#flynn route is next!!

[fullsaw]

Love how chase only becomes a serial killer freak after spending the week with a bonified youth pastor

[shokushii]

hello echo enjoyers. im now suffering from brainrot also.

also also idk why but the stock image thing really tickled me. love this slow-typing ass office gila and his toothpicks <3

(and the horrors) (lmao)

[theseasideskies]

Doing Jenna's route now after Flynn's ended with that eerie shot of her as a kid. Not gonna finish cuz I'm not staying up that late again. But damn I'm impressed at just how different the story's going with the change in route. And the horror showed up earlier too which. Woof.

Anyway I ended at the start of Friday so. That'll be fun to deal with

[leos-soggy-wolf-nuts]

why is this still horny though

[olderthannetfic]

People really don't wanna be using Danielle Steel as a model. Of course SHE can write 8 hours a day, and same for Vince Flynn, John Grisham, Barbara Cartland, Stuart Woods, Nora Roberts and anybody else whose works you pick up in the grocery store checkout.

Because they're churning out the same fucking book every time.

--

Heh. Well, maybe so, but it works for them.

I'm sure there are people who treat writing like a 9-to-5 who don't write the same book every time and who are consequently less famous and thus they don't spring to mind.

The bigger point here is that the people who go this route are likely more suited to it in the first place, which is something one cannot control, and they probably worked up to it over time. You don't decide to take up jogging and then run a marathon the next day.

Whether one is concerned about ~hacks~ and artistic cred or not, one is not going to be experienced overnight.

[missjoolee]

just thinking about an au where Julie works for her Tia's housekeeping company. they have contracts with one of the prominent labels in LA

it's a summer job maybe?

but she's getting the hang of dusting, cleaning glass, collecting trash and recycling, restroom maintenance, breakroom scrubbing, the works

when one day, one of the higher ups at the company seeks out her Tia for an unorthodox tasking

They need someone to go to an apartment and clean it up ASAP

Tia selects Julie because she knows she can trust her to work unsupervised as well as she can get the T-E-A later after the workday is over.

Once inside, it's got the musty smell of a place that hasn't been entered in a while and there is a light layer of dust on everything, including a very nice sound system connected to a high-end combination cd/tape/turntable with impressive library of cds, records, and the occasional tapes

Deciding that she doesn't have to work in silence, and whoever lives here won't be back before she's gone. she picks out a record to jam out to while she cleans, then throws open the windows she can and gets to work. She washes the linens, dusts, scrubs the bathroom, dusts, wipes down the kitchen, dusts, and when she finishes with all of that she can vacuum!

As she dusts in the living room, there are guitars on the wall and she can't help but notice 2 are missing

when one record ends, she switches it to something new, excited by the selection whoever lives here has curated

it's honestly hard to pick what's next but then in the CDs, down in the S's, she notices a rare gem from the music world!

They have Sunset Curve's first ever EP

It's a no brainer, she puts the CD into the tray and hits play as she picks up the rag she was using to wipe out the refrigerator. The guitars sound out the beginning of Now or Never and she's leaning inside the fridge, the french doors splayed open as she sings along to the song when a loud THUD startles her out and THERE IS A MAN and she is YELLING, and then he is yelling

and that is how she met Luke Patterson of Sunset Curve, freshly returned from their european summer circuit, as she explains to Flynn later

Once they'd stopped yelling, she had apologized, rushed to turn the music off and explained that she was almost done and to "please, settle in and pretend i'm not here. I will be gone in 10 minutes"

and he had, looking dead on his feet, probably from the time change (also very stunned from hearing a wrecking ball of a voice singing his lyrics from inside his fridge, but she doesn't know that) and then she was gone.

time passes and she keeps working the normal duties from the contracts at the company, only once did she see Sunset Curve and she did an about face and took an alternate route to the task she was doing.

but then Toby gets tendonitis or something and now Tia needs someone to cover the part of the building that features all the studios for the different bands in LA that are signed to the label and it has to be someone trustworthy because they might see or hear music that CANNOT be leaked or the whole cleaning service loses the contract. So trustworthy niece gets picked

Given a schedule each week of what bands will be in and when (ish) she is able to clean unobtrusively for the most part

It's the end of the day and she just needs to gather trash from the rooms that were used that day when she gets a bit thrown off by the set up in SC's studio. Everything is pushed to the edges of the small room and a keyboard is set up front and center.

Looking for where they'd moved the trash can, her eyes keep flicking back to the keyboard and she can't help brushing her fingers over the keys gently before she leaves. Only for someone to be in the doorway, making her jump!

It's luke and he apologizes for startling her but she is in "oh crap oh crap don't bother the clients" mode and so she apologizes and skidaddles out of there

and then and then

Suddenly on the schedule of when bands will be in, there is a request for her to clean SC's room at a specific time during the lunch hour that day. and when she arrives, the rooms is well, not spotless, but cleaner than it should be and there is a note on the keyboard saying to have fun for an hour maybe

and it keeps happening?

julie starts taking luke up on the opportunity to play around on the piano

and then suddenly luke is there but like "don't mind me, keep doing your thing!" and she very much does her own thing but that is grilling him about what is happening annnnnnnnnnnnd

they get closer as time passes

and eventually it becomes helping luke with a song which then becomes working on a new song together

and then excited about the song, luke shares it with the guys and they begin workshopping their instruments into it and Julie happens to hear it happening and thinks that Luke just used her for the music and stole the song they'd been working on for his band

so she stops showing up during that hour, instead working in a room somewhere else where he can't find her

annd she avoids him in the hallways, always turning and going the opposite direction if she sees him or the band

and finally Toby's arm is doing better and can come back to work so she is quick to relent the studio section back to them

Tia notices she doesn't even hum while working anymore and then one day she is cleaning a conference room, and

The door opens behind her. Reggie and Alex walk in. She can't run out, so she just keeps wiping down the windows.

"Did Luke do something wrong?" It could be just his friends trying to help a guy out but there is steel in alex's voice that lets Julie know that they will 100% be on her side if she told them Luke did anything royally stupid and offensive.

"No."

"Oh...okay. Do you think you'd want to write with him again?" the question is unsure. like alex doesn't know if he should even ask it.

Now Julie is mad. "I'm not paid to write songs. I'm paid to clean. I don't have time for this."

"a shame. That was a killer song you two wrote" Reggie hesitantly says.

"yeah. I heard you guys playing it. Hope it does well on your next album" she fails to keep any of her anger out of her voice. and since she doesn't want to get fired for fighting the labels talent, she grabs her supplies and leaves out the secondary door.

and then the guys realize that Julie may have a misunderstanding about what's going on with the song she wrote with Luke

but before luke can fix it, SC has to travel again, this time to Australia and then Canada.

so it's at least 3 weeks before they are back in LA

I don't know how this ends. How does Luke make things right with Julie? Any ideas? Would love to see your thoughts.

[beevean]

I find it very interesting (A.K.A. annoying) how the idw comic tries defending this whole "sonic never kills" nonsense by bringing up every bad person who's turned around. But they also blatantly ignore all the times Sonic did kill or was fine with letting someone die

Dark gaia

Time eater

King Arthur

Solaris

Erazor Djinn (eternal damnation)

Ifrit

Captain behemoth

Bio Lizard

Explicitly tells Infinite he's going to kill him

The Ifrit (the one from Sonic rivals 2)

Captain whisker

Black Doom (Shadow was the one who finished him off, but the point is Sonic has no problem with other people killing either)

The idw comic's writing only barely functions if you blatantly ignore everything outside of it, and even then, it's still extremely iffy.

Secret Rings is canon to IDW, btw. Sonic had a flashback to the events of that game in #16.

"Everyone deserves a chance to be free, even the evil doctors," Sonic says after he yeeted Erazor Djinn in lava :)

Also yeah, some of these are creatures whose level of sapience is questionable... but not all of them. Solaris never speaks in his full form, but Mephiles is explicitly his mind, so we know that he's a cunning, sadistic deity. Sonic slashed King Arthur fully believing he was a real person, and he did act like one. Also Sonic is the very first person Shadow meets in his game, and the very first thing he asks of him is to kill all the aliens in Westopolis, with the goal ofc of reaching the "big boss" if you go through the Pure Hero route. Again, the sapience of the Black Arms is questionable, but those are still living creatures who might as well be slaves for all he knows. Doesn't care! He'll kill them all!

Sonic doesn't have a rule when it comes to his enemies: he's not a pacifist, he's not the Punisher. He either listens to them, or cuts to the chase: it depends on how unrepentant they come across. The very idea of him having a "principle" about it is ridiculous. Sonic doesn't have principles, he doesn't follow rules, he does what he wants to do.

I get the moral dilemma around Mr. Tinker: he's a blank slate genuinely willing to do good, so does he deserve to be punished for crimes he didn't commit? I don't know why Flynn felt the need to insert such a moral dilemma in a book that he himself has said is for kids and thus can't properly explore the concept of identity and sins, but whatever.

Problem is that, somewhere along the line, they started to treat him not as a brain damaged version of Eggman who might as well be a different person, but as "Eggman reformed", which is insane and even creepy from Sonic. It's just absurd that IDW Sonic based his entire moral code, that everyone has the chance to become a better person, after he witnessed his war criminal of an archnemesis simply getting brain damage, and somehow thinking that this amnesiac personality reflected Eggman's real ego. What the fuck.

Oh, and then this ridiculous shit lmao:

Not only Sonic would never play villain apology for Eggman of all people, but those examples are nothing but proof of how selfish Eggman is. He never cared about protecting the planet because of some hidden depths. My man spells his reasoning out very clearly:

But now Sonic passes off those strained alliances as some good deeds and proof that Eggman is not so bad after all. "Grade-A jerk", huh? Is that how you describe the guy who broke the planet into pieces and was willing to destroy the spacetime continuum for the sake of killing you? What's next, is Black Doom with his plans of turning humanity into cattle "a big meanie"? Why are you trying so hard, man?

Ah, and then he has to resort to guilt tripping Shadow about his own "crimes" (read: being forced to follow Gerald's programming) to get his way :) piece of shit who pretends to be morally superior when in reality he's just an awful person.

[iprefertheterminsane]

Take me Home (Where I Belong)

I'm almost finished with my domestic perryshmirtz 5+1, which I'm gonna upload to ao3 soon so here's a tease in the form of the first chapter!

Rating: G

Relationship: Perry the Platypus/Heinz Doofenshmirtz

Tags: Human Perry the Platypus, pre-slash, domesticity, Perry's moved in before they even stopped calling themselves enemies, it's normal to want to kiss the homies sometimes, right?, long suffering Charlene, Perry's got 4 kids actually and that fourth one is Vanessa, haha Perry the Platypus you are dating my father.

Even after having his plans foiled for the day, Heinz doesn’t let him drive home.

“Look at yourself, Perry the Platypus, you’re barely standing on your own two feet.” The scientist points out. He’s right, of course, not that Perry will let him the satisfaction of agreeing with him. It seems to mean less than little; Heinz had already buckled him back into the passenger seat of his truck with the tenacity of a father, and Perry is just barely conscious enough to comply- a bit dumbly, but the taller man does not seem to mind-without much of a fuss. He’s still talking, naturally. Perry has gotten so used to the chatter the droning had begun to take on an ambient sort of feeling, like brown noise. “-practically an accident waiting to happen. Honestly, you’d think Francis would want to try keeping his best agent alive-that agency is gonna do you in better than I would, one day.”

Perry considers giving up a token protest-he had gotten here with the hoverjet on auto-pilot; the routes between the lair and Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc. has long been keyed in as his defaults-but decides otherwise. He really was quite exhausted, surely it would be no bother to let Heinz drive him back to Evil Inc. where he’s parked. Why waste fuel when a cheaper of transport was on offer? The Major has particularly been going on and on lately about turning the office more green and saving energy, no doubt one of their latest efforts to cut costs-so he was doing the agency a favor, really. He trusted that Heinz was a reliable enough driver when they’re neither forced to undergo the serial killing obstacle course that was the Drusselsteinian Driving Test Route.

He would sleep in just until Heinz gets them back home. Decision made, he lets himself rest his eyes.

00..00

“Up, up, up, Perry the Platypus you don’t really expect me to carry you up the stairs do you-,”

“-Ok, here we go, sit here-no, no, don’t lay down just yet you need to take your shoes off Perry the Heathenpuss-,”

“-I am not letting you sleep in the corset of a waistcoat Perry the Platypus, wow is this Kevlar? No wonder you can stand my Titanium punches-Ok uppies, I should probably help you take this tie off too, huh? They could strangle you in your sleep, y’know, nuff said, if nuff was-y’know, me-it’s so weird to see you so biddable, Perry the Platypus-,”

“-ok, last thing Perry the Platypus, yes I promise, just need to help you get under the covers, alright? Now, isn’t that better? Aw, look at how cute you look, Perry the Platypus, like a little angel-,”

“Good night, Perry the Platypus.”

00..00

Perry snorts awake in the penthouse guest room with the covers pulled up to his chin, blinking against the light of the setting sun from behind the half-shaded curtains facing east of Danville.

He isn’t sure what’s woken him, but finds himself unable to go back to sleep. This was probably a good thing-he’s never stayed behind in Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc. for so long without making his excuses before, and the clock shows that he’s nearly late for dinner back at the Flynn-Fletcher’s household. He’ll have no trouble flying home now, he feels perfectly well-rested.

Rising to his feet, he finds himself underdressed. His hat rests on the right-hand nightstand, right next to his sleeping head, and the rest of his clothes-vest, tie and shoes-draped carefully over the chair that looks like it’s been dragged over from the kitchen, positioned right next to the room’s entryway, deliberately left ajar. He shoves the hat back over his head and toes his shoes back on, but blinks deliberately at the rest of his attire. They are, of course, crucial parts of his armour, but what was to fear for stepping out without them? Heinz’s scheme was thwarted for the day, and lest the man was suddenly overcome with another plan while Perry was out, which he sincerely doubts, Heinz would not have reason to attack him out of the blue, and certainly not out of armour. He was obsessed with playing fair, and acting by the book. As far as they are both concerned, they were now both off the clock.

Perry decides to take the clothes and fold them over his arm, but he steps out without putting them on- the vest tends to cinch, which he tolerates, but not without reason-and goes to search for his host to make his goodbyes.

It’s easy enough to find him; Heinz is in the kitchen, naturally, making dinner for himself, with Norm at the dining table carefully slicing vegetables and making prep; something doughy, it seems. Perry wonders if it’s pie-Heinz makes wonderful doonkleberry pie. He rests his hips against the doorjamb, and chatters his teeth to make his presence known, a noise Heinz is well familiar with. It cuts off the man’s mindless chatter, and he beams. Perry can’t help his own answering smile.

"Ah, Perry the Platypus!” He crows. “Just in time for dinner! I don’t suppose you mind setting the table, just need to give me another couple of minutes-,” he cuts himself off as he sees Perry shaking his head, and Perry signs, regretfully, that he has to make himself scarce.

“YOU AREN’T STAYING FOR DINNER?” Norm asks, as despairingly as his cheerful-sounding robotic voice could make it sound. His mouth is down turned.

“Yes, it’s already so late, Perry the Platypus, surely your report could wait a couple of more hours.” Heinz adds, cajoling. “I worry you know, a man has to eat homemade meals every couple of days, else you tend to get sick to the stomach. I don’t know if you cook. I’ve made lemon pie for dessert.” Heinz sing-songs enticingly at the end, and Perry has to admit it’s persuasive. The man really does have a knack for baking.

But he’s already missed out on family dinner yesterday, due to making up for Agent G’s maternity leave, and the Flynn-Fletchers would worry if he missed out on another. He knows for a fact Linda’s made her award-winning meatloaf tonight, and hedgehog cake for supper. He’d hate on missing out on the treat for the world.

He’s halfway through realizing he’s said it out loud, ‘I have homemade meals at home,’ before he freezes, taking in Norm’s and Heinz’s curious blinks, and his hands pause abruptly, letting the sentence trail off awkwardly. He could see from the look on Heinz’s face that he was curious, mouth opening as if to pose a question, but seems to ultimately decide against it. They’ve both scrambled enough of the expected norms of their Villain-to-Spy nemesis-ship today, and crossing the line to figuring out Perry’s home life seems a midge too far, even for them.

Heinz hums, and changes the subject. “Are you really driving home fully dressed like that?”

Perry looks down at himself. ‘What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?’

“Nothing, which is my point. You could just leave them here, you know, they’re all dirty, Norm can run them through with the rest of the day’s laundry, and you can pick them up tomorrow. It’s weird to see you all dressed down, you know, but not bad weird, a good weird, makes me feel like a good host. That’s how you know you’re an adult sometimes, ugh, just listen to me talk about good hosting etiquette, Vanessa never has to worry about that sort of thing you know, even though she should. I hope Charlene’s teaching her.”

Perry’s wandered over to the coffee machine at this point, using context clues to figure out how it works and avoiding the large red button in a transparent case on the right-hand side of it’s case. He taps it, and churrs again.

“Oh, coffee! That’s a good idea, Perry the Platypus, some strong caffeine to help drive you through that traffic, I bought this travel mug for you!” Heinz hands him a short and stout chrome and teal travel mug with a silicone top and an anti-slip base. “I saw that color while scrolling through Etsy while I was looking at bento-boxes for this scheme I’m cooking up next week-oop, forget I said that Perry the Platypus, no spoilers! It reminded me of you! But the travel mugs aren’t related, it was just in the same shop, I love travel mugs, especially these newer novelty ones, you know there were never any novelty items back in Drusselstein, on account of the state largely frowning on any sort of color or patterns-,”

Perry churrs again, twisting the top of his cup back on and pointing out the door. Heinz visibly deflates.

“Oh, right, yes, leaving, of course, Perry the Platypus, let me just let this simmer and walk you to the door-and leave the clothes with Norm, Perry the Platypus, I’ve told you, you can come to fetch them tomorrow.”

Heinz helps hold the mug for him while he gets himself settled back in the hoverjet, and the clock on his dash informs him he should reach the house just in time to reach the Flynn Fletchers begin dinner if he rushed. Heinz leans forward to hand him the travel mug, leaving them close, just close enough that Perry feels the ridiculous urge to-maybe-leave a soft kiss on the other man’s cheek, the way Lawrence does when Linda was about to leave the house for the errand of the day.

Heinz doesn’t seem to notice, mumbling about setting the mug just right into the cupholder behind the handlebar, because it was hot, Perry the Platypus, we wouldn’t want a repeat of the driving test incident, do we? When Perry switches the jet on, Heinz waves. Perry, inexplicably, tips his hat back in return.

It isn’t until he’s 15 minutes away from the house that he realizes he really had left his vest and tie behind at Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc. He hopes Heinz doesn’t plan to do anything inadvisable with them.

For some reason, Perry doesn’t believe that he will.

[bumblekastclips]

Tangle Tails: UnderTangle

KYLE CROUSE: Here's a question from Morlas. "It's a beautiful bumbleday outside. The bumblebirds are singing, the bumbleflowers are blooming. On bumbledays like this bumblekasters like you should be answering this bumblequestion. Do you wanna have a bumblebad time? Because if you take one more bumblestep you are not going to bumblelike what bumblehappens next. Tangle falls into Undertale what happens?"

IAN FLYNN: Oh, the Paragon route. That's not the official term, I'm mixing with Mass Effect, I know -- but the good route. KYLE: [chuckles] The Pacifist Route? IAN: Pacifist Route! There we go. Yeah. KYLE: She tries to make friends with everybody? IAN: Yeah, she's gonna make friends with everybody. She's gonna laugh at all of Sans' jokes. She's going to save the underworld... home? God, it's been so long, what do they call it? New Home. Ah, I've fallen behind on my Undertale lore. Almost called it Deltarune, jeez o' pete. KYLE: [laughs] IAN: Point is, no, she- she's going to defeat Flowey, she's going to get the best possible end, everyone's going to be happy and, y'know, live happily ever after. Nah, nah, nah, Tangle- Tangle's the best thing to happen. KYLE: Mhm, mhm. Besties Papyrus and Tangle... terrifying. IAN: [chuckles, then in a Papyrus voice] "Now you are blue! That's my attack!" [as Tangle, excited] "Oh my God, I'm blue now!" KYLE: [laughing] The Tangle and Mettaton Dance-off! IAN: [chuckling] Ratings go through the roof within the first ten seconds. She's like, "No no no no no, keep- keep the fight goin', I wanna dance to this music more!" [begins humming Death by Glamour from the Undertale soundtrack] KYLE: [laughs] "Breaking news! Local lemur saves hell!" Tangle looks in the mirror. "Despite everything, it's still you." And then she's like, "Heck yeah!" [chuckles] Starts dancin'. IAN: [chuckles] The biggest hurdle she has is actually wanting to leave Toriel's house and all the pie. Like, she's super comfy. "Aw yeah, this is great!" She can hang out here for awhile! But eventually she'll want to go home, and that will lead to the confrontation, but she'll- it'll take her longer to move on. KYLE: [after chuckling] Yeah. Yeah...

--- TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: Please remember that nothing that is said on BumbleKast is canon! It's just some guys and their opinions occasionally spitballing ideas. If you don't like an answer, you don't have to take it as Word of God or anything like that. It's all just for fun! ----- Do you want a specific question transcribed and posted? Send the question and the episode date to my ask box! Or if you just want questions about a certain character, send me their name and I will see what I can do!

[hongduongn120]

The Wanderer

So, after arriving in Boston, Flynn quickly decided that he lacked the motivation and funds to settle down and build a business. And so, in true American fashion, he packed up and spent the next 3 years wandering from city to city, sort of like a grand tour but not. His routes took him from New England down to the Gulf of Mexico, through to the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes before settling down in St. Louis. The major cities he visited during this 3-year journey include:

- Boston, Massachusetts

- Providence, Rhode Island

- New York City, New York

- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

- Baltimore, Maryland

- Washington, D.C.

- Richmond, Virginia

- Atlanta, Georgia

- Savannah, Georgia

- Jacksonville, Florida

- Mobile, Alabama

- New Orleans, Louisiana

- Austin, Texas

- El Paso, Texas

- Tucson, Arizona

- Los Angeles, California

- San Francisco, California

- Eugene, Oregon

- Portland, Oregon

- Seattle, Washington

- Helena, Montana

- Billings, Montana

- Rapid City, South Dakota

- Milwaukee, Wisconsin

- Chicago, Illinois

- Springfield, Illinois

- St. Louis, Missouri

[gritsandbrits]

Fixing Day Of The Diesels

The beauty of fanfic is I can make this movie as long as I want.

The story begins with Sodor getting ready for a busy holiday season. After too many bad reports from the Railway safety organization, Sir Topham Hatt decides to create a special team of search and rescue engines. He buys Flynn and Belle, two respected engines and established a base by the sea. Meanwhile a new diesel engine named Atta (short for Atalanta) is preparing for her first day on Sodor. She's shy, anxious and keep to herself. While Belle and Flynn are getting praised, Atta feels overlooked and ignored. But doesn't contest due to not wanting to perpetuate a negative stereotype of diesels.

Belle and Flynn wish to have a third engine to help with the workload and decides to hosts test runs. A lot of engines try out, but don't make the spot. Spencer, Henry, Gordon and James try out but are rejected due their vain squabbling and arrogance. Emily is rejected due to her bossiness, and the Logging Locos are flat out rejected. Edward and Toby don't try out because they don't understand the hype. The spot comes down to Thomas and Percy. This creates a tension in their relationship. Later than night a fire starts and Thomas helps Belle and Flynn put out the fire. This impresses them enough for them to accept him as an apprentice. Percy is disappointed.

The next morning While about to prepare for the usual mail train, Percy encounters Atta, who tasked with helping with the mail. Although Percy is a bit upset, Atalanta's promises not to screw up. By the time they're done Atta has already finished her route and it resting when Percy returns. He's surprised to see her finish that quickly. Atta shyly admits that a lot of people and engines make note of her speed but she hates bragging. The two engines hitch it off.

With Thomas he learns more from Belle and Flynn. He sees they also bicker at times; it turns out even perfect heroes have their off days and fight but are willing to set aside differences to do what's right. This leads to him starting to regret beefing with Percy. He tries to reconcile but gets sidetracked by a report of an accident near Maithewaite.

Later, Atta goes to the dieselworks to get some parts repaired and is appalled by the conditions the diesels are living in. Two diesels escort her inside and she finds more dangerous hazards. Just then the fearsome Diesel 10 slithers out from his room and greets her. He tells her that the diesels have been living horribly and he plots to get revenge on the NWR. Diesel 10 attempts to seduce Atta to his side but she gets anxious and quickly runs out of the Works. Angered by the rejection Diesel 10 vows to have her at his side whether she wants it or not.

Atta informs Percy she plans to talk to Sir Topham Hatt and convince him to fix the dieselworks. But her anxieties holds her back. Percy reassures her then takes her to the Steamworks to get advice from Victor. While travelling to the steamworks they stop by the grand station where Atta meets some of the steam engines. She asks them have they ever seen a diesel with a giant claw. The Horrified engines tell her that she met Diesel 10. Atta has never heard of him before so Percy fills her in on what he did in the past (referencing TATMR). Atta is terrified by such revelations but points out Diesel 10 isn't exactly wrong about the dieselworks needing repair. She just doesn't agree his methods and hopes to find the courage to speak up to Sir Hatt.

Later that evening Thomas Belle and Flynn answer another emergency. Thomas spots a diesel leaving the scene and calls out to them. A brief chase ensues and Thomas manages to catch up to them. The engine down finds out to be Sidney, who begs Thomas not to tell anyone until Sidney's driver uses a strange device to knock Thomas out. When Thomas comes to he is in the Steamworks with a concerned Percy and Victor at his side. Thomas said he saw a diesel run away from the scene of the accident and suspects he might've caused it. Victor adds he notices a lot more accidents than usual. Thomas concludes that Diesel 10 may be behind the accidents to sabotage the railway. Thomas decides to warn Belle and Flynn, while Percy goes to find Atta.

Later that evening another accident occurs. Atta was the last person at the scene and while she helps out she is blamed for the accident. Sir Hatt sends her away to the Dieselworks for a while as he tries to get everything sorted out. Percy doesn't believe she did it and resolves to clear her name. He finds Atta at the works and tries to convince her to come back. But Atta is too despondent. Diesel 10 sees this and has the green engine cornered. Atta begs for Diesel 10 to let Percy go by offering her services. Satisfied Diesel 10 allows Percy to leave, then proceeds to launch his plans. He sends his hench engines (illegally modified warships like himself) to infiltrate the steamworks, and other places populated by steam engines.

While Diesel 10 brags about his plan, Atta is very miserable but then she gets a vision of Lady the Magical Engine. Lady reminds Atta of her inner strength and to not give up. Atta gains a second wind and lies to Diesel 10 that she needs to get her things from another shed. He lets her go but sends a diesel chaperone to keep tabs her. Once she gets to a safer place she outsmarts the diesel and runs as fast as she can to warn Victor. The chaperone returns and tells diesel 10 that Atta has escaped. Enraged Diesel 10 decides to launch the attack and says he will personally deal with her, clacking Pinchy as he does. Warship diesels proceed to swarm the island, with some taking Tidmoth Sheds hostage. Diesel, Arry n' Bert, Salty Mavis and Daisy refuse to join as they're loyal to Sodor and plot to free their friends.

Percy is at the steamworks when Atta bursts in and warns them that Diesel 10 is planning to launch an attack. Just as Victor asks, a swarm of diesels arrive led by Diesel 10. He praises Atta for leading them to the Steamies but Atta retorts that he is nothing but a selfish bully. As Victor tries to reign in the chaos, Percy and Atta make a run for it. They proceeds to be chased down by a couple diesels but Atta proves too fast for her would-be captors and successfully escapes. Percy gets captured.

The diesels send a message that if Thomas doesn't present himself in the next hour then the hostages will get scrapped. Percy is afraid but seeing Victor and Kevin, he puts up a brave front and try to convince the friendlier Sidney and his buddies to reconsider. They reject at first but having grown to love Sodor and growing tired of Diesel 10's mistreatment they start to reconsider.

At Tidmoth, the remaining steam team (and Spencer) are trapped when Mavis and Daisy arrives. They pretend to be on the evil diesels side & leads them away, freeing the hostages. The steam team and good diesels agree to work together to stop Diesel 10. Spencer initially denies to participate but Edward reminds him this could be a way for him to make up for his own actions in Hero Of The Rails. Gordon adds the Edwards has a point. Spencer relents and agree to help if only they relay this to the Duke and Duchess. They steam engines meet up with Salty and Diesel and plan where to go next.

Atta rushes to the S&R team and musters the courage to ask them for help. She confesses that Diesel 10 asked her to join his cause and laments that if she took his offer the first time, things wouldn't go out of hand. Realizing Atta is genuinely innocent Thomas apologizes. He reassures her that Diesel 10 would've still committed evil acts regardless because he chose to do those things, like how she's choosing to do the right thing now. Together the S&R team rallies all available engine to help take back the steamworks. During the confrontation, a fire breaks out and everyone evacuates. While Belle and Flynn deal with the fire Sidney and Paxton renounces their ways and admits they were led to create accidents so Sodor could look bad on Diesel 10's orders.

As his plans literally burn down around him, an enraged Diesel 10 chases Thomas down. But with Percy and Atta's help, they lure him back to the dieselworks. The trap results in Pinchy getting seriously damaged, rendering Diesel completely incapacitated. Once the fire is contained, the steamworks are temporarily closed down. Sir Topham arrives on Stanley and angrily grills the evil diesels. Their human accomplices are arrested and Diesel 10 is literally declawed to fix Pinchy and to punish him for his actions. Thomas and Percy reconcile and Atta asks Sir Topham to repair the dieselworks, which he agrees to do. Belle and Flynn says it's time to decide the new rescue engine only for Thomas and Percy to nominate Atta in their place. Touched by this gesture, Atta accepts the position.

A few weeks later the steamworks reopens and construction begins n the dieselworks. Sidney and Paxton are put in charge of the works with plans to put a swimming pool for their drivers and firemen. Atta arrives in her new Sudrian green&red livery as a tribute to her newfound friendship with Percy. Then she gets a call from Flynn about a breakdown involving Spencer and Atta speeds away to enjoy her new life as a rescue engine. As for Diesel 10 he's essentially grounded from driving as his wheels are removed until further, and forced to listen to his bodyguards the Logging Locos sing country music.

So that's my idea for DOTD. Diesel 10 being a threatening villain and not complete joke, a good diesel MC who opposes him, Belle and Flynn being relevant and Thomas and Percy have a legitimate conflict that doesn't demonize one side or the other.

[ratprophetistfordism]

Just Finished TJ's Route

This is a fucking masterpiece, every scene leads towards it's ideas every idea flows into the next, it's on a level before unseen (except for Outer Wilds, the two are basically on par with each other), every scene leads to an ultimate conclusion, an eldritch truth, it approaches some of the most forward thinking ideas ever brought to the medium from such a minimalist structure, and I can't escape it, there is no layer on which I can think about or analyse this thing without the weight of it's story and nightmarishness hitting me flat in the face, a touchstone in interactive storytelling. Holy moly, what a game. The thing is I still haven't played Flynn's route, what do they have left to do?!?! The ideas have been explored thoroughly and masterfully, will probably pick it up tomorrow, I'm in shock and I have no clue what's next.

[visualnovelzombie]

Furry Visual Novel Book Club: Echo Week 15 SPOILERS

Hi everyone, here is the SPOILER discussion post for “Echo - TJ’s Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday”

Links: Previous - Next - Original - Spoiler Free Version

Feel free to respond in reblogs/replies/or asks :D

We begin from the route split by following after Tj, who ran off after Flynn’s tirade. The music cuts and we’re left with the sound of the river. We’re met with three options.

The first two will set Chase’s mood for the next bit of dialogue while the third will lock us out of Tj’s route, which is something we haven’t seen before. 

>Leave him be…

Chase narrates that he’s “not exactly graceful with this sort of thing, especially with TJ.”, and then decides to go with the others, giving us the options for the other route choices but not TJ’s.

>Say Something…”

Chase tries to comfort the lynx, but Tj doesn’t respond.

Until Finally…

>Say Nothing…

Chase sits next to Tj and starts breaking twigs in half, eventually annoying Tj. 

Chase asks TJ if he wants to go eat, and he responds with a firm ‘No.’ Until Finally…

>Reconvergence

Tj is upset Flynn was so mean in front of everyone. Chase comments that Tj is clearly frazzled because the lynx has allowed his fur to stay unkempt even after sitting by himself for a while. Chase comments that Tj’s inability to express himself fully is part of what’s dragging the Lynx down so much. The two continue to discuss Flynn’s tirade

I would like to note, this is 71 lines into the route, and the foreshadowing is already on thick lmao

Chase speculates that Flynn is after ‘more than the truth’, and we learn Tj saw Sydney drown. Tj becomes angry at Flynn, because the gila hadn’t realized how much the event affected Tj himself. Tj wishes he could go back to the day, and that he isn’t mad he didn’t save Sydney, he knows he couldn’t have… hinting at wanting something else. Chase glosses over that he could have probably saved Sydney from drowning if he was there.

Chase wants to help Tj with what happened, but says he needs to come to terms with it himself first. We’re treated to a brief flashback of the scene… Flynn drags Chase into the water, and forces the otter to get Sydney while Jenna and Leo try to help where they can.

This is one of the few times that Chase acknowledges, at least in some part, that he had SOMETHING to do with it. Which is an extremely rare case in of itself, but especially on this route. Even late on the same day, we see him act angry and unusual, already over protective of Tj. He doesn’t interact this way on other routes, and to me, reads as the Otter ALREADY being pestered by the entity the fandom has dubbed, ‘Mirror-Man’.

Tj expresses being upset again, which makes Chase angry at Flynn for hurting Tj so much. Come Over begins to play, as Chase reminds Tj about their planned hike. The two plan their hike and talk about what their plans for school, promising to meet up one more time before graduating. The two return to the group who have packed everything in the van already. Leo asks if Tj is fine and after a satisfactory answer, is done with the conversation and heads off to work after dropping everyone else off at the motel.

This is part of my Mirror-Man USUALLY attacks Leo theory but is on/after Chase this time, but Leo’s complete lack of interest or pestering for more information stands out to me greatly here. After talking it out with some people, if it isn’t ‘Mirror-Man’ himself that also goes after Leo other times there’s two ‘alternatives’ that I can see work.

1. The entities in general work through mirrors. Like how they all ‘slither’ along the ground.

2. Chase, now already fixated on Tj, is purposely ignoring Leo/not narrating what’s happening exactly. We know from later that Chase’s narration becomes EXTREMELY unstable/unreliable, and I will admit that maybe some of Leo’s aloofness on this route might come from that, instead of another supernatural dealing.

The remaining four spend a lazy afternoon together before coming back to discussing Flynn. Carl tries to defend the lizard but Tj hard pivots the conversation to ice cream. When asked what his favorite flavor is, Chase’s head buzzes and he’s unable to think of an answer, blurting out Vanilla after a few moments. Chase’s headache gets worse and he’s unable to continue the conversation, and closes his eyes.. Very particular things happen over the next few lines:

Chase wakes on the couch, after some time has passed, indicated by the fade in, to the room being dark, Tj and Jenna in bed, with Carl on the floor asleep.

The scene fades to black, indicating some more time has passed. Chase is in bed next to Tj and is staring at the door.

We’re then met with a dream sequence… Before going into it I would like to point out the two previous scenes both took places at different times, indicated by the fadeouts, and that they were (most likely) NOT dreams. They don’t have the track associated with dreams playing in them, and Chase doesn’t ‘wake up’ from them into this one, like we’ve seen on Carl’s and Leo’s routes. Just bits of time are hard cut by the writing.

--

I want to talk about this for a bit. We’ve seen Chase dip on Sunday night from the motel room to go do... something that’s never explained. Something odd from how it cuts, and the way this sequence is cut, calls into question how much is really going on. I think the first instinct is to accept he’s just going on a walk the previous night, and this night is just his head hurting. BUT, the way this section glosses over large chunks of the day in just a few lines, reads to me that everything is being directly narrated, IS important.

The important bits I get out of this are: Chase takes pictures of someone, or something. (I don’t remember if they come up later in this route or not!), and/or heads for the night. This is to vague to work with right now, but just more lost time at night with our narrator.

With the second being the time cut to lying in bed. Two things stand out to me:

1. Chase is lying NEXT to TJ. Every other time he’s described lying platonicaly with someone, it’s head-to-toe. That’s how he sleeps in the bed with TJ and with Carl normally. 

2. Chase is starring at a door. There are three doors in the room, and we know two are very important. The closet door is where a fox hung himself, but we don’t learn that till Arches. The other door important to the room, is the door to the bathroom. Later on in the route, Chase (and Sam!) are both terrified of what’s in there, the ‘Mirror-Man.’ I’m perposing, at this time, whichever one of them is in control during the night, is sensing that entity or presence already from the bathroom. I’d LOVE to hear other interpretations of this scene though!

--

 Tj is drinking alcohol by the lake. He starts to run away after hearing something, but is eventually pulled back into the lake by a chain. Chase tries to help… but is also chained to the lake.

Chase and Tj are on their hike, with Tj trying to comfort the boiling otter.

...Tj you can’t just say that to Chase, gawd!

After a terrible and awkward attempt at playful flirting, the two continue on their hike. Chase calls into question his understanding of Tj’s sexuality, realizing the two have never discussed it, and how it might intersect with the lynx’s vague faith. We then this is INSANE lore tidbit.

Two hours pass by as the scene cuts, while Old Winds begins to play. Chase, struggling with the intensity of the hike, trips and falls. Tj soaks Chase with another water bottle, much to the otters continued annoyance. Tj is concerned for Chase because HE asked the otter out on the trip. After a bit of rest and… determination on where they should eat, the two continue to the peak of the trail. Tj soaks his shirt with water, showing off his fit form. Chase is … attracted to the sight.

The two make it the peak, resting on a stone bench at the top. Chase enjoys being alone with Tj like this… until a tarantula jumps in his lap.

Tj had pranked Chase with a plastic spider after Jenna insisted upon it. One microaggression later, the two enjoy a nice lunch and we’re treated with a CG

Chase takes off his shirt and the two accidentally touch paws while reaching for a bag of chips, sending Tj squirming off embarrassed. The two make awkward small talk while Tj fixes his fur. The two reminiscent on how they met, with Chase being a bit of bully in the story.

Chase heads off on his own for a second to get shots for his project. Drone begins to play, as some THING narrates FOR Chase inside his head… distinct from Samuel, based off of its font. 

Chase either ignores or pays no attention to the entity and takes the shots he needs. Tj finds Chase taking the shots and comments on the otter’s body, making Chase question Tj more. Tj peers over the edge and we’re met with a Choice…

>Shove him.

The voice narrates Tj’s corpse lying at the bottom of the Canyon… and we’re given the other two options to choose from.

Notable because Chase almost never, if ever, questions Sam outside of the Murder Pit where Sam is the most separate.

We’re given the option to only Grab him and do nothing…

>Grab him.

Chase scares Tj and the two end up flailing around away from the cliff, locked in each other’s arms for a few moments.

>Do nothing

Chase doesn’t want to actually scare him off they cliff so the two stand there for a few moments.

>Reconvergence:

The two try to yell into the canyon, trying to get it to ‘echo’ back to them. The sad and nostalgic track, Canyon, begins to play.

The two comment on the quality of Echoes in Echo. Chase laments the town, while Tj wishes everyone could have come today. The two share an intimate moment for a second, until Tj gets a text message. It sours the Lynx’s mood, but he lies to Chase about it, the music cutting once the lie starts. The two head back home.

...

The two plan the rest of the trip, and tell Jenna to meet them at the diner for dinner. Upon arriving, Jenna remarks on Chase’s… ottery smell. Janice comes to take the groups order, happy to see the trio after they graduated. She also remarks on the mudslide musk in the area, blaming it on another patron. The coyote talks about needing to do some housework in a relatively polite conversation, resulting in Tj volunteering him and Chase for the job. After Jenna and Chase chide Tj for agreeing to the work, Jenna makes another musk comment towards Chase. The otter storms off to the bathroom to clean up in a fit of rage.

Chase tries to alleviate his headache by washing his face in the mirror… but it suddenly continues to worsen.

Chase sees a twisted reflection of himself in the mirror and becomes extremely disoriented. The non-diegetic music and sound effects is described IN text from Chase’s narration, quickly becoming diegetic. Chase writes the episode off as a migraine. Chase cleans up the musk under his armpits, then drops his pants to clean under his tail….

Chase returns to the table embarrassed, passing TJ on the way. Chase makes conversation with Jenna, and learns about Carl’s party tomorrow. Jenna lets slip the Tj wanted to see Chase the most during their trip back home. Jenna shows Chase a stick figure recreation of the prank that TJ had drawn, before heading out back to the motel to grab her purse. Tj returns to the booth.

Chase tries to explain the situation and Tj says its fine… even saying it was kind of cute.Come Over starts to play. Chase ribs Tj, playing gay chicken with the lynx… thrilled to be doing it with a guy again, let alone Tj. Their eyes meet again, and Tj smiles.

Another dream sequence…

Leo is driving Chase’s car on top of the lake, ‘shooting’ Chase with a finger gun from across the water. Tj swims after the car…

The dream sequence CUTS, with NO fade or dissolve, something very peculiar for the novel. Something intentional (IMO). A new track, ‘Unease’ plays, distinct from other Dream Sequence tracks or events. The background is Echo Canyon, now black and white, labeled ‘canyoneg’. Tj is lying at the floor of the canyon, maggots eating him. A paw reaches towards the lynx… 

The dream fades back to the lake, unease still plays. Six bodies float in the water.

Chase knows something isn’t right. A tool-shed sits on the edge of the lake, one that doesn’t exist. It opens, and the scene cuts…

--

Okay, a LOT happens with this one. We get our usual dream sequence intro, with everyone doing weird shit on the lake as usual. BUT, this dream is interrupted. By a different force than usual, something showing Chase new kinds of nightmares. The lack of fadein is EXTREMELY noticible, especially when 99% of transitions has them. Some new entity has hijacked the dream. Something connected to the maggots from earlier... the ‘thing’ that is narrating FOR Chase. Something that isn’t Sam. The ominious paw is concerning and something we’re not super familiar with. It’s to vague to speculate on, even with TSR ghosts (as an addage not a planned explanation)

Six bodies, for six fiends (Carl, Leo, Tj, Flynn, Jenna, Sydney) on the lake. As if the entity is telling Chase that he SHOULD kill his friends. This is how ~I~ read it, but we know there’s been many other drownings related to the lake, but the number lines up to noticeably for me. There’s also the case of the shed... WHAT does that mean? The only other shed we get mention of that I can remember is Chase’s grandfather’s shed (which WAS a peculiar mention), or somehow foreshadowing Janice’s eroded shed for the next day? It seems to specific for that. There’s also a shed in the LATEST TSR build... but they aren’t thematically linked at all really so I don’t want to discuss it. VERY VERY specific, for something that I can’t substantiate at this time. Maybe some more bits out of the remaining routes that I forgot will help fill us in?

One last thing is the ‘This isn’t right, this isn’t me. what is this?’ To ME, this reads like something has taken control of Sam’s nightmare powers. Before this line, I would have just called it normal foreshadowing dreams, but the part of ‘this isn’t me’, makes it sound like it usually is a ‘me’. It was pointed out that Sam is always refereed to as ‘you’ usually, but why would Chase say ‘this isn’t me’ in this circumstance? If he was lucid dreaming, enough to say a line like this, it would have been ‘This isn’t normal?’. The rest of the lake based dreams are definitely ‘normal’ for the otter. But the lack of chains, introduction of maggots as a motif, and unknown presence appearing on the scene before cutting IS new. These are things I missed/forgot when I shotgunned this route AND Flynn’s route on the same day for sure... and raided till 2am right after, completely frying my already fried brain so...

Jenna and Chase discuss going to Carl’s as Tj showers. Tj finishes, and rushes to grab his shirt that he had forgotten, before running back into the bathroom embarrassed to finish dressing. En route to Carl’s house, the scene with Janice plays out the same…

We cut to Carl’s house, the ram unable to be found. Flynn is cursing as usual… but Chase asks him to stop. Leo boosts Jenna into the window again, and she unlocks the door for them. While Flynn searches for Carl, Chase and Tj discuss going to Janice’s later. Tj decides he wants to make sure she’s okay, and Chase agrees to go along. Chase recalls ditching Tj at Duke’s place while him and Carl got junk to build the ram’s tree-house. Chase comments on the bullying stemming from being two years older than Tj. Chase is sent to search outside while Tj is sent to search in the basement... definitely enough time to plant the the scavenger hunt...

Chase walks back inside after some reminiscing and…

Followed by Jenna walking by, indicating it wasn’t her orange tail walking down the stairs.

Presumably John? Showing that he isn’t always attached to Jenna? The children probably wouldn’t have a ‘fat’ tail... but that begs the question. Why is the tail orange? The only orange foxes important to the universe are the Byrnes (who would have maybe existed, at least in concept, by this point), but why would any of them be here. Is this a simple case of the writer going ‘oh fox tail, orange!’, forgetting the blonde/yellow complexion of the Begays?

--

In the basement, Chase walks into Flynn talking to Tj. Flynn apologies for sending something, presumably a text, to Tj yesterday. Flynn holds Tj by his shoulder, dropping his paw once he notices Chase step into the room. Flynn walks out of the room without a word, and Tj frantically grooms himself in front of a mirror. Chase tries to comfort Tj, but the lynx is to frazzled to talk about it. Chase offers to go out and walk with Tj around town to look for Carl, and the two head out.

The two talk about school, Tj going in depth about his schooling as an athletic trainer, and how he’s enjoying it and sports in general. Chase receives a text from Leo, stating they found Carl and that the party is cancelled because Carl isn’t feeling well. The two debate on going to Janice’s. Chase is worried she’s tripping on something while Tj argues she doesn't use drugs… Tj guilt trips Chase to going with cuteness and the two head over to Janice’s.

The two make it to Janice’s house. The coyote is completely nonchalant, as if not remembering the incident at all. She tasks the boys with removing a mass of weeds and moving firewood, promising refreshments and cookies for the two. Chase contemplates leaving, before Tj soaks himself with hose water and offers it to Chase. Chase soaks himself and the two get to work. Come Over starts to play.

Leo texts Chase asking where he’s at, and once Chase tells him, Leo doesn’t respond anymore. Chase takes off his shirt due to the heat and teases Tj with the ‘show’. The two make plans to go to the diner in the evening, but are interrupted by Tj spotting a tarantula in the weeds.

Janice comes outside due to the two boys screaming. She admires their twink bodies, causing Tj to become flustered. The two get back to work but are unable to find the tarantula again. After finishing, Tj offers some sports medicine advice to Chase, rubbing one of the otter’s tense muscles… after a promise for a full massage later, the two start on the pile of wood.

I’m not sure how to read Tj seeing a phantom tarantula. I’m assuming it signals that he went through some kind of flashback/dream sequence like Chase does in a bit upon seeing the spider. As it is most likely he’s already setup the Scavenger hunt earlier in the day, I don’t think this is Sydney a possessive Echo taking it’s roots in him. Maybe this is just the simpler explanation of Spiders representing guilt. Janice sure has a lot of guilt built up (rip Sam), and the spiders coalescing around her and the center of town makes sense. Chase AND Tj are both feeling really guilty to, maybe it’s just that simple explanation.

Chase comments on Tj faking the tarantula, saying how it’s stressed him out. As Tj returns from Janice’s house with a plate of cookies, Chase sprays him with a water hose. A new track, “Tj Theme’, starts to play. Chase is callous and carefree, eating the cookies and openly flirting with TJ… who is reserved and anxious as the upbeat tempo track continues to play in the background. The two continue working, Tj feeling worse and worse as the day continues. The track continues to play... The two continue their spider-infested laborin the gayest-twinkiest way ever, but make short work of the pile. Chase offers to go hiking tomorrow, trying to invite everyone.

Tj’s Theme being Chase completely overstepping any semblance of his feelings and being a creeper really fucking sets the mood for the theme of route......

The pair are about to plan it out, when on the last plank of wood, only for Chase to see a tarantula on the backside of it. The music finally cuts. Chase passes out and we’re met with a dream/flashback…

Sydney, a blue eyed otter, is talking to Chase. Both of them are young children. Sydney starts rough-house playing with Tj, the lynx losing on purpose to get out of it. Sydney starts to strangle Tj with the lynx;s shirt. Chase yells out ‘STOP’, before his view shifts to the present.

--

I will say. The absolute jaw-drop of Sydney being an otter, and HOW MUCH that calls into question him drowning completely missed me the first time through...

--

Chase wakes up from him passing out, puking up the snacks. Tj pulls Chase inside to cool off, where the Lynx agrees to more manual labor.

The two walk back towards the diner, arguing on the way. Upon arriving at the diner, an old friend takes their order. Julian, a white deer, catches up with the two. Chase stays out of the conversation, glad when Julian eventually leaves. Tj is upset that Chase called him Toby after waking up from the dream sequence, but doesn’t press the issue. Bittersweet starts to play as Chase realizes how he’s made TJ uncomfortable.

FURSONA

Chase asks Tj if he wants to try and find closure about Sydney. He wants to go to the lake with everyone except Flynn and talk about it. Chase confirms that Tj didn’t see the tarantula that caused him to pass out…

We’re met with another dream/flashback where Chase bullies Sydney for bullying Tj… Almost like it’s a cycle of abuse or something...

-------------------------

That concludes Tj up until Wednesday. Thank you everyone for taking the time to read and interacting <3 Some very... interesting stuff is being done here. Howly, the author, is really getting into using the medium to its fullest potential, and we’ll see more of that as we continue on.

Next Weeks Reading Assignment is just TJ’s Thursday! End on this line:

"He runs up the road and back toward town, disappearing into the bright sunset."

Or this Day Card:

[theseasideskies]

Finished Jenna's route a couple weeks ago but I forgot to post anything, now I finished Carl's route too. Now I get to ramble about both!

I'd seen a bit more spoilers for the game at this point, especially discussion about how the older routes are less polished. The typos and repetitive narration were a bit of a shock to me. I'd have thought they'd go back and clean up that stuff before finishing development. The story still worked, but I can definitely understand the criticism around Carl's route. (Spoilers for both Jenna and Carl's routes beneath the cut)

Jenna's Route

Full disclosure that I've only hit the good ending here, and my PC's currently busted so I had to download Echo on my phone to continue playing so I don't think I'll be seeing her bad ending for a while yet.

This one felt incredibly strong to me, same as Flynn's route. The early subversion of having Carl disappear really shocked me and left me open to seeing where the story went next. The relief I felt after we heard Jenna's grandma on the radio, and then seeing that we were allowed to escape the town? That was powerful.

Super funny to me that the game where everyone feels like they're a repressed homosexual, has one of the best endings if you choose to get with the one girl in the group.

The whole thing with Duke and Brian was very intense, and I've also since seen spoilers that other routes get a lot more heavy on the sexual violence. So uh, yay I guess.

I'd also seen a post on r/furry_irl arguing that it's better to play the routes in order of release. I did the mini version of that I guess, going from Flynn to Jenna. And yeah it definitely felt like those two routes had a lot more connection. Jenna's route provided more closure on both Leo's behavior and that voice coming from the mine, as well as the stuff around Syndey's dad. I was watching bits Keith Ballard's playthrough of Jenna and he does mention being able to tell who wrote which part, and, yeah definitely. No offense to Howly or anything but especially comparing it with the older routes, you can tell.

Carl's Route

After Jenna's route I figured I'd play Carl's, since I'd seen spoiler memes about Jenna getting possessed in it so I thought maybe the themes would connect. Now knowing that I'd played the oldest route, right after the newest one, definitely makes more sense why it didn't connect after all. Maybe that also affected how I felt about the horror, not quite buying the scares when I was expecting something else to be the source.

I can't quite place why the horror didn't work for me this time around. You'd think possession would be incredibly creepy, and put me on edge a lot. Not being able to fully trust anything anyone says. I guess at a certain point the game kinda dragged on the point and it just got frustrating. (Again the repetitive narration affected that too)

The climax for both endings here was still pretty good I'd say, though definitely in different ways. The whole dubcon getting molested by a ghost thing was unsettling for sure. The added context from the good ending of "they were in the house the whole time and just hallucinating" also adds a touch of creepy to the bad ending. The heart-to-heart with Chase and Carl in the dorm was definitely sweet.

I think the other thing that rubs me the wrong way about Carl's route is the resolution not being related to the group's own traumas. Sure Carl has that thing where he realizes he needs to be more independent, but Jenna snaps out of it only when Chase assures John that the real story will get out. The fact that the group got to swim in Lake Emma on Saturday, and then the narration pointedly says "Hah, it's not that easy." really takes away a lot of the agency (and therefore connection) I had with the final act.

The fact the good ending still doesn't let you see the other members of the group was also annoying, though I will admit I might be biased coming off of Jenna's good ending and getting to see everyone together at the diner.

[encom1]

/* Here's one for older Lora, if that's okay? Thinking this is post Legacy... --@not-that-dillinger */

Encom Tower at night, Ed thought, was oddly peaceful. Perhaps it was the nostalgia of pulling an all-nighter, or the below, or the lack of people, something else, but he usually found it calming.

Usually.

The past two weeks had been nothing but a whirlwind of meetings that left Ed mentally exhausted and anxious, beginning with the disastrous release of the OS-12 and Sam Flynn taking back the company the next day, and culminating in the catastrophe that was today's board meeting and that had devolved into a shouting match between him and Flynn.

Neither of them was innocent in the incident, but Ed would probably take the blame for it. Ed could practically hear the thin ice he'd been treading cracking beneath him...

Ed had to admit, there were plenty of good things changing with Sam taking over, in the form of a whole slew of new and innovative and exciting projects that Mackey would never have let fly (Mackey was gone, and in any other case, that would have been a relief, except that Ed could just feel that it would only be a matter of time before Sam said the word, and the metaphorical ice beneath Ed's feet gave way to the frigid watery death below), and bringing back the digitization laser project.

He wasn't sure how to feel about the laser project restarting. His father had become all but obsessed with it after he returned from prison, but he had to admit, he was curious about it, and the implications of what it could do were earth-shattering.

Tonight, Ed could find no peace in the darkened tower. He couldn't go home; he was afraid of what he'd do to himself if he did, but none of the usual tricks worked. He tried losing himself to the code of one of his other projects, typing until his hands were numb his head ached from staring at his computer monitor for too long, but even that wasn't enough.

Which was why he found himself in the break room at an hour far after everyone else had gone home, fixing his fourth cup of tea in just as many hours.

He hadn't bothered turning on the lights as he made the trek from his office; the route had practically become muscle memory, and the dark helped with the headache.

He'd been staring out the window at the city lights lost in thought, the faint smell of camomile and lavender wafting from the warm mug in his hand, and feeling the closest he'd been to relaxed all day, when the lights flickered on.

Ed squeezed his eyes shut, jaw clenched to hold back a pained hiss. He tensed at the dim reflection of Dr. Baines in the darkened window when he opened his eyes.

There was a beat of silence that seemed to stretch into eternity, Ed feeling awkward and more than a little like a child that had been caught stealing from the cookie jar at midnight.

"You're still here?" he finally asked in surprise.

“I could ask you the same question,” her smile was thin and tired. She inched past the young man back towards the counter, jimmying the lid off her tumbler. It was a nice cool blue with the companies branding across its face. She always saw it as a bit cheesy but the consumer base ate it up.

She pours the remainder of the days coffee into her cup. Either uncaring or unnoticing that it had gone cold hours ago. Lora looks over her shoulder at him carefully. He was — devistatingly tired looking. Aged simply by being awake. Her eyes shift to her watch, then the man, then back again.

“Weird couplea’ days huh?” Her smile took on a warmer , understanding look. She had her share of far too late nights and frantic workweeks. She also knew how startling a shift in the corporate structure could be. Lora had seen the meteoric rise of his father… and his fall… then the rise and fall of Flynn himself.

They always had to go out in a blaze of glory. Media trials or underground movements— largest scandals of their times. Hell! Flynn managed to overshadow Dillinger in the same decade twice! God… that man.

[nitw]

god i CANNOT wait for the next part of keith and stephanie's echo lp. i feel this every single time because flynn's route is jsut like that but HHHHHHHHHHHHNGHHHGH SMOKE ROOM SMOKE ROOM SMOKE ROOM SMO