#trigger guide

[orchidbreezefc]

are you afraid of bugs? well, i can't relate, but that sounds very difficult, so i've made a trigger guide for season 1 of the hit audio drama podcast 'sayer' timestamping and describing all the bug horror (and noises) in season 1 so you can listen safely! all of the following timestamps can be skipped without missing anything plot important.

ep2 "there are no bees on typhon" - sayer informs the resident his quarters will be unlocked by a 'thought password' which involves picturing a terror-inducing scenario. sayer walks the resident through an intense and graphically detailed description of a bee attack, complete with buzzing sound effects. this sequence lasts from 5:30-6:42. sayer informs the resident that there are no actual bees on typhon, but he experiences occasional auditory hallucinations of buzzing for the next 4 episodes. find timestamps at the end of the post.

ep4 "for science" - no bugs are actually present; the resident is asked to inject himself with bee venom from a syringe and has an allergic reaction.

ep 7 "pressure" - the episode's twist/punchline is the resident has physical reactions when speaking to a female researcher. sayer interprets this as "butterflies in the stomach" and urges the resident to confess his attraction and get it over with. instead the resident collapses because the physical reaction was from actual "insect-like creatures" manifesting in his abdomen. this information is revealed retroactively and not in detail, with no sound effects. im pretty sure this is a critique of heteronormativity but i'm not sure exactly how.

bee noise timestamps:

ep 2 "there are no bees on typhon" - 16:55-17:04 background droning which culminates in a buzzing noise like a bee flying past one's ear

ep 3 "do not stop running" - bee noise at 2:21, brief description of thought password at 2:55-3:02

ep 4 "for science" - 2:29

ep 5 "enjoy your break" - 2:29

i don't yet have a comprehensive guide for bug horror after season one, so be warned that this doesn't cover everything, but here's what i do have:

episode 19 has wasps, 23 has spiders, and 39 has bees. the bonus episode "the rose elf" also culminates in a bee attack; i recommend skipping it entirely if that bothers you. all you need to know is that apparently sayer reads some residents bedtime stories to help them sleep, and explains how the moral is actually that ærolith is watching your every move so never step out of line.

[skruttet]

when someone thinks a moomin adaptation is based on an episode of the 90s anime my knee-jerk reaction is to scream "IT'S A BOOOOOOOK!" which is mean cause I get it. if I'd grown up watching the anime ofc that'd be my point of reference for the moomins, too. but please understand the anime is just one adaptation of a pre-existing story and not even the first adaptation 🥹

[brucewaynehater101]

Me: *throughly enjoying a fic*

Fic: *batfam starts forcing a character to do shit the character is obviously uncomfortable with and doesn't want to do all for that character's "best interest"*

Me: "Fuck."

[spark-circuit]

Major, MAJOR spoilers for Rain World: The Watcher DLC below the cut:

MY TOUYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <3333333

(also does this canonically mean The Watcher, if discovered early enough by the Ancients, inspires them to create more slugcats as pets? and is therefore retroactively like the First Slugcat?)

[rowan-of-waterdeep]

How to trigger Wyll's romance

Patch 6

I've seen people asking lately how to trigger Wyll's Act 2 romance scene, so here's a quick guide!

Wyll's romance changed in patch 6 - or possibly a hotfix. I'm not sure if it's a bug or a deliberate improvement.

At the moment, you need to start his romance at the tiefling party.

To do that, you must:

Not have agreed to meet up with anyone else later, before talking to him.

Have at least 10 approval (I think, checking the datamined dialogue)

Flirt with him using But I want to dance with you or Can't you tell why I really followed you out here? and follow through with flirty options.

Not get a reply of I'm afraid my feet are firmly planted to the ground this evening or I'm afraid I must remain a passing fancy. These are rejections.

End the encounter with Wyll saying There will be another time for us. This is Wyll's dating indicator.

You don't need to kiss him, but you do need to flirt, and get that final response.

[satoshi-mochida]

Some games that are currently stuck on older consoles that I hope get rereleased in some way, Part 6:

Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7

Rule of Rose

Comic Party(preferably based on the Dreamcast version that has a new character's Route)

Fate/Unlimited Codes(for those who don't already know, we actually DID get this localized on the PSP, though only digitally, and the license has long since lapsed.)

Infinity series(Never7, Ever17, Remember11, 12Riven and Code_18)

Asura's Wrath(and not have the true end be behind DLC again, darn it)

Ninety-Nine Nights

Muramasa: The Demon Blade

The Galaxy Angel visual novels/SRPGs

Valkyria Chronicles 2 and 3

Sol Trigger

E.X. Troopers

Burning Rangers

Mana Khemia series

Trauma Center series

Stella Deus

London Detective Mysteria

The rest of the Langrisser series(since the first two already got remade)

The Guided Fate Paradox

The Awakened Fate Ultimatum

Princess Crown

Survival Kids series

Kid Icarus Uprising

Farland Story RPG series

Burai series

Xak series

Wild Arms series

Baroque

Enemy Zero

D2(The first D game is already on Steam)

[panthermouthh]

I rly wanna see nosferatu but ive heard there are SA scenes in it - are they very explicit? It sounds right up my alley too and i love the themes but idk if i'd be able to handle it if those scenes are too detailed ;_;

As someone who gets pretty squicked by SA scenes in media, I didn’t find it very bad, or particularly explicit or detailed. Things tend to cut away pretty quick from what I recall. The whole movie was a fever dream so I can’t quite remember in detail. I’d recommend looking up the parents guide on IMDB for more information if you’re worried— that’s what I do when I want to know what to expect from a film!

[mjlol52]

catherine/killian is such a good pairing i love them

[danzainosolitude]

Once again I read fanfiction that seems to have been precisely written to deal psychic damage to me.

[flamingskull28]

if alex could change one thing in his life what would it be

Alex: Only one?..... I... I don't...

10 minutes later

4: OKAY WHO MADE HIM CRY

[4noki-vns]

The Art of Asset Reduction: VNConf 2024 Write-Up

This is a write-up for my Visual;Conference 2024 talk on asset reduction: presentation of scenes with reduced art labor.

I will discuss how to reduce production requirements via various methods of asset presentation and staging, walking you through case studies of existing visual novels. This talk will guide you to answer the question: How do I fulfill my project scope without asset bloat?

This is an art talk that assumes you have already scoped down your story and have created a list of scenes that you need. This is not a talk about scoping down your game's story.

You have scenes you need to make. How are you going to make them (and with style)?

Abstraction

Cut-ins

Reduce

Reuse

-

I. Abstraction

I start off with abstraction as a reminder that visual novels are a combination of visual and novel (amongst other aspects)

Abstraction

Abstraction is a strong tool for bringing focus to the writing, highlighting ambiguity and setting the mood with colors.

Examples I mentioned in my talk include:

Black screen

Solid colored screen

Sky BG

Of Components

The mood-setting power of abstraction also extends to scenes with characters, especially CGs.

As again, abstraction draws focus to what you choose to emphasize: the characters.

(FLOWERS -Le volume sur ete-)

They are gay. Thank you for coming to my VNConf talk.

-

You can similarly abstract characters.

(Lachesis or Atropos)

Consider representing irrelevant characters (e.g., NPCs) as silhouettes. The reader can fill in the details within the shapes themselves.

Silhouettes are especially great for crowd scenes where you want to draw focus to the main characters.

This will be a recurring theme:

What do you really need to draw?

-

II. Cut-ins

One common not-quite full screen piece of art you'll see in many visual novels is the cut-in.

The cut-in typically consists of the:

Item/focus

Frame

And is often for topics such as objects or small animals, which may exist in the scene but may not be within the same frame of reference as the background and sprites.

The separate framing informs the players that the item is "separately framed."

(Who is the Red Queen?)

For example, this small bird is not huge and would not be the size of a character's head even had a sprite been on screen.

The Foreground-Backdrop Heuristic

Cut-ins make strong use of what I refer to as the "foreground-backdrop heuristic."

(Shikkoku no Sharnoth)

A general backdrop informs the reader of a broad location or scene (especially if characters are present). Then a more specific foreground (the cut-in) informs the reader of the specifics.

As the foreground cut-in is in a different frame, the pairing of the two helps create a mental model of the space in the reader's mind.

Cut-ins can be used for:

Backgrounds (mix and match foregrounds with a backdrop)

Reduced CGs

Presenting existing assets in a different frame of reference

CG variants

Try tackling your visual presentation in a layered, comic book-esque fashion with cut-ins!

Just be careful about clutter.

Whether you want to go for the layered cut-in style, the 3d stage cinematic style, or a combination of the two, make sure you have a vision before you jump in.

SD CGs

I had to make an obligatory mention of SD "super deformed" CGs in this talk, so here it is in the write up as well.

(Grisaia: Phantom Trigger Vol. 1)

SD, chibi. However you call these, they're great for playful scenes that might require more art than your classic sprite-background combination.

What SD CGs do best is that they:

Fulfill the role of a CG

Are easier to draw than fully rendered non-chibi art

Can be distributed to different artists to reduce artist workloads due to style difference

Just keep in mind that a simplified CG is still a CG and thus may lack reusability.

Consider what scenes really need a CG.

-

III. Reduce

Now, consider asking yourself: "Does what a player does not see need to exist?" (mostly applicable for games with opaque UI)

Yet, what you need to draw is what you need to draw. How can you reduce the work in what you need to draw?

One option is:

Palette Limitation

You've heard of gray scale games, but don't forget about other ways of limiting your palette to reduce workload.

Dramatic, mood setting color power

Less rendering work

(Sona-Nyl of the Violet Shadows)

A similar idea can be applied to NPCs for a more detailed take on silhouettes.

-

IV. Reuse

Lastly, please remember to be economical and reuse assets as necessary. One of the great joys of cut-in BGs, for example, is reusability.

I had to give an obligatory mention to CG variants in my talk, such as:

(Fatal Twelve)

However, overall, you never know when you'll want to use various components of your art elsewhere such as intermixing CG and sprite art.

Please keep your working layers if possible.

Other reuse examples:

UI (especially in episodic games)

Gameplay (e.g., Kogado's rhythm game)

Consider asking your programmer to work on a framework to reuse, reducing repeated code work.

-

Conclusions

All in all, you can make your game.

And it doesn't need to be hellish on your budget or timeline.

If you take anything away from this talk, let it be to:

Prioritize reusable assets

Maintain aesthetic; avoid clutter

Display important scenes

Do not scope up; aim for a set goal

A scene can be presented in many stylish ways, some of which will suit your workflow better than others.

So, go on. Make your game!

-

Interested in my works? Find me on itch:

And check out my newsletter:

-

VNConf 2023 Talk Write-up:

[dreamsandstars24]

AS GOOD AS DEAD BY HOLLY JACKSON

[occasionallyrelenting]

Guidja on the other hand are the why do they never show people like us on tv comic. You both five hundred years old and contouring

[whumble-beeee]

hiiiiiii bee

im so fucling curious what the backstory is behind deeby and lana omg. meant to send a more coherent ask but post work braincel decrease is hitting me hard. also the dutch petname thing scared tge fuck out of me the first time.

ps this is also thw first time ive anon named myself

love - 🌿🚫 anon

God, mood about the post-work braincells. Also, I mean this with so much love, but it means so much to me that I managed to scare the shit out of you with that lol. He gets. Just so much worse. Let's just say everyone in my discord servers I introduce him to universally hate him with a passion. Get ready.

ALSO technically parts of Declan and Lana's backstory are giant spoilers, including what will be one of the bigger plot twists, so I can't tell you just yet. HOWEVER, what I can do is reiterate and highlight things I've already said in-story, plus what's gonna be revealed soon when I actually upload her character profile lol. All that under the cut.

So the first time you really first start hearing about Lana is in Chapter 7, where we also meet Vaughn for the first time. In that, we learn that 1. Declan and Lana are ex boyfriend and girlfriend. As in they actually used to date. 2. Lana is Declan's boss now in some capacity (and was the one to order Stan's kidnapping), and 3, Declan fkn hates Lana. So much more than he hates Vaughn.

In Chapter 8, we learn that 4. Vaughn and Lana are currently dating. That's not really too relevant, but it's really funny to me because their relationship is... something. I'm sure you can imagine. It's very mutually manipulative and they both know it, its awesome.

Anyway, then in Ch. 9, through Stan and Deeby's yelling match, you learn that Declan and Lana's relationship is complicated and he refuses to talk about it, but 5. he's kinda obligated to do whatever Lana says or face unspecified consequences.

Skip to Chapters 11 and 12, the ones with Marcus at the convenience store getting harassed, where we first meet Lana in person. We learn a lot about her, mainly that she 6. acts pretty bubbly and ditzy but is actually pretty smart, 7. is completely fine with SA, 8. is manipulative as hell, 9. feels safe enough to fuck with Declan's plans because despite how much we know Deeby to exert his will over others, he wont do shit to stop her. and 10. The big one: she was the one to give Declan his burn scars (with acid btw. everyone in the story has a weapon of choice, bc superhero lol. Lana is injectable poisons, gasses, acids, etc.). This is mostly just something you could assume, but when she gave him that burn scar, that was the turning point when Lana started manipulating Deeby.

Chapter 15, it's mostly just more of the same, Lana telling Deeby to keep Stan for longer, and Deeby can't argue back, he hates Lana but he has to do what she says, whatever.

So, to put it all together for you: Lana has Deeby under her thumb for some reason. She acts fake, she's manipulative, she's relatively smart, and she dated Declan which means she would get to know some of the more intimate details about him that she could blackmail him with. Also something happened between them where she literally burned him with acid, and now she is his boss (she's the CEO of Supramed Corp. actually, which would be revealed whenever I get around to posting her character profile lol) and makes him do bounty hunting jobs as well as basically whatever she wants. That's what we know so far.

You'll learn more about Lana as a person as well as the nature of their relationship as time goes on, and a lot of Declan's behavior has been partially shaped because of her. There's a lot more to her that hasn't been uncovered yet, although the context clues are all there in the story. I just pointed out the specific ones that relate to Deccy.

Also, one last thing to leave you with. I focus a lot on eye color in this story, it's always very important, it tells you a lot. Lana has bright blue, sky blue type eyes. Can you maybe think of another time I've described a character with eyes like that?

(also if you have any questions feel free to ask in another ask or the comments lol, idk if any of this is even comprehensible)

[anonzentimes]

Honestly I know nothing about Danganronpa HOWEVER I love listening to you talk about it, so thanks

YAY!!!!! THATS SO SWEET????? I'm so glad you get happiness from me talking about it even if you don't know much???

I don't really know what else to say so I guess I'll just say if you ever decide to get into the franchise the order you would do so is:

Danganronpa Trigger Happy Havoc, this entry has a weirdly paced anime adaptation based off of the original visual novel, Super Danganronpa 2 Goodbye Despair is strictly a game (to experience the whole story) and the second entry following the first, Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School is an anime that wraps of the story of the first and second game with two different arcs that you have to alternate watching one episode from each arc (sometimes the site you're watching it on will automatically do it for you <3), Then there's an Ova that helps to understand my favorite character called Danganronpa 2.5, And finally Danganronpa v3 is another visual novel game separate from the rest of the original trilogy which makes it controversial but interesting. There's spin off one game I didn't mention and a few spin off mangas, the mangas are pretty good but don't give you much of the full story. The spin off game, Ultra Despair Girls, is really problematic and if you ever decided to go through with it you would need a list of trigger warnings. Ultra Despair Girls takes place in between Danganronpa 1 and Danganronpa 2 but should be played after completing Danganronpa 2 if at all.

The premise of Danganronpa is 15 students with special talents get trapped in a location and forced to have a killing game by a robotic bear where they must kill another student, go through a class trial to see who did the murder, if the killer gets voted out only the killer dies, but if the killer doesn't get voted out everyone But the killer dies and they get to be free. It can be very unhinged sometimes and is a fantasy sci-fi kind of thing. It's really fun despite it's issues, and despite it's over use of the words hope and despair to the point all Danganronpa fans associate the words with it, it warrants every use of the word and uses it in meaningful ways. The story building, ridiculous mysteries, concept, themes, and especially characters all contribute to Danganronpa being something really special. :D

[kitkatixx]

the hpa babygirl files, according to kiriko nishizawa

bonus content for the ultimate maid's guide and the hpaverse i have for the danganronpa cast

Babygirl | noun

A male that behaves in a manner that can be interpreted as submissive and/or cute, but is secure in their masculinity. May also be used to address traditionally masculine men as a joke.