#one more area to go and then it'll be time to actually design the world map

[ellraiser]

closing in on final designs!

[doodlesdreaming]

Shin Megami Log 4(After Game Thoughts)

Finished SMT V during Christmas, and I have THOUGHTS.

I'm gonna put all that under the 'Read More' bit, so if any of you are interested in this game, then scroll past and no peeking.

Right then, final thoughts:

Brief history lesson first, I knew very little about the SMT series or the spin-offs like Persona. Of course, with how incredibly successful Persona 5 is, it's hard to miss any sort of info. But even then, my knowledge of the entire franchise was very limited. All I know is that it's basically the "Dark Souls" of RPGs with character driven stories that have of ingredients than a Final Fantasy title. At least, that was the vibe I was getting.

But even then, I never have been interested enough to want to give any of the games a try. I did get Persona Q2 back when I first heard of the 3DS dying out, but it mostly because I didn't want a Persona game with Joker's face on it to be forever lost. Weird I know, but that was my train of thought, at the time. But after clearing the first boss(and realizing that prior knowledge of Persona 5's story is an absolute must) I got bored and haven't touched the game since.

Fast forward a few years later, when Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne was announced with a HD port to current gen consoles. I was genuinely excited by the announcement. This meant that if I ever decided to give Nocturne a try, it'll be alot easier for me to do so now. Then after that came the biggest surprise of all; Shin Megami Tensei V.

Now this....this caught my attention. Though I can't really explain why. Was it the character designs? The gorgeous looking world? "D" all of the above? All I can say is that something 'clicked' and I was very interested. Even though it would take two years later until I actually got it.

And I'm so glad I did.

I was invested right from the start. From the silent "show don't tell" protagonist, all the way to Lufcier himself, the story, even with its swiss cheese holes in plot at some points, had me hooked from start to finish. The combat never got boring. I was constantly thinking of strategies and building up my demons that suited my needs and my playstyle. The world was incredibly fun to explore, even though the lighting choices, in some areas, made my eyes strain a bit. It would take me up til the big boss of the area for me to finally adjust.

And the bread and butter of it all, The Law and Chaos mechanics. A stable, I've come to understand, in the SMT series. Yet an important take away from all this is that nothing is as black and white as it seems on the surface. SMT is a franchise that makes you think. It makes you question yourselves and you inner most thoughts. And SMT V had me rolling in so many thoughts, that when I reached the 'alignment lock' of the game, I had to take a break because I was starting to get overwhelmed.

Of course, this could very well be a really weird quirk of mine. But when I get into a really good story, I REALLY get into it. And the choices I make would impact the ending I would get.

By all accounts, the Law ending would naturally mean the good ending, right? Well sure...if you can live with a Law that discriminates all other forms of thinking(a.e. free will), will not hesitate to punish they see as 'unfit' and the willingness to become corrupt yourself, just to prove a point. Sure. Law is the way to go.

The Chaos ending usually entails victory for the bad guys. And yet, there really isn't a clear "villain" in this case, other then the absolute obvious ones(f you Lamau). In Chaos, there is diversity, the freedom to choice your fate, to be yourself. And yet with so many possibilities, there will be disagreements, arguments of what is right and wrong, and power competing against power. No one really wins, and there is constant strife. But hope is just as abundant, with the capability that anything is possible.

The Neutral ending is well...the Neutral ending. You don't pick a side. You're that little kid that asks, "Why not both?" A balance of law and chaos. So understandably this would the best choice. Yes...except the neutral path follows a man who has been brought down low by both law and chaos. He lost everything precious to him, to the point where he belittles his fellow man if they show any sort of weakness. So the solution? Make humanity the leading power of the universe, but take away every viture and sin that exists in the heart and soul. And by extension, all the angels and demons in existence. Never to be even a story told by campfire light because it would never be allowed to cross through the mind. Humans would be free of woe and fear, and grow abundant in their everyday lives. But will it truly last?

You could probably guess which ending I ended up getting. And quite honestly, I'm satisfied with it. Plus it lines up perfectly with my ever growing headcanons of the Nahobino. So I'm taking it as a win.

I honestly can not recommend SMT V, especially if you're like me who enjoys a good rpg that I can sink my teeth into. It has it flaws, yes. But they feel so small that it doesn't really bother me. Some of them I can just 'fix' with good old imagination. And it's definitely inspired me to play Nocturne next, for sure. But first, I want to see if I can beat the Demi Fiend himself in combat....

There's so much more I'd like to talk about, but I think I rambled long enough.

The main takeaway? I LOVE THIS GAME. Definitely gonna be alot of fanart for sure. And I'm gonna get my hands on some merch when I can. It probably won't exceed my growing Darksiders collection, but it might come close in time, lol.

The other main takeaway from all this is that I get it now. I get the appeal and why this series is standing as strong as it is. HEE-HO!!!

[gaybd1]

Reasons Taipei 101 is the coolest building in the world

Yeah, locals say it's a tourist trap but I will go to my grave defending it. It was the VERY first thing I did when I first came to Taiwan. I've been to the top four times and it's not nearly enough

1. Just LOOK at it! So beautiful!!!

The entire design of the building is chock full of symbolism, but that would honestly take a whole other post.

2. It's really tall!!!

More than half a kilometer tall! It was the tallest building in the world from its completion in 2004 until the Burj Khalifa was finished. The only building outside of Asia that is taller than Taipei 101 is the One World Trade Center in NYC. It is STILL the tallest LEED-certified building in the world.

3. It also used to have the fastest elevators in the world!

You can get up to the observation deck in 37 seconds!

4. It's really tall AND was built in a VERY Earthquake-prone area, which is just badass

It was built only 200 meters away from a major fault line. It was built with a TON of innovations to withstand earthquakes up to a 9 on the Richter Scale. There are videos online of the observation deck at the top rocking during typhoons and major earthquakes, but the building is TOTALLY stable because...

5. It has a GIANT METAL BALL at the top to keep it from falling down in earthquakes and typhoons

It's called a mass damper and it's one of the reasons I'm so obsessed with this building. This thing has a diameter of 5.5 meters and weighs 660 metric tons (that's 728 American tons or whatever they're called)! Typhoons and earthquakes make this thing swing around (it moved a meter during a typhoon in 2015!) and that keeps the building itself from moving too much

6. The damper has mascots - Damper babies!

There's mascots for everything in East Asia... But these guys are a hit. There are four different babies in four different colors, all with their own personalities. There's so much merch for them too, and even comic books.

Look at these guys!

7. The entire building lights up on New Year's Eve!

Okay, this might actually be the coolest fact. In America, you go to Times Square and see the ball drop or something for NYE. In Australia you see the fireworks over the Sydney Opera House or whatever. But in Taiwan, Taipei 101 LAUNCHES FIREWORKS OUT OF ITS SIDES! AND the countdown clock is just the entire side of the building and there's a cool light show during the fireworks! Check it out!

8. The top of the building lights up in different colors depending on what day of the week it is!

It's a nice touch. It'll also do special light things for special events (like pride or the war in Ukraine), but generally:

9. It has a vertical marathon every year!

I almost forgot about it, but yeah. You can run up the stairs all the way to the top. Wild!

[enarei]

the levelling experience in retail WOW is so mind numbingly dull. like I understand that they have a complex problem in their hands and leaving it unchanged wouldn't work. I understand the game has literally two decades worth of content, and just forcing new players to go through all of it as close as it was on release would not only be extremely technically challenging to balance, but also an insurmountable task to anyone with a job. but their solution to it shows such an utter disregard for the very core of what makes MMORPGs fun, and all the work they put into previous expansions.

it's actually sad to me to go Outland and see that everything scales to my level. that the bonechewer orcs on the cliffs to Hellfire Ramparts are the same level as the ones that patrol the road proper. that the handcrafted experience of surmounting each tier of orc progressively through questing, until you are powerful enough to climb the Hellfire Ramparts and take on a dungeon with a group of friends, and so on for each new area of TBC, all that has been sacrificed in the name of "current content". all of it has been homogenized such that it doesn't matter which area you do first, which class of enemies you choose to pick fights with, what quests you prioritize with each new level, it's all rendered equally (un)challenging so that players can speed through all of it to get to current expansion without a care in the world. there's zero incentive to care about the world besides the promise that once you're close to the end of your levelling journey, it'll get really good.

people might say that's always been the case since expansions became a thing, once new gear comes out, the old world is irrelevant. and I don't have a reason to disagree, except that I'm still presented with meaningful choices when levelling in classic WOW. the level 65 quest rewards might not be remotely relevant to {current max level content} Ice Crown Citadel in that game, but just being in the overworld itself is fun because the journey feels authentic instead of merely being there as "legacy" content to fulfill the requirement of some levelling experience in an RPG.

it's quite ironic that in an attempt to 'free' the player of the burden of being forced to level through every expansion linearly, so they can Have Their Own Adventure, they completely ruined the sense of autonomy that encourages you to actually do that. you wanna do a really hard quest 6 levels higher than you so you can skip the boring gathering ones appropriate to your level? or maybe you'd rather go to this other place that is full of beasts that you can skin and ore you can mine, so you can train your professions at the same time. have a friend close by? try to do this insanely stupid escort quest and get suckered into world pvp for half an hour when the Alliance shows up to ruin your day. like you get this very organic interaction between game and social systems by virtue of level ranges providing irregular bumps to perceived difficulty and thus how seriously you need to engage with your class's mechanics, how efficiency you need to use your cooldowns to survive an encounter — you get to pick the difficulty, and it turns out it's incredibly fun to challenge yourself.

In retail that barely ever happens, because every single enemy you'll fight in the overworld will be scaled to the same level as you, its health and damage output will never allow them to be exceptionally trivial or meaningfully challenging, which means you barely have to change your tactics.

I know the carrot is real. I know the class design has considerably more depth and the gameplay has the potential to be much more fun just by virtue of dungeons actually having interesting mechanics when they never did in classic. But it baffles me how much of a slog they expect you to push through to get to it as a new player. I find it very hard to believe I'd have gotten into WOW if this was my first experience with it and I didn't have friends telling me how awesome Dragonflight is.

[megashadowdragon]

the greatest akainu theory @bottlepiecemuses

youtube comments

Personally I’ve always felt it was clear that his idea of “absolute justice” will be born of a sacrifice of a loved one, like every other backstory. I assume that, by compromising on something, someone close to Akainu died, and he vowed to never let any death go in vain. During Ohara he would have said, if one person lives then all of the others who we killed would have been in vain and that’s disgusting to him

A cool thing to mention is that in the official song Red Dog Red, sung by Akainu’s voice actor for a one piece album released quite a while back, the main chorus has him repeat the line “Battle without honor!”. A cool callback from Toei to their earlier series and a fitting line for a character who will rain down hell from above, swim under the ground, and blast a hole through you to get to what he wants.

Great video, a deep dive on the hottest man in One Piece. I appreciate you actually discussing the filmic influences behind all the admirals. Before the Imu reveal, that long stretch of real world time after Marineford but before Reverie, it was always difficult to square which of the two Big Bads, Akainu and Blackbeard, Luffy would punch first, since they both represent the apex of opposition to him in vastly different ways. This analysis helped me to answer that question, even taking Imu into account, but we reach different conclusions. Instead of MarieJois echoing Marineford, it'll reverse things in a way. Blackbeard will arrive to steal what he wants, but this time he won't be the one to kill the king at the last minute, because the dog will have already bit his face off, leaving the empty throne actually empty. Then Blackbeard mercs Akainu leaving his victory a hollow one, because black holes get it? or because magma rapidly cools after finally erupting get it? Then I guess like, Luffy vs Blackbeard happens shrug. My imagined scenario is obviously not as well thought out as yours, hope it wasn't too annoying to read.Show less

admiral akainu being the guard dog puts him in the position to bite their throat out

I think Akainu is really gonna snap back on the world government in some way. When I see him, I think of the story of Sensui from Yu Yu Hakusho. Light/Dark and no grey, but something happens that snaps that line. I don't know what that will be exactly though.

Akainu is Oda's pawn for killing what Luffy won't. Eliminating the World Government from within. Thank you for the video this was great!

What if Akainu is actually the real leader behind Sword? Remember how he's revealed as "an insurgent in the Marines" by Spider Squard when he explains who told him about "Whitebeard's betrayal"? Could've been a subtle nudge of things to come. Then we have the fact that Sword members act without having to be worried about orders from the upper echelon because they're "about to get fired". The fact that Jewelry Boney managed to get away even though Akainu personally came to pick her up, means he likely let her go. And then we go back to the tattoos that Akainu has. No, not the Yakuza one on his left arm, but rather the one on his right that completely stands out: A simple sword.Show less

Interesting! I had never considered that Akainu could only have accepted the fleet admiral position because he didn't want to serve under Aokiji, who he doesn't like. But it does make sense, as I can't really see any other reason for he to be doing paperwork instead of fighting on a battlefield.

Great video and analysis. Another things interesting about akainu’s post time skip design is his snipped ear, which is something that people do to their guard dogs to make them more intimidating. This tiny design change just further emphasizes the fact that he really is the WGs dog

kizaru's "unclear" justice can also be translated as "grey area justice". fwiw i think this gives another perspective on things. it's less that he applies his justice in an inconsistent or unclear way, but more that his justice deals in the grey area of what is legal or "just"

I think nothing would be more interesting than finding out that Akainu's Home Island is none other than Hachinosu. For a man that dreams of Justice, being born on an Island that is the definition of anarchy and chaos. Seeing Piracy be revered as the Way and seeing countless attrocities done to the non-pirate population (mostly slaves, but also traders and other dark deals) Yet the population keep flocking, including his own parents. Corrupted by the desire of wealth and fortune. Akainu being a survivor of Rock's Island during his prime. Would explain why he's the way he is. He probably became somewhat of a vigilante, killing Pirates at Hachinosu. But at the end of the day Rocks always knew, and never did anything about it because he found it amusing. And with a single display of power, shows Akainu that only the Strong can change the world. He even fueled his hatred by letting him live and continue to do his thing. Eventually during a raid by Garp, he manages to catch Garps attention and becomes a Marine officially. But the words Rocks said to him that day and his display of power made him realize, that if he is to change the world to his views, then he needs to have the power to make it happen. Would be interesting. Blackbeard got inspired by Rocks, while Akainu got traumatized by Rocks. But at the end of the day his Will is the one they inherited. Truly painting Rocks as the villain that even dead still affects the world.Show less

Given the implied closeness of Dragon and Sakazuki I've had the idea that Sakazuki was raised by Garp's assistant Bogart

Maybe if doflamingo gets out, sakazuki will come to his realization while in battle with dofi and literally has to cut the strings of a celestial dragon while coming to terms with deciding to not be a puppet to them anymore

I think saka is going to betray the world gov to keep pursing his own justice more, his only equal did it, His thematic animal is constantly threatening to do it His movie characters do it He has every reason to do it Makes the story more interesting to do it It makes senseShow less

[eorzeanflowers]

now that its been nearly a full day since the last fanfest, i'm just gonna put my thoughts on Dawntrail as a whole out.

Jobs

Viper is cool. I like the idea of another scouting class. I'm a ranged phys main so sharing jewelry with another job is a plus.

The aesthetic of Viper is really really cool. I love the swashbuckler look that the AF gear has. I cannot wait to put Marisol in something similar. The twin blades into a double blade is also very appealing. I used to play Sith Assassin and Jedi Sentinel in SWTOR and its like a marriage of the two.

So in conclusion, Viper is just cool and its gonna be a lot of fun to play. Just like how Reaper is pretty fun to play still.

BUT Pictomancer is just more exciting to me. I LOVE RELM so much. Its been forever since I played VI so I might go do that sometime.

AND THE SPELLS ARE SO CUTE. They look so fake and painterly that I just can't help but fall in love with them. The AF gear is also so cute and I cannot wait to put it on Lily.

Archie is also going to main this class (I had decided that before the reveal, when it was still in the air between green mage and pictomancer.) Its so cheesy and cute and goofy and feels like it would fit my Doctor Who-like character a lot better than the raw powerful Black Mage.

Pictomancer is just gonna be good healthy goofy fun and its the job I'm more looking forward to!

Fem Hrothgar

I'm so so so so happy that they went big and buff over cutesifying Hrothgar. Cause we know they could've and it would've not looked good at all. I'm still not the biggest fan of the dimorphism of Au Ra. (even tho I main one. ^.^;)

My biggest complaint with Fem Hrothgar is that their starter gear looks so much better than all the others. Like the wrist guards! They look sooooo good. (I also really dislike Au Ra starter gear, that doesn't help.) But you can see the new graphic update with them and just their general design feels better than the OG 5. I felt this way a little about male Viera, but I was not super likely to make a male Viera so it didn't matter to me that much.

I don't know if i'm gonna make a Fem Hrothgar... They aren't my style per say, but I'm not gonna keep that door closed. I'm not the biggest fan of more animalistic faces, but that's a personal problem.

All in all, they look fucking fantastic and I'm glad they went the route they did.

Graphic Update

It looks great and its gonna be good when we get it. I'm very glad they actually showed us dark skintones this time too. They all got such a glow up! Can't wait for the gear to follow.

Now give us more character creator options for everyone, and hats for Viera and Hrothgar!!

Tural

The areas look really pleasant, I do like the whole brand new adventure feel. Its a lot better than the feel of the start of the void quests, that kinda had the same feel but got a little dreary once in the void proper. I dunno. Even as a fan of IV the Void Arc was kinda, meh. I like Zero and Golbez as characters, but the rest was kinda whatever. The world lore was also good but eh.

The new zone designs are just breathtaking. I'm the biggest fan of the Western town and South American highland zones. They are just so different from what we have currently it will be great. Solution 9 and the cave zone (that appears to be under it) are.... really fucking cool. Its so far away from what we were expecting I just can't help but be estatic. (And I can take pics of the Linnaeas twins' home shard there. Since I headcannon it as a cyberpunky shard.)

The dungeons all look pretty neat, I like the thunder crystal mountainside the most so far.

Its gonna be a fun story I think, a nice palette cleanser from the heaviness of Endwalker.

The Arcadian

I have no idea what to expect from a raid that is taking place inside a graphics card. By name alone and the fact its in the cyberpunk area does give me good hope. :D

Vanadiel

As I haven't played XI I'm indifferent. It'll be a fun raid and I'm likely going to enjoy the fights, but its just another FF in XIV. Pretty standard tbh. It'll be fun and I'll enjoy the story but there is no anticipation for me.

Ultimate Eden

Its gonna be bonkers and I'm gonna enjoy watching the full fight once its figured out. (I'm not a savage raider lol)

Other Content

The field zone has potential. Since we know nothing else, that's all I've got. I did miss having a field zone in Endwalker tho. It was the perfect place to while away hours working on relics. (let's hope the next relic grind is as tedious as just gather tomes.)

Cosmic Exploration is going to look flashy and great, but I don't do a lot of crafting/gathering so I dunno how much I will enjoy it past its story. Its gonna just be relegated to going there once in a while like Island Sanctuary for me likely.

Deep dungeons are only fun the first time solo and ok with friends later. I've completed both PotD and HoH but my friends still haven't finished EO so....

Hildebrand is Hildebrand. Perfection in humor form.

I will likely enjoy the Variant dungeons, I've enjoyed the first 2 (haven't done the newest cause I was taking a break from the game) and I like the lore that comes with them.

I can't think of anything else really rn but those are my immediate thoughts! Its going to be fun and refreshing and I cannot wait till summer to play it. (tho we must)

[twodollarhero]

More like "that demo was sick"-min 4

So I just got done playing the demo for Pikmin 4 and it was like... REALLY cool!

My relationship with Pikmin has always been kinda weird. I've always merely liked the series a lot, when I've always felt that I should love it. On paper, it's exactly what I love about Nintendo: weird, interesting perspectives on a genre that takes a well-worn concept and makes it clean and accessible. Splatoon is the "Nintendo-ified shooter" just as Pikmin is the "Nintendo-ified RTS" or whatever... so why don't I love Pikmin in the same way that I love something like Splatoon? I really haven't ever been able to put my finger on it. My best guess is that I've never really vibed with the world, the story or the characters. Not because the games have been completely devoid of those things, but there's just enough of a wall of glass between it and me to leave my handprints on the windowpane, begging to be let in. Couple that with one or two too many unfriendly design decisions that have long been innate to the franchise and I think I always come away feeling that Pikmin and I would always be like the couple who date, break up and keep trying because - hey, maybe this time it'll work out.

Like any toxic relationship, Pikmin has done a lot of work on themselves and I really think they've changed this time. Playing the demo for Pikmin 4 has graduated my excitement from a tepid "ah shit here we go again" to actual, factual hype. While it isn't a completely frictionless experience, it solves practically every major problem I've ever had with the franchise and - for once - the glass wall has been shattered and I'm able to tip-toe around the shards on the floor.

First of all, the story setup is actually pretty fucking cool this time around? Look, I get it: diehard Pikmin fans are annoyed that it seemingly retcons the scraps of connected lore the series has had leading up to this point. I can sympathize with that, actually -- it would annoy me if that happened to a franchise whose story or lore I was really invested in. But, looking at it from the outside? I genuinely feel like taking our familiarity with Olimar and using his rescue - and possibly "death"? - as a narrative device to set us out in this new entry is a pretty cool idea! I think it gives people a great jumping on point for Pikmin, which I think absolutely feels like Pikmin 4's mission through-and-through. To the point where they even let you just play as your own character this time around. And while the character creator is simple, I really liked being able to make my own weird little guy for a change. All Pikmin characters look like gross, fleshy homunculi, but this one is mine!

So yeah, I like having my little weirdo here and I'd love to see yours. But it's the new gameplay additions that really turn my crank. The core of it is still very much Pikmin, but they've added some really nice quality of life stuff into this one in addition to just putting together a really pleasurable loop. You aren't just trying to survive and you aren't even really just trying to rescue -- everything you're collecting feeds into satisfying, measurable improvements. Honestly, just the feedback loop that Oatchi alone provides is satisfying enough to carry it for me: rescue enough lost members of your Rescue Corps (or stranded civilians), earn a point of "Pup Drive" and spend those points to make Oatchi even more useful than he is as a baseline, which is already very fucking useful. Uncover raw materials in the world for the weird scientist dude to turn into interesting traversal applications, puzzle solving applications AND player improvement applications, like new pieces of gear that'll allow you to withstand elemental effects. Rather than needing to forage for food every day, you're instead gathering household items in the name of "Sparklium" to repair your ship, which ultimately just rewards you with new cool areas to explore, i.e. it rewards you with more Pikmin 4. And even just in the demo, you've got an expansive little mini open-world to play in that feels super tight and well designed! But that's before you even touch on the caves.

Oh man, the caves. Apparently this is a returning feature from Pikmin 2, but it's been like 15 years since I've played that game so it feels super fresh to me. Even still, according to Pikipedia, Pikmin 2 only had like 14 caves in total. These feel like Pikmin 4's versions of Shrines in Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom. Little sections of the game that are ripe with rewards, but also super concise little puzzles and challenges that are off the beaten path. And, like Shrines, the sense of elation from seeing one of those blue lids makes me want to stop everything I'm doing to go explore them. The game knows that you'll want to explore them too, by slowing the day's time counter to 1/6th speed. Pikmin 4 has also integrated a system where you can straight up rewind the clock back a few minutes if you want. Like, the game is autosaving every 2-3 minutes and if something crazy happens, you can just rewind back to that previous save state. It's one of those accessibility things that hardcore fans can totally choose not to engage with, but someone like me is happy to have it when I accidentally got all of my Red Pikmin killed and would've been soft locked. It's the little things!

SO ANYWAYS, TL;DR... I really, really dug the Pikmin 4 demo in a way I wasn't expecting. And as someone that was kind of disenfranchised with AAA games - even Nintendo ones - for the first half of 2023... it feels really good to be excited about big budget games again. I love loving stuff.

[ptolomeia]

can you share more about being/becoming an elevator mechanic? i've been idly daydreaming of working in a manual trade for years now and your response to the "i don't want a career, i want to do crafts" post just kind of... snagged a hook in me and won't let go.

Ooooo! Welcome to the wonderful world of elevator mechanicking! Though I should warn you, it has its ups and downs :P

Okay, now that that obligatory pun is out of the way, first thing you need to know is that it depends on where you are. If you are anywhere else in North America than Quebec, what you're gonna wanna do is contact your local International Union of Elevator Constructors chapter and ask them how to go about it in your area. If you do live in Quebec, the two routes are through the Labour Pools (check out the CCQ website for more info on that) or getting a DEP at the only trade school to offer it in all of North America, which is located in Montreal. Though, the program is only offered in french, so you'd have to speak French.

If you live in one of the very many places outside of North America, unfortunately, I have no idea.

Okay, onto what it's actually like doing the work.

So far, I don't have any actual work experience, just class experience, though I am hoping to get a job soon. Just taking a bit of a break during the summer.

So, what's it like? Challenging, eye opening, empowering, incredible, fascinating, and so much more.

I've gone from thinking +/- 1/16th of an inch was an impossible tolerance to meet, to regularly meeting +/- 1/64th of an inch tolerances. I've learned an insane and empowering amount. Whereas before, electricity and mechanical work were something of a mystery, because I'd been denied opportunities to explore, I've now changed all the light switches in my apartment to dimmer switches, and I'm currently working on building a trellis cage I designed for my plants.

My physical health and mental health are both WAY up. It can be hard and exhausting, and you need to eat so much food to keep yourself fueled (seriously, I need to eat 4 meals a day and it irks me because I have to remember to eat 4 meals a day, anyway), but also incredibly rewarding. Because I'm exercising much and meeting clear and concrete goals every single day, my mental health has improved spectacularly. I spent 6+ years of my life pushing through intense depression and elevator mechanic school was the first time in all those years where I would wake up and want to take on whatever the day offered.

In terms of physical health, I'm in better shape than I've ever been. It's easier to move in my body than it's been in years, and my body is much more capable of doing more tasks. It's wonderful to experience.

There's definitely discrimination. If you are a woman, or if people will think you are, be prepared for that. It's definitely gotten better over the years. It's also definitely still an issue. For me, the benefits far outweigh the idiots, but I can't promise it'll be the same for you.

Honestly though? I'd been daydreaming about being in the trades since I was 14. It took me 12 years to finally get my ducks in the correct rows to allow me to take that step, and my only regret is that it took me that long.

If you've been day dreaming about it for years, go and give it a chance. The worst that will happen is you'll find out it isn't for you, and you'll have more information to find something that is. If you are looking for permission or a sign from the universe, this is it. Go go go. You might find yourself happier than you ever dreamed possible.

Feel free to send another ask if you have more questions, or to update us if you take the leap! We wish you all the luck in the world on your journey!

[ellraiser]

Mudborne Deblog #7 - World Building

Hey friends! Another month whizzing by, but I managed to get a lot done for Mudborne - here's what I've been up to.

Cold As Ice

Towards the end of last month I started designing the 4th region, where things are a bit colder. 

At the start of this month I finished up that area, spending some time to make the snow look pretty, or add some details like the player breathing or skating around on the ice. 

I then decided the colors and plants for the 'dream' version, I wanted to keep the more turqoise color and boost the saturation, and then make the ice more of a lilac color to match the dream "white" i use a lot already.

The main mechanics of this area (apart from yeeting around on the ice) is using heaters and coolers - heaters so you can melt frozen paths or objects (or frogs), and coolers so you can create new ice.

As you might have noticed in the screenshots above, the deeper water has ice too, which normally isn't passable by the player. By freezing the deeper water you can then cross over to areas you couldn't access before and find all sorts of places and secrets!

There'll be a few puzzles to work out using the heaters/coolers, but they also affect the nearby environment, allowing you to make the extreme ends of temperature for your mushrooms to find some new species.

This means I can 'gate' off a few types of mushrooms and trait modifications until you've come to this region and gained access to the machines.

I also wanted a way to let the player turn on/off weather, as it does have some uses and although you can sleep until the next day for a different weather pattern, I like to give players full control over stuff like that as they progress.

It also fits within the theme of the region, which is very much like a sort of 'climate control' type area - plus the idea of changing weather fits with the existing climate control machines. I tried to design the machines to be similar, but still have their own unique style.

I finished up some other bits and bobs and then that area was good to go! Now it was time to move onto what I thought would be the last area...

===

Central Hub

After getting past the 'tutorial' region of the Spawning Pools, you end up in a large central area that leads to all other areas, and it's where your main goal of the game is that you have to come back to. I wanted this one to be more unique and stand out to the other areas, and seem much more important (because it is!), so I went with a more purple palette to emulate some feelings of it being more 'connected' with the dream world.

I've tried to make all regions have some unique characteristics but I wanted some extra stuff with this region, hence the large purple lilypads and special pink trees, and the light pink pollen falling over the area. This is also the area that will have the large central 'temple', that is a giant version of the smaller gates you use in the game - will take me a while to finish drawing it, I reckon it'll probably still be one of the last things I'm tinkering with right down to release...

===

Yet Another Region

I thought I was done at this point with adding regions and was relieved as there's a lot of setup involved in getting everything in and working - there is a 6th area but it felt like an extension of the central region at the time so I thought I'd use the same region style. However at the same time of doing all this I was also working on designing the full map for the game, and realised that this area would actually be a bit bigger than I thought initially, and also connects with the starting area so I wanted to make sure it had a different style to make it clearer that its not just part of the central area.

This region has a lot of different research labs, and is focused more in the dream area with lots of 'dream' research being done - there's a few different machines for this area but I don't want to spoil them too much so I'll just show their designs instead.

There's also quite a few big important lore things here, so you can't actually access it right away and instead have to come back later when you've progressed enough. With this region done I did some last little tests with each of the regions to make sure I was happy with how they looked - this is how my "developer" map looked by the end of it:

With that done I was about halfway through the month - now it was time for the biggest task of the entire game's development, actually designing the full world map.

===

​Game Cartography

Trying to start tackling this was definitely one of the harder parts of making this game for me - I had all the pieces, the mechanics were all done, I knew roughly what each area would have and do, but trying to put that alltogether in a giant interconnected world is very daunting. I decided to do this all on paper first so it'd be quicker to iterate, starting with really rough sketches of each region and the things that should be there guiding me on what the structure should roughly be like.

I then taped together a bunch of grid paper so I could have one 'main' map rather than keep swapping between what was already like 7-8 sheets of sketches, and started to pencil out the first couple regions together.

After sketching I then started to color in the areas, which was some nice screenbreak time but also let me think more about the regions and how the player would progress through them all.

As a final step I then went over the area with a pen to mark some key stuff - where lilypad crossings would be, gates, doors to rooms etc. I could then use this later for mapping the actual content or paths.

I didn't really need to color in all the darker water for most regions, but tbh it was just fun to do and baby ellraiser used to draw custom rayman 1 overworld maps when they were young so who am I to deny my inner child!

​It took me about 8 days but eventially I had the final map! Technically it's still not the final map as there's a couple areas I didn't want to put on the map for spoiler reasons and I knew I'd be taking photos of it and posting it around. However its good enough to keep me on the right track and remind me of what goes where - I'm also really happy with some of the routing of the areas, I think it should be really fun to explore and unlock and backtrack!

​With that done I could start plugging it into Tiled - I tried to not be too strict with blocking out the areas, at first I was doing like exact square by square, at great eye-straining cost, but then I realised really I just needed to make sure the regions were roughly where I expected them to be and got a bit more loose with some island shapes. Just this blocking stage along took some time, as I was first just blocking in the islands and water, then I was going and doing the 'proper' tiles, then the stone tiles and the grass/mud on top - this was so I could stop having to keep looking at the bigger map all the time.

Blocking out all the other regions took me all the way to pretty much the end of the month, on paper (lol) it doesnt sound like much to have a 500x400 map, but after actually drawing it all I can say it really is!

With all that done there was still lots to be done - for each region I need to add all the stone + grass "decor" (cracks, bricks, grass patches, posters etc). Then I need to add the actual flora objects to the islands (grass, shrubs, trees), then add all the water plants for both the shallow and deeper areas, add all the world decoration, and then block out all the rooms! Then I need to do the collision layers for the bottom and top floors...

It took me about 2-3 days to go from the blocked out version of the first area, to a 'finished' area (that still needs a few last bits added to it) - to give an idea on the scale, there's about 15,000 objects in the screenshot below, including all the plants and grass and decoration, all placed by hand. I'm not going to do every single decoration and scenery piece for every other region right now, as thats something that can be done later - the main thing is making sure it all fits together and is walkable and all the doors lead to the right places.

Adding all the extra decoration and scenery is something I can do quickly at the end while doing playtesting/qa/localisation, so I don't want to spend too much time on it, but I wanted to get at least the first area fully finished off so that it's clear what each area will look like when finished up!

===

Big old month really! I'm a lot further ahead in my rough plan than I expected to be, I was thinking I'd be deciding the last 3 region designs in November and had expected to do all the final designing in December - but with this approach I'm finishing an entire area at a time and the first one is nearly done now, so I'm feeling a bit less stressed than I was, just a 'normal' level of stress now :') Next I'll be going through the other regions, roughly placing some of the scenery (but not all), and just focus on the actual gameplay and the routes the player will take so that I can start doing some internal playtesting! ~ Ell

[the-firebird69]

We have announcements in there big and they are going to be bigger today we have a whole bunch of people who are out of line and we need to put them in line and spend that way the whole time even when them dying off and droves they are still mounting off like they actually did something and the cart just before the horse and we simply must take advantage of it

--one of these things keeps on bubbling up and it's this guy a cork he's got to go now he's out there and he's trying to make the saline and other things it's not really working you can't seem to get the car as built and and he's not getting them on the road he says the Corvette worked better he was looking for an idea on what to do and he said BG is making these cars and they seem to be being built pretty easy in the regular areas so it's called the mop and he says I want to make those things and BG said those are mine and they start to talk and they might make a deal and it's Savage oppress and he says I have a plan and she does too it's their plan and it's a good one and our son and daughter didn't know and said it's kind of just sitting there they're not being mean they just said what it is from their perspective and it pushed him along and here we go and he's done a great job and is prepped it even with his father and mother doing things. It's outstanding work it really is and he's our child and our people. Yep so with that said you might see a lot of these cars by BG and they are kit cars they be building like that out there eventually you'd have to switch to something Camaro and the mustang and it'll be very fast and we'd have to use the cradle and it's going to happen they said he was going to run out of some pretty quick and he's going to suggest it and come up with a design and have a cork do it and he says he's motivated and it's going to be a big day now that's icing on the cake

--also there are several other things happening the water level is still pretty high the storm is still turning and putting rain out it might be for some time now no it's going to stop and probably almost a week but it's dwindling in the showers are not very big and the water is going to stop in a few days but it shows that just a stupid rainstorm can fill the whole place up without much effort so they have to try and work on that and they're wondering what to do and our son and daughter said you take ships out you take and diamonds out and you open up a canal or two there's the problem solved that's what the pseudo Empire is up to diamonds and the ships Tommy f is at the canals and we have a program for the entire world to not be underwater and it's going to work and places like in Italy will be finally above water and it's been a long time. There's more

--out on the glades and the rings it was about 30 billion lost. And that's a lot the leadership is suffered the originals here are getting to be very small from 100,000 it's about 500,000 they're down to 400,000 it's still very small and used to be 12 million and they don't run this county and they say they do and Trump doesn't run the country even if he's in and he says he does he's ridiculous and we are going after him in a whole bunch of people are and the pseudo empires leadership is down that's about 4 or 5% in the clones are at 7%. They start dropping and they were above that and they're down to where we said they started. To technique and it's lousy and they use it.

--along with the harbor flushing out and the water is really moving the mouth of the harbor will drop again another 6 in today and it will be at 5 ft 9 in and it will start going a little faster each time it starts going faster there's a new review a rivulet or a bunch of turbulence that is added to already a pile of it and it's in a row and you can see it and it's now stretching back towards the river and it's to the bridge and it's pretty big and when it's at a certain speed it starts doing it and it doesn't every day and that means the muck there is going to be gone right now it's only about three feet down thick we used to be about 20 ft deep but it's going to get ripped out of there any day now. And in addition to that the Charlotte Park caverns are sinking there are three and they're all sinking slowly about 6 in a day and they'll be down in about 3 days below the water and it will steam but it will help because it is not standing water it is going to be about 18 ft deep and it'll be less pressure for water to seep out of this area from the groundwater. There is a lot of rivulets and capillaries and it will work.

Further down at the tip of Florida the quarter mile caverns have sunk they are going to be underwater in the next few days they're going to sink two or three feet a day and by Friday they will be underwater and it will change things a little but not much until it drops another 10 or 20 ft which might happen rather quickly because it will be under salt water only we think it'll drop 10 ft this Saturday and another 10 ft on Monday and it will release pressure and it's going to go out fast there's another item that's encouraging the pseudo Empire is taking out ships and they started yesterday and they're going to take out a lot more because it is effective tool using it for defense they need them. And diamonds will come out with them and they need the diamonds now. So they're going to be actively going after it they have everybody repressed and held in and it's time to do it they said they're going to notice that it's a lot easier and they're going to start putting a ton of effort in we think by the end of the month they'll have probably half the ships out that are left or more and took a quarter of the diamonds and it's good it'll unplug the place another month and I'll be out and freed up. But these things are slow and tedious and doesn't really do it it's a small bandage for a huge issue it's the canal that matters we expect that to be open next Friday not this coming Friday and it will be huge it's going to be huge and right now teams of crabs are going over and they're getting bigger and bigger and the plume is getting bigger and the deltas from the rivers are getting blown out even at Charlotte harbor s will be gone in about a week all over the world and the rivers will start flowing and the muck is going to push crabs out all over the world and it will create canals even at Gibraltar and it's going to be a hell of an event and it's when we really need and need bad these things needed and it's only a week away and with it starting because of the month and some people are helping it along believe it or not they dig a trough in the delta and they're trying to do it more and more now and they get huge equipment out there on a barge from the just plow a big trough and they do pile up but they get most of it they use like a plow and they are moving it out and or they put it off to the side and it is ripping it out by the way and they try and do it because the rain is going to stop soon so they're moving it and they're getting about 30 or 40 more Cruise out in the Gulf of Mexico alone and the machines are pretty big the tracks for about 20 ft high it's big enough to do something but it's not big enough to do it quickly but that's what they're doing

--Tommy f is a smiling jackass Trump is a smiling jackass but you put it together and they're not smiling so a lot of people notice that

--huge numbers of people are upset with both they hate them and they're taking them down globally their numbers are shrinking fast and they will be far less of a nuisance by the end of this week and people will be very thankful we have more news and we'll get to it shortly

Thor Freya

Olympus

It's making a little nauseous and it's making me a little nauseous but we get it out there

Hera

We have to get them a hand give them a hand and thank them and get them one they've been saying it too they're doing a lot of work and it's getting really heavy something they can't do and I made a note of what and we're getting help and it is what it is they're under duress they do use power and stuff and their own troops but it's not enough

Nuada Arrianna

[fadebolt]

The funny thing is, this isn't the first time we're doing a bit of region comparing through a 1v1 Tumblr poll. Remember @rain-world-region-showdown? I'm guessing many of you don't, that one has stopped posting about a year ago, but it was a pretty fun blog, and it's nice to have region duel, like the ones we saw there. Gives me some sweet nostalgia.

What's also funny is that both Shoreline and Shaded Citadel were knocked out immediately, on the very first round (and in case you're wondering, Shaded lost to Chimney Canopy, while Shore lost to Outer Expanse). And since there weren't any 'looser brackets', they never really got the chance to face off against each other. Back when that showdown was running, I had a bit of a format that I used, to rate the contestants. I'm gonna bring that format back, but I will not copy-paste the stuff I've written for these two regions. It's been almost a year, and I've played a decent chunk more, since then (which were mostly Expeditions). Have I had any overly drastic opinion shifts? No, but my feelings have likely changed enough to warrant a fresh look (while I also still stand by pretty much everything I've during the showdown... I hope that makes sense).

Anyways, time for some ratings! (I'm not gonna put in another explanation for my system. I hope it'll be clear enough, as is xd)

Shoreline: Music - 4/5 Game Design - 3/5 Visuals - 3/5 Core Identity/Gimmick and Importance - 2/5 (Would be 4/5 in vanilla, but DP has added in not 1, but 2 cooler versions of it. Ofc, WF is technically the same area, and SS has a couple core differences, but they still caused Shore to not stand out nearly as much as it did before) Enjoyability - 4/5

Overall Average - 3.2

Extra comment: I know Shoreline is one of those areas most people don't really care about - and if someone does like it, it's usually because LttM is there. But I'm one of those who are slightly positive leaning. It's an area that doesn't have a lot, that's amazing about it, but it also doesn't have much, that I'd consider to be overly terrible. It's mostly just... there, but I think the game is better off, for having it, even if it has parts I don't particularly like. (And yes, I do actually considering it to be a rather enjoyable area. The navigation is fun, its platforming rooms are nice, and Jetfishes/Jellyfishes are a blast to use. Sue me.)

Shaded Citadel: Music - 5/5 Game design - 3/5 Visuals - 4/5 Core Identity/Gimmick and Importance - 4/5 Enjoyability - 2/5

Overall Average - 3.6

Extra comment: Yeah, I know it's a little ironic, but I do view Shaded in a much higher regard than Shore, even though I find it to be a lot less fun. It just has a lot going for it, that really makes it stand out, even if it's also technically one of those 'unimportant' areas that doesn't have much 'story relevance'. I'm not an exactly much of a horror guy, really. But something about the atmosphere of this place really works for me, in ways that many other areas just don't. Not to mention, how radically different its gameplay, and its creatures are, and how the tools it requires feel actually rather good to use (the satisfaction of hitting a giant group of Coalescipedes with a Flashbangs... it's something else). Still, the region suffers from many rooms having... not so great layouts (hence why SC rooms rarely got votes in the room showdown), and the general structuring of the region is also little iffy, at times. It could be worse, sure, but there are many areas I'd be more excited to visit. But at least, it's an area I love thinking about. And I do enjoy the feels it gives me, whenever I'm using it for a route - which happens quite a lot, especially thanks to the GW karma gate, of Downpour!

So, the overall winner is - Shaded Citadel!

Shoreline or Shaded Citadel?

[bombshell23]

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[ya-bug-boy]

PLEEEASE WHEN YOU HAVE TIME I AM HOOKED!! i would love to see more aware reader!! i inhaled everything you've written and it is. so good.

ahh thank you!! The Self Aware Reader x Submas has been so much fun to write thus far. I'm so glad you enjoy it!

Submas x Self Aware Reader Part 5

After a lengthy conversation of you answering questions for the boys and a shared meal of roasted meat, you decide to go to sleep. To the twins they just see the outside of the tent that they made in the mini game they participated in. But to you, their character models are standing directly outside the tent. It's a little unnerving at first but because this entire world is a strange game, you come to the logical conclusion that they can't partake in certain things; considering neither of their characters actually ate the meal you shared. Sleeping must be considered one of the things they can't physically do, since Emmet and Ingo are viewing this world through some certain kind of special lenses. When you lay your weary eyes to sleep, time immediately passes by, turning night into day. You swear you've only laid down five minutes ago but at the same time, you feel like you've received plenty of rest. Daylight peeks through the tent flaps so you put your clothes back on and exit.

When you appear out of the tent, the twins in unison in real life exclaim, "Good morning!" You smile then ponder for a moment if they've always talked to you prior to your sentience.

"Good morning," you respond back. "Now that we're deeper inside the forest, this seems like a good time to use this lure." From your backpack, you reveal an incense that's designed like a spiral. "Using this, we can attract the Killer Bee scouts to come out of hiding. There's a trick to finding their hive."

"A trick?" Emmet asks aloud.

"Scouts are indistinguishable from each other, however they tend to attack in groups. If you defeat all but one, and leave that one injured enough but not dead, it'll flee. From there, we follow it to the hive. It's a cruel tactic, but at times a necessary one."

"I was never aware of this! Bravo!" Ingo exclaims.

"However, doing this trick comes with a risk. It all depends on how many scouts we're able to defeat prior to doing this plan. If you defeat enough scouts, the hive will be left defenseless. However. Do this trick too soon and the hive will have itself enough scouts to outnumber any band of heroes. Since it is spring, the scouts are very protective of their royal honey since they need to establish who the next queen will be."

You can hear both twins hum in thought as they listen to your explanation.

"The Queen herself is rather harmless. She is completely immobile. But she does have the power to call back any remaining forces to the hive. So we need to reduce the number of scouts in the area as much as we can, without completely annihilating them all."

"So defeat as many as we can, and when the numbers start to look thin, we spare one and follow it. Does that sound ok with you two?" A "yes" or "no" box appeared for both twins. Upon clicking on the "yes" button, both of their character models nod. "Good. I'll light the lure now. Please be prepared for what happens next."

While holding the lure, with your dominant hand you snap your fingers. Immediately like akin to a blowtorch, a flame appears from your index finger. You light the lure and snuff out the fire from your fingertip, setting the lure down on the ground. The smell of incense begins to waft in the air. What starts off as silence with the sound of the forest breeze becomes tingling with the sound of loud buzzing, Killer Bee Monsters.

You ready your hands to equip your bow, you see both twins preparing their weapons as well. Ingo is armed with a magic staff adorned with a fire crystal on the top and dagger whereas Emmet dons on a pair of enchanted gauntlets, the metal gloves tingling with electric energy.

Closing your eyes for a brief moment, you tune in your senses to the forces of nature before opening them wide, "To the west!" you exclaim as you prepare an arrow.

The sounds of buzzing drowns the air, you hear the wings of numerous beasts approaching. There is nothing you can do but fight for your life.

Enormous bee monsters flood the area, taking up the forest path before you. The three of you rush forward, striking the enemies as they attack you. Because of the twins only participating in this world with a proxy, their characters don't flinch or express any sign of pain when injured, attacking and evading with reckless abandon. But you are not the same. If you get injured, you will feel the pain. Your lifespan may be many times more than the average human but there were still consequences to your mortal body. With this in mind, you do your best to keep a distance from the monsters, knowing if you were to be attacked by their poisonous stingers, it could mark the end of your journey.

The twins are even more ferocious in battle than you could ever imagine. Emmet is a quick fighter, running up to one enemy in a 1 v 1 combat, punching and tearing them apart, before running to the next. Ingo is excellent with crowd control, taking on multiple enemies at once. With your archery skills, you land critical and super effective hits to the Scout's weak spot, pronouncing them dead the moment your arrows lands their mark.

Dead monster bodies begin to pile up, carcasses trying to feebly attempt to flee before they expire. The number of scouts has quickly dwindled down, to just two left. With your arrow, you land a critical hit on one of them. With another, you hit the survivor near its stinger. It immediately turns around to try and flee. "Chase that one!" You yell, as you run past the twins, glancing back only once to see if they were following you.

The last scout tries to flee into the forest maze, but you're able to tell where to go because of its distinct buzzing sound. You go through twists and turns, not daring to look back at the twins, unless you wanted to lose track of the scout.

Then you see it. The enormous hive mounted on the cliff side, its hexagonal honeycomb walls protruding outside. You give mercy to the scout by finishing it off with one last arrow to the head. Its body jolts and stutters before falling still.

You look at the queen, nestled up high on the cliff side and stance yourself into another fighting position. It gives a deafening sharp thrill that echoes into the forest, you ready yourself to fight some more but no one appeared. You look at the queen sadly for a moment, feeling an awkward connection to the beast. But she was not real and technically, neither were you.

You reach into your backpack and pull out a glass jar. "Boys, I'm going to grab the honey." You walk up to the hive and hear the queen hiss, but otherwise she is completely powerless to do anything to you. You look at the honeycomb walls and see it, a segment of the hexagonal walls that's dripping with glimmering, golden honey, it shines by reverberating a radiant light. You fill up the jar with as much honey you can grab, reaching into your backpack to get another jar. Because of how much you've taken, there won't be another queen, which is a consequence for this world.

With your three big jars of honey, you stop to think of the ramifications of your quest. You were essentially condemning an entire species of monsters to die without this honey, it could be considered a genocide. Though Killer Bee monsters were extremely dangerous and have been a constant threat to the people who lived near the border of this forest in the mountains…did this matter? This was a game. But this was also your whole entire life. But your life was also fabricated entirely for the sake of entertainment. You're not sure how to feel about this, it doesn't sit well with you. You sigh and walk back to the twins.

"You two have done an excellent job. Wonderfully so. I could not ask for better heroes to aid me. With this quantity, I am able to produce the potion's curing traits."

"Our journey here is now over. Let's leave this forest." You walk forward but give the queen one last look, you can hear her continue to cry for help. It doesn't feel good. But you needed as much honey as you can get in case you fail to produce a working potion. Without any scouts or royal honey, she can't produce a new queen. You have essentially subjected her to perish alone; she is immobile and can't fend for herself. But she is also a monster, Killer Bees have been responsible for the deaths of many.

"One moment," you say as the twins pause. You raise your bow and fire one last arrow to the queen. She lets out a gasping shriek before she collapses.

If your actions have actual consequences to this world; Killer Bees will never appear again. But there was also the chance that could simply come back. If this is a game, then there needed to be enemies for Ingo and Emmet to fight against. You did not know. You do not want to know the answer.

When you leave the Hive, your vision fades for a brief moment. This was another cutscene. You find yourself at the train station, at the mountain stop where you last left it when you blinked. It's hard to adjust how this world and game works.

You go home.

[hoaqins-funk-house]

Springtrap

Yandere

Male Reader

Part 1

Sitting in the black swivel chair, you spin once or twice before coming to a stop, grimacing at the feeling of sticky floors beneath your shoes. This place is brand new, how the hell are the floors sticky? 

Actually, on that note, how is everything so covered in dust?

Sighing, your mindless fidgeting comes to a stop as the phone, just as dinky as the walls around you, begins to ring. You pick it up but put it back on the table, eyes drifting to the laptop and swing-out tablet. When you flip the former open, you note the four buttons, each relating to something you would have to reset when it comes time to. The latter has cameras that are scattered around, including a separate tab for vents. There’s an option to block off vents, which sends a chill up your spine as you glance to the big ass one at your side.

You decide to block that one off for now.

Humming, you familiarize yourself with the layout of the place, deciding to ignore the shadows that crept through your vision.

Your unenthused eyes scan and take in everything. The replicas (you had seen the originals, and they were permanently stained with both the smell and color of pizza sauce and lawsuits) that were in and around the office, as well as the little bobbleheads that sat on your desk of the animatronics, which were, for some reason, human? You boop the one who you assume to be Freddy, hearing the familiar squeak. 

A small smile comes to your lips.

It was at this time that you realized you had completely ignored the man on the phone, but you couldn't really bring yourself to care. 

The little drawings that were put up were authentic; not just anyone could recreate what a child's mind spits out and decides to draw. 

That Freddy looks a bit fucked up.

The posters were cutely designed, and after getting the gist of what everything was and how everything works, you were on your phone the rest of the night.

When six strikes, you casually leave, giving the building a quick once over as you leave the doors, locking them behind you.

If every night is going to be like that, this is going to get boring.

-

He’s stuck.

This suit traps him like a rabid dog, eager to stay gripped onto his neck.

Still, things would be changing soon.

He can feel it.

He can feel it as a fresh breeze, the first in many years, hits his nostrils, sending a wave of euphoria through his system. The bloodied musk that hung in the dank room was not a pleasant one.

He can feel it as his body accepts this new host, more and more, until soon, quite soon, he will become one with his vessel. 

Just as the animatronics before him did.

He ponders. 

Why was he being freed from this prison of his own design?

Is he being taken somewhere?

…

Will there be a night guard to terrorize?

A grin takes to his broken lips as he ignores the pain and blood that comes from them. Oh, a night guard! Truly, that will be a sight!

He can't wait. 

For now, however, he must play dead.

My, that voice that shouts with excitement from behind him…

It sounds so familiar.

"Bring the truck around!" He calls. "I found one, a real one! It's got the rips, the weird colors, and what I am going to assume is pizza sauce! Ohohoh man, I hit the jackpot with this one! Fazbear's Fright needed something, and here it is!" 

His congratulatory tone made the man within the suit want to throw up. Finding him was nothing to be happy about; he is despicable, incapable of redemption, and an awful being. 

And you know what? 

That's just the way he likes it.

So to have someone happy to find him, especially for their own purposes?

He won't let it stand. 

Yeah, if this place has a nightguard, he'll kill them without mercy before burning the entire thing to the ground.

Might as well make it fun for himself.

As light peeks through, clearly originating from a flashlight, he feels his pupils shrink, resisting the urge to let out a groan as his weak eyes ache from their decades of being in the dark.

"Whoahoh! This one looks gnarly!" The same man as before speaks, probably referencing the organs and tendons that were showing. "C'mon, let's get it up!"

His grin only grows as two people lift him onto a dolly, beginning the move.

Goodbye, saferoom.

And hello, Fazbear's Fright.

-

Humming, you walk into the building, skimming over the decorations once more before noticing something.

The papers that had fallen onto the ground from before, they had dirt on them. Not surprising on its own, but when they were in the shape of tire tracks? 

You decide to follow them, using your memory of the cameras to guide you through the building, which was already rather linear anyway.

Entering the last area, you could see a rather dilapidated animatronic suit, with organs visible and its fur matted with blood. Real blood. The old Springbonnie suit was nearly green from how old and dirty it was.

Your eyebrows raise. "Is that guy just stupid or did he knowingly bring in a suit that has a dead body in it?"

Honestly, you didn't care. "Eh, whatever. It'll probably start moving when I start my shift… I've heard those rumors about the other locations." You turn, stretching, unaware of the eyes that followed you or the head that turned your way.

Damn, does he want to kill this one?

Well, he can think it over more soon. After the merge.

He grins again, feeling his uneven, gouged skin begin to flare with pain.

You exit the room fully, making your way back to the office with all the urgency of an ADHD-riddled person doing laundry.

Which is to say… not much.

You fall into the chair, cursing as the thin mesh cushion does nothing to protect your tailbone from the metal frame of the chair. The phone rings not a moment later, you picking it up and laying it on the table again, eager to ignore it just as you had done before. You stretch again, arms raising above your head as you begin to flip through cameras, finding the rabbit in the same spot it was in before. 

You yawn.

Hopefully it starts moving soon, or else the entire reason you took this job would be unfulfilled. 

You were bored, and you remembered this place from the times you had gone with your younger brother, who was now in his early twenties. You, however, were 28 years of age, with nothing better to do than 'investigate' the Fazbear's Fright that opened up. Still, if that rabbit has a corpse in it, it should make things more fun.

As you lazily flip through your cameras, you set it down and look to the side, seeing a rather dirty looking man with an eyepatch and fox ears. To his confusion, before he could lunge at you, you reach out and swipe a hand through his chest. You continue to swipe forwards and backwards, the incorporeal man stuck standing there until you leaned back.

"So, you're a ghost."

His mouth opens as if to retort, but he just gives up and leaps at you, you not even looking at him anymore. He closes his mouth halfway through the jump, and with an unsatisfied sigh, he disappears.

You continue flipping through the cameras, checking in on the rabbit a couple of times before shoving the tablet out of the way, opening the laptop to have it ready and sitting back in your chair.

You glance towards a shifting figure in front of the window, the hat and bear ears telling of who it is. He limps along, eventually falling beneath your view before seemingly phasing through the wall and leaping at you. You stare passively as he does so, him not completing the jump to instead stand in front of you, confused. 

For shits and giggles, you wave your hand through his chest once or twice.

"Why… aren't you… scared?" He croaks, voice ruined from years of no use.

"Oh, was I supposed to be scared?" You genuinely ask. "Uh, sorry. If you do it again I promise I'll hyperventilate."

"Don't try to… lessen your survival chances…"

"Okay. My bad." 

He sighs, and after annoyedly rubbing his face, he disappears.

You flip out your cameras once more, finding the screen obscured by static and a small error in the center. Lazily, you reset cams.

When your screen clears, you check the rabbit. He looks… strange. Like his body is evolving in front of your eyes. 

To be honest, you don't give enough of a shit to watch a potentially world-changing discovery if it looks that gross. You aren't paid enough to, anyway.

At this pay grade, you even coming into the damn building is volunteer work.

You check your phone for the time, seeing a cool time of one in the morning. 

"Aside from that science experiment gone wrong happening in the back room, it's still really damn boring."

However, it's still not boring enough to watch that transformation or whatever. That corpse (well, at this point, you kinda doubt it's dead) can do whatever the hell he wants with that suit. It's his body, not your business.

After another fifteen minutes of staring at a wall, you check the cameras to the sound of loud clicks and pops, now seeing a heavily scarred man with 1.5 rabbit ears in place of the suit. He takes one step out from his original spot, body heaving forward before he lifts himself up, looking up at the camera with a grin.

"Huh. That's new." You say, watching him jolt forward, continuing to take steps before relearning how to walk smoothly.

It only takes him a moment to rocket off.

"I doubt that's good." You mumble, beginning to flip through the cameras to follow him before playing a sound in the room behind him, making him pause. He turns, walking back with a confused expression.

Continuing to flip through cameras, you watch as the man, who you'll dub Rabbit Guy, wanders, seemingly having lost his focus. Hearing a sound to your left, you pay no heed to whoever it is, instead waggling your hand in what you would assume to be their torso.

"You're strange…" They say.

"Uh-huh. If you'd excuse me, I am currently working on keeping Rabbit Guy the hell away from me." Your voice is monotonous but sincere; you aren't trying to be sarcastic or mean, just trying to tell them the facts.

Glancing to the side, you see that it was a child, so you were waving your hand in his collar. "Oh, my bad. Does that… make you guys uncomfortable?" You ask, retracting your hand.

"No, we can't feel it." 

"Huh." You blandly respond, playing the sounds to lead Rabbit Guy back to where he started, before resetting sounds as you weren't able to play them anymore.

It seems like Rabbit Guy is getting progressively more and more annoyed at being led back, if his attempts to move fast enough to avoid the sounds or block out his ears meant anything. 

His body was responding to the sounds, not him.

It was then that he disappeared, so you check vents, finding him in one that led directly to the room beside your office.

You block it off, much to his annoyance, before yawning and sitting back as any thumps you hear from inside the vents come to a stop. 

You find him standing in the room where he had entered the vent, irritated as he glares at the camera. Preemptively, you reset all, thankfully right as cams and sound go out. 

Sighing, you lazily check through cameras, brows slightly furrowing as you look for him. He was completely gone, not in vents or in rooms. It really is unfortunate how many blind spots and shadowed areas there are.

When you hear the thumping of the vents, you search through them, only finding a stupid knick-knack laying on its side halfway in your sight.

Looking to your side, you peek into the vent, leaning down to see if anything was there. Your gaze meets Rabbit Guy's. 

"Shit." You say, quickly switching cams over to this one and holding down the seal button. 

Your eyes shift back to him, finding him way too close for comfort. As you lift your finger to let the gate close on the vent, the man (who was crouch walking) catches it, forcing it back up. You hear something grind that definitely shouldn't be grinding, and you have a feeling that that vent cover just might be broken.

Getting out of the vent, he stands over you, waiting for some sort of plea or… literally any response at all.

"So, you, uh… come here often?" You ask, leaving him genuinely at a loss. 

"Wh- was that a pickup line?" His rough, baritone voice catches you slightly off-guard. 

You weren't expecting something that was pretty much a zombie to have such a good voice, or a slight british accent for that matter. "Was it? Shit, more people've flirted with me than I thought."

"Really? That's all you can come up with before your death? I'd hate for those to be your final words." He lightly teases, leaning against the wall with a mean grin. 

You look up at the ceiling with a vague smile, his eyes widening momentarily. "To be honest, of any place to die, I'd much rather have it be in a place where I know I'll reach the front pages than in some random alley."

His grin falls into a frown as he watches you turn to him, the smile still on your face. It feels strange.

He feels strange. 

Why does a random night guard make him feel so…

So… comfortable?

You were calm, collected, not making any sudden moves or even attempting to exit the chair. Theoretically, the perfect prey, but not a satisfying kill. 

If he even wants to kill you, that is.

“What’s your name?” He asks, watching as you spin to face him in your chair. You would be taller if you stood, but he would still have a few inches on you.

“Y/N. You?” 

“I’m… William. Or, rather, I was, when I was well and truly human.”

“And now?” You ask.

“I don’t exactly have a name.”

“Can I still call you William, then? Well, if I live long enough to do so?” You ask, eyes moving up to meet his. Looking up at him like that… He wishes the hot feeling in the pit of his stomach would go away.

“...Fine.”

“I mean… are you going to kill me?” You ask, face not shifting as he glares down at you. 

“I won’t kill you on the first night, you need to give me more entertainment.” At least, that’s what he told himself.

“Oh, so we’re both here for the same reason.” You blankly say, his face contorting from a glare to confusion once more.

“You’re here… for entertainment?” He slowly asks, answered by your nod.

“I’m certainly not here for the pay. This place gives like half of minimum wage but I can’t complain about it because the other part is supposed to come from tips. Somehow.”

“How do you even live?” 

“Well, right now I’m on an paid leave due to some unfortunate deaths in my family. To be honest, I never really cared for any of them, but hey. I’ll take any chance for a break I can. Then I got bored.”

He huffs out a laugh. “So you went to another job on your break?”

“Listen, getting a month off leaves a man with little to do when capitalism has left me with no hobbies. Besides, this gives me a great excuse to continue avoiding people.”

His lips curl into an amused grin as he leans forward, lowering his head to be eye level with yours. "Well, you won't be avoiding me." He practically purrs, you averting your eyes at the tone he uses. 

Why would he say it like that?! 

His golden eyes follow you as you close the laptop's screen, enjoying your reaction. You…

He'll keep you around. 

You're entertaining and friendly. Open, and… warm.

He wonders. 

You're human, and fully alive. He's a revived corpse who merged with his vessel. You probably are very warm compared to him.

When he comes back to his senses, he notices you slowly raising out of your seat, hand outstretched towards him. 

Well, might as well take the chance.

He grabs your wrist, looking down at you unimpressed. You quietly huff, falling back into your chair and forcing him to move away from the wall in order to not dislocate your wrist.

Well, his hypothesis is correct. You are very warm. 

He feels the tightening in his gut, not wanting to let go but knowing that he will have to.

You, however, don't actually care either way. You begin your attempt again, this time with your left hand. Slowly raising out of your seat, you actually manage to stand fully up before he notices again, grabbing your other wrist. 

"What are you even trying to do?" He asks, a light sneer on his lips.

"Well... uh, I was trying to… boop your nose? If you're bonded with one of the original suits, then I figured either you or Fredbear would have the sound effect."

He lets out a few short laughs, his sneer replaced with the same amused grin as before.

"I'm afraid neither of us have the sound effect. That only came about with the second and third generations of animatronics."

You hum, interested.

His eyes quickly scan over you, taking in your form. This position, practically holding you hostage… Needless to say, he didn't dislike it.

Still, he releases you as he catches you glancing at what he assumes to be a phone. Things have advanced quite far since he was trapped. 

You turn it on quickly, checking the time. “Well, we have around an hour and a half before my shift ends, so…” Pausing, you check the time again. An hour and a half?

He steps closer, you glancing back up at him before leaning back as he leans forward, looming over you. “Tomorrow, you best make this more fun for me. I’ll greet you, but then I’ll head to the back. Try and stop me from getting in.”

“Uh, sure. Are you still planning on making the punishment for loss, uh, death?”

His eyes narrow in coordination with a widening grin. “That’s for me to know. You either figure it out, or you don’t. It all depends how well you play.” His gruff voice slightly echoes in the mostly empty building, you nodding in response. 

“Oh, cool. Can I tell my brother about you?” You ask suddenly, him quirking a brow as he stares down at you, easily at least half a foot taller than you. He was always tall, but now that he’s in this new form, he grew to be somewhere from 6’6 to 6’8. You sit down once more, exacerbating the height difference.

“Feel free to. Just know that if he ever comes around here, he won’t be alive for very long.”

“I doubt he will. He’s always preferred Foxy the most because he has taste, but-”

“Taste? For liking that liability-strewn fox? You like him as well?”

“To be honest, I never really liked any of them more than the other. I was in my emo phase when I went to see them, so it was practically illegal for me to like anything. But Foxy had sharp teeth and a wicked lookin’ hook, so… I guess I did.”

He hums, clearly slightly annoyed.

“Are you jealous that I liked the fox more than the rabbit that isn’t even the same generation as you?”

“I really should kill you.” His irritated expression shows the truth to your statement.

“It’s okay, I’m willing to call Springbonnie my favorite.”

Now, William was confused. Your tone… you weren’t joking. You were being genuine about something as stupid as this? What is with you?

“You’re very confusing. I think you joke, and then I listen to your tone and you’re genuine. But still, I wouldn’t mind if you did so.”

“It’s not nearly as confusing as how time passes in this place. It’s been like ten minutes since I met you but the clock says like three or four hours have passed.”

“What? Really?” His brows furrow as he steps closer, finding another excuse to close the distance between you both as he leans over the chair, seeing you pointing to the screen. “How strange…”

“Yeah. It doesn’t seem like tomorrow’s hunt will last for six hours, then. Thankfully.” You sigh.

“What, do you not want to feel like my prey for six hours straight?” He grins, leaning over further until his arm rests on your shoulder.

You shiver. “Why do you have to say it like that?”

“Because it makes you react, obviously. It’s entertaining to watch you squirm from something as simple as... the tone of my voice.” Of course, in order to prove his point, he does exactly what he did before, lowering his voice a few pitches and upping the growliness of it.

In covering your eyes, you also cover your cheeks, which have gained a slight flush. “William, I am begging you. Please, please, please, stop talking like that.”

And, naturally progressing, he was left somewhat stunned by the sound of your pleading tone. There’s just something about it, especially as you say his name, that makes him want to…

...makes him want to chase, and capture, and possess forever.

You as his prized prey, and him as the hunter.

“I’ll use it when necessary.” He vaguely answers, watching your head droop.

“I’ll take what I can get.” You concede breathily. 

He chuckles, hearing the chime of a bell, signifying 6 in the morning. "Well, I suppose I'll see you tomorrow, then. Don't keep me waiting."

"Asshole. I won't." You turn your head away from him, hiding the flush on your face, and stand up, stretching. "See ya, William."

He hums, eyes tracing your form as you stretch. It was a nice view, watching the button up shirt crease around your back as you stretch, clearly hinting at the muscle beneath. His eyes did drift lower once or twice, and that's how he figures out that damn, you have a really nice ass!

You begin to walk out, and he follows you with his eyes, watching you turn past the replica Freddy husk and unlock the door, exiting into the fresh morning. His eyelids droop, gaze slipping up as his lips curl into a wide grin.

“Y/N… I won’t kill you. Especially not when I’m presented with such an ample opportunity to make this into something so entertaining.” 

Well…

Is that the only reason?

Of course, he knows it isn’t.

His grin falls, leaving him coldly leering at the aged panels above him before his sight shifts back to the room around him. As he exits the office, he glances at the stained and shaded glass of the door, not allowing much, if any, light in. He turns away, heading back to where he was originally.

As he walks, he lets his form shift, feeling his body grow to his previous monster rabbit self, the creaks of his metal joints loud in the silent building. 

He ignores any shadows that creep in the edges of his vision, the specters traversing without sound. 

“This is going to be… boring.” His voice, far rougher than before, comes out unfeeling and croaky. As he returns to his previous position, slouching over once more, he decides to use his old tactic to pass time; inflicting enough pain on himself to fall unconscious. It doesn’t matter if his dreams are infested with darkness, nor how much he suffers in them. 

It was better than the boredom of sitting in one position with an unchanging environment.

He begins forcing his muscles to flex and strain within the suit and pull against the beams they have welded to, making him grit his teeth before the searing pain fades away, along with his vision.

Goodnight, Y/N.

-

“Yo.” You greet your brother, the man tiredly yawning as he ruffles his hair.

“Heya, Y/N. What’re you up so early for?” 

“Well, I got bored and got a night shift job at this dinky little horror attraction opening up next week. I decided to tell you about what happened there before I head off to sleep.”

“You got bored during a break from your job so you… got another job?”

“Y’know, William said the same thing.” You say, your brother narrowing his eyes at you.

“A coworker?” He asks. 

“Eh, not quite… he is the reason I stayed up to talk to you, though.”

He hums, walking around the couch you were splayed on with your shirt half unbuttoned. 

“So, to begin my tale, you remember Freddy’s? The pizzeria with the animatronics?” You question.

“Yeah?”

“Well the horror place I went to is based off of that; it’s filled with replicas and a few actual things from the pizzerias of the past, but something came in tonight that was… different.”

“Which was?”

“An animatronic. One of the originals, Springbonnie. Granted, the suit was ripped to shit and covered in enough dirt to be green, but it was authentic. It even has the dead body! Well - not so dead body, but still visible.”

“Did you call the cops?” He asks, worried.

“Hell no! I’m not paid enough to give a shit about what could-or-could-not-be a dead body. Either way, he transformed into a human, which was rather odd, but-”

“Just to be clear, this rabbit had a dead body inside and transformed into a human, and you don’t question it?”

“No. Continuing on, he got into my office and then we talked for a bit, I learned that his name is William, time passed really weirdly, and then we struck a deal where I have to keep him out of my office or I'll maybe die.”

“You’re still going back there?! And ‘maybe die?!’”

“Yeah, he said the knowledge about whether or not I die from losing the hunt was ‘for him to know.’ I didn’t question it further.” 

“You know, Y/N, sometimes it feels like I’m the older sibling. You’re fucking stupid.”

“I’m well aware.”

He leans over the couch, glaring down at you. “Then wisen up and quit that damn job.”

“I’m good. William is good company.”

“He threatened to kill you!”

“And? He hasn’t. Yet.”

“You infuriate me, gayboy.” He says, stepping away from the couch.

“Cool. I’ll sleep here for now, when you get back from work I’ll definitely be up.”

“Whatever.” He waves his hand at you, ignoring the middle finger pointing his direction from behind the couch’s back.

---

Part 2

also a lot of the stuff i write from now on may be male reader inserts lol

heres my springtrap design

here's the updated design lol

[supersizemeplz]

Werther’s Caramel

Winston Duke x Black PlusSized Reader

Another #supersizedfic mini. I know nothing about taking a flight so hopefully I got some descriptions right. Though there isn’t many. This was inspired by the tweet below and the initial idea for the fic has been sitting to collect dust until a hour or so ago. Enjoy!

Intercom speakers, commercials from televisions, and blended conversations fought against one another for dominance. Hundreds of tiny wheels moved in a non-synced dance, following behind their owners. Keeping up as best they can as if they were small children with a long legged guardian. The hustle and hassle of the airport was busier this evening than anyone had expected. A small crowd of people were stationed near your designated area, waiting to board the plane that would take them to the peaceful destination of their choice.

An airpod rested in your ear as you waited for your turn to get onto the large aircraft. The soft voice of Sza waltzing through your ear canal. Wiggling your toes against your slides, you could faintly see the white polish they held from the thin fabric of your neon purple socks. "Have a great flight." An attendant spoke out to no one in particular, more likely saying it because it was her job. You flashed a small smile as you walked through the single door and behind the people in line ahead of you.

Aside from accidentally being shoulder checked with someones bag as you passed, it was a smooth transition to your seat. You sat in the window seat, opening the small cover to see the lot of the airport. A few workers moved about quickly as they did they're jobs. Taking a deep breath you relaxed against the seat and smiled. You deserved a break, and you didn't mind having to take it alone. Movement to your eyes brought your attention to your seat mate, you assumed before he confirmed it by putting his carry-on over head. He stood tall, with broad shoulders and toned arms that matched his physique really well. His eyes never met yours but you didn't mind the extra moments to admire him.

Dark gray Nike shorts covered his equally toned thighs. He didn't miss a leg day, you were certain. His matching sweatshirt hid the thin chain he wore around his neck but you could definitely make it out from the light hitting it when he moved around. Once he took a seat and adjusted with the little leg space granted to him, he happened to look over to you. He smiled and your heart skipped a beat. A small gap caught your eye. "Hi, how are you? I’m Winston." His voice sent a tingle over your body as you replied politely with your name.

Nothing more was said once he nodded at your response and you went back to your window view. You moved your focus to turning you phone to airplane mode, happy when a third person didn't come to separate you and the handsome giant. Flight attendants began to head towards the front for their usual instructions and you half listened to their words. Having heard them a few times before.

Though you were relaxed and comfortable with the flight experience, not everyone was as experienced. You looked over at the tense male beside you, seeing him take deep breaths as the flight attendants continued their live action tutorial. He rested against the cushioned seat with a grip to the arm rests on either side of him. A small smile caught your lips before you knew it. First time flyer.

You went into your fanny pack, searching for the golden wrappers that always had a home in your purse. "Want a caramel?" Your voice was soft and easing, catching his attention despite the distraction up front. He looked to the candy in your hand before he looked back at you. "It'll help you relax a bit. You look a little stressed."

Contemplating a moment more, he accepted the offering and watched you pop one in your mouth before following your action. “Thanks.” He enjoyed the candy before he gave a nervous chuckle. “It’s that obvious, huh..”

You gave a soft laugh, nodding. “Yeah. With the death grip you have on those poor armrests..” Turning your body towards him as well as you could, you gave him a genuine smile. “I was the same way my first trip, and I was solo. These bad boys helped a little along with the grip I had on the armrests.”

“Ok..” He chuckled a little, loosening his grip on them. “I guess I didn’t realize how much I’m afraid of heights.” You could still see a little uneasiness in his posture so you became the support you’d wanted in your nervous moment. Holding out a hand, you offered your support.

“If anybody asks I’ll tell them I’m a little nervous.” You winked, teasing. He laughed at that as he accepted your hand. A small squeeze to his hand made him relax more with a slow breath. “There you go.”

He spoke you name after a small moment of silence between you both. You acknowledged him with a friendly, “Yes?”. “Do you mind if I have another one of those caramels?”

Laughing, you took out two and handed them to him. “I told you they’d help.”

Your daughter let out a laugh, stopping her current task of stirring the noodles. “Mama, there ain’t no way daddy was scared of flying.” She sigh happily, shaking her head. “All we do is travel now.”

You grinned. “I got him into it, hunny. We decided to spend that trip together since we were both alone. Going to restaurants and tours together..” The memories of the trip flashed through your mind in pieces. “He took me back there to propose a year later, actually. We got married once we came back and brought two beautiful children into the world, you and your brother.”

“Awww. How come you’ve never told me this story before? I just figured you liked the candy a lot.” She smiled. Her focus going back to the food.

“I do. They’re my favorite.” You laughed, moving about the kitchen with ease. “I just happened to bag you father with them.” Winking, you both giggled at the fact.

"What y'all in here gossiping about?" Winston entered into the room, kissing your daughters forehead before he came to you. Slipping his hands around your waist, he smiled.

"Nothing, just telling her a story from the past.. You want a caramel?" You held up the gold wrapper from your apron pocket. He smiled, accepting the candy with a smile. Pecking your cheek as he thanked you and went back to check on your son. You and your daughter looked to each other once he left the room before laughing loudly.

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[tagfer]

Your ACNH island looks so good! Do you have any island designing tips for a beginner? I'd like to design my island but I have no idea what I'm doing!

aww thank you! and yeah, i can share a few thoughts!

the biggest tip I can provide is that your path is both literally and figuratively the foundation of your town if you use it right. for multiple reasons. path from your house to the major areas of town (airport, plaza, stores, places you visit often, etc), then expand those paths out to villager houses. then add to those paths any route you frequently take that isn't already part of it.

putting down that much path may take a while but it'll be worth it. you now have a solid base to work with. also it's easier to figure out what to do with the emptier chunks of land cuz they're likely broken up a little now. you can adjust building placement to make little neighborhoods. and it also stops flowers from becoming Too Much of a menace.

oh! but before you do that, you will need to commit to the basic shape of the river and the general level of your town because if you change either of these on a major scale it could really mess up the route you take and you want to path the major routes so y'know it could really congest the energy flow of your pathing. if you're not doing a super specific town and are just having fun, it's okay to have a natural looking river and cliffs. although personally I expanded the back half(ish) of my island to the second level to kinda reflect the two layer town vibe from earlier games and to fit more up there, i still tried to keep them mostly natural looking. i kinda like it better that way tho because it's more creatively satisfying when i figure out what to do with an area as if features like water or cliffs couldn't be changed with just a snap of my fingers (even tho they totally could). so a lot of my town's water and cliffs have actually not been too drastically changed from when i first started playing!

the other big thing is getting proper inspiration. go visit a lot of dream towns. especially ones with vibes you're digging, but not just exclusively those. and TAKE NOTES / SCREENSHOTS of the things you like, be them big or small. seriously, taking notes or screenshots will truly help you absorb the things You like about other towns which in turn will help you make a better town for yourself. and you can always go back and look over those notes/screenies if you feel the design equivalent of writer's block

also, i feel like it would be a lie of omission if i didn't mention i have a playtime of over 1,000 hours. (there's a lot of idle time in that but i don't know if that's really much better...) Part of the reason Mako Fin looks as nice as it does is cause of that. sucks that world circumstances gave me an excuse to drop that much time into it but you know