#reverse falls visual novel

[localfandomhipster]

Been a hot minute, but I got a UI done and I've been implementing it in Ren'py. All very WIP (using daz studio for the BG here), but just thought I'd share something of the Reverse Falls VN I'm experimenting with! (If anyone might wanna help out in some way or another, my DMs are open!)

[spectralreplica]

Series of game sprite commissions for @localfandomhipster for a Reverse Falls visual novel!

[satoshi-mochida]

Corpse Party II: Darkness Distortion launches this fall worldwide for PS4, Switch, and PC

From Gematsu

Corpse Party II: Darkness Distortion will launch for PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC via Steam, GOG, and Humble Store this fall worldwide, publishers XSEED Games, Marvelous Europe, and Marvelous, and developer Team GrisGris announced.

In North America, physical $49.99 standard and $79.99 “Ayame’s Mercy” editions will be available for PlayStation 4 and Switch. The latter includes a copy of Corpse Party II: Darkness Distortion with a reversible cover, a “Save Yourself” LED blue candle styled after the in-game save points, a 64-page artbook filled with behind-the-scenes content, a “Ayame’s Mercy” lenticular art card, an “evidence kit” containing items from the game, and an Amare Est Vivere “Medical Kit” metal outer case. This limited edition will be available shortly for pre-order through the XSEED Games Store and at participating retailers.

Here is an overview of the game, via XSEED Games:

Corpse Party II: Darkness Distortion follows three high school friends; Haruka Nanami, Nemu Takanashi, and Maria Hitsugi, as they explore the Amare Epatoentst Vivere Hospital, testing a local urban legend as the streamer Nemu seeks to boost her subscriber count. Unfortunately for the three girls, the legend of “Ayame’s Mercy” is true, and they trigger a decades-old curse that sends them into a dark realm. Together they must avoid the vengeful spirit of Ayame Kirishima and other horrors from the hospital’s dark past as they search for a way to dispel Ayame’s curse once and for all. The cult-classic Japanese horror franchise returns with new characters, a new setting, a terrifying new curse, and a brand-new look allowing for more thrills and chills! Players can freely explore the fully 3D rendered halls of the Amare Est Vivere Hospital in both third- and, for those brave enough to take a closer look, first-person viewpoints as they try to keep the girls alive. This new perspective complements the series’ visual novel-style storytelling, pairing updated visuals with gruesome descriptions and spine-tingling binaural audio accompanied by the original Japanese voiceovers. Featuring six chapters, with eight additional scenarios and plenty of Wrong Ends for players to discover as they uncover the truth behind “Ayame’s Mercy” and escape with their lives, Corpse Party II: Darkness Distortion is the perfect entry point for new horror buffs while keeping longtime fans on the edge of their seats.

Watch the announcement trailer below. View the first screenshots at the gallery. Visit the official website here: English / Japanese.

Announce Trailer

English

Japanese

Announce Trailer: Ayame's Spell

Live Action Trailer

[tangibletechnomancy]

How To Use AI To Fake A Scandal For Fun, Profit, and Clout

Or, I Just Saw People I Know To Be Reasonable Fall For A Fake "Ripoff" And Now I'm Going To Gently Demonstrate What Really Happened

So, we all know what people say about AI. It's just an automatic collage machine, it's stealing your data (as if the rest of the mainstream internet isn't - seriously, we should be using that knee-jerk disgust response to demand better internet privacy laws rather than try to beef up copyright so that compliance has to come at the beginning rather than the end of the process and you can be sued on suspicion of referencing, but I digress...), it can't create anything novel, some people go so far as to claim it's not even synthesizing anything, but just acting as a search engine and returning something run through a filter and "proving" it by "searching" for their own art and "finding" it.

And those are blatant lies.

The thing is, the reason AI is such a breakthrough - and the reason we memed with it so hard when DALL-E Mini and DALL-E 2 first dropped - is because it CAN create novel output. Because it CAN visualize the absurd ideas that no one has ever posted to the internet before. In fact, it would be a bigger breakthrough in computer science if we DID come up with an automatic collage machine - something that knows where to cut out a part of one image and paste it onto another, then smooth out the lighting and colors to make them fairly consistent, to make it look like what we would recognize as an image we're asking for? That would make the denoising algorithm on steroids that a diffusion model is look like child's play.

But, unlike the posts that claim that they're just acting as a collage maker at best and a search engine at worst, I'm not going to ask you to take my word for it (and stick a pin in this point, we'll come back to it later). I'm going to ask you to go to Simple Stable (or Craiyon, or the Karlo demo, if Google Colab feels too complicated for you - or if you like, do all of the above) and throw in a shitpost prompt or two. Ask for a velociraptor carousel pony ridden by a bunny. Ask for Godzilla fighting a wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube man. Ask for an oil painting of a capybara wearing an ornate princess gown. Shitpost with it like we did before these myths took hold.

Now take your favorite result(s) and reverse image search them. Did you get anything remotely similar to your generated image? Probably not!

So then, how did someone end up getting a near perfect recreation of their work? Was that just some kind of wacky, one-in-a-million coincidence?

Well - oh no, look at that, I asked it for a simplistic character drawing and it happened to me too, it just returned a drawing of mine that I never even uploaded, and it's the worst drawing I've done since the fifth grade even just to embarrass me! Oh no, what happened, did they change things right under my nose, has digital surveillance gotten even WORSE?? Look, see, here's the original on the left, compare it to the output on the right - scary!! They're training on the contents of your computer in real time now, aaaagh!!

Except, of course, for the fact that the entire paragraph above was a lie and I did this on purpose in a way no one could possibly recreate from a text prompt, even with a perfect description.

How?

See, some models have this nifty little function called img2img. It can be used for anything from guiding the composition of your final image with a roughly drawn layout, to turning a building into a dragon...to post-processing of a hand-drawn image, to blatantly fucking lying about how AI works.

I took 5 minutes out of my day to crudely draw a character. I uploaded the image to this post. I saved the post as a draft. I stuck the image URL in the init_image field in Simple Stable, cranked the init strength up to 0.8, cleared all text prompts, and ran it. It did exactly what I told it to and tried to lightly refine the image I gave it.

If you see someone claiming that an AI stole their image with this kind of "proof", and the image they're comparing is not ITSELF a parody of an extremely well-known piece such as the Mona Lisa, or just so extremely generic that the level of similarity could be a coincidence (you/your favorite artist do/es not own the rule of thirds or basic fantasy creatures, just to name one family of example I've seen), this is what happened.

So from here you must realize that it is deeply insidious that posts that make these claims usually imply or even outright state that you should NOT try to recreate this but instead just take their word for it, stressing ~DON'T FEED THE MACHINE~. It's always some claim about "ohhh, the more you use them, the more they learn, I made a SACRIFICE so you don't have to" - but txt2img functions can't use your interaction to learn jack shit. There's no new information in a text prompt for them TO learn. Most img2img models can't learn from your input either, for that matter! I still recommend being careful about corporate img2img toys - we know that Facebook, for instance, is happy to try and beef up facial recognition for the WORST possible reasons - but if you're worried about your privacy and data harvesting, any given txt2img model is one of the least worrying things on the internet today.

So do be careful with your privacy online, and PLEASE use your very understandable knee-jerk horror response to how much extremely personal content can be found in training databases as a call to DEMAND better privacy laws ("do not track" should not be just for show ffs) and compliance with security protocols in fields that deal with very private information (COMMON CRAWL DOESN'T GO FAR OUT OF ITS WAY, IT SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GET ANY MEDICAL IMAGES THE PATIENTS DIDN'T SHARE THEMSELVES HOLY SHIT, SOME HOSPITAL WORKERS AND/OR MEDICAL COMMUNICATIONS DEVELOPERS BETTER BE GETTING FIRED AND/OR SUED) - but don't just believe a convenient and easy-to-disprove lie because it aligns with that feeling.

[sadoeuphemist]

Terrible Ideas for Video Games:

—visual novel that's just an actual novel, greatly abridged; the choices you make determine which parts get edited out. You can consciously have Anna Karenina avoid all unpleasantness with Vronsky, in which case the last scene of their relationship is them embracing, planning their trip out to the country. You can choose to have her throw herself under the train, or not; if not, all mention of suicide is omitted and she simply falls beneath the wheels out of nowhere in a tragic twist ending. You could, instead, play as Levin, and ignore Anna's story completely. By playing through the game enough times, you might eventually reconstruct the original text.

—intricately-branching storygame where the gameplay is the most generic first-person shooter imaginable, funneling you down perfectly linear corridors to mow down wave after wave of foes. You are never given the explicit opportunity to make a choice, instead the plot plays out based on a host of invisibly-tracked statistics: your accuracy, most-used weapons, damage taken, whether or not you happened to be looking in the right direction when a scripted sequence was triggered, etc. The consequences of your actions are distant and obscured, some real butterfly effect bullshit. For example: an injured comrade ends up dying, convalescing, or making a full recovery, depending on how many medkits you ended up using three missions prior. The game tells you none of this, it just plays the relevant cutscene and then plunks you down in the next mission. Two players could experience two entirely different stories, without having the slightest inkling that there was any other way the game could have gone.

—colony management sim where you have to control each colonist individually, a impossible feat of micromanagement with a population of hundreds. The moment you stop controlling someone they will immediately wander off to do their own thing, based on their own semi-randomly generated skills and traits. The thing is: every colonist wants the colony to succeed, and so if left to their own devices they are guaranteed to build a basic functioning colony. How long it lasts is up to RNG. You can switch instantly from character to character, interfering in their lives, choosing where and when to intervene with your god-like perspective, and whether the colony survives or thrives or fails completely may or may not have anything to do with you at all.

—game where leveling up means greater automation. You start out with QWOP-style controls, having to flail your character around wildly just to throw a punch. The control scheme gradually refines until you can reliably throw a punch through a series of commands, and eventually you unlock a dedicated punch button. You unlock combos, then hotkeys and macros, then autocast on cooldown. Your character technically never gets any more powerful - you could do all of this from the beginning, given enough skill - it just becomes easier to execute. The final level is an autobattler, where you just sit back and watch it happen. (Maybe this idea would be better done in reverse, not sure.)

[gigii333]

danganronpa thh headcannons

(THESE ARE ALL NOT CANON, JUST SOME IDEAS) taka doesn't eat much bcuz hes a very busy boy but also because he is actually very picky with textures mondo is a visual learner leon hangs out w chihiro a lot, and actually has asked chihiro to help him learn how to code kirigiri likes to read mystery novels before she goes to bed makoto and yasuhiro play just dance together in their spare time leon and yasuhiro hang out quite a bit, and everyone starts to catch on that they may just be more than bros aoi and sakura have gone on many "gym and donuts" dates junko's idol is lady gaga mondo and taka have had a "bro movie night" where they watched grease leon is a big fan of falling in reverse toko really likes lavender tea and vanilla waffles byakuya is actually very insecure abt himself, he only acts cocky and confident bcuz he has a fear of weakness/appearing weak aoi is obsessed with dolphins celeste has a very bad relationship with her emotions, and hifumi actually helps her with them. he also likes to play cards with her, but cards that he made (with 2d girls on them) sayaka like to have karaoke night with sakura, kirigiri, and mondo taka never enjoyed movies until he watched them with mondo byakuya lives for white roses (MAKING HCS FOR V2 & V3 SOON!!)

[fuckyeahgoodomensfanfic]

Good Omens Fic Rec: Closer to You

Since his wife divorced him, A.J. Crowley makes good money writing romance novels. Having his characters fall in love is far less risk than doing it himself, especially while he takes the time to explore exactly who he is and what he likes in the bedroom. Sexual psychology student and cam worker Aziraphale enjoys understanding pleasure. But only from a safe distance. He's too busy working on his PhD to fall in love. The idea of making himself so vulnerable to rejection again is, quite frankly, terrifying. It seems a simple enough arrangement to help each other out, and lend a hand when needed. They are such big fans of each others' *work*, after all.

Length: 44,049 words

AO3 Rating: Explicit / Spice Level 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Best for: At Home, After Dark, Human AU, Comedy

Triggers: None

Read it here, fic by TawnyOwl95

*Minor Spoilers* How the hell do you guys keep coming up with the most devilishly good stories?? Here we have Crowley as a romance writer, who is just coming to terms with his queerness and lack of sex life. Aziraphale is a sex researcher who struggles with relationships and lets out steam by performing on cam. This premise really intrigued me because you’d expect the roles to be reversed. Usually Crowley is depicted as the sexual one, and Aziraphale the bookish professor. This story said nah flip the script. This was absolutely delightful. The chemistry was off the charts. They can’t handle 5 minutes in each other’s presence without wanting to devour each other. They are exactly what each other needs and wants sexually, but they'll come to find out it's more than just that. They compliment each other so perfectly intellectually and that's what I love in every iteration! How they can volley ideas back and forth and keep up with each other's wit. Their relationship has great ups and downs, and I was engaged the entire time. The only thing that took me getting used to was Aziraphale as a youngish student. It's in character definitely, but he's not tickety-boo grandpa here and at first it felt strange. The author has a handle on it though, and I bought into this younger Aziraphale fairly quick.

That’s not all there is to this story though. We have excellent side characters with Gabriel, Nina, Maggie, and Warlock all used to wonderful effect. I particularly loved Gabriel, who was so funny in every scene leaning into his Jimbriel side. Warlocks addition proved to be a great plot line too. I was a little worried about that side at first but ended up really happy for his inclusion.

The other amazing thing about this story is that it works as a meta commentary on smut that felt like a mini therapy session for the reader. A big part of Aziraphale’s work, and their discussions, revolve around why people read smut. How it soothes anxiety by redirecting negative thoughts into pleasurable ones. The safety and comfort that smut brings due to the lack of visuals and real world hang-ups. The way it’s cathartic for both writer and reader. It sees us and says, we both know why we’re here let’s make the most of it shall we? Not only was it fun to read in that meta way, it was a genuinely insightful conversation.

Some more word salad to describe this one: bold, mature, thoughtful, hot as fuck, funny, engaging, and did I mention hot as fuck? At home after dark read. I binged this one, you’re going to get sucked into this plot so I’d carve out some time for a single sitting.

Read it here, fic by TawnyOwl95

[the-kr8tor]

I was having a good day reading the new BDAS fluff you just posted until I saw the angst one from @hobieszeze just now 🥲 got me in a whiplash from those differing timelines.

Anyways—

For some reason, I got into a brainrot from those fantasy isekai romances where a character dies/ falls asleep and ends up in a world of a visual novel/ video game and they end up changing the whole course of the story.

What if that happened to Hobie? 🤣

Specifically, what if he finds himself in a visual novel and ends up befriending villainess!R, who’s actually really chill and just has the bad luck of being the antagonist of a visual novel against a heroine protagonist?

Brainrot really took over 😅

- 😅

HHAHAHAHAHHA i can imagine! I promise we didn't plan that 😂

I would love the fact that Hobie single-handedly changes the whole story and in turn saves so many beloved character lives just bc he loved R so much

Ahh yes isekai my guilty pleasure 🥰 good news! I have a reverse isekai of Hobie somewhere on my masterlist!!! Enjoy!!!

[brokehorrorfan]

Invasion of the Body Snatchers will be released on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray on June 25 via Kino Lorber. The 1956 sci-fi horror classic is based on Jack Finney's novel, The Body Snatchers.

Don Siegel (Dirty Harry, Escape from Alcatraz) directs from a script by Daniel Mainwaring (Out of the Past). Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter star with Larry Gates, King Donovan, Carolyn Jones, Jean Willes, and Ralph Dumke.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers has been newly restored in 4K in two aspect ratios - 2.00:1 and 1.85:1 - with Dolby Vision. It features reversible artwork. Special features are listed below.

Disc 1 - 4K UHD:

Audio commentary by film historians Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson (new)

Audio commentary by film scholar Jason A. Ney (new)

Audio commentary by actors Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter, moderated by filmmaker Joe Dante

Audio commentary by film historian Richard Harland Smith

Disc 2 - Blu-ray:

Audio commentary by film historians Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson (new)

Audio commentary by film scholar Jason A. Ney (new)

Audio commentary by actors Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter, moderated by filmmaker Joe Dante

Audio commentary by film historian Richard Harland Smith

The Fear is Real - Appreciation with filmmakers Joe Dante and Larry Cohen

The Stranger in Your Lover’s Eyes – 2-part visual essay with Kristoffer Tabori, son of director Don Siegel

I No Longer Belong: The Rise and Fall of Walter Wanger – Film scholar Matthew Bernstein on producer Walter Wanger

Theatrical trailer

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) theatrical trailer

Miles Bennell (Kevin McCarthy) is a doctor in a small California town whose patients are becoming increasingly overwrought, accusing their loved ones of being emotionless imposters. They're right! Plant-like extraterrestrials have invaded Earth, taking possession of humans as they sleep and replicating them in giant seed pods. Convinced that a catastrophic pandemic is imminent, Bennell, in a terrifying race for his life, must warn the world of this deadly invasion of the pod people—before it's too late!

Pre-order Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

[localfandomhipster]

I've always been curious to try my hand at making a visual novel, so I decided to take a crack at it, and figured why not Reverse Falls? I think there's been an attempt or two in the past, but nothing's come to fruition. Maybe I'll put out a demo scene or something sooner or later! Learning to finagle Ren'py's code is a challenge in itself, so I'm playing around with creating custom (or not so custom) GUIs as I learn how things work. Commissioned a few excellent portraits by the wonderful @spectralreplica so that I have a bit more fun while I'm learning! So everything is WIP as hell atm (by the way, if this is something any of you might be interested in contributing to, my DMs are open)

[greyspirehollow]

Chains

Pairing : Quaestor Valdemar x Liam (mc oc) ; platonic Fandom : The Arcana visual novel Warnings : angst ; hurt/comfort (still not good at warning tags grgrg)

Summary : Reverse ending ; Thinking they have betrayed him by aiding Liam becoming the new Patron Arcana of Death, the Devil punishes Valdemar (nothing related to assault, don't worry). But this cruel treatment will not go unnoticed...

The room was dark. The only source of light was the faint red glow of the chains that bound the Quaestor kneeling to the floor. The air was filled with the scent of burnt papers and parchments. They could still feel the trace of the quiet tears they'd shed when the Devil left, despite keeping their face as expressionless as possible. They were pretty sure they had bruises, and the tip of their right horn threatened to fall off at any moment because of how they'd struggled against their binds. They knew their labcoat was scratched, and that their bandages were loose. They could feel strands of hair tickle the skin of their cheeks. This... was simply cruel. Unjustified. After their centuries, their millenias of loyal services, how could the Devil possibly treat them like this?? They hadn't crossed any lines, not in the terms of their deal at least... So why? Their gaze remained on the floor as they let their thoughts consume them. What else could they possibly be doing? Struggle against the chains some more? To what end? They wouldn't yield.

But their train of thoughts was interrupted by the distant muffle of voices...

______________________________________________________________

In the corridors, some of Death's troupes looked around the rooms, opening every door they could, seemingly searching for something. Or someone. The skeletons were quick and efficient as Death advanced slowly, surveilling the operation. His cape flowed softly with each step he took. The skeletal soldier's search was fruitless so far, but it was also interrupted by a red figure down the hall. "...Vulgora." Death muttered, similarly to a greeting. Probably posted there to guard the halls, the Pontifex yielded a double bit great axe. But their expression lacked the usual bloodthirst and thrill of battle. As if... They didn't want to fight. Death was skeptical ; they'd always loved fighting. But he didn't have time to reflect upon that much : they charged at his soldiers, determined, and made the bones cackle and fall to the ground each time they'd seem them rebuild themselves. Death marched towards them, and drew their sword. He did well, because the Pontifex charged at him next. He blocked their attack, momentarily face to face with them. "They're on the second floor" if it could've conveyed confusion, Death's skeletal face would've upon hearing Vulgora's words. "The last door to the left." They sounded... worried. Death nodded and pushed them off, letting them pretend to fight off part of his troupes and taking only three soldiers with him as they rushed upstairs. He heard the Pontifex pretend to chase after them, and give up once he was halfway up the stairs. He climbed the marches one after the other.

______________________________________________________________

The sounds and muffled voices grew closer. Valdemar couldn't make out the words being said -what was the point, anyway?- but could only distinguish the clinking of metal on the floor. The steps grew closer.

"General ! They're in here !"

what...?

The door was pound against, exactly five times, before it fell off its hinges, hitting the floor with a loud thud and blowing an air current that made them squint their eyes, in addition to the sudden pool of light red light pouring from outside the dark room. They caught the glimpse of four silhouettes, three human sized ones and another, more imposing, standing in the center. The three smaller frames returned into the corridor, and seemed to go keep an eye on the surrounding area, the light they basked in revealing skeletons in armor. The Quaestor's gaze then landed on the fourth shadow : it slowly started approaching. On the floor, it noticed the carcasses of journals, books, files and parchments. And a copious amount of them, too... Two little green lights served as eyes to them, and Vlademar recognized those. Their teeth greeted together, but they couldn't find anything to tell him. Liam. The reason they were in this mess in the first place... That foolish necromancer, taking the place of the thirteenth major Arcana... They briefly looked back at the ground, but their head instantly snapped back up as they saw him crouch down beside a burnt book, about to touch the crispy pitch black pages. "GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF THAT!!" They shouted, instinctively getting up on their feet, only to be dragged back down by the red chains, drawing a pained grunt out of them. Their shoulders hunched slightly. Liam's hand immobilized in the air and he looked at them. They briefly wished they could still read his expression in this moment... "...Your research." he simply commented. They knew he was right. He got up, and slowly walked towards them. Their gaze was suddenly drawn to his sword, as it morphed into a scythe in his hand. They looked up right at those greenish lights he had for eyes now, their gaze unwavering. Death towered over them... They looked at him grip the weapon with both hands and raise it above his skull. He was going to do it, wasn't he? They weren't even mad. They found themselves... Strangely determined. Fine. After all, maybe it was the greatest service he could make them in th-

SHCLANK.

THUD.

....

....

..

The chains...

He'd aimed for the chains. Eyes wide, they looked at one of the metallic binds that was snapped in two by the scythe, and had fallen to the ground. Liam then snapped the other one.

SHCLANK.

THUD.

They felt the remaining ones around their body loosen, setting their upper body free. They looked at their shaky hands, and then back up at Liam.. Confused. He'd crouched down to their level. Despite the lack of... basically anything that could convey emotions on his face, they felt no ill will or threatening aura coming from him. As if... He wanted... to help...

"Do you think you can walk?"

The lich's raspy and otherworldly voice asked. "How can I possibly trust you?" was their immediate response, which they briefly regretted. Liam didn't seem fazed however. Even... Understanding. He removed the glove of his right hand, exposing his bones to the dark room's air, and reached for one of the burnt books that laid at their feet. They were about to protest again, gripping his wrist to yank it away from the fragile paper, but as soon as one of his bony digits made contact with it, it's as if the book was reborn. The pages found their normal consistency, and their handwriting appeared through the book again. Their jaw hung slack in a mix of confusion and bewilderment. "I thought... Y-you said it didn't work with..." they looked back at his orbits, inhabited by those two green lights, their gaze unable to hide their emotion. "This is... One of Death's tricks. A very brief reversal of time. It only works on objects..." He replied, as he got up and removed his other glove, going around and picking one by one the journals, the files and parchments, each seemingly coming back to life as he touched them. Valdemar was stuck in shock, still on their knees on the floor, the overwhelming amount of emotions swarming them without a single warning. He... He had to have ulterior motives. It couldn't be out of... kindness. Their brows furrowed "What do you want?? wh-why are you doing this?!" as they got back up on their feet, their hands slightly shaky. Liam looked back at them "...Do I need a reason to help a friend?"

...

Friend...? "You mean... Fiend." "I mean... Friend." Shock appeared on their features once more. Death took a slight breath and spoke up again : "But if it is easier for you, consider this a thank you for helping me get where I am now. A... Payback, if you will." he paused, turning around to face them "But the truth is, I only wish to help." The Quaestor stood there, dumbfounded, their brows knitted together due to... Whatever emotion they were currently feeling. They observed as Liam went around the room, picking up each and every single document that the Devil had previously burnt right before their eyes. They watched as he carefully arranged it all in a pile, then a mount as more and more documents were added. They took a few steps forward, their shaky hand reaching for one of the journals, flipping through the pages, then reaching for another one, and another, and another... Tears welled up in their eyes as they held at least a dozen against their chest, crumbling back to their knees and hunching protectively over them, as if they'd vanish if they let go. Their researches... Their life's work, their reason to live... Nearly wiped out like a speck of dust. They couldn't help the tears. Yes, they could muffle their sobs, and yes, they could hide their face against the pile of journals, but they couldn't stop the subtle shaking of their shoulders... Nor the bony hand that gently settled on their back and started caressing it soothingly, Liam crouching beside them.

______________________________________________________________

After a while of such deep and sudden emotions, Death stood back up, ordering his three soldiers to fetch the others, so all of them could carry the mount of documents out of this place. Valdemar took with them as much as they could, their legs slightly wobbly from the whole ordeal, as they, Death, and the soldiers hurried downstairs. They left the damned halls of the Devil's palace, and at the entrance, the Quaestor's eyes widened as they laid upon a familiar centaur-like figure. The horse skull turned to look at them "well, would you look at that! Quaestor Valdemar, in the flesh. It's been a while" Death. Their throat tightened and they looked at the ground in shame. This... All of this was starting to become a little too much. "Cut them some slack" Liam spoke softly, patting Death's flank. "I'm going to need you to carry them home. The Devil's not been kind with them..." Death nodded, although slightly bitter, lowering themselves so Valdemar could mount them, while the lich walked on foot. The Quaestor desperately clung to the journals in their arms, and as the gentle rocking motion of Death's pace nudged them, they felt exhaustion start to close onto them, despite their best attempt to keep their eyes open and surveil the soldiers which carried the rest of their researches.

______________________________________________________________

They woke up in what looked like a cottage, resting on a couch, with a thick blanket over them and a plush pillow under their head. They blinked awake, looking around, noticing Liam sitting at a table. The lich was studying what looked like maps ; there was a warm fire going in the fireplace. Their eyes lingered on the flames for a while before returning to Liam. They observed his skeletal hands carefully holding the paper, before their red eyes looked out the window, into the snowy forest around. The sight felt much less dreadful than they remember. The soft creaking of Liam's chair drew their attention. "Ah, you're awake. How do you feel?" It was... paradoxal to have Death sound so soothing... Or maybe it wasn't. "...Better." Warm. "That is great to hear." he put the map down on the wooden table, getting up to reach for a set of keys and picked two from it. He then walked over to Valdemar and gently placed the keys in their hand. "It's to access a small shed I have built nearby. I've made it so your research could be stored there, in Death's realm." yet another emotional blow for Valdemar. But of gratitude, this time. They closed their eyes and let out a soft sigh to keep their composure. "...Thank you." Liam nodded. "It's my pleasure." He was about to return to his table when Valdemar gripped his sleeve. He turned around. They'd stood up ; they seemed to be contemplating something. Their eyes briefly scanned Liam up and down, before they gulped and extended their arms, before wrapping them around him, in a clumsy hug. A warm feeling spread in the lich's chest as he embraced their smaller frame back.

Valdemar could've never guessed Death's embrace could ever be this soft and welcoming.

[meili-sheep]

What do you think of reverse 1999?

So I like it.

I think it falls into some typical Gacha game issues. One being what I call the "waifu lean" by which I mean it leans too much in to pretty female characters. The exception to this (regarding their female characters) are Tooth Fairy and TTT as those two have fascinating design twists. TTT more so, but I love Tooth fairy's braces. Honestly, of the 6 stars I love A Knight's design the best, and then you have Pickles and Sputnik. I just wish the game would lean more into those fun twists rather than more pretty anime women. I do also adore Zima and Click with my whole being, and I'm waiting on a J or Getian rerun.

It is more visual novel and while i find the story interesting so far. Not really sold on the Human are logic are arcanist and emotional thing. I feel like they could worked with that better and play more into the theme of humans wanting logical reason while arcanist are drawing to chaos or something. IDK a lot of the time for arcanist supposing to be the crazy emotional ones too many characters feel very reasonable. I also just might not be far enough into the story.

I do enjoy it a lot those. It's a good little side thing to play .

[mostlynotwork]

It’s a city eat city world out there. But what happens when something threatens to  upset the balance of the world order?

‘Mortal Engines’ is set in a dystopian future where giant ‘traction cities’ roam the wastelands attacking and consuming smaller cities and towns. Aboard the great predator city ‘London’, apprentice historian Tom is about to have his world turned upside down. After Tom foils an assassination attempt on the life of the chief historian, he finds himself separated from his home and unsure who he can trust. Things only get worse as he uncovers a plot involving ancient technology and the devastation of the ‘Sixty Minutes War’.  

This book seems to be aimed at younger teens. As such, it simplifies the themes it touches on such as class, social Darwinism, and the risk of technology falling into the wrong hands. If you’ve studied any of these topics at a level beyond junior high, be warned. You may find yourself going “but what about…” at some point, due to the way some of these things are dealt with.

Reeve’s worldbuilding is centered around creating an environment for adventure. At times, that requires some hefty suspension of disbelief. (Which I go into a bit more in the spoilers section). However the underlying story is enjoyable and well paced. If you let yourself ride with the characters, you can look past some of the inconsistencies of the world. 

As a book aimed at a teen audience, this may not be for everyone. But if you’re willing to just kick back and enjoy adventures in a different dystopian world, then ‘Mortal Engines’ is an easy read.

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Youv’e been warned.

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Some aspects of the world building that didn't seem to make a lot of sense...

‘Mortal Engines’ has a fun, but impossible premise. Giant ‘traction cities’ are an awesome visual concept. Before I read this book, I assumed they were powered by some fantastical, futuristic energy source. But in the book it seems at least some of the engines are fuelled by burning stuff - mainly smaller cities. So straight up you need to accept that while giant steam powered cities are cool, they require a massive suspension of disbelief.

The tactics of city combat, especially in the early part of the novel, also require a certain suspension of disbelief. Chasing down and eating smaller cities is cool. But cities are huge and presumably hard to manoeuvre. They are essentially a giant mobile base, making them perhaps analogous to a battleship or aircraft carrier. Had the combat been modelled more closely around naval warfare, I think it would have made the world more believable. It would also have made some of the events later in the book (blowing up the enemy airships, anti-balloon rockets) make more sense.  

Finally - the engineers and scientists have managed to somehow reverse engineer some super advanced cyborg tech and a death ray - but all manner of simpler military technologies that would help them (fixed wing aircraft? artillery? radar? ) seem to have been missed. 

None of these really stopped me enjoying the novel, but I think it would have been better had the tech been a bit more thought through.

[meaningofaeons]

!!!! fellow oi reader hello!! may i ask what ois you've read so far sorry for being so straightforward it's just that hardly anybody i know reads oi and it's kinda embarrassing for me ahahaha

gepard feels like he'll fit in so much as either the personal knight trope or captain of the king's guards. stelle could also be the personal knight i guess? but the kind where 'villainess needs somebody on their side so they take in a foreign traveler in to be their maid/knight/personal aide', except said foreign traveler happens to rifle through the trash of everything.

jing yuan already feels like the emperor in hsr, he's just so perfectly regal in that sense. yanqing could be like the captain for jing yuan's guards, or his (adopted) heir who first (sibling-like relationship) meets and bonds with the reader without yanqing or reader knowing each other's true rank.

will there be a magic system? there is the 'mischievous/sly wizard of the tower' position that could go to sampo. i know you'll probably only write for the characters you listed so i'm deviating because i have so much brainrot about this right now, but i'm imagining march 7th also as a novice wizard/magician who's a friend of stelle. herta would also definitely be a wizard of the tower, probably would own/be the head of it. himeko feels so much like the ally duchess/marchioness character, with welt being another duke/marquess (or himeko's adoptive father if you're into honkai impact 3rd lore) or even royal advisor maybe.

blade as the cold duke of the north fits so well - sad backstory, red eyes, dark hair, slightly unhinged personality - a perfect match! dan heng could be the 'mysterious librarian who was the only neutral/slightly sympathetic person to the reader, but also never helped them outright in the first life'. friends with march and stelle, of course. speaking of second lives...

will the reader be reincarnated with a 2nd chance at life fix-it story, with the previous memories of the original timeline's bad ending and character actions? there's so much potential for angst if any of the characters betrayed her or weren''t on her side originally and the reader doesn't know who to trust nor like or love.

sorry for this word vomit, please don't feel pressured, it's just that i love your idea and i've gotten so hooked on hsr!!

( ↀДↀ)✧ GASP (=^✧ｪ✧^=))ﾉ彡☆ HELLO FELLOW OI READER !!!!! HOW ARE YOU ???? I feel the SAME way, hardly anyone I know reads ois or manhwas of any kind so I'm stuck in my own little visual novel enjoying corner (≅ᆽ≅)

I've read tons!! I don't have my full list on me rn (I am at work ;m;) but I can name a few off the top of my head! some of these are less isekai and more reincarnation/time travel, but I'll list them anyways! I'll put them beneath the cut along with my comments on your ideas since it gets pretty long LOL

my next life as a villainess: all routes lead to doom, the villainess turns the hourglass, a stepmother's märchen/fantasie of a stepmother, who made me a princess, actually I was the real one, I fell into the world of a reverse harem game, death is the only ending for the villainess, I will master this family, the tyrant wants to be good, lady and the beast, taming of the tyrant, roxana/how to protect the heroine's older brother, the rebirth of a tyrannical empress, sister in this life I'll be the queen, the duchess' 50 tea recipes, father I don't want this marriage, how to be a dark hero's daughter, the villainess is a marionette, and many, many MANY more.

this is actually only a small part of my list! again, I am at work, so I don't have my full (and unfortunately sorta not updated) manhwa list, but I think this is a good show of what I usually read lol!

I'll start on your comments from the top! FIRST OFF, SAME BRAIN!!! (=♡ ᆺ ♡=) while gepard is kind of a shoe-in for the personal knight that falls for the mc, I was ABSOLUTELY hooked on the idea stewing in my brain about stelle being a knight of some sort as well, with the only conflict being "well there can't be TWO personal friendly knights that love reader..." BUT THE IDEA ABOUT HER BEING THE TROPE OF THE FOREIGN TRAVELER/BEGGAR WITH SWORDSMANSHIP TALENT TO BE THEIR KNIGHT IS ABSOLUTELY GENIUS I BOW TO YOUR BRILLIANT MIND!!!!!!!!! OR MAYBE SHES LIKE A DEPOSED NOBLE WHO READER GIVES A CHANCE TO *:･ﾟ✧(=✪ ᆺ ✪=)*:･ﾟ✧

I agree on jing yuan, and I think that idea sounds rlly cute for yanqing!!! (=´ᆺ｀=)

I LOVE your sampo idea too. I kinda get lucas vibes from who made me a princess minus the maliciousness and adding 100x more sleazy swindly-type guy vibes, he's totally a bastard when it comes to provoking the other love interests behind ur back... the march 7th idea is cute too! I could also see her as reader's maid! and yes herta 100% head mage of the tower thats so real...

I am not mega into hi3 lore but I DO know about the dynamic between welt and himeko!!! I would love her to have a role like duchess tuania in remarried empress, a master of the social world who aides the reader. maybe welt is her adoptive father and she's trying to earn his trust to take over the duchy, and she thinks he won't pass it on to her, but little does she know he thinks she's more than capable and is making plans to give the duchy to her soon!!!

BLADE RLLY IS A SHOE-IN FOR THE DUKE OF THE NORTH HUH... that guy covers all the bases. "the monster duke" of the rumors... I think that's def what his position will be. for dan heng, ONCE AGAIN YOUR BRAIN IS HUGE!! the quiet, scholarly-type ML who helps the reader in business dealings or things requiring an analyst type to help, like maybe information gathering... I think having him run an information guild as the trope goes would be a Bit much for dan heng since I don't see him as much of a leader in that sense, but I think he's definitely got connections to some underground info guilds (=｀ﻌ´=) maybe he is friends w stelle and march as you say, and he is a lower ranked noble who knew stelle and helps the reader as thanks for giving his friend a chance? :o cold, but he cares!!!

I would love 2 hear your ideas for kafka if you have any!!! you have such amazing ideas anon!!!!

as for the reincarnation thing, I'm still not 100% sure yet but I DO like that idea... I love the mc going from villain/ridiculed noble to execution to reincarnating and either taking revenge on those who wronged them, making their life better (and by extension the lives around them who they care for), or both!

thank you again for the wonderful ask!!! you should totally send another one any time!!! I look forward to hearing more of ur thoughts, oi anon!!!! (≗ᆽ≗)ﾉ

[chi-the-idiot]

Ok i recently redownloaded Obey Me: SWD and downloaded Nightbringer for the first time, because one always returns to their toxic on and off relationships, even in games (/j).

And i got really into the ideas i had for a fangame rewrite of the original game earlier in the year.

Sooo yeah, working on that lmao

My general issues with the og game lie in the grinding effort you have to do being way more and more demanding for the small reward you get, especially with the gameplay being pretty static for the most part. Now, Nightbringer seems to have fixed that with the rythm games (which are really fun tbh and the music is amazing), but the story you get in return is still pretty minimal.

Also talking about the story is the fact that a lot of it is mainly filling? Specifically in the earlier chapters. And i get that some filling is needed to advance any story, especially one like in obey me which focuses a lot on fixing the brothers' broken relationships with one another. But they still don't feel very relevant? If that makes sense?

I think the biggest issue is the lack of effect choices have in the larger story. One of the most interesting aspects, and the most crucial one in fact, of visual novels is the ability to make choices and have the narrative and the characters react to them accordingly, changing in response. But obey me for the most part offers the illusion of choice, that characters like you more or less depending on what you say. But the story doesn't really reflect that. Everyone falls in love with you no matter what. And its not an issue with the reverse harem trope really, but rather that the relationships feel static. Like you aren't building a polycule of people who like you but rather you just attract them no matter what you say.

These criticisms do change a bit of my perception of the game, but tbh i still really like it (especially nightbringer, its really fun). But yeah, imma try to tackle the game more so from a visual novel standpoint that a beat game one.

[gorisuture]

ebook ISBN: 9781387501847, paperback ISBN: 9780359938940 

EXPLICIT CONTENT (SEX, VIOLENCE, DRUGS, PROFANITY) When Iblis-Shaitan, the omni-malevolent god of evil, learns of the impending apocalypse, he teams up with Omega’s other enemies to alter the fate of the world to his own design.  As Eldridge, Nathaniel, Jithinia, and Danielle face off against these powerful adversaries, they learn hidden truths about themselves and their destinies, all the while harnessing their own willpower.  Meanwhile, Jerushi realizes her own potential, while Phoenix-Astothan has his hands full keeping everyone safe.  As pandemonium threatens to tear Omega apart, can their love hold them together, or will they choke upon the taste of void? 

Expand the mind, expand the soul! The Paradox Chronicles are a series of metaphysical allegories which use extreme imagery and scenarios to jolt the psyche as a catalyst for spiritual growth.  Mind expansion doesn’t mean to simply elevate one’s thoughts in the highest direction; one must also debase one’s thoughts in the lowest direction.  Only then is the mind truly expanding in a balanced and veracious fashion.  The Paradox Chronicles utilizes shock and horror juxtaposed with higher spiritual thinking to catapult the ego past its blockades, rousing people from their hypnotic waking sleep, and thus allowing for a deeper understanding of the veiled essence of divinity.  

The Taste of Void, Book 6, explores a vast array of abstract and mystical concepts including negative/reverse visualization, time, the purpose of sacrifice, the divinity within grief, the power of passivity, manifestation from void, cosmic equilibrium, true will, utilizing intention, and love under will.  Furthermore, this novel examines the complexities of evil parsed through subjectivity as well as metempsychosis through annihilation of ego.  Ego death is an essential tool for spiritual growth. Just as the tree must die each winter to bloom anew, so too must the psyche mirror cycles of death and rebirth. Rejuvenation through transformation opens the tap of creative energy, expounded upon in the lessons on the Quadriga Sexualis.  Falling somewhere between the genres of visionary fiction and paranormal erotic horror, The Taste of Void continues the debauched occult apologue of the broken gods while elucidating on the previous musings exemplified in this series.