#like they aren't short on options for characters to interact with

[closedcoffins]

ok before i write honestly i just randomly started thinking about this, i know i have clowned on 2001 children of bottle in the past because it's not really as narratively strong as the rest of the baccano! series but i really love the perspective we see on all the other immortals ( besides huey and talbot and begg ) and it was honestly really good for what it was. i think about maiza, czes, sylvie, nile, elmer, and fil holed up in that castle just chillin for a couple months almost constantly.

i think czes, sylvie, and nile will be in my next batch-add of baccano muses. along with sickle, gustav, chi, and adele...

edit: wait! i forgot carol! i can't add gustav without carol, so add her to the list as well.

[icewindandboringhorror]

Recent ones of these even though they all look the same lol.. forcing myself to document progress..

[unproduciblesmackdown]

ideal scenario is that i like thinking about this like, essential short story adventure where winston and tuk hook up w/a couple [that bachelorette party] members, and as a foursome/quartet because they have these parallel stories of two pairs of friends who are like "sure i'd have sex with you if things aligned for that" and now are living that short story about expanding a dynamic & becoming closer friends for the end of it (of course billions only wrote winston as standing next to tuk next episode, instead of rian as he's often written to be standing with incl in a previous finale, to shove him out of the path of getting material and let taylor have confusing nonresolution w/rian based on this proximity and coincidence instead. but who can't say that that, And winston next not even trying to sit with tmc in the last finale appearance which at this point is probably for the best and instead again hanging out with tuk and then ben, isn't about having been closer for whatever all happened there in obtaining casual sex together)

and they can have perpendicular stories of also just having some nice chats and enjoying other interactions together such that maybe it's just fun for this one night of crossing paths, maybe anyone stays in touch at all, who even knows, if winston or tuk are dating anyone it's probably only going to come up again in how they were last dumped for being too much effort for how unepic they are, so godspeed to offscreen unmentioned dating. but just friendly acquaintanceship, or again this one-time spontaneously crossed paths night's acquaintanceship, is also a lot of fun. and why not imagine that winston "he's not allowed to not feel self-loathing or, by doing basic things like talking or initiating Or oppositng anything, Not operating as though he's too low in a social hierarchy here to be allowed thusly" type of material where his spontaneity, vivacity to bon vivantocity, self-assurance that is apparently arrogance/aggression to every who thinks he ought to be self-effacing instead, etc, is actually just a social success in other less wretched non-work situations, and his personality is taken as a contribution to the proceedings even before anyone takes up his proffered contribution of himself as a potential sexual partner. and lending confidence to tuk as like one person who won't, at any given time, go into hostile mode with him or even like take up the position of issuing this criticism, which is an inherently elevated (over tuk) one when it's a unilateral thing. such that tuk's personality can be a potential contribution as well. and winston and tuk's Friendship Developing Moments can be happening then, too, b/c Maybe they've hung out outside work on their own aleady, but also maybe they've never really been interacting with a larger group outside work, such that that group is less likely to include some people, or entirely people, who will suddenly go sicko mode on either or both of them. and then meanwhile, who knows anything abt this bachelorette party, could be already a cohesive friend group who all see each other all the time, or people who see each other more infrequently meeting up on this trip, or a mix; could be fun and chill or something so scheduled/demanding it's kind of like a work trip, or fluctuate....and of course zero info abt the individuals such that imagining anything abt them is entire OC territory, and i'm bad at that, or at coming up with stories, so not exactly a lot of details here from me but godspeed if two of them unlock another tier of friendship here b/c like parallel to winston and tuk, they're like hmm okay so we're mutually down re: potentially having a foursome here, and spending some time away from the larger group

(or of course the scenario that tuk and winston can also have that moment but just as putting "and/or: a threesome?" as an option, and that tips the scales for someone who might've otherwise felt more indecisive like "hmmmm casual convenient hookup, or spending more time out & about like this / whatever other activity...." but then is like oho Well, if it's a threesome, i'll seize that opportunity, sure....such that then maybe afterwards [winston and tuk hanging out together] happens sooner, if the third member feels more third wheel about things lol, since now they'd be the only two who already know each other. like ooh who knows, round n+1 in the aftermath just one on one (and/or i mean, maybe another thing the third party's still around for, re: further casual sex opportunities that don't just fall into your lap every day), and/or talk, watch tron together, go back out on the town even. where the conclusion of this truly is the essence of "it Is easy to imagine that winston and tuk are real Genuine Friends for the implicit further offscreen time spent together outside work / interactions between them here. and fun" and with that flair of "and give that a juxtaposed parallel in it being the same for a couple bachelorette attendees, why not, good for them"

[primofate]

About boycotting Genshin Impact: Natlan skin colour issue and McDonalds.

(Read if you care about these issues and care about what I'm doing.)

If you are only here for a TLDR and want to know if I'm still writing Genshin fanfiction here's the short story: (I appreciate all the encouraging messages and all the love, but I may need to find another platform if things aren't working out here. If that day comes I will surely post over here and let you know where I've gone, but for now, though it is quite unpleasant, I do like and am used to the tumblr format. )

Long post starts here:

Decided to finally say something about this, because I feel like I've read up adequately about things.

First off, to the anon who claimed that I didn't care (who revealed their real identity in my inbox and apologized) I appreciate your bravery and also appreciate the apology. But I'm not going to lie to you, I don't really care for your presence around here, specially after what happened.

About the Natlan issue and the lack of tan/brown/dark skinned colour characters,

I understand why people are upset. I had a conversation with someone about this on tumblr, on how me, myself, I get upset when there is a lack of FEMALE main characters in games (I am mostly talking about the Persona Franchise, the main characters are always MALE, time and time again I always wait for a FEMALE MC, but am always disappointed that it hasn't happened EXCEPT of course, for P3 Portable and P2EP. Finally you had the option to play as Female, but that was it. I mean, it's 2024. WHY is there a lack of FEMALE MC in Persona? Anyhow, that is a different topic altogether.) so I can see how it could be disappointing for POC to see less or even NO characters that are POC.

That part, I totally understand.

All of your actions, boycotting, not rolling, not playing the game, being free to play, I UNDERSTAND all of that.

Now, recently there has been a big issue with Genshin Impact collaborating with McDonalds, because the chain supports Israel (but McDonalds is a franchise... and different owners have different ways of using their ownership of the chain/profit they make off it, so idk how that equals to all McDonalds support Israel. Educate me on this if I'm wrong.) People are saying that they are uninstalling the game because of it.

Again, I UNDERSTAND why you would do that.

I think what I need to address is what I am going to do.

And I'm not gunna lie to you, I don't think I'm going to stop playing the game (and I don't spend much money in game in the first place).

Does it mean that I support the bad situations they've put themselves in or the bad choices they've made? No, but of course there will be people who will say I play the game = I support their thoughts. Can it not just be simply I play the game = I enjoy the game/story?

I am being transparent and I think that's better than some of the people online who keep saying they won't play anymore but you KNOW some of them still do. Like, come on. Don't lie.

If that makes me a bad person according to you judgers out there, then so be it. Who really are you to claim I'm a bad person just because I play a game? Do you know what kinds of things I do in real life? What groups I help out and what organizations I donate to? What really do you know about what I do in real life? Maybe think about that before pointing your finger at someone online, and maybe think about what YOU are doing in real life too, instead of just being keyboard fighters, have you done anything to enhance the lives of other people?

Am I still going to write Genshin fanfiction?

Honestly if I stop doing it, it's because the interaction here on tumblr has been so toxic. LESS people commenting and interacting, I don't really mind much because I enjoy writing in general, I don't do it for you, I do it for me.

I am STILL writing, but at a slower pace because of my real life plus everything that's surrounding the game and the toxicity at the moment. I am even considering not posting on tumblr and just releasing stories like Ruthless Prince, stories that would be available through physical copy or ebooks that you have to pay for (that way I don't get nasty interactions and messages and those who really want to read my stuff can just pay and enjoy it) but as you all know, I'm not money hungry, I still post a lot of free stuff over here, but again, I'm not going to lie, there isn't much reason for me to post on tumblr anymore, specially with all the controversies and attacking going on.

I appreciate all the encouraging messages and all the love, but I may need to find another platform if things aren't working out here. If that day comes I will surely post over here and let you know where I've gone, but for now, though it is quite unpleasant, I do like and am used to the tumblr format.

The End.

[dadvans]

i am just so sad right now. like going into s8 i didn’t think bucktommy would be endgame, but the way s8 started changed my mind, so to have them be literally so in love for 5 episodes straight just to have them break up in the most abrupt way?? it just feels so last minute which is shocking because in the interviews this was apparently a planned thing but it doesn’t feel like it at all. Like if this was a concern Tommy had why didn’t it come up at all? like little throwaway lines of Tommy making jokes of Buck getting sick of him or wanted to explore other options or whatever. I hope the backlash makes them rethink, and Tommy comes back but for now it doesn’t seem like it. I guess my only hope is that Buddie goes canon, but even then i won’t be able to really enjoy it. I seriously don’t know if i’ll be able to keep watching the show, not solely because they broke up, but because of how they broke up. (srry for the long ask, just needed to vent)

no apologies needed!

at the end of the day, so many of us found joy in their story, their chemistry, the way even up until the final second tommy admitted that what he wanted with buck was something that would inevitably break his heart.

they were good together. tommy fit into so many intimidating parts of buck's life with ease. tommy is (as far as we know) still good friends with buck's best friend! tommy loved him anyway, loved him warts and all, road shotgun to buck's worst fears and weirdest conspiracies.

at the end of the day, we have a few things:

we GOT them. we got to see them together, we got the soft looks, we got the kisses, the foundation of them that is real and canon in a way we could strike like a match against the edge of a box to light them up for real all over again. i don't think "being canon" gives any credence or superiority to a ship, and have shipped people or characters that have never interacted/existed together in a tangible way, simply because it's FUN. that's how i'll always have fun with ships and fandom, BUT! what a wonderful thing to celebrate that we DID have them, that we have this as a foundation for whatever comes next, that there is never a door permanently closed to them finding each other again when it was already real from the start

for a lot of us, this isn't how their story ends. it's insane that so much fic and content was produced for a canon ship like this. so often fandom is chasing down the what-ifs and never-hads. a lot of us invested in bucktommy because they had the compatibility, the fit, the chemistry, the potential. that's novel shit! that doesn't just evaporate because they broke up in canon. it certainly hurts. the kind of hype we were surfing will crash and sink back in the oncoming months, but i know talking to a lot of people tonight that we aren't done with this ship. we aren't ready to say goodbye.

i'm sad. i'm angry. i felt a real sense of queer euphoria whenever i saw them together, even for 30 seconds, teetering on the edge of this new couple joy learning each other into something new and weird and fun that always lingered as a promise on the edge of their interactions. i was so excited for who buck could become with tommy as his home base. shifting that has rocked me in a bad way.

i expect people to inevitably step away from this ship and this fandom, but i'll mention that non-canon ships like arthur/eames or mcshep or social network rpf or short-lived shows from 1996 (hi sentinel) have had long-lived fandoms and left long-lasting impressions in other fandoms that have lasted for over a decade of zero additional content. this is a playground that, just because they've parted ways for now, we don't have to stop playing in.

and i'll be honest: i have several WIPs i'm like, well trash that! after watching the most recent episode. but i also have a dozen new ideas. new ways they could fall in love now or again, new ways they could meet, new ways they could be for each other.

i'll keep creating. i'll keep dreaming. they won't ever not have the spark that they had. the show could end tomorrow but we'll always have an open door to believing and shaping the thousands of ways they can and will find each other again.

[canonical-transformation]

Genshin ships: stock market update (Natlan Act 3+4)

(Warning: May contain spoilers for character appearances and dynamics in [Chapter 5 Act 3–4] Beyond the Smoke and Mirrors and The Rainbow Destined to Burn. Previous entries here.) This is for entertainment purposes only and is not financial advice: consult with your ship financial advisor before you invest.

Citlali/Traveller — This ship has everything. Handholding. Accidental mind reading tropes. Fast friendships in middle age. Drunken soul-baring. Palm reading. Coparenting dynamics. They sat and watched the moon together. BUY.

Capitano/Traveller — HOLD. Solid starting potential but their interactions have all been too high stakes to get a sense of how their personalities interact.

Mavuika/Capitano — SELL OR HOLD. Too early to call; Act 5 could make or break this.

Mavuika/Xilonen — Our previous recommendation has changed; it's now a strong BUY. Our analysts say they haven't seen this level of weary fondness since 2021's "pay your fines, Captain", and Dainsleif hinting that Xilonen does everything in her power to avoid being around when Mavuika turns up is just icing on the cake.

Kinich/K'uhul Ajaw — HOLD. Just because two people are married doesn't mean there's a ship in there. Sometimes it's just for tax purposes.

Paimon/K'uhul Ajaw — SELL. The world's best travel guide deserves someone who will treat her with respect, such as... uh... Sorush?

Mehrak/K'uhul Ajaw — be serious.

Traveller/Teleport Waypoints — after Act 4? As if. SELL.

Enjou/Aether — BUY BUY BUY does this even need explaining?

Enjou/Lumine — HOLD. Our analysts hurriedly added, “Nonono it's not a gender thing, it's because Aether likes Pyro slimes and Lumine likes Cryo slimes more so really we should be shipping Lumine with the Maguu Kenki or something.”

Chasca/Shenhe — SELL. Bird mating rituals aren't nearly as fun without the possibility of oviposition. Or, um. So I heard. Stick with Xianyun/Kujou Sara.

Cyno/Kinich — *sigh*, no, SELL. Too (ki-)niche.

Ronova/Xbalanque — HOLD OR BUY. Btw, are we sure the Archon War made it west of Liyue? >_>

Citlali/Faruzan — HOLD. It's too early to compare their traumas for thematic compatibility, but it's not out of the question. Watch this space.

Citlali/Draff — *wince*

------

We tend not to advise on heavily optioned stocks due to all the short selling activity, but for those of you who were wondering:

Citlali/Ororon — too volatile to call. This is the first explicit (grand)parental relationship between playable characters, so it technically fills a niche, but it's unclear whether that's a niche anyone went into Genshin looking for.

Chuychu/Chasca — the analysts just gave me a really withering look so I guess SELL? "Too soon"? What's that supposed to mean? She's just resting her eyes, right?

Mavuika/Nahida — SELL OR HOLD. The motif of memories as fuel is great and all but Mavuika is way too young.

Ematol/Phonia — SELL. The worst part is that they're not even the kind of sisters where that would have any transgressive je ne sais quoi. They're just like flatmates. Bert and Ernie minus the chemistry.

And that's it for now. Keep an eye on the Sumeru market later this patch— we're expecting predictable dividend payouts on all the blue chip stocks.

[hattedhedgehog]

hihihi i have one million questions about veilguard if you're willing to answer

what's the party banter like (quantity, quality, how often it triggers)?

can we talk to companions outside of the lighthouse (like in origins)?

how in-depth can we go with the questions we ask companions? and on that note - how varied can our responses be? is it like origins with a shitton of variety, or inquisition where you're mostly limited to two or three opinions?

how fashionable are the armors? any favorites?

how much do we get to interact with the infamous egg? is it anytime, or only in specific cutscenes?

could you go a bit more in-depth about how gender and transness works for rook?

does rook have their own room in the lighthouse, and if so, is it customizable (and to what degree)?

how much impact does your race have on story/banter/gameplay?

if you're allowed to tell us, how large of a role does the inquisitor play?

how tall/short can rook be?

how in-depth can rook get when it comes to political discussions (related to #3)

on a scale of 0 to videos of soldiers coming home to their dogs after being at war, how much should we expect to cry?

can we see your rook?

thanks!!!

I'll do my best! Some I won't be able to answer but I'll give it a go for ones I can. Spoiler-free answers below:

1: The party banter is lovely! It's very frequent, it ranges from rivalry to potential romance amongst each other, and happens at the Lighthouse as well as on missions.

2: Sometimes!

3: Depends how close you are to them. There aren't as many options as in Origins but it doesn't feel like the conversation is limited. You also get extra dialogue options depending on your faction/gender/relationship etc.

4: I found lots of them very aesthetically pleasing, though of course there are some that missed the mark. There's a huge range of outfits, and you unlock more with each area you go to. I can't show my favourites as they're spoilers for the achievements sadly! Emmrich's outfits are particularly fun and give me Locked Tomb haute couture vibes.

5: Infamous egg can only be accessed at certain times (like with companion cutscenes) but it happens multiple times at useful points.

6: In character creator Rook has separate categories for pronouns and gender identity, which his amazing! The pronouns are for how other people refer to them in dialogue, and the identity is for expanding on gender in conversations. For instance, my Rook was nonbinary and used he/him pronouns, so other characters referred to me as He, and I got to talk to other characters with dialogue specifically about how Rook wasn't a man or a woman (and how he felt about that!)

7: Rook does have their own room! You collect items in-game that you can place around the room as decor, and interact with to explore Rook's personality.

8: It impacts your character's origins and how you interact with/relate to characters.

9: Can't tell you, sorry!

10: Depends on the starter build!

11: Quite in-depth!

12: The latter...

13: I'll post my Rook on launch day!

Hope these help!

[kaibutsushidousha]

Fitting given the recent FGO news, but what are your thoughts on Takeru?

Bundling all these asks together because they're inseparable. Probably the biggest askbox cleanup I ever did in one go.

The short version of the answer is "Fate/Samurai Remnant is the story of a pair completely enamored with each other's least favorite parts of themselves."

Saber was a complete natural. A child too strong. His father quickly noticed that and exploited Ousu as Yamato's mightiest colonizer. All they knew in life was violent conquest until Tachibana taught them love and kindness. But Tachibana was uncritical. She didn't talk Takeru out of their bloody path. On the contrary, she chose death so that the walk would continue. She loved Takeru's good and bad alike.

Through Iori, Saber met a new world. A world where the weak had the option not to fight. A world where rice was easily accessible. A world that had no need for Yamato Takeru's journey, thus no need for Ototachibanahime's death. And there he met an intriguing man who still wanted to fight in a world where this wasn't needed.

In their interactions, Saber grows to envy Iori's rational acclimation to the peaceful Edo. The ability to find solutions that don't require violence. To strategize conversations. To not do things aren't virtuous. To sympathize and empathize. To read and understand the thoughts of others. It's by emulating this that Saber changes.

Meanwhile, Iori is a thinker. His exceptional rationality allowed him to weasel his way out of a village massacre, which lasted until Munenori inadvertently saved his life. After this whole time desperately using his brain to survive, Iori witnessed the easy way out. With a slash that looked like the moon, the sword saint survived without resorting to Iori's tiresome trickery. That absolute strength was the symbol of survival Iori saught.

He learned from Musashi (and Kojirou) for as long as he could, but ultimately couldn't learn all. Without completing Niten's lessons, Iori was left capable only of doing what he does best: thinking, reading, and adapting. He designed his Five Stances model and began fighting by switching patterns according to his circumstances. The opposite of the all-purpose survival mechanism that he began his training for.

Through Saber, Iori saw his original inspiration. Right in the prologue, Iori is already gushing about how Saber fights with the swordplay of a champion who doesn't read or respond to their opponent, letting only themself dictate how they fight, like they were the only one in the field. Saber can survive any situation with far less effort than Iori.

In their interactions, Iori grows to envy Saber's force of character as an unmalleable force. Their outstanding technique is just like the moon he saw at the night at the port. Iori can't feel at peace until he surpasses it. No matter how much of himself he must trim down, he needs to find raw all-purpose power (the Fire and Void Stances). Saber's ability to push through any challenge without as much as evaluating it. It's by emulating this that Iori changes.

The conclusion of Entreat the Darkness sees Iori defeated by Saber's successful read of him. The talentless Iori continuously relied on his "petty" tactic of studying his opponent, so when the talented Saber started pulling the same thing on him, it was so thoroughly hopeless that he had to laugh it off and accept he got as far as he could. Iori was pacified by his own lessons being repeated to him by the person who heartfeltly absorbed them, in classic Ciel route style.

Saber and Iori were born in the wrong eras. The latter would have been more self-assured in an age where he could prove and elevate himself in duels that put the limits of life and death to the test. The former would have been more happy in an age where they could feel assured their treasured companion(s) would last as long as they did.

But through the short time they shared, they got everything they wanted. Iori found satisfaction in finding that insurmountable that confirmed that he became the very best he could possibly be. Saber found satisfaction in gaining a companion through a much more gratifying journey than the unification of Japan.

The logical conclusion to my opening sentence is that Saber and Iori had the missing pieces to each other's puzzle, and sharing those made both of them whole.

[actionmemeplay]

AMP-GUIDES: GETTING STARTED WITH RPing OCs IN THE RPC

Pointers for new or first-time OC players looking to get the ball rolling with writing original characters on Tumblr.

► First off: why make a post like this?

...Because original characters in the RPC (particularly ones who AREN'T fandom OCs, who instead belong to their own original universe) don't have the starting boost of having an existing fandom behind them. They don't set out already recognisable to other players, so it can sometimes be a little tougher to drum up engagement.

► Tip #1: Make your OC easy to know

Two things to keep in mind when trying to get an OC blog out there: 1: nobody knows your character except you. Ergo, 2: ...it's your number one objective to make your OC knowable and interesting to your hopefully-future-RP partners! People visiting your blog should have a way to quickly find out the basics of your character and what makes them tick. Keep in mind that having too much information can sometimes be as big of a roadblock to interaction as not having enough. Long bios documenting your OC's entire life-story can be useful to have around, but may be better to have in addition to a shorter and more succinct bio that neatly introduces the core concept of your muse. When you go hunting for a new book at the library or bookshop, do you dive into every book you pick up straight from page 1? Or do you check out the blurb first, to see if the plot even sounds interesting to you? Your muse doesn't need fancy powers or tragic backstory to be interesting, but regardless of if your OC is the plainest everyman or a secret superhero, you still have to let us see what makes it worth getting to know them. Make sure your pages contain the most basic of basics, such as name, gender (or just pronouns), age, and basic physical details, as well as where your muse comes from/what their world is like, a cursory introduction to their personality, and what they're up to at this point in their life. Establishing a setting and any goals can offer hooks for interactions with other muses. Other things that can be helpful are rundowns of their likes and dislikes, their positive/negative/neutral traits, and information on their strengths or weaknesses, or even the places you'd be most likely to find them.

► Tip #2: Consider visuals

Faceclaims, icons, and fancy graphics are NOT mandatory to finding your OC's niche and having a good time in the tumblr RPC...but they can be nice to have around, and some players feel they can connect easier to OCs when they have a visual aid to help visualise your character. Even if you don't plan on using icons, having just one good quality image for your OC's bio can go a long way. But again: it's optional, so don't sweat it too much.

► Tip #3: Shop around for fandoms with themes or settings similar to your OC's

Is your OC is from a fantasy background? Sci-fi? From a version of our own world? When you're getting started trying to find writing partners, you may find you're most likely to be successful reaching out to muses from canons that fit together well with what you're going for with your own OC. This doesn't mean you can't also shoot for cross-genre interactions, of course, but seeking out muses from fictional worlds similar to your own can be a good place to start.

► Tip #4: Showcase your OC in action

Even if you're not writing threads just yet, in-character posts, open starters or short drabbles can all be a good indicator for newcomers of how your character interacts with others and with the world. Remember: nobody knows your character yet, so something that gives others a hint of your character's vibe can be useful for sparking interest in them. Writing short headcanon posts can be used to the same effect, as they can be a helpful and fun way to both flesh our who your muse is as a person, and to introduce tidbits about your character that don't necessarily come up in a bio section...which can offer more interesting lore about your muse and help other players identify things your characters might either bond or bicker over.

► Tip #5: Don't forget about your fellow OCs

Don't be a stranger! If you know what a slog it can be to build traction for an OC blog then it makes sense to extend a little energy to your fellow OCs in the community. Take the time to check over other OC players' blogs, see if you might find their character interesting, or maybe even take a chance if you're on the fence...you can always unfollow later if you decide your play styles or your muses don't gel.

► Tip #6: Don't get discouraged

OCs can have a harder time in fandom heavy RPCs. It's just a natural expectation of not having the "brand recognition" and pre-existing affection that canon muses frequently do. Some OCs have an easier time taking off than others, but don't give up if yours comes up on a slow start. If you're passionate about your muse and are willing to be a little patient, you'll find your crowd! If you ARE struggling to find people to write with, maybe shop around different promo tags and fandoms, and audit your OC's pages again to make sure that there's enough to draw folks in and that you're selling what makes them unique and engaging. OCs can sometimes take a little more work than canon muses to get out there, but don't listen to anyone who tells you the RPC doesn't like OCs or that they can't be really successful out here. It's true that writing an OC often necessitates being the one to reach out first, but it's a rewarding experience, and you'll be surprised how many people will be enthusiastic to get to know your muse and will grow to love them in time.

[rottenshotgungames]

I’ve spent three years working on a game about motion

Footfall Devlog 1

It’s really hard for me to talk about my games. It’s even harder to talk about something I’ve been keeping so close to my chest for so long, but it’s time to do so.

This Devlog will be covering the basics of what Footfall is and the first few challenges of making a game so heavily inspired by immersive sims.

So, without further ado:

What is Footfall?

Footfall is an occult-industrial stealth-action rpg inspired by Dishonored, Assassin’s Creed, and Bloodborne. It aims to emulate the systemic ecosystem and emergent gameplay of immersive sims, and particularly the fast, creative, movement-centric gameplay of Dishonored.

You play as Gifted of the Watchman, the god of stories and action. You are functional demigods, arcane in nature and forever part of a great cosmic play of chaos and change.

Some basics about how the game is played before going forward:

You get 3 Action Points at the beginning of your turn, each action point representing a period of 2 seconds.

Movement is measured in ~3 foot increments labeled "Strides." These are about the average length of a walking stride, and tend to be measured with one's arm.

You get powers which move you and others in interesting and unique ways (e.g. teleporting, creating portals, time manipulation, etc.)

Designing a Tabletop ImSim: or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Physics Engine

This game is, first and foremost, a stealth-action game, as such one specific thing was very important to get right: movement. My most important design goal, from the beginning, was to create interesting systems that interact in cool ways, particularly in regards to movement (otherwise, the stealth would just be boring and the action wouldn’t be bombastic enough). Generally speaking, there are a few ways to do movement in TTRPGs:

Narrative abstraction (PBtAs). The strength of this one lies in its lack of necessity of maps, which is not a strength particularly necessary for a game where movement mechanics are a core pillar.

Landmark-defined zones (ALIEN RPG and Celestial Bodies). This option’s strength also lies in its abstraction. You can have tactical combat and actual movement mechanics, but you don’t need codified distances (just a big rock that tells you where you are).

Short grid-based movement based on character stats (Tactics RPGs like Fire Emblem). The strength here is in the tactical importance of moving even one tile. Moving *feels* important because you get to do so little of it in one round, and it makes each tile moved feel like a long distance.

Simplified but simulatory grid-based movement (D&D). The strength of this system is, generally speaking, how thorough yet digestible it is. You’re given jump mechanics, falling mechanics, running mechanics, and they’re all simple enough that you can (usually) remember how they work without opening the book. The issue is that they don’t tend to be very interactive—“Yay, I can jump across a 10-foot gap without that impacting anything other than my positioning. Yay.”

Without beating around the bush, none of these options appealed to me for this project. Option 4 came the closest, but the issue with it is the same as with all of them: these movement systems tend to be very . . . “confined” to only affecting positioning, whether narratively or tactically. I pretty quickly realized that I had one option in front of me, make something I had never seen before:

5. A tabletop physics engine.

First thing’s first, I laid out a few key goals for my physics engine:

Strive for playability, not accuracy. People aren't computers, I don't want you to have to perform complex calculations constantly (unless you want to and therefore choose to).

Interactivity and impact. Even if those decisions aren't codified in the physics engine itself, I want the physics to inform multiple gameplay decisions through its interactions with other systems.

Flexibility of simulation. This is a physics engine, if it breaks when someone tries to jump (which it won't) then it's not working very well, is it? People should be able to toy around with it and get cool interactions out of it without it suddenly turning into a hell of, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN DRIVING A CAR KILLS ME???"

Pretty simple stuff altogether, right? . . . right?

Alright, so what went wrong the first time? Well, I took the last point too far, to the point that I shirked the golden rule: "Strive for Playability, not Accuracy." It would be impossible to accurately model how gravity works in real life without a single round of physics-heavy combat taking 4 hours, which may be your jam but definitely isn't mine. The first version of the physics engine included such awful rules as:

Ground acceleration to model running - "If you move in a direction using 1 action point, and continue moving in the same direction with the following action point you begin to sprint. Your sprint will continue as long as you keep following up one movement with another in the same direction. Your movement speed is considered to be double its base amount and any attacks made with a bow or powder arm that target you have a minor disadvantage to hit if your last action point on your turn was spent sprinting." This was just . . . way too confusing and difficult to track, to the point that it actively disincentivized going fast.

Just straight up incorrect gravitational-acceleration math - It's still not wholly accurate, but I tried for way too long to make it wholly accurate.

An attempt to model fall-damage based upon Momentum - People accelerate downward faster than most people think they do. You will fall about 96 feet (over 29 meters) in a matter of 2 seconds. 1 Action Point. Yeah, there's just no calculating fall damage without relying solely on distance or some over-complicated math that still relies on distance.

Listed out, specific momentums that add damage to your strikes - "When an object or creature lands a strike while in motion, the energy imparted onto their target deals additional damage. If you have a momentum equal to or greater than 24 feet per Action Point before making an attack with a melee weapon, you deal an additional d4 of damage on your strike. If you have a momentum equal to or greater than 48 feet per Action Point before making an attack with a melee weapon, you deal an additional d8 of damage on your strike instead. If you have a momentum equal to . . ." God, this was so stupid of me. It's a really simple formula now: "When making an attack, for each 4 Strides per Action Point of Momentum a creature has in the direction of their target (if the target is in some combination of directions, such as Forward and Left, use the higher of the two) they deal an additional point of damage."

There were more, but it's really not worth going on and on.

Upon revising the physics engine, which was part of a whole system overhaul in the year of our lord 2022, I had one goal: "Simplify the math without simplifying the impact." Which, as you can probably tell from the second to last bullet of the prior list, I did.

The physics engine, as it is, is actually quite simple in practice. You can read the whole thing if you decide to grab the free playtest (which will be releasing soon, just have to finish up some final adjustments and get some art in), but for now I present to you . . .

The Footfall Physics Engine Quick Reference

Momentum: Strides moved in a direction since the beginning of your last Action. Momentum is directional (Forward, Backward, Left, Right, Up, Down). You may change facing at the beginning of an Action. Changing facing mid-air costs an Action Point. Move in the direction of and Strides equal to Momentum when in the air.

Gravity: When not standing on solid ground, you fall. Creatures gain 32 Strides of Downward Momentum at the beginning of each Action Point spent falling. Gifted may choose to halve this to 16 Strides.

Concussive Force: +1 Damage on attacks for each 4 Strides of Momentum in direction of Target. When hit by an object, damage die = +1 die size per 7 Strides of Momentum (1d2 at 7, 1d20 at 42). Throwing an object increases its Momentum by 21 Strides.

Fall Damage: When you hit the ground, damage die = +1 die size per 4 Strides fallen (1d2 at 4, 1d20 at 24). +1d20 for each 4 Strides beyond 24. Gifted falling at 16 Stride Gravity cannot take more than 1d20 Fall Damage.

Wall Damage: When you hit a wall, damage die = +1 die size for each 5 Strides of Momentum beyond 9 (1d2 damage at 9, 1d4 at 14). If damage die > d20, add a new die and start over.

I'm actually really proud of this physics engine. So far, players have LOVED playing around with it, and even some fairly math-dense people understood it after looking at the powers section for a little bit. I can't say for certain if I've accomplished all of my goals, and public playtesting may prove that it needs simplified further, but the successes I've had surrounding the physics engine are what told me that taking the effort to design Footfall wasn't a fool's errand. People used to tell me that movement is boring, it's just the thing you have to do to get to the fun stuff; and I feel as though I've proven it can be interesting, digestible, and—above all-else—fun.

It's fun to move yourself forward multiple strides using a power, then launch yourself into the air where you can soar across the battlefield and directly into a specific foe for increased damage. It's fun to have your buddy sit in a momentum-generation-machine constructed with two vertically aligned portals that triple her downward momentum each time she passes through, then watch as she swaps spots and momentums with a giant enemy monster, which you promptly send hurtling into a wall at 18x terminal velocity with your portals. Honestly, it's just fucking cool.

I'm so excited for people to get their hands on it.

Conclusion

Honestly, I have no idea what design lesson to leave you with. The best I can say is this: Fuck the haters. If you have an idea, and you really believe in that idea, follow through. Anything is possible given some time, planning, reflection, and a willingness to revise.

If you think something would be cool, and nobody's made it yet? Make it. Do it, right now. You can, I'm proof. It's gonna be great, I know it.

I believe in you.

Self Promotion

Welp, it's that time again folks. If you wanna check out my other games, and get updated when the Footfall free playtest goes live, follow me in Itch.io! If you want more devlogs, and more rpg design talk, follow me here or on twitter.

You really can't go wrong either way.

[jwi-pk-templates]

Intro Post ♡

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[poop-fartious]

can i request a wally x reader who ends up in the neighborhood by accident and really doesn't wanna be there, but wally and the others try to turn their frown upside down?

Sure! Hope you don't mind me using this as a more general thing to test the waters out with the other characters (still Wally focused tho). This is also my first time writing Wally as a non-yandere.

WALLY DARLING X GN!READER

cw: none! reader is a human.

REQUESTS ARE OPEN

Knock knock knock

"Y/N!?" Julie cried out, "Are you in there?"

You huffed and covered your face with your pillow, trying to resist the urge to groan.

This happens every morning since you somehow ended up in this strange lost media world. Your neighbors Julie and Barnaby knock on the door to try and get you out of your house. Eventually, they'd give up.

You hated this. You hated how everything here was so cheery. Not that you hated cheeriness but it was all too cheery. This isn't a world for you.

You listened to the knocking, and Barnaby's endless slew of horrible jokes about being a shut-in. You don't care, kinda, you already tuned them out.

A few minutes pass, and they leave. You heave a sigh of relief and collapse on your couch. You're desperate to return home, and you'll find it eventually. But for now, just being like this was fine.

It wasn't long after both Julie and Barnaby leave that another knock on the door came. Two knocks and a message.

"Mail's here,"

It was Eddie, the only one of your neighbors you ever opened the door for. You didn't particularly like Eddie either, he's just the mailman and if he has mail then you have to get it.

Usually you exchange a quiet "thank you" after his deliveries, refuse to engage with his small talk, and then shut the door and leave him. He knows this, and doesn't engage with you for long.

But today is different, as when you opened the door you found that he has no packages to deliver, and was just standing there with a smile.

"Today's package is…" Eddie said, before wrapping your arms around you and lifting you up off the ground, "Spending some time outside,"

Your breath hitched as he spun you around. You regret opening the door.

Eddie has placed you down on your doorstep, quickly shutting your door and blocking your doorway.

"We're having a picnic and we'd like you to come," Eddie said. You huffed, knowing there was no other option.

—//—

You weren't even close to the picnic site when Barnaby ran over and engulfed you in an eager hug, causing you to stiffen like a board.

"Took you long enough to get out of your house, ey?" Barnaby said, "Did you have a bad ten mornings?"

He patted you on the back. You looked down at the ground, embarrassed. You didn't want to be here. Obviously, Eddie and Barnaby picked up on this.

"You getting embarrassed?" Barnaby asked.

"There's nothing embarrassing about being loved by friends!" Eddie said, acting as if you were buddies, pals.

You didn't want to be here, let alone make friends. You wanted to go home, not to your house here, but your actual home. Yet if you voiced that concern you'd know they'd laugh you off.

You aren't gonna be friends with anyone here.

You got to the picnic site, and was greeted by your cheery neighbors. Julie brought you into another hug, thankfully it was a short hug. She began hopping up and down and flapping her hands as she reveled in your appearance.

Howdy and Poppy gave you friendly waves, while Sally twirled happily. Yet their reactions were nothing compared to the stare that Wally Darling himself gave you. You didn't know how to describe it.

Frank split the neighbors up from you.

"Don't you think they're being a bit overwhelmed? This is their first time out of the house since they got here!" he said.

You took the only blanket available, a very splotchy yet colorful blanket, and sat still. You didn't want to interact with anyone else. You wanted your time here to be as short as possible.

Howdy brought out the food, each of them catered to the specific tastes of the neighbors, you assumed, as each neighbor got something different.

You were last, to which Howdy brought out a cake that said "Welcome!"

"I know you've been here for a little while," Howdy said, "but I still wanted to give you something special as a proper welcome gift,"

You gave a silent thank you, as is polite, and started to eat the cake. It was actually very tasty. You're keeping this to yourself.

"How's the food?" asked Eddie, "Howdy makes some good stuff,"

You then spoke your first words to them. "It's alright,"

You continued eating it, trying to tune out the conversations around you. You were focused on finishing the cake and getting out of there, yet Julie broke you out of your focus.

"They really like the cake!" Julie said, "They finished eating before anyone else!"

Your face flushed, "No!" you let out, "I just eat fast!"

The neighbors chuckled at you, clearly making up their mind.

You turned down everything that they offered after that, saying you were full even though you were not full at all, in fact you were starving before Howdy's cake. The food in the fridge that was somehow there ran out yesterday, and you hadn't eaten anything since mid day yesterday.

Yet you wanted out. You wanted to go to your house and somehow survive there. You didn't want to be around these puppets.

Wally seemed to see right through you, as he made his way over to you and spoke in a soothing voice you didn't expect.

"You do look rather hungry," Wally said, "How long has it been since you've last eaten?"

You didn't answer.

"That long, huh?" Wally said. He pulled out an apple, handing it to you, "Here, eat this. You better watch out for yourself,"

You ate the apple, giving a silent thank you to Wally as you scarfed it down. The others all made comments, as they did, but you didn't mind that.

—//—

The day went on, and it was excruciating. Once the picnic was done everyone went over to Sally's house, as she had made a new play that she performed.

Then, Julie and Barnaby set up some games for everyone to play and you wanted to not play, yet Julie forced you to.

More and more things happened, and by the time the sun started to set you were lying catatonic underneath a tree.

You heard footsteps, it was Wally. He was carrying something in his arms and he smiled upon seeing you.

"Y/N," Wally said, sitting down next to you, "Today was exhausting for you, I could tell,"

You nodded.

"Well, I wanted to give you something,"

He handed you the thing in his hands. It was covered but as you uncovered it Wally started explaining it.

"You didn't smile at all when you were around us," Wally said, "I noticed that. I noticed a lot about you,"

He got closer.

"You really did like that cake, and you may have liked Barnaby's jokes more than you let on,"

He touched your face.

"You aren't made of the same materials as the rest of us… and your chest rises and falls,"

Wally stopped, and you realized you had uncovered what he gave you.

It was a framed portrait of you, smiling, looking up at something.

"I also noticed that you only let yourself smile during Sally's play," Wally said, "It was beautiful, I had to capture it,"

You were at a loss for words the entire time, but Wally spoke up first.

"You truly are perfect, from head to toe," Wally said, "You're the absolute most, and I love every single thing about you,"

He got down and sat by your side, resting his head on your shoulder as he looked up at you with a look filled with adoration and love. It was the same look he gave you at the picnic.

Wally was comfortable, and wordlessly you gave into your tiredness, your eyes closed and you fell asleep.

When you awoke, you found yourself unable to move, as every single one of your neighbors joined you in a sleep pile.

You were a stranger, you came here by accident and you were exhausted by every single one of your neighbors, but just once you thought maybe life here wouldn't be as bad as it seems.

[gyutarowritings]

REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD PLAY HONKAI STARRAIL 1.

This is a character I think you'll like. Clara. She is a little girl who got found by a robot when she was an infant.

He cares for her and will hurt anyone who dares hurt her. Full on papa bear mode.

2.

These little darlings are called Cat Cakes. After a mission you unlock an event where you get to play and care for them.

He'll be sad if you don't cuddle him. 3.

This game is originally Chinese. So gay relationships aren't allowed. So there is a shit ton of queer coding. Similar to Heaven's Official blessing. Here are some of those.

Acheron and Black Swan. They are hinted at with there close relationship. There is a OFFICIAL short film where they dance revealing more lore about themselves to each other.

I love this short film so much.

Ratio and Aventurine is also a queer coded duo. I love them.

A coldhearted scientist and a smirking idiot.

4.

The visuals are so beautiful!!!

This place has amazing world buliding

5.

This game is completely free to download on any device.

6.

THE CHARACTERS LORE ARE SO THOUGHT OUT AND WELL WRITTEN!!

I have cried a lot.

7.

The game is easy to follow so you don't get confused.

8.

THE ENGLISH VOICES ARE AMAZINGGGGGG!! The voice actors interact with the fanbase all the time. (BTW 7 days ago the changed Argenti's voice actor so i'll send you what his old voice sounded like)

9.

This game can be so goddamn funny!! You can interact with trashcans and your companions will be like "OH GOD THEY ARE DOING IT AGAIN". The dialogue options are so funny!

10. THe fandom is so funny and welcoming

11.

I would be so happy if you started playing and I'll explain any questions you have

@larz-barz @kimetsu-chan

[m34gs]

So I will be honest. I was really excited for In A Violent Nature. I went into it blind, which I think is probably the best way to have done it. I was excited to see what it would bring and what kind of scares it would give. I watched it with a friend the day it got uploaded on Shudder. But, I have mixed emotions and overall feel a bit disappointed with a few major parts of the movie. And I'm bored, tired, full of cold-medicine, and haven't slept more than 2 hours in a row for three days so I'm gonna talk about it. This should be obvious, but if it's not, Spoilers Ahead.

First, there were many things I really did like.

the perspective: almost the entire movie is filmed from the perspective of the murderer. As in, we follow him around instead of the victims. It's interesting to me because usually the opening scenes either set up the backstory or introduce the victims to the audience. You could argue "well that's not unusual, it just means the protagonist is the murderer and you were being introduced to him" and that's fair. That's a fair way to look at it. However, even for an introduction to the killer it was done in an unusual way (and I loved that). Throughout a good chunk of the film, the audience has a third person view from behind the killer. It's almost like we're playing a third-person view video game. You don't get to see his face for quite a while. Again, that's not necessarily an unusual perspective, but to have it go on that way for so long through the movie is. The audience gets a very limited interaction with the victims and most of it comes from what we see from the killer's perspective.

the soundtrack (or lack thereof...): this movie had very minimal music during attack scenes. In fact, I think the only murder that really had music during the scene was one where a character was listening to a walk-man. And the music did not give horror vibes, which is always an interesting juxtaposition. This means that every hit, every slice, every squish was loud. Every step in the woods was heard. It was eerie because it was so silent and I just found I really liked the decision to do that.

the lake scene: when one of the girls jumps in the lake and goes for a swim, everyone knows where that is going to end up. I thought it was done in an interesting way. Instead of a lot of splashing, the audience gets her initial fear and then she's pulled under. She resurfaces once, to weakly call for help but is immediately pulled under again. Then her body silently floats to the top. This is one of the few scenes where we aren't watching from over the killer's shoulder. Instead, there's a wide view of an otherwise undisturbed body of water and then her small, short-lived struggle. I thought it was interesting how she never had a chance and how eerily calm everything else was around her. No one else would have heard her. I think it was a very different but effective way of portraying the isolation and hopelessness of the situation.

the yoga murder: this one was more of a "is he gonna go there oh my god oh yup oh wait what the fuck oh shit" kind of a moment for me. That's why I liked it. That's it.

the woodsplitter murder: Idk, I liked the slowness of this one. I always find the deaths where you're forced to watch or wait for your own demise and are helpless to do anything else are some of the most terrifying. And that woodsplitter was old and slow as fuck.

Things I didn't really like:

the face reveal: so we spend a good chunk of this movie either looking over the killer from behind, seeing him in the shadows, or seeing him with a mask on. The point is, his face is obscured. This usually means One of two things: there will be a face reveal that has significance either in revealing who the murderer really is or in scaring the victims, OR there is no face reveal and the audience is left to wonder and imagine. In my opinion, either option would have been fine. And if anyone were to say "it reveals it was Johnny"; no it does not. We knew it was Johnny. Everyone assumed it was Johnny from the beginning because of the way the story was told. A "reveal" would have been if they made it Johnny's father's spirit instead of Johnny's, but they would have had to played that up more in the story. Or if they made us significantly doubt it was Johnny instead of basically saying it was to begin with. The reveal instead was done so anticlimactically and away from the view of protagonists so you lose the value, in my opinion.

the ranger: so I get his point in the story. He was the one to point them in the right direction, to tell them why things were happening and what needed to be done to put things back the way they were. I just didn't really like him and I felt like his character kind of fell flat for me.

Colt's death: listen, I get they were in a tense situation and scared. But who the fuck thinks going up behind an armed murderous vengeful spirit who just brutally destroyed your friends' bodies and fucking yelling at him is a good fucking idea. So yeah, Colt's death pissed me off a little. I did find it a little humourous how Johnny was like "fuck you in particular" and proceeded to fucking hack his face off like it was his day job, but man, it really didn't need to go that way. You could have just kept running away. Like wtf.

the ending: Now, I'm not dumb. I get a few things. Number one, love that we got a final girl, top tier trope. Number two, it was great to see a reference to Texas Chainsaw Massacre with her getting picked up in a truck. Liked the shot where we got closure that Johnny did get his necklace back and went back to sleep because he was comforted by it. Very nice. HOWEVER. Why did we have to listen to some random woman ramble about how her brother was almost torn to shreds by what they assumed was a bear? For god knows how long? Like she just kept rambling about nothing. That type of scene sets a good thing in the beginning because it gives the victims something to blame other than a "mysterious masked murderer" and allows for more suspense. At the end it doesn't have the same effect. I get it was supposed to be that she feels hunted the entire time, even when there's no one there, and that her entire freak-out even when Johnny doesn't show up for the rest of the film is meant to show the lasting effect trauma will have on her. But did it have to be such a long part of the film? because a haunted look through the window, the woman's voice fading into the background, suddenly pulling over, she can have her freak-out, and I think it would give the same message, but waste less of my time. And I do feel that the ending scene kind of wasted my time. I will admit, at first I was curious and kind of waiting for a plot twist or something more, but then I just became frustrated, and after it ended I was annoyed.

That's just my personal thoughts on the movie. If people don't like it they can move along. I don't hate the movie but I was significantly disappointed by the ending and the face reveal in particular.

[bambiraptorx]

What is your opinion on the mystical magenta goat man? (Draxum)

Good dad? Deserved more screentime/emotional moments with the bois? (they gave us like 2 moments like that in the finale, and I'm sad that it's all we got)

owo

Ooh, I have so many thoughts about Draxum. Buckle up.

First of all, it's worst mentioning that when I started watching Rise, I knew ahead of time that he would get a redemption arc. (Reading the wiki and watching clips/analysis videos is what got me interested in the show, after all.) So admittedly, my view of how his redemption arc went was a little skewed just because I knew from the start that it would happen.

Personally, I wish more of it had been actually shown in the show. We get about ten seconds of him helpless in an alley then a hard cut to him in his apartment being bullied by Mikey, and I would love to see how that series of events played out. Also, his arc from mortal enemy to somewhat trusted by the turtles happened in one eleven minute episode, and I would have loved to see that tension be played with a little more. I do understand that the show was cut short, though, and I'm pretty happy with what we did get.

*looks at all my fics* honestly, I think part of the reason that they're all more or less about Draxum spending time with the turtles one way or another is because that dynamic was so underdeveloped and several things went unaddressed in order to give the show a decently cohesive finale.

For example, the roof incident. Leo is clearly very bitter about it and clearly mistrusts Draxum because of it, but the show just didn't have the opportunity to address it. Another issue that had to go unresolved was Draxum's relationship to Cassandra, because she seriously looked up to/trusted him in their episode together but he more or less threw her under the bus.

Not to mention all the little things that canon hints at but doesn't show. Like, somehow Donnie has Draxum's phone number, meaning they had at least one conversation off screen. How did that happen? Do they hang out or something? And really, the whole story of how Mikey got Draxum to move into an apartment and let him come over is so unexplored, at least within the show.

And speaking of things that canon doesn't show, I find Draxum's position among yokai to be absolutely fascinating, especially given that the only yokai he deals with in the show itself are antagonists to him (Big Mama, the Council of Heads, the cops) aside from the gargoyles.

There's a pretty big hole there about how he interacted with the rest of the Hidden CIty-- did he have friends? DId people know about his research and mutations? What did people think about him? And obviously the narrative doesn't address this because the story is about the turtles, not him. But still.

And why did he choose to create mutants in the first place? Its fascinating that the prophecy that motivates him is never actually shown in the show itself, just referenced. Why was mutating humans the best option to him? Did he try other things? When exactly did the Council tell him not to create warriors?

The timeline is pretty fuzzy, and frankly Draxum's motives aren't actually all that clear. That's probably why there's so many different interpretations of why he's doing what he's doing (and what, exactly, he's actually doing) throughout the fandom-- canon doesn't address it super deeply.

So yeah, his relationships with the turtles are really fun to think about and mess around with, but the gaps in the narrative (not a perfect phrase but the general idea) around him are fascinating to explore in their own right. And whether canon would have explored him more or not, I think its fun so I'm gonna do it lol. I have built so much lore about this man (almost none of which has showed up in my stories) because he's fun.

And he is genuinely a fun character, whether pre or post redemption. He's dramatic, he's arrogant, he makes bad quips (seriously, he has a line about "how very NOT NICE to see you" at one point, and that's how my sister used to talk before she figured out how to actually be sarcastic). He, the big bad of season one, ends up as a lunch lady at one point, which is frankly absurd and absolutely in tone for the kind of show that Rise is. He's a powerhouse at times and completely out of his element at others.

And once he's no longer actively fighting the turtles most of his screen time, there's a goofiness to the nature of his character, a powerful alchemist/warrior trying to live a normal life (mostly because a thirteen year old will yell at him otherwise) and not even trying that hard. Season 2 especially does a lot of fun things with his character, and I only wish that they're been able to do more.

TLDR: Draxum is probably my favorite character, and also I want to hit him with the hammer of 'forced to deal with teenagers'.

[suzuran777]

Review + Guide: Friendly lab - unlock(); (Tennenouji)

I was going to wait for the English translation of the PC version, but got a bit impatient and decided to play the Japanese version instead...! So here's my spoiler-free review in which I explain the gameplay mechanics and what the game's about. I also wrote a guide, as the Japanese one I found was a bit confusing sometimes.

In this game, you play the role of a researcher who's conducting a gentle experiment on two test subjects. The goal of the experiment is to measure what kind of impact the interference of the researcher has on the test subjects. The experiment must however be conducted safely, without harming the test subjects. A small locked room, two test subjects who suffer from memory loss. It's your goal to present a variety of items to them and to observe their reaction.

If you're here for the guide I recommend scrolling down a little bit! I'll start with a short summary of what the game is about and how to play it. This game was originally released as a mobile game in 2022 and I played a little bit of it, but I didn't reach any endings, so this was my first time completing the game. The gameplay of both versions is almost identical, but this time there are no in-game purchases and ads, which is nice! As the game's description mentions, you have to conduct experiments on the test subjects, Nishi and Higashi, and observe how they react to them. Both of them don't remember how they got there and also don't remember much of their past lives, so it's up to you to slowly make them remember. This game is unvoiced and there's also no background music, so it immediately makes the player feel a bit uneasy. The only sound you hear is the sound of the clock ticking.

Gameplay and story As the researcher, you can use 10 different sub-menus to interact with Nishi and Higashi: Voyeurism (1), Meal (2), Special Item (3), Accident (4), Entertainment (5), a safe which becomes the Cultivation Room later (6), Question cards (7), Paper and Pen (8), Bathing (9) and Sleep (10). At first the game does seem a bit confusing because you have to figure out which items trigger a reaction and it's a bit slow at first, but I did have fun slowly learning more about the characters! The goal is to gather as many keywords as possible, but you only have a limited numbers of actions each day, so use them wisely. For those reading this after the English version is released, I hope my translations aren't too different, but I think it should still be understandable!

Both characters have completely different personalities. They don't remember their real names so they use the Japanese words for East and West (Nishi and Higashi). Nishi knows a lot about many topics, such as plants, medicine, animals and likes sharing fun facts about items shown to him. Higashi on the other hand, seems to be struggling with a lot of things, slowly remembering his dark past when certain items are presented to him. Throughout the story, Nishi helps him to slowly regain memories of his past, which sometimes get rather dark.

Almost the entire plot of the game takes place in a single room, so the characters and their stories are the most important part of this game. Through their interactions, you slowly learn what happened to them, allowing you to theorize how they could have possibly ended up in a situation like this. Because of this, the gameplay sometimes feels a bit slow, but I recommend taking your time so you can slowly learn more about the characters. The game auto-saves the current experiment so you can close the game whenever you want. It takes a while to replay the game a few times too to unlock every ending, but I had a lot of fun testing each option to see what would happen next. The only downside is that you can't really save, so if the experiment fails it's over and you have to restart.

Spoiler-free guide The first playthrough never gives you an ending so the choices don't matter, but I recommend using the cultivation room which unlocks within the first days. By presenting question cards to the characters, you will receive cultivation water which you can use in this special menu. Make sure to complete the experiment, as it carries over to your next playthrough. After the first round, start a new game and follow the "route 3 hint" card, it will show a little lamp symbol next to the options you should pick. You can skip experiments you've done before by double clicking it, it's faster than pressing the skip button. A few more tips to get the endings:

Don't use all your daily turns immediately, as some options only show up throughout the day and some are only available for a limited amount of time, so you might miss them.

Make sure to carefully look at the experiments in order to not miss any of the recommended choices, as some of these are also only available on certain days (you need to scroll down sometimes to see them). You can still get the endings if you miss some of them though, no need to restart if one or two of them expired.

The bathing scene choices usually don't matter, so just pick the character you want. You have to replay the game at least 10 times to get all the endings, so you'll have plenty of time to pick each option.

The choices which display this pink handshake symbol next to them increases the affinity between both characters, which is necessary to unlock some CGs.

Ending 3 and 2: Follow the "ending 3" hints. At the end of the game you're presented with a choice, pick the option to not tell the truth for ending 3. Afterwards start a new game, follow the "ending 3" hints again and pick the other option for ending 2. In my case the skip button somehow skipped the entire choice, so if you replay to get ending 2, be careful to not use this too much near the end of the final day. Ending 4: Automatically unlocks at the same time as ending 3 if you've completed the cultivation room in your first playthrough. Ending 1: Follow the "ending 3" hints but purposely avoid all the experiments that give you any clues on day 10. I just did all the recommended experiments on other days (except maybe 1 or 2 of them) and on the final day, I only used the voyeurism option and picked experiments the game didn't recommend (the ones without the lightbulb icon).

Ending 7: Follow the "ending 3" hints once more and give the characters the "happiness gas" item 8 times, with this item you unlock some of the 18+ content in the game. You can obtain this item by just showing the characters the question cards every day, they'll hint that they want to do something (eating, entertainment etc.) and one of the sub-menu buttons will light up, hinting that you should pick one of these options next. The buttons either turn green, yellow or red and shows a timer how much time you have left to select an option to obtain the item. On the right side of the screen you can see how many of the items you have (the gas mask and the cup of coffee icons).

After unlocking ending 3, you can also follow the "ending 5" hint card which you'll have to use for the next endings. Ending 5: Follow the "ending 5" hints (which unlocks after finishing ending 3) but avoid question cards as much as possible. Pick the experiment which looks something like this "■□■■" in the "Accident" menu every time (there's multiple parts and it seems to show up randomly throughout the day sometimes). I'm not sure how they will translate this, so below you can see what it looks like.

Ending 6: Exactly the same as the previous ending but this time, make sure to use all of your question cards every day, the game ends after playing the final "■□■■" event. Ending 8 and 9: Follow the "ending 5" hints again, but make sure to use happiness café au lait 8 times (you unlock this the same way as the happiness gas mentioned above). Also make sure to play the "lump of ???" event, which is an experiment that sometimes shows up in "Special items" during the first days. Avoid the final "■□■■" event because that might trigger ending 5 or 6 instead. You can't always use the café au lait immediately, but just check the special menu item every now and then to see if it's there. After using this item 8 times, you can choose to give it to Nishi (East) which unlocks ending 10, or Higashi (West) which unlocks ending 9.

Ending 10: Unlocks after you've cleared many experiments in the game marked with ★. I accidentally got this ending when I was aiming for another ending while following the "ending 3 card" hints, so if you don't want this end, it's better to ignore those options!

Final impressions The gameplay of this game is something totally different from what I'm used to, but I had fun! It takes a while to complete so I recommend just taking it slowly. The mobile version is a bit different and has a lot more options, offering an in-game shop and some kind of gacha system. I personally enjoyed the PC version more because even though it was sometimes funny to unlock different items for the characters, it was difficult to take the story seriously when they were wearing wigs and all kinds of funny outfits lol, though that is optional too. There's no background music or voices in this game, so I can't really comment on that, but I thought the art was really nice. It was a bit different than Yura's usual art, but I think it really suits the game's setting, kind of gloomy and dark.

I will not spoil the plot of the game but I think it was good! The game gives you all these little hints and slowly but surely, you learn their backstories and what happened to them to end up in such a place. It's called ''friendly'' lab and while the experiments themselves don't directly harm them, I will say that some of the endings are anything but "friendly". I did grow quite fond of the characters after interacting with them for so many days so after playing all the endings, I miss them already... I might go back to the mobile version after all because there's quite some things that aren't in the PC version, for example instead of the usual 11 days, this version has 20+ days now (the app still updates every now and then) and introduces new experiments, and at some point even a new research subject. The romance between Nishi and Higashi also seems to develop a bit more in this version, so I wonder if they'll release an updated version of the PC version at some point, or a second game? I am satisfied with the content of the PC version alone though!

Anyway, I recommend playing the game without reading spoilers, because the whole point of the game is that you're slowly learning more about these characters, and giving any kind of hint ruins the purpose of the game (though at some point you can also ask the characters if they know Giancarlo, a reference to Luckydog1... which was quite funny).

Here's a bonus screenshot of the app version of the game playing a Candy Crush ad, which made me laugh because it does not suit the atmosphere of the game at all, though you can get free points for the in-game gacha if you watch the ads.