#co-yomi

[yridenergyridenergy]

Currently free "utakata Mono" photographs

[austajunk]

There’s a little tidbit on the Rain Code loading screens during Chapter Four that Makoto takes like 30 minutes each morning to pick out his special mask of the day much to the dismay of anyone who is meeting with him and has to wait for him.

And I just think that’s special cos I’m pretty sure it’s Yomi he personally calls up and is like “Omg yes, Yomi, the meeting…we’ll get to it, but first, can you tell me your personal opinion on each and every single one of my masks? I’m just having such a hard time figuring out which one to wear today.” And then, he lays back and watches to see if Yomi spontaneously and quietly combusts from the rage.

[alfiely-art]

Thinking about how the Raincode gals get seriously fucked over

Like. Out of the main cast of 22-ish characters, only 7 are girls. There's more in the supporting cast, but still- there's a majority of guys in Raincode. Which is fine! You can have a majority of male characters and still have really great female characters! But. We don't. Really get that.

We have Pucci, who's limited screentime is mostly shipping bait with Yuma.

We have Melami, who just sorta... introduces herself, comforts Yuma, then dies.

We have Shinigami, who's great 90% of the time but whenever another woman comes on screen she becomes the biggest misogynistic asshole I've ever seen, and she's the main source of fanservice (not necessarily bad, but sooo much of her dialogue and animations are Centered around that)

We have Fubuki, who gets introduced as a blue haired version of the dumb-blonde stereotype- thankfully she gets to prove that she isn't that in chapter 3, but that's kinda. It. She does help in chapter 4 but it's pretty limited

We have Martina, who shows up, barely does anything in chapter 1, kinda... embarrassingly fails in chapter 2, gets sent to her death, and shows up with absolutely no foreshadowing or buildup to arrest Yomi. That one moment is cool, but that's... honestly all she has other than her threatening Yuma and Desuhiko with a gun.

Guillaume does absolutely nothing. She tries to intimidate Yuma and the others, is defeated, and walks home. She has barely any presence in her own chapter!!!

And Kurumi. Kurumi my beloved. She's delegated to Yuma's love interest, is insulted by Shinigami every time she's on screen (and she doesn't even know!! She can't even fight back like Fubuki did!!!!) and she's just given nothing to work with, being shoved into the plot whenever Kodaka needs to remind us that Kurumi and Yuma sure are cute together, aren't they??????

A lot of the guy characters also have some of these issues, but 1. There's more of them so it's not so concentrated 2. They usually have way more going on with them anyway, ex: Vivia doesn't get much screentime but the screentime he does have is so impactful and visceral

It's just. Ourgh. Not to be an ass and compare it to Danganronpa but compare it to Danganronpa. They had mostly balanced casts, about half-and-half male and female (except our beloved nonbinary bot Kiibo) and every gal gets SOMETHING to work with. Even Sayaka, Makoto's Love Interest Girl, gets more development than Kurumi and Pucci combined. Every mastermind is a girl (Izuru was like... a co-mastermind), you get a girl sidekick, they all get stuff to do whether they're a victim or a blackened or a survivor! Two of the three traitors are gals!!! Even Mukuro, who doesn't show up as herself outside of the anime, has more she's doing. Obviously Danganronpa still has its flaws writing women but. It's just. Ourgh. Kodaka let me learn more about these gals. Kodaka. Kodaka write women normally

[tobiasdrake]

I used to play Magic: The Gathering for a decent chunk of my life. There's this one card that's always stuck with me, because it espouses a philosophy that I find interesting. I talk about this sometimes, when consuming heavily intellectual media. I mentioned it recently while doing Desuhiko's substory in Rain Code.

"The correct answer to a barbarian's riddle is to choke on your cleverness and die."

This is sort of what I'm getting at when I say things like, "Violence may not always be the best option, but it is always on the table." It's what I was thinking about during Yomi and Makoto's confrontation, when I was like, "Where did the guns go that were in Yomi's hands a second ago, and why isn't he just shooting everyone?"

It's something I think writers of intellectual media often forget about. Like. You've solved for the mystery, but have you solved for violence? If X person just starts throwing haymakers or discharging guns, how are you going to stop them?

This comes up, for instance, in Ace Attorney. The first Ace Attorney game has two separate instances where Phoenix manages to get his hands on critical game-ending evidence during investigation, only to be violently assaulted and have the evidence forcibly taken from him. A third time, he corners the killer outside of the courtroom and nearly ends up in a shallow grave for his trouble.

But Ace Attorney also runs into this as a flaw. The first Great Ace Attorney sees its protagonist Ryunosuke, at one point, solving a crime on a ship at ocean. The killer is someone beloved to all the crew, and all of the crew are in on it. It culminates when he reveals the truth to everyone... everyone who is co-conspiring on the murder, mind you... And. Then. What?

The game has it play out that the killer confesses and agrees to turn themselves over to the police when the ship enters port. But. No. That is not what would happen. What would happen is that Ryunosuke never makes it to port. People fall overboard and die at sea all the time. No one would ever see a day in prison.

Ryunosuke solved the puzzle, but the game failed to provide an adequate explanation for how he solved for violence, dragging down the mystery.

That's something I want mystery writers to always consider in these scenarios. Ask yourself: Have I written my protagonist into a situation where the culprit can just stab him and leave? Murderers are, by definition, people willing to use violence as a problem-solving tool. Don't get so caught up in your own cleverness that you forget the Barbarian's Riddle.

[yakool-foolio]

Okay, now I’m curious to know how the events are going to play out after Yakou’s wife’s mystery Labyrinth.

One, since the culprit is technically fake!Zilch, does that mean his soul won’t be reaped from the Mystery Labyrinth since he is already dead from Chapter 0? Or is he still alive this time?

Second, will Yakou learn that Yomi was the one who sent the Book of Death to him in the Mystery Labyrinth like Yuma learned Yomi was the mastermind of Chapter 4 in-game, or will he learn it once he’s out of the Mystery Labyrinth?

Third, will the events after the Mystery Labyrinth play out differently this time, like if Yomi’s alive, he captures and arrests everyone like he intended to, or does Makoto still come in and save the day as usual?

I feel like the Mystery Labyrinths aren't limited to mysteries relating to finding the culprit of a murder. Obviously these situations tend to call for the labyrinth most, but there could be cases where the mystery involves finding the identity of a stalker, kidnapper, or other 'culprits' of that nature. They all end in the culprit's true identity being revealed and reaped, so it's not always the best idea to call upon the Mystery Labyrinth knowing this. However, it can happen. In that regard, the mystery needed to be solved for chapter 4's labyrinth is different that finding the one who actively committed the murder. Rather, it's about finding the identity of the 'mastermind,' AKA the one who originated the plan to kill Yakou's wife. Though in Yakou's eyes, before the full truth is revealed, the mastermind and actual murderer could've been one in the same. He banked on that answer the most.

After Shinigami reaps the soul of Dr. Huesca--the mastermind--the usual chapter 4 mindfuckery ensues of realizing the labyrinth isn't falling apart like normal. Turns out Yakou still has more to solve regarding the identity of Anonymous. As a last resort piece of evidence, Shinigami offers a scrap of the Anonymous letter sent to Yakou. She claims she burned it all as a part of the pact, but she ended up saving a piece of it for a moment just like this. Yakou understands much too late that Huesca was co-conspiring with Yomi Hellsmile, who sent out his personal hitman to do the dirty deed. The peacekeeper director taunts them openly, bragging about how Huesca's death was all a part of his ultimate plan. Vivia and Shinigami have to put all their strength into holding Yakou back from lunging at Yomi's mystery phantom in a fit of rage. The labyrinth is destroyed, leaving the detectives practically helpless.

Back in the real world, Yakou and Vivia are cornered by Yomi and his peacekeepers, angrily ordering the duo to surrender. Vivia steps up and threatens Yomi with his confession of being the co-conspirator to Yakou's wife's death. In a flash, Vivia drops limp on the floor. Yomi twirls the whip in his hands as he sharply smirks. He mutters to himself, yet loud enough to Yakou to hear, about how the pact served him well. His words shake Yakou to his core. Before the chief can exclaim his horror, More peacekeepers file in, the rest of the NDA detectives dragged in tow. They're all handcuffed, caught red-handed for trespassing and disturbing the peace. Yuma is kicked to the ground, whimpering in pain. Yakou stumbles to the ground and slides over to Yuma, keeping himself between the rookie and his lifelong rival. Yomi snickers as he plays with the thought of shooting down the detectives and leaving Yakou all by himself. With the law in the palm of his hand, he could frame Yakou for the massacre of his own tight-knit group. He got away with it once, he very well could do it again. Yakou will always be alone.

A distant voice states that Dr. Huesca was found dead in his room, but the emails clearly showed the one person wanted him gone the most. Yomi's wide grin morphs into one of fear as Makoto Kagutsuchi and the rest of the Peacekeeper higher-ups follow behind him. Martina, Seth, Guillaume, Dominic, and Swank stare at Yomi, all upset by his poor treatment of them. Vastly outnumbered, Yomi is checkmated. His game of chess has come to an end. Arrested, Yomi screams of revenge as the peacekeepers send him to rot in a prison cell. Makoto promises to Yakou that no harm will be done to him and his detectives, but they must vacate the premises and keep the ordeal under wraps. With nothing better to say, Yakou reluctantly agrees. Makoto hands Yakou a small gift box for his work in solving the four-year old murder. The NDA are free to return to the agency as one, and a newly-reformed peacekeeper division is on the horizon. But much to their misfortune, Kanai Ward's Ultimate Secret towers above them all.

[megmischief]

Sebastian x Eris (AFAB) - Breath of Fresh Air Chapter 2

For Yomi 💙 @lavendel081

M Rated - Explicit Sexual Content

"You know, 'Ris...I never thought you'd like me back." Sebastian looks down with a faint smile.

Eris feels her heart ache for Sebastian. The doubt he had within himself hurt her deeply. "Hey..." She places her hands on his cheeks, moving his head to look into her eyes. "Sebastian. It's always been you. It will always be you. You are the only man I want."

Sebastian, completely dumbfounded by how forward and sincere Eris was being, pulls her into a deep and passionate kiss.

"Eris...I...I love you...and I-..." Sebastian stops himself, nervous of Eris' response.

"What's up, Seb? I love you too... You can tell me anything, you know."

"Anything?" He blushes, moving her hair away from her neck, exposing her soft porcelain skin.

"Mm...Anything." She whispers back, blushing from his lingering gaze.

Sebastian leans in close, softly whispering into her ear. "I need you, 'Ris...I...I want to make you mine..."

Looking into Eris' eyes, his own full of lust, he pulls her into a deep and passionate kiss. Hands begin to roam as they explore each other's bodies.

"Shall we get back to my place, Seb...?" Eris whimpers.

Sebastian kisses and nibbles at her neck, leaving dark marks. "Cant wait that long...'Ris..."

Eris gasps, softly moaning into his ear as she feels his lips linger over her now tender neck. "But...were in public...?"

Sebastian shrugs, picking Eris up and wrapping her legs around his waist. "We can go behind Elliott's old shack. He hasn't used it since he married Meg anyway..."

Eris' face now crimson, she gives him a small nod of approval. "If you're sure we wont get caught..."

"We won't. Promise." His lips crash into hers once more as he presses her against the creaky wooden beach shack, her legs still wrapped around his waist pulling his ever-growing bulge closer.

Sebastian lets out a low, breathy moan as he feels Eris begin grinding against him. "Ris... I can't take it when you do that...to me...Fuck..."

Unzipping his jeans, he moves Eris' panties to the side. Sebastian runs his finger from Eris' entrance to her clit, bringing his finger up to his mouth for a taste.

"This is the sweetness I've been craving for so long...I can't wait any longer, 'Ris...Can I...?" Sebastian's eyes, full of lust, look deeply into Eris'.

"Mmm...I want you too...Sebby..." Eris buries her face into Sebastian's neck. She lets out a loud gasp, feeling Sebastian's entrance stretching her out.

"Holy shit, 'Ris... You're so tight." Sebastian smirks and chuckles.

Unable to speak due to the pleasure coursing its way through her body, Eris can't help but moan. The feeling of Sebastian filling her only excites her more as she feels him thrusting into all of the right spots. Her hands snake up to his raven hair, pulling tightly as he increases the pace of his thrusts. Pleasure making waves throughout their bodies with each thrust.

Sebastian, grunting with each thrust, reaches under Eris' shirt to massage her breast softly. His other hand leaning against the shack for stability. The wooden shack creaks with each and every thrust, the air filled with sounds of pure pleasure.

"Ris... It's not gonna...take me long... I'm sorry..." Sebastian mumbles, biting onto Eris' neck.

Hearing Sebastian's low, gravelly voice of pleasure sent electricity through her core. "M-Me...too..."

Eris pulls harder onto Sebastian's hair as he picks up the pace once more, slamming himself into her as hard as possible. Cries of pleasure escape Eris' lips as she reaches her climax.

"Good girl, 'Ris...Let the pleasure take over you..." Sebastian bites his lip, grunting as he reaches his own climax, filling her up completely.

Pants and gasps fill the sudden silence as Eris slowly falls, standing on the uneven sand once more.

"Wow...Seb..." Eris giggles. "I can't believe we just...did that."

Sebastian laughs, zipping up his jeans. He pulls Eris into a gentle kiss. "Only you could let me get away with that, 'Ris..." He gently takes Eris' hand in his own. "Let's continue this back at yours." Smirking, they begin to make the long walk home.

[seth-burroughs]

benefits of being yomi kin:

makes me twice as cool and sexy and automatically makes me the objectively correct authority on Yomi's character it is impossible for me to be wrong and if u tell me im wrong ill start scream crying on the floor

won kin lottery and is capable of distinguishing between Yomi Hellsmile the character and Yomi Hellsmile The Character allowing me to both quite literally be that guy and keep another version of him as my blorbo. Manifesting in the ability of fantasizing bout yomi suffering iykwim AND getting past the masochist allegations <3 Also yeah the Yomi fic is currently in works no I will not answer questions on it

this yaoihellsmile shit is sooo easy someone asks me "ouuuyy honey unwrangle my dingle in ur boioioiong and by sproingle well heh lets jsut say. my peanits. any thoughts on that mr yaoi?" and i just answer honestly straight from the heart no bullshit no rp skillz required

woaghhhhhh......... Former director of the peacekeepers homunculus clone Yomi Hellsmile from Master Detective Archives: Rain Code by Spike Chunsoft........ holy shshshit. He's Real......

disadvantages of being yomi kin:

the regular bullshittery that comes free with being fictionkin of any kind cut my wife into pieces this is my last divorce

everybody and their mom hates Yomi and even if the tag here is way less outright aggressive and I can just easily block anyone who makes me uncomfortable in any capacity, youtube is just unusable. Just. AuUUUghhhh. I know one of my fave dr youtubers is gonna play mdarc this year and I also know he's gonna absolutely hate Yomi with a passion and frequently pause the game to talk about how terrible he his yes we get it you are allowed to have opinions on fictional characters and aren't doing anything wrong by it whatever im gonns look up yomi softcore on pixiv fuka u

overly complicates my already fucked sense of self

Blood cravings got even worse😔 bad BAD this isn't sustenance it's toxic as hell christ dude STOP❗❗

not extremely likely but still very possible nightmare scenario where the precipitation cipher gets Big attracting those people and getting bombarded with kinnie jokes and annoying Ironic Kin For Fun crowd finding its way here. And that is the at best scenario, the worst one is 2015 kin drama reignited in 2020s you can't "kin" this character unless you're x or x, you can absolutely control who you're kin with and if i don't like your very voluntary choice you should stop (just stop man <3 i won't tell you how the fuck 😊) being fictionkin with a sinful evil abuser linux user makes you a bad person that deserves to be ostracized and harassed until you unlearn your problematic ways oh my god do any of you remember 2015 warrior cat kin drama what the fuck was that. i wasn't around in danganronpa fandom during that time but im pretty sure it may have been even worse there which is insane to even think about. but i mean like hey at least fictionkin were taken (mostly.) seriously back then (albeit considered deeply cringe by the masses) and not reduced to a cheap komaeda kinnies amiright joke

i suffered more than jesus actually. the demotion and arrest was SUPER unfair and cringe guys i promise im not gonna torture people from now on you can trust me in a position of power please please please no one did it like i did it

EJ MARTINA DZIE MIE KURWA WYWIEŹLI CO TO ZA ZADUPIE MARTINA. MARTINA NIE WYTRZYMAM JUŻ WEŹ HELIKOPTER I MIE KURWA ZABIERZ Z TEGO CHLEWU MAM DOŚĆ POMOCY <- wygnany do Rzeczypospolitej za swoje zbrodnie😔

Yomi is Real (threatening)

[youuuimeanmee]

Guys, my noragami peeps.

Yato might've cut the kotonoha, but that's the new brush, right? What are the chances that Father still has the old one?

And I'm still in the process of rereading (currently on Yomi arc), but didn't Father still have his lifeline? Isn't Fujisaki still alive? What'll happen to them?

Uughh so many questions for so little time-

(Prob gonna add more questions throughout my reading lol)

#Add 1: Oh wow I forgot how much Bisha hates Take for being responsible in Ebi's death. And she didn't manage to bond with him bc she's in hiding. Are we not gonna see them reconcile ever? But the Yato groupp, the potentials :')

#Add 2: Are we ever gonna learn WHY Amaterasu would help Yato & co? :"D

#Add 3: Are we never gonna see what'll happen to Iwami after all this is over?? :"D Not just Iwami actually. He and Bisha are hiding aren't they. What will happen to them now; will we ever get to know?

[sakura-code]

💜Master Post💜

This is the main blog for my posts dedicated to fanfics and AUs of Master Detective Archives: Rain Code, my new hyperfixation. Here, there will be headcanons and lores of fanfics and AUs that I will be creating in the future (hopefully this year while I’m still hyperfixated on the franchise). Some might be reblogs from my main blog since I didn’t think I was to be so obsessed or make so much fanfics and AUs (it’s not a lot, but they tend to be big that it changes the canon events). But I’m excited to release my imagination here as well.

When my stories are posted, they will be on Ao3 under my account Elina_Sakura.

NOTE: Unlike the main blog, I will not be censoring spoils from the game since many of the AUs has spoilers already. So you have to have played the game if you want to come here.

ASKS ARE OPEN! You may submit prompts or questions about the Master Detective Archives AUs I created, or anything Master Detective Archives related. These topics only though, please, because I want to keep my blog organized in Sakura-Code.

Masterlist

Headcanons

Characters

Yuma Kokohead

Halara Nightmare

Desuhiko Thunderbolt

Fubuki Clockford

Vivia Twilight

Yakou Furio

Kurumi Wendy

Makoto Kagutsuchi

Miscellaneous

Nocturnal Detective Agency Age

Eyesight if living in Kanai Ward

LGBTQ+ Headcanons (Detectives + Kurumi + Makoto)

Kurumi Wendy (Character Expansion)

AUs

Yakou Furio Lives AU The title says it all.

Misfit AU Where all of the Nocturnal Detective Agency are contracted to Shinigami and work together to solve the mysteries that threaten the world and themselves, while being a family of misfits together against the hard adult world.

Revival AU The Detectives that died from the Amaterasu Express Massacre are revived as Homunculi by Dr. Huesca and Yomi Hellsmile, and become enemies toward the Nocturnal Detective Agency.

Dual Swords AU Yuma and Makoto are both amnesiac detective-in-training brothers who are contracted with the God of Death, Shinigami, to solve Kanai Ward’s Ultimate Secret.

Detective Gamers AU A slice-of-life AU where the MDA characters game on an RPG Minecraft-like game together.

Homunculus Yuma AU What if Yuma had died in the sub explosion, and was revived into a Homunculus by Makoto.

Yuma Furio AU Where Yuma is Yakou’s adopted son and has lived in Kanai Ward back when he was a teen, and now returns to save the city that saved him.

Death Detective AU Where Yuma is known as the elusive grim reaper detective known as the Death Detective and finds familial love for the first time in years.

Peacekeeper Yuma AU What if Number One’s plan to enter Kanai Ward as Yuma Kokohead has fallen apart? Where Yuma ends up in the hands of the Peacekeepers and turn into one of them as their executioner.

Haunting AU A half-modern/half-paranormal AU where the world is haunted by ghosts and the NDA are ghost hunters. Inspired by Lockwood & Co.

Twin CEOs AU Where Yuma and Makoto are both the CEOs of Amaterasu Corporation, and will do anything to protect Kanai Ward, its citizens (well most of them), and each other.

Original Characters

Sosuke Orbarrow

Akio Smokes

Emi Wendy (Kurumi’s mother)

[wildfire317s-oc-box]

Yet another Raincode shitpost:

The NDA VS War-Heads Candy: (or how i think they would react to trying warheads, which for those who dont know are a type of hard candy that comes in a variety of flavors and are notorious for being sour enough to make peoples tongues bleed) Feat. The train gang! & Kurumi

Chief Yakou: gets one of the blue raspberry ones and eats it thinking it wont be that big of a deal. Until the sour kicks him right in the teeth and his face puckers like never before. He nearly spits it out but after being told it's not sour to the core he sucks it up and keeps going. He gets a kick out of it dyeing his tongue as blue as his hair.

Halara: the one who brought the war-heads and thought it would be entertaining to share them with their co-workers/friends and the main one who actually likes them before hand. Purposefully picks two one lemon and one black cherry and doesn't even flinch.

Vivia: the other one who actually likes warheads. He manages three of the green-apple ones before his tongue starts bleeding. He doesn't flinch though which concerns the others. Though he does admit that three at once was a bad idea later. Also finds it amusing that they stained his tongue green.

Fubuki: gets her hands on one of the watermelon ones and as soon as it hits her tongue her face immediately puckers and she tears up. She spits it out and immediately goes for the nearest water bottle looking like a kicked puppy.

Desuhiko: is the dumbass that despite seeing how they affected everyone but Halara and Kurumi, grabs a small handful and shoves it in his mouth. Granted it takes a second to hit but he quickly regrets his decision, however in an attempt to make himself look tough he does not spit them out even if his face betrays him by puckering with tears, snot and slobber all over his face and naturally screwing up his makeup. Finds it hilarious that his tongue got stained black despite the bleeding.

Yuma: his tastebuds are beyond repair from one to many failed and forgotten attempts at cooking. He has almost the same reaction as Desuhiko but to a singular blueberry one. He tries to keep going, he really does and he almost makes it before a certain ghostly someone says something and he coughs it out.

Kurumi: shes the one who can take a handful of war-heads and not only not even flinch, but keeps going until she is stopped. Claims they aren't that sour despite everyone's shocked expressions. Her reasoning being "there are plenty of candies that say they are extremely sour and most of them aren't even close"

Zange: picks out one of the black cherry ones and only reacts because he was not expecting it to be sour. He handles it pretty well, barely flinching especially considering he got one of the more sticky ones.

Fake! Zilch: he casually grabs a few and despite the initial surprise at how sour they actually are finds that he likes them. He keeps going until he accidentally makes his tongue bleed and doesn't bother to check if his tongue has changed color. (They kind of remind him of yomi in a weird way)

Pucchi: she grabs one of the black cherry ones, licks it and immediately refuses to touch it again despite being told it does turn sweet after a bit. Not because she cant handle it, she just doesn't like the taste. The most reaction she gives is a big nose-scrunch

Melami: Much like Kurumi she can also handle a handful of these but instead she actually likes how sour they are rather than being able to ignore how sour they are. She is one of the few who manages to get different bands of color on her tongue.

Aphex: is the dumbass that grabs a handful but instead of trying to take them all at once, takes them one at a time, one right after another and REALLY makes his tongue bleed. He puckers every time he puts one in his mouth but he tries so hard not to show it that he just makes a really goofy face instead. He gets annoyed that his tongue doesn't get stained.

[sweetlilacscribbles]

HEARTS WITHOUT CHAINS ;; CHAPTER THREE

co-written with the amazing @vegafiction ♥ Words: 11,542 Pairing(s): Yakou Furio/Vivia Twilight Fandom: Master Detectives Archive: Rain Code Warning(s): violence, combat, Yomi being Yomi Link: CHAPTER THREE

"I can't help but wonder why this mystery airship was going in the direction of a prison tower," Martina remarks as they look for a clearing to take off in. The area is densely wooded, so although Martina and Makoto could probably shrink and take off where they stand, Vivia doesn't have that luxury. Vivia shrugs. "Maybe they're visiting someone?" he suggests. "Or they're dropping more prisoners off? It was a pretty big airship." “What makes either of you two think they’re bringing prisoners?” Makoto muses. “That would be silly for sky pirates.” It's impossible to hide the way Vivia perks. "Sky pirates?"

[yridenergyridenergy]

[austajunk]

The whole thing with Yomi and Martina is soooo funny cos he's just a sadistic, whiny little twink and there she is, a whole ass, cool, tall, sexy lady who I would be happy to have spit on me.

[citytrialost]

random game superlatives for 2023

I just wanted a space to talk about the games that were special to me. I'll be updating it now and then, and even when finished will not be removing my Geocities Under Construction gifs.

game of the year - Pizza Tower, and it's not even close. I can't believe we got just a blisteringly fast platformer with this level of animation and such an incredible soundtrack. It is one of the best handling platformers I've ever played and it just lends itself to wanting to master the gameplay like nothing else.

mod of the year - Archipelago! Archipelago hosts cross-game randomizers for you and your friends. Want to play Pokemon Emerald while your friend plays Kingdom Hearts 2? Great! Instead of a gym badge, Norman gives Donald the ability to shoot lightning out of his ass (I don't play KH2) while your Surf HM is in some random treasure chest in their game. It really is incredible being able to play your favorite single player games with the goal of helping your friends progress. The game list is still growing, too, so definitely worth keeping tabs on.

weird game that heals my soul in the way that only something like Katamari could manage of the year - HUMANITY. Not a surprise coming from the devs of Tetris Effect, HUMANITY is just a fun, surreal experience where you play a shiba that tries to guide a crowd of people that at best behave like liquid and have a propensity for running off cliffs. I haven't finished the game yet, but it's been a beautiful experience that I've been saving for whenever life gets too stressful.

genre twist of the year - Your Only Move is Hustle (FKA YOMI Hustle). A turn-based fighting game experience that emulates fighting games so well I still panic at the exact same spots in the neutral whether it is YOMI or a traditional fighter. It's a time consuming and stressful experience, but still very rewarding when you have a good friend to play with. Also a decent Discord scene from what I hear. Also fuck it, YOMI gets fighting game of the year.

Spiritfall gets honorable mention here as a platform fighter roguelike. Honestly feels like a decent blend of floaty platform fighting and Hades. A lot of fun, and the dev team have been both openly communicating and updating the game frequently.

best character of the year - AKI (Street Fighter 6). Fighting games have such little room to add personality, but Capcom stepped their game up with SF6. AKI is just as weird and quirky as FANG (SFV), but a lot more sadistic. The added quirk of idolizing FANG goes a long way to giving her some fun flavor. I'm already biased towards characters with a poison archetype, but AKI is just fun in a "this character is delusional beyond saving" sort of way.

best game released from early access of the year - 30XX. It is a great roguelike that builds on 20XX in just about every way possible. It's improved graphically, in terms of gameplay, challenge, overall design. If 20XX asks "what if Mega Man was a roguelike?" then 30XX confidently tells you "Mega Man works as a roguelike." Fun solo, way better with co-op.

best 7/10 of the year - Exoprimal. Saw this concept trending and I think it's a great way to highlight an overlooked title this year. Among huge Capcom news like SF6 and a newly announced Monster Hunter, "what if Dino Crisis but it's a co-op hero shooter with muddled PvPvE and PvP modes" really doesn't stand out. Maybe it would have as a budget title, given how much it popped off on Game Pass. Regardless, the game was a lot of fun. I finished it's campaign, did a few of the challenge maps, found characters and archetypes I liked, and even had the familiar/classic TF2 "our team has four snipers, would somebody like to play a different class" conundrum. I'm glad I spent as much time on it as I did, and I hope I feel motivated to give it another run while it's still active.

best return to form - Armored Core VI. I honestly never thought we'd get another one of these. Waited a decade, and after the runaway success of the Souls series I never thought I'd get a new one. Some things have changed, but from the first mission I felt like I was a kid with a PS2 playing Silent Line all over again. Honestly got emotional from the nostalgia. Still need to finish the game, but I waited eleven years to play it so the game can wait a few months for me to get through it.

game that refuses to die award - Grim Dawn. Normally this game has a fixed statue of Terraria in its place, but after a huge community patch and the reveal of an entire expansion one or two years after claiming the game was dead, Crate Entertainment have given a seven year old game something new to look forward to.

Runner up goes to Killer Instinct. So happy for the sickos in the community that wouldn't let it stay dead, and even a balance patch is more than I expected. Had so much fun getting to see it at Evo. Fuck Rash lmao

[tobiasdrake]

We aren't quite done here yet, despite everything. One last push.

Yakou hiding the photo doesn't necessarily mean that he didn't want it found. It could mean he didn't want it easily found. As in, by anyone but the crack team of pro investigators he works with.

Oh. Oh, shit. At the last possible second we've looped back around to, "Okay, but how does Huesca's vengeful espionage bro relate to all of this?"

The timing was pretty suspect but it got lost in all the shuffle. The extensive knowledge of the lab's inner workings required to make this all happening is similarly suspicious.

I figured Yakou maybe used to work here or Photo Lady worked here or something, but that's all speculation. There may be real answers to be found here.

If the Labyrinth doesn't want us probing deeper then that means there is deeper to probe.

I figured we were setting something up for next chapter but sure, we can do this now! The mysterious Photo Lady, Huesca's co-conspirator, all of it.

The mastermind would be Huesca's old espionage pal. They were selling company secrets together for five years. Then, six months ago, Huesca said he wanted out, infuriating his partner. He had to shut himself in for his own safety.

We don't know many people at the company so the list of suspects is not vast. Yomi seems unlikely on account of his ultra-righteous personality. Doesn't seem like the type of guy to be selling company secrets. But that doesn't necessarily prove he didn't.

Makoto's only been here for three years so he's out.

Robot Researcher is the most suspicious of the bunch, simply because of his visceral hatred of Huesca and gleeful grave-dancing. But it could as easily be someone we've never met. Maybe even Photo Lady, who knows.

He could only get it from a binder in the storage closet. That closet was locked with a key only Yomi could access. In theory. It also looks like an old office so there's a possibility that whoever used to work in there might have had the key. But that's speculation.

So far as we know for sure, Yomi is the only person who can go in and out of that office. If Huesca's co-conspirator mailed that map to Yakou or something, then it can only be Yomi.

...and if Yomi was selling company secrets alongside Huesca, then that explains why Huesca didn't feel safe having Peacekeepers escort him around. Choosing instead for his own deathtrap tunnel, and to have other scientists bring him food and supplies. He even made them check the boxes to ensure nobody was hiding inside, waiting to jump out and kill him.

Weird request. Seems paranoid. But not if there was a real possibility that Yomi might hide Peacekeepers inside while the boxes were being loaded.

Makoto suggested the traps were a deterrent, but I thought that was weird. How would they deter people who don't know they're there? But the Peacekeepers knew about the traps. If Huesca was beefing with Yomi then... a lot of things make sense, actually.

Yeah. This makes an alarming amount of sense.

Yomi is Anonymous. Yomi's been selling company secrets with Huesca for five years. When Huesca cut things off and secluded himself in his lab, he was hiding from Yomi.

This. Does sound like something Yomi would write. Fuck.

Yomi isn't Stopped Clock right. Yomi sent Yakou the floor plan and let him in. This is his checkmate. Use Yakou to kill Huesca and then swoop in for retaliation and eliminate Nocturnal Detective Agency. Game over.

I knew we were going to have to throw down with Yomi eventually but I wasn't expecting it so soon. I guess in a roundabout way, Yakou did what I asked. He went out and got himself killed so we can chain-kill our way to Yomi.

I don't think we'll be able to reap Yomi's soul here, though. The Labyrinth is already collapsing because we got the guy. If Yomi didn't participate in the murder itself then he's off the hook. That's how it worked with Servan.

I know, right!? Fuck this guy. I want to Halara him so bad right now. Drown him in the river where he blew up our first sub.

He's right. He's not the target of our Mystery so he's off the hook. Even if we stabbed him, he's just a projection of Yomi, not the real one. So it wouldn't matter. Only Yakou's soul was drawn into this place.

So it doesn't matter to the case. It only matters to us, because we can take this knowledge back with us to the real world.

The answer to my combo-chain hypothesis from way early on is no, the Labyrinth doesn't work like that.

I mean. That's what I hear every time you speak but I didn't expect you to say it out loud like that.

Okay but how tho. I didn't get the impression that Yakou was acting reluctantly, under duress. This felt personal for him. What was his stake in all of this?

IT SURE IS CONVENIENT THAT WE HAVE THE ONE PERSON WHO CAN KEEP THEIR MEMORIES THIS TIME AROUND, ISN'T IT!?!? @_@

Okay. Well. Once we get back to the real world we can--

Die. Once we get back we can DIE. Fuck, I forgot that this was happening.

[yakool-foolio]

Referring to your previous post uh

If Yakou thought it was the hitman, why did he want to kill Huesca?

I got the impression while playing that Huesca set up an experiment to fail, which killed Yakou's wife while Huesca didn't have to get his hands dirty.

(I know I have several asks ahead of this one, I just wanted to reply to this one first so I don't have to link back to an older post every time heh. It helps that the topic is fresh in my mind, too!)

From how I've interpreted the events, Huesca was basically the mastermind. He was the one who Yakou's wife set her sights on destroying his reputation for his dealings (not to mention he was already a horrible person in general), and he reacted in the worst way possible. He originated the plan to kill Mrs. Furio, but due to his old age and hearing on a sharp decline, he couldn't exactly kill her himself. And so, he co-conspired with Yomi, who offered to allow his personal hitman to do the job for him. While the hitman may've been the one to murder Yakou's wife, Huesca was the one that came up with the plan to kill her and made a deal with Yomi in the first place, basically using them as his weapon.

I do really like the idea of Huesca still being a part of the actual murder as you've inferred. It'd be interesting that after Hitman Zilch shot Yakou's wife, Huesca was the one who covered up the cause of death by creating the chemical explosion. I originally thought that it would be Hitman Zilch that faked the explosion cause we all know how much he loves his pyrotechnics, but I really like this interpretation a lot. It gives Huesca more involvement in the whole plan itself while still keeping his hands clean.