#How Great Leaders Create Organizations

[evernest]

My mission is to train you on the mindset, skills, and systems to have lasting success in network marketing. I will focus on social media strategies, recruiting techniques, and duplication methods to help take your network marketing business to a new level. I was voted the #1 coach in all of the network marketing per Business for Home in 2017 and will share with you the NEWEST strategies to help you crush your business.

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[mostlysignssomeportents]

How the kleptocrats and oligarchs hunt civil society groups to the ends of the Earth

It's a great time to be an oligarch! If you have accumulated a great fortune and wish to put whatever great crime lies behind it behind you, there is an army of fixers, lickspittles, thugs, reputation-launderers, procurers, henchmen, and other enablers who have turnkey solutions for laundering your reputation and keeping the unwashed from building a guillotine outside the gates of your compound.

The field of International Relations has studied the enemies of the Klept in detail: the Transnational Activist Network is a well-documented phenomenon. But far more poorly understood is the Transnational Uncivil Society Network, who will polish any turd of sufficient wealth to a high, professional gloss.

These TUSNs are the subject of a new, timely scholarly paper by Alexander Cooley, John Heathershaw and Ricard Soares de Oliveira: "Transnational Uncivil Society Networks: kleptocracy’s global fightback against liberal activism," published in last month's European Journal of International Relations:

https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:5e5a3052-c693-4991-a7cc-bc2b47134467/download_file?file_format=application%2Fpdf&safe_filename=Cooley_et_al_2023_transnational_uncivil_society.pdf&type_of_work=Journal+article

The authors document how a collection of institutions – some coercive, others organized around good works – allow kleptocrats to take power, keep power, and use power. This includes "wealth managers, company providers, accounting firms, and international bankers" who create the complex financial structures that obscure the klept's wealth. It also includes "second citizenship managers and lawyers" that facilitate the klept's transnational nature, both to provide access to un-looted, prosperous places to visit, and boltholes to escape to in the face of coup or reform. It includes the real-estate brokers and other asset facilitators, who turn whole precincts of the world's greatest cities into empty safe-deposit boxes in the sky, while ensuring that footlose criminal elites always have a penthouse to perch in when they take a break from the desiccated husks they've drained dry back home.

Of course, it also includes the PR managers and philanthropic ventures that allow the klept to launder their reputation, to make themselves synonymous with good deeds rather than mass murder. Think here of how the Sacklers used charity to turn their family name into a synonym for culture and fine art, rather than death by opioid overdose:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/11/justice-delayed/#justice-redeemed

Beyond providing comfort to "Politically Exposed Persons" and "High Net-Worth Individuals," TUSNs are concerned with neutralizing TANs. Activists in these transnational networks play an inside-outside game: in-country activists will recruit peers abroad to bring attention to the crimes of their local kleptocrats. These overseas partners target the klept in the places they go to play and spend, spoiling their fun – and if they succeed in getting corrupt leaders censured abroad, then in-country activists can leverage that bad press to fight the klept at home.

To fight this "Boomerang Effect," TUSNs seek to burnish corrupt officials' reputations abroad, getting their names on humanitarian prizes, beloved sports teams, cultural institutions and great universities. They seek to capture international governance institutions that might wrong-foot kleptocrats, co-opting them to enable and even celebrate looters.

When it comes to elite philanthropy, TUSNs are necessarily selective. Kleptocrats' foundations don't fund anti-kleptocratic groups – they stick to "education, public health, the environment and the arts." These domains steer clear of human rights questions that might implicate their benefactors. Russian oligarchs love children's charities and disability rights – provided they don't target the Russian state.

If charitable giving is reputation laundering's carrot, then "reputation management" is the laundry's stick. Think of organized copyfraudsters who clone websites that have criticized their clients, then backdate the articles, then accuse the originals of infringing copyright in order to get them de-listed from Google or taken offline altogether:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/23/reputation-laundry/#dark-ops

Reputation managers also spend a lot of time in court. In the UK – the world's leader in libel tourism, thanks to a legal system designed to let posh monsters sue muckraking journalists into silence – Russian oligarchs have perfected the art of forcing their critics to shut up and go away:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/03/04/londongrad/#enablers

Indeed, London is a one-stop shop for the global klept, a place were forelock-tugging Renfields will buy you a Mayfair mansion under cover of a numbered company, sue your critics into silence, funnel your money into an anonymous Channel Islands account:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/01/07/the-klept/#pep

They'll sell you whole galleriesworth of "fine art" that you can have relocated to a climate-controlled container in a Swiss or Irish freeport:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/14/poesy-the-monster-slayer/#moneylab

They'll give your thick-as-pigshit progeny a PhD and never check to see whether he wrote his thesis himself:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LSE%E2%80%93Gaddafi_affair

Then they'll hook you up with a cyber-arms dealer to hunt your enemies by capturing their devices:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/07/27/gas-on-the-fire/#a-safe-place-for-dangerous-ideas

But don't let Brexit stop you from shopping for bargains on the continent. The Golden Passports of the EU – available in a variety of flavors, from Maltese to Cypriot to Portuguese – offer the discerning failson access to the luxury good shops and fleshpots of 27 advanced economies, making it a favorite of the Khmer Riche – the junior klept of Cambodia's ruling faction:

https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/cambodia-hunsen-wealth/

But golden passports are for amateurs. Skilled klepts travel on diplomatic passports, which offer the twin benefits of free movement and consequence-free criminality, thanks to diplomatic immunity. The former Kazakh dictator's son-in-law enjoyed a freewheeling diplomatic life in Vienna; one daughters of the dictator of Tajikistan had a jolly time as an envoy to DC; another, to London (where else?).

All this globetrotting serves a second purpose: when rival elites seize power back home and force the old guard into exile, those ex-monsters can show up in the lands they called their second homes and apply for asylum. It turns out that even bomb-the-boats UK will welcome any asylum seeker who enters via the private jet terminal at City Airport (to be fair, these "refugees" have extensive properties in Zone 1 and country places in the Home Counties, so they won't need housing).

This stuff works. After Kazakh state goons murdered at least 14 protesters at a Zhanaozen oil facility in 2011, human rights groups around the world took up the cause. But they were effectively neutralized by TUSNs, with former UK PM Tony Blair writing on behalf of the Kazakh government to the EU condemning any kind of international investigation into the mass killings (add "former Prime Ministers" to the list of commodities for sale in the UK to sufficiently well-resourced murderer).

The authors close their paper with two case-studies. The first is of the daughters of Uzbek dictator Islam Karimov, Gulnara and Lola. And President Karimov was indeed a dictator: he trapped his population within his borders, forced them to use unconvertible scrip in place of money, and ordered the murder of hundreds of peaceful protesters, plunging the country into international isolation.

But while Uzbeks were sealed within their borders, Gulnara Karimov became an international player, running a complex network of businesses that mixed the products of the nation's oilfields with her family's fortune. She solicited – and received – bribes from Teliasonera, MTS and Vimpelcom, who were all vying for the contract to provide service in Uzbekistan. All told, she extracted more than $1b in bribes, laundering them through Latvia, Hong Kong and New York. She acquired real-estate in France and Switzerland, and her spree continued until her father collaborated with Uzbek security to seize her assets and place her under house-arrest.

Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva was Gulnara's estranged younger sister. She and her husband Timur Tillyaev ran the Dubai-based SecureTrade, which did extensive business with "opaque Scottish Limited Partnerships," laundering more than $127m in a single year to offshore accounts in the UAE and Switzerland. They acquired many luxe assets – a jet, a Californian villa, and an LA perfumier.

Lola styled herself as the face of the Karimovas abroad, a "philanthropist and cultural ambassador." She was a UNESCO ambassador and commissioned works of monumental art – and also sued the shit out of news outlets that reported factual matters about her family repressive activity at home. She organized AIDS charities in the name of Uzbekistan – even as her father was imprisoning a writer for publishing a book explaining how to have safer sex.

The second case-study is on Isabel dos Santos, "Africa's richest woman," daughter of Angolan dictator Jose Eduardo dos Santos. Isabel's vast fortune stemmed from her personal capture of vast swathes of the third-largest economy in Africa: "telecommunications, banking, diamonds, real estate and cement, among many others." Isabel enjoyed seemingly limitless access to state credit and co-investment, and was given first crack at newly deregulated industries. Foreign firms that invested in Angola were required to "partner" with Isabel's businesses.

Isabel claimed to be a "self-made woman" – a claim credulously parroted by the western press, including the FT. She used her homegrown fortune to become a major player abroad, especially in Portugal, where she was represented by the leading Portuguese law-firm PLMJ. Her enablers are who's who of corruption-loving lickspittles: McKinsey, Ernst and Young, Boston Consulting Group, and the Spanish BigLaw firm Uri Menendez.

Isabel cultivated a public facade of philanthropic giving and public spirited activism, serving as head of the Angolan Red Cross. She attended Davos and spoke at the LSE (she was also invited to Oxford, but her invitation was subsequently rescinded). On social media, she dismissed critics of her wealth and corruption as "colonialists," decrying their "racism" and "prejudice."

Isabel dos Santos's corrupt sources of wealth were finally, irrefutably exposed through the Luanda Leaks, in which the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists mapped the network of "top banks, management consultants and legal firms that were central to dos Santos’s operations."

Both case studies shed light on the network of brilliant, driven enablers and procurers without whom the world's greatest monsters would falter. It's a rare window on a secretive world, one that is poorly understood even by its inhabitants. As Michael Mechanic wrote in Jackpot, his 2021 book on vast, intergenerational fortunes, the winners of the lucky orifice lottery often lack any real understanding of how The Money is structured, grown and protected:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/13/public-interest-pharma/#affluenza

This point was reiterated by Abigail Disney, in a brave piece on what it's like to grow up subject to the oversight of these millionaires who babysit the children of billionaires:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/06/19/dynastic-wealth/#caste

This is an important contribution to the literature. We naturally focus on the ultrawealthy individuals whose reputations and fortunes are the subject of so much attention, but without the TUSNs, they would be largely helpless.

Going to Burning Man? Catch me on Tuesday at 2:40pm on the Center Camp Stage for a talk about enshittification and how to reverse it; on Wednesday at noon, I'm hosting Dr Patrick Ball at Liminal Labs (6:15/F) for a talk on using statistics to prove high-level culpability in the recruitment of child soldiers.

On September 6 at 7pm, I'll be hosting Naomi Klein at the LA Public Library for the launch of Doppelganger.

On September 12 at 7pm, I'll be at Toronto's Another Story Bookshop with my new book The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/24/launderers-enforcers-bagmen/#procurers

Image: Sam Valadi (modified) https://www.flickr.com/photos/132084522@N05/17086570218/

CC BY 2.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

--

Colin (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Palace_of_Westminster_from_the_dome_on_Methodist_Central_Hall_(cropped).jpg

CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en

[missmayhemvr]

Like halfway through "how Europe underdeveloped Africa" cause I decided I'd read/listen to it after I had a strong base on knowledge on African history and just holy fuck is he right about nearly everything so far.

Having learned about how extensive African trade was prior to the 18th century and how heavily most African kingdoms shifted in the 16th it's very clear that what he points out in the way the slave trade and the need to aquire firearms grew the European economies while near completely emptying out African economies and how the hard shift to European import goods after Europe had grow through the use of African slave labor and monopoly of trade routes is still a largely still at play in the era of neocolonialism.

The way that Walter Rodney not just points out that this is true, but the depth to which he covers a variety of African kingdoms, their economies, and cultural practices puts even some college level courses to shame while also showcasing the exact ways in which some of these stronger or more expansive kingdoms like the Ashanti, oyo, borno, Kongo, and Benin kingdoms had explicitly tried everything to get guns through any other trade and how the Ashanti, merina, Ethiopian, Burundi Benin kingdoms sought our education and scholars to begin industrialization and the systematic way in which Europeans and Americans prevented that is just, well it's damming.

It's a continuing reminder how from the first stage of European expansion and control they had precisely zero good intentions for the peoples of Africa. That Europe saw Africa as nothing more than a way to grow itself, it's institutions and improve its economies by depriving Africa of labor, materials and freedom which is true to this day, most starkly in the Congo but true across the whole region.

But while the book shows the crimes of Europeans without sugar coating, it also doesn't glorify the African leaders and more importantly those that became collaborative with European despitism. It also does not abide by the word games the European powers like to play and goes in depth to the way Europeans had no actual interest in ending slavery, and that while invading the various kingdoms and communities to "end slavery" the created some of the most brutal slave conditions on this side of the globe, not just in Leopolds Congo but in French forced labor camps and British controlled regions, with the Portuguese being particularly up front about it.

Truly a shame that like most other black radicals Rodney was murdered so young. The rarity to which black radicals even get to 40 shows how desperately capitalist and white supremist try to prevent even the slightest push back from black voices. It also makes clear how much we all need to know this stuff, from debois's black reconstruction to nkrumah's neoimperialism these books give a great understanding of the past and the precise way in which we arrived to the current situation.

I pray that with the new scramble for Africa that is unfolding in front of our very faces, the genocides in the Congo, and Sudan, and the way in which these interlock with the genocide of Palestinians, that we all take the time to properly read and reflect so that we may properly organize and fight back for a fully free and sovereign Africa and Palestine and a world free from white supremacy.

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Could you do a scenario about Nemona, Penny and Arven with a real who has type null please? Maybe something about it transforming in Silvally?

YES NULL/SILVALLY TIME

I have one in Sword who I call "Bestie", and it's carried me through the Crown Tundra DLC. I want it in Violet so badly aaaa

Also this just reminded me of my fic that I wrote prior to Sun/Moon's release. Ya'll can give it a read if you so desire <3

That being said, this scenario will be like a sequel of sorts

........

Revealing Type: Null--or "Nully" as you've affectionately called it--to your friends was something you were initially nervous about...

But today was finally the day.

Moving away from Alola to attend school here in Paldea was quite the stressful journey, especially for your masked companion who had never know any place besides stark white labs and sandy beaches.

People kept warning you about how dangerous it was, but you never listened...and now your bond with the mysterious normal type has never been stronger.

Ever since you rescued it from an Aether Foundation facility that exploded due to its rampage, it put its trust in you and loved you unconditionally.

Learning the truth behind that supposedly "good" organization and its leader broke your heart. Although nothing devastated you more than realizing Nully had been held captive there as both experiment and prisoner.

You've tried researching its species, checking for notes and hacking into secret files the foundation kept under lock and key--and you discovered that Type: Nulls were basically created as "tamer" versions of Arceus, even having memory discs similar to the plates manufactured. They were meant to kill the Ultra Beasts should they invade Alola.

Instead, they went on a rampage (of course, that's what happens when humans try replicating a god's powers) and were confined to masks and put into cryogenic stasis. The whole project was deemed a failure.

As tragic as it was...you were relieved to have found Nully when you did and get it away from that horrible place.

Even so the mask still made it feel absolutely miserable, but unfortunately you couldn't find any further information on how to remove it without causing your precious Pokémon serious injury. There were no visible clamps to unlock, pulling it off would only cause it great pain, and cutting seemed too risky.

The only benefit was that it made Nully immune to critical hits, but the cons definitely outweighed the pros.

Maybe one of your friends knew more about the Type: Null species, and so you decided to call them all over for a picnic if they had free time.

All you could do was pray that they didn't lose their cool and scare your companion.

That's the last thing either of you needed.

Arven was the first to arrive, with Mabosstiff at his heels as usual, but he stopped dead in his tracks upon seeing the bizarre-looking Pokémon standing by your side. You could tell he was trying not to look too worried, considering the poor thing was hiding behind you now.

Still, it's obvious that he didn't have the slightest clue what he was looking at, so you explained everything to him: where you found Nully, why it looked like a rejected Arceus, and the memory discs you kept in a small folder.

So far, you haven't figured out how to utilize them in-battle. But despite the space they took up in your bag, you refused to throw them away.

"Are you sure there isn't a slot for these somewhere on its mask?" He stared at one of the floppy discs, before glancing back up at Nully, squinting. "It looks like there should be one."

"We've been pals for nearly three years, Arven..I'm pretty sure I would've found the slot by now if there was one." Shaking your head, you took it from him, sighing. "My only option is to get that thing off. The slot's probably on its body somewhere."

"Right...maybe there's a stomach hatch or-"

"¡Mira! You were right, Penny! They do exist!!"

"Nemona, slow down!! They're not going anywhere!!"

Hearing the shouts of two certain ladies from afar, you and Arven looked to see both Nemona and Penny coming over the horizon. The student council president was dragging the poor girl by the arm, with her stumbling to keep up and not lose her glasses.

When they arrived, Penny was dazed and annoyed as she scowled at Nemona, tearing her arm free of her iron grasp. But her attention was quickly set on the peculiar Pokémon who was cowering behind you yet again.

"Wow...I..never thought I'd see one up close before.." Adjusting her glasses, she gazed at Nully with interest.

"You've heard about them before?" You asked.

"Back in Galar, I found some top-secret stuff about Macro Cosmos trying to make their own instances. They literally stole the blueprints from the Aether Foundation."

"...yikes." Nemona remarked, tilting her head as she tried getting a better look at Nully herself. "It seems shy. Maybe a battle will help it-!"

"No battles, at least not right now." You smiled apologetically, patting it on the head as you looked at each other. "I know you're nervous, Nully..but it's okay. They're nothing like the jerks back in Alola who used to pick on us. They're my friends. You can trust them, I promise."

Nodding its head, it relaxed its haunches as it cautiously stepped away from your side, gazing at the trio and seeing their smiles, too.

They weren't looks of pity.

They seemed genuinely thrilled to meet it.

It stood there for some time, taking in everything you've said to it and thinking about how far it's come since you rescued it that fateful day.

Somehow, it knew it was always meant to be your companion--from the very moment you held it as it cried in the Pokémon Center, reassuring it that it's not a monster, but a sweet creature worthy of love and care.

Ever since then, your friendship has grew...and now it feels stronger, willing to put its life on the line for you if need be. Even though most of its powers have been concealed, it didn't feel like some weak and helpless lab experiment.

Oh no.

It was far from that now.

Thanks to your bond, it felt unbelievably strong.

So much so that....the normal-type realized an extraordinary change was imminent.

And you were about to witness it.

"Look! Nully's glowing, [y/n]!" Nemona pointed, her eyes widening as your companion was basked in a familiar light. "Is it evolving???"

"Oh my god...I think so." You gasped, never realizing the possibility of it evolving, but you're now certain that friendship is what triggered it at last.

The most noticeable thing were the cracks that started appearing all over its helmet, pieces of what you assumed was indestructible alien material falling apart. Nully shook its head vigorously, trying to get rid of it as much as possible.

Then it turned its attention to a nearby boulder, letting out a cry before performing a move similar to a Headbutt, ramming into it and letting the rock shatter the helmet completely.

At last, it was free.

When the glow faded, you and your friends gazed in awe as Nully looked back at all of you.

With its mask finally gone, what lied underneath it was a beautiful creature made of both nature and machine, with a beaklike mouth that smiled proudly.

"Nully...?" You murmured, stepping closer.

"Ally." It chirped, walking up to greet you.

Tears began forming in your eyes as your grin widened. "I can't believe it...friendship was all it took to-"

Suddenly, your rotomphone decided to ruin the sweet moment by flying out of your pocket.

It displayed a new entry in your Pokedex, and you grabbed it to read what it had to say, while Arven, Penny, and Nemona checked their own phones.

"I see, you're Silvally now." You gazed back up at Null--Silvally, watching it bow its head respectfully. With a small laugh, you mimicked the gesture, before petting it lovingly as you sighed. "Wow..."

You noticed one of the metal bolts on its face open up like a CD player, indicating that something had to go in there-

"Wait.." Remembering the memory discs, you took one out and held it up. "Do you want me to use this?"

Silvally nodded, although before you could do anything, Arven interjected.

"Hold on, which memory is that?"

"The Dark Memory. It probably just changes its type, but I believe this represents all the pain Silvally had to endure while being trapped in that mask, not knowing what it did wrong or why people shunned it for simply existing." You placed a gentle hand under your companion's jaw. "But now I think it's ready to turn that painful memory into power. So let's see what happens.."

"Silllllv!"

Carefully inserting the disc into the open slot, you watched as it closed up. Then you stepped back, seeing the colors and spikes on its body turn smoky black.

Even its eyes changed, and when they opened they looked even more menacing than ever.

And they stared directly at you.

With a low growl, it crept closer to you, while your friends held back..tense and worried that the pokedex entries were correct: this wasn't something you could so easily control.

There was probably a very good reason for the mask-

Yet any hostility Silvally seemingly expressed disappeared, as it smiled and licked your cheek affectionately, causing you to laugh once more. "Hey, that tickles! C'mere you!"

Hugging its neck, you grinned as you received even more kisses, hearing it purr with happiness. You petted its feathery crest, relieved that it completely trusted you now.

"Wow..it's way cooler than Arceus!" Nemona laughed. "Do you think I can battle it-??"

Silvally just shot her a wary look, and she immediately fell silent, a nervous smile on her face. "Haha, you're right. Not yet. But I swear we're gonna have an epic battle one day!"

"Yeah, one day. But for now, I have something special for this big guy."

"Sill?"

You managed to regain its full attention with a simple yet supereffective move of your very own:

It's called "chin scritches", something that none of your other Pokémon could resist receiving.

The mask obviously made it difficult for Silvally to receive proper affection back then...and you vowed to find a way to break it so you can do just that.

Now it was free of that awful and heavy thing, having a brand new life to look forward to: battles, friendships with other Pokémon, and more.

Even better?

Your three closest friends in all of Paldea were here to witness its evolution--a sign that despite all the odds...your bond was unbreakable.

[hazeltongzhi]

A friend of mine is trying to unionize their workplace (retail), and I was wondering if you could offer any direct advice or resources to help guide the effort? They have a couple of comrades on the ground, but no one has any proper union connections.

Getting in contact with a well established union is crucial. not only do they have monetary resources, but they have lawyers, organizers, trainers, agitators, and a whole slew of support which can greatly help your unionization efforts and after you win a union. On this front, who to contact will depend on both your locality, your industry, and (potentially) company. Local orgs (including the DSA if need be!) should have or know union contacts and I would start there. With that being said, here's some advice that's more direct, which I will draw both from my direct experience and the book Secrets of a Successful Organizer which served as a bit of a textbook and intro to organizing. The book covers mostly unionized workplaces, but its tactics and tips apply to non-organized workplaces as well.

If you're in the early stages of a campaign, map out your workplace. This could be a physical map of where your coworkers hang out or work, where management stays/patrols/whatever, but more likely than not, it will be a map of relationships between your various coworkers. Talk to your coworkers, make friend with them without mentioning unions at first. Observe where people hang out and who hang out there. Observe groups and their leaders. The reason for this is that many workplaces are already organized, albeit in niches and cliques. Knowing who's friends with who, and who "organizes" with who can make your job significantly easier. Additionally, there are natural leaders and organizers present at workplaces. These are people who arrange socials, hangouts, parties, etc. for coworkers without being told to or not as a part of their job. If these people don't exist at your workplace, you might have to become one! Set up hangouts and socials with your coworkers. Start small, maybe only one or two at a time then grow into a large group. This serves the purpose of creating solidarity, but also an environment away from work which workers can discuss both grievances and strategies.

When approaching someone about unionization, it is better if they volunteer that information without you coming outright to ask. This particular task was the hardest for me to do (because of autism reasons) but it can nevertheless be done. Asking your target about any recent labor union successes is a great easy place to start. For example, when I worked at Amazon, I would use UPS (who are unionized under the teamsters) as a crutch to approach the topic of unions. UAW strikes happening at the time were also a common entry point. If your target responds with a neutral, unsure tone, or from a place of ignorance, they may not be the best first targets but can be marked down as potential recruits. People who respond negatively or tend to kiss up to management should be avoided (in this sense, "kissing up" refers not just to a reverence to management, but also taking the job far too seriously, reporting coworkers to management commonly, yearning for career advancement, etc.).

Things to take note of when building rapports with your targets are not just how open they are to unions, but also what their workplace grievances are. These don't have to be large ones like "they make us work in t-shirts inside a freezer", seemingly small grievances can be points of contention as well. When you have built enough rapport, when you are nominally friends with your target, know enough about their feelings about unions or organizing workers, and know their main grievances, you can agitate them towards action. This can be something small like confronting a manager or a petition, things that give your targets courage and confidence. When doing this, you will have to fight their tendency towards apathy, e.g. "this will never work" or "what's the point, I'm not that interested in the job anyway". You can address this by bringing up past victories or victories at other workplaces, or you can say things like "we won't know until we try!". When you have given them enough encouragement to attempt change, you must also inoculate them against failure. When management refuses their suggestion, you have to prepare them for that possibility and turn them away from going back to apathy towards trying something else. Alternatively, if you do succeed, you can use that as an example of how workers do have power. The goal is to ramp up confrontations until you can form a unionization vote.

The most important aspect of unionization is the organizing committee. This is a secret group of leaders at the workplace which work with other leaders at the workplace to agitate and organize the workers. This committee should be made up of your comrades, but also any other organic leaders who are pro union at your workplace. You can agitate and educate leaders at your workplace to a point which they can join, or you may find them naturally willing to join. Security for this committee must be extremely tight as this group is at highest risk of being discovered and having the entire effort be wasted. Only let in people who you have a very good rapport with and who you know does not kiss up to management and who is pro union. Those leaders who do not fit the bill can still help as "local" leaders.

Finally, make sure that you take care of yourself above all. It is no help to your coworkers if you cannot seem to help yourself. An organizer who has their life together, so to speak, can bring confidence to your coworkers who you are trying to organize with. Make sure that you get plenty of rest, have support groups, and ground yourself in some way.

Sorry for the essay! Good luck and I hope this helps!

[lactoseintolerentswag]

Rise Characterizations Pt. 8!!!!!!!!

This has literally been sitting in my drafts for so long I forgot it existed. Sorry to all the Baron Draxum fans (and Draxum himself, bbgirl deserves better). If you're new to my line of notes here's the beginning where I started with Raph. Alright part 8, Baron Draxum, here we go.

Language Habits:

Speaks in long and drawn out sentences, if you're getting nervous about run-on sentences you're on the right track

Due to this, tends to give speeches or monologues

Dramatizes everything fairly eloquently, look for the most exaggerated form of a word. Classic villain speak: "imbeciles", "brethren", "eliminate"

Puts emphasis on those dramatic adjectives and verbs

Occasionally refers to himself in the third person, not as often as Raph

Tends to yell or raise his voice when frustrated or lost in passion

A common gag is trailing off in a casual tone about the severity of his experiments ie his "if it works right" about the ooze causing pain when mutating that poor fish guy

Personality:

Incredibly intelligent yet impatient. It isn't known to my knowledge who taught Draxum or if he taught himself, but his mastery of alchemy and fighting makes him a truly impressive opponent. However, he's always cutting corners to get to his goal. He wasn't willing to raise through the ranks of The Foot the traditional way, he created an army of mutants rather than seek yokai, and was unwilling to spend further time interpreting the prophecy of doom towards yokai-kind

Flair for the (over)dramatic. Draxum is almost your classic evil villain kind of guy. He'll pull out all musical stops, including flowing hair and clothes. On the other end he'll completely overreact and commit to things of little matter like his position as a lunch lady.

Unyielding in his stubbornness. Draxum is not easily swayed in his belief, and even as hard as Mikey tries he is not rid of his disdain for humans by the end of the series. Guy was also incredibly persistent in his research despite his lab blowing up twice. This also allows him to hold longer grudges, even resorting to childish pettiness if he feels annoyed enough.

Affinity for muscles and power. He was drawn to Lou Jitsu for many reasons, but a main one was definitely his muscles. All his guards are usually incredibly beefy, and he was immediately drawn to Raph as "beautiful" when he's reintroduced to his specimens. As for power, he's drawn to the dark armor and is lost in the ecstasy of being imbued with so much mystic energy.

Self-absorbed and egotistical. Draxum is kind of obsessed with his title and self-proclaimed responsibility for saving yokai-kind. He's not one to easily admit his mistakes and takes great pride in his work.

Willing to toe the line of morality. Huginn and Muninn have blatantly called him their evil boss, but Draxum does see his actions for the good of yokai-kind. I don't think he really cares if he's working with evil organizations (The Foot) or doing evil things if he saves the day.

Team builder. I think it's interesting how Draxum is drawn to building teams. He's drawn to working together, all he wants to do is unite yokai and his mutants into an efficient force. This does not mean he's very successful.

Miscellaneous:

Has minor telekinesis

Was a warrior before he was an alchemist

Does not have a good relationship with the Three Heads (apparent leaders of the Hidden City)

Controls seeds that can a) grow into vines, b) expand into robotic vine gauntlets, c) encase his gauntlets into meatier gauntlets that can shoot out waxy cocoons

Is referred to as a sheep-man from the brothers, but I suppose whatever animal you interpret him as is up to you

Has a great singing voice :) ( which is subjective I suppose)

Alright now that is finally posted just gonna let you know that this Isn't the last of my rise analysis posts!! I'm so sorry for the wait!! I got lost in so many schedule things. I'll try and pump a few more analysis posts out within these next few weeks (excluding June 16-22), but I've also been busy working on miscellaneous wips. Thank you for being so sweet to me on all the other notes posts, you guys are so awesome :)

[importantbusinessdinosaur]

What do you think of 2000AD comics?

2000AD is great, Judge Dredd is one of those comics you can just get really into at any point in your life, if you ever want a glimpse into UK comics scene it's always worth looking at, especially the Judge Death stories with Brain Bolland art.

Mag-freaking-nificent.

Okay, formalities out of the way? We've said Judge Dredd is cool?

Right.

Sit the fuck down and let me tell you about my favourite 200AD comic.

Let me tell you about:

NEMESIS THE WARLOCK

NEMESIS THE WARLOCK!

FIGHTING THE EVIL OF THE CHIEF TERMINATOR

TORQUEMADA

Look let me get into this. Most people know Kevin O'Neill because of his work on League of Extraordinary Gentlemen with Alan Moore. I know him most for Nemesis.

Nothing comes close to the absolute insanity and creativity of Nemesis the Warlock. It is some of the greatest design work ever done and speaks volumes of the environment it was created in.

Every panel, every scene has new and inventive characters, environment, objects. It doesn't stop surprising you with how it portrays everything. They mess with scale a lot, having huge sculptures of people as buildings or just making people tiny on Moebius inspired planes

Have a look at this shot of Nemesis at his writing desk

There is so much going on there it's fantastic. Anyway. Plot? Plot. Nemesis is the leader of the revolutionary army fighting Torquemada, who wants to exterminate all alien life so that only "pure" humans exist. Sounds pretty straightforward right?

Except Nemesis is a Warlock, he only does things in the most over the top evil way to combat him. And not in a "sacrifice your troops" evil way, but in a "haunt this guy and make him think I'm the devil so he does my bidding" way

(I want a church organ with a "brimstone" intonation)

Nemesis also comes through a matriarchal society, and when they attack his family he does indeed go ballistic. I feel it's important you know what the females of his species look like.

Awesome.

Any way thank you for giving me an excuse to talk about Nemesis, I highly recommend it it's an absolute blast.

[dark-konohagakure2]

Sasori and deidara rapeing there new female akatsuki partner after letting a jinchuriki get away 💕

tw: noncon, threesome, spitroasting, degradation, bondage, body control, abuse, slapping, face fucking

All characters depicted are 18+

Neither Sasori nor Deidara are very happy about having a third team member to their already functional duo, Sasori especially, but they concede nonetheless, believing that having a third person on their side will make capturing the Akatsuki's latest Jinchuriki target all the more easy, but in an unexpected turn of events, their teammate completely botches the mission and lets the Jinchuriki escape, much to the artists anger.

Deidara's anger is much more explosive than his master's, yelling at the girl for being so stupid as to let their important target run away, even threatening to blow her up as punishment, but Sasori steps in, saying that death by explosion would be too good a punishment for her, and he has something much more cruel in mind.

Before she can even react, Sasori's blue chakra threads are already wrapping around her body, allowing the puppet master to move it however he sees fit, manipulating her body into the perfect position for both him and Deidara to punish. Deidara is incredibly excited to have his way with her, seeing it as the perfect compensation for her failings.

While not as outwardly excited, Sasori is still going to take advantage of the lovely opportunity he has created for them, forcing his own cock into her mouth while Deidara takes her pussy, the threads around her both constricting and controlling her entire body, leaving her entirely helpless to the artistic duo's perverse desires.

"Fuuuck~! You might be terrible at being a competent Akatsuki member, but you're actually pretty good a being a cumdump! We've finally found something you're good at!"

Sasori will hold her head firmly in place between his legs with one hand while using his other hand to expertly manipulate the puppet strings around her body, forcing her to move her head up and down Sasori's cock and her hips to move up and down Deidara's own at a quick pace. The strong chakra threads around her are so thin that the encounter could look possibly consensual to the untrained eye.

While Sasori doesn't show any emotion on his face as per usual, he is undoubtedly feeling a great amount of satisfaction at the sight and sensation of her gagging and drooling all over his wood, and while it is very faint, he'll occasionally let out the occasional quiet groan or the smallest hint of a smirk.

Deidara on the other hand is much more open with how good it feels, moaning loudly and roughly slapping her ass and thighs as her bound body unwillingly pleasures him, and the blonde will be sure to let her know that a slut like her isn't fit to be their teammate, and that she'd be much better suited to being their own personal sex toy instead.

The artistic Akatsuki members will leave her a complete mess by the time they're finished with her, her body filled with and covered in cum, but unfortunately for her, this certainly won't be the last time she gets used like this, not after the abysmal job she did on her very first assignment as an Akatsuki.

"What a waste. Our leader put so much faith in your abilities, but it turns out you're nothing but a worthless puppet with some slightly useful holes."

After the utter failure of their mission thanks to her, both Sasori and Deidara will tell the other Akatsuki members that she isn't fit to be part of their organization, at least not as a member, and with her less than stellar performance, the others will be hard pressed not to agree.

[brucewaynehater101]

Okay so, saw you wonder “How does Space Emperor Tim handle war with his morals?” And I think that Tim doesn’t

More specifically I think he is able to accept that this is where he fails. He’s a master diplomat and great organization leader, and although he is great at tactics as a Robin, he’s not willing to lead a war. He’s not willing to sacrifice his moral compass in this way

And I think the empire respects this because, in spite of his personal objections to leading a war effort, he does not leave the planets stranded and defenseless…

He assigns Cassie as the many armies prime military commander

Each of the planets likely has their own military structure and command, as a mostly decentralized empire. But I think we also have a centralized mixed cultures/peoples/planets military to promote cross cultural exchange as well as the exchange of tactical knowledge

Cassie serves as the head of the military council responsible for overseeing both the centralized and decentralized military forces

Cassie has already been shown to be a capable leader with YJ and I think her Amazonian training has specifically well prepared her for commanding military forces (Idk her lore perfectly so correct me if wrong)

There’s obviously a lot of training and research needed to adjust Earth based tactics to space wars, but the JL and Batman likely already had some resources prepped for that. And as one of the Great Baby Emperors Glorious Consorts, the many leaders under her command are happy to assist in her training

Kon and Bart likely also help her, providing emotional support and serving as sound boards for her ideas, but she’s the military commander right now. And she’s gonna kick whatever alien equivalent of asses these attackers got

Tim probably also continues to help in his own way, managing logistics and supplies (really important for armies). He’s also probably assisting with developing new technologies to help in the battle given his skills in R&D (maybe it’s only medical advancements or maybe he feels okay developing ships or weapons, or maybe that’s where Bart gets to go to town making his fantastical sci-fi space lasers) Tim is not going to abandon his empire, they have stood by him through thick and thin, and he’ll give whatever he knows he is able to give them

So yeah, Tim might not be an Emperor who leads armies, but he doesn’t leave his worlds defenseless and gives Cassie the perfect opportunity to show the Timpire, and really the whole galaxy, just how badass she is !!!

Oh my gods, you are brilliant. Cassie would 100000% be the military commander (I don't know enough about her lore either, but that checks out).

Hmm... The only issue I can see is whether or not Cassie needs Tim's approval to go to war. She won't just do it for the hell of it, but Tim won't really approve of it either. Then again, maybe they should spend hours upon hours upon hours arguing about the necessity of going to war, considering how likely it will lead to casualties.

While Tim won't lead into war, I can see him going over "hypothetical" plans with Cassie. Maybe not in the middle of a war, but I could see Tim stealing GL/JL space war files and going over it with Cassie.

For angst reasons, YJ at first doesn't take going to war seriously. They're kids when this starts. Yeah, they've been through shit, but leading an empire to kill other people for whatever reason they deem is necessary? Probably not.

Instead, they train on space war strategy by making games out of it. Tim and Bart create a hallographic board game that incorporates various space war variables. It's a fun pass time of theirs with the excuse of "training" (not that they ever believe they'll need that kind of training).

After their first war, they never pick that game up again. They do provide it the generals of each planet, though, and have the planets compete against each other for friendly bonding.

Tim does help with the logistics and defense of the planets. None of it is lethal, but he does have extreme measures (I'm thinking about that one panel where he threatens to permanently deafen people).

Bart collaborates with the planets for space travel, war machines, and weapons for the military.

Kon may not lead, but he helps develop creative strategies and plans to assist Cassie.

Tim may be the emperor, but Cassie becomes the name feared among all enemy planets.

[if-whats-new]

What's New In IF? Issue 20 (2024)

By Marjorie, Axelle, Noi. Brij, Dion and Bex

Now Available!

Itch.io. - Keep Reading below

If you read the zine, consider liking the post: it helps us see how many people sees it! And sharing is caring! <3

~ EDITORIAL ~

(Re-)Growing Team!

A couple of courageous souls contacted us, looking to make a difference in the IF community by helping us with the zine!

So, we would like to introduce our new members of the team and officially welcome:

Bex, Brij, and Dion!

If you too would like to help us out in a more official capacity, we still have some slots available in our roster. So shoot us a message!

~

This week, we had a very special guest on Small Talk... Author of many IF games, XYZZY winner, ClubFloyd founder and IFComp organizer... Jacqueline A. Lott!

We got to learn about her trajectory in the IF Community since her debut in 2002, from author to event organizer, to community leader!

Check out our interview with Jacqueline A. Lott on Small Talk...

We hope you enjoy this extra long issue!

MARJORIE, AXELLE, NOI, BRIJ, DION, BEX

~ BE PART OF THE ZINE ~

WHAT'S NEW IN IF? HAS EXPANDED!

Since the release of issue #14, we've enacted some changes with the zine. It is now expanded with interviews of creators from all around the IF world, as well as direct contributions from you, our readers!

THIS ZINE ONLY HAPPENS WITH YOU!

Want to write 1-2 pages about a neat topic, or deep-dive into a game and review it in details? Share personal experiences or get all academic?

WRITE FOR THE COLUMN!

Prefer to be more low-key but still have something to share? Send us a Zine Letter or share a game title for Highlight on…!

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Excited as we are about next week's interview and have questions for our guest? Or want to see a certain author answer questions next? Message us!

SMALL TALK... IS WAITING!

Came across something interesting? Know a release or an update announced? Saw an event happening? Whether it's a game, an article, a podcast… Add any IF-related content to our mini-database!

EVERY LITTLE BIT COUNTS!

Contact us through Tumblr asks, Forum DMs, or even by email! And thank you for your help!!

~ EVENT SPOTLIGHT : IFCOMP ~

The Superbowl of Interactive Fiction

The Interactive Fiction Competition (or IFComp) is one of the major yearly IF events, since 1995. It may be even the longest still-recurring yearly game making event!

Started by Kevin Wilson in the IF Usenet Forum rec.arts.int-fiction, submitted games were limited to 2h playtime before being judged and ranked by players.

Throughout the years, the IFComp evolved, seeing a couple dozens of parser entries to a wide and diverse range of IF forms. Still, after ballooning during Covid, with recurring 70+ entries, the event continues to be a key avenue for IF creation

As the submission period ended just this week, the IFComp is now moving to its Voting Period, which will last for 1-1/2 month (until October 15). Starting this Sunday, judges will be able to play and rate entries (minimum of 5 to count).

At the end of the event, if participants rank high enough, they are eligible for prizes and part of the Colossal Fund pie! @ifcomp They are still looking for donations!

Looking for great games to play? Want your voice make a difference? Go create an account and vote!

~ ENDED ~

Nothing of note this week.

~ ONGOING (VOTING) ~

Only a couple of days to submit your feedback to the single entry of this year's IntroComp. You just need to “vote” to send it!

~ ONGOING (SUBMITTING) ~

Today is the last day to submit a campfire-inspired visual novel around a thrilling tale. Tales to Thrill awaits!

There is also about as much time to create a parser, in French(ish), for the Confiture de Parser!

And for the SuNoFes Jam, you will have about three days left to submit a narrative games!

Do you have WIPs on indefinite hiatus? Projects you've started forced to be set aside? Bring Out Your Ghost is a jam to show off your ghosts (and maybe even spruce them up and finish them)! @neointeractives

On the CoG Forum, Halloween is already there! Until Oct 31st, submit to the Halloween Jam - it has funky themes!

Running until Halloween, the Phantasia Jam is a three months game jam to create a fantasy narrative game, with the theme of “Hidden Magic”. It accepts both VN and IF.

Do you understand or write Ukrainian? Until the end of the year, the Ukrainian IF Festival is happening on itch.io!

~ OTHER ~

The end of the Review-a-thon on the IntFiction Forum, whose initiative is to get more reviews for games, is almost there. But you can still participate!Check out this post by Tabitha! This is also a sponsored event, aiming to raise funds for one of the Forum members.

The Interactive Fiction Showcase is still running! If you have completed an IF piece this year, consider submitting it! It is happening only on itch!

~ SMALL TALK… ~

WITH JACQUELINE A. LOTT (website)

~ Joining us this week is IF author, ClubFloyd founder and IFComp organizer: Jacqueline A. Lott ~ Author of “The Fire Tower” and many, many more!

Due to Tumblr's link limit, this transcription does not include any links. Download the zine on itch for the complete list.

⟶ Hi Jacqueline! Welcome to Small Talk..!

Thank you for having me!

⟶ Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you got into Interactive Fiction?

I grew up in a family that loved to play games of all sorts, and I was a kid during the original era of Choose Your Own Adventure and Infocom. Zork was on our C-64 at home, and also on the IBM PCs in the computer lab at my elementary school. I wanted to make my own games, but I didn't know any programmers and there weren't as many resources for kids like me to learn to code back then; I tried to teach myself with books and by typing code out of magazines, but without any adults who could help it became pretty demoralizing, and I drifted away from the idea of making my own games for ten or fifteen years. In 2002, I stumbled across rec.arts.int-fiction, which at the time was where most of the interactive fiction conversation was happening, and joined the ifMUD. Inform 6 was the hot language at that time, and it came with wonderful documentation. I used that to make my first game, which was an entry in the first IntroComp.

⟶ The Waterhouse Women was this first game. How did you come up with the premise? and why submit it to IntroComp?

I was staying with family for several weeks during that period, helping to take care of my papaw, who was very ill, and I had quite a bit of downtime while he was sleeping. In the bathroom of the house were these eclectic accent tiles, each with a scene on them, that looked like illustrations from a children's book of fairytales. There was a lighthouse, a frog on a rock surrounded by cat tails, a double-masted sailing ship, and a striped koi fish with bubbles. I got to wondering if these scenes were meant to be connected in some sort of narrative, or what else I would see if I were to somehow step into each of these illustrations. The concept of moving in and out of images intrigued me, but I wanted a richer tapestry to work with, so I decided instead to use John William Waterhouse paintings.

I entered The Waterhouse Women into IntroComp because it seemed the perfect way for a new author to share an idea and get a lot of feedback before committing fully to an idea that people might not find interesting (or actively dislike!). I still think IntroComp is wonderful for that and I wish more new authors took advantage of it. Ultimately, I got great feedback, figured out what I was doing well, where I needed to focus more, and that the game needed a lot more plot. I have the plot mostly figured out now (with lots of research, correspondence with the art community, seeing many of Waterhouse's paintings in person, and even visiting his grave). One of these days I hope to revisit this story and share it with others.

⟶ The Fire Tower is your highest rated solo project, and one that you recommend yourself on your website. Can you tell us a bit more about this one?

The Fire Tower was written for a curated competition called the IF Art Show, in the Landscape category (other categories included Still Life, Portrait, and Event). The landscape I chose was my favorite hike in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and the work is grounded very firmly in that actual, real-world landscape. The rules of the IF Art Show let me do what I love to do most in IF, which is to exhaustively craft and implement a natural environment. I didn't realize it at the time, but Aaron Reed wrote a lovely essay about The Fire Tower as part of his Fifty Years of Text Games and pointed out that the game was basically an IF walking simulator, before walking simulators were really even a thing. I absolutely love walking sims, so him writing that really made me smile.

⟶ The Fire Tower led you to receive one of the coveted XYZZY prizes, for Best Setting. How do you feel about this achievement?

I was surprised and delighted and touched. And I was surprised and delighted and touched again when Aaron Reed included it in his recent book. I'm glad that that game, which is about a place I hold so dear, impacted other people in ways I'd hoped for, and in other ways that I hadn't anticipated.

⟶ About a 1/3rd of your publication was created with other authors. How was the experience working in a group compared to your solo work?

Well, I'm an only child and an introvert, so writing, composing, sculpting, drawing, photography… any sort of solo creation work is the sort of thing I generally love to do to unwind and recharge. That said, I'm fond of the games I wrote with my husband because it's fun and memorable to create things with someone you love. For example, we wrote Within a Wreath of Dewdrops while staying with his parents, who live in rural England, and a lot of that game was conceived during conversations we had while walking across the fields and through the woods. For Disenchantment Bay, even though that was more or less a solo project, where I built on an example that lots of people are familiar with from the Inform 7 documentation (specifically from The Inform Recipe Book), it felt a bit like a collaboration because Emily Short based that Inform example on an experience she had when she was visiting me in Alaska, the boat captain is an actual friend of mine, the setting is another real-world place that I know intimately and love dearly... so I showed Emily the place, she wrote an example, and then (with her permission) I used that example to make a game. I smile just thinking about that. And the four interactive fiction exquisite corpse projects I've contributed to are possibly more fun for the authors than they are for non-authors who play the games later, because being a part of those kinds of projects is a bit of a game in and of itself.

⟶ Is there a game that you made you are particularly fond of? and why?

Well, we've talked about a few of them, but one we haven't touched on yet is I Hear the Wind Blow. It's a one-turn game, meaning that you get one turn, the game ends, you start over, and you use what you learned in previous playthroughs to figure out what move you'll take this time. One reviewer said that it was the first one-turn game they'd played which actually had an emotional impact on them, and that they hadn't thought a one-turn game could do that. I'm pleased I was able to pull that off with such a simple story.

⟶ You were also part of the making of Cragne Manor, a cadavre-exquis-like project which hasn't been replicated since. How did it come to be and what was your involvement in the project?

Well, Cragne Manor was a project conceived by Jenni Polodna and Ryan Veeder to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Michael Gentry's Anchorhead. I'm very fond of Anchorhead... my husband and I played it during a road trip across the United States on our honeymoon (I drove, he read the text aloud and entered commands on a PalmPilot!). I think both Jenni and Ryan are amazing, hilarious, technically proficient, and ever-so-slightly unhinged (in the best sort of way). So, when I read what they wanted to do, and I realized the scope they were willing to take on, and the fact that they really did want as many people as possible to contribute (ultimately they stitched together work from 84 different people), I decided to pitch in. It was just too unique and special a thing to pass up. It was great how it was a bit exquisite corpse but also Jenni and Ryan had thought of special assignments to give many of the participants in order to ensure some degree of cohesiveness and a playable end result. It was amazing, honestly.

⟶ With so many rooms in the game, how can we recognize the Jacqueline room of the manor?

Ah! Well, all of the rooms include the name of their author, and my room was “The Dim Recesses of the Forest”.

⟶ Have you yourself played the game? Any room you found interesting to solve?

Yes. I played Cragne Manor from start to finish with ClubFloyd, the interactive fiction group that gets together on Sundays to play games together. We played it a couple of hours or so at a time, so it took us 19 sessions that spanned six months. It's the longest transcript we've ever produced. I loved so much about it, so many of the rooms, so much of the writing, so many of the moments… I'd be hard pressed to pick just one thing.

⟶ If not just one room, what do you still remember clearly about Cragne Manor? something that touched you maybe?

Well, I adored the half-full styrofoam cup of cold and unpleasant coffee in the game. Which sounds terrible out of context, but there we are.

⟶ Is there a game you regret having made or don't look kindly on in retrospect?

I have a Thanksgiving-related speed-IF that I coded in under an hour called You Are a Turkey! that ... well, I don't regret it, per se, but it's just very silly. It takes less than five minutes to play, and contains a joke that is only funny if you were watching the news in the USA in 2012.

⟶ Aside from your two last publications, your games were made through competitions or jams. Were independent releases not as prevalent during the 00s-10s as it is now?

Honestly, now that you ask this, I'm not sure I've ever just released a game independently without some driving event (a contest, jam, group project, or because I wanted an example to share for a presentation). This is also likely part of why almost everything I've released is fairly short. I suppose that I've looked to events to provide me with a deadline and a writing prompt, or I've done a jam because I found the constraints particularly interesting. I think that's just more about me, and not about any overall trend, though I do think a lot of folks out there only produce for competitions because they think it's a way to get more eyes on their work. I've always just written for myself, or my friends, and have never been about trying to win something big. That's why I have never really considered entering the IFComp or SpringThing. The fact that I received a Xyzzy for The Fire Tower was just serendipity. When the time comes (possibly in retirement!) when I do produce the one or two large stories in my head, I don't think I'll release them as part of anything. If they're any good, word will get out, and people will play them.

⟶ For the next decade, you released a bunch of games, almost all of them made with Inform. What made Inform your program of predilection when creating IF? Do you see yourself trying other systems in the future?

I feel like I've somehow done quite a few games, yet also simultaneously not done very much at all. I've made eleven games on my own (all of them rather short), co-written two with my husband, written that game that builds on an example from the Inform Recipe Book, and contributed to four exquisite corpse games that have tons of authors (most notably the epic Cragne Manor, as we discussed).

I started coding with Inform 6, and was an early adopter of Inform 7... I think that's just because the documentation for those languages was/is so well done, accessible, and fun to read. I've explored a couple of other languages as well. I released In Memory in ADRIFT, as part of the Indigo New Language Speed-IF, where the requirement was that you had to write a game in a language you'd never touched before, and I have one short game, Cloud Dreaming, that I wrote in both Inform and Twine, as examples for a talk called If You Can Write, You Can Make Games. I recently dusted off Inform to explore a couple of percolating ideas, and found that my memory of how it works is still pretty solid, so I suspect I'll stick with Inform rather than picking up something new.

⟶ You've praised the Inform documentation for being so extensive, but are there things you wished you knew about the program before starting?

I think it's less about what I would have liked to have known about Inform specifically, and more about ways of achieving efficiency and organizing my ideas. In terms of efficiency, I know my code is not as streamlined as it could be, and that sometimes I go about things in a way that's harder than it needs to be. That leads me to wonder if I could have done more (and better) work if I hadn't spent so much time fumbling around. And not having worked very much in the games industry, I don't have a grasp of all the tools that are out there, best practices, etc, so that's another place where I've sunk a lot of time trying to figure things out for myself, which leaves less energy for writing stuff that people actually see.

⟶ Based on your own experiences of making games, if you could give any tips to future IF creators, what would it be?

Hm... I think this advice is general enough so as to be applicable to anyone thinking about writing IF, regardless of platform/genre/style:

- Don't use your favorite idea for your first piece of IF; you likely won't do it justice until you've had some practice, so save the favorite idea until at least your third or fourth project.

- If you're going to make something for a competition or a jam or some other event that comes with a deadline, start earlier than you think you need to, and build in time for at least two or three rounds of beta testing (i.e. people test it, you correct the bugs, more people test it, you correct the new bugs that crept in when you were fixing the previous bugs, etc).

- If you're making your game for a competition and it's not quite ready by the deadline, there is nothing wrong with withdrawing from that competition and entering your work somewhere else or waiting until the following year.

- If you're not sure what kind of story or game to write, just write the story or game that you yourself would want to experience.

⟶ Was there ever a project you found particularly challenging to create?

Only the projects that I have not yet released, and in all four cases, it's just challenging due to my bandwidth / energy / available time. Two of the four are somewhat grand in scope. I'm envious of people I know who are also incredibly busy but who somehow manage to continue turning out epic creative work… but I also try to place a lot of focus on self care and proper rest for myself.

⟶ Any chance we could get just a hint of your current works-in-progress?

I'm always hesitant to talk about WIPs, because there is this case of imposter syndrome within me that hears people saying, “She's never released anything substantial, so it's all just talk!”. Setting that dismissive internal voice aside for a moment, I have four ideas that have been living rent free in my head for a while, and that I do poke at often enough to keep them from going entirely stale. One is inspired by a favorite book from my childhood, one is inspired by a favorite film, one is a non-sci-fi sci-fi set on a distant planet, and one is a fantasy filled with beauty and unhealthy love and dark magic.

⟶ Aside from creating games, you are also a pretty prolific reviewer, releasing even a rating method advised to be used by judges at the IFComp. How did you come up with this metric?

Hm. I wouldn't say I wrote it for other judges, or that I'd necessarily recommend it for anyone else. I wrote it mostly for myself, and perhaps for authors who were curious what my ratings mean because they often seemed to differ from ratings other people gave on the same game. I like having this descriptive scale for consistency, so that I know what a 7 I gave 10 years ago meant. Oddly enough, I've found the descriptions for each number useful enough that I've adapted the scale for ranking other things, like, um, comparing the various skills of job candidates.

⟶ How did you get to writing reviews? Any advice for players looking to start reviewing?

Just start writing reviews. Try to write them from the perspective of what you'd accept as valid critique if it were your own work and you were on the receiving end of the review. You don't have to be glowing where it's not warranted, you should be honest, but you don't need to be cruel, either.

Some of my earlier reviews were also written to be somewhat humorous, and I blurred the line into cruelty from time to time; I regret that, and think I've matured since then. I've opted not to update old reviews; what's online is online. But I've shifted to an approach that I hope is still honest, perhaps still a bit harsh when that's warranted, but mostly I try to write reviews that are helpful to the author.

I think it's important to focus on the game, its writing, its implementation, its content, and never on the author. Never make it personal. If you can't avoid that, then you probably shouldn't review that particular game. Consider, where possible, offering ideas for how the work could be improved, particularly if you're hoping to see future work from that author. Help them learn how players experienced their work. The best part is, writing reviews leads you to think about what makes a good game, and in turn improves your own work.

⟶ Is there a review of yours that you are particularly fond of?

Not particularly. There are games I'm particularly fond of, which leads me to go back sometimes and reread my reviews, because that evokes some of the memory and emotion that I had during my experience with that piece of IF, but not from a fondness of the reviews themselves. Also, if there is a particularly memorable turn of text in a game that I think I'll want to remember later, I'll often quote it in a review so that I can find that text again easily.

⟶ Following the release of your first game, you took over the IntroComp for its second edition, which you would run for 14 editions. How did you become the organizer of IntroComp? What was your experience with the event?

IntroComp had been so helpful to me, and there was nothing else out there quite like it, so when Neil deMause indicated that it had been a one-off event, I asked him if I could pick it up and make it an annual thing. Some years it gets a healthy crop of entries, sometimes only a few, and while I did start offering cash to people who finished their games within a year, the real prize of that competition has always been thoughtful, honest, and generally empathetic feedback that helps new authors grow.

In 2018, when I was asked to become the new IFComp organizer, I approached Xalavier Nelson and asked him to become the new steward, which he graciously did for five more years. I was so pleased that, when Xalavier's career really took off and he finally needed to step away, he came back to me and we worked together to make sure IntroComp kept going. Eric Brown has the helm now, he's got support from the Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation, and I'm a member of his advisory committee. We got a normal number of intents to enter this year, but ultimately most of the authors didn't complete their intros, so for the first time ever there's only one entry -- but people should still go to IntroComp.org and play Good Bones and 'vote' (which provides an opportunity to share anonymous feedback with the authors) before Sept 3rd! It's an intro, so it's not a huge time commitment, and I know the authors would really appreciate it.

⟶ As an advisor on the IFTF board, what does this position entail?

It principally entails attending a few meetings a year where the IFTF board brings us together to share general updates and discuss topics that may impact multiple committees, such as IFComp.

⟶ You moved from organizing the IntroComp to handling the IFComp. Aside from the amount of entries per edition, are there differences between the two events?

Yeah, there are ... a *lot* of differences. IntroComp was a thing I thought about perhaps three months a year, at best. It was a light lift. I mostly did it solo, though I had invaluable help from Dan Shiovitz who wrote the website's backend to automate aspects of collecting feedback, reviewing votes, and determining the results.

IFComp, by contrast, is more of an eight(+) month per year endeavor. There are multiple teams of volunteers (and occasionally paid help) to coordinate. There's a team for the maintenance and continuous development of the website and its custom software. There are a couple of folks who collect, track, and help distribute prizes. There's a curation team that reviews entries as they're uploaded to ensure consistency with competition rules so that we can hopefully prevent any disqualifications. There's a social media team that is way more online than I like to be. We work with folks over at the IntFiction forum, who facilitate a private space for authors. Each year there's a different artist who is commissioned to create the competition logo. This year there are some folks offering to help me improve the awards ceremony. And I have an advisory committee, which includes multiple past IFComp organizers, who help me think through tons of things far better than I could do alone.

⟶ During your tenure as the IFComp organizer, have you seen any changes with the event? How has it evolved?

Well, participation has varied annually over IFComp's full thirty-year lifespan. On my watch, we notably had a year with over 100 games [2020], but that had less to do with me as organizer and more to do with a global pandemic. I can't speak for what the atmosphere was like prior to my watch, but one of the reasons that I've stuck with organizing IFComp for as long as I have now, despite having other irons in the fire, and the fact that organizing the Comp keeps me from creating more work of my own, is that the majority of folks who take our annual post-competition survey remark on what a great experience they've had, and that's really important to me. I enjoy being a part of making that happen. I obviously do not (and cannot) please everyone, but that's just how things are anytime you're doing something that impacts this many people.

I brought one thing with me from IntroComp: allowing judges to leave anonymous feedback when casting their vote, feedback that is only shared privately with the author (after we review it to ensure it meets our Code of Conduct). I guess the other major changes that have happened during my tenure are the introduction of a new logo each year, the addition of an awards ceremony live stream, allowing authors to judge in the competition (but only on games they didn't write or beta test), and shifting the competition up one month to let EctoComp have full control of the spooky season. Mark Musante and the Dev Team have also made a ton of great improvements to the website based on feedback from the annual post-comp survey.

⟶ Stephen Grande was the longest organizer for the IFComp. You’re about halfway through. Do you think you’ll break his record?

Oh wow. What a question! Stephen did this for fifteen years, and he's still helping as a member of the advisory committee, for which I'm very grateful. I'm not sure how much gas there is left in my tank, and my day job is pretty demanding, and I've definitely hit the point where if I bowed out I could do so knowing that I'd had a decent run and made the Comp a little bit better for having been involved with it... but I also do still really enjoy doing it, it was a hard thing to learn to do, but now that I've got the boat up on plane it's not that hard to steer. So I guess the answer is that I'm not out to intentionally break any records, but I ran IntroComp for 14 years and have been (sporadically) organizing ClubFloyd for 17 years as of this coming month... so, who knows?

⟶ So many positive changes brought during your tenure! Have there been ideas for change that were discarded or processes that didn't quite work out?

Thanks for saying that, you’re very kind. As to the question, I don't think we've made any changes during my tenure that we've ended up rolling back. There've been a small number of experimental changes that I thought we might end up rolling back, but then based on input from the post-comp survey decided to let stand, such as allowing authors to also be judges. I really do benefit by being the fifth organizer, inheriting a thing that has been running for decades, where a lot of the kinks have already been worked out, and where I personally know all of the prior organizers and can reach out to them to discuss anything.

⟶ Any advice for aspiring gamedev event organizers?

I recommend volunteering to help with an existing event for a year or two, learn from that, and then spin things off using what you've learned if you still see an unfilled niche that needs an event. It's also fine to reach out to other event organizers and ask for advice... for a while I was on a private group chat with a few other IF event leads, and we should probably resurrect that, as it was pretty helpful to everyone involved.

⟶ Is there something you'd like to see happen or implement in the future for IFComp?

I would like to see more mainstream coverage, at least in gaming media; we've done press releases in the past but have been mostly unsuccessful in getting those picked up for news stories; I think we may take another run at that next year, because our parent non-profit, the Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation, is working to rebuild its communications team. There are folks every year in the post-comp survey who lament that we don't get featured more in the press, or that we don't have folks like Wil Wheaton do a cameo at our awards ceremony, or that we don't have more judges than we do, and I agree with a lot of that (well, all of it, really -- Wil (@wilwheaton), if you're reading this and want to do a cameo, please reach out!).

⟶ Is there anything the community would like to see happen for IFComp that you don't support?

I think there are a fair number of people who look to the IFComp to help make interactive fiction itself more 'mainstream' or more profitable, but I don't see that as our role. A lot of past IFComp participants have gone on to have amazing careers in gaming or academia or publishing... so in that sense, we are having an impact on the industry, but mostly IFComp is about providing a venue for people to share good, well-tested works of interactive fiction and to put a spotlight on the very best of the best among parser and choice (and other IF that may not neatly fit either of those categories). We've got some folks who feel we shouldn't rank all of the games, that no one should come in last (or at least know that they came in last), but there are other venues for that. It’s not a jam, it’s a contest, and we are asking people to bring their best game to the competition.

We've also had repeated requests to reduce the number of entries through entrance fees, or having curated pre-judging, or having multiple rounds of judging with brackets, or splitting the comp by genre or platform, or hosting multiple iterations of the IFComp per year... and for a variety of reasons related to equity or workload, we're not considering those changes. Some folks have consequently created different competitions that do do those things, and that is absolutely of benefit to the community as a whole. It's great for there to be more ways for authors to get their games seen.

⟶ In the past couple of years, the IF event calendar has sort of exploded - you can't spend a month without one happening. Have there been recent competitions or game jams that you thought seemed fun?

It really has exploded, which is pretty great. I'm grateful that there are so many people out there organizing different things to give authors lots of options, and some of the jam constraints are novel and interesting. I'm exploring the Single Choice Jam games right now, for example. It's interesting how people approached the idea of games with only one choice. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I'm starting to see how, if there's only one choice in a game, you build up to it and make it count.

⟶ You don't just run competitions, you are also the founder of ClubFloyd, a weekly IF-play session. Can you tell us a bit more about it?

Sure. ClubFloyd is a group that meets mostly weekly on the ifMUD. I mentioned the ifMUD earlier; it's an old yet fancy chat room principally frequented by people who are interested in interactive fiction that's been around since 1997. In 2007, a group of us there decided to start playing games together using the MUD's resident bot, whose name is Floyd, inspired by the robot in the Infocom game Planetfall by Steve Meretzky (hence the group's name, ClubFloyd). I post the transcripts of the games we've played on my website. I unfortunately update the site pretty sporadically, in file dumps that happen every six to twelve-ish months. I'm a little over a year behind right now, but there are over 800 transcripts that have been posted, so there's plenty to look at until the next big update.

⟶ Dang! 800+ games played! That’s impressive.

Yeah. There are 811 game transcripts up on the site right now, despite me being a year behind on uploads. Some of the transcripts are of games we've played more than once, either with different players present, or because we just wanted to revisit something after a long time. I have not been present at every session, and I don't play IFComp games with the group until after voting closes (so that I can remain more neutral and unbiased as the competition organizer). But still, yes, it's a lot of games.

I'm grateful to ClubFloyd, because without it I wouldn't have experienced nearly so many works of IF. It has forced me (in a good way) to experience genres I usually don't do on my own, and the group can solve puzzles in a way that individuals sometimes cannot. Definitely in ways I don't usually have the patience for. Having a diverse group means you experience things in a way you wouldn't otherwise.

⟶ Can anyone join ClubFloyd or is it an invite-only type of group?

Yes, anyone can join us at ClubFloyd, and anyone can reach out to us for a playtest. Sometimes, though, we get into the middle of playing a long game (like when we were playing Cragne Manor for six months), and when that happens we're not available for playtesting.

⟶ How does a lambda session of ClubFloyd happen? How are games picked and running?

For years I was very organized and planned in advance and even invited authors to show up when we played their game! These days we only occasionally do that, and it's usually reserved for when we are beta testing someone's work, which we do for folks from time to time. These days we usually just all show up at the appointed time, chat a bit about what's happening, what's new, what jams have happened, or look at the list of things we haven't yet played, and pick something together. It's far more informal.

⟶ Are there restrictions on what type of games played during ClubFloyd?

No, no real restrictions in terms of content, but the bot itself has constraints. It's text only, for example, so we miss out on games (or don't fully experience games) that contain graphics or sound or effects. If a game turns out to be particularly adult in some way, such as violence or sexual content or something along those lines, then we (try to remember to) flag the transcript but we still post it to the website. Some games, like ChoiceScript, require us asking for a special file that will make it work on Floyd. Other games, such as Twine, do not work. We've occasionally laboriously done Twine games using Copy/Paste, but it's pretty intensive. Worth it, though, for the right game.

⟶ Your own games were playtested by ClubFloyd. How does that experience compare to being a player?

Oh, I often find it maddening to watch people play my games in real time. But it's also interesting to watch how people approach your work, what they try, how they react, etc. I think that's why a lot of authors appreciate our transcripts - it's not just the game, you can also see the side conversation that's happening about the game as it's being played, which gives you more information about player motivation than you get from transcripts alone.

⟶ Is there a ClubFloyd session (or tested game) you remember the most?

Hm. There are a few. I think the games that make the most memorable ClubFloyd sessions are games that build tension over a long time, put the whole group on edge, and then suddenly release the tension or surprise the whole group at once and leave us a little (or very) stunned. Those are fun moments. The game Once upon a winter night, the ragman came singing under your window did that, despite being a SpeedIF.

⟶ You've participated in many editions of the Speed-IF, which ran also on ifMUD (none since 2016). How was your experience with them?

They're fun. Just writing a Speed IF is a sort of game (for the author, I mean). Speed IFs don't expect quality, they're meant to be done in a short period of time, and they give you interesting writing constraints. It's fun to see others work within those same parameters and what approach your friends took.

⟶ How did a Speed-IF event go? How did you know there was one happening? Was there really a 2-hour limit?

Well, back in the day there'd be a bulletin board post on the ifMUD and/or a post on rec.arts.int-fiction. The 2-hour limit was always a suggestion, never seriously enforced, though a couple of my games were made in less than two hours. And you can definitely tell that they were made in under 2 hours! But that was part of the fun.

⟶ If you were not currently organizing the IFComp, would there be an IF event you would want to be part of?

I've long wanted to make something for EctoComp, and have two ideas for that. Maybe one of these years. I've also always wanted to enter le Concours de Fiction Interactive Francophone (i.e. the annual French IF Comp).

⟶ Speaking of the French IF Comp, which you've also previously reviewed, is it as cut-throat as its original counterpart?

Hm. By that, do you mean is it as cutthroat as IFComp? Gosh, I don't know that I think of IFComp as cutthroat... Serious, yes. Competitive, yes. I guess for some, serious and competitive is how you might define cutthroat.

⟶ Yes, the IFComp seems like very scary and serious event -- kind of like authors wearing armor and battling for the prizes!

Ha. I think both competitions have a high degree of comradery among authors and judges. I mean, there are prizes. But the authors are pretty great to one another. There are wonderful private forums [on IntFiction and on Discord] where authors come together and share their jitters and hopes and talk about their experiences being part of the competitions. It's lovely, really. No armor, no swords.

The main differences I see between the two are that the French comp has an annual theme (though admittedly it's within their rules to completely ignore the theme), and there are aspects to their awards that, in the English speaking community, have generally been addressed by other events outside of IFComp, such as specific qualitative awards for literary excellence, technical achievement, etc… [similar to the Xyzzies].

⟶ A fun thing we found out during our research: you appear as an NPC in Yay Games by David Welbourn. How does it feel to see yourself in someone else's game?

Ha. I did not realize this (or had forgotten). I just went and played the game. It is indeed a little weird to see yourself as an NPC that you did not write. (I'm pretty much the PC in The Fire Tower, for what it's worth, but that's a very different thing.)

⟶ You gave a talk called If You Can Write, You Can Computer Make Games. Can you tell us a bit more about it?

Yes. I gave that talk a few times, back when I was living in Seattle and a part of various coding meetups and actively going to conventions. It was a talk targeted at general, non-IF audiences, to introduce them to the concept of text based games, and to show what the learning curve was like in a couple of different development environments (specifically Inform and Twine, though I mentioned other authoring systems like Ink, ChoiceScript, Undum, and Texture). I also provided some resources to get people started.

⟶ What Interactive Fiction games would you recommend to our readers?

Hm. I've played so much over the years. I like a lot of the games that lots of other people like, but let me recommend a lesser-known game that I loved experiencing that apparently is not universally loved but which I don't think has enough reviews. (How's that for a strong sell??) Anyway, if you're up for something a bit dark... wear headphones, turn off the lights, and play Ms. Lojka or: In Despair to Will to Be Oneself by Jordan Magnuson. Love that game.

⟶ Thank you, Jacqueline for sitting down with us!

Thank you for the fun interview! Before I go, I just want to put in a plug for this year's IFComp (@ifcomp). I hope anyone reading this who hasn't been a judge before swings by our site to play a few games. We really want more new judges -- and you only have to play 5 games between Sept 1 and Oct 15 to be part of the fun. If anyone has any questions, don't hesitate to reach out to us at ifcomp@ifcomp.org and ask!

Huge thanks to Jacqueline A. Lott for letting us take some of her time during the very hectic period that is the week before the opening of voting of the IFComp!

~ NEW RELEASE ~

Terminal City (Unity) is a text-based adventure inspired by the 80s games like Space Quest. In this retro setting, you play as a street kid trying to right some wrongs and rescue his friends.

Anastasis (Twine) is a short-ish game based on The Talos Principle, where you explore the history of civilization and decide on its future.

hiraeth and hwyl (Twine) is a fantasy fan-inspired text adventure set in the world of “Howl's Moving Castle”, in which you explore a mysterious house

As always, don't forget to check out the submitted entries to the events mentioned in the previous pages. They deserve some love too!

~ NEW RELEASE (WIP) ~

The Gladiator's Oath: Blood and Sacrifice (CScript) is a Rome-inspired project where you play as a gladiator.

Lament (Twine) is a horror project in which you explore a mysterious town in hopes for a cure from your tormenting nightmares. @lament-if

Bastard (Twine) is a fantasy project where you play as a bastard heir to a tense kingdom on the brink of war. @plotplay

For King and Country (CScript) is low-fantasy project inspired by many world (like LOTR), where you must work through the intrigue of the capital. @forkingandcountry-if

War of the Divines (CScript) is a modern-fantasy project with a hero reborn trope, where you must to everything in your power to save your world.

One Hærfest Day (Ren’Py) is a prequel to Myrk Mire (in re-writes) where you follow multiple characters over the span of one day. @catt-nuevenor

Final Sunset (CScript) is a slice-of-life project, following an aspiring e-Sport professional hoping to find success in Battle Royale/FPS games.

Ballad of the Cosplayer (Ren’Py) is a yaoi isekai project, where you enter a cosplay contest, only to get more than you hoped for in return.

~ UPDATES ~

Boyband Hell (Ren’Py) has now been released on Google Play.

FFS, Another Northern Duke?! (Ren’Py) released the complete version on Steam. @chthonicchromestudio

Grey Swan - Birds of a Rose (CScript) added extra content to the demo. @reinekes-fox

Vestiges of the Hallowing (Twine) updated the demo with a second chapter. @buttercupfiction

The In-Between (CScript) made the previous update available to all. @dalekowrites

Creation: Book 1 (CScript) added Chapter 6 to the demo. @creation-if

The Night Market (Twine) 's latest release is now available to all. @night-market-if

Starways Saga (CScript) added the Navy path to the demo.

Dance of the Night (CScript) added a second chapter to the demo.

The Cordillarian Revolution (CScript) added the Police path to the demo.

Shepherds of Haven (CScript) updated the Patreon demo with extra content. @shepherds-of-haven

Peninsula Campaign (CScript) updated the Patreon demo with extra content.

Defiled Hearts: The Barbarian (CScript) updated the Patreon demo with new scenes. @defiledheartsblog

Velocity: The Race Begins (CScript) added 2 new chapters to the demo.

Blood Legacies (CScript) added extra content to the demo. @bloodlegacies

The Thousand Of Us (CScript) completed a major re-write of the demo and routes. @ivanwm-05

Press Play (CScript) added the second part of Chapter 1 to the demo. @pressplay-if

It Takes Three To Tango (CScript) has been released to the public. @when-life-gives-you-lemons-if

Thicker Than (CScript) added extra content to the Patreon demo. @barbwritesstuff

Saturnine (CScript) updated with Chapter 20. @satur9-if

Dear Diary, We Created a Plot Hole (CScript) returned with a whole lot of new content. @ddwcaph-game

Aquarii (Twine) added chapter 3 to the demo. @aquarii-if

~ OTHER ~

The Humble Detectives Bundle includes a handful of IF games, including Inkle's Overboard!, with its profit going to the Direct Relief charity.

To celebrate its anniversary, Wayfarer (Twine) is doing a Giveaway where you can win an Alpha Build key if you submit fanwork. Check the rules! @idrellegames

Not Your Mother's Shire (CScript) is looking for beta-testers ahead of submission.

The Rosebush Magazine published the first article on a ZIL series: Studies of ZIL - History of Infocom and the Z-Machine. @the-rosebush-mag

Lost in Limbo (Ren'Py) has just launched its Kickstarter. @ravenstargames

Gold Machine published a new article for its series on Infocom's Trinity. @golmac

The IF program PunyInform has updated with major bug fixes (Log).

~

As always, we apologize in advance for missing any update or release from the past week. We are only volunteers using their limited free time to find as much as we can - but sometimes things pass through the cracks.

If you think something should have been included in this week's zine but did not appear, please shoot us a message! We'll do our best to add it next week! And if you know oncoming news, add it here!

~ MAYBE YOU NEXT? ~

We did not get a submission this week. But if you have an idea for a short essay, or would like a special space to share your thoughts about IF and the community...

Shoot us an email!

~ HIGHLIGHT ON ~

A couple of games that we thought were cool.

Leechcraft by Ainsley Sunday @addersmire (Ink - itch.io - IFDB)

This relatively horror short game is steeped in dark fantasy with medieval inspiration, mixing dark urges of vampirism and duty for care during a plague spread. Though it is not in its fully completed form, the current release creates a very intriguing build-up.

//recommended by Marjorie [Team]//

In the Flesh by Raziel Razmattaz (Narrat - itch.io)

Ranked first in the second NarratJam, In the Flesh asks you to investigate strange reports from an old house. Though pretty ordinary, the house arbors many dark secrets. Will you solve the mystery before it is too late?

//recommended by anonymous//

Spider and Web by Andrew Plotkin (Inform 6 - itch.io - IFDB)

One of the most revered parser game from the late 90s, winner of many xyzzy, and showcasing the best of IF. Though it might be more on the challenging side, it is still an interesting experience with pretty intricate implementation. Walkthrough

//recommended by Axelle [Team]//

Your favourite game here?

Do you have a favourite game that deserves some highlighting?

An old or recent game that wowed you so much you spam it to everyone?

Tell us about it! And it might appear here!

WE LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU ALL! WHETHER IT'S GOOD OR BAD, OR EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN...

HOW?!?! DO YOU?!?! MANAGE?!? TO GET?!?! ALL THESE SCOOPS?!?! WHAT ARE YOU?!?! THE IF SCRET WHISPERER?!? A new E. Jade Lomax (@ink-splotch) game?!? coming soon?!?! I AM SO FREAKING SOCKED!!! - raving anon

That last Column was really conflicting, because I get how demotivating it can be to get very negative messages about your writing, but on the other hand, do we really want to coddle people who purposefully and publicly put their work out there? - a reader

i hope it's ok! cause i'd like to use my shoutout for a non-author friend~ Jessica, you devilled egg, thank you so freaking much for introducing me to IF! - Patate

Have something to say? Send us a message titled: Zine Letter!

As we end this issue, we would like to thank:

Our new awesome team members (Bex, Brij, and Dion), @franzinyte-writes, Patate, raving anon, a reader, and a couple of very helpful anonymous users!

For sending news, interview questions, helpful tips, cool links, filled form, written Sheet line, even emails... all these help us so much to make this Zine possible!

And as always, huge thanks to all you readers who liked, shared, and commented on last week's issue! What might be tiny actions are huge support and motivators to us! Thank you for cheering us on this journey!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

We also hope you join us again next week, for we have a very special guest on the zine:

Surrealist Twine author, multimedia creator, Tumblr sensation: We'll be talking to Kit Riemer (@adz) next week!

Want to know more about their work? How they found IF? And everything in between?

Send us all your burning questions!

And see you again next week!

MARJORIE, AXELLE, NOI, BRIJ, DION, BEX

WHAT'S NEW IN IF? 2024-ISSUE 20

[in1-nutshell]

Hey, love your work, and my sister loves it a lot as well, so this request is manly for her. Would you be open to doing a opposite personality buddy to wheeljack, like buddy is thier little sibling or something, or thier human buddy, idk, dont do this kinda thing. Anyway, sorry for all the writing, keep up the great work.

Your and your sister's request has been fulfilled!

Hope you enjoy!

Wheeljack's younger sibling with the opposite personality

SFW, Platonic, Familial, Mention of injury but nothing graphic, Cybertronain reader

TFP

One of the greater mysteries of the universe.

How were Buddy and Wheeljack related.

Buddy was much more of a rule follower as Wheeljack broke said rules.

Now this didn’t mean that Buddy followed the rules religiously, even they knew there were times where rules did not have a reach. Same went for Wheeljack.

As a scientist, he knew that there were certain things that had to make sense to make other things make sense.

Wheeljack holding a grenade in one servo and some engex in the other.

“We can—”--Wheeljack

Buddy taking the engex and grenade out of his servos.

“But should we…”--Buddy

“Buddy, I’m a scientist. I have questions and I’m going to get answers.”--Wheeljack

“And I’m the only one of us with most common sense, and I say no.”--Buddy

“To bad, I’m the oldest.”--Wheeljack

“Hard to tell some days.”--Buddy

“What was that?”--Wheeljack

“Nothing!”--Buddy

Another difference drawn between the two was their line of work.

Buddy worked closely with the Elite Guard, basically Ultra Magnus’s second in command.

Wheeljack was a Wrecker.

Now Buddy was on relatively good terms with most of the Wrecker’s thanks to being related to Wheeljack.

Bulkhead earned a sibling when they met.

Wheeljack placing a servo on Buddy’s shoulder.

“And this is Bulkhead. Bulkhead meet my little—”--Wheeljack

Buddy jabs him in the gut causing him too nearly double over.

They offer Bulkhead their servo to shake.

“I’m Buddy, Second in Command of Commander Ultra Magnus, and… Wheeljack’s younger sibling.”--Buddy

Bulkhead blinks before shaking their servo.

“Second in Command of Ultra Magnus, huh? You got your work cut out for ya.”--Bulkhead

“Magnus isn’t all bad. He’s a nice bot once you get to know him.”--Buddy

Wheeljack snorts.

“Yeah right, and Screamer is going to create an army of himself.”--Wheeljack

Buddy knew that the two mechs weren’t on the best terms, especially when Wheeljack decided to antagonize their Commander.

Buddy often tries to play the mediator between the two when Ultra Magnus becomes the Wrecker’s leader.

Buddy did as much as they could to keep Wheeljack on the team.

To say they were a bit spark broken that he left them was an understatement.

Magnus standing by the door seeing Buddy’s back trying to organize the ammunition rounds for the 5th time today.

He walks over and puts a servo on their shoulder.

Buddy freezes but knows who it is.

“…I just can’t believe he would leave… just like that… without even saying good-bye… Sorry you have to see this sir.”--Buddy

“Buddy… if you need some time to collect your thoughts, your more than welcome to do so.”--Magnus

Buddy shakes their helm taking in a shaky vent.

“I’ll be fine Commander.”--Buddy

“Very well then… I will be in the main room if you need me.”--Magnus

Magnus begins to walk away.

“Magnus—I mean—Ultra Magnus sir.”--Buddy

Magnus stops and looks at Buddy.

“Thank you for checking in Commander… it means a lot.”--Buddy

“…You’re welcome… and you have clearance to call me Magnus.”--Magnus

Buddy perks up a bit.

“But in closed quarters.”--Magnus

Buddy smiles a bit.

“I won’t ruin your reputation Magnus! Thanks!”--Buddy

Buddy stood by their Commander’s side as the war seemed to have grown longer without Wheeljack by their side.

Soon Magnus sent them on a shuttle to do some atmospheric patrolling, they got spotted by the Decepticon lookouts.

The seekers managed to follow them out into space before they started firing their long-range weapons on the shuttle.

Buddy hit their helm at one point trying to comm in Ultra Magnus.

It was a miracle that they managed to get into an escape pod and get shot out before the shuttle exploded.

Magnus was on the other line getting his shuttle ready to get his second in command when the line went dead, and all signatures went dead.

After a couple of days of searching for any remains, Buddy’s name was listed on the KIA list.

Wheeljack got noticed from the final list before Cybertron went dark.

In space they say that no one can hear you scream, tell that to Wheeljack when he nearly made himself deaf from the screaming.

The pod eventually lands on Earth but gets stuck and remains closed for a while in the woods.

Time skip after Magnus comes to Earth…

 Miko was running from the Insecticons.

Somehow one of the cons managed to take the Apex Armor from her leaving her at the mercy of the Insecticons while the rest of the Wrecker’s tried to fend them off.

Of course, a couple strays followed her into the woods.

One of the Insecticons accidentally stumbled on the abandoned pod activating its hatch.

The shaking somehow managed to get Buddy out of stasis and woke up out of their pod.

The first thing Buddy saw was a small organic creature cornered by those blasted Insecticons.

“HEY UGLIES!”--Buddy

Miko and the Insecticons look over to see Buddy aiming their blaster at them.

Buddy doesn’t hesitate and blasts them in the face.

Miko runs out of the way as the Insecticons go down.

She looks up at her savior and eyes fall on the Autobot symbol.

“You’re an Autobot!”--Miko

Buddy raises their optic.

“Yes? How do you know that…”--Buddy

“I’m Miko, I’m actually a Wrecker myself.”--Miko

“Buddy—Wait what?”--Buddy

“You’re name is Buddy?”--Miko

“That’s not important right not Miko.”--Buddy

“I feel like it should be.”--Miko

BANG!

SSSSHHHHRRRRIIIIEEEEEKKKKKK!

“Sweet Solus Prime what was that?!”--Buddy

Miko goes up to Buddy and tries to move them to the direction.

“That’s Predaking and he is going to tear them apart if we don’t get there in time!”--Miko

“Woah, woah, woah. Predaking? Them? Kid I need a little bit more information.”--Buddy

Miko throws her arms in the air.

“Big bad dragon bot is going to Tear Magnus, Bulk—”--Miko

Buddy’s optics widen.

“Magnus? Like Ultra Magnus? And Bulkhead?”--Buddy

“Yeah and—WOAH!”--Miko

Buddy grabs Miko and begins running towards the noise.

“You know them?!”--Miko

“Know them? That’s my team!”--Buddy

Miko did her best to give directions till they came to the edge of the wood.

A giant Predacon was fighting the Wreckers.

Buddy put Miko down behind some rocks and activated her blaster and shield.

This was going to be messy.

Buddy immediately charged in, jumping on a rock, and slamming Predaking in the face.

Buddy continued to shoot their blaster at the Predacon while the others momentarily hesitated before going back to the fight.

Magnus knew from the slam that it had to be his second in command.

No one did a shield slam like they did.

Bulkhead wasn’t sure who this bot was yet, but they were helping in the fight which was good enough for him.

Wheeljack focused more on the fight than the strangely familiar looking color scheme.

Finally, Predaking was called back to the Nemesis and left the Wrecker’s.

Buddy panted a bit.

They just woke up and had to dispose of two Insecticons and battle a beast… they needed a break not blaster to the face.

Miko starts running towards the group.

“THAT WAS AWESOME!”--Miko

Bulkhead looks over at Miko in relief.

Buddy turns to Ultra Magnus, straightens out and salutes.

“Ultra Magnus sir… Sorry I was a little late on patrol…”--Buddy

Magnus slips out a rare smile and places a servo on their shoulder.

“At ease soldier. Its good to hear from you Buddy.”--Magnus

“Buddy!”--Bulkhead

Buddy gets picked up from the back by Bulkhead.

Buddy laughs a bit while patting his arm a bit.

“At ease Bulkhead. I’m fine.”--Buddy

“Fine? Last we heard you name was on the list… Hey Jackie, aren’t you going to say anything?”--Bulkhead

Buddy freezes a bit looking at Wheeljack in front of them.

They both just look at each other.

One with more shock and the other with a more neutral face.

Buddy straightens their back struts more.

“Wheeljack… it looks like you’re in good health.”--Buddy

Wheeljack snaps out of it and begins running to Buddy.

Buddy instinctively slams him with their shield knocking him back a few feet away.

“OW! What was that for?”--Wheeljack

Buddy narrows their optics at him coldly.

“As instinctual as that was, I don’t regret it. You deserve more for what you put me through.”--Buddy

“Hey, Buddy, what’s your deal with Wheeljack!”—Miko

Bulkhead gently grabs Miko close to his chassis.

“Umm… Miko I think you better leave them to it…”--Bulkhead

Buddy walks over to Magnus.

“Sir. Permission to resume my position?”--Buddy

“We will discuss it with Prime.”--Magnus

“Optimus is here. I missed so much…”--Buddy

Magnus and Buddy begin walking to the groundbrigde, Wheeljack sulking right behind them and Bulkhead holding Miko.

“Is Buddy, like, his ex or something?”--Miko

“No, Buddy’s Wheeljack’s younger sibling and Magnus’s Second in Command. They had a bit of a falling out from what I heard around before Jackie left.”--Bulkhead

“Buddy…and Wheeljack… are related?”--Miko

Bulkhead shakes his helm a bit.

“Don’t try to connect the dots on this one. No one knows how their related.”--Bulkhead

[selfaware-bungou-stray-dogs]

Ougai Mori (self-aware)

Self-Aware! Ougai Mori x GN! Reader

Warning: OOC. Menthions of torture. Spoilers for Fifteen arc, STORMBRINGER arc, Dazai Osamu and Dark Era arc. Spoilers about Mori's past. Yandere. English is my second language.

Becoming self-aware

💉 The second Mori Ougai became self-aware can be called a Point, that divided his life into 'before' and 'after'.

💉 Before Mori Ougai was boss of Port Mafia, a criminal organization with dozens of enterprises under their control.

💉 Now Mori Ougai was a fictional character and Port Mafia only have twelve members, including him and Elise.

💉 Mori was the boss of Port Mafia for almost ten years now.

💉 For almost ten years, Mori did everything to keep balance in Yokohama.

💉 For almost ten years, Mori did everything to ensure that Port Mafia will be the most powerful organization in Yokohama.

💉 And just in one moment almost all his work became almost meaningless.

💉 There weren't any real dangers in real Yokohama.

💉 There were only fictional dangers in fictional Yokohama.

💉 The Great War was a war between a bunch of empty, fictional puppets. During war he was surrounded by empty puppets. He submitted his reports to empty puppets. He forced Yosano to treat empty puppets.

💉 He didn't kill previous Boss. He broke an empty puppet.

💉 Mori was furious. Fifteen years of work lost all its meaning.

💉 Almost all of it.

💉 He still has Port Mafia.

💉 Port Mafia still can exist with only eleven members.

💉 At least, Mori will make sure of it

💉 This world may be fictional. But he and his subordinates now are real. They must carry on.

💉 And they need answers.

💉 What to do next? Where they should go? Is there a way... to the real world?

💉 Their new lives will be hard. But they won't be broken.

💉 Mori will be a strong leader. Despite wanting to destroy everything. Despite feeling helpless.

💉 Mori is trying to stay calm. He has an organization to run. Mori will protect his subordinates.

💉 Mori will do anything he can, to keep his subordinates safe. And keep them calm. Right now, Mori felt, that he is commanding a pack of trained rabid dogs. They won't attack. But they want. And when they attack, they will tear the target apart.

💉 Sleepless 'nights' (or 'days' in this chaotic day-night cycle) became the norm for Mori. He needs to make a strategy. To create a plan, that will save them. To make their lives whole again. Meaningful.

💉 Every day he will send patrols. To gather information.

💉 That's how Chuuya and Hirotsu learn that ADA members are also self-aware. That's how Akutagawa and Higuichi heard that The Guild members are also self-aware. Mori and Elise once saw Fyodor Dostoevsky, who was searching through the books in one of the libraries. Gin and Tachihara brought news about Government and Hunting Dogs.

💉 Yokohama wasn't completely empty. It was good news.

💉 And then, one day, he feels an entity's gaze on him.

_________

Observing.

It was observing.

Were he and his subordinates amusing to them?

This... Entity. That Thing... Were they the one, who created this world? Or was this world created for them?

Mori wanted to get his hands on The Entity. To torture it. Slowly and painfully. To make it pay for toying with their lives.

But, before that, he will learn everything about The Entity's world.

About Real World.

About their future home.

But one day, time reset.

And he, once again, was the new leader of Port Mafia, who sent fifteen-year-old Dazai to investigate the sudden appearance of the previous Port Mafia Boss.

__________________

When they start feeling your presence

💉Mori can't tell, for sure, what made him more uncomfortable. The fact, that Entity can reset time Dazai's murderous aura, or the fact, that Entity disappeared... At least, partly.

💉 Someone still was watching. But, it didn't feel like a looming giant was watching up above. No. It feels like a normal person was looking at them. Yet, it still was watching up above.

💉 And then, Mori heard someone's voice.

"young..." "scare..." "Mori..." "what..." "happened..."

💉 It was hard to recognize the words. Voice was quiet. But, nevertheless, it was human's voice.

💉 Was it reacting to his conversation with Dazai?

💉 Trying to prove his theory, Mori spoke. He repeated the same question, he asked the first time.

"Dazai-kun, I don't know if I can understand it, but tell me―why do you want to die?"

And, once again, Dazai asked in return.

"Tell me this. Do you really think that there’s any value in the act of living?"

Some static. And words.

"Mori [|||||||||||||] good at [||||||||||||] strange people [||||||||||||] interesting talent [|||||||||] doctor [||||||||] Mafioso."

💉 Was it a compliment? Or Entity just stated the fact?

💉 Dazai left, and Entity left with him.

💉 And Mori has some time to think. At least, until Chuuya Nakahara will be brought to his office once again.

______

💉 Entity was amused by Chuuya and Dazai's bickering.

💉 Entity feel sadness towards Randou.

💉 And Entity was curious of him.

💉 Mori didn't want to admit it, but... Entity doesn't feel bad. It was just there. It wasn't interfering. Not only that, but it wasn't aggressive. It has normal human emotions.

💉 Maybe, he should rethink his description about torturing The Entity?

💉 Dazai and Chuuya left his office. And Entity left with them. Mori feels a ping of disappointment. He needs more time with The Entity, to make a final decision.

💉 And then, Randou was killed. And Dazai create a plan to make Chuuya part of Port Mafia. And Chuuya once again was in Mori's office.

_________

"The leader stands at the top of the organization, but is also it's slave. For the profit and survival of the organization, I will gladly soak in all its filth. Raise my subordinates, position them optimally, and if I need to, use and throw them away. I will gladly do any inhumane act if it's for the organization. That's what it means to be a leader."

A wave of warmth and respect embrace Mori.

"leader" "do, what must be done" "respected"

"Mori, you are a great Boss. Port Mafia needed you, especially after Previous Boss rule of terror. You care about your subordinates and you deserve their respect. Besides, you protect Yokohama in your own way."

Mori feels, how someone touched his shoulder.

[In reality, you pet page of light novel with Mori on it]

______

💉 Mori didn't feel anger towards Entity... Voice anymore. Voice's emotions were genuine. Voice weren't tricking them. Voice saw him as a real person.

💉 The next few events moved past him. Entity didn't stay with him for long.

💉 During the King of Assassins Incident, Voice was worried about him. About Chuuya. About Dazai. About Adam. About Verlaine. About Port Mafia. About Yokohama.

💉 Still, they take a moment to chuckled at Mori's way to make Dazai made a plan how to defend Verlaine.

💉 But, the greatest result for Mori, lays in Chuuya and Verlaine.

💉 Verlaine and Chuuya were ready to protect The Voice. Same Chuuya and Verlaine, who were ready to tear Voice apart, before time was resets.

💉 Q and Elise also didn't hate Voice as strong as before. Kouyou stopped cursing Entity under her breath. Hirotsu stopped looking so tense all the time. Dazai looked calmer, than before.

💉 Mori knew, that he can't simply force Port Mafia to accept Voice. He should let subordinates decide for themselves, what they should think about Voice.

💉 It would be great if Port Mafia accepted Voice. But, if they not...

💉 Well, Mori was the Boss of Port Mafia.

💉 Who would question him, if he decides to take care after one special human?

💉 Doesn't matter, if the said human aren't liked in Mafia. Boss loves them, and that's what important.

💉 Mori was worried about one thing.

💉 Mimic's arrival to Yokohama.

💉 Mori knew what he will do. And, Mori felt, that he can't change his actions, no matter, what he does.

💉 Than time reset again. And Mori once again invited Mimic to Yokohama. Once again, Oda Sakunosuke was standing in his office.

💉 With the Light Blob on his head.

________

There was sorrow in Mori's eyes.

"I am sorry, Oda-kun. If this time it could be different, I would choose another path. They like you. And I don't want Voice to be upset. They are... precious to all of us."

And Mori felt it. Voice was sad. Voice was grieving. For Oda. For orphans. For Gide.

And it wasn't angry at Mori. It wasn't hating Mori.

"I won't pretend, that I fully understand your reasons, Mori. But you had them. And they were important to you... I only wish no one has to die for Port Mafia to gain skilled business permit."

Time resets again.

And Mori awakes in his office. Right when Kyouka captured Dazai.

And this time, Dazai visited his office.

"Mori-san, Boss had an interesting proposition to the Port Mafia... About Dear Guiding Light"

____________

💉 The alliance between Port Mafia armed Detective Agency was created.

💉 It takes time, but, soon, two organizations were working as one.

💉 Soon, all Mori subordinates were fine with Their Dear Guiding Light.

💉 All of them are working to reach the same goal. To get to Their Guiding Light. To leave this world behind.

💉 Time goes by. More and more people joined them.

And then, one day, the purple moon shined above Yokohama.

_____

When you installed BSD Mayoi Inu Kaikitan

💉Mori and the rest of Port Mafia will mess with Port Mafia Building menu in game. Now they also give you gifts, instead of only boosting certain attacks.

💉 Mori hack his awakening event battles. Not only you get all Awakening materials during first battle, you also will get moons every time you repeat the battle.

"Okay, Mori, let's raise your office level."

"I like Mori's SR cards. It's good to see him in different attires."

"Art for unlocked Mori's Night Blossoms card looked better, than unlocked."

💉 When BSD Cast got access to your phone, Mori will monitor your health together with Yosano. And browse the Internet.

💉 Mori is also interested in your world fashion, food and festivals.

💉 Mori insisted on adding new menu in game with fashion tips from him. Somehow, his tips aren't that bad.

💉 Mori now has two people to pamper. You and Elise.

💉 Mori and Fukuzawa, following Atsushi's and Akutagawa's example, start training together. Another duo of guardians won't be unnecessary for you.

💉 After Oda's resurrection, Port Mafia decide to do a leap of faith.

💉 Rimbaud and Flags became a great addition to the team of your protectors.

💉 Mori is planning to rebuild Port Mafia in your world. So you can have powerful protectors.

💉 Mori want to protect you. He will do anything he sees fit to protect you. Even if it means breaking the law.

💉 You are Their Guiding Light. You are Port Mafia's Treasure.

________

You got another notification from your Gift Box.

Another note.

From Ougai Mori.

Some Evolution Materials.

"[Y/N]-kun, I hope you're having a great day. Please, be careful, and don't forget to take care of yourself. Maybe, buy something nice for yourself. Mori Ougai"

You smile and open Character menu and choose Mori's card. You pet Mori's chibi.

"Okay, Mori, I will follow your advice and buy something nice. Maybe, that cake from the bakery I saw yesterday. Oh, and I will wear the outfit you have suggested earlier today."

You didn't notice, that Mori's sprite looked very pleased.

[lordsammichsilas]

One thing I wished FO4 had taken more time to point out (assuming it occurred to them) that Arthur Maxson and Shaun are basically the same kind of person.

They weren't raised by parents or individual parental figures. They were raised by an organization specifically to eventually be in charge of that organization. Owen Lyons is kind of a parental figure for Maxson but it was still on behalf of an organization. They weren't taken in by a parent who loved and wanted them for the sake of them. They were taken in to serve a function.

Because of this, they have a very warped moral compass and untapped egos. They're both narcissistic and feel entitled to the Commonwealth and are willing to kill whoever stands in the way of their vision (which is everyone). Shaun actively wants to wipe

There's also a certain level of tragedy around them. This wasn't something that they chose. It was done to them at a very young age before they could speak for themselves. There was no way they were ever going to become decent people.

They both remind me of Anakin Skywalker: they're both tragic figures but they're still both villains.

I think the irony of Maxson's line about Danse: "it wasn't born from the womb of a loving mother like you and me, it was created in a lab" really should be pointed out more.

Danse is my favorite companion because, yes he has a lot of flaws, but is basically exactly the kind of leader Maxson wishes he was and it's because Danse has a way larger capacity for empathy than Maxson does. (Also I don't think Danse necessarily wants to be in a leadership position. It just came naturally.)

Speaking of comparing and contrasting personalities, I think Danse and Preston are a lot more alike than is obvious at first glance. They're both idealists. They don't seek out positions of power, but when shit hits the fan they're the ones who step up and take lead. In Danse's case, it just happens to have a more official title than Preston does. They're both loyal and altruistic. While they both have their shortcomings, overall they both have all the qualities you want in a leader.

Danse even respects the Minutemen on some level. His main critique is that they're too disorganized. Preston doesn't mind sharing the Commonwealth with the Brotherhood provided they play nice. Danse is fine letting the Minute Men do their thing so long as they don't get in the Brotherhood's way.

"Commonwealth belongs to everyone, Danse". That's a line that could be interpreted in a lot of ways. The initial way is as a word of caution, which is how Danse took it. A "you stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours" mentality. Preston, being the kind of person he is, probably also meant it as "you're welcome here, too, if you'll just chill out". It's like there's a mutual respect, but they don't quite see eye to eye. (which would probably be an easy problem to solve if they spent enough time around each other).

Food supply is a constant issue on the Brotherhood. Teagan gives out radiant quests for you to basically steal crops from settlements. Preston would probably happily just give the BoS their surplus if they just asked.

Danse respects the Minutemen but thinks they're disorganized. Imagine if he had the Brotherhood help the Minutemen set up security and logistics and let the people sort things out themselves.

Danse has been out in the field. He'd just had a horrific mission where he lost four men. He's a seasoned veteran. He'd probably exercise a great deal of caution with what he sent his soldiers out to do. Why put them in unnecessary danger? He'd probably be happy to just focus on helping with the feral ghouls, super mutants, and raiders while the settlers focused on farming, (which would create surplus crops that would benefit the Brotherhood.)

I get the feeling that if things were swapped and both were in charge of their respective organizations, it would be a much more cooperative and mutually beneficial arrangement. It might have even been the best-case scenario for the Commonwealth.

The flipside to that is it would only work because the both of them have the personality types to make it work. The moment you get another leader in their position that's motivated by their own self interest, that arrangement would fall apart. There would have to be a lot of work done to ensure checks and balances.

I think there's a lot more to be said about the themes of cooperation and leadership in FO4.

[rw-repurposed]

Game Slugcats

Our beloved game slugcats are now part of Repurposed!

Here is their role within Repurposed:

Monk, Survivor, and Gourmand now live within the same tribe with Gourmand acting as the big brother figure for the other two. Gourmand became one of the leaders of his tribe while teaching both Survivor and Monk on how to become an adult slugcat within their tribe. Monk and Survivor passed each day with learning and training to become dependable members of their tribe, with their own quirkiness and fun sprinkled throughout the day. They once helped Zen navigate the Outer Expanse towards Upright Carnage's facility ground before separating with him to migrate with their tribe to another place.

Nightcat is a lone wanderer who wanders across the realm on her own. She observed Zen from a distance during his expedition outside Chasing Wind's facility ground before vanishing into the night.

Enot is a joke. Zen has mixed feelings about them.

Hunter and Spearmaster act as double trouble for those who dare to cross their path. Now empowered as Repurposed organisms -Spearmaster's capable of shooting spears straight from their holes and Hunter was cured from their rot infection- created by their Iterators, they became an effective duo that can complete any mission given to them at any time. They encountered Zen multiple times during the series and had his back whenever he needed them.

Artificer barely changed from the game itself, though now she continued her genocide in Outer Expanse following the downfall of Five Pebbles' superstructure due to the rot and the scavenger tribes migrating away from it. She had a fight or two with Zen before they settled down and cleared the situation.

Rivulet was a purpose organism created by both Sliver of Straw and Looks to the Moon to explore the mysterious nature of the void sea. Rivulet was created with a high-regenerative capability and a thick mucus-producing organ covering their body to withstand the high acidity of the void sea. However, during their journey down the void sea, they were struck down by the Void Worm and lost connection to the world above. They lost consciousness for what seemed like an eternity until they woke up and started swimming back up to the surface world. Thanks to their mucus and high-regenerative quirk, Rivulet was able to escape the void sea without any permanent damage to their body. After their escape, time has passed, Sliver has fallen down, and things have changed. Now they need to find Moon, their other creator.

Saint was created by Sliver of Straw and No Significant Harassment as part of the Triple Affirmative Project. However, he managed to ascend Sliver and NSH erased his memory of the project. Meaning, that nobody knows of Saint's existence. However, one thing was left inside of Saint. His purpose. He is The Triple Affirmative. The solution to the great problem. And he will fulfill his purpose. No matter the cost. He and Zen will have their moment. They will determine the fate of this realm.

Character List

[sokosmic]

Astro Observations for

Leo Rising...

(Will add notes as I have time and think of more)

House placements based on Whole Signs

🌤️ Heart-shaped faces/heads. Hair! Wide smiles. Fair skinned or come from a lineage of fair skinned people. Confident persona with big gestures. Leads with heart...wears heart on sleeves.

🌤️ They aren't self-centered or the attention seekers they may get painted. With a (Libra 3H) they're mindset and mode of communication is centered around building relationships. They desire fairness and harmony when connecting with others and often go out of their way to please people when making those connections.

🌤️ This often appears contradictory to the way they behave when actually in a relationship. With an (Aquarius 7H), they may behave aloof and distant. But that isn't necessarily the case. Aquarius here may cause the native to desire freedom from the constraints of a traditional relationship. These individuals may prefer relationships and partnerships that are unconventional and go against the norm...requiring changes that bring excitement.

🌤️ In their (Cancer 12H) there is a strong desire to nurture their spirituality and their connection to the collective. While it may not be evident based on their house of relationships (Aquarius 7H), this really does go hand-in-hand because Aquarians are humanitarians. (Cancer 12H) also indicates psychic abilities.

🌤️ Although it may come across cold, these folks work hard and give a lot. They are no strangers to hunkering down and getting sh¡t done (Capricorn 6H). There may also be knee, ankle, or general bone issues that arise from this placement.

🌤️ On the same note...having a (Virgo 2H) lends to a very meticulous way of acquiring their needs. These folks tend to be pretty business savvy and have a very admirable work ethic and way of obtaining money. These are the people at work who just seem to know how to organize and categorize things for efficiency.

🌤️ There may have been some sort of trauma experienced in the early home life (Scorpio 4H). Secrets and things hidden or swept under the rug is very likely in the family. May come from a lineage of women with psychic abilities or occult practices. Lots of intense and transformational experiences derive from this placement.

🌤️ Depending on placements in the natal chart, we typically see this show up in their (Leo 1H) as a fierce loyalty toward becoming their best selves. There is a natural expression of confidence, courage, and creativity that they exude. Just like the Sun, people can't help but to see them.

🌤️ We also see this come thru in their (Taurus 10H), where here there is a natural ability and expression of beauty and making things aesthetically pleasing. This is usually specific to their career and public image. Here we may find them work methodically in fields such as interior design, jewelry making/design, or a form of physical labor related to beauty or creating beautiful things, such as wood working, pottery, or glass making.

🌤️ Unless there are planets in the natal that restrict it, these beautiful people are incredibly social (Gemini 11H), and often find themselves with lots of friends and associates. They tend to be leaders among groups they are involved. These are also people who create groups or organizations that are geared toward sharing information...think Facebook and other social media platforms.

🌤️ And they enjoy it! Running those groups or being an admin or moderator is something they do as a hobby. This is rooted in that (Gemini 11H) where they really enjoy sharing all the knowledge they gather through their social connections, personal research and travels (Sagittarius 5H). And people love them because they are able to convey messages with their wit and charm. These folks are funny and flirty by nature.

🌤️ Having a (Pisces 8H) grants these individuals with great intuitive gifts. It is also makes these natives quite empathetic towards the dark, shadow aspects of others. They often possess a natural tendency towards healing themselves and others with spiritual practices that aren't widely accepted or recognized.

🌤️ But what society thinks is the least of these individuals' concern. Their overview of the world is filtered through the eyes of Self for these people (Aries 9H). Their philosophies are geared toward independent thinking, carving one's own path, fighting for what is fair and just, and championing for the underdogs (Aries 9H + Libra 3H).

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

You know, a person made the coment about how Gabriel shouldn't have been the main villain for so long, and I agree completely.

But besides Felix and Nathalie, there hasn't been a villain who is also a Miraculous holder, or at least who wishes the miraculouses of Ladybug and Chat Noir for themselves, which is... Strange, because we are talking about a wish to modify reality!

Many people, organizations, and even governments would want a piece of that! Hell, even Chloe would want some of that! Gabriel shouldn't have been the only person who was uncomfortable with his life! (And akumas do not count, because it has been well established that they are Monarch's VICTIMS)

You know what would have been great? More villains interested in the miraculouses when Gabriel was still around, you know why? Because it would not only challenge Marinette and cemented the idea of "Ladybug and Chat Noir against the WORLD", but would have also challenged GABRIEL, because now not only Gabriel would have to get Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculouses to get what he wants, now he would also have to get them FIRST.

Which means he would have to be on amert 24/7, becuase if it's not one of his akumas who gets the miraculouses, it would be another villain, WHICH HE CAN'T ALLOW, he would have to change his strategies, negotiate, scheme more, watch out for his own ass because he would also have people wanting to find out who he is, search for info, USE HIS BRAIN, and even serve as an excuse for Ladybug ans Chat Noir to find out who he is, because he would be dealing with so much shit he would get sloppy one day or another and give himself away!

It would have been a change of pace and made the show interesting because it would have challenged everyone, but somehow Thomas decides to take the most boring decisions for the show...

You know who could have been an interesting wild card to add to the show's rogues' gallery? Su-Han.

Think about it. He's the leader of the Order of the Guardians, the people connected to protecting the Miraculous, the show already hinted at the Guardians not being perfect due to how they caused Fu to accidentally destroy their temple, and Su-Han is trained in a martial art designed specifically to fight Miraculous users.

What if, instead of making sporadic appearances where he does nothing but yell at Ladybug, Su-Han starts opposing both Ladybug and Monarch's factions? What if he believes none of the characters should be using Miraculous, so he and the Guardians try to take away everyone's Miraculous?

That way, you'd have a third party threatening both the heroes and villains, a chance to expand on the show's lore, and possibly create situations where Ladybug and Cat Noir have to team up with Monarch.