#sorry for literally only posting about demo

[quotidianish]

In this regard, he couldn’t relate to the soldier. He hadn’t forgotten much, nevertheless a good portion of his life. But at the back of his mind, he’d something locked away, which made Tavish Degroot feel a lingering sense of emptiness.

[campoverlook-if]

Progress Update #9// 10/30/24

Hey everyone, look who's almost a whole month late. Unfortunately, this will not be a post about the demo update. But please don't worry, the project is not being cancelled.

I’ve been holding off on releasing the update because I don’t feel it’s quite ready yet. I really dislike going back on my promises, and I’m genuinely sorry for the delay. But I'm doing this because I feel this will be better for my overall personal process. I've written close to 20k words since the beginning of the month and I just don't want anyone seeing it yet.

Moving forward, I think it would be best to update the demo only once each episode is complete, rather than posting sporadically as I have been. I was so excited to get the story out there with the first episode, but there's so many points that I could have done better if I hadn't put time limits for myself.

So yes, for now on, I'll only update the demo once an episode has been finished. I hope you understand and I appcrecite all the support everyone has given me so far.

With that said, I hope what I say next will be seen as some good news.

I realize I haven’t posted a proper progress report since July, which was around the time I got sick. As I've said before it was just the flu (which I get literally every year), and I'm back to 100% by now. It did make me sluggish for a long while though and I sorta lost my motivation to keep up with the blog.

But, now that I've gotten all this stuff off my chest, I'd really like to go back to those weely updates and go back to answering questions. I'm sorry to everyone who asked if I was okay and didn't get a reply, I was just kinda embarrassed at my long absence to be honest.

That’s all I wanted to share, thank you for reading if you’ve made it this far. I completely understand if anyone is unsure about the future of this project and would prefer to unfollow until it’s closer to being finshed. I worry about its future too, but I'm committed to seeing it through.

Thank you again, and see you all on Monday!

[quitealotofsodapop]

With Mei and MK they adapt to the monkey shenanigans easily. At this point in time they've known Wukong a year or more and know that A) the Monkey King may be an awesome legendary figure but he's still jsut a pregnant monkey and an otherwise regular guy who hides a lot of mental issues under a front, and B) monkey just gotta monkey sometimes. This isn't the first time he's started grooming either of them unconsciously. They're just mainly surprised his feral monkey brain defaults to thinking they're his cubs.

Bai He? Oh boy... she is freaking the fuck out. She's. Sweetheart but that doesn't change the fact that this adorable little girl, a normal little girl, was kidnapped, possessed for several weeks by an ice spirit, fought agaisnt a Sun Wukong who wasn't holding back whole being possessed (somethign that internally hurt Wukongmore than you can imagine since his instincts are definitely screaming at him for attacking a CUB), and when she woke up she found herself surrounded by a strangers, mostly a group made of demons, a dragon, and three legendary immortals.

Oh and one of those immortals is Sun Wukong himself who is not only pregnant but his mate (the Monkey King is married!? Divirced!? When asked MK just says its complicated) seems to think she's his cub!?!?

referencing this post about Mac's instincts declaring Bai He his cub.

Yeah, Bai He is like a main character who literally just got introduced in a later season. Everybody's got the lore and characters down and she's just wondering how she's supposed to heal and move on from being possessed by an ancient demoness that likely damaged her body.

Poor girl has had and is having a Time.

The only human around is ultimately Tang, so Bai He is surrounded by demons, a dragon, and some immortals. She isn't really sure who to approach with help on things.

Then suddenly the darker furred monkey (the Macaque she thinks he's called?) seems to sense her distress and brings her to the van for some reason, and hoists her into the Monkey King's bunk. Before she can ask whats going on, Bai He suddenly feels a pair of soft hands combing through her hair comfortingly.

Wukong: "Hi kiddo. Sorry about grumpy-pants over there, his instincts are acting up cus of me and the baby." Macaque: "Hmph. She's sad." Bai He: *is too surprised to answer* Wukong: "I'm sorry if I hurt you when I fought the demon. I really didn't want to." Bai He, quietly: "is ok." Wukong, softly: "I know it wasn't fun being posessed like that. It felt like something cold and slimy was under my skin - and I'm indestructible! I can't imagine how it must have felt for you to carry her for all that time. You're so strong." Bai He: *gets really quiet and turns to bury her face in the monkey's fluff to hide her tears* Both monkeys: *coo comfortingly as a parent would to a sad cub, and continue to comb through her long hair* Bai He: *is far too in need of a hug to protest*

It is a little awkward when the topic of where Bai He's original home us brought up - I hc that she's a foster kid, or her parents died/went missing when DBK was possesed by LBD. She's not in a good place either way.

There is legitimate talk amongst the fam to keep Bai He (adopted by any of the adults), as most prospective human parents wouldn't understand how she's feeling rn or know how to handle her physical recovery.

[ramonag-if]

So prefacing this by saying that I get that the Patreon is yours to control and that it's fair that everyone is welcome to their own preferences about the bonus stories. I'm not going to judge them for that and I'm glad they get to enjoy your writing beyond the demo that's been written so far.

Having said that, is there any chance of you posting some independently of the polls? Because as someone who's ace and is playing the story without any of the explicit NSFW content, it quite frankly sucks that basically if not literally EVERY side story set in the aftermath of the game, regardless of the LI involved, is NSFW because of how the other patrons vote every single time. And I don't see that changing anytime soon seeing as NSFW is winning by 60% for what feels like the millionth poll in a row.

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure they're well written and enjoyed by those who are comfortable with it, but as someone who isn't, it...really sucks that I lose a major part of the benefit of higher tier subscription, especially during the months where there isn't an update to the main game. Even if those like me who want the SFW fluff instead of the minority it's like...not even ONCE? No one wants a future fic without some sucking and fucking involved EVER? I'm not opposed to going with the majority more often than not but it honestly feels excessive when it's literally Every. Single. Time. and it's never a particularly close battle either so it's unlikely to improve going forward.

Sorry for the rant, I'm not trying to antagonize the other patrons - I can't fault them for voting for what they want after all - and I'm going to continue to support regardless, but I thought it'd be important to point this out for myself and maybe some of the others who just have to watch our side lose the poll over and over again and settle for the alternate POV's even if we're technically paying for more only to have our voices completely overwhelmed.

No need to apologise! I had been debating actually on side stories that aren't going to be NSFW/SFW versions since I know the polls are skewed in that direction. I did at one point have a poll to do stories about the ROs' pasts but it didn't get a lot of votes 😬 It's also very difficult for me to plan a regular side story that's not canon since it takes a lot of energy and time (which is limited) which is why I went with the NSFW/SFW polls. It'd be better to message me privately on Patreon rather than here so I can keep track of what's being said and discussed 😊 I'm likely going to have to do more randomiser wheels going forward 👀

[tiredcatboysinc]

Merc cooking headcannons

Hi, it's literally been so long since I posted I'm so sorry. Anyways Tf2 hyperfixation is back so here are my headcannons for how good all the mercs can cook.

Scout ⚾

Scout doesn't really cook

He more or less just shoves chicken tenders in the oven and prays he doesn't burn them

Like he could learn to cook if he really wanted

But he just does not have the patience for it

I think Engi maybe taught him how to use the oven and taught him a few very easy recipes (soups, grilled cheese, things like that)

Other than that? That man can not cook

Sniper 🦘

Sniper knows how to cook, just not well

Like, being out in the wild with no way to buy food is a good reason to learn to cook

Doesn't mean he doesn't burn shit half the time

He can make a few things, toast, pasta, and he can grill any type meat really

He defiantly taught himself how to

Soldier 🦅

He can not cook

Do not even let this man in the kitchen

He will find a way to blow something up

Demo💣

I think Demo would be able to cook very well ngl

Like he only really cooks dishes from Scotland, but he'll learn to cook just about anything given the time

He likes to cook for Soldier a lot

I think he would really enjoy making breakfast for him :3

Medic💉

He can cook, it's just that no one trusts him to cook

Like if you let him cook he'd probably make some kind of monster meat

If someone would give him the chance he'd probably be really good at cooking

Just make sure he doesn't put any chemicals in it

Heavy🪆

He can cook really good actually

But only Russian dishes and sandwiches

He never really cared to learn how to make food besides those

Like that's all he ever eats, so why would he need to learn?

He's also a pretty good baker

Man can make a good ass pie

Spy🍷

Only cooks very fancy foods

Like he will not eat anything unless it's like fucking high end shrimp or something

Honestly he's super good at cooking, it's just the fact that it takes him several hours to make the food because he wants it to be perfect

Engineer🔧

Literally the best cook in the base

Everyone loves his cooking, so he ends up making dinner most if not every night

He loves cooking though so it's not an issue

Have you guys ever seen that mac n' cheese that has like 5 cheeses and a layer of bread crumbs?

Yeah, he would make that

Pyro🔥

They don't cook, they would set the base on fire if they did

They can bake though

And they bake really really amazingly

Like fluffiest and most moist cakes you've ever eaten

They're favorite thing to make is sugar cookies

And they also like to gift their caked goods to the other mercs and sometimes Miss Pauline when they get to see her :3

[syrupspinner]

top 10 most anticipated indie games!

in no particular order, not affiliated with any of em, etc etc

of the Devil

so, funny story. i had some fanart of this game set as my phone background when i went to get a new phone. check it out here! anyway, the cleric who only really plays ff14 looked at it and went "woah, what's that? it looks like danganronpa." and i was like. yeah buddy! sure does! then, of course, i began proselytizing, about how the game's demo did an amazing job at establishing not only the game's wonderfully directed art style, with the ui and the music and everything else working together to make a perfectly opressive cyberpunk atmosphere, but how the writing of the mystery and morgans character is so intriguing and compelling and auuuugh i wanna play this fucking game dude. i love morgans smile i hope she makes me eat a bomb

2. UNBEATABLE

so imagine muse dash, but instead of high-contrast anime girls and dubious dlc practices, it's just punk as fuck. theres nothing i can say about the game other than linking the side-story/demo and telling you to just go with the flow and dig the vibes. the soundtrack rocks hard, and the visuals are so well done. everything looks like a poster collage for a garage band youve never heard of. also the trailer for the full game showed off a graffiti mechanic and thats all i need

3. Demonschool

i talked about demonschool a lot back in my nextfest post, and my thoughts havent changed at all. im a slut for strategy rpgs, and a big reason for that is i like planning my moves in advance and seeing what the best use of all my ally's abilities are. so the game's mechanic of the shared ability meter that you use for multiple moves over one turn, plus the ability to rewind moves before committing to them, AND the high level of combo potential in everything's interactivity? pumped as hell. there was recently a dev update about how you can light yourself on fire and spread that damage to the environment with every attack if that helps sell you

4. Roman Sands RE:Build

i dont need to say shit. just look at it. LOOK at it. this is so ridiculously catered to my tastes on presentation alone that i cant even come up with a hyperbolic simile. its y2k dreamcast beach artstyle, its time loop with routing optimization, its arbitrary celestial puzzle with unexplained mechanics, its stupid gomotion noodle people, its abstract nonsense that is actively and literally hostile towards the player for trying to understand it. im gonna CUM dude

5. Sorry We're Closed

how often do you see a fixed-camera shooter about a woman with three eyes? the fucking atmosphere, man. even from the demo i can tell that a la mode knows what theyre doing. i love how there isnt like, a limit or meter on your third eye, thats something i can easily see another game doing. but the downsides of only being able to hurt enemies in range AND having to aim at their weak spots is already a good balance to encourage you to switch it up. its so deliciously frictional that you have to go in first person to attack anything, and theres a delay when you do it so youve gotta be really cautious and defensive. and oh man, the cleaver enemy! that was so tense, and so much of that was from the expert audio design that made it so unclear how close he is or where exactly he is, just that hes getting closer. im gonna lose my shit about this game when the full thing drops. fun fact: this releases tomorrow, so this is literally the last day that i can post this. oops!

6. .45 PARABELLUM BLOODHOUND

how often do you see a fixed-camera shooter about a woman with three eyes? ive never played parasite eve, which this is purported to be a spiritual successor to, but the action seems really interesting. sukeban's website explains it like this: "you move and dodge in real time while you wait for an Action bar to fill at a speed determined by character and weapon stats. Once that’s done you can then stop time and plan your offensive". that sounds stupidly fun. judging by the trailers and shit, theres gonna be a big focus on combo chains and your character having multiple attacks she can switch between, but theres not much i can really say about that until theres a demo or something.

7. YIIK: A Postmodern RPG (Update I.V)

i know an update is cheating a bit, but ackk studios considers it to be a thorough enough reimagining that it almost constitutes a sequel. if you havent played the demo then you should give it a shot. my only experience with yiik before it was secondary, through discussions and lets play compilations, and i was totally blown away. the combat was totally reworked, so instead of those repetitive and drawn-out minigames its a way more engaging system where you can use "karta" as defensive shields with passive buffs or sacrifice them for spells. its one of those things that sounds weird and complicated when you explain it, but in gameplay it just kinda clicks. it also seemed to double down on he surrealism and abstract psychological themes, which is my fucking jam. i think missed potential is the worst flaw something can have, so hearing that yiik is growing into its most flawless form is exciting as hell

8. FreeJack Online

unfortunately, i found out about this game about a month after its last online playtest. the dev's discord says they wont reopen unless they find a publisher, and theyre not sure if thats gonna happen reasonably soon. but secondhand, this game looks like a killer time. you guys know im super into this hip hop skatepunk urban style, so even if the gameplay is total shit ill still be all over the ost and character design. but this gameplay doesnt look like shit! you build up trick combos and that contributes to your speed as you parkour around and try to win races. its been a while since ive sunk myself in a competitive online game and i think thisll be what gets me back into it, someday

9. Hyper Light Breaker

yknow im kinda surprised this list hasnt been more roguelikes considering how much i play em. hlb looks like its aiming for an interesting combo of roguelike and open-world, and im really interested in how that shakes out. the combat looks like a really good transition of the speedy high-stakes fighting from hld into 3d. im really hopeful for this game, especially everything heart machine is going through with gearbox and the fanbase backlash for the delays.

10. The Hundred Line -Last Defense Academy-

im saying this counts as indie because im in denial. so, i mentioned how the phone clerk guy was a danganronpa fan, right? he played all the mainline games, and even got into zero escape looking for more (he played VLR before 999? lmao) but he had no idea what too kyo games was. never heard of Death Come True, or Akudama Drive, or World's End Club, or Rain Code, or Tribe Nine. really goes to show how much publicity matters, huh? anyway, in case you couldnt tell, i am a 'fan' of danganronpa. theres a lot you could say about it, like how the writing is juvenile and contrarian and how it consistently struggles to write unpredictable mysteries despite this and also how kodaka just fundamentally fails at writing minorities and the pacing issues and flat characters and... you get it. but its never boring. and considering they officially hired the guy who wrote the spin-off novel where kirigiri gets cloned into a houseplant, i feel like its just gonna get less boring from here

look at this shit. im along for the ride at this point

[6okuto]

HI THIS IS THE ANON WHO SAID SHE LOVED UR POST AND i just realised u also write for cove holden ilysm do u have any romance visual novel recs?? so far i've only done cove's one & two demo ones (a celtic mythology one whose name i cannot remember & touchstarved the loml)

have the bestest day and thNk u

was the celtic one the good people (na daoine maithe) because i played that one too 👩🏻‍💻🫶 RLLY GOOD in typical nia fashion when my Type type isn't there i'm going 4 keagan and flannan

i saw u say error 143 in ur other ask UR REAL!!! ofc i must recommend blooming panic if u haven't played. xyx and toasty r genuinely just. Funny. i rlly liked toasty's va they did a great job. FIRST TIME I HEARD HIS LAUGH I WAS LIKE WOAH. i rlly liked how nightowl's route went w. Anger. u don't see it a lot and i appreciate it i was like WOWWW? AT ME? he's real. robo has answered a Lot of asks on tumblr so u can get loads of content after u finish!

https://gbpatch.itch.io/our-life-nf ... :) No words. Demo. i will build the audience for the 2nd game myself.

DEMO obscura is also vry good,, i haven't played in a Long time but i keep up w reading tumblr asks abt the LIs LOL. love the art and vibes. he isn't my type but iirc cirrus offers a rlly interesting dark romance route + aftercare/safe word system :)

DEMO online @ the perfect time is just,, i love the vibes and concept so far I LOVE WHEN CHARAS R FUNNY. HAVE MY HUMOR. rlly excited to see where it goes it's quite short so far BUT I WANT PPL TO PAY ATTENTION 4 THE FUTURE. PLEASE!

cryptid coffeehouse IS SOOO CUTE I LOVE ARTEMIS ☹️☹️ queer slowburn coffee shop romance BE SERIOUS no one fucking TALKS ABOUT MY ARTEMIS. WHY. so so many cute moments i was kicking my feet and giggling like WOWW

3 seasons is also VRY vry cute i don't usually play games w an mc visual but ivy is so pretty so IDC!!! u can play all the routes pretty easily they're all lovely like... it isn't super often i come out liking all the LIs pretty much on the same lvl. mamma mia!

....the persona 5 vn. IMCRYING I'm so fucking serious like. the characterization is REAL it's super well made. i'd like to say u could enjoy without playing p5 but um. probably not to the full extent. i played out of principle as a p5 enjoyer and for goro bc he's one of summer's fav charas ever and his route was so awesome actually. Epic Major Spoilers obvi. akira slayed also (my good ending completionist side..☹️)i won't say much abt him bc i'll ramble on and on but summer after finding out i had a crush on him yrs ago was like Yeah that makes a lot of sense he is so loz link.. like man

$30 gilded shadows (free demo) which i need to play again I WAS SUPPOSED TO FINISH ARI'S ROUTE MONTHS AGO rika said he was so my type and i trust them fundamentally. caissa my beloved. like the world building + charas it's just,, well done y'know

$12 when the night comes haven't played but rika rlly likes it so i'm putting it here anyways. LOL

NOT VNs. they are IFs...like there's Literally no visuals. read in browser. but i stand by the night market (1st book finished!) which i've rb'ed a bit + speaker . both fantasy,, love both casts i love everything they're doing i'm genuinely so so excited to see where they go!!! PLEASE!!!

YANDERE DEMOS separated for if they aren't ur thing which is obvi Valid. i erm. went down a bit of a rabbit hole. pls read their warnings! always read game warnings. but like. ok anyways

DEMO 14 days with you yeah. ren. i like when mc notes that smth is Off abt him. lots of asks answered on the tumblr! I can fix him.

DEMO something's wrong with sunny day jack jesus Christ . some of the best vn va work i have ever come across like Genuinely wtf. and the concept is rlly cool. was put off for a long time bc of.. jack's appearance.. sowwy. but wow it is just. really well done.

bitter/sweet blythe orange masc blythe va ?? did such a good job?? like srsly what. sorry wow that's the main thing i just rlly wanted to applaud them a bit. also I LOVE THE PARTIAL OST??? i want it so bad i was humming it for a couple hours after like

DEMO our dollhouse I'm so serious when i say i didn't realize it was for yanjam so when i came to my own realization of Oh Shit He's Sus and checked i was like FUCKCKDJ 😭😭 OBVIOUSLY... but srsly love the art and i'm excited to see how mc figures it out and what happens. did a good job at making a pretty Understandably oblivious(??) mc. like yeah i can see why u wouldn't expect him.

DEMO favor Z Intrigues Me. had to try so hard for the secret ending but now i am more intrigued like OKAYYY WHAT HAPPENED BROTHER 🤨 i like the tail animation also. also when u say u like possession horrors woah hey. hey. pal

[bitty-bits]

The First and the Last of the Year

And possibly last ever... on Tumblr at least.

Where did I go?

Nowhere in particular... if you've seen my socials all year, that is. This blog/newsletter however, took an extended vacation, not just from a lack of interest (and personal real life stuff getting in the way) but also from a technical standpoint - I really wanted the email newsletter aspect of this to work, but I still couldn't. I was considering using TinyLetter ...until they announced that was shutting down. If I had a nickel for every time a newsletter service shut down out of nowhere I'd have two... you know the rest. And with Tumblr getting worse as the year went by, maintaining this wasn't exactly motivating enough.

That said, it was a less than ideal year for my productivity, inconsistent pace, money issues, the lowest amount of notable dreams to write down on my dream journal to date... you get the idea.

So I can only hope for things to be better. For me to be less lazy... and work not only on stuff I make, but on myself. And I do have a bit of optimism, since a lot has, so let's see a couple of stuff, although everything else you should expect to see in a "rebooted" version of this blog...

Also, Free Palestine!

What I've Been Playing / Watching

So while I haven't fully completed a LOT of things this year, this will be going back to the beginning of the year, essentially, so strap yourselves. (Some of it I'll be grabbing from my media thread that I've made on Twitter as well)

Lucky Star (Finished)

I have posted about Lucky Star in another issue, but I was still in the middle of watching it. Now that I've actually finished watching it (in February) I can say more about it: When it comes to this anime, it was either pretty ahead of its time, or we just have Regressed as a species since then. Maybe the latter.

And sorry folkz, Lucky Star is pro-ship/pro-fic culture and there’s nothing you can do about it. I watched the entire series including the OVA, and while I’m definitely still not sure I’m exactly the "target demographic" what I saw was still very enjoyable. it really just is whatever the fuck and I'm all for it.

At first my kin™ was Konata pretty quickly because of course. That was until Minami showed up and like, she’s basically the weeb version of Ongo Jelly Jamm™!!! I actually can say I got attached to and care about most of the characters, even if just a little.

Like I said in a previous issue, in 2015 I had watched part of an episode of it english dubbed and it didn’t click with me at all. Turns out the dub just sucks as I should’ve expected lol (And I really wasn’t used to segmented "several short stories in one" type anime and stuff to be fair - that and I was dumber too of course so I couldnt properly appreciate the ART........)

My rating is Timotei/10 - and Nichijou is next!

Pizza Tower

Easily the biggest loss for gaming this year was this game not winning "Best Debut Indie" at the Game Awards. Oh well.

I was already highly anticipating this game - having first heard of it when it had a demo at SAGE 2019 I’m glad the game turned out great and is getting the recognition it deserves. I pretty much finished the game in early March. P/10

The Owl House (Finished)

Well... it’s over... for better or worse. I do think they managed to deliver a satisfactory ending all things considered. This was definitely a great cartoon to kick off the new decade.

And of course, fuck Disney as always.

This show got me to break out of, I guess an habit, you could say, or a superstition, or whatever the hell it is, when it came to media with too much ""occultism"" in them. You know the drill. I guess it opened up the little my mind had left that was still a bit closed. Even if it’s mostly involuntary.

But this isn’t even new. As a child I’d actually have an "imaginary friend" that i made (that kinda just Existed, didn’t really "interact" much with them whatsoever cuz i was Dumb™) that their backstory was literally that they were a demon in hell "gone rogue" so they were "not an evil one". Again, I was a kid. I never thought too much about the implications of me thinking about stuff like that already at that age. But it is interesting to think about now.

Anyways, been gay, did witchcraft. ⛥/5

Invader ZIM (Series + Enter The Florpus)

Well I did it. I finally watched the funny hot topic show™ (Finished in late May)

What can I even say about it that hasn’t been already said by everyone else? ...well maybe I have one thing: for some reason I didn’t find That One Episode that people always bring up the MOST disturbing one. I thought the one with a literal character flatlining and Zim being ":)" about it got to me a bit more.

Anyways yeah it’s Cool I liked the characters especially Gaz, and GIR obviously Why Wouldn’t He Be Here. The show can be stupid and end episodes in Whatever The Fuck ways that leave you like "That's it? That's the episode???" but I think that’s one of the unique aspects of it that I Enjoy - also the movie is cool. ☮️>🐔+🍚/10

The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)

So I watched it first when we only had shitty cinema bootleg recordings (that aren’t even that shitty anymore at this point in terms of quality, the Shit comes in the form of godawful intrusive illegal casino ads™ placed.) even though a bit later the raw movie would sometimes be uploaded in full to YouTube with no consequence for days. And at this point I’ve rewatched it plenty of times in proper HD (though only once in English cuz I’ll be honest, the Brazilian dub really is phenomenal really and blows the original "star talent cast" out of the water in my opinion, where it falls short is the voice for Luigi, as I know the dude’s voice too well and he’s just doing his normal voice with an accent, not to mention he’s the brazilian Sonic voice already!!!)

I think Charlie Day is the superior Loogy here but I’d still say the dub is better, not only for the fact there are "real voice actors" cuz you know, that’s Their Job, but also like, Charles Martinet is still in there cuz in case you didn't know, he voiced that jumpman dude’s only line in pretty much every language possible which is absurd/admirable.

It’s a fun movie if not mostly for looking at Mario Things happening that you know and recognize, because otherwise the story is pretty ridiculously basic, though even for "Mario game story" standards it’s definitely refreshing to see Luigi as the one to be rescued... though that Also sucks because Luigi deserved more screentime. The main Toad too. Oh well. Also disappointed that the "wise Toad" in the movie isn’t Toadsworth… or maybe he is but hasn’t aged yet and maybe in a sequel we’ll see him get older and then main Toad becomes Captain Toad. Who knows 🍄/10

Honorable Mentions - Stuff I've Watched That I've Yet To Write My Thoughts About, I Don't Have The Time Now

Spy × Family (Season 1) - Not the type of anime I'd see myself watching, but I was forced roped into it by one of my partners and found it to be VERY enjoyable.

Sparkle On, Raven: The Life of Drillgirl - Charming, shitpost-y, but genuine and fun

The Amazing Digital Circus - A very promising series with unexpected popularity, and equally unexpected high quality Brazilian dub with recognizable talent.

Murder Drones (Season 1 - 6/8) - A series I've been cautiously optimistic about since its pilot - it has endearing, enjoyable characters and settings, but flawed writing and pacing - more on that at a future date.

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off - An amazing take on a series that I'm not so familiar with (haven't seen the movie or read the comics, only really knew that the franchise "exists") and judging from what I've heard from others, it probably is the best take on the main storyline. Especially when it comes to the representation of who turned out to be my fave - Roxie. Watching the live action now is... probably gonna be very weird. Not sure if I want to.

Kunshikter (Күншіктер) - A new, yet very obscure cartoon from Kazakhstan. It's cute. It's for children but at this point I don't think y'all care. It's still ongoing and there are not many episodes so far. I recommend giving it a watch. Now!

Future YouTube Updates

As some of you saw in a xeet tweet from early October I was planning to do something significant on my main YouTube channel which has been stagnant for a while now, only for that to, surprise, not happen. I do have a set goal now: In very early January, a video to explain exactly what happened and what was the video I wanted to make, and... why it's hard for me to get a video like that out in the first place. The short answer (that doesn't actually account for Everything) is autism. The long answer is... stay tuned for it, lol

Song of the Issue

Although this section was supposed to be for sharing music that isn't mine, I thought I'd share snippets of music stuff I've been making since the beginning of 2023 until now, that you can look forward to!

Conclusion

I dunno. All I can say is... happy new year! It's been a tradition to make a stupid amateurish collage at the end of the year with the highlights, but this year there's been... less of them, that I took note of at least. But that won't stop me I think. Once I have that done, I may edit this to include it.

No comment on anything related to Twitter (which I'll never call "X") and the billionaire that happened this year as you all probably already know by now, and by the way you can now follow me on the social butterfly of bluesky. See you next year!

[coiajm]

my theories on parx’s most recent post!

as all of us parxies know, waterparks uploaded the following picture, a neon green gradient background with three horizontally parallel black dots… interesting..

now, this photo could mean many things. there has been a recent discussion, especially on twitter, as to what this is, some of which I have thought of in the following:

a new album? already? that’s highly unlikely. personally, I doubt it.

a deluxe addition of intellectual property? hmm.. maybe.. however, parx has never even come out with a deluxe addition, let alone really mention one.

a new demo album? this is my personal favorite, considering it does line up with what awsten has said in the past when IP was competing with metallica on some buttfuck british charts..

a new tour announcement? maybe new dates? maybe asia tour dates!? (we can only hope, sending all my love to parxies who live in asia ❤️‍🩹)

you know, all of those technically are all in the realm of possibility.. but maybe that’s not it? they do say, “all good things come in three”, hmm.. kinda like the three horizontally parallel grenades in double dare!?

these kinda leads into the next theory..

is parx coming to an end!?

I’ve heard some theories in this already, even from when before IP was even announced. sure, it gets annoying, but it also gets to my head.. I truly doubt that they’re disbanding anytime soon, but what if..?

after all, three dots does usually represent the end of something, it also represents silence, a disappearance..

but hey, that’s me just thinking the worst, right? (haha, right..?)

a connection to fandom.. perhaps?

our beloved third studio album! our favorite hatred spiked album ! that also revolves around .. green ? neon green ? cough cough.

(if i’m being honest, intellectual property does have kinda the same energy as fandom. lyrically wise, that is. but out of all the albums, those seem to match the most.)

but..

the STARS!

now riddle me this, motherfuckers, why would the stars only return for the IP era ? why weren’t the stars there before fandom, now that we think about it.. and the weird thing is, the stars only came back in the era that was HINTING green .. green like FANDOM! FANDOM WITH THE STARS. BITCH!?

what could this mean?

I mean, It could easily mean that we’re just having another green era? but why would awsten repeat a colour? that’s right, he wouldn’t. would he? i’m spiraling..

I mean, his star makeup at four chord was smudged, and that was the first time too, does this mean we’re fading away into another era? another green era?

otto was a hint all along..

going back to “all good things come in three”.. do y’all remember otto’s cheek makeup?! literally the same as the photo.

(omg.. otto solo album 😍 he’s my bias)

(…i’m joking...)

yeah, there’s really no theory here.. just the fact that these mfs were hiding it on otto’s CHEEK. damn. sneaky bitches. I guess it is weird.. geoff had a heart (which now that i’m thinking.. could be another sign..), and otto had three dots?

my last theory for now!

this is less of a theory, and more of me pointing out the obvious. (the obvious that we never saw.)

awsten was sporting neon green all the time. EVERYWHERE!

seriously, how did we not see it? we’re so fucking out of touch that we just okayed awsten having a neon- *gags* neon green phone case!? nah.

just look at this:

also, maybe this is a reach.. but i don’t think so.. so, our last era was GH, right? rainbow hair? well.. look at the colour of his phone case then..

DING DING!!

It’s red! just like how RED was the next era. so, this leaves me no choice to believe that his next era will (maybe?) be green..? again..? hm, weird..

SO. sorry if that was all over the place. this was more just for me to unrot my brain a little about this! sorry!

love youuuu 🫧

- arlo

[fandom-geek]

anyway just realised i completely forgot to make a post abt completing the first part of the arl of redcliffe quest and the broken circle, so thoughts!

...i had completely forgotten that alistair does know who his dad is.

on that note, alistair does say that duncan also knew, but it's not entirely clear if alistair told him (and duncan pretended not to know already), if the reverend mother told him (and he pretended not to know already), or if duncan was actually transparent about already knowing but just didn't say how.

alistair also gave me the quest about finding goldanna, which again makes me think abt fiona. when he eventually finds out that his mother is actually an elven mage who is alive, he's gaining a living mother and losing a sister who... doesn't want anything to do with him (from what i recall), but is still alive and has her own kids. which isn't necessarily much, but when alistair's spent most of his life thinking that she's his only relative, that's some complicated grief to have. especially if he finds out that duncan did know abt him and promised to look after him secretly (as per the calling).

anyway - back to the quests!

defending redcliffe was. a pain. the mayor did not survive, despite me turning on easy mode. i was tempted to try a few times to get the cutscenes for "you saved everyone" but i hate the long walk between the two fights so fuck that. rip mayor dude, you were decent.

the redcliffe sideplots! hi bella and kaitlyn! i not-so-immediately showered them in gold so they can both yeet away to denerim. apparently i may have fucked up getting kaitlyn's "marry bann teagan" ending by not buying the sword, but i also gave her a ton of money so who knows. we'll see when i get to the epilogue. also yeeted the blacksmith's daughter back to her dad, so i've finished all the redcliffe side quests i actually care about that are the most significant.

you know how i was complaining abt veilguard because of eurogamer's review of the press demo the other day? there's a good chance that plots like bella and kaitlyn will be non-existent there given the "can't really interact with any random city npcs". so. that'll be a fuckin tragedy if that's the case. same for the whole of redcliffe, actually - even if they're not questgivers or lack extended dialogue, it's a town that actually feels like a town thanks to the variety of npcs you have.

redcliffe castle wasn't too painful to get through, and it's actually pretty interesting in hindsight of the later games. connor, unlike wynne (who we shall meet shortly), cole and anders, is kinda our foremost example of an abomination actually living up to their name. and the boy is creepy, even if him making bann teagan dance is lowkey hilarious. sorry teagan.

i had completely forgotten how alistair goes from "he's an abomination, we must kill him D:" to "...we can save him? oh thank fuck". it's pretty interesting that despite being raised as a templar against his will, he'll repeat the chantry's stance at first but he's immediately pretty glad if you offer a reasonable alternative - no matter how much it stands in opposition to the chantry.

broken circle time!

it's very funny how your introduction to the templars is "all the mages are corrupted and lost to demons.... we must kill them" only to immediately go through and realise they've managed to clear a section, courtesy of wynne and her spirit of faith. i reblogged a piece of meta abt this a while ago, but this quest is nowhere near as morally grey as some ppl make it out to be. the templars are practically buffoons (with some having the excuse of being tortured) who do literally nothing to solve the situation, while the mages are actively risking their lives to save each other. cullen is just... urgh. it says something that wynne is willing to defend him by saving he's been tortured, and the fucker doubles down on his "murder all mages, even the kids" rhetoric. i really hate that bioware retconned his endings from da:o.

it's kinda a shame that despite alistair telling you that the templars are addicted to lyrium, it never actually comes up in the broken circle. cullen being tortured and in withdrawal would be a bit more interesting to explore, but idk. would it be insane of me to draw a parallel between a tortured cullen thirsting for blood and a contemporary usa jumping to indiscriminate warfare over 9/11? .... yeah? ok, fair enough

wynne, my beloved! i hadn't realised how blatant it is almost from when you meet her that she's been possessed by a spirit to help her keep working past her own literal death. she also immediately adds a much calmer adult voice to the party, even if i wanted to yeet morrigan into the abyss with the "survival of the fittest [and none of the circle mages are it]" bullshit she kept spewing when we first met wynne. darling, please get over your elven-god-mother's brainwashing some time this game, it's deeply frustrating

(also, morrigan gave me her quest to steal flemeth's grimoire while murdering her mum! wooooooo!)

the fade is the fade. mildly less tedious with a guide in hand, but annoying as hell. i conceptually get what bioware was going for - the companions' nightmares and the shapeshifting are both fascinating narratively and gameplay-wise, but the trudge to get there is frustrating as hell. there's a line btwn purely linear levels and forcing ppl to slowly backtrack a ton, and this doesn't achieve anywhere near the balance it needs. though it does reinforce that the mages are significantly more willing to save each other, regardless of the risks to themselves.

oh, and it always cracks me up how much weisshaupt looks like ostagar. i know they only had so many tilesets for decorating, but the main part looks practically identical to the raised platform/lower hall where you meet alistair and later having the meeting with loghain/cailan.

i burnt through health poultices like no one's business on this level, so the final boss was fun. not actually that bad, but i had to seriously micromanage the party's healing post-fade onwards. plus preventing him from corrupting the mages is hilariously easy once you've got the litany.

managed to run into zevran on the way back to redcliffe (and stopped by honnleath too), so now i've got another rogue and shale. i get there's plenty of worldbuilding reasons for you to have less mages than rogues/warriors but with my poor cousland also being a rogue, this party feels insanely rogue heavy.

camping was also pretty funny, bc wynne basically threw a ton of her major dialogue conversations at me back to back. alistair also snogged my cousland despite much teasing, so that was fun. speaking of things i had forgotten, i had definitely blanked on zevran's backstory in the crows frequently involving torture as a training method. wonder if they'll include that in veilguard since one of your companions is the grandson of the head crow (i fucking doubt it).

back to redcliffe - not much to say except the fade section here is pretty interesting. it's heartbreaking that saving him means damning him to the circle but hey, at least he's only stuck there for the next seven years! given his age, he probably doesn't even go through the harrowing before the circles dissolve.

[featureenvyproductions]

so ok I spent my 4 days of pto making a game engine from scratch for my part 2d leaf crunch simulator part horror game and here's a demo

(if you saw the last post this is why i was breaking noodles in front of my microphone awkwardly #badfoleyartistry)

it's all written in C# because C# is the perfect language for being a lazy piece of shit who just wants to rapid prototype things and I put it a copy of the repo on my github if anyone wants to see how it works (GitHub - featureenvyproductions/leafcrunch_copy). like parts of it are an absolute MESS still (*eyes my failed region-based collision checking system) because i've only just barely gotten it working (also there are other in progress changes but you won't see those because i do all my regular work in my secret azure repo that no one knows about....github is more for like showing things) (also also ok yes i technically started it this month but you have to understand i was piddling around until my break this week and then something snapped inside me and i went insane and just programmed for 14 hours a day for 4 days straight to get it done)

the fun thing about it though is i wanted to make a thing where even if you don't really know how to program maybe you can make your own thing. literally all the basic stuff - graphics, locations of things, sounds, even some of the operations (like the player point modifications) are just loaded at runtime from json files that can be hacked at will to do your bidding

i don't fucking know why i did this except i guess i'm just still depressed and burned out but being on social media with my time bums me out and makes it worse. so i thought maybe creating something utterly pointless that i've always wanted to just get started on might help

anyway sorry i know this isn't my usual offering but like this is where i'm at rn. back to the comics soon. i've got enough done on this to where i think i can come back to it at some point and know what it's doing.

[miharuhebinata]

monthly game tag time!

this is going to be a veryyyyy long post, so buckle in

may

1. Hollow Knight

[played on ps4.]

thoughts: i know i literally just replayed hollow knight back in like, what, last august? but i had a strong urge to play it again and after the shitshow that was my life in march/april, i decided what the hell. i'm probably going to be doing a yearly replay anyway, though i won't hold myself to any kind of strict schedule in regards to that. i'll just play it when i feel like it and keep track of when and how it goes with these posts.

but anyway, on to my thoughts (yes, i still have thoughts on this game lmao): the game is definitely getting easier with every replay, which makes me very very happy. don't get me wrong, there are definitely still plenty of challenging bits (looking at you, trial of the conqueror. bane of my fucking existence -_-), but apparently i've managed to memorize a good chunk of the attack patterns for most of the boss fights. hornet and the mantis lords are the most obvious example of this, as i literally beat both on my first try. which was a tiny bit disappointing, just because those fights are so fun, but also extremely satisfying. literally had me feeling like a pro gamer LMAO

2. Princess Peach: Showtime! (Demo)

[played on nintendo switch.]

thoughts: i've been so excited for this game ever since i saw the first trailer, and the demo certainly didn't disappoint! the two levels you get to play, as swordfighter peach and patisserie peach, were very fun, and just everything from the level designs to the gameplay to, of course, the costumes are so cute. i definitely want to play the full game! ....unfortuanately i've heard the game is actually pretty short overall? supposedly it's around 6-8 hours of playtime, which honestly just seems absolutely ridiculous considering it costs fucking $60 for a game i could (theoretically) knock out in a day but hey, that's nintendo for you 🙃 so, yeah. not entirely sure when or even if i'll get to play the full game. which is a damn shame.

3. Agatha Christie - Murder on the Orient Express (Demo)

[played on nintendo switch.]

thoughts: seems like a fun game! although i will say, it was quite jarring to realize it takes place in the modern day. hercule poirot does not look like a character who should know what a smartphone is, i'm sorry 😂 but yeah, i'm definitely interested in playing more, although i'll probably wait for it to go on sale. i liked it but i don't need to play it right now or anything lol

4. NOX

[played on mobile.]

thoughts: a quick little better-than-average mobile puzzle game. tbh i enjoyed the first half more than the second half. by the end i was just like meh, but i guess i still recommend it if you're looking for a decent puzzle game on mobile

5. Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion

[played on mobile.]

thoughts: i've been wanting to play this for a while, and it did not disappoint! such a fun, silly little game. pretty much my only complaint is that i wish it was longer, but apparently now there's a sequel? so i guess i can always try that! :)

6. Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King (Demo)

[played on nintendo switch.]

thoughts: seemed fun but also the demo was extremely short so idk. i liked the obvious zelda inspiration, but it mainly just reminded me of chrono trigger. honestly i think i'd be more interested in replaying that than in playing this, but who knows. maybe someday!

7. OneShot

[played on pc.]

thoughts: I ABSOLUTELY ADORED THIS GAME!!!!!!!!! everything about it is so beautiful, from the story to the graphics to the soundtrack (which, if you know me at all, i'm a sucker for a good video game ost and this one DOES NOT DISAPPOINT 🥰). i don't want to say too much, because i really think everybody should play this one for themselves, but i will say it is EXTREMELY meta. which is not a spoiler, as you find this out very early on, but again, the less you know the better. so i'll just say this: make sure the name on your computer matches your real name! i believe the game *does* give you the option to input whatever name you want (i'm not 100% sure, but i think so), but i feel like the story will hit harder if you use your real name. plus, if you've changed your name recently but forgot to update the name on your account (like i had), this is at least a good reminder to do so :)

8. Ib

[played on pc.]

thoughts: while i played the remake, i can definitely see why this is a rpg maker horror classic! like honestly, idk what else there is to say about it that other people haven't said already? it's not super long and though it's not pants-shittingly terrifying or anything, it's got a very strong, creepy atmosphere to it. now that i think about it, it actually reminds me a lot of alice in wonderland.... which is such a huge plus to me, you guys don't even know :3 i especially adored the character design, particularly ib who reminds me of one of my oc's <3

9. A Short Hike

[played on nintendo switch.]

thoughts: i want to live in this game <3 seriously, if you're looking for a nice chill game to play this one should be right up your alley! it's not long but i promise it is still so, so worth it. beautiful pixel graphics, lovely soundtrack, and a surprisingly poignant story....yeah i loved this one a lot. my one and only complaint is that the beachstick ball minigame can rot in hell LMAO

june

1. Moonlighter

[played on nintendo switch.]

thoughts: idk about the pc version, but PLEASEEEEEE DO NOT BUY THIS GAME ON THE SWITCH. IT SUCKS ASS. for as enjoyable as the actual gameplay is (which honestly, was not even that fun after the first couple hours), the game is buggy as hell. especially when rolling. do NOT roll near walls, or you risk getting stuck inside them. which is especially annoying inside the dungeons, getting stuck inside a wall on some random floor long before you ever meant to have to leave.... pretty much ruined my whole experience. i could barely even bring myself to finish the game, but i forced myself to do it, because i had been meaning to finish this game for forever, and i just wanted to be DONE with it, and so i did, and i was so SO happy....aaaand then i discovered there was a whole new post-game storyline to play through in new game+. -_- at first i felt obligated to finish that before i could say i completed the game, but after playing a few hours, i just said fuck it. honestly the new game+ stuff wasn't even that bad, but i was just so ready to be done with it by that point. fuck this game. absolutely adorable graphics and a nice soundtrack, but buggy-as-hell gameplay and an anticlimactic story. completed ruined it for me. boo. boooooooo. such a disappointment.

2. Another Code: Recollection (Demo)

[played on nintendo switch.]

thoughts: seems like a very fun game, and i really do want to play the full version! …just not for full price. especially because, after playing the demo, i already had some gripes:

the controls are kind of wonky and by that i mean this just feels like a game that would be better played on pc (yet it's a Switch exclusive).

the (english) voice acting is… definitely not my favorite, to say the least. (that scene of ashley crying as a kid was so fucking annoying, and it went on for wayyyy too long.) ashley does not sound like a 14 year old. which ties into my next point:

okay so i actually FULLY admit this one is mostly on me, but i legit thought ashley was college-age until she explicitly mentioned being 14. like, obviously i understood in retrospect that the story literally said she was 14 long before that (i believe the letter from her father mentioned her 14th birthday?), but because i was pretty tired when i played and also because the character model does not look like a 14 year old girl aside from her being shorter than the adult characters, the voice does not sound like that of a 14 year old, AND she was wearing a university sweatshirt, i thought she was, like, 19-21 and that she for some reason had only recently received her dad's letter? IDK DUDE I'M A LITTLE BIT SLOW 😭

honestly this just kind of made me laugh but i did think it was a bit silly how ashley made a big deal of "yeah sorry D, but i can't help you get your memories back. i've got my own problems. sooooo... yeah, bye." then literally she walks down some stairs, he helps her open a door, and she's immediately like "okay i'll help you and also we're besties, obviously 🤗" like, i'm not saying the game has bad writing (i didn't get to play enough to truly make an accurate judgement) but that felt like the kind of contrived thing i would have written when i was in middle school ngl. but maybe that's the point, since ashley's so young? idk

anyway, i know i've kinda been ragging on it, but like i said, i do still want to play it. the story seems interesting, and i really want to see where it goes! just definitely not for the price of $60 lol

3. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (Demo)

[played on nintendo switch.]

thoughts: it was fun! like a mix between immortals fenyx rising, hades, and trine. all of which are right up my alley! but also i was not very good at the combat, which definitely detracted from the experience a bit. i imagine if i was playing the full game i could eventually get used to the combat, but there just wasn't enough time for me to do that in the demo. but i did like it, and i'll definitely consider picking it up if it ever goes on sale for a more reasonable price.

4. Chants of Sennaar (Demo)

[played on nintendo switch.]

thoughts: i enjoyed it so much i actually bought the game. stay tuned for my thoughts on the full game!

5. Growing Up

[played on pc.]

thoughts: so, full disclosure, i only played through one of the routes in this game (richard). when usually i would play through all the route's (or at least more than one) before counting it as finished, honestly i just cannot be assed this time. which isn't to say it's a bad game! it was a very fun game (at first), with interesting stat-building mechanics. i especially enjoy that my previous character + whoever i ended up with become the parents in a new playthrough. however, despite the fact that i had already started having new events when i started a second playthrough, i don't think the gameplay is interesting enough for me to want to replay it multiple times just to see the new events/meet new characters, at least not any time soon. at the very least i wish there was some kind of carry-over bonus. for example, since my character ended up with richard, maybe my current player character could have a boost in empathy? or intelligence, since my previous character's intelligence was so high. something like that.

also the parents sucked, they had nothing to do with anything unless they were giving me their stupid parent expectations goals, which got really annoying by high school age because the goals often took up desperately needed schedule slots. also especially bitter because literally right after i had completed a goal of tutoring 10 times in a row, they gave me a goal of helping out some neighbors (aka buying groceries ten times in a row) and when i had my character be like "will i get paid?" stupid fucking idiot dad was like "omfg why are you so selfish??? 😤" BITCH I JUST TOOK UP A BUNCH OF MY VALUABLE SCHEDULE SLOTS TO DO TUTORING FOR ONE OF YOUR STUPID FUCKASS GOALS????? KYS YOU ANNOYING BITCH OMFG

6. Harmony: The Fall of Reverie (Demo)

[played on nintendo switch.]

thoughts: of the few (spoiler-free) reviews i've seen, reactions seem kind of mixed overall, but personally i really enjoyed what i got to play! the art is beautiful and the game mechanic of the augural is definitely unique and interesting. unless the story really starts to branch out though, i don't see there being much replayability; which makes me just a tad reluctant to buy it, even on sale, especially seeing as it's apparently only ~10 hours long. speaking of, i am VERY surprised the demo is as long as it is. hard to put it into hours, since i'm a slow reader, but you get to play 2 out of 5 chapters, i believe?? it certainly got me hooked and invested in the story, but that also just seems crazy, letting you play that much in the demo. so i guess, taking all of this into account, i think i'll just wait for a really good sale. like, i do want to eventually see where the story goes, but not for more than $10 lol

7. AI: The Somnium Files (Demo)

[played on nintendo switch.]

thoughts: seems like a fun game, but also kind of weird. one of the characters blew up a balloon to comical size and the main character's response was something like "i wish your boobs were that big" whshgsjsjlskdj ???????? still planning to play it eventually lmfao but i'm gonna play it on pc. definitely seems like a game that's better on pc

8. Chants of Sennaar

[played on nintendo switch.]

thoughts: ah, what a fun game, and such a beautiful artstyle too (it actually reminded me a lot of sable!); however, while i did really like the game overall, i will say that— as with most people who have played both games— i can't help but compare this against heaven's vault and, personally, even with all the issues i had with it, heaven's vault is definitely the better game in my eyes. while i wouldn't say the translation mechanics in this game are at all easy, it was easier than in heaven's vault. in this game, all you really had to do was match the right glyphs to the right pictures. which, obviously was often a challenge, don't get me wrong, but it was at least somewhat easier than i originally thought it would be: i thought i had to get my guess at the translation right too, but that part of it mainly seems to be so you can remember what the glyph means (or approximately what it means) before you actually verify it. so that was a little disappointing, although it certainly helped make things easier in the long run. which turned out to be a good thing that was actually a bad thing, because i'm not gonna lie, i played the majority of the game over the course of a single day. this was not a good idea (obviously), because it resulted in sleep-deprivation and me hurting my wrists/palms from holding the Switch for so long. clearly this was my own fault, but it did still detract from the experience, unfortunately. the inability to fully concentrate really kept me from fully immersing myself in the latter half of the game, which is likely why the ending fell a tiny bit flat for me. also, i have to mention. there was one puzzle i had to look up a guide for how to solve it, and even now i still don't get it and idk if i ever will. so, i'm kind of bitter about that 😭 but yeah, i don't want to keep ragging on the game, because overall it was great! definitely worth the hype imo. and if the core game mechanics of translating made-up languages sounds fun to you, i definitely recommend checking this one out! just maybe remember to take breaks and get some sleep so that you don't ruin your own experience like i did mine :/

9. The Roottrees are Dead

[played on pc.]

thoughts: if you like mysteries, difficult puzzles, or even just family drama, this is the game for you! it's actually been compared to the likes of return of the obra dinn and the case of the golden idol, and that definitely holds up imo. not in terms of graphics, but just in that you are given a mystery that you need to solve (or an extensive family tree that you need to fill out, in this case) and the game does not hold your hand. i will say, although it's been a while since i played either return of the obra dinn or the case of the golden idol, i think this game was definitely easier than those two (shorter, too). but it was still very rewarding! like i said, it was easier, not easy. honestly i really hope this game gains some traction, because we definitely need more difficult mystery puzzle games like it!!!!

10. Unpacking

[played on pc.]

thoughts: don't really have much to say except that it was a nice chill game 👍

11. Tunic

[played on nintendo switch.]

thoughts: i actually started this soon after chants of sennaar, but i finished it last (the roottrees are dead and unpacking serving as breathers). i really REALLY liked this game at first. it was different than i thought it was going to be, but i was still enjoying the challenge even when i wasn't, you know? aaaaand then i kind of hated it, because certain parts of the puzzle you have to solve in order to achieve the true end were extremely frustrating and overly convoluted imo. but overall, after seeing the end credits you get after the true end, i think i left off on a good note. at the very least i would definitely recommend this game to anyone who enjoys a difficult challenge not just in terms of combat, but in solving deep intricate puzzles as well <3

started but not finished yet:

Sea of Stars (Demo) - started in june. won't be finishing, but only because i decided to buy the full game!

Neo: The World Ends With You (Demo) - started in june. won't be finishing, because the gameplay just seemed a bit monotonous.

Paleo Pines (Demo) - started in june. won't be finishing, because the artstyle was not very appealing to me.

Tangle Tower (Demo) - started in june. won't be finishing, but only because i think i'd prefer to play it on pc.

Who's Lila - started in june. probably won't be finishing, because it just didn't seem like the game for me. which sucks, because i had been looking forward to playing it for a while :(

[theycall-vn]

About "They Call"

In depth information regarding They Call will be shared as soon as testing starts; until then, the content will remain a secret.

If you have any general questions that aren't answered below, asks are open, and I will answer as much as I can.

(Real information regarding vn will be added to this with the release of the demo!)

Release date: To be determined.

FAQ below cut:

Why keep the information to yourself?

To be blunt, I'm paranoid. I do not want someone to find and use any of the work I've put into this before I can even put it together. I will give sneak peeks through development, but they will be very small sneak peeks.

Theme?

They Call is both dark and not? The story itself is dark, but it's intended to be balanced out by... mundane fluff. Both with and without the other main.

Who is the other main?

They have been called the guardian, protector, and BB, now officially named. I will continue to call them BB and I'll be tucking their name away from public posts. I'm doing this so it can be a silly little surprise for you to discover when you play!

Anyway, they are the (entirely optional) love interest. You can develop the relationship you have with them any way you want - you can even complete the story as total strangers that vaguely tolerate each other's company!

Are there bad ends?

Technically, yes, but it has nothing to do with the relationship you have with BB. There are a lot of bad ends, and I do mean a lot.

What about other endings? Any "true" ends?

Without getting too into it, there is more than one. The good ends are all the same in that they are all the "true" end. They're merely... flavoured by your choices throughout the story.

18+?

Yes, this game is definitely 18+! Not just because of the (optional) sexual content, but also because the story itself can get very heavy, gory, and generally unpleasant. At current, I'm unsure how bad it's going to be. It's already very dark, but it's still super early in development. Content warnings will be clearly displayed once I'm able to list them all!

When can we expect sneak peeks and updates?

I am working on this entirely alone. I'm writing, programming, and making all the art for it (characters, backgrounds, CGs) on my own. Which, obviously, is going to take me a super long time. Especially considering this is my first time ever making something like this! Basically, you'll get sneak peeks when you get them - sorry it's not a more concrete answer!

How much will it cost?

After giving it some thought, I've decided to keep it free. On Itch.io, anyway. There will be an optional payment thing, of course. Only $3, (the price may change) seeing as this is the first time I've ever done this.

But! If things go well, I'm happy with the finished product, and I can drum up the courage, I will put it on Steam too. (if they'll let me) But that one will not be free - same price as whatever the optional Itch payment is.

What inspired this?

In truth, it started with a (literal) dream. (You can find out more about this dream in the very first progress post!)

It was dark, violent, and I could see BB and the UI used perfectly. So I made it a reality. I will also mention that most of this is written as catharsis, using my mind and mental struggles as inspiration and creative fuel.

In terms of technicalities, though, I was inspired by my favourite visual novels. That specifically being story structure and how you develop the relationship you have with the other main.

FAQ will be edited as time goes on.

As I said, if you have any more questions, (or even suggestions based off the "progress" posts) do not hesitate! Asks are open and will remain open. I'll answer as soon as possible.

Progress posts are not structured currently, they're mostly rambling about what I did or thought about that day. I might structure them and make them less... my brain flavoured as time goes on.

Important tags: - theycallvn (general tag) - theycallvn progress post (progress posts - what i've worked on) - theycallvn peek (sneak peek tag - writing & art) - theycallvn chat (ask tag)

If you'd like to keep track of future projects, you can follow @chasm-critter-studios (link)

[reinekes-fox]

Just played through the Wisteria Birds demo!

I will admit I like it a lot! I actually think I like the setting more than in Birds of a Rose - though well, I can't compare the story well considering we have more content for Birds of a Rose.

Also, one single short scene (and the character presentation you posted too) were enough to make me love Sanson. He's exactly the kind of RO I love usually. So at least in terms of ROs, Wisteria Birds is a clear win. Sorry Chase, I love you but this is on another level!

If you don't mind, I had a few comments about the character names in this one, since they are mostly in my native language (well, one of them) so yeah... - For Alexandre Desrosier, if you wanted his surname to be related to the rose bush, I think it would be better (in correct French) if it was Desrosiers ou Durosier (depending if you go for plural or singular). Similarly, it should be "Hérons rouges", since it's plural, instead of "Hérons rouge". - Also, I got this line - "A few look at you in awe and ask if your surname is surely a "du" and not a "de la"." - I'm assuming it's because I chose for my MC to be a castrate, but this doesn't make much sense since Verdier is a masculine word in itself, so even if my MC was female, the name should still be "du Verdier"? It wouldn't change based on MC's gender since it's a surname.

Anyway, regardless of all of that, thank you for sharing your great bird based games with us!

I am glad you enjoyed it! And in a way it’s the future of the divine flock :)

And yea Sanson is one of my favourites too (I am still torn between giving more text to get to know the ROs or not... as Artwork MC is literally forced to choose who to be with based on what is seen and in a very short amount of time).

Also don’t worry, Chase wouldn’t mind! He would probably try to flirt with Sanson... (who knows maybe this will happen ;)

Thanks for the help, my french was never good even though I took it for two years... (also multiple native languages? I am jealous! I ended up with two German dialects and can only understand both but speak neither... just standard high german)

Ah i knew I was forgetting something with the colours!

And for the surnames I wanted to add an immediate way of knowing Artworks MCs gender (well except if you choose the robin academy)... and the helpful website I used for the bird names sadly didn’t include the genders. In German this would’ve been easy but it also wouldn’t have sounded pretty... Grünfinkin... Taubin... Pfauin... Rotkehlchin sounds like shit

The thanks goes right back to you, what would a writer be without his readers?

The best thing? I don’t even like birds that much

[teaveetamer]

I knowwww not to rain on anyone's parade and I 100% think people in different corners of the fandom should leave each other alone but god. Your recent post about the politics of 3H made me remember how some of the stuff portrayed as obvious in the fandom just makes me so. Hgggggghhh. Like "hey guys a war started by the literal regent of a disgraced empire is exactly the same as a revolution of the proletariat, right?" Tbf I completely blame the actual game for that considering it has a fucking child's understanding of politics. Doesn't it also literally use the word revolution at some point or did that get ingrained into my head from too much fandom exposure?

Like "AM is the centrism route" seems to be their favorite argument but that's just the entire game!! The whole game is so insistent on having every ending be totally good, please ignore all the weird implications in some of the paired endings everything is fine aha :) Just fucking centrism central. And half the time it can't seem to remember itself what the characters' political aims actually are, like I swear every ending card for CF implies something completely different from each other.

But idk I guess if you only play one of the routes and even then only once and then completely work off of headcanons forever then sure you can pretend the writers are totally 100% in agreement with you I guess. And AM isn't even my favorite route!!! My fave house is just the one that gets perpetually ignored and at this point I am 100% okay with that. This must be even more annoying to you folks. Sorry for the rant but reading your post made something click in my head

Oh I 100% agree that people can like what they want and we should all get to have our own little fandom corners, but yeah some of the pervasive sentiments in the fandom about 3H are honestly baffling. Also thank you for the ask, I love rants :)

At the end of the day, I just don’t understand where people are pulling this “deep political storytelling” from. It’s a mass market product designed to be understood by 12 year olds (it’s CERO B aka 12+, and ESRB T aka 13+) It is going to try to be as bland and inoffensive as it can be to maximize reach and profit, and it’s not going to contain anything too dark or complex for a preteen to process.

12 year olds are not stupid, and you can absolutely have some more mature things packaged in an age appropriate way (e.g. ATLA tackles genocide in a product aimed at an even younger target demo) but? A game aimed at 12 year olds is not going to have complex political theory. It’s just not. It’s never going to be as deep as you want it to be, and some members of the fandom need to just let it go. There are hundreds of pieces of media aimed at adults that tackle more complex topics of politics and morality if that’s what you want. You don’t have to try and force 3H into that box.

[poopyballz28]

Kozue Matsumoto Idol AU

This idea has been brewing in my tiny little monkey brain for AGES I love her so much

also sorry i wrote so much i have a lot to say

• She started off obsessing over Hatsune Miku and girl groups, absolutely falling in love with the bubbly type of music and dance styles. She would write demo lyrics in her little pink notebook during school instead of paying attention. She already spaces off during class most of the time and writing down lyrics she thinks are nice really eases her.

• I see her making her own music in her room, instead of just singing something pre-made from a record label. She was super nervous posting her stuff online, but to her surprise one of her songs goes totally viral. The pressure of so much support is incredibly overwhelming for her, but inside she's super happy.

• Her music is also really unique as well. Her lyrics always consist of things in her life she wants to rise up upon, I.E her social anxiety, confidence issues, etc. She puts her whole soul into her music and because of that, it really resonates with people. She garnered a huge and dedicated fanbase for her meaningful music and beautiful vocal performances.

• She was really scared to do live shows, super self conscious about her dancing and just generally showing her face. She knew she wanted to do it though, the thought of singing and dancing to her own music in front of an audience of people who love her traced her thoughts daily, but her anxiety was always a step ahead of her.

• Baki was actually the one who motivated her to do lives. She would vent to him about how embarrassed she was, and how she was afraid of messing up and letting her fans down. He said if they were really her fans, they would support her no matter what. He completely showered her with the confidence she needed and she ended up having her first live show. It was an overwhelming success!

• She's absolutely in love with her idol outfits. Theres never a circumstance where she can wear such fluffy and cute outfits normally, so having a reason to wear such adorable outfits puts her in a super joyful mood. She loves twirling and dancing in them with all her heart. She literally jitters with excitement. (shes so cute oh my GAH)

• She always gets a little nervous before concerts, her anxiety still creeps up on her. Not only is she afraid she may mess up and let everyone down, but she's afraid that one day she'll fall out of style, and people will stop liking her and enjoying her music. Baki is always there to comfort and motivate her though. She couldn't thank him enough for how much he helped her through everything.

• Her performance during live shows are always top notch quality. Her delicate and smooth beautiful voice fills everyone in the venue with butterflies. Her super cute way of dancing and clever choreography she adds throughout could make anyone fall in love with her and what she does. She puts her entire being into every one of her shows, never missing a beat. Her fans see how much effort she puts into her lives and music and praise her up and down for it. (as they should)

• She tends to cry during shows a lot, thanks to all the support from all of her fans. She profusely thanks everyone at her shows for coming to see her perform. Even during meet and greets she's super compassionate. She always gives out hugs and thanks them for everything. She tends to get really emotional whenever she's told how much her music has helped someone too. Knowing her music means so much to other people as much as it means to her, makes her wanna cry.

• She makes all of her merch and live shows super cheap priced, she doesn't do it for the money after all (despite what a manager might tell her) Thanks to her kind attitude, she's completely unproblematic and has little to no haters. Baki may not be very tech savy, but he'll always be the first to defend Kozue when he sees a hate comment on one of her videos. Kozue is really sensitive to hate, tending to question if she's really good at what she does when she sees any, but luckily Baki's always there to show her how much she really matters. (supportive boyfriend hours)

• She's super awkward during photo shoots and stuff. She's embarrassed that she may look silly and doesn't exactly know what to do half the time. Despite how she feels about her nervousness, her fans absolutely adore it. They think she's so undeniably cute for every little awkward thing that she does.

• She begins having little to no confidence in herself, often doubting if she's truly good enough and if she should keep going. But she remarkably forms into a woman who really believes in what she's doing, someone who wants to bring smiles to peoples faces for as long as she lives. She'll confidently chase that dream for as long as it takes, and ultimately get stronger in the process.

I may make a cute little fic abt this too 🤔 perhaps 🧐