to execute manually, while also appearing in enough unique combinations and situations to the player on their toes. One enemy might always charge to the farthest character it can reach, while another might draw characters toward it. These are just a few examples from Wildermyth, but they demonstrate how a few simple enemies can drastically change the tactical situation.

Interfusion

The mage class in Wildermyth has "Interfusion" as its primary ability. This lets the character manipulate the scatter terrain in the environment, with different types of terrain offering different tactical benefits.

I haven't seen this kind of approach to magic before, and I think it has good potential on the tabletop.

Putting it all together

After playing Wildermyth, I have a clearer picture of the game that is brewing in my mind: a cross between a skirmish game and an RPG (hardly a new idea), focused on a war band securing an area, and reacting to dynamic threats with varied enemies and approaches to AI. It's the smallest of seeds, but I have a vision for what it can grow into.

[chiekorita]

✨ chiekorita's palletshipping recs ✨

my will always re-read list. not a comprehensive list so i will add on as i go thru the fics again.

ratings listed in front of title. (c) means completed.

the unfinished collection by misswonnykins (ratings varied w each chapter)

as title says, unfinished but they're all *chefs kiss*. fav is the first chapter. ash wooing gary unknowingly pls read

[t] a pokemon trainer's guide to romance using modern technology and terrible pick-up lines by bgtea (c)

ash and gary being menaces w each other thru terrible pick up lines even in diff regions. the puns are amazing ok and v funny and cute.

[t] after all these years by archwriter (c)

the story of how they break and keeps on breaking until they come back together. the emotional rollercoaster this got me thruuuu like destroy me. can be read platonic.

[g] tying loose ends by archwriter

sequel to after all these years. ash's role as the chosen one coming back one by one and his recovering relationship with gary on the side. the way everything in his life is written and having gary mixed in naturally like that. i still reread this since years ago.

[t] my brilliant friend by afoolserrand117

gary a professor and researcher being made to do a friendly battle w ash to raise funds for his research. more gary focused esp w his mewtwo related ptsd (which i don't see much explored so it was niceeee). we get to see a more confident ash as opposed to gary. pls this is so good and cute and fun.

[m] a call to arms by feranelia

pacrim!au. the pokemons are jaegers. ash and gary butting heads thru their first, second, third consequent meetings and ended up being drift compatible. prof oak best shipper btw. arts for this also chefs kiss

[t] and into love go streaming by laniekayaleese (c)

high school!au. more on the coming of age movie feeling. boys discovering feelings. this is very vibes.

[m] find it, fix it by tayeah (c)

gary in saida labs getting a visit from ash. gary running from his feelings only to run back into them basically? angstyyyy and delicious.

[t] romantic by misswonnykins (c)

ash trying to pull off the best proposal ever with the help of his friends. super cute and fluffy.

[t] this dear thing called heart by salvations (c)

music!au. shigeru joins a satoshi's band after prof ookido's death. angsty stuff. mostly friendship focused but a good dose of palletshipping thru out.

[g] the sweetest betrayal by essence_of_silence (c)

little moments of ash's two fav partners being bff with each other more than with him. super cute. very sitcom/romcom vibes. i come back to reread this a lot bc of pikachu picking his pipichu over his pikapi.

[g] honesty by silver_fish (c)

hanahaki!au. gary starts coughing up flowers. more often when he's around a certain trainer. everything i ever wanted in a palletshipping hanahakiiiii my fav tropeeee read this one too pls

[t] [series] operations 101 by estelle4ever

ash's friends trying to set him up gary and made up a whole operation. operationS. funny shenanigans of well meaning friends and just cute stuff. it's a series but the main part of them getting together is done ✅.

[m] intuition by evie warner

prof oak's past coming back for him and gary's the target. ash caught up in it too. going off from the glitch in the games w missingno. this one is abandoned but it's still So Good. got me reading thru this in one sitting.

[mbakuetshurisprincess]

Back to Black Part 2

AN: Hey y'all! The love on Back to Black was actually mind-blowing, like I had no idea y'all would like it THAT much lol. I’m glad though it was definitely really fun to write something different for Shuri and make her (I don’t wanna say the villain that seems so harsh lol) not the good guy in a fic. This is turning out to be more of a slow burn but I PROMISE all will end well… eventually. Also about the music, I’m a HUGE Amy Winehouse fan, like love that white woman DOWN! So I’m gonna pick a different song from her discography for every chapter of this fic, something that relates to the theme of this chapter. That taglist was hell to do and I don’t even think it worked fr fr, how do the pros do their tag list??

Summary: After vowing to never step foot in Wakanda again, unforeseen circumstances bring you back and face to face with everything (and everyone) you left. 

Pairing: Shuri x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Cursing, alcoholism. 

Word count: 3,085

Suggested listening: Love Is a Losing Game by Amy Winehouse

“Love is a losing game

One I wished I never played

Oh, what a mess we made

And now, the final frame

Love is a losing game”

“Sit.” You instructed Shuri, positioning her body over the closed toilet seat. She sat down with a sigh, leaning her head back against the wall behind the toilet and closing her eyes. You took the moment of her eyes not being on yours to look at her in the light. 

She had lost a lot of her color, and while her skin was still a deep chocolate color, it lacked the depth that Wakandan sunlight brought her. Her jawline had gotten sharper, a telltale sign that she wasn’t eating as much as she needed to anymore. And although her eyes were closed, her brow remained furrowed. As if even in her thoughts she came face to face with the problems she was trying to avoid. 

Shuri opened her eyes and caught a glimpse of you looking down at her. She recognized the look that you were giving her, it was the same way you looked at her the first time she had come out of her lab after her six-month self-containment. At that time Shuri swore she would never do anything to make you feel like that again, clearly by the look you were giving her, she had failed. 

“Unbutton your shirt and get undressed, I’m going to run you a bath okay?” Shuri nodded in response and you turned on your heels, breaking your gaze from her. You approached the tub and reached to grab the tablet that controlled it. 

“I- I haven't let anyone change anything Y/N, all of your settings are still there,” Shuri spoke hesitantly. She was referring to the presets you had on set up for the tub. Shuri realized when you were dating just how much you loved baths, so as a surprise she tricked the whole tub out for you. Allowing you to make custom presets that each had varying temperatures, scents, and even playlists. You smiled lightly to yourself at the memories as your fingers clicked the relaxation button. Instantly hot water began flowing out of the tub spout and the drain locked. Your playlist entitled “Best of Amy Winehouse” started playing and the smile never left your face. The smell of lavender filled the air and even though this was supposed to be for Shuri you immediately felt calmer. 

Remembering Shuri’s word about not changing anything you opened the drawers next to the tub grabbing a bottle of lavender bubble bath. You poured a capful in and instantly bubbles filled the tub, another one of Shuri’s more mundane inventions: crazy strong bubble bath. 

You turned back to face Shuri and found her in no better state than you left her in. Her hands were fiddling with her buttons, the tired expression still on her face. She hadn’t made it past the first button. 

“Let me help you Shuri.” You said softly walking over to her. You crouched between her legs and allowed your fingers to find the buttons she struggled on. Shuri didn't move her hands and after a second she started swatting yours away. 

“I can do it myself Y/N.” She said looking down at you through her heavy lids.

You took a deep breath in and exhaled softly. “You never could let anyone else help you could you?” She was now stuck on the second button, her slender fingers unable to push it through the hole. 

“I-” Shuri went to speak before deciding not to, you were right and even in her drunk, hungover state she knew it. She dropped her hands to her sides and broke her eye contact with you. Your hands resumed their place and quickly undid the button. 

“I’m not going to fight you Shuri.” You said moving on to the next button. “I’m not gonna sit here and fight you with every step of this. I’m here to help and if you don’t want it I have no problem leaving.” You looked up at her and she sent you a nod of understanding.

You finished the rest of the buttons and pulled the shirt off of her shoulders leaving her in only the wife beater she wore as an undershirt and her shorts. You stood from between her legs and held your hands out for her to take, she obliged. She delicately placed her hands in yours and stood up, standing a good amount taller than you. You unbuttoned her shorts and slid them down her legs as she stepped out of them. Both of you were aware of how little physical space now existed between the two of you. 

Seeing her now in this more vulnerable state you were aware of just how sick she looked. While Shuri had always been slender you could now see her ribcage peeking through her skin and her once-toned body had lost much of the muscle she developed through hard training with Okoye. Shuri felt the concern in the way you were observing her and it instantly made her cross her arms to her chest, not wanting you to see any of her new scars. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to stare.” You said, removing your eyes from her body and putting them on the floor. “You can um finish undressing, I’ll go get you a towel.” You started walking backward away from her, creating distance between the two of you. 

“You don’t have to leave sthandwa.” Shuri’s hands found the bottom of her shirt, pulling it up revealing some of her torso. Her hands caught your eyes, following her hands, and would they have continued as she pulled her shirt up further but the sound of the water stopping pulled you back into reality. At the sound, you spun your back to face her and walked quickly out of the room, face flushed. You needed to get your head back on straight. A few pet names and a flash of her body weren’t enough to make you forget what had happened. 

You heard the sound of her body entering the water and a groan accompanying it letting you know that Shuri was in the tub. You dug through the dresser drawers and pulled out an array of butters and lotions for Shuri after the shower, along with a variety of hair products. You retrieved a large fluffy towel with a matching washcloth, a hair wrap, a new set of pajamas, and some of the hair products. You set the pajamas down on the bed before making your way back into the bathroom. Shuri’s body sat emerged in the tub with only her collar bones peeking out above the bubbles. You hung the towel and hair wrap up on a nearby towel warmer and returned to Shuri. 

Her eyes were closed and her head was tilted back, resting on the edge of the tub. You grabbed some of the body wash and squirted it onto the washcloth, dipping it into the water and rubbing it together to get it soapy. You removed her arm that was closest to you from the water and started washing it. Your mind had memorized the various scars and bruises that littered her body and as you moved further up her neck to her collarbone the memories of how she got each one faded back to you. 

It wasn’t until you got to the part of her chest that peaked out of the water that you noticed a new scar. It was no more than three inches long and by the looks of it couldn’t have been there longer than a few months. You ran your finger over it and felt the ridges signifying that it hadn’t healed correctly. 

Shuri could read your mind by the expression on your face and the way your hand gently touched her chest. “It doesn't hurt Y/N.” 

You looked over at her, you hadn’t even noticed Shuri open her eyes. Assuming the hot water and lavender had put her to sleep. You wanted to speak, to tell her that you would make sure that it healed correctly, but the words wouldn’t come to your mouth. It was almost as if your body was reminding you that healing Shuri in that way wasn’t your place anymore. So you simply nodded and continued cleaning her body. 

After you felt her body had been cleaned, you grabbed the showerhead off the wall and positioned it over Shuri’s hair before turning it on. Once again Shuri let out a soft groan as the warm water touched her scalp. You used your free hand to start finger detangling some of her curls, upon realizing this was going to be a job that needed both your hands you grabbed a bottle of leave-in detangler and poured it generously over Shuri's head. You set it down on the side of the tub and massaged the substance into her scalp and curls with delicate hands. 

“I miss you Y/N,” Shuri said, opening her eyes and tilting her head to look up at you. 

You took a deep breath before speaking “Shuri, you moved your head, I was working on the back, and now I can’t reach it.”

Shuri tilted her head back down and you continued your work in silence for a minute before she spoke again. 

“That is all you have to say?” This time she didn’t move her head so she didn’t catch you rolling your eyes. You dipped your hands into the water washing the excess product off. You stood finally from the spot you had been in for the past hour and looked down at Shuri. Normally she could tell your mood by the way your eyes looked, but for some reason now she couldn’t place your emotions. 

“What I have to say is,” You walked over to the towel warmer, grabbed Shuri’s towel and hair wrap, and set it on the sink next to her. “This is your towel and hair wrap. I left lotion, butters, and pj’s on the bed. Dry off, lotion up, get dressed, and call for me when you're done, I’ll be outside the door waiting to do your hair.” The first part of the sentence was almost cold enough to make Shuri think you might not have any feelings left for her, but the second half. She heard the softness come out in your voice when you mentioned doing her hair. She hadn’t lost you yet. 

She thought about giving a witty remark but didn’t want to push her luck with you on your first day back so Shuri responded with a simple “Okay.”

You exited the bathroom and then your room closing the door behind you. You leaned against the door and took a deep breath, “Focus.” You reminded yourself. You figured it would take Shuri at least twenty minutes to get herself situated given her state, you chose the time to enter her room again, opening her blinds immediately. You called to Isoke who stood guard outside of the door and she came in. 

“Yes ma’am?” She spoke softly, her eyes looking straight down. You hadn’t seen her much during your time in Wakanda and if you remembered correctly she had just graduated when you left. 

“Can you please have the cleaners sent in? I want this place looking more like a home when we bring Shuri back here.” Isoke nodded and turned on her heels. 

“Oh and one more thing.” You spoke, causing her to pause in her tracks. “Every bottle of alcohol, every ounce of weed, all her paraphernalia, everything. I want it boxed up and burned. Do you understand me?” She nodded again and quickly scurried out of the room. 

You couldn’t place it but something about her leaving you feeling unwell. You walked around Shuri’s room to see if you could find anything else to help you understand Shuri’s mental state. In her bed, you found an object that nearly brought tears to your eyes. It was the Build-a-bear you two had made on one of your trips to America. By the way its fur had started to matt you could tell she had been sleeping with it. You couldn’t tell how much time had passed but the soft call of your name brought you out of Shuri’s room and back to your own. Where Shuri now sat in the all-black pajama set that you had picked out for her, waiting for you. 

You looked once more at the hair products you had pulled out, ensuring that you had everything you needed. Once you were sure you sat down on the edge of the bed. You and Shuri had done this before but unlike normal this time, she waited for your signal. You gesture in between your legs and Shuri quickly scurried into her place, being this close to you was all she desired. 

Before the cheating and couples therapy and more cheating, when you were still able to pull Shuri from her lab with just a sweet smile. You would devote Sunday evenings to doing her hair, an intimate act she had only let her mother do before you. She would sit in between your legs and speak of anything that frustrated her or what inventions were not working. You would listen as you detangled and twisted her hair, preparing it for the long week ahead. Eventually similar to a child when she had finally tired herself out of complaining she would lean her head against your leg and pepper kisses to the inside of your thigh before she fell asleep. The feeling of Shuri letting you take care of her was something you cherished, especially as your relationship furthered and the time you spent together became less and less. Every once and a while when she was particularly stressed she would come to you and ask you to do her hair. And you always obliged. 

You silently began your work on her hair as she sat, first separating her hair into four sections and then working with her hair a fourth at a time. You ran a wide tooth comb through her hair, starting at the ends and making your way up, in order not to snag any knots. After detangling, you split the section into fourths and twisted each fourth. You had made your way through the second section and were onto the third when Shuri rose her voice and spoke up. 

“Why did you come back Y/N?” You stopped humming, considering if you even wanted to give her an answer. 

“Nakia and Okoye came to get me.” You continued combing through the third section. 

“And you just agreed? All the messages I sent you begging for you to come back to us didn’t mean as much as their words?” You had not forgotten what drunk Shuri was like and this was a symptom of that. There was a hint of anger in her words that didn’t go unnoticed by you. 

You let out a sigh, clearly a common theme for the night, and spoke. “No, I didn't want to come back Shuri, when I said I never wanted to return, I meant it.” 

“So why did you?” Shuri snaked her left arm under your left leg, wrapping it around so her hand could rest on the top of your thigh. Her words seemed accusatory but the way her hand was sitting on your thigh, that was nothing short of romantic. 

You started twisting her hair before you spoke. “They told me you started drinking again.” 

“I-” Shuri tried to speak but you cut her off. 

“Although truthfully that wasn’t what did it.” You moved on to the next twist. “Nakia begged. She said you refuse T’Challa and begged that I get you out of bed and back into his life. 

Shuri had nothing to say to this, shame ran hot through her face. She moved her hand from your thigh and sunk more into the floor. As you finished the last twist you started to feel bad about your response but she was the one who asked. 

“Shuri.” You spoke her name lightly, leaving the conversation like that felt wrong. 

“Hmm?” You took down the last section of her hair and started combing, repeating the process for the final time.

“Of course I missed you. I spent six whole months in the states missing you. So consumed with my want to be with you I couldn’t do anything but cry and sleep.” You separated the last section and started twisting. “But after six months, Shuri, I had to ask myself what was I missing. Was I missing the dates you stood me up on? The nights I went to bed alone while you were in the lab tinkering away with your latest technological development? That couldn’t be what had me throwing my life away. So I stopped missing you.” By the time you finished speaking you had finished the last twist, letting it plop down on her face. 

Shuri nodded her head, there was nothing she could say. You were right, Shuri hadn’t treated you the way she should during the final year of your relationship. 

You grabbed the silk scarf from next to you and wrapped it around Shuri’s head. The words you wanted to say to her blossomed in your mind. “But I do miss you, I miss when it was simple and just us.” Even so, you kept them to yourself. 

You tapped Shuri’s shoulder and she stood from between your legs, giving you the space to stand up and stretch. You looked at the clock on the table and the time read 11 PM. Shuri followed your eyes and sighed knowing her time with you for the day was nearing a close. You smiled at her sigh and you turned to start removing objects from the bed to give Shuri a clear place to sleep. She walked over to the bed and pulled back the covers, looking back at you as you nodded signifying that you were serious about her sleeping. Shuri slipped under the covers and watched as you walked over to her. 

You sat on the edge of her bed and placed your inside hand on Shuri’s cheek, she melted into your touch and placed her hand on top of yours. You leaned over and placed a kiss on her forehead. 

“Goodnight Shuri.” You removed your hand from her face and stood from the bed. Shuri caught your hand before you could leave. 

“Stay? Stay with me tonight?” Your breath caught as you thought about her words. 

“Okay.”

TAGLIST: 

@vevethirst @angelsmist @coalmistyy @eriksjournal @avsphroeg @nil-eena @zane2408 @homie0sapien @noneofyabuisnezs @ilacknames @rotten-toenails @starrknessblog @adaya08 @bigbigbigfan @cour1ne7 @gaspyghosttt @gardenofshuri @chrome-edition @londyn-loves-u @shuri-my-love @trixielwt @arielna2805 @syupakingcowbaby @luxuriouslokistan-3 @shuriswift @raydestin @liv444me @aphroditeisamilf @blkmystery @bestfriend491 

[caramsels]

absolutely love your mono isnt human theory,, please go on more its so interesting.

OF COURSE!! I’m so sorry this is approaching on like. A year late, I had a rough patch of months, but I can always go on about how I think Mono was a resident from the start. So here’s more hopefully comprehensible yapping.

Last time I talked mostly about how Mono/The Thin Man’s powers related to his character arc, so this time I’ll get into what I actually think is going on with them lore wise in the Nowhere’s grand scheme. The Nowhere is a hierarchical society where the residents typically have jobs of varying importance, and I believe the Thin Man ranks at #1.

Besides the prominence of numbers we already have with these types of residents, ( and how mono literally = one, and six= yeah.) The Thin Man is clearly regarded as important even among other residents, there are TVs, his symbol, everywhere on the Maw and the Nest, with there being dedicated TV rooms in each.

While The Ferryman is central to the gateway between worlds, The Thin Man has the most important job INSIDE of The Nowhere; spreading its influence via the transmission. The Nowhere relies on him for this. Whenever Mono goes into a trance around TVs, his body becomes glitchy and he becomes compelled to “Tune the Transmission.” this is something he can’t avoid, it’s why he exists. We see that even when him and Six are in danger, he’s still entranced by his need to tune the transmission. The transmission is seemingly the source of the world’s distortion: this is repeated in every official description of the game, with it usually being added that Mono and Six’s goal is specifically to find a way to stop this distortion at its source.

Mono having these compulsions to control the Transmission implies that this is the Thin Man’s purpose, akin to how it’s The Lady’s job to keep The Maw running. He has to keep things running via the transmission that he sends out from his spot in the signal tower. THIS is why Mono has a larger scale power-set from the other characters we meet, he can manipulate reality and warp/unwarp buildings because he’s the successor to a line of residents who are specifically tasked with keeping this world’s reality in line.

As I mentioned in the last post, I think Mono is fully aware of the nature of his reality and what his fate is, I think he used to LIVE in the Signal Tower, even, similar to The Pretender being brought up in the Nest.

Here’s the official LN twitter’s description of the Signal tower

This is the Nowhere directly addressing Mono. It will never stop unless YOU stop it. Are you ready to go back and do what only you have the power to do? Ready to fulfill your fate? The TV trances are the tower calling him back, he’s been there before. It’s bringing him closer and closer to his future (literally.) He doesn’t want this, but in line with the theme of the game, it’s inescapable.

(COUNTERARGUMENT ACKNOWLEDGMENT REAL QUICK: i don’t think “will you come back” is about the time loop. the emphasis of how he specifically can stop the the tower makes it feel more connected to this, plus my belief that the time loop is self imposed; we know the thin man can control his own time.)

Possibly non canon points that I think are interesting:

Mono’s original designs had blue skin and a blue trench coat, which to me adds more credence to the idea that he was conceptualized as something innately supernatural, rather than a kid who gained power during his experience in The Nowhere like Six. Another point here is that his transition into residenthood is just.. normal aging? sans the blue skin and height.

We’ve seen a Visitor (Six) be turned into a Resident and it isn’t pretty. The sewer Resident from TSON even implies that a majority of the residents could be transformed visitors, with their appearances are twisted and grotesque because they are not themselves anymore, they are exaggerations of their worst flaws.

But again, Mono doesn’t have some rapid disgusting transformation into a twisted being. This is what he always was, to him it’s (mostly) just growing up.

MORE MISC STUFF

KIDS IN THE NOWHERE AREN’T MEANT TO LIVE THAT LONG!

Or at least, most of them aren’t. While I think a big reason children get chosen for The Nowhere is if they’d make a good Resident, that’s obviously not the only reason. They are also slaughtered, treated like food, prey to hunt for funsies, or flat out treated like vermin. Some are brought with specific fates in mind, but most are tempted there to die and feed The Nowhere in less important ways. I think Six is the notable exception (main character-itis) who proved the Nowhere wrong, originally being brought there just to die in the Nest. Visitors like her are not from The Nowhere, so being there for longer than they were originally supposed to takes its toll. Six is constantly depicted as unconscious on the floor in concept art and VLN and always coughing in her idles. The official LN2 website even claims that Mono needs to help her before she “fades away” and meets her horrible fate.

This concept of visitors “fading away” from extended time in The Nowhere was further cemented to me by the Jester kid in the podcast, a character that specifically is noted to be losing parts of who he once was, fading away due to the influence of this realm. Too much time in the Nowhere has disastrous effects.. so why is Mono fine? He’s seemingly been there longer than Six or Jester, but he’s not fading away.

(side bar about Mono’s health, after getting severely injured by the train, he’s fully fine and not clutching it anymore after using his powers. The pretender, a Resident. similarly showed an ability to heal quickly when the rock crushed her.)

NARRATIVE META STUFF (my bread and butter)

LN is at its core is a series of coming of age stories with a twist. The complicated and scary aspects of growing up in a world where everything feels so much bigger than you, where the odds are all stacked against you. A point that is specifically stressed a constantly interviews with Tarsier, is that the world that is “not meant for these kids.” The kids being from the waking world and taken to The Nowhere is the overt example of this, yes, but I don’t think it rules out other kinds of kids under this context.

The theme instead is given a new layer, something hinted at by the implications of The Pretender’s character and actualized with Mono’s: What about kids are born into the system? Who weren’t slowly corrupted, but instead were always fated for this? The ones who are expected to grow up and uphold this cruelty? Is the world made for them, if it isn’t made for the “Visitors”?

LN 2’s answer: No. It sucks for them too.

As for escapism, I think it’s robbing Mono’s agency as a character to not consider his relationship with it.

He engages in escapism via his desire to avoid his fate and hide from his world. His mask is the symbol of his escapism.

The narrative treats this avoidance like something he overcomes, hence why he removes the mask and fights back, and why he’s the only protagonist who physically faces The Nowhere head on (no hat OR bangs covering his eyes in Chapter 5.)

His aversion to his fate being something he has to overcome wouldn’t be fair to him if he was just a kid who was taken here with no power over the Nowhere. He would be entirely in his right mind to be afraid of this shit and want to escape it all. But if Mono does have the power to fight back, he does have a solid grasp on what’s happening in the Signal Tower, if he did the whole time, that’s what his arc centers on: him learning to stop running, stop trying to escape, and to face it all head on.

(None of this works out for him in the end but it’s cool that he does conquer it in chapter four)

Thank you for reading this long babbly post! I hope it was at the very least understandable. I think that while Tarsier is huge on not directly answering anything, that doesn’t mean there aren’t answers you can find, and I think almost EVERYTHING about Mono’s character points to this. here’s a scrappy wip of Lady! Six to end this post and apologize for taking so long to respond :,)