#twisted series indie

[eldorrancrown]

- we always end up where we're supposed to be.

independent roleplay blog for princess bridget von ascheberg from ana huang's twisted games painted by june | she/her multiverse, multiship, and crossover friendly

guidelines + bio + verses

[yoitscro]

I love indie animation as much as the next person but hell.

I miss when people talked about and appreciated the craft as a whole (from daily shorts on yt/newgrounds, to storytime animators, to student films, to some 10 minute pilot some kid made for $100 bucks tops on mspaint) and didn't just limit the conversation to the same five budgeted series that have the same close connections. It's ironic as much as it is a bit frustrating.

[cutepastelstarsalior]

Young Teen Seb falling in love with Nicole’s music; so just discovering Ethel Cain right now is very neat since the 2 singers have a similar style :]

Nicole song recommends: (content warning most of these song are about eating disorders, sexual themes, abuse, and death)

Ugly

Please eat

Alligator blood

Tammy Faye (favorite)

Coma baby

True love cafe

dahmer and the limbs

Hair lockets

The Nobodies (cover)

My baby (another fav of mine)

Poacher pride

Choking games

Candy apple

[binarybitex]

i have been researching something extremely niche (for my fic wip) for 4 hours straight. FOUR. hours

[secretly-a-catamount]

Is anyone else getting Serafina Series vibes or is that just me?

Bye Sweet Carole is a hand-animated horror game inspired by classic Disney movies.

Wishlist Bye Sweet Carole on Steam

[mbenguin]

Where were you when PragerU started dropping videos about historical figures and how did your sanity do upon viewing

[genericpuff]

All That Glitters is Not Feminism - An Analysis of LO's Brand of "Feminism" and What Remains of its Fanbase (The Twist)

Alright y'all, I've been waiting a hot minute to talk about this because I wanted to see how it fully panned out before saying anything about it. And it's not even specifically about LO, but I do think it's very adjacent to it in a way that I'm sure you'll be shocked to hear. Much of it speaks to how we prop up white writers even at the expense of POC.

This is 'the twist' attached to my first post that I made just a couple hours ago that concerns an entirely other topic but I feel ties into this subject very well.

If you haven't heard, there's this author who recently fucked around in the Del Rey publishing scene.

Her name is Cait Corrain.

In the original tweet calling this person out, names were not dropped, but it was made very clear that what Cait did was unacceptable behavior.

You can read the entire thread that started it all from Xiran here:

There's also a GREAT recap thread from one of the affected authors, Bethany Baptiste:

I want to make it clear that Cait Corrain isn't just a debut author.

Cait Corrain is - or now, was (foreshadowing is a literary device that-) - a debut author who had an agent, a publishing deal with Del Rey (an imprint of Random House which is a MAJOR publisher) and even an upcoming Illumicrate deal - meaning, her book was going to be packaged in a monthly loot crate subscription shipped directly to people's doors, quite possibly one of the best marketing deals a debut author could ever get, usually unheard of in this industry. All the pre-reviews were strong and positive.

Cait's book was literally set up for success. All she had to do was sit back, relax, and watch the fruits of her labors roll in. She had written the book. It was ready for release. The hard part was technically over.

But I guess the racism brainrot got to her because as it turns out, since April - for EIGHT MONTHS - she's been making alternate accounts on GoodReads to review bomb the indie and debut works of her friends and peers, most of whom were POC and did not have the same opportunities set up for them as she did. There are loads of receipts to back this up that you can find in those above threads ^^^

To say that this is appalling is an understatement. This was an intentional and deliberate act of racism by a white queer writer who claimed to be "jealous" - of what, I can't imagine - so much so that she deliberately sabotaged her peers, people who had supported her and her book.

And then when she got caught? She doubled down on it and claimed it was a "friend", also an alternate account she made up.

The exchange between her and this made-up person is actually the funniest shit out of this entire thing, it's so poorly written and as soon as people noticed the time stamps were out of order, that was when it truly cemented her newfound clown status.

"oooooh he's standing right behind me, isn't he?" energy right here LMAO

yes keep expositing cait, that's really selling the "this is a genuine conversation that really happened with a real person" bit 🤡

Anyways, it became abundantly clear that Cait was just going to continue to dig her heels in over something she caused.

This has been a hot topic in the UnpopularLO Discord, not just because of how crazy of a situation it is that we had to talk about it - and we have people within the community who work in the literature and media sector - but because we noticed one very telling thing in the list of series that she had review bombed in her very own personal act of wrath.

You see, Cait made one fundamental mistake that led to her undoing - she didn't just review bomb the works of her peers, she positively reviewed her own book and others.

What's her book about though?

It's an Ariadne x Dionysus retelling set in space.

It's literally another "modern retelling" of Greek myth.

And wouldn't you know it, guess who else created a modern retelling of Greek myth that she included in her positive review raiding while she was sabotaging the work of her actual peers?

Now, I think it goes without saying that what I'm about to say should be taken with MOUNTAINS of salt, I'm sure a lot of you are reading the headline and going, "Ugh, really? You're gonna make this about LO? Could you give it a rest already???"

I need you to understand, with the current state of Rachel's fanbase and 'modern' Greek myth literature as a whole, at this point Lore Olympus - and the works that are literally inspired by it such as A Touch of Darkness - has basically become the shopping cart litmus test of basic decency. It's like when someone says they like Harry Potter - you can't take it automatically at good faith anymore, because there isn't a whole lot separating someone who simply liked Harry Potter as a kid and still rewatches the movies from time to time from someone who fully supports the politics and agenda of J.K. Rowling. No, not everyone who still watches the movies or reads the books fondly is a TERF by default, but it's justifiably a reason for suspicion when the consequences are often too dire to risk.

There's this thing that's been happening in the LO fanbase that I frankly saw coming, but has really recently started to hit its peak. It's what I call the "Kanye Effect", where the comic has become so absurd and backwards in its misogyny and white feminism that the only people who seem to be left supporting LO are the people who are legitimate white feminists and misogynists - because all the normal level-headed people fell off the comic ages ago (or transitioned into the critical side of the community).

I mentioned it in my last post, but it bears repeating - Rachel's fanbase has literally been shipping Hera, a victim of abuse, with her abuser, Kronos. I'm really hoping a lot of them realize how fucked up that is now that Hera herself has called it what it is - abuse - within the comic, but I also can't count on the LO fanbase picking up on that or even noticing it with how quickly people swipe through it each week, it's very apparent at this point that most of LO's readers don't know how to chew their food and don't pay attention when Persephone and Hades aren't onscreen.

But I'm digressing. Or am I? We're talking about Crown of Starlight after all. The debut Dionysus x Ariadne sci-fi/fantasy romance that was quite literally advertised using Lore Olympus as its baseline-

This. This is what the ongoing cultural erasure and white feminist uwu-fication of Greek myth is doing to the literary zeitgeist surrounding Greek myth as a whole. This is why we criticize Lore Olympus and works like it that are created by disingenuous people who only seek to use the assets of Greek myth material as a way to shoot themselves up into fame and stardom. This is why we demand better standards in the literature and webcomic industry, so that people like Rachel and Cait can't use their privileges to quite literally erase the source material that they used to make themselves famous in the first place.

If anything, Cait's actions didn't just affect the people she negatively review bombed, or the people she was affiliated with, but also the people she positively reviewed. While I don't support what Rachel creates, she wasn't the only one who Cait went out of her way to review positively from her alt accounts, there were many others as evident in the Google Doc - but all this really does is tarnish the legitimacy of these books and their ratings by artificially jacking up their numbers that are advertised to others.

Making Greek myth fanfiction or fun creative retellings was never the problem, but it's now being sabotaged alongside so many other genres and mediums by toxic white individuals who can't even keep themselves from committing hate crimes, let alone create something purely for entertainment that's transparent in its illegitimacy, lest it destroy the illusion that these people are qualified to speak over those whose voices are being stifled, often by these very same people. Many of these writers get caught and are still allowed to continue what they're doing - that was certainly what we feared with Cait.

Until today.

It was revealed today that Cait's book will no longer be featured in the Illumicrate May 2024 box.

Del Rey has dropped Crown of Starlight from their publishing schedule.

Daphne Press will be hopefully following suit.

And, most telling of all, Cait's own agent has severed ties with her.

For anyone not familiar with the inner workings of the publishing industry, Cait has essentially been blacklisted. Without an agent or a publishing house, she'll have to entirely rely on her own resources through self-publishing. Unless she manages to sneak her way back in under an alias (which I wouldn't put it past her to try) she no longer has access to the mainstream publishing industry that was already guaranteed for her before she let her 'jealousy' get the better of her.

Her career was already made for her. She had a red carpet laid out for her debut. Her book was getting good pre-reviews and she had quite literally nothing keeping her from her success. The best thing she could have done was nothing. Somewhere in her head, she made up a threat that didn't exist, and sealed her fate in acting on it, a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I think in these situations such as with Cait Corrain, Rachel Smythe, and - also recently and relevant - James Somerton, we need to become increasingly aware of how white voices are still overpowering POC voices, not just in their actions, but in the opportunities they're given over others which they then use to further stifle the voices of those they feel "threatened" by or feel entitled to speak over. While neither James nor Rachel have used sock puppet accounts to "take out the competition" (at least as far as we know lmao) James did quite literally steal the words and voices of queer writers who were deserving of their time in the spotlight, and Rachel's work is being quoted as "rewriting Greek myth" as if its blatant gentrification and appropriation should be marketed as some sort of positive.

It's all too common for these deeply-rooted prejudices to rear their ugly heads and for the people who carry them to act out in this way while justifying it as "jealousy" or "a mistake". This isn't jealousy. This isn't a mistake. This isn't someone "starting drama". This is genuine, targeted hate, with the intention of snuffing out the voices of others who should be empowered, not silenced.

All that time and effort, and for what? Racism and petty jealousy? It just goes to show, it doesn't matter how many opportunities you're given, how high up on the ladder you already are - it won't fix the deeply-rooted insecurity and racial pettiness that spurs people on to do such horrible things.

I've spent enough of my time and words today talking about Cait, and James, and Rachel. So to end this off, I want to join in with all the others who have highlighted the books that were review-bombed by Cait, and help in uplifting them so they can have successful debuts. I'll be pre-ordering a few of them, so I'll be happy to make dedicated posts for them in the future after they release. Please consider purchasing them for yourself if you want some new reading material <3

The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste:

So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole:

To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods by Molly X Chang:

Mistress of Lies by K.M. Enright

Voyage of the Damned by Frances White:

(I'm sure there are plenty others so if I missed any here, please let me know so I can add them here and check out their books!)

If there's any silver lining to this, I hope that it makes people aware of the media they consume and who it's being created by. I hope it makes people more willing to seek out the books that aren't getting the same opportunities as Cait Corrain and Rachel Smythe. I hope it's a wake-up call to the industry that matters like this need to be taken seriously and that POC writers are still being silenced under their own noses. And most of all, I hope it's a reminder that we shouldn't even need at this point that this behavior is not okay, no matter what level a person climbs to - that just because someone is part of one minority doesn't mean they're not capable of sabotaging another. It sucks that that has to be said, it sucks that despite these groups being so intersectional there are still people within them who submit to their deeply-rooted insecurities and find ways to feel threatened that they use to justify hateful behavior.

Having a platform is a privilege. It should never be weaponized against your own peers or those who you simply feel "threatened" by for no reason beyond your own imposter syndrome or doubts or internal struggles. Because as much as you may feel like you've earned where you are, that never gives you the right to weaponize your opportunities against others who were never given those same opportunities in the first place. "Feminism" is not using your power to crush "other women". "Progressiveness" is not exclusive to the progress that only benefits you.

I wish only the best to those who were affected by the actions of Cait Corrain. You deserve to be heard and seen and appreciated for the work you do and the abuse you've had to tolerate. I look forward to your debuts in 2024 <3

[fictionadventurer]

Top ten fairytale retelling novels/novellas you've read.

I've already answered my top 10, so here's my shot at listing 11-20.

11. A Long, Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan: Would probably be higher on the list if I'd remembered it in time. Sci-fi story that's a very loose retelling of "Sleeping Beauty", but so rich and emotionally devastating.

12. Maid and Minstrel and The Beggar Prince by Kate Stradling: Putting both of her short "King Thrushbeard" retellings in one entry. The first is more of a "Beauty and the Beast" tale that makes both leads decent people caught up in a misunderstanding, but I appreciated how it (probably accidentally) made me see the Christ-imagery inherent in the original. The second gives King Thrushbeard some character flaws and a good arc, and has an excellent explanation for why the princess didn't want to marry any of her suitors.

13. Fairest by Gail Carson Levine: Snow White retelling set in the world of Ella Enchanted, and retains that book's creativity in adapting the fairy tale elements. Has an excellent full-cast audiobook.

14. The Stepsister and the Slipper by Nina Clare: Georgette-Heyer-esque Cinderella retelling. Very rushed ending, and not the kind of romance I'd advise anyone to pursue in real life, but very fun.

15. Soot and Slipper by Kate Stradling: Cinderella retelling with an excellent twist, adorable characters, and a convoluted ending.

16. Before Midnight by Cameron Dokey: Short and basic Cinderella retelling that gets on the list because I have extremely fond autumnal associations with this book.

17. Unseen Beauty by Amity Thompson: A "Beauty and the Beast" retelling from the point-of-view of one of the invisible servants. Since I'd had that idea for years before finding this, I was thrilled to find that this story does a pretty good job with it.

18. Exile by Loren G. Warnemuende: The first book in a trilogy that retells "Maid Maleen". I haven't finished the series yet, so maybe it's unfair to put it on here, but I loved the section of the story that takes place in the tower, so I couldn't leave it off the list.

19. The Seventh Raven by David Elliot: A retelling of "The Seven Ravens" that does a decent job of retelling the fairy tale, but I mostly love it as a very well-structured novel-in-verse that structures each POV character's poems with their own poetic form.

20. The Tales of Ambia by Allison Tebo: Fun, slightly Wodehouse-ish retellings that are a breath of fresh air in the romantasy-dominated world of indie retellings

Honorable Mentions:

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer: Objectively as stories, these should be pretty high up on the list. It had great characters and adapted the fairy tale elements in some amazing ways. But I'm not a fan of a lot of the worldbuilding elements here, so I couldn't bring myself to rank it above some of my beloved, but more-flawed indie retellings.

With Blossoms Gold by Hayden Wand and Sweet Remembrance by Emily Ann Putzke: Both contained in Once: Six Historical Fairy Tale Retellings. The first is "Rapunzel" set in Renaissance Italy with an agoraphobic Rapunzel, and the second is a beautifully devastating retelling of "The Little Match Girl" set during WWII. I haven't read these in a long time, but I remember them both being very good.

Masque by W.R. Gingell: An excellent "Beauty and the Beast" retelling with a very lively Beauty, a Beast who works as a police detective instead of brooding in a castle, and some clever adaptations of the fairy tale elements. Unfortunately, I've decided a couple elements of the magic go beyond what I'm comfortable with, so I couldn't put it on the list, but I had to give it credit.

[mikolovesracing]

logan sargeant should race indycar.

now let me explain my reasoning

1. he would get to move home and honestly? its one of the top reasons on this list. i am SO GLAD to see an american on the f1 grid, do not get me twisted mate but fuck! this kid can race! and he’s good at it too!

2. if he moved straight from f1 to ntt series, andretti (or meyer shank because they are on the RISE with malukas and rosenqvist) should pick him up, put him in a good car and get him to a series which is still incredibly competitive, maybe not near as much as infamous and like elite(?) as formula 1 but still competitive and see how well he does.

3. he's a fucking winner for christ sake! look at this man’s history

4. although id like to see him on msr or andretti, its most likely going to be prema and i think their two driver two car line up is going to be (purely speculation folks) alexander rossi as the experienced indycar driver (he still hasn’t announced where he’s going next year) and logan sargeant as the indycar rookie

5. i dont think there will be any announcements about either logan sargeant going indycar or if he does get picked up by another team well until yesterday the end of the season but if james vowles so help me god does some fucked shit like replacing logan mid season then idk we might, but my heart hurts for him rn

6. and yk who else id like to see race indycar? unpopular opinion but valterri bottas, i think he would kick some ass (and hopefully give penske a run for their god damn money bc fuck em) put him on JUNCOS HOLLINGER for gods sake

7. even if he went to INDY NXT which isnt likely but also not unlikely (idk how to word that) he would kick ass so put him with HMD if that happens

ok thanks for coming to my ted talk<3

james vowles is full of shit and treats logan like he doesnt matter i hate it and im sick of it

[23fallencomets]

Masterlist

Welcome to my masterlist!! Here all my works will be listed and updated as soon as possible.

Model!AU

Part 0 - Beginning of the AU-the basic format being laid out

Part 1: Creatures in Heaven

Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8

AU ideas

Band!AU

FICS

(have to cut it here bc fic list is too long sorry~)

Featherstone

-1.6k words

"Two years after a disastrous 2025 season, Logan had stepped away from racing. Now, in 2027, a certain team is desperate and in the face of his dreams, Logan is a weak man."

I Just Wanted You To Know (That This Is Me Trying)

-2.6k words

“In a shocking twist of events, Logan Sargeant confirms his termination with Williams at the end of the 2024 season. Rumors have been circulating about the American’s position with wide speculation that Carlos Sainz is to take over his seat for the 2025 season after being offered a multi-year contract. Others say that Logan has been picked up as a reserve driver for the American team, Haas.

Alternatively,

Logan says fuck you and proves everyone wrong.”

Lover of Mine

-1.0k words

"It’s ridiculous really how deep and inherent his love for Logan runs. How at every step of his life, he wants Logan there, by his side, living in his apartment, taking up the space next to him in his bed, to come home together and just exist. How he wants Logan’s clothes in his closet, his sweaters thrown over the back of his horribly expensive couch, his shoes next to Arthur’s.

Alternatively, how Logan and Arthur come together."

Love You by Myself

-5.4k words

“He’s unfairly beautiful, long limbs stretched out on the white bedding like he belongs there. Ever-changing eyes—blue in the sun, grey on overcast days and green when the sun hits him just right, during sunrises and sunsets—half-lidded, hazy and sleepy. Skin tanned by the Floridian sun he lives under, soft hands, warm and heavy.

Logan slowly props himself up on his elbows, “Are you going to kiss me or will I have to wait another six months.”

alternatively,

All-American model Logan Sargeant and F1 Driver, Oscar ‘The Promised One’ Piastri fall in love.”

I Love You, I’m Sorry

-8.9k words, 5/5 chapters

Logan stares at him, blue eyes glassy with tears. His hands are shaking from where they’re pressed into his side. He was so confused, the hurt still coming as Oscar breaks up their eight-year long relationship at one in the morning. The engagement ring digs into his skin, the smooth metal of it feeling so impossibly heavy that it feels like his whole hand weighs down with it.

Alternatively,

The end and beginning of them

Cradle the Flame (and burn the world down)

-3.5k words

He got hungry, he wanted more and more. He knew he wasn’t going to get it in Indy, or WEC, or in any other racing series. He wanted to win, his hunger, his desire was to win in Formula One, to return to where it started and ended. He had something to prove, to show what he was made of.

Alternatively, Logan and Mick return to Formula One

Stuck Like Folk Flowers

-4.4k words, 1/3 chapters

Yuki is in panicked hysteric, laughing while apologizing as Oscar stared at him, pretty brown eyes wide in surprise. Logan finds himself transfixed, eyes trailing over the smattering of freckles and moles, the gentle pink of his lips and the growing blush on the apples of his cheeks.

Shit, is all Logan can think, shit, fuck, motherfucker.

Alternatively, Logan, Oscar and the consequences of their actions.

Kneeled at The Alter of You 🔒

-1.5k words, sargebon

They never last long when they get like this, desperate and needy, Alex’s name a prayer with the way it slips from Logan; mindless and reverent. Alex presses his lips to whatever inch of skin that he can reach, the side of Logan’s knee over his shoulder, his collarbone, his neck, the one spot that makes Logan whine.

alternatively, Logan and Alex.

Needs and Wants (want you, need you, what's the difference?)🔒

-2.9k words, sargebon

Alex isn’t possessive, not really. He enjoys having his partners’ attention, but knows he can’t have them all the time. Yet, here he is, sitting across the living room, watching Kyle fucking Kirkwood drape himself over Logan; the Floridans seem to melt into each, unfiltered happiness creasing Logan’s eyes as his friend rants about something.

Alex’s foot gets knocked against something, causing him to blink rapidly. He meets Oscar’s unimpressed gaze, hand limply holding a glass of something. It makes him remember that they’re not alone, in this odd bubble he had made for him, Logan and Kyle. Fred is sitting next to Oscar, shoulders pressed against the Australian, an amused look on his face.

Alex vaguely feels like he got caught doing something he shouldn’t have.

Alternatively, Alex and his wants and needs regarding Logan

Goodbye Chicago 🔒

-3.5k words, sargebon

Alex crowds him, realizes in half a beat that he hasn’t kissed Logan, Logan who makes dinner for them and lunch for Alex to take to work, who buys Horsey toys and stays near Alex just because. Logan, who left America because of his shitty home life and made a new home in Alex’s cold and isolated apartment, leaving behind fragments of his own warmth; his sweaters, his knickknacks, his growing movie collection because Alex still owns a dvd player.

Logan had made a place in Alex’s heart before Alex can react, or put up a fight. He had planted his roots next to Alex’s withering ones, slowly and surely coaxing him back to life

R U Mine?

-2.0k words, sargebon

Alex pulls back the blanket, his grip tightening on it when he sees that Logan is wearing one of his sweaters. It’s a big, soft thing that Alex has owned for years and Logan is wearing it. He shoves away the soft gooey feeling that slips through his veins as he crouches down, gently caressing Logan’s cheek.

Dark blue eyes blink blearily at him, lips now turned down into a frown. Logan presses into Alex’s hands, eyes shutting as he nuzzles into Alex. The Thai-Brit fights the endeared smile, pulling his hands away much to the protest of Logan.

Alternatively, Sargebon being roomates

[thealexchen]

hi! i recently got back into lis2 again and that made me really curious - do you still agree with a majority of the critiques you made on lis2 in 2020? i know it's been 4 years since that post was made, but i actually do remember when you dropped this critique on a separate account and i'd thought it was an interesting one to keep in mind back then :)

i appreciated a lot of what you have to say, even if i respectfully disagree with almost all of it 😭 - i didn't want to drop a whole "why" i disagree discussion on here because it seems kind of rude to drop such a huge thing about it haha, but i would like to say that this critique actually did stick with me for a bit and i appreciate that you made it when you did! your account was a big lis2 acc that i remember back in the day, and i always loved seeing your posts!

Hi there and thanks for your ask! I think I may know who you are, but you did get me thinking about that critique again (has it been four years already?? Jesus). After rereading it again, I have to say my overall opinions haven’t changed… I’m just not as invested in them as I used to be.

Since DE came out, I’ve seen a drastic shift from favoring D9 to DN, but I really think the reception comes down to their creative choices (or lack thereof). When I gave my initial thoughts on DE in May, I said that D9’s games rely heavily on fanservice to be marketable, while LiS2 was divisive from the jump because it was so obviously rooted in DN’s prioritization of making a game out of passion and not what would sell well (a continuation of Max and Chloe’s story). People have mostly been complaining that DE feels written without much thought or care for the original game, with lazy offscreen narrative decisions. Unfortunately, I believe this output is really due to D9 being puppeteered by Square to “corporatize” this series to death, which I find really depressing.

When LiS1 first debuted in 2015, the gaming industry was still recovering from Gamergate (which proved how misogynistic it still was) and LGBT+ issues were finally achieving mainstream attention, both positive and negative. The media storm surrounding LiS1 all focused on how different it was. It was truly radical at the time to turn what would be a typical Sundance indie film plot into an interactive AA game and make it mainstream. I think both the positive attention from gamers starved for a story like this and the negative attention calling it “Life is Tumblr” contributed to its massive popularity and attention that hasn’t been matched since.

I have always, always believed (like since 2018) in LiS being an anthology series and letting Max and Chloe’s story end. “Farewell” was supposed to be that, and I was really excited to see what DN was making next and hopeful I could fall in love with LiS2 like I did the first game. Even if I found LiS2’s narrative choices really frustrating, I still respect DN for sticking to their vision. Honestly, Michel Koch deserves his flowers so much for staying active on Twitter through years of fan hate and complaining and posting consistently respectful replies, even as his own characters have likely become unrecognizable to him.

But while DN stuck to their vision about LiS2, I think the main contextual issue with the game (and where my critiques came from) is there was too much pressure to follow up an accidental hit. DN wanted to follow up LiS1 with an even bigger, more serious, more ambitious, maybe more “artistic” and “daring” game that was boldly political… but I just don’t think they achieved that. The game still looks beautiful, with a strong soundtrack, art direction, moments of calm, and great environmental storytelling like the first game. But while LiS1 lured you into a false sense of security with its cozy vibes and high school setting, only to blindside gamers with heartbreaking and shocking plot twists late in the game, LiS2 is just a misery fest from start to end in an attempt to be as serious and memorable as the first game. There isn’t enough joy and nostalgia (DN is SO good at nostalgia) to contrast the sorrow, and the game wasn’t as memorable or fun to play for me.

My main critique in 2020 was the game relies too much on a violent trauma narrative without proper research and content warnings. Looking back on it now, I think DN internalized the praise too strongly that LiS1 was daring and different. They tried to be even more topical and bold without regard to how actual players of color might react to the racial violence onscreen. In addition, I critiqued LiS2 for not showcasing the positive aspects of Sean and Daniel’s Mexican heritage to contrast all the racism, and I thought True Colors did a better job at including meaningful and positive cultural details for Alex and Gabe’s family. They likely didn’t think to research more carefully how to depict POC (and how the standards for sensitive representation might be different in the U.S. compared to France). American politics are also wayyyy more complex than what’s on the news, and have a massive historical, social, and economic background, and nowadays, I’ll cut DN some slack and say I think that’s too much to tackle for any game. Yes, DN could’ve done better, but I wouldn’t critique them as harshly today, and I know they had good intentions.

If the pressure to follow up LiS1 wasn’t there, maybe LiS2 could’ve been different. Maybe DN wouldn’t have bit off more they could chew, or maybe this game could’ve been made independently of the LiS series and judged on its own merit. A game like Tell Me Why shows how DN is at their best when they tell smaller, nostalgic stories and are able to do the right research and collaborate with the right consultants and actors. I hope Lost Records can be the same, since DN is pitching it from the jump as an anthology and likely their do-over of LiS as their own independent studio.

Thank you again for asking! It was nice to revisit my critique. If you’d still like to talk about it, I am down for a friendly debate!

[laryna6]

Can you tell me about Miles Vorkosigan? (And also which book to start with)

"Welcome to Barrayar, son. Here you go; have a world of wealth and poverty, wrenching change and rooted history. Have a birth; have two. Have a name. Miles means "soldier", but don't let the power of suggestion overwhelm you. Have a twisted form in a society that loathes and fears the mutations that have been its deepest agony. Have a title, wealth, power, and all the envy and hatred they will draw. Have your body ripped apart and rearranged. Inherit an array of friends and enemies you never made. Have a grandfather from hell. Endure pain, find joy, and make your own meaning, because the universe certainly isn't going to supply it. Always be a moving target. Live. Live. Live."

— Cordelia Vorkosigan to her newborn son Miles, Barrayar

Sci-fi series by Lois McMaster Bujold where the world of Barrayar was cut off from the rest of the galaxy for a long time and also the native plant life is mutagenic, so it became a mother's duty to kill her child at birth if it was a mutant. Also the tax collectors become a military aristocracy.

After recontact (and after a star empire tried to conquer Barrayar and threw a bunch of nukes around before getting finally kicked off the planet, not helping the local fear/hatred of mutations) is the first chronological book in the main series, Shards of Honor, about a survey (and later military) captain from the very liberal Beta Colony. Cordelia ends up marrying a Vor lord, but while she's pregnant there's an attempt to assassinate him with a chemical that as a side effect screws up fetal bone development that hits her too. She refuses to let her kid die and fucks shit up during a civil war to accomplish this in the second book where she's the viewpoint character, Barrayar.

"You're a Betan! You can't do—"

— Vidal Vordarian to Cordelia Vorkosigan, just before she does. Barrayar

However, Miles is still born very short with fragile bones, looking like a mutant despite not technically being one, as a member of a warrior-aristocratic caste, and becomes a master of the Indy Ploy/Xanatos Speed Chess ending up in crazy situations and trying to improv his way out of total disaster and among other things (non-late-arrival spoilers under cut)

takes over a mercenary fleet while pretending to be a clone of himself. The Warrior's Apprentice is the first book about him and the first book published. I love the Cordelia books so I'd start with them, but it's up to you.

They followed me home, Dad. Can I keep them?

— Miles on his new Dendarii Mercenaries. Warrior's Apprentice

Someone actually clones Miles to use the clone to assassinate his dad: by Beta Colony rules on family this makes the clone his brother and Mark is eventually Assimilated. You WILL be unconditionally loved and trusted in this family~

"Miles, what have you done with your baby brother?!"

— What Miles imagines his mother will say about his clone. Brothers In Arms

Miles is kind of manic and it's a lot of fun to see what crazy ploy he's going to go with next. Cordelia sees herself as the Only Sane Woman but between her and Aral it's very obvious where Miles got it from ("Every Vor woman goes to the capital to shop" XD).

"Shopping? That's an offer seldom made to the son of my mother..."

— Miles responding to Ekaterin's invitation. Komarr

[ranchstoryblog]

PRESS RELEASE: Second Annual ‘Marvelous Game Showcase’ Delivers Exciting Updates on Fan-favorite STORY OF SEASONS and Rune Factory Series; Reveals NARUTO: Arcade Battle for North America, and More

Second Annual ‘Marvelous Game Showcase’ Delivers Exciting Updates on Fan-favorite STORY OF SEASONS and Rune Factory Series; Reveals NARUTO: Arcade Battle for

North America, and More

New Looks for Additional Titles in Development Include Opening Animation for

Monster Farming / Action Title Farmagia and Striking New Teaser for DAEMON X MACHINA: Titanic Scion

TORRANCE, Calif., — May 30, 2024 — Marvelous USA, Inc. and XSEED Games today shared a localized version of parent company Marvelous Inc.’s second annual ‘Marvelous Game Showcase,’ which debuted today at 3:00pm PT. President Suminobu Sato hosted the showcase and was joined by key members of development teams to provide updates on titles announced in last year's event, and announce new regional and global initiatives for the Marvelous family of companies.

Farmagia (formerly Project Magia): Product Manager Takehiro Ishida revealed the official title of the project, Farmagia, and presented the game’s opening animation, giving gamers an action-packed look at the cast of characters and powers they wield. Ishida-san also shared details on key characters in the game, designed by popular artist Hiro Mashima, including Ten, the protagonist who often acts before thinking; Arche, his childhood friend who balances both kindness and a competitive nature; Chica, another childhood friend with a more reserved demeanor; and Lookie-Loo, Ten’s sidekick and de-facto mascot. The title is planned for a global release in 2024.

STORY OF SEASONS: The next, as-yet-untitled entry in the beloved franchise continues its development as the team focuses on improvements to the visual presentation and natural environments. Series Manager Hikaru Nakano joined to debut a fresh look at the results of their efforts, highlighting how aspects such as updated natural lighting and festival fireworks have been improved to enhance immersion and atmosphere. The project remains in active development and will be fully revealed at a later date. In the meantime, Nakano-san confirmed new gameplay features including a player-controlled glider and the return of fan-favorite pets.

Amusement Section: Marvelous Inc. supports more than just PC and console entertainment and announced a number of new arcade initiatives including NARUTO: Arcade Battle, which will be available in North America this summer. Players will experience the world of NARUTO on a massive 50” screen, where they’ll engage in intense ninjutsu battles and collect plates to reach the highest rank they can! Arcade titles for Japan release only were also presented.

Indie Partner Lineup: The Marvelous family continues to invest in helping creative and exciting visions from smaller indie developers become a reality with global support for titles! Titles introduced for worldwide release include Bitsummit 2023 Grand Prize winner Death the Guitar, where players become an electric guitar fighting with the power of death metal to avenge their owner, planned for a 2025 release; and Moonlight Peaks, the supernatural-themed vampire farming/life sim title from Dutch developer Little Chicken, scheduled for 2026 release. One additional title, Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus, was also presented for release in Asia and Japan by Marvelous on July 28, 2024.

Rune Factory: Following a brief history on the evolution of the Rune Factory series and how it has grown across nine titles released over 18 years, Rune Factory series Director Shiro Maekawa joined the stream to reveal a new video for Rune Factory: PROJECT DRAGON sharing a look at the title’s protagonists. Players can choose to play as either Subaru or Kaguya, two new Earthmates with a twist; they will use the power of dance, rather than farming, to communicate and interact with the world around them. This new approach to interacting with the world comes with non-combat tools, including parasols and drums; series staple weapons like swords; and brand-new weapon types to experiment with, including bows and talismans.

DAEMON X MACHINA: Titanic Scion: First revealed during last year’s Marvelous Game Showcase, DAEMON X MACHINA: Titanic Scion once again closed out the show, where President Sato-san shared an evocative look at Marvelous’ First Studio’s mech-action sequel.  Additional details including platforms and a release window will be announced at a later date.

To celebrate the Showcase, select STORY OF SEASONS and Rune Factory titles will be on sale for up to 60% off on the Nintendo eShop for Nintendo Switch™ through June 7, 2024.

More information about XSEED Games’ products can be found at www.xseedgames.com Fans can also follow XSEED Games on Facebook, X, Instagram, Twitch, Threads, get in depth info from their developer blog, and join the discussion on their Discord server at: http://discord.gg/XSEEDGames.

About XSEED Games

XSEED Games is the independent-minded publishing brand of Marvelous USA, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Marvelous Inc., which is a publicly traded company listed in the Prime Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Formed in 2004 by a small group of industry veterans, XSEED Games is headquartered in Torrance, California and publishes video games on PC and consoles in North America. The publisher's diverse portfolio of over 100 titles includes releases from Marvelous Inc. including STORY OF SEASONS (Bokujo Monogatari), Rune Factory, and DAEMON X MACHINA, titles from third-party partners including AKIBA’S TRIP, Corpse Party, and Granblue Fantasy: Versus, and titles from independent developers including Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin, Potionomics and Cuisineer. XSEED Games has grown its reputation among global gamers with its critically acclaimed localizations and commitment to fans, remaining ever dedicated to its “indie spirit, player-first” approach for quality games.

[prokopetz]

I have a pinned post for my games in development, but it doesn't really describe what they're about, and apparently this is something we're doing today, so:

My games in development, in rough order of priority:

(Note: all of these have public playtest drafts behind the links.)

Eat God

A game about weird little anarchist muppets with reality-warping powers themed after classic Looney Tunes gags wandering around a classic sword-and-sorcery fantasy setting stirring up trouble. Roughly 50% character creation rules by volume, with provisions for randomising every part of it; the linked draft, above, includes an online character generator if you want to play with it. The mechanics are a sort of elaborated spiritual successor to Costume Fairy Adventures, a game whose development I headed up about a decade ago.

Current status: actively writing, hopefully zeroing in on a feature-complete playtest draft within the next month or two.

Tiny Frog Wizards

One of my customarily literal titles, this is a game where you play as wizards who are tiny frogs. Features elaborate semi-freeform rules for casting spells, lots of big stupid random tables for when spells go off the rails, and absolutely no mechanics for anything that isn't casting a spell; it's a very focused sort of game. Narratively, it's a game about being an overpowered little twerp sticking your nose into other people's problems and offering solutions no-one asked for. Portions of the rules crib shamelessly from @jennamoran's Nobilis 3rd Edition, for which I offer acknowledgement but no apologies.

Current status: development of the text has been set aside for the moment to work on visual identity, with an eye toward crowdfunding an expanded hardcover edition later in the year.

Space Gerbils

A tactical mecha combat game with a very silly twist: the entirety of the tactical positioning occurs inside the mecha, because the game's premise is basically "what if instead of the Big Reveal at the end of Metroid (1986) being that Samus Aran is secretly a girl, Samus Aran was secretly 3–5 small gerbil-like creatures operating a person-size mech suit?" Players engage in positional jockeying and resource management to determine which stations they're crewing within the suit, which is boiled down to a single roll of the dice to determine what happens outside the suit. Includes papercraft minifigs.

Current status: essentially feature-complete, apart from some character creation options and a planned random mission generator; this will likely be the next game I crowdfund after Tiny Frog Wizards.

Indie RPG Prompt Generator [working title]

Essentially a joke that got out of hand, this is a big set of random tables of common indie RPG tropes that you can roll on to generate a description of a hypothetical game, complete with specific rules toys and setting beats. I probably could have finished this up already, but I decided to include examples of each rolled element, which turned into this big hairy research project I'm not able to give adequate attention to right now. If you've got a game of your own that you think would be a good fit for a presently unfilled example slot, please, let me know!

Current status: plugging away at it in bits and pieces as I'm able.

Three Raccoons in a Trenchcoat

This is an anthology consisting of three minigames: the eponymous Three Raccoons in a Trenchcoat, which is self-explanatory; Unfamiliar, in which you play as uncooperative wizards' familiars; and System Crash, in which you play as malfunctioning robots. More a series of formal experiments in character creation and group composition than proper full-featured games, all share the same core mechanics, with milieu-specific addons of varying practicality; for example, System Crash has specific rules for which senses each player is allowed to use when asking the GM for information, because it's completely possible to have a group in which only one of the robots can see. Large portions of Unfamiliar were later re-used in Eat God, above.

Current status: I have a list of notes as long as your arm on planned changes to integrate into the text, and I'm confident I'll get around to doing so one of these years.

Gone to Hell

Literally a Doom (2016) pastiche as a Belonging Outside Belonging game, which is just as silly an idea as it sounds; grown out of an earlier 24-hour RPG called Doomguy. The central conceit is that there's only a single player character, with players taking turns assuming the role of the Slayer, while everyone else takes ownership of the various hostile factions comprising the game's conspiratorial twelve-car pileup of a plot. Lots of pontificating about the implicit power structures of tabletop RPG groups. This one probably needs a full rewrite in order to lend a bit more formal structure to the "one player character, many GMs" conceit than out-of-the-box BOB offers.

Current status: I have not looked at this game in three years, which is actually a really long time for me.

Rotate Bird

Another of my "is this a formal experiment or a real game" titles, this one revolves around constructing characters out of abstract symbols, which are interpreted during play to retroactively define what your character is actually capable of doing. Even the title seen above is an interpretive approximation; strictly speaking, the game is called 🔄🐦. Possibly the most shitposty game I've ever written, which is saying something, but based on playtest feedback it seems functional.

Current status: the only reason this is listed as lower in priority than Gone to Hell is because I genuinely don't know what to do with it. It's probably publishable, with some cleanup editing and graphic design, but it feels like there's something missing. I'm open to suggestions!

Get in the Fucking Robot

A pamphlet-size, competitive, GMless title that's at least as much a board game as it is a tabletop RPG, this one is about a bunch of dysfunctional candidate mecha pilots competing to be the first to pilot the titular giant robot. The game is played under misère conditions: while each character's IC goal is to pilot the robot, each player's OOC goal is to avoid that fate, with the player whose character actually Gets in the Fucking Robot being accounted the loser.

Current status: playtesting suggests the current framework of play doesn't actually work – like, at all – so this one needs to go all the way back to the drawing board; I don't feel like doing that any time soon, which puts it squarely at the bottom of the list.

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 5/14/2024

googled "sample bon mot" in a fit of desperation, considered asking chatgpt to generate me some for 0.2 seconds before the visceral BLEUGH reaction plus remembered that every query is like pouring a 16oz water bottle out on the ground, and figured this series of events would be a better intro than anything else i could come up with

listening

miya folick's Pet Body was off last week's spotify rec playlist. i had liked some individual songs by miya folick (singer/songwriter/alt/indie/dance/electronica) but now i gotta really dive into her discography-- this particular very peppy and upbeat song with dire lyrics is really clicking with me lately as my body overreacts to texas pollen and engages in other known misbehaviors.

the chorus, my god

Proper care and feeding for my pet body

and this verse

I'm just a brain with a pet body Out for a walk until I croak I'm just an ordinary subject In an ordinary book

as my mother used to say, i'm real fuckin sick and tired of being sick and tired!!!

-

reading

ough i need to vacuum. i picked up Mrs Vargas and the Dead Naturalist by Kathleen Alcalá for a dollar last summer bc 0) killer title 1) it was a dollar 2) cool cover 3) autographed 4) endorsed by le guin.

kind of fascinating as an object: weird little lesbian (?) boutique press that's still around, idk ive ever seen a notice about steps they took to ensure the longevity of the physical book before?

i find myself bouncing off latin and south american magical realism a lot bc i am not in those authors’ intended audiences/i do not have the background to fully appreciate them. i have a bachelors of science. and that’s fine bc that’s the point! this is one of the very few times post-college where i caught myself thinking “man i gotta find a class to take about this”.

even if i do not understand the wider cultural context or the real-life figures she obliquely references in many of these short stories (i am convinced the bird-voiced singer is based on a real singer), i do appreciate alcalá’s craft: true short stories, she makes her point and then ends it. the twist in Reading the Road specifically— woof that’s gonna stick with me for a bit. a perfect little o henry twist of the knife. i wanted so badly to link this specific short story but apparently nobody has used it to teach anything and the book itself is not widely available/on the internet archive/etc. u will have to find this story of a roadside fortune teller (who is current on all her business permits) and one day's fortune telling, by yourself perhaps through your library

-

watching

the prisoner, the seventeen episode british sixties tv cult classic. let's yoink the description from wikipedia.

The Prisoner is a British television series created by Patrick McGoohan, with possible contributions from George Markstein.[2] McGoohan portrays Number Six, an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a mysterious coastal village after resigning from his position.[3] The allegorical plotlines of the series contain elements of science fiction, psychological drama, and spy fiction.

number six shares a lot of traits with my cat philip marlowe, as they are both hell fucking bent on escaping and all attempts to restrain them just sort of train them to be better at the next attempt? as one might expect from a heavily allegorical sixties show, kind of heavy emotional going so im watching an episode every day or two.

why am i watching this? it's free on my library streaming service (and tubi), and i don't have a lot going on. i love one-season cancelled shows, i love Dad Media, unfortunately i was a navy brat and i do love some cloak and dagger shit. i LOOOOVE a fucked up little town and bureaucracy-as-cudgel. i actually came across this when i wishlisted the game We Happy Few back in 2018, another entry in the "creepy little british towns" genre. have yet to play it

-

playing

the cosmology and general backstory of genshin is convoluted as hell (The Gods are real and live in the sky, but some lowercase-g gods are also rulers of the seven nations in-game) but they have been foreshadowing a grand showdown since the very beginning of the game. one player character cannot de- or re-stablize so many regions and engage in so many power struggles without someone taking notice.

i did NOT, however, expect one of the regional god-rulers (purple) to start planning for this divine war in a side cutscene in a seasonal event. a seasonal event around rock n roll rhythm games. absolutely devastated i missed the pink fox lady's rerun right after i had to give my work laptop back and before i got the PC fixed. this game will not run on my iphone 12 for love or money

-

making

bit of a depression hovel situation going on. we are slowly rolling that back tho. finally met my landlord during the HVAC replacement debacle, he said that he bought this apartment in 2009, lived here for ten years, and then his parents lived here for a couple years. i am the first non-family tenant, i think. all of the appliances and fixtures are from 2009. i think the fridge will be the next to go. ANYWAY. i asked him what the deal was with the lack of bathroom vents and HE said when he had an air conditioner put in in 2009 the HVAC guy then assured him he only needed the HVAC vents and closed up the actual vents. which is a load of shit. i am not really excited to live here for another year but i really super can't afford to move and finding an apartment in houston the first time was such a goddamn nightmare. i cannot do three years tho. hopefully something will have changed by august 2025.

i have also, through a special cashback bonus reward on my credit card, a sale, a gift card, and cashing in more cashback money, acquired a cat tree for philip. modeled here by mackie bc we did room swapping again as i was writing this. i cannot be bothered to install curtain tiebacks or properly fold anything, as you can see below

[theconsequenceofgods]

TCOG's Kickstarter is now live! If a fantasy adventure with twists, turns, and a lot of emotional moments sounds up your alley then you might wanna give it a chance 💖 It's my indie 3D animated series and any support is greatly appreciated! Kickstarter link

Today is also the last day for the early bird special which is a discounted bundle of rewards~