#i'll have to update her sprite. again...
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The Arcana Romance Tale: My Star
A friend of the countess takes a day off work to spend the day with MC.
Word Count: >2,000
Genre: Fluff
Please note: This fic has dialogue/action choices. The outcomes of these actions are enclosed in three dashes (---) and separated from each other with a single dash (-).
The late afternoon sun shines brightly as I make my way through the busy streets of Vesuvia. The market is no exception to the busyness; it's as bustling as always. Vendors call out to try and attract customers, shoppers converse with each other and the vendors, and workers carrying crates and barrels deliver new items. It's a little difficult to navigate it all, but I manage. After all, I have someone to find.
It takes a bit, but I eventually spot a familiar figure delivering a couple crates to a stand; Morgan Drakos. Nadia introduced her to me a while back, and we've been keeping in touch ever since. She just returned to the city for the first time in several months, and from the way she's been talking lately, she seems pretty eager to meet up again.
"Morgan!" I call out, shouldering my way towards her.
Morgan doesn't appear to hear me at first. It takes a vendor gesturing towards me for her to finally look up. When she sees me, she smiles brightly and waves.
"Hey there! Just a second!"
She hastily sets one last crate behind a stand and scribbles something down in a notebook. Once she's done, she walks over to me, putting her notebook into a pouch at her hip.
"It's great to see you again! In person, I mean." She grins.
“It’s good to see you, too.”
“I'm really glad you could make it. I appreciate a friendly face. And…I’ve been looking forward to seeing you, to be honest.” She gives me a sheepish smile and tucks some hair behind her ear.
> Tease her
> Reply sincerely
---
> Tease her
“Well, I thought I might as well swing by, since I was already going to be in the area.” I grin at her.
Morgan laughs. “Ohh, I see. I suppose I must have only imagined planning to meet up.”
“That’s right.”
-
> Reply sincerely
“I’ve been looking forward to this, too. It’s nice to get out once in a while.”
Morgan nods. “It really is, isn’t it? I should probably do it more often.”
---
“So, you had some things you wanted to do, right?” I ask.
“Yep! I thought we could maybe window shop for a while in the Heart District. After that…it’s a surprise.” She grins mischievously.
“Uh oh. Should I be worried?”
“Probably not. Come on, let’s catch a gondola.”
Morgan takes my hand and leads me to the nearest gondola dock. She gets in first, then helps me get in. A moment later, we’re on our way towards the Heart District.
Once we arrive, Morgan helps me out of the gondola and leads me down a street. The Heart District isn’t quite as crowded as Center City, which seems to be a relief to Morgan. Together, we walk along the nice streets, occasionally pointing out something that stands out to us.
After a little while, Morgan steers me towards one particular street. The vendors here seem to specialize in all kinds of accessories. Morgan keeps glancing at me as we wander down this street. Her expression is hard to read.
“Does anything here strike your fancy?” she asks, trying to sound nonchalant.
I look around at the two closest stands. One of them sells jewelry. The other sells fashion scarves.
> Look at the jewelry
> Look at the scarves
---
> Look at the jewelry
“These look nice.” I head over to the jewelry stand. Morgan follows right behind me, watching as I look over the merchandise.
“This is some quality craftsmanship,” Morgan notes, idly picking up a pendant necklace and inspecting it. “Hmm…oh! Tell you what. Go ahead and pick something out. My treat.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course!” She smiles at me. “I’d love nothing more than to get something for you.”
My cheeks warm a little. I knew she had a penchant for gift-giving, but I’d never actually been on the receiving end before.
I look over the items, trying to figure out what I like the most. Everything here is a lot fancier than what I’m used to. Morgan looks, as well. She makes a few suggestions, but none of them particularly interest me. Then I pick up a pendant necklace. It’s pretty simple; a thin chain, and a small gem in my favorite color.
“How about this one?” I look at her.
“I like it! It suits you."
Morgan immediately buys the necklace, smiling brightly. I try to ignore the amount of gold she hands over in exchange. She turns to me after she pays, and reaches out to put the necklace on me.
“There we go! It’s perfect.”
“Thank you.”
“Of course.” Morgan smiles warmly.
-
> Look at the scarves
“I like these.” I head towards the scarf stand, with Morgan at my heels. The items here come in a wide variety of colors, sizes, and fabric materials.
“Wow. I didn’t realize rich people needed so many types of scarves.” Morgan looks at the merchandise, putting her hands on her hips.
“Morgan, you’re a rich person.”
“Yes, and my fellow rich people spend their money on the strangest things.”
I smile and roll my eyes, then look at the selection. I have to admit, Morgan’s right; the number of different types of scarves here is ridiculous.
Morgan picks up a white and gold scarf, and holds it up, looking between it and me. "Hmm…"
"Hmm?"
"Oh, ah, nothing. Just…wanted to see if…" She trails off, then turns and pays for the scarf.
"...What are you doing?"
"Just a moment..." She turns back to me and drapes the scarf around my shoulders with a soft laugh. "There! Now we match."
She points at the white and gold scarf around her waist, grinning. I can hardly help but smile, too.
"Yeah, I guess we do. Um…thanks."
"You're very welcome."
---
"So…where to next?" I ask.
"The Temple District! I…want to show you something. Something special." She blushes softly, then offers me her hand. We grab another gondola and head out again.
We reach the Temple District pretty quickly. Morgan helps me out of the gondola and leads me down the streets. There's a temple from her homeland, the Republic of Galbrada, on one of the main streets here, but she walks right past it. Apparently that isn't the destination she has in mind.
She turns off of the main streets, and soon comes to some pretty narrow alleys. I look around warily, but Morgan continues on with confidence. She navigates the less maintained streets with ease until we reach an old, run-down temple. The columns in front have been overrun with ivy. Morgan strolls up to the doors as casually as could be. Her hand glows as she pulls one of the doors open. She looks at me with a big smile, her eyes sparkling, and gestures for me to follow her inside. I stay at her heels, looking around curiously.
"Welcome to the Rainbow Pool," Morgan says, turning to me and walking backwards with her arms spread wide.
The room before me is large and open. There's a strip of polished stone floor, then a large, shallow pool. The crystal-clear water catches the light, reflecting rainbows everywhere. The far wall is covered in windows, which don't show the Temple District; instead, it shows a brilliantly vivid sunset and a vineyard.
"What…is this place?" I ask.
"An enchanted temple. It used to be run by people like me. Water magicians from my country. It's been abandoned for at least several decades, maybe longer. I found it a little while ago and tidied it up. Now it's a little…sanctuary. When stuff with work gets to be too much. I, ah, haven't shown it to anyone else yet. What do you think?"
"It's beautiful."
She smiles brightly, nodding. "And we haven't even gotten to the best part yet. I just discovered this part last night… Follow me."
She leads me off to the right, to an archway in the wall.
The arched doorway leads to a private dock in the bay. Morgan offers me her hand as she steps out onto the wood.
"Ready for one more boat ride?" she asks with a smile.
"I guess so."
Morgan nods and brings me over to a fairly large rowboat, with a table bolted down between two cushioned benches. There's two plates, covered with shimmering metal domes. Morgan helps me get settled on one of the seats, then unties the boat. She gives the boat a shove and climbs onto the other seat, taking up the oars.
"There! Off we go…" She gives me another bright smile as she rows us a little further out. After a few minutes, she slows to a stop, leaving us surrounded by the ocean and sky. She secures the oars, then reaches to lift the plate covers to reveal my favorite dinner beneath.
"I, um, thought you might like something to eat. After I dragged you around all afternoon. Ah, don't worry, there's a spell on the plates and covers to keep everything fresh! So, nothing went bad while we were running around."
She pours me a drink from an enchanted pitcher. Soon, we begin to eat and chat as the sun goes down.
Once the food is gone, all the dishes disappear. Morgan reaches for the oars, but hesitates, and apparently changes her mind about going anywhere. Instead, she looks over at me.
"Hey, ah…thank you for hanging out today. It means a lot to me. More than I think I could put into words." She blushes softly, leaning forward a little bit. "Like I said, it's nice to get out once in a while. I don't do it as much as I'd like."
"You're welcome. It's nice to have some time off."
"I know the feeling." She chuckles quietly. Her gaze drifts down from my eyes for a moment as she takes me in. She leans a little bit closer.
> Kiss her
> Tease her
---
> Kiss her
I lean in to meet her halfway. Our lips meet. She tastes of the food we just finished. Her hand reaches up to gently cradle my cheek.
The kiss doesn't last long. Or maybe it does. She pulls back, looking star-struck.
"I…have been wanting to do that…all day," she murmurs.
My cheeks grow warm. "Really…?"
"Yeah. I…really like you. Ah…I guess that's rather obvious now, though, isn't it?" She laughs nervously. "I think I have for a while now. I just didn't know how to go about telling you."
I think back to all the conversations we've been having lately. All the times I've seen her light up when we speak, all the times she's helped me when I'm feeling down…
"You know, I think I like you too."
Morgan lights up. Literally; her magic makes her shine softly. I didn't know she could do that. Then she smiles and laughs a little.
"I should hope so, or this would have been incredibly awkward."
We laugh together. Our conversation turns to other topics as Morgan begins to row us back to the dock, but she doesn't stop glowing.
-
> Tease her
"Well, are you going to kiss me or not?" I grin at her. She blushes, immediately sitting upright.
"Wha-what?"
"Are you going to kiss me or not?"
She stares at me with wide eyes for a moment, then leans in again, pressing her lips to mine. I hesitate for a second before kissing her back. Her face is still warm from blushing.
After another moment or two, she breaks away, sitting back. She looks equally flustered and triumphant.
"I've wanted to do that…ah, pretty much all day," she admits, rubbing the back of her neck. "Would…this be a bad time to say I like you? A lot?"
"I think that was pretty well implied."
She laughs a little. "Yeah, probably. Do you…um…"
"I did kiss back."
"Yes…right. You did." She smiles, visibly shy. "Thanks for that."
"Happy to oblige."
She picks up the oars again, beginning to bring us back to the dock.
---
The walk back home is a bit long, but mostly uneventful. It's almost completely dark out by the time we arrive, with the streets only lit by a few torches and light from homes and businesses. It gives us a pretty clear view of the night sky overhead. Morgan seems to appreciate that.
"Will you be alright, walking back by yourself?" I ask, looking at Morgan as we approach the doorstep.
"I'll be fine. I'm a big tough girl. I tie my own sandals and everything." She grins at me, then, bowing low, kisses my knuckles. "Can I see you tomorrow?"
"I'd love that."
"Wonderful. I'll stop by around noon, then. Rest well, astéri mou."
"Astéri mou…?" I'm not entirely sure if I got the pronunciation right.
"It's…a nickname from my homeland. See you tomorrow." She smiles brightly, then turns and walks off, headed back to her ship.
I watch her until she's out of sight, then head inside. I'm not entirely sure of what I'm getting myself into, but…I think I like where this is going.
#the arcana#morgan drakos#the arcana fanart#the arcana fanfic#the arcana fan tale#digital art#2022#this took way longer than i expected oops#the blocks of both writer's and artist's hit me halfway through the written and drawn components of this...#because of the lighting you can't really tell but morgan's color scheme is a LOT darker#i'll have to update her sprite. again...#anyway enjoy this <3
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thought i’d get back insto inscr//ption tbh but no my brain did a sharp turn and i’m back into gg. truly a wonder how that works
#it's because of that catboy twink#^game name censored so it hopefully won't show up in the tag n stuff#gg and d//st. but i'm like permanently into that#<pretty sure i mentioned it but i'm also thinking of remaking walentys sprites#a few things like her glasses are outdated n stuff so#and i want to change kits shirt to that green floral one#oough and i'm gonna have to update her dialogues again i think. i can't remember if i did that for the lunar update#<i'll have to for the terror below one for sure#VERY EXCITED FOR THAT ONE TOO#god i fucking love this game what did they put in that that it has such a grasp on me
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On the other side - Andrealphus
I have no idea who proposed it because sadly I can't find it (found you! Thanks for inspiration @\rae-pss!), but someone came up with an idea of what would happen if the characters from WHB started to realize that the MC was not us. That there is someone on the other side of the screen who takes care of them. I created a little silly fic loosely interpreting it.
Word count: 1284
Other parts: On the other side | Promised Land | Point to point | Love is blind (18+)
꧁:･ ✡ ･:꧂
Life is so repeatable. Work, eat, sleep, work, eat, sleep, work, eat, sleep, only with some little pleasures in between. You took off jacket, threw it away and plopped down at the chair. Old phone landed on a table as you were struggling with thoughts whether to eat instant noodles today or heat up yesterday's dinner.
"Come on, boys." You turn on game and tapped loading screen just from boredroom. "I don't have all evening."
You wanted to have a pet, you've considered it a lot. But with these earnings, the closest thing to an animal in this house were fish sticks. So all that had left to do was talk to fictional hot guys. At least they don't need to be feed.
When Andrea appeared on the display, you tapped on him with a smile.
"Hi, babygirl."
"Who’s there…?"
You've never seen this speech bubble before. Update? But nothing downloaded, and any additional files were in a queue. Well, maybe it was one of those little tweaks nobody notice. You tapped the screen about three hundred more times to see if there were any new voice lines, but this time everything was the same. Maybe it was just a combination of overactive imagination and tiredness. Yes. Instant noodles will be a better option, you will make them faster and go to bed faster.
꧁:･ ✡ ･:꧂
"…and then this stupid bitch said it was all my fault."
Lying half on the chair, half on the desk, and half somewhere in between, you were chatting with a friend on Discord and doing tasks for nightmare pass.
"That sucks. What are you going to do about it?"
"No idea. But if they take my bonus because of her, I'll kill her, I swear."
"I hope everything will be fine, but I have to go. Sorry."
"Yeah… Have fun on a date."
"Thanks!"
Hearing the disconnection sound, you sighed. Obviously, you couldn't blame them, keeping fingers crossed that they had found their other half of orange, but now they didn't even have time to meet for coffee, and you lived three minutes' walk from each other. Talking together, joking together, everything faded into the background. In addition, work was getting worse...
"I also hope everything will work out"
The voice sounded different. Familiar. But they definitely weren't your friend. You quickly checked the screen to see if anyone had joined the voice chat, but the screen was blank.
"What… Who? How?" Of course, there was no one around the room. Is this the beginning of hallucinations?
"I'd like to ask this too."
The voice that came from the speakers. From the telephone. From...?
The phone screen showed only a familiar sprite turning its head from side to side. You forgot about the strange update from a few days ago. Was that it again? Andrea's red braid was beautifully animated, and facial expressions changed, delicate movements of the eyebrows and lips showed new emotions. It really looked stunningly real.
"Gorgeous." You complimented in a whisper godly work of the animator. "I can't wait until you get L, since you already look so sexy as S..."
"What are S and L...?"
He answered without tapping. Moreover, he tilted his head as if listening. There's been a lot of talk about AI lately, but you didn't agree to use the microphone in game… Unless it's some stinky term of services. This needs to be turned off, it will probably be in the settings. But after checking options, there was nothing like that there.
"Strange…"
"Trust me, I find it unnatural too." Andrea replied with an uncertain smile. "I hear you, but I don't feel anyone around me. But your voice… It’s nice. Can you keep talking? It feels good to be less... alone."
He sounded so much in character. Whoever programmed this, put a lot of work into it. It was a little weird... but you were so tired and done that chatting with the AI seemed like a nice change.
"Sure. It's weird talking to the screen, but well, I do it all the time anyway. Good thing it’s only an AI, because if anyone heard half the nonsense I moan, they'd probably send me to solitary confinement."
"You're calling grown man babygirl."
"Because you are!"
He chuckled, and it felt almost like a talking to an actual human. Muttering such nonsense, you felt ashamed for a moment. If the government suddenly started eavesdropping, the agent who was in charge was such a poor man.
"Tell me something else." He asked. "I've been hearing your voice for several days. I'd like to finally know who I'm having the pleasure of talking with."
He didn't have to ask twice. Of course, without providing any personal details, but you could give him your name. And told about that stupid bitch at work...
꧁:･ ✡ ･:꧂
You checked tumblr, checked X, and checked the official website of the game. There was no word about an update anywhere, and after writing that this new option with talking to devils was great, all mutuals started to worry if everything was okay or asked how to unlock it. What were you supposed to tell them? That it just appeared?
What's worse, you started to treat Andrea like an ordinary person. A human being. Turning on the game during cleaning, cooking or making bed, talking to that little devil on the screen, and... listening to his stories. He spoke so beautifully. Talked about how he likes to spend his time (if not murdering angels), or what everyday life in Nilfheim is like. Sometimes he worried about the war, sometimes was happy when you stayed with him longer being off work.
"My blindness is truly a gift." He said one day with a dreamy smile.
"Why so?"
"In this daily hustle, if my eyes were still working properly, I certainly wouldn't be able to hear you, a small voice in my consciousness. I thought there was something wrong with me. But when I finally focused, you heard me too."
What he said was so similar to what you remembered about own feelings. Longing tightened your chest, longing for someone who didn't exist in this world, and that feeling turned into pain.
"I'm also glad we can hear from each other." Your voice changed noticeably.
Andrea sensed it.
"Now that we've been able to talk, maybe one day we'll be able to touch each other?" He held his hand out in front of him, but you knew he couldn't pass through the screen. Still, you placed a finger where his hand was. Stupid mind was tricking you that you could feel his warmth. Tears came to your eyes.
"One day." You whispered with a trembling voice. "I don't know how, but one day we will."
"Do not cry, please. I don't want you to ever cry because of me.”
You tried to keep calm, but it was no use. Maybe one day, in another time, in another reality. Maybe it will work. No, it has to work. No matter how crazy others might think you were, this wasn't the world you were supposed to stay in. Your intended one waited patiently on the other side of the screen. You just didn't know how to do it. Not yet.
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—the 1; leon kennedy.
ʚ leon kennedy x reader | resident evil | 2k words.
ʚ based on taylor swift's the 1. | you've requested for backup on a mission. the backup happens to be your ex-boyfriend, agent leon kennedy, whom you're not really over.
ʚ exes-to-lovers (kind of); fluff; some injuries because it's re; profanity.
ʚ a/n this fic came to be because i'mmissing my ukulele and the 1 was one of the first songs i learned on it. you can tell i suck at ending my fics nasjkgnajgnwr
You have requested for backup.
All of this zombie-slaying, information-hunting activity is usually not a walk in the park, but this mission is harsher than usual, taking everything out of you and then some. You fear that you may be flying home in a zipped-up plastic bag or worse, no homecoming at all. Lost in some city, a couple hours of chopper ride away from your cozy apartment—a terrible way to go.
Hunnigan's screen-lit face appears on your handheld device. You can hear the clack clack clack of a keyboard as she types away.
“Okay, you're not going to like this.” Her voice sounds through your in-ear.
“I don't like a lot of things.”
“He's the only agent available in the area,” she says slowly, as if she's weaving her way through a broken glass path. “I know your... history, but he's the only one who can help at the moment.”
“Okay, I take it back,” you protest. “I'll be fine without backup, Hunnigan. Don't—”
“Good luck.”
Her line goes down and you're left staring at an empty screen. Cursing under your breath, you're already attempting to connect back into the line, only to be answered by the constant tut tut of an answered call.
You're hunkering down inside an abandoned supermarket. Most of the townspeople are too bloodthirsty to care for a pack of Snickers and a can of Sprite. You're sitting on the ground, back leaning against the check-out counter. Faint moonlight trickles through the glass door as you sit in silent, pondering.
Is he really coming?
You are mature enough to handle the break up and the painstaking move out process (although you still have a jacket left at his place that you're too reluctant to grab). You don't think you can handle a whole mission with him, despite it having been over four months since the fateful 'it's over.'
You aren't mature enough to see him—afraid that it will have you reconsidering if walking out was a good idea (as much as you wanted to stay when he pulled the plug). Besides, he is tangled up with a past lover-turned-enemy and world-ending catastrophe. You're also busy with your own missions and your fair share of bioweapon disasters. Schedules clash, this was inevitable.
Fifteen minutes passed before you even attempt to contact Hunnigan once more. Her pixelated face reappears as usual.
“His ETA?” You finally ask. Beggars can't be choosers, and right now you're practically on your knees, pleading.
“Ten minutes,” she replies. “Stay put. He's been directed there.”
“Great,” you grumble. “Can't wait.”
Hunnigan sighs. “Keep me updated.”
With a click, the line is disconnected and you're left on your lonesome once again. Not for long, you assume, since apparently your former lover, Agent Kennedy is joining you soon.
God, what do you even say to him?
“Hey.”
“Jesus!” He jumps, not expecting you to be so close to the entrance door. “Hey.”
He stares at you, his flashlight blinding your eyes as he shines it in your direction. You use your hand to block some of the lights, still sitting with one of your knees bent, back pressed against the cashier counter.
He hasn't changed much since the last time you saw him. Same broad shoulders. Same dirty blond mop of hair with bangs that get into his eyes every so often. You once took the opportunity to tie his bangs up into a miniature ponytail that stuck up like a sprout on his head. He's also wearing the black leather jacket you helped him pick out. Too many memories, threads of your life too tangled to pull apart.
“Nice trip?” You want to recoil into yourself as you make small talk. It feels strange—you know him too well for this idle chat. At least, you used to. He switches off his flashlight, moving to investigate the supermarket you're sheltered in.
Leon's expression doesn't betray any emotion. Just the furrowed set of his eyebrow and thin line formed by his lips. You wonder if he has thought about you as much as you have him in the past few months.
“Yeah. Like going on a vacation,” he replies, pressing a button on the cash register which ejects the cash drawer. A loud ding sounds and somewhere outside a loud growl answers. “We should find somewhere safer. Let's rest up and make our move in the morning.”
“The managerial office is in the back,” you suggest. “Should be safe enough.”
It is safe but also somewhat cramped for two adults. A square room with one small window, a desk paired with a chair and a couch that takes up most of the space. Leon locks the door behind you as you settle on the carpeted floor, leaning back on the couch. You're so tired, having run around the infected city chasing tips that go up in smoke the closer you think you're getting.
“You okay?” Leon asks, coming to sit cross-legged across from you. Your ankle almost grazes his knees as he leans back on the wall. What a small room.
“Why wouldn't I be?”
“You did ask for backup.”
Sighing, you withdraw one of your legs, unzipping your boots and twisting your ankles, hissing when you feel a sharp pain. “I fucked up my leg running. Also got some minor cuts. I wanted backup in case I couldn't walk tomorrow.”
Leon's gloved hand is already reaching for your bruised ankle, but he stops before skin contacts skin. “Can I?”
“You don't have to. It's not as bad as it looks.”
“I know what a sprained ankle looks like,” he mutters. “Wait here.”
With that, he's gone and you let out a huge sigh of relief. You don't even realise how much his presence has compressed the air in your lungs until the moment he leaves. You should've just sucked it up and gone solo as you were supposed to. Does he share the same sentiment? Is he wishing that he is somewhere kicking his feet up and having tropical drinks instead of a dingy, abandoned supermarket with you?
Before you can dwell too long, the door reopens and Leon slips inside with an armful of knick-knacks. Bandages, snacks, bottled water and a half-melted ice pack. He spills them onto the floor and sits closer to you, bright blues staring at the swelling near your heel.
“Let me help,” he says.
Stubbornly, you shake your head. “I can do it myself.”
He calls your name for the first time in months and your heart feels like it's been jump-started to life—obnoxiously beating inside your ribcage.
“Yeah. Fine. Whatever,” you splutter. Gloved hands move to massage your foot, twisting your ankle so heartlessly you're hissing and hitting the floor with your fist. “Leon, what the fuck?”
“It will feel better,” he reassures and you hate when his reassurance works. His voice so suggestive it practically hypnotises you. You hope, for your sake, he never finds out the effect he has on you. In an attempt for distraction, he asks, “How have you been?”
“Excellent,” you hiss out. “Caught up with work, but I've been good. What about you?”
You half-wish that he hasn't been good, perhaps he drinks a little too much on some nights to forget you. You know you've been drinking a lot more since he left.
His eyes occasionally dart from your leg to your face as he continues rolling your ankle. “That's... good. I've been good, too.”
“I've been picking up new hobbies, too,” you continue. “Tried Wushu. I may return for more lessons after this.”
You don't tell him that on the first class you attended, there was a blue-eyed, blond-haired man who looked so much like him. You accidentally called the man Leon—which led to an awkward conversation you don't care to recall. You also don't tell him that you see glimpses of him in your peripherals as you go about your day.
“We planned to sign up together, but never got around to,” he muses.
That sentence encapsulates how your relationship went in the last couple of months before it ended. Spoken plans with no execution. Promises left hanging. Apologetic voicemails. Cancelled reservations.
Yet, despite it all, you and him were something great. You were mission partners-turned-friends-turned-lovers. You worked together so well, your chemistry was off the charts. Sometimes he knew what you were going to do before you did. It's ironic that the missions that brought you together is also the one that drove you apart.
“We should have.”
If you're a better person, you would have left well enough alone and ceased following the trail going down the reminiscence rabbit hole.
However, you are not.
He hums—a nonscandalous response that doesn't lead you further towards or away from the hungry monster that is nostalgia. His hands stop their ministrations, finally leaving your ankle alone and then grabs a roll of elastic bandage and starts wrapping them around the swelling.
“Heard you went on a date with... Angela, wasn't it?” You are poking a sleeping bear with a stick.
“Wasn't a date,” he clarifies—he knows doesn't have to, but there's a nagging feeling that won't leave you with the misunderstanding. “We're old friends.”
“Do you think we can still—” You swallow. One last chance to stop running your mouth, but you don't take the opportunity, carrying on foolishly, like an insect falling into a pitcher plant. “—sign up for the classes together?”
You just can't let what died rest in peace, just have to pull out your shovel to dig and poke at the dried earth. He doesn't realise but he pulls a little too hard on the bandage and you're swatting his arm, hissing.
“You're cutting off my circulation,” you protest.
“Sorry,” Leon sighs, undoing the bandage before rewrapping your ankle with a clean one. There's a deep set of frown on his face. It prompts you to immediately apologise.
“I shouldn't have asked,” you say. “I'm sorry.”
“Don't apologise.” He delicately secures the bandage and presses the melting ice pack onto your wrapped ankle.
You have one leg bent while the sprained one lies limp on the floor. You press your chin on your knee. “Thanks.”
“You should be able to walk it off in the morning,” says Leon. “You can have the couch. Get some rest. I'll keep watch.”
You express your gratitude once again as you pull yourself up, not moving your ice-compressed ankle too much as you sink into the soft cushions. “Good night, Leon.”
Leon pulls the chair out from behind the desk and sets it down next to the couch. He thinks you're asleep, but you suddenly call out to him and as much as he wants to pretend he doesn't hear you, he can't.
“Rest,” he orders.
“Do you think if—”
“Let's drop the what ifs,” he stubbornly interrupts.
However, you're just as stubborn as he is. Why else were you such a fitting pair? “I really thought you were it, you know, the one.”
Leon remembers walking out of his apartment after dropping the all-ending line. An argument over something not-so significant, but past small events kept being dogpiled on top of one another until it turned into you raising your voice and him being defensive. Each step out of the living room felt like shedding a part of himself. The empty drawers you left still remain unfilled to this day. He only sleeps on his side of the bed, even though yours has been cold for months.
“Get some rest.”
It's too late. The flood gate has been opened and everything is spilling over. You're too thick-skulled to quit now, choosing to drown if you have to.
“If I hadn't taken the job, would it be different?”
Leon stares at you, lips parting slightly, brow furrowed in confusion.
“It wasn't—”
“Don't give me that,” you interrupt. Your voice turns mocking. “It wasn't you, it was me. Yeah, right.”
“Why'd you think it was you?”
“I think it was both of us. I was just wondering if we could've done something.”
He lets himself be pulled under, too. A flood of repressed emotions he drowned by scraping the bottom of liquor suddenly comes up for air and he's already asking you, “Is it too late now?”
You move to sit up on the couch, facing him. “You tell me. What do you think, Leon?”
“I think I might've made a mistake, leaving.”
“We can fix that.”
[ ]
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It's the----- updated Madoka iceberg yaaay!
I'll only be discussing the additions on this one (in green) so please check out the old one for the original descriptions
Content warning fooooor: fetishes, child abuse, artists being perverted about children, suicide, death and organ trafficking. This is gonna be fun, huh
Let's goooo!
Sky:
Mami forever alone:
A bit of a joke/observation in the fandom. The popular pairings are Madoka and Homura, and Sayaka and Kyoko, often leading to Mami being alone which sadly suits her character... This is jokingly noticed in fanart and manga with Mami often being left out. Sadly it's also led to some darker pairings for her such as Kyubey, Nagisa and even the witch kissed woman from episode 2.
Witches speak:
Although witches are often silent or cry out like monsters. Two are known to have spoken. Elly speaks in reverse in episode 4 saying 'I really had fun today, I want to do it again. Next time, I'll bring a bentou'. Izabel also speaks in episode 10 to lure Homura into her labyrinth. However it is completely unconfirmed that the witches are actually speaking and it may even be their familiars.
Mildly related, Oktavia's scream from episode 9 is actually a distorted scream from Sayaka.
Walpurgisnacht festival:
Walpurgisnacht's name comes from the real world European festival of the same name, or Walpurgis night, that lands on the 30th of April or the 1st of May. Some people theorise that Walpurgisnacht actually arrives in Mitakihara on one of these days.
Walpurgisnacht rising:
The sequel film to Rebellion announced on April 25th, 2021... very little was first shown and not a sausage has been revealed since... v-v
Madoka Magica Cafe:
A temporary cafe set up around the release of the original anime in 2011. It offered special drinks and desserts as well as Madoka merch. It was extremely popular with waits of over 2 hours on opening day. A few more were held in Japan and Taipei.
Tip:
Magia Record Anime ver. Units:
Very controversial variant units from the Magia Record game. These units were criticised as lazy copies of existing characters. With either very minor differences to talk sprites or none at all, ugly battle sprites and lazy transformation animations ripped straight from the anime. These units were not received well with one of the only good aspects being the beautiful card art.
Juubey:
The Kyubey for the Pleides Saints in Kazumi Magica. Spoilers for the manga. He was an altered Kyubey that served the girls and purified their Soul Gems without need for Grief Seeds. After learning the truth about witches, the girls killed Kyubey and turned them into a Dependent-Version Incubator with the nickname Juubey and blocked out Kyubey's influence on the city.
Yeah, it's complicated XD
Covid delivery girls:
The dual unit Tsuruno Felicia Delivery Girls features face masks in their transformation and Magia sprite because the Covid pandemic was occuring when the unit was released.
Ebony:
Ebony was the third Puella Historia unit released in Magia Record being a girl from ancient Egypt. She is heavily criticised in the western fandom for not only having a terribly revealing and historically inaccurate outfit but for also being white. However, like Cleopatra, she could be Greek therefore her skin tone would be correct. This however does not excuse her poor design overall
On a similar note, how Cleopatra appears in Magia Record is incorrect as she is tanned in-game but has been confirmed by historians to have been white.
Cancelled figures:
What is says on the tin! Merchandise that was cancelled including a scale figure of Nagisa and figures of Yachiyo and Tsuruno in their casual clothes and uniform respectively (possibly prize figures). Some that are in a terrible limbo include the 1/8 scale Holy Mami figure, Figuarts mini of Mami, Sayaka and Kyoko and a 1/7 scale figure of Madoka in the style of Aoki Ume's art.
Rebellion was just fanservice:
My, my, a controversial one! Some people speculate that the sequel movie, Rebellion, was merely made for fanservice and money. This can be argued with the finite feeling to the anime's ending as well as the many tropes seen in the movie. It shows all the girls fighting happily together (a thing wanted by many fans), ties up loose ends with Sayaka and Kyoko and adds a fan favourite witch, Charlotte, into the main cast. I like to think this isn't the case but you can decide this yourself.
Masara Kokoro Bride ver.
A recent variant for Masara and Kokoro where Masara is in a wedding dress and Kokoro is in a tuxedo. Their description is that they're modelling for wedding photos but the gay theming is too overpowering for it to be simply platonic. The less than subtle hints at romance between two girls is a change for the series that loves to be ambiguous. The unit was very well received.
Kyubey and Charlotte scooters:
A unique piece of merchandise are scooters by Brain Police that feature decals of Kyubey and Charlotte. You can get yourself one for the low low price of 134,400 yen (£750). These are certainly unique, but quite a funny piece of merch
Lesbian Rika:
Rika from Magia Record is the only magical girl canonically who has been in love with another girl (don't get the pitchforks, SPECIFICALLY confirmed). Her wish was for her childhood friend to fall in love with her instead of the boy she liked which does work yet Rika realises it doesn't feel right and breaks up with her.
Shallows:
Trans Ria:
Ria is a magical girl from Magia Record, her wish was 'Turn me into a naturally beautiful girl'. This has led fans to believe that her wish was for her to transition from male to female. This can also be seen with her doppel Heide Jekyll that transforms from a dumpy blob in a rectangle to a feminine figure with a circle. Her witch's name also comes from Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde which is not only a male character but they were also known for transforming into an alter ego or a different person.
Devil Homura in Magia Record:
A total tease. Fans have been wanting Devil Homura as a unit in Magia Record since its very beginning however she still hasn't come. To add salt to the wound, the Magia Report version of her, Devil Homura-chan was added on April Fools 2022. It's speculated she may be released on Magia Day but she's still not here...
Alina Eve's name:
Alina Eve is a witch fusion of Alina, her doppel and Shitori Egumo who debuted in episode 25 of the Magia Record anime. In the anime, her name appeared in Runes as 'Neo Dorothy Motherfucker'. This links to her use of curses and her doppel's name, Old Dorothy. However, when her profile was revealed on the official twitter she was named Alina Eve and in-game she is called Neo Dorothy. The reason for the change and discrepancy is unknown but it may be because they didn't want to use swear words in media outside the anime.
Swimsuit Madoka's transformation:
An infamous one. When Madoka got her swimsuit unit her transformation was the first (and only so far) to use the live2D models instead of traditional animation. This was not well received and was a disappointment for one of the main character's units. The reason may have been time constraints but fans were not pleased.
Mami is Walpurgisnacht:
Forgive me, it's a little clickbait-y..! The reason is..! Mami's voice actress, Kaori Mizuhashi also voiced Walpurgisnacht in the anime. She also voiced Tatsuya, Madoka's little brother.
Fetishes:
Oh dear... we're getting here... Two magical girls have clear fetishes. Yukika gets pleasure from dangerous situations while Miyuri has a foot fetish that is probably played off for laughs... It is NOT okay to give child characters fetishes, okay? Fetishes are a sexual thing. Next.
Dub bloopers:
Bloopers for the English dub of the anime were released at Otakon 2012 (can be found on Youtube). It certainly feels like 2010s humour but it's still a little funny. Also great if you wanna hear some of the girls swear.
Iroha x Yachiyo:
Ugh. It is very clear from Magia Record media that Iroha and Yachiyo are played off very similarly to Madoka and Homura. While the pairing of Madoka and Homura is perfectly fine as they're both children, Iroha and Yachiyo are not. Yachiyo is an adult and Iroha is a child. The anime, merchandise, and the unit of them together rub salt into this wound as dual units are mostly seen as ship units by fans. It's disgusting and not okay.
Yuma's abuse:
Yuma is an abuse victim in Oriko Magica. (cw description of child abuse) Her father is absent (either neglectful or has left) and her mother, Mako, would beat and burn her with cigarettes as well as kick her out of the house for long periods of time. Her parents are killed in the original manga and she is taken in by Kyoko because of her similarity to her late sister Momo. In Extra Story she never contracts and is living happily with her grandparents.
Deep Waters:
Gan:
Ugh again. Gan is the artist behind Suzune Magica (probably the least liked spin off lol) who is infamous for their clear lack of restraint in making children sexualised. Arisa has an outfit with circles right where her nipples are, Chisato has an outfit with a strip of fabric for a skirt and she is canonically uncomfortable with it and they love giving older characters enormous (and unrealistic) breasts. The art they draw of their UNDERAGE characters is always sexual and borderline pornographic and. Not. Okay. (even told by Magireco staff to tone down their puella historia character, haha fuck you)
Takashi Tensugi
The illustrator for Kazumi Magica. Their disgusting taste is evident in the character design for the protagonists as well as sexual and revealing shots in the manga but I've also heard that they've drawn hentai before. No I'm not going to fucking look for that thank you. But... another bad egg in the spin off manga series... Not okay
Masugitsune
ANOTHER BAD EGG! One of the illustrators for Tart Magica and also the illustrator for Yukika (you can tell where this is going). Sexualises minors, just like every madoka spin-off artist seems to... Has drawn Yukika in revealing swimsuits and bunny costumes as well as the rest of the Tart cast. Remember, they're all children----! NOT OKAY!
Riz's former companions names
Omg thank god we're past the nonce section... Riz had unnamed magical girl companions in Tart Magica that have been slowly named by their artist. Their names are... pretty shit honestly as they're just named after their weapons. They are Machete, Frusta and Falce with one being still unnamed.
Kuroe was a marketing stunt:
Not confirmed of course but... Kuroe was introduced at the very beginning of the Magia Record anime with her being the only new character. She disappeared for the rest of the series until the very end with a very lacklustre and ineffective ending. One could imagine that her inclusion and focus was to grip watchers into continuing with an otherwise pretty underwhelming series. But... take it how you wish...
Livia's backstory:
Hey, this isn't new! I hear you say! Well, it's not new, but it's changed! The original iceberg said that her backstory may have been linked to a miscarriage but NOPE its worse! She was actually almost a victim of organ trafficking when she was a child. And later in life, she watched one of her friends die on her wedding day as she was run over by a tractor that she caused to malfunction...
Himena and Hiko:
Himena's wish was for her boyfriend to be with her within her. After... her boyfriend committed suicide yaaayyy! (sarcasm) The end of this iceberg isn't very nice, is it? Her boyfriend didn't want to come back and now he's stuck with her forever.
Well... that's it! Sorry it became a bit of a bummer at the end...
Have a plushy Charlotte for making it to the end! Yay!
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Devlog #135
Hi-ho, Wudge here!
jksdbj I finally put some expressions together for Ko-Fi after a delay I've felt very guilty about, and Ko-Fi won't let me post it. :( CURSES. It keeps logging me out when I'm on the herotome page?? ???
I suppose all I can do is to store it here on tumblr for now, and try ko-fi again tomorrow
More Warden expressions! One of these days I'll move onto Griffin.. one of these days.... Her eyebrows genuinely intimidate me.
Anyway.
I'm not sure I have much to update with. I did some more potential-future-antagonist sprite design (Clammy Lady's boss) and feel like I haven't made as much forward progress as I really should. It's already April... 😩 Looking through some previous devlogs, it seems I wrote some trashfire first draft and stored it somewhere. I should probably look for and get back to it.
Stay safe and keep warm,
Wudge.
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Progress Update on Melodi
Hello, everyone!
Happy New Year!
On December 15th 2023, I made the public announcement that Lil Miss Rarity will receive no further comic updates from me, finally confirming a common theory that I had lost the will to continue creating it. Lil Miss Rarity, just to confirm here, is now public domain and I encourage fan-blogs and will proverbially pass the torch to anyone who would like to take up the mantle.
It wasn't an easy decision to make because of how many times I'd promised I would never stop updating it, and I did in fact have future plans for it (I will be making a video on YouTube describing how I'd planned to continue the story, and how I would have ended it if I ever did).
But in its wake came Melodi, a spiritual successor to Lil Miss Rarity, and I've decided that a story-driven video game with ongoing updates would be the smartest decision, at least for the introduction to the series.
And so along came this twiggy elf. (Important note: Her booby size on her sprite is exaggerated, same as her head size. The in-game art for cutscenes will show more proper body proportions.)
Melodi is now just four directional (diagonal movement) sprite animations away from being a complete character sprite, which means creating a proof of concept will be just a matter of time.
As of today, I have completed:
The intro cutscene for the game, leading to the introduction of Melodi and her teacher, Eliah Sterium (Multiple full color images accompany that cutscene)
Seven unique songs entirely composed by myself (Literally learned how to make music a week ago just for this project)
Four directional movement sprites consisting of 6 frames of pixel animation each direction (Including separating each part to make them usable for other characters' sprites)
Four directional idle animations consisting of 6 frames of animation each direction (Again, making paperdolls to use later for other characters)
A discord server for the ongoing production of Melodi RPG where I'll be answering questions, including answering as the characters from the game similar to the LMR ask-blog
27 (just counted) preliminary sketches to flesh out character designs and have reference for myself
Eliah Sterium's design, making the ladies go gaga
Mountains of lore (a lot of which can be found in the Discord's lore channels)
Personalities for the primary cast of deadbeat magic school students
Art for the title screen
The entire storyboard for Episode 1 and Episode 2
The pricing model for the game (Episode 1 will be a free demo, and all remaining episodes will be bundled together in a $10 purchase)
The "Pet Cwow" option on the Quit Game menu and what happens when you pet him (You'll see)
The entire intro in-engine (Screencapped above with Eliah there)
Many new fans/friends who've introduced themselves in the Discord
And, I have received (on December 31st) my very first negative review of the game, which I will cherish. Someone who knew nothing other than "It's a game about an elf who goes psychotic" and saw the title art said that the game was basically doomed to fail because Melodi has large breasts, to which I replied "Imagine being this fucking butthurt over tits existing" which set him off into an obnoxious and insulting rage that ended with "Enjoy nothing but horny virgins playing your game and ignoring the dog water, generic ass story." A quote that I will never, ever, ever forget, and if I someday make a physical release of the game, I promise you, that quote will be on the back of the box.
There's even more than just all this, I've already sunk tons of hours of time and effort into the production of Melodi and I am super excited to continue.
I want to thank everyone for the support of the game so far, and I hope once people know more about the story and characters, the game sees the same kind of fandom that Lil Miss Rarity once had.
Luv you all
~Jay Tonique
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About twenty years ago (probably closer to nineteen), I finished my playthrough of Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life.
This morning, I finished my (first?) playthrough of the A Wonderful Life remake.
Well before I finished, I decided I wanted to make a post talking about it, giving my general thoughts on it. And I'll probably just end up rambling. Who knows if it's at all interesting to people but. Here goes.
Being able to save and load anywhere at any time is such a game changer. Holy moly. Even though I didn't really have to do a whole lot of reloading (except where fishing requests were concerned). But it still felt very good to have.
On a related note, the remake is so transparent about its mechanics, it's amazing. I know that AnWL already had some tranparency added to it (especially wrt your kid), but just. Having as much info as the remake gives you, at all times, is nuts. Makes things so much easier to finagle around.
Likewise, thank god for automatically recording cooking recipes. It was already practically impossible to remember how to make anything in the GCN games. The fact that the Harvest Sprites gave you a new recipe every day also helped. As did telling you when your cooking skill levelled up, because the GCN games didn't tell you anything.
Characters actually sound distinct now! The thing about mediocre localizations is that you don't know what you're missing out on until you get a good localization. And wow, the amount of personality shown by having characters speak differently adds a shocking amount.
Even with all of the QOL updates... the main thing that makes me never wanna touch the GCN games again is that they're a lot less bugged. I once again blame the old localization.
(you think there's weird stuff going on in the remake. you have no idea.)
That being said, aside from being able to select your pronouns at the start of the game, the cast (including yourself) don't really do much of anything to gender you. AnWL gave me so much gender euphoria before I even knew what it was. (Not to mention the FoMT remake set the bar for being gay in a way that AWL is set up couldn't really replicate). So... who knows. Maybe I'll end up replaying it someday anyway.
Granted, I say that, but as I was typing that sentence I thought about how the event for giving your toddler a bath was broken so that you could not give him one. Instead of a Yes/No prompt the game just said "Several days later..." and then continued like you had said no. Maddening.
Nuts to it, someone just give me an annotated textdump.
After so much hemming and hawing about who to marry in the remake, I ended up just marrying Nami again. One part autistic lesb solidarity, one part her kid being so goshdang powerful. Either way, I joked about how nothing about me had changed in twenty years.
Once I got to chapter two, I started screencapping like crazy. Got almost 400 of them on my switch now. I just wanted to note everything I could about what my darling baby girl was doing throughout her life. Also my wife.
In my original playthrough, even though I tried to influence my son into either art or academics, he ended up becoming a farmer. But then again, I also didn't understand how to influence him optimally. Which sounds awful out of context. Oh well, at least his life was mostly organic.
I managed to get my daughter into academics before chapter two ended. Probably the most interesting thing that happened was how her dialogue changed. She started reciting her ABC's to herself, and mumbled about books, and said that gemstones were like puzzle peices. It was darling.
Since I've only played the entire game with Nami's child, though, I do wanna replay the game just so that I can see what a different kid is like.
Problem is, it just brings back the marriage problem. And the child career problem, because even if I marry Muffy, like hell will I raise an athlete (but I don't want scholar again... but also if they're an artist they run away from home after the game ends, which is kinda messed up).
A lot of people in the village make comments about how air conditioning isn't good for people's health. They did that in the original game too, if memory serves, but it's still weird. Is this a thing in Japan, or was the person that wrote those parts of the dialogue have a vendetta of some kind?
This is another thing that I know got changed in AnWL, but I'm still so glad that chapters are only one in-game year long. There's a special kind of pain to get to the end of the year, only to learn there's more you need to play before you see your kid get older.
Despite that, I still got a whole lot done, to the point that I spent most of the last two years just idling because I had nothing else to do. Same way I got to the endgame of the original, come to think of it.
I never bought the teddybear. I wasn't gonna do it when my daughter was a teen by the time I had the money. I'm not that dumb. Doesn't do anything but be spoopy anyhow.
I seem to remember the seed maker being instant in the GCN game. If it was, it got seriously debuffed in the remake-- you can only put up to twelve crops in at a time, and it takes 20 in-game hours for the seeds to be produced. Obviously meant to balance how absurdly high tree seeds could be sold for, but the prices were already slashed to pieces, so it was just overkill and made it hard to keep up with what crops I did or didn't have seeds for.
I genuinely hope I never have to make nine of each rare crop again. I mean, technically I never had to anyway, but I did and it was so much pain.
Cows are absurdly expensive in the remake. I guess it's to balance the fact that there's no limit on how long cows can be milked, but
here's the dirty secret
If you have a cow and a bull, they'll mate on their own without you needing to order for it. My cows in the GCN games were constantly getting pregnant. Anyone who complains about cows going dry was doing it wrong.
Sheep are significantly more affordable, though. So I ended up getting mostly those instead.
That being said, a star/brown/marble cow giving S Milk (and the latter two getting their milk processed into butter and cheese respectively) does give you more profit than golden wool does... until you get the Blessed Clippers and you start getting two bundles of wool per sheep (which is insane). But wowie are they expensive...
My new personal hell is having a dozen sheep following me around to scream at me. Did they do that in the original(s)? I never bothered with them....
I'm still sad Flora's not a marriage candidate.
As I mentioned, I was basically without anything to do by the end of the game. Which makes the infinite postgame chapter's existence kinda funny? I don't know what else I'd want to do with that, since as far as I've been able to tell nobody has new dialogue.
No really. I can't even 100% the game anymore because Van stops selling goats, I have over 5 million G, I've grown each one of every plant, caught every fish, dug up all the digsite items, and have all in-game achievements. What would I wanna keep playing for?
Also, why isn't Nina in said postgame chapter? If it's the afterlife anyway, then she should be there too, dangit!
I still don't understand why the dog is trainable.
The player's child is so adorable. I love my daughter so much, she's such a sweetheart.
Wish her self-esteem wasn't so low from chapter 3 onwards, though... another reason to see the game married to somebody else.
I am so grateful there's no friendship decay for the villagers.
What a great game.
And now, some of me rambling about my history with the series:
I don't know what drew me to the original AWL game. All I knew is that there was coverage of it in an issue of Nintendo Power, and I just kept reading and re-reading it. I had a couple friends that swore by the HM games (in particular, 64 and StHL), but beyond that I guess something about it intrigued me to the point that it became a game I really wanted. Had a plan of how I would run the farm and who I'd marry. And counted the days before I finally got it (must've been a birthday or Christmas present).
And I played through it, beginning to end. Despite my brother scorning it. Despite one of the friends that swore by HM64 thinking it was such a watered down derivative it made him laugh several times even as he tried playing it himself.
I also got the girl version when it came out. Don't remember how I afforded it, but I remember that I was too embarrassed by wanting it to let anyone know I did get it but myself. Never managed to finish it, but boy howdy did it have a lot of gender euphoria. I got to be a mom.
...I tried other HM games since. I got Magical Melody (which I recall using Action Replay to turn my player character into a girl that make perfect sense to me now but I don't know what I had been thinking at the time), but dropped it shortly after my wife started expecting.
I got both versions of HMDS (mermaid wife yes please), but only stuck with them for about two or three in-game years each.
I got Isle of Happiness, but honestly the fact that every item had decay to it stressed me to the point I couldn't play without Action Replay codes to keep everything top quality and freshness forever-- and even then the crap you gotta juggle is crazy. Played long enough to marry the Witch though, so that ruled.
I got Hero of Leaf Valley, and that one I actually stuck through to the end (including forgetting how many zeros were in fifty thousand and ended up raising up half a million G before the second year's end), but got too paralyzed with indecision on who to marry (it was mainly between Gwen and Aurelia, since I read that Alice couldn't be raised to red heart after the credits. Game seemed to have thought I had my sights set on Lyla, though).
I tried Rune Factory 4... but something about it just didn't vibe with me so I bounced early.
Every now and then, I thought about going back to A(n)WL, or maybe trying a different one. Never did, though. And Stardew or other inspired's didn't ever really grab me.
And yet I inhaled the chance to play the AWL remake when the time came. And now I've finished it. Go figure. I'm still not sure what it is about that game specifically that calls to me.
I think the amount of interactability with your kid is a big factor, though.
#story of seasons#story of seasons: a wonderful life#A Wonderful Life#harvest moon: a wonderful life#SOS AWL#HM AWL
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Immortal Desires Project Update!! [Finally]
Hello my friends! I'm so sorry about the radio silence. There's been a lot going on in my personal life, so progress has been a little slow!
However, I have some big updates and more sneak peeks, including three new characters, since I've starved you all of updates.
To start: We're looking for more writers. One of our writers had to back away for personal reasons, so it's down to a two people team. If you're interested, pop into the message box so we can chat :) To be able to join the team, you must be 18+. No exceptions to this rule.
In way of programming... There's been a lot of progress. I've been working on this for weeks now, and for being literally brand-spanking-new to the world of coding, there's a lot of progress and it's coming out well. The custom character menu is done, animations for various objects are done... Just have to tighten some screws and we're probably good to start implementing the chapters!
... And chapter 1 is nearly complete! The base layout of the story is feeling pretty solid as well. I know this isn't the most comprehensive writing update, but there will be more soon.
There are many new characters being added to the game. It's taken a lot of time to make quite a few of them, minus the more side-esque characters (think of like Margot or Nicole). Speaking of, here are two of your new potential besties! Meet Solana and Julian!
Before we continue, yes, Julian is basically reskinned Donovan from MAH. In my defense, the sprite is just too beautiful to never be used again! He's also a mix with the green-haired bully man who pops up from time to time. At the moment, he's your run-of-the-mill half sprite; I'm hoping to give him an actual body soon. Then we have our non-binary god/dess, Solana! They're not entirely new, but they're heavily edited with hair that is 10/10 stolen from Morgan in HSS:CA; I've always loved Morgan's hair. You can possibly meet them when you first arrive in...
BOSTON! There'll be a slight change in scenery for some of IDFP, but Crimson Beech will still be joining along for the ride.
As for our third new character, one that took me days to work on... [TW: GORE but it's underneath the GIF of how it felt making her and wanting to bash my head into a wall for like a week]
Meet Priscilla! Literally nothing else is being revealed about her!
To close, all of the masc MC sprite sheets are done. However, despite being non-binary myself (as in Devlin), I know nothing about fashion, especially masc/cis-male. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm nothing but an edgy punk and don't explore much outside of that, outside of wearing slacks and button ups to work. Anywhoo, all of the original outfits in ID have been resized to the new body sizes! I also have a few new outfits for the masc MC!
And here's a couple more femme MC sprites I fiddled with!
Thank you all for the support, despite Pixelberry announcing an official ID2. I've definitely been feeling the love, and again, I do apologize for the lack of updates. Between school, personal bizz, work, and developing this project, it's been hard to squeeze in the time. Maybe I'll try my hand at doing text updates for the future; I just like being able to have substance for all of you.
PLEASE CONTINUE TO ASK US QUESTIONS. We like answering them (unless they don't have an answer, am sorry)! We want to know about ya'lls opinions and curiosities. Without all of you, this game would not be in development and it may have been dropped by now if we didn't have all of this support coming our way. Truly, thank you.
#idfp update#immortaldesiresfanproject#immortal desires#immortal desires fan project#pixelberry studios#choices stories you play#pixelberry#murder at homecoming#high school story choices#high school story#high school story class act
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After a long time, finally! Habemus BoS demo!
The demo covers the first story arc, up to Seihai's arrival in Genkaku, but the next arc is already written and coded, all that's needed is to organize the character sprites and some unforeseen issues.
In this story you will predominantly play as Seihai and Erika (customizable name). Erika will be the point of view in Eel, but it won't be possible for her to flirt with LI's, for that we already have the canon story, right?
ROUTES
At first I thought I'd only write Tenjin's route (yep, it's him), but as the story expanded, I've decided that I'd also develop two others, which turned out to be one of the reasons that led me to start this visual-fic.
Enemies to lovers route (Nevra)
Atlas Complex route (Ezarel)
I'm not sure if I'm going to develop any routes for Lance, as much as I think he has potential in BoS, I'm not a Lance expert. I think I write him better as a plot device than as LI.
As for Leiftan, he won't be a route. But still, he plays a very important part in BoS!
Routes will be unlocked in future updates, with no prediction as to when.
GENERAL DISCLAIMERS
The disclaimers are already listed in their respective sections of the game, but I think it's best to make them clear here too:
It's a non-profit project, the visual version of my Eldarya fanfic: Blood on Snow, with some improvements.
Fanfiction = FICTION written by a fan, remember that.
None of the resources used belong to me, but the plot and the writing of the story are my responsibility. I have no ties to the company.
Just as the writing of the fanfic is my responsibility, it is your obligation to respect the numerous warnings I have put. Only you know your psychological limits, this story both on AO3 and here is rated +18. High potential for triggers and if you insist, you're on your own, I wash my hands of it. You've been warned (again).
My priorities for the moment are: force myself to get rid of writing block Leif's arc has put me; and find a non time/energy-consuming way of providing translated versions of the demo. As things are now, I'd have to start the project from scratch, which it wouldn't be a problem if it weren't for the amount of issues the engine caused at first, issues I would have to face again for the sake of translations. But I'll find a way, dunno how.
OVERVIEW:
Tried to emulate the "Eldarya TO experience" as much as I could, but Blood on Snow remains mostly a visual fanfic, following the visual novel structure.
Any bugs, please, inform me (with a print, for it's easier to identify)
Well, I guess that's all.
Here's the link: DOWNLOAD
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Sprite template: Guildmaker7
Pink Pro Update!
The Yuri Game Jam is over, and it still feels strange to me to have submitted well in advance (Then I remembered that the deadline was pushed back by like a week, so I would have submitted just in time, but details-). Deciding to post a demo rather than the whole game turned out to be a good choice for my peace of mind.
Now, I should make a pretty and tidy (One of the two adjectives might be wrong) update, but first I want to present you a flashback from a few days ago:
---Flashback---
*Soe enters
*Soe sees real money
*Soe implodes
*Soe waits a couple of days to see if it was a misclick - Yes, even the confirmation one
*Soe realizes
*Soe implodes again
*Soe's mass is not enough to generate a gravitational collapse, so there's no black hole but just an amazed fish
Person who decided to offer me a hot chocolate, thank you. I still find it hard to believe, but I thank you very much! °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°
---Flashback End---
So, it was said. Pink Pro. The update, yes.
Changes and additions
Since I have more time and can do things more slowly, I decided to fix a few things that I wasn't sure about.
For example, Sus's house. You can't visit it in the demo, and in a second time I'll show you a "before-after", but trust me when I say that the first version was absolutely plain and uninspiring - It's even more comical when you consider that it's reiterated how rich Sus is and how her house is ridiculously big. Now I am much more satisfied! It's certainly not the most beautiful map I've ever made, but I find it does its honest job much better than the previous one.
Among other differently useful things I decided to add there is the change of NPCs inside the Pink Jewel and the Magnolia Jane after some time.
Given that time is actually passing (I mean, something is likely to happen in the evening, right?), it seemed silly to me for the customers to be walking around the shops for 12 hours.
It doesn't impact the plot at all, but I think it gives the setting a bit more three-dimensionality.
(Yes, I also entertained the idea of changing customers with each finished order, but my imagination for NPC dialogue is very poor, I don't want to suffer).
Characters' expressions
When I made the expressions, I got a bit carried away, so now Chantal has many more than I had planned. However, this means that I didn't do some expressions that I should have done and that I came up with others-
According to my fantastic to-do list, the expressions that are missing are: 4 for Chantal, 2 for Janet (Yes, Janet has more than two expressions!), 1 for Margrit, 3 for Kenicea and Silsdia, 2 for Saster, Byma and Nicopte (Yes, she also has expressions!), 4 for Sus, Zora and Deilela. The last three might have one less, depending on how they look best.
My relationship with doing expressions is: sometimes, I get on and do them all in less than an hour, without any problem. Other times, for reasons unknown, I spend an hour doing one, which also turns out ugly.
In this case, however, it is not a matter of procrastination - I often literally just forget to do them. (๑꒪▿꒪)*
Other ideas
Since I have more time, I was thinking about adding another, simpler CG - Just coloured lineart on a unicolour background.
On the other hand, I decided to scrap a small idea I had planned to do if I had more time / for a possible update: Chantal's sweets designs.
I would like to show off her "eye-catching" style more concretely, but when I tried to draw them, I realized that was definitely not the case (Let's say, like, no one in the world would have realized that the Île flottante was an Île flottante and not an ugly sponge).
The options, then, are three:
One day I'll be able to draw better and I'll put pretty pictures for all the recipes;
One day I'll go begging for people who can draw pretty food;
Imagination is a wonderful gift, imagine these beautiful recipes in your mind ♡♡♡
Cutscenes
As for the cutscenes, however, I am exactly halfway through, at the third order. I therefore have to finish the third order, do the fourth and fifth, the final climax and the epilogue.
To reassure you, as already mentioned, in the midst of all this there are also Important Scenes, and those have all been done.
And that's it for Pink Pro!
Yes, of course, it's because I'm also working on something else - I can't concentrate on the same thing for more than two days in a row if I don't have at least one side project.
I'll talk about that, though, in the next few days - The devlog on Candy Apple has become the devlog on Candy Apple and Red Riding Hood and the Little Bad Wolf, just as the projects on Three Yellow Quartzes will need a separate devlog.
Thanks for listening, and see you next time!
#pink pro#rpg maker#yuri game jam#monster girl#yuri visual novel#yuri game jam 2023#rpgmaker#devlog#devblog
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HPHM Cardverse Ad
HPHM Cardverse Masterlist
The Hogwarts Mystery Cardverse is an AU that takes place in a fantasy land called Cinderhaven. There are five regions, four of them representing a suit of cards; Spades, Clubs, Hearts, Diamonds. The final region representing the Jokers.
Warnings: None
Tag List: @catohphm @lifeofkaze @eternalchaoschocolaterain @oneirataxia-girl
If you want to be updated on content for the AU, let me know and I'll put you on the tag list!
A/N: Ads, ads, ads everywhere! What’s the point of telling Tumblr I’m not interested in them if they’re just gonna show it again after five damn posts?! .°(ಗдಗ。)°. Anyways, here have an ad for HPHM Cardverse. I finally got to draw Veruca in her rebels outfit! I actually like it, and I made use of her post Hogwarts hairstyle when she’s an auror. Also, yes, Gambat is gonna be Veruca's method of attack for her common sprite. Since Gambat actually has a major role during the rebellion by passing letters to and from Orion to keep him updated on Spades' situation.
❌ NO REPOSTING ❌
＊➖＊➖＊➖＊➖＊➖＊➖＊➖＊
As soon as the wolf and raven have fallen, the lioness shall bring forth an age of tyranny.
Justice demands retribution!
Once steel turns to rust, the young sister of the wolf shall bring the rise of hope. It shall be then, when the air turns white and gray, the young woman shall cause an era of retribution and bring forth the downfall of unjust cruelty and oppression.
#ariparri#veruca mcquaid#Gambat#hphm cardverse#hphm#hphm mc#hogwarts mystery#hogwarts mystery mc#man if I knew how to make a game I’d totally make this into one xD#harry potter hogwarts mystery#hphm meme#game ads#reference: afk arena
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Weeks have passed, and after an eventful summer, Coraleye has been doing her best to attend her last year in University. Unlike her previous years, however, she doesn't have Mira or the rest of her crew by her side, and life is really starting to get her down. Needing to talk to someone, she invites her friend Sid out for coffee and a study session.
Sid: Well hello, you! Thanks for the coffee. I haven't heard from you in a while... How's it going?
Coraleye: Oh you know... It's going, ha. I'm sorry, I haven't had much time for friends or sprites or anything I'd planned on doing this semester, honestly.
Sid: Hey, no... No need to apologize. You've got a lot going on right now. Loads of homework, drama back home, and... [frowns] ... your poor granddad. How is Seymour, by the way? Any better?
Coraleye: Well... He's been able to talk some. But my mom is saying he doesn't have much more time with us, and here I am, on the other side of the world for [gestures at stacks of books on table] THIS. I should be spending the little bit of time he has left with him.
Sid: Well I'm sure he'd want this for you, Cor.
Coraleye: Well, that's the only reason I'm putting in the effort. I don't want to be in Britechester right now. I just wish-
Coraleye hunches over, her face dropping into her palms.
Coraleye: [Voice cracks] I just wish I could be stronger for him.
Sid sympathetically pats Coraleye on the back for moral support.
Sid: You don't have to be strong, Corie. You've got me, and your other Britechester friends, and your family, all here to lift you up. And your wife, right?
Coraleye: [Sigh] Yeah... you're right. I mean, Mira has decided to prolong her honeymoon with Starling through the rest of the year. She said she'd be right here if I needed her, I just don't want to intrude. It's true though, I have a wonderful support system to get me through this. I guess I'm just overwhelmed and exhausted, and I'm miles and miles away from-
Sid: Let me guess... Mr. Curious?
Coraleye blushes and quickly covers her face to hide it.
Coraleye: [Shrugs] Maybe...
🌕Momo's Note:
Hello friends! Just wanted to ramble for a bit here. I'm starting to feel a bit better so I was hoping to get back into storytelling here soon, hence this update♥ Unfortunately, I'm starting to feel like I really need to do a cc/mod overhaul. It takes far too long to load the game, there's a lot that's broken for me, and I honestly just need a fresh start. I have a HUGE unorganized journey ahead of me though, and I'm still not too certain how I'm going to tackle it, so the blog will most certainly be a lot slower when it comes to updates and activity. I have a few more posts I could make from previous screenshots, but after that it may be a while before you see daily posts again.
In the meantime, please feel free to send OC asks or look back on any posts you may have missed prior. I'll be here if you need me, and thank you so much for your patience 💕
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Touhoumon Purple (pinned post)
This is a pinned post! There is newer blog content below this point, but the rest of this post is contained beneath the Read More button.
Last update: March 19th, 2023
Documentation, downloads:
Changelog:
New documentation hub and landing page. It's included as a link to a Google Spreadsheet. While this is primarily the same as the contents of the text files, its easier on you for not having to juggle like ten tabs or whatever.
Mandatory Strength boulders have been pre-moved by default. Optional ones for items still require the HM, however.
Starters now evolve at level 30 instead of level 36. Learnset levels are adjusted for starter Chibi forms and evolved forms, including stone evolutions.
Red UFOs exchanges changed. They are now used for IV maxing NPCs near Mossdeep.
There are four NPCs with different IV spreads.
One is all 31. This is for most casual users in-game.
One is Attack 0, rest 31. This is to minimize self-damage from confusion on puppets that aren't using their Attack stat. Very min-maxy.
One is Speed 0, rest 31. This is even more niche and min-maxy than the last; the only use case for this is for purposefully slowing puppets down for Baton Pass. Gen 3 will sometimes use Baton Pass as a neutral turn switch, similar to U-Turn.
The last is Attack/Speed 0, rest 31. This is very niche and min-maxy. This is again for Baton Pass, but also minimizes confusion self-damage.
EV training NPCs in the Frontier changed. They now give 4 EVs in their listed stat per battle. This slows the process of EV training down but makes it way easier to make specialized EV spreads.
All TMs are now in Lilycove Mart, as well as the "rare" berries
Tori can now evolve into Chibi versions of the birds in the sprite
Yes, this does some absolutely ridiculous things to their movepools. blast burn mystia lets goooooooo
Tewi, Attack Tewi, and Defense Tewi can now all fully slide
Attack and Defense could already slide, so this just makes it funnier. Use a Power Shard on Attack Tewi to turn her into normal Tewi, etc
no advent though she can keep that movepool to herself
"Energy Ball" has, finally, been renamed to "Focus Blast"
Evolved Koishi now holds PP Up at 50% and PP Max at 5%
Reisen II buffs, finally
-- Typing is now Heart/Fire
-- Stats are now 65 HP, 60 ATK, 80 DEF, 130 S.ATK, 65 S.DEF, 85 Speed
-- Her level-up movepool is unchanged, but she can learn a huge mess of special moves via TM now. This makes her usable if you want to, but you have to invest in her pretty heavily depending on what you may want to run
-- Her primary ability is now Magnet Pull
-- Gained Pickup as a secondary ability
Added another above-curve item, similar to Elder Pain and Psycho Wand
-- It functions as a Quick Claw that always activates. Due to its relative ease of obtaining compared to the previous two items, there is only one way to obtain it unless playing the Sandbox version
This is actually the final update to this hack because I'm sick of binary hacking. It's tedious, slow, annoying, and things can just break. I'm tired of making multiple gigabytes of backups just because I want to change some images or text around.
This project is done! Complete, finished. There is nothing more that I can reasonably fit into this game anymore that I want to include.
I want to be done with this project.. so I am! Unless something is broken, I guess. If it literally does not function by my own fault, I'll fix it, but I'm not adding or changing anything else from this point on.
The shift to a Google Sheet is because we anticipate the current hosting, and by extension website, to go down permanently.
While backups are in place whenever a new hosting plan is picked out, this will continue to exist as a central information hub just so you don't have to thumb through multiple text files and wiki dive.
As of the time of posting this, the documentation is not 100% complete - I have yet to do level-up movesets and TM/HM compatibility, but I intend to work on that soon enough.
There are a few more things cooking right now, so stay tuned!
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My opinion about Another Code : Recollection Part 1
First of all, I'm an old fan of the serie, so of course I compared the Switch compilation and the DS and Wii version.
I don't want to discourage people who are curious and want to play the game. If you're even a lil bit interested in them, play them, on DS, Wii or Switch, pick your poison and make your own opinion on it.
Don't take my word as the absolute thing or whatever. It's not because I'm mixed about it that people shouldn't play it. Because I still think that a game that was, to me, very niche, from a studio that went bankrupt AND from 2005, is incredible. For a game like that to get a fully voiced remake almost twenty year after the release of its first installment, with most of the old crew working on them is to be celebrated !
Even if I didn't like everything, they still did an amazing job and I'm glad to see the franchise alive again in 2024.
I have strong feelings and I feel the need to share them to see if someone "relates" or not.
I may talk about spoilers but I'll try to limit them, be vague and put a warning before and after if I state it clearly.
Soo, now that this "introduction is over ~
In this essay I will
I have a LOT to say about Another Code Recollection. Good and Bad. Sadly, I have more things to say about the bad than the good. I have mixed feeling about it.
I was very VERY excited when Recollection was first announced, I cried even, because I care about "Another Code Two Memories" and "Another Code R" A LOT, it's my childhood, they're in my top fav games list, they were very meaningful to me and I was sad it ended with Cing and with no hope of seeing the conclusion of Matthew's story.
Even tho I was happy, I was still a bit scared about how they would adapt some of the puzzle on the switch. And I think I was right to have this fear. They did some cool things and others that I disliked.
I'll say my "+" and "-" and develop them further bellow each point.
+ Positive :
The graphism
They're very nice, the characters's models are nicely done, the scenery and everything else is definitely a BIG glow up (mostly compared to the DS graphics)
The Redesign
I like some of them a LOT, big glow up for almost everyone. I particularly love Charlotte and Janet. Charlotte finally looks her age!
I kinda miss the old Matthew but his new version is also good.
Puzzles use the Switch motions thingy
Just a few of them tho. I think that's cool, because they sadly don't use it very much in other games. And it's nice to see them try to replicate the same feeling you had with the DS and Wii games.
Confirmation of theories and new bits of story
It's nice to see that after all these years.
/!\SPOILER/!\
I'm thinking about Frannie's relative.
/!\END OF SPOILER/!\
Musics
They nailed the music; it still has that nostalgic and lonely vibe for Two Memories and the carefree with a hint of sadness vibe in R.
Voice Acting
A very nice addition and very well done. I know there's English Dub but I played it with the Japanese voices. And being able to choose between them is nice.
Possibility to switch language
That's maybe a very "me" + point, but the fact that I could change the game in every language available is cool. Even more for the jp, cause now if I want to I could try and practice my reading skills because there's an option to have katakana and hiragana on top of kanji. I just think that's neat.
Hint mode
I just tried it in the tutorial but I think it's a nice touch for when you don't know where to go or how to resolve a puzzle.
Relationship between Ashley and D
The way they would mimic each other poses was all I ever wanted. I love them a lot and seeing them being a little bit closer than I remember them to be in the DS version was great !
Art
The new sprites are very pretty and it's nice to see the improvement the artist made. The endcredits was very pretty !
Flowchart & Map
I like to see flowchart in any type of game, it's helpfull and pretty. I like that it was updated along with the story. And I also enjoy the map and the little commentary Ashley was "writing" on it.
End of Part 1
---
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4
#Another Code#Another Code spoilers#another code recollection#another code two memories#another code r#trace memory#another code r spoilers#another code two memories spoilers#another code recollection spoiler#my post#ramblings#sorry it's long
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This may be my last update on the Floppy Frog for a while because I do believe it reached it's final stage. I only started running it 7 days ago. Now there is a secret stage, but I think I may have experienced that already? I'll explain in a bit.
So I've noticed that every time the frog evolved, it did so immediately after eating. So it kind of guarantees that it won't grow without you getting to see it, which is actually a pretty nice change.
It evolved this morning when I was doing my usual "raise it's score up to 100" routine.... and then it evolved again... it turned into a woman in a dress wearing a crown, I'm assuming a princess... she stayed on my screen for a while until I attempted to feed her, then she changed back... I think this is a reference? But I thought the story was the Frog Prince, not the Frog Princess...? Weird. But i'm actually glad it turned back. I do not care for humanoid virtual pets and I draw the line at literal humans.
One more thing to note... one of it's minigames in the final stage is literally just frogger. Even it's sprite looks like classic frogger. The main difference is that you can take several hits from the cars, and there is no section after the cars where you have to jump on moving logs or turtles. You just gotta make it to the water... always thought it was weird that Frogger dies in the water... the second mini game has the frog inflate itself and descend down between two trees, trying to dodge the branches... it actually reminds me a lot of level 2 from Battletoads in Battlemaniacs and I wonder if that's a coincidence...
So all the references in this V-pet include
Yoshi ( uses his tongue lash sound byte )
Frogger
BattleToads
The Frog Prince/Princess and the Frog??
The WB frog ( it grabs a cane and top hat from time to time )
maybe Sanrio's Keroppi, idk the designs on the side kinda look like him
So far... this is the best Gigapet I've ever played with, but i've only played with three Gigapets... four, if we count the digital doggy I had when I was a child. I have a vintage floppy frog but it's in rough shape, pixels are barely visible, no sound, and I can't figure out how the minigame works. So i'm happy with this replacement.
#not digimon#gigapets#virtual pets#tamagotchi#top secret toys#floppy frog#v-pet#v-pets#also i am only just now understanding that floppy frog is a reference to floppy disks#v-pet log
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