#just. cool. this female character is too stupid to count as a lore character. we obviously need a MALE character to fill in instead

[rxttenfish]

Asking because I’m extremely curious about this, how did MonProm’s writing get different over time? I remember you saying that the lore and characters feel different, and that it's missing sincere character interactions, too. I know almost nothing about the lore and I’ve only seen a few people mention the characters, so I’d be interested in a rundown of what aspects you think got worse in the series

I wouldn’t mind a very long response since I’m not that active in the fandom, I need to catch up on what happened

sorry for taking so long to answer this! i kinda waffled on it for a long bit, mainly because i started doubting myself again, and whether or not this was me simply overreacting or being tinted by nostalgia or simply being extremely picky and choosy in what i like (the last of which is true, i seldom get into fandoms at all for this reason and stay away from most popular media, but i wasn't sure if it applied here). i've posted about it already, but i'm in the middle of a psychotic episode where i can't feel a lot of pleasure to begin with + most things i do experience ending up solidly in the "very bad" category, so as you can imagine, i really didn't want to mislead and check that i was actually in objective reality.

as it is, this is also when a lot more screenshots started to be posted in the monster prom tag, and that helped me bridge the gap back into returning to the games themselves and feel like i was making a more accurate judgement. if you're one of those people who have been posting screenshots, i sincerely thank you, and i appreciated seeing you in the tag greatly.

for those not in the know — i've been in the monster prom fandom since it first released, prior to even the first additional ending to be added (the "Punch the sun" ending, and i recall the minor fandom drama that happened at that time due to it). my impression of monster prom is very much influenced by this, as what got me into the first game was the fact that the characters genuinely seemed to care for each other and were friends with each other (not merely tolerating each other's presences nor dressing it up, they sincerely thought of each other as friends and were open about that fact), on top of the wide variety of small details and statements that, if taken at face value, could create compounding complexity in the lives of each and every character and had wider implications for their lives.

no, they were not necessarily explored nor even necessarily "real", with so many conflicting events and statements, but i liked this too, because it meant a wider flexibility in what you could imagine, helping to create a more tailored experience for everyone who thought about these characters. this was what i liked about the early fandom too. what was baseline "canon" was so vague and minimal that you could have wildly different interpretations of the same characters' histories and relationships with each other. you would have radically different perspectives on what the world itself looked like, what it was like, that there wasn't really any wrong answers so long as their personalities remained the same. this is where you got the old headcanon of polly and liam being childhood friends who knew each other as humans, or that the world of monster prom was post-apocalypse where humanity itself had gone extinct or only existed in tiny pockets, or my personal headcanon that both monster and human society existed right next to each other and had minimal crossover for petty cultural reasons. this was also prior zoe-as-ro, and there were wildly different interpretations of zoe's personality, with most going for a far more disquieting creepy-cute than the deep nerd we got.

this is why you get stuff like the timeloop theory, where everyone is repeating the same weeks leading up to prom over and over, and are perhaps vaguely aware of it but broadly unconcerned. this is also why it felt like the joke that, the characters were still in high school but were all fully legal adults with most in their 20's, best landed, because it was absurd and strange and didn't quite make sense, but the world itself was inherently absurd and semi-malleable to begin with. realistically, i felt like everyone understood it was making fun of the trope of having adults play teenagers in american sitcoms and wildly casting outside the age range, but for more in-universe explanations it wasn't any different from the way that you would have a large, dramatic ending in which everything changed, but then you'd restart and everyone would be right back at the beginning with nothing different, or even having conflicting events in the same run. it was a dream-logic that fit with the tropes and, thus, diagetically made sense.

to be clear, i don't mind canon having a set, well, canon on which it refers back to itself. i don't mind expanding that or including more things which are set in stone. but there was a perceivable shift in how the games handled this over time, becoming a lot more... bitter, it felt, towards all of these different branching ideas and concepts that, yeah, the people making them knew wouldn't necessarily be "canon" because "canon" already liked to contradict itself so much. most people weren't even sold on any one idea, and there was a much greater sense of enjoying and appreciating all the varying ideas people would come up with even if you personally didn't share them. making the characters be out of character was the real crime, because then it didn't diagetically make sense in the same way, didn't wholly fit.

(again, this is not to say fanon didn't happen and characters weren't smoothed down into a simplified personality that fit these varying fan-interpretations instead of the game itself. certainly damien love/lust was just as bad as it had ever been, and everyone loved to mangle his character into a more stereotypical "bad boy with a heart of hold" all the time. but it certainly felt less set-in-stone about it than it does now, with any deviation from the norm being considered strange and odd and even broadly shunned from the wider fandom.)

all of this is setup for establishing what the writing, lore, and characters felt like in the earlier days. the characters were the strongest part, with their relationships to each other being equally as important. the lore played it fast and loose and was far less interested in setting anything in concrete because that wasn't the important part. the lore wasn't the important part, which was what made it all the more intoxicating to think about, all the more fun to play with.

montrip is easily the biggest offender when it comes to setting everything in all-or-nothing terms and demanding absolutism from the world. broadly i blame the hitchhiker conversations for the worst of it, but i think ultimately the way they handled the entire premise of the game is where this problem stems from. it's not really an exploration in the same sense that you might explore the first game, discovering different perspectives and different people with different relationships to each other. it's an exploration in the sense of a sequel that over-explains the monster, that takes the most boring option out of all those that were possible and floating around and settles on something that was blatant, obvious, typically rejected not because of how novel it is but how trite and par for the course it is in the rest of the genre.

yeah, okay. humans know nothing about monsters and there's a "monster dimension" that exists separately from the human dimension. there's no crossover between the two of them. of course there's a big grand-scale fight between the eldritch powers that zoe used to be a part of, from which not only are slayers the main organization against them, but also the merkingdom has some horse in this race too. it's an urge to make things so universal in explaining them, in revealing connecting threads which unite everything that's ever happened in here, that makes the worldbuilding and lore immediately much more boring than it ever was before.

and it didn't have to be this way! nothing in the first game contradicts any of this too explicitly (see the above, the first game loves to contradict itself), and i would even be happy if this was basically canon but never stated or confirmed to be the big overarching everything going on underneath it all. i believe you should probably know these things about any world that you create and have them in the back of your mind. the difference is that you can know these things and keep them in mind, even focusing on things where its very relevant, and still not reveal them. this is why you have lore bibles, after all. every horror writer knows exactly how their monster works and the full underlying reason for everything that happens, but that doesn't mean the audience will see it or possess this same information too, and leaving it intentionally obscure will make far better stories.

which, this is bad enough, but it wouldn't be the breaking point for me if this was all there was.

but the worst thing of all has to be the slow decay of the very same characters that sold me on this world, this lore, this game in the first place. monster prom is nothing without the characters in it. it's a dating sim, it has nothing but characters to get you to play, and liking these characters are the entire reason anyone would pick up monster prom in the first place.

and the first game pulls this off extremely well. it's all in the tagline: be your worst self. they are, indeed, all terrible people. yes, even that character that you just thought of right now. they all have points in the game where they commit atrocities, where they kill or hurt people, where they do inexcusable things that could not be ignored in a more serious setting.

but that's the point. i think there's something very powerful in creating a character who not only do you love and love their personality and the way they interact with the world, but who also are inapologetically terrible, and to have the humor and the charisma be so good that you don't get bogged down in the "this is awful". likewise, it never feels the urge to really go out of its way to justify what's going on. this is not to say theres no discussion of if someone "deserved it", but usually there's still the sense that the joke is on them, that this is still an extreme reaction specifically for comedy and not necessarily something that can be justified. you can have damien set leonard on fire and have it feel earned, without prompting the needed reaction of what it's actually like to watch someone burn to death.

this is what sets the prank masterz ending apart from the rest of the game, and really establishes it as the first real "bad ending". because nothing that you do or happens in the prank masterz ending is any different from anything else that happens in any other run. you summon evil beings from other dimensions as a throwaway gag on how visiting one location raises your stats. you kill other people and damn them to terrible fates. you watch as body horror happens. the only difference is that, in the prank masterz ending, the laugh track doesn't play.

the rest of the game and the writing echoes this philosophy, this careful interplay of tropes that keeps everything tongue in cheek and yet sincere enough to make sure emotional beats still land when they're needed. the characters feel true to themselves and their own emotions, even when the world is extreme and excessive, when everything else runs on comedy logic.

this is also what i noticed failing first as time went on.

like i said, fanon has always existed and there's always been very specific ideas as to what characters are like in the same way fanon always flattens down characters into the same tropes over and over. scott is stupid and innocent and doesn't know what sex is. damien is violent and hot and too cool for anyone else. miranda is the idiot girl character. repeat over and over and over until you get sick of it.

but it's been an issue as time has crept on that canon has started to approach fanon and began to merge with it. now, scott is so innocent that he can't even curse. polly starts being mean to her friends and saying things that would be very hurtful to hear. the merkingdom isn't really super evil and fucked up, it's just miranda that's like that. they become simpler, easier to digest, streamlined for social media posts and mass-sharing. they become less and less subversions of existing tropes and moreso just another example of them, something else to add to the collection, not their own individual stories.

even further from this, what more complex traits they had are now stated and not shown. polly is stated to be smart and clever in a way that her party girl persona doesn't imply and to be sincerely rather down to earth with the people she cares about, but we seldom ever see this anymore unless its the game specifically trying to make a point about it, in which case it won't let her do anything that implies cleverness and moreso will just outline it in the narration. vera is stated to care for people in a very genuine and heartfelt way, but seldom will get a chance to do so, and every opportunity for her to do so to their faces is missed while she will just outright state it later. it does not feel consistent, it does not feel like any of these are intended reads of their actions. it feels like the devs have something they want to do but no idea on how to actually do so. and forget it if you want these traits to manifest in small ways that show up in unrelated moments and scenes.

the dialogue becomes harder and harder to tell between each speaker, if you are just looking at what's said and not at the pictures attached to it. the characters' distinct voices have been eroded away, so that they speak more and more like each other, relaying the same terms and ideas in the same words. perspective becomes a suggestion, instead of a must.

this is something that started back in monster camp too, as all of the endings in that game felt ultimately the same as every other ending. it's very hard to place or define the full reason why, why there feels like there's no emotional stakes nor investment, why everything feels moreso like selecting different coats of paint and trying to find all the different ending pictures rather than being interested in exploring the characters as characters.

stranger yet, the series that started with the tagline of "be your worst self" has experienced a kind of... softening, for lack of a better word? what i mentioned about being able to handle the balance between terrible people who do terrible things and the light tone of the game starts to change, as abruptly the same characters who were down with violent murder in the first game start to lose their nerve, acting more and more on more typical morality. it's one of those things that feels like it's starting to damage the tone, as abruptly it's not as absurd as it used to be, demands less suspension of disbelief which could buffer and support the rest of the setting on it. there's even a part in one of the endings in montrip which involves current-polly and current-scott looking back on their monprom selves and reacting in horror at how violent and careless their pranks are, in a way that fundamentally felt like it was undercutting and disparaging all the things that felt fun and made monprom what it was.

which is odd, really, because more and more i feel like the characters in these games like each other less and less. the friendships and genuine enjoyment of each others company that brought me to this game in the first place has gone. now they don't mention each other as much, don't care for each other's feelings and reactions as much, aren't as willing to support each other. they are more and more found on their own, relied on their own, seem to seek out contact and interaction with their own friends less and less. it feels like they're all separating out into their own worlds, but also feels like they wouldn't willingly want to interact with each other if they weren't already forced together by some other outside contrivance.

if anything, i'd compare it to every other dating sim out there, where you, the player, are the most important person in these characters' lives, and they only feel ambivalent or antagonistic towards every other character. which, again, is not why i picked up monster prom or why i liked it so much in the first place.

and it's because of this that it feels like the current state of the series has to focus on its increasingly weak worldbuilding and lore, trying to form a more serious foundation without character relationships being so tightly bound together, without the characters themselves being more developed and rich, without an aspect of absurd humor to rely on.

more and more i've noticed monprom has to rely on referencing other series to make itself funny and create humor, which, again, it's always done. it was just easier to ignore back then, if you didn't know what was being referenced, because there was always more going on in the exact same scene to bolster it and give context clues as to the setup and punchline at play. it feels like the current games are much more dependent on you knowing pop culture references in order to have any fun with it, and i'm someone who, again, is very picky in what i like or what i'll seek out. i'm not interested in a stream of references about other things that i would much rather be doing than playing through a game that feels like it hates that i like it at all, when i could, again, just be engaging with the thing that takes itself seriously and knows what it wants.

[variousqueerthings]

She enjoyed that way too much.

OH NO CLARA DIED. I knew that was going to happen, I have seen it all on the tumbls. but how did she die? I genuinely couldn't remember (all I had was the toymaker going "killed by a... bird?") and yeah that's what I was thinking too. a bird? really? alright then

sexism rank objectification (female character is ogled/harassed/turned into a sex joke by the doctor and/or a lead we’re supposed to root for and/or the camera): 10/10

sexism rank plot-point (lead female character is only there to serve plot, not to have her emotional interiority explored, or given agency to her emotional interiority): 6/10

interesting complex or pointlessly complex (does the complexity serve the narrative or does it just serve to be confusing as a stand-in for smart, this includes visually): 5/10

furthers character and/or lore and/or plot development (broader question that ties into the previous ones, at least two of these, ideally three should be fulfilled): 9/10

companion matters (the companion doesn’t always have to be there, but if the companion is there, can they function without the doctor– and overall per season how often is the companion the focus or POV of the story): 6/10

the doctor is more than just “godlike” (examines the doctor’s flaws and limitations, doesn’t solve a plot by having it revolve entirely around the doctor’s existence): 9/10

doesn’t look down on previous doctor who (by erasing or mocking its importance, by redoing and “bettering” previous beloved plotpoints or characters, etc.): 8/10

isn’t trying to insert hamfisted sexiness (m*ffat famously talked a lot about how dw should be sexier multiple times, he sucks at writing it): 8/10

internal world has consistency (characters have backgrounds, feel rooted in a place with other people, generally feel like they have Lives): 6/10

Politics (how conservative is the story): 6/10

FULL RATING: 73/100 (if I can count….)

alright so we're on Big Episodes Time. technically Face The Raven is the first of three episodes but it very much stands alone in Vibe, so let us look at it

OBJECTIFICATION: seriously, we're pretty good on this by now. almost like one doesn't have to make a million jokes about women's appearances or sexually harass them to write a story

PLOT-POINT: okay first contentious rating, because the whole thing about Clara in this episode is that she figures out she is Gonna Die, which is all about her emotions isn't it?

I mean... a bit. but I think it highlights two things 1. "Maybe this is what I wanted. Maybe this is it. Maybe this is why I kept running. Maybe this is why I kept taking all those stupid risks. Kept pushing it" <- this is Clara being like "ah fuck I'm gonna die, but who knows maybe that's what my whole story and self was about" and I'm scratching my head a bit, going... was it? is that... the core of Clara? do the writers know the core of Clara? Or is this just her comforting the Doctor which is my second point 2. sooo much of this death is about Clara comforting the Doctor and telling the Doctor to not get revenge and to be okay with her dying. my love, you are about to die, why are we not getting more on you?

if this story had, say, echoed way back to early days Clara (s7) who was coming to terms with the fact that she was going to die over and over again, but then is rescued from that fate in one reality (I mean, it didn't quite nail that premise, but there's cool ideas within it), and this reality of Clara being afraid of death, but wanting to engage with the fun of life instead, to the point that maybe she forgot death was even an option... there's certainly some things you can use to read this into her, but it's not textual, it's not -- I would even say -- deliberate

Clara just kinda bounced about in the story a lot of the time, as if the writers had forgotten to do a simple character bible or something to that effect with her, so that in this moment when she dies... I'm not sure how it echoes back to how she lived. "Be brave" can mean anything, it's not a Clara-based mantra that relates to anything about her before. it doesn't relate to the idea that she's died before in a bunch of different lifetimes, or that her partner died to save her -- even though she mentions that death, but it's in the context of how she should also be brave and face it, and I'm like. no! aside from how I feel like Danny Pink's narrative was written, he at the very least canonically died so that Clara would not, it seems kind of not how that was framed to go "ah well, he could do it, so can I," he would be Upset at this idea surely???

we reach the seeming end of her life and I understand how it affects the Doctor -- hell how it affects Me and Rigsy -- more than how it affects her

I didn't rate this point lower, because I do think there's some emotional throughline in the episode itself, the problem is that it feels like it didn't relate to the entire rest of her run

COMPLEXITY: there's a Plot. who did the Plot? we don't know yet. we will find out! that's fine, this is the season finale one of three, we don't need to know everything yet

Me was hired to do the plot, and she did so in... kind of a complicated roundabout way. I kind of wish she'd targeted Clara to begin with, because why would she think Rigsy could get in contact with the Doctor? I really like Rigsy, I'm happy to see him again, and he's clearly doing well, but it's a bit ooh and then this plottwist happens, except I wasn't quite following why it needed to be twisted like that in the first place + I mean the fuckn. bit at the end when Me realises what's happened with Clara feels like it's doing so much heavy lifting "I didn't know she'd do something so stupid" really? I didn't realise it was stupid, because it's just inventing stuff as it goes along

I like a lot of the stuff around the plot, but that's another point!

CHARACTERS/LORE/PLOT: I mean yeah, Clara dies and the Doctor is transported... sooomewhere. (actually when I was watching Heaven Sent I hadn't realised it was this transporter that sent him into the Confession Dial, it took me until now)

Me is running a safe haven -- again, a compelling idea that isn't really explored a lot -- and is working for sooomeone to fuck with the Doctor. villain

so yeah, big stuff. Confession Dial now out of the Doctor's hands

COMPANIONS MATTER: second contentious rating perhaps, but Clara makes one big decision in this episode, and it's a huuuge mistake and gets her killed -- the fact that everything around that mistake was kind of silly aside, it's kind of a symptom of one of the main things that frustrated me for a lot of Clara's run (and Amy's for that matter) which was that M*ffat couldn't seem to figure out how to make them make decisions without the Doctor holding their hand, and the second she does in this episode, she literally dies

“GODLIKE” DOCTOR: the Doctor goes on a bit of a murder mystery romp in this one, and that's quite fun. again, I think Clara's death was more about him and how he might react to it, than about her, but on the whole there's nothing else egregious in this

also we get the return of the flashcards, I do enjoy the flashcards!

PREVIOUS DOCTOR WHO: Mmm there's not much in this one. obviously the Time Lords are about to arrive bit by bit, but on the whole -- apart from showing some various aliens...

“SEXINESS”: Clara mentions Jane Austen as "a great kisser" in this episode, and it's... the second? third hint? that she's not quite straight. I know it's baaaasically canon at this point, but I think generally Clara being bi was handled pretty terribly, in that it wasn't

INTERNAL WORLD: there's that secret world of aliens, which mimics a bit the Zygons outside. I kind of think this deserves more than what it gets, but it's not really about it, it's just a bit of set dressing

still, some cool concepts within it. I do wonder if I sometimes am unfair about when I think something is well-developed or not -- after all, Rings of Akhaten was also an alien culture briefly shown but not too dwelled on. I think that episode really did show bits of how that space worked, and crucially the religious festival aspect of it, whereas with this you get a sense of a kind of fucked up underlying politics, but it's not important to what's happening -- heck, we discover that Me pretended to kill someone and framed someone for that fake murder, so that she could lure the Doctor there, and it's confirmed that the law is so strict that just "assuming" someone committed that murder is enough to condemn them to death without trial or chance for defence

but we don't really understand how this affects the people in this supposedly safe haven, we don't really care about any of them, and Me's "plot" is never discovered or important to the running of this place (and the next time we meet Me is in the final episode at the very very end of the Universe so whatever this place was, it's gone now, it's just some random time she spent doing this thing)

I kind of wish there was an episode that was actually about this place

POLITICS: so we've got the refugee/secret society of aliens on earth, which is... somewhat thinly depicted. and the structure of this society is veeery not-good/vicious. but I guess it's mainly just that none of this really matters to the story of the episode

I like that we showed Rigsy again and that he has a kid and seems to be doing well for himself, I think having him specifically as a recurring character was a good choice

FULL RATING: 73/100 (if I can count….)

this is the highest-rated episode of the season actually, and I do enjoy a fair bit of it. some of this rating though comes from it being a Very Big Episode that sets up various things. I realise in structure it's got a bit in common with Utopia leading into that season's two-part finale (although of course, very different finales). straggler society that's holding on, Doctor arrives and is hoping to fix things only to get hit by a curveball in the last few minutes

I think that this is where the stuff that I do like about s9 comes up against the stuff that I knew wasn't going to land for me -- things like how Me is written into the lore feeling kind of clumsy to me, Clara not being as developed as I'd want her to be, and this season having a certain "and now suddenly something really important happens that came outta nowhere" style of writing

but it's a sweet little episode on its own, with some cool worldbuilding, and Rigsy is there!

also the post-credits Rigsy graffiti'ing the Tardis was beautiful. now we head into the. Final Episodes!

*

I'm not gonna lie -- this is not fair to the episode but oohhhh seeing Letitia Wright was transphobia jumpscare! she wasn't super transphobic and anti-vaxx back then either, it's just. yeah, jumpscare, as my friend and I call it whenever we don't expect sudden casual transphobia reminders

[goldenkid]

doctor who rant time

literally the ONLY redeeming thing abt chibnall’s doctor who is that 13 is hot and that’s just me being gay but like. where’s her personality. like mr chibnall can we PLEASE see a personality that isn’t awkwardly forced speeches or not very funny one liners or cobbled together traits from previous doctors like a less likeable 10/11 with none of the...you know...heart/soul and personality.

and then there’s the companions. ryan is cool, dude got lucky with at least 3/4 of a personality and a sweet arc w graham in s11; speaking of graham what did he contribute in s12 except for comic relief and like 1 (one) nightmare about his dead wife (remember her??). and yaz........yaz. cardboard cutout half hearted queerbait who nobody bothered to give a personality or like...ANYTHING to do. at all. for 2 seasons. she just stands there and says a line that could’ve been ryan or graham’s once in a while. oh she was depressed? nice tidbit to throw in 1.5 seasons into her being a companion and then never elaborate on. love the character arc she had....oh wait. oh yaz yeah she’s so--uh....policewoman? brave i guess? she has cool hair that counts for something i guess

and ofc i don’t dare go near the mess of the plot. sure, there were a couple decent episodes, one or two solid plots and side characters who weren’t blander than cardboard cereal, but everything else is some of the most badly paced, forgettable, token-activism-with-weird-centrist??-messages, boring pile of plot points that go nowhere and suggestions at character development that make you want to yell at the screen to make these characters do something!! put them through something!! make them learn or at least get sad for more than half an episode!! can we get some meaningful interaction in here pls?? and no mr chibnall that doesn’t mean one long speech with the moral of the episode awkwardly shoved in and then everyone going about their business. like moffat plots made no fuckin sense half the time but at least they were fun!! at least the characters were dynamic and the situations were interesting!! like moffat may not have done good overarching plots or simple concepts/down to earth characters but he could like...write an entertaining story.

and then i literally can’t go into shit like the timeless child...nazi master...weird message of kerblam...13 being like ‘no guns!!1’ and also kinda indifferent to suffering...like what were you GOING FOR HERE? do you think doctor who fans watch the show for the lore?? of course not we watch it for the stupid shit and space and emotions. and also if it’s not too much to ask, for the gay characters who don’t die.

and basically at the end of it, s11 and 12 were just straight up not much fun to watch. i’m more invested in doctor who than the average person and i was always several weeks behind with s12 because i didn’t care to catch up. i’ll watch the new season but for the first time ever i’m not actively looking forward to it coming out. i’m not expecting it to get much better. or at least not enough to make me invested in these characters that i’ve tried REALLY HARD to love. i spent all of s11 overlooking flaws and persuading myself the episodes were good, but the doctor being a hot lady can only tide you over so far. i didn’t really like s12. it’s mediocre tv. good actors can’t make bad writing into fun tv. or they can, but not for two entire seasons.

idk. i had high hopes for chibnall, for a female doctor, for 3 companions for new doctor who but i’m probably the most disappointed i’ve ever been. i’d rather rewatch season 6 than this, and i still don’t know what the fuck was going on that season. but at least it was fun to watch!! unlike this, which is boring. it all comes down to doctor who not only being bad, which is excusable, but being dull as well. and that just sucks

[giulia-liddell]

Italy's most prolific author, a stupid post by me

Note: my translation of the book titles might be bullshit

So here in Italy we have the Geronimo Stilton books (a pseudonym created by an author, Elisabetta Dami, but then used by like a hundred different authors)

Basically there's this fictional island populated by antropomorphic mice and we all pretend that this thing is real and one of these mice, Geronimo Stilton is a famous journalist and acclaimed author of children books (or well "reportage" books in which he tells his adventures)

So there are other mice characters who have their spin off novels or who write novels themselves and it's a real mess, like if you count all the books that are canonically part of this universe you get like two hundred books if not more. Now, another weird thing is that some books have mice as characters but others have human or at least humanoid characters and it's confusing.

These books are insanely popular. Like real nostalgia stuff. Everyone I know has at least one Geronimo Stilton book. The children section of our bookshops are filled with these books. We have a Geronimo Stilton cartoon series, comics and figurines.

So the most popular books are the Geronimo Stilton "classics" :

his "everyday" adventures

the "voyage in the kingdom of fantasy" series (famous for an insane amount of characters, cool character designs and those special pages that you can smell).

the "travel through history" series

(all of these are famous for the funny artsy fonts)

But there are also others, like the mistery series about the detective "Ficcanaso Squitt" or a lot of specials about holidays (I had one about valentines day for some reason, it was embarrassing) and many others. Seriously this world is full of characters (yes all mice), but most are awesome (like Geronimo's nephew Benjamin, what an adorable kid)

Then there's the "girls' books" (I put this in quotes because no one actually genderised these books, no one cared, we read everything): the Tea Stilton books.

Tea Stilton would be Geronimo Stilton's badass sister. She's a mouse and an author too (and she rides a motorcycle, it's not really relevant, but Geronimo constantly brings it up so I'm doing it too) and her books are also insanely popular.

She has two main series:

The "Tea sisters" series, which is about a group of girl friends from all over the world solving misteries and doing all sort of amazing things (probably a mile stone for every wlw girl in this country)

The "Princesses of the kingdom of fantasy" series, which is about five princesses who are sisters (but for some reason they are almost all of different ethnicity) who live in separate awesome kingdoms and they are all awesome (this is also probably a mile stone for every wlw girl of this country, well it was for me okay?)

Now, I would like to point out that the Geronimo Stilton "voyage in the kingdom of fantasy" series has also a lot of amazing female characters, some of which might have been important for the wlw girls of this country (I'm looking at you Alys, princess of the Silver Dragons Kingdom)

Anyway the Geronimo Stilton books are weird and amazing and nostalgic and I will always love them very much, but the Stilton Universe (not an official name, just made it up) has a confusing lore and set up and yeah...

(about the "we pretend this is real" thing, I'm not joking. I never discussed this with my friends, but I think that we don't believe in any of that stuff, but we still pretend there's actually an island populated by antropomorphic mice because Geronimo Stilton must be real. It's like pretending the Fairy Oak books' village is real.)

[the-blue-double]

For the Fire Emblem Lords Ask... all of 'em! If you want. You can pick n' choose, I don't mind.

Oh wow, that’s a lot! I’m happy to do it though, it will be a good way to kill the time between classes today.

Marth: Which Fire Emblem continent is your favorite?

Gotta be Elibe. I love the variety of the setting, how each country you visit in Binding Blade feels completely distinct, how the geography just looks like a place I can imagine existing in real life. It’s really great.

Alm: Favorite male Lord?

It’s a tossup between the longtime favorite Ike, and my newcomer Claude. They both take on very similar themes, and they’re both really complex characters. I think Claude wins in terms of having a stronger backstory and circumstances that made him who he is, but Ike’s character development over the course of the game is stronger (because Claude is actually a pretty realized character before the game starts. His journey is more about learning to trust others enough to include them in his dreams).

Celica: Favorite female Lord?

Eirika! I love her, she’s a realistically flawed character who suffers for it, but her mistakes are totally understandable in the context of her point of view and her established personality. I hate seeing people call her dumb for messing up, because that’s the point! She made a pretty reasonable mistake because she’s not perfect! It doesn’t make her stupid or poorly written! I also love a character who sees the good in everyone, and believes in humanity wholeheartedly.

Sigurd: Favorite class?

Shaman/Dark mage. I find dark magic super interesting to dig into, there’s a lot of pre-Awakening dark magic lore. The concept is just interesting to me. And lets be real, it’s just flat out cool.

Seliph: Favorite skill(s)?

Favorite skills, hmm, maybe lethality? Is it practical? No absolutely not. But it’s really really cool and feels good to activate and isn’t that what really matters?

Leif: Which character(s) do you most want to see added to FEH?

I stopped playing feh so this question has very little bearing on me now, but for the sake of an answer, I guess maybe someone from Sacred Stones? There’s a lot of great characters there who still aren’t in.

Roy: Favorite legendary weapon?

I don’t remember what I’ve said to this in the past, it’s always a tough question. Definitely a tome though because the animations are top tier and magic is my favorite weapon type. Does naglfar count?

Eliwood: Least favorite recurring character archetype?

Please IS we don’t need a woman who’s obsessed with the avatar/protagonist every game. Tharja, Camilla and Faye all come to mind, although I can tolerate Faye as long as I heavily apply my own canon to her over the official one. Thankfully, 3H doesn’t seem to have anyone who’s quite as bad as them. I was afraid Manuela would fall into it, but I actually ended up liking her even though she was used as clear fanservice in that regard on a few occasions. She’s definitely not as bad.

Hector: Do you prefer units that focus on defense/resistance or strength/magic?

Strength/Magic, don’t need to defend if you kill things in one hit anyways. To give a more serious answer, I do lean strength/magic, but I wouldn’t say I hugely prefer one over the other, they both have their applications and usefulness. It depends on the game a little too, you can get away with just focusing on offensive stats in some games, but other games will kill you if you don’t have a solid defensive core too.

Lyn: Do you prefer units that focus on speed or on strength/magic?

Ideally I’d like a balance, but I’ll take strength/magic with no speed over speed with no strength/magic. If you can’t do damage in the first place your doubles and dodgetanking are as good as useless.

Eirika: Which game would you most like to see a sequel (or prequel) to?

I was going to give a few half hearted answers, but then I thought of Archanea and the potential for a game about the first Exalt, and I think I’ve got to give it to that.

Ephraim: Favorite sibling relationship?

Hector and Uther is a really good one.

Ike: Favorite FE character in Smash Bros?

Like as a character or as a fighter? As a fighter Robin is my main, I love playing him, he was my most wanted character for smash 4 before he was announced and I watched his trailer live and it was an amazing thrill when he showed up. As a character probably Ike.

Micaiah: Favorite healer class?

I’d feel wrong saying a magic class that just gets staves on promotion like druid so I’m going to give it to Valkyries, particularly GBA ones.

Kris: Favorite avatar (includes Kiran and Mark)?

Robin I guess? Don’t have strong feelings about any of them, but I don’t mind Robin and I’ve got some attachment to them because of their status as my main in smash and the fact that M!Robin was my first 5 star in Heroes while I still played it

Chrom: Favorite FE ship(s)?

Raven/Lucius Raven/Lucius Raven/Lucius

Uhhh aside from them, I really like both Ike/Soren and Ike/Ranulf, Ignatz/Marianne has become a favorite from three houses, I don’t post it so much but I’m actually pretty attached to Edward/Leonardo (though I platonically ship them more than romantically, I love them as a couple but I also just love them as like, platonic soulmates). I could probably think of a lot more favorites too if I sat down and focused on it for a while, but I’ll spare you. If anyone wants to ask about my feelings on any particular ships feel free though!

Robin (M): Magic or physical weapons?

Magic! I used six mages in a single file in my first FE12 run.

Robin (F): Melee or ranged weapons?

Melee is the basis of the battle, but you have to have ranged weapons to make any strategy work and they open up a lot of options, so I’ll give it to ranged.

Lucina: Favorite child unit(s) from any FE game?

I really like Laurent, although most of the child units in Awakening are really good. I want to say Seliph and Leif too because I love them but I haven’t actually played FE4 gen 2 or Thracia 776 yet so I probably can’t say that yet.

Corrin (M): Favorite type of transformer class?

Beast tribe laguz! Kitties!

Corrin (F): Favorite dancer (or variation)?

Ninian probably. She’s a great character and I liked having the dancer integrated into the story as much as her. I liked Azura for the story integration too but... Fates was Fates, Ninian’s the stronger character by a longshot.

[ghostmartyr]

Pokémon SoulSilver Randomized Nuzlocke [Part 2]

Standard Nuzlocke rules apply

Non-standard rule of only being allowed to catch something if it has a Type in common with the most recent thing you caught applies

Randomizer only touches wild pokemon; everything NPCs have remains the same.

So far, we have the first badge, and just caught our first official teammate for our starter. He is Fludd the Whiscash, to accompany Chance the Dewgong. Next pokemon has to be Water or Ground.

May I have the good fortune of finding one.

Fludd is Gentle and alert to sounds. He doesn’t have much in the ways of experience or moves yet, but we will soon see to changing that.

Route 33 has Shuckle! Adorable!

Fludd’s only offensive move being Mud-Slap is proving a trial of patience.

Wild Bastiodon appears. This is the route of tanks.

We’ve talked to Kurt, kicking off the Rocket plot of this section, and I think once Fludd is 10 or 11 we’ll continue down the Slowpoke Well. Where there will be non-Slowpoke things waiting for us.

I really just want Fludd to know something better than Mud-Slap.

..Water Gun is not terrible. Helps that the route I have chosen for training is beset by constant rain. Every single Shuckle having Berry Juice is not on the list of things that help anything except Shuckle delaying the inevitable.

I lied. Fludd is 13 before we start thinking about other things.

My current other thing is going to be Ilex Forest instead of the Rocket plot.

For reasons of pretty.

We find a Charizard!

That is very much not Water or Ground.

Cyndaquil is not Water or Ground either.

Hey, Fludd learned Mud Bomb. Yay.

Okay, fine. I guess we can save the Slowpokes if we really have to.

I love how as technology advances, video games get to be prettier. It makes me happy in my feelings places.

I also love how Kurt really doesn’t do anything. He tries. Then he falls and can’t get up. Then we go in and do the job he wanted to do.

Mawile is down here. Nothing I can do there.

The Grunts go down like Grunts, and then it’s Proton time!

Proton!

That guy!

He’s got... aquamarine hair! That’s like a personality!

Fludd beats him down, too. Party as it stands is Fludd at 16, Chance at 20, and Sleet and Cloud at 5. With only Fludd and Chance really counting as full party members. That will change slightly when I need something to Cut stuff.

Which will be right after we deal with this Gym.

-many weeks later-

-cough-

Anyway, Gym!

This will mostly be Fludd’s show, since he could use the levels. If anything happens to know Absorb, we’re bailing, but he should mostly be okay.

Upgraded Gym aesthetics are always good.

Almost as good as playing a Pokemon game without feeling compelled to give every single fight full play-by-play detail. Assume if I magically teleport through the plot that I did everything perfectly and expertly. All a result of my personal talent, not overleveling my precious pokemon in hopes of keeping them from dying from my stupidity.

Oh heck, whoops. One of the pre-Leader battles is a double.

Sleet is in the second slot.

Let’s not.

Good news! Sleet is still level 5. She still appears to be a casual passerby of this party, not an official member. This matters.

Bugsy looks so happy. Good for him.

(Unlike some Johto Gym Leaders.)

This will be more entertaining later in the game, but I think Pikasprey has brought up how this region’s Gym Leaders really are the most irresponsible about their job title.

Ultimately, Chance will take out Bugsy’s Scyther. Because it’s level 17. Like Fludd. And U-turn apparently really, really hurts.

No, Chance, you may not learn Rest. You’re a starting party member. That means you have nothing but attacks, and we compensate for our lack of strategy with levels.

Badge get!

But suddenly....!

-zooms through the battle at the speed of sound-

Good job, team!

Now we get to do a Farfetch’d puzzle that I am absolutely not terrible at.

Glory to Cut. Which we will be unceremoniously dumping on Cloud. Hi Cloud. This is your team. This is your role in it. Thank you for your contribution.

Oh.

Huh.

You’re part Water, aren’t you?

tfw I can actually catch something in Ilex Forest. Maybe I even will.

CAUGHT!

New member of the team, your name is now Downpour! Downpour is Quirky and highly curious, and we already love him. Even with the inevitable switch training about to go down.

We’re all just so happy that this place has been given level 6 Charizard to mine.

The truly nice part about being such a disaster in playing this part consistently is that Kurt gives me free balls. What, you forgot to play for a month? Your reward is not knowing what’s going on! Also free catching tools! You Win!

I also think that me being aware of EVs is the worst thing that ever happened to my enjoyment of pokemon playthroughs. I’m just left looking at wild level 6 Charizards with Sp. Atk signs in my eyes. What do those look like? The world may never know, but they are now part of my balanced breakfast.

Also, Nature Power becomes Rock Slide in Ilex Forest.

Downpour is going to be the most overhyped Special Attacker of its kind.

Assuming I ever find a Water Stone.

This is one of those changes from the originals that I’ve never fully understood or cared for. Except at the end of the day, I am a complete sucker for people you’ve helped along your journey all reuniting and recalling what you’ve done for them.

I just really miss the Eeveelution coolness of their dance hall.

And I don’t know why this one needed any help at all. Is that a lore thing? Are all your interactions with them just secret character tests?

Downpour is 19, which feels like good enough for venturing into Goldenrod. I really shouldn’t be living the life of mindlessly murdering wild Charizard for EVs for hours on end. Let’s just try to put a cap on it.

Forbidden Day-Care lore.

Lyra’s grandmother ships us. Awk.

I’m accepting everyone’s number in this. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned that before, but unlike in the originals, I don’t think there’s a limit on numbers on your phone, so might as well hoard them up.

Geez I feel old.

Vote now on which NPC pokemon person gets to stay in your phonebook. Maybe if you’re lucky you won’t abandon the one who hands out random evolution stones. :)

Oh, hello. I can catch you.

Do I want to? I’d be back to Water/Ice, and right now I have the option of picking up a Grass thing somewhere along the way... hm.

On the other hand.

Cloyster is cool.

POKE BALL, GO!

Damn it, poke ball.

Heavy Ball?

Damn it, Heavy Ball.

And now I am out of Great Balls.

Poke Ball. How do you feel about a redemption arc.

The Poke Ball declines. I have one Fast Ball, and one Heavy Ball. The odds of me getting a new friend out of this are dwindling. The route’s death appears to be at hand.

One Fast Ball.

Yeah, it breaks out.

Okay, Downpour. Kill the non-friend.

With Chance’s help, because the non-friend knew Supersonic.

Bye, Route 34. You’re dead now, and I need to buy catching tools before I forget and meeting my next friend turns awkward.

Whatever. I have a bike now.

Failing basic trivia is my favorite part of each Pokemon game.

PSYCH I WON.

My prize is a Radio Card, but the real prize is getting Whitney back inside her Gym. Where I can now battle her if I so choose. If I want to progress in the game. Her Miltank is waiting.

So we’re just going to do literally everything else we can, except not literally; these games have too many things, and I’m not getting distracted by Voltorb Flip.

...What does Nature Power actually do? Because Downpour has been spotted using Rock Slide, Earthquake, and now Tri Attack through it. It’s becoming a staple of his kit. I don’t think I’ve ever bothered using it before. I was under the impression is was always Swift?

Or is that Nature’s Gift? That’s a thing, right?

Bleh. Fighting first, looking up vitally helpful information later.

The grass has Hitmontop. Not Grass or Water, so it must die.

Wait what the heck. I was out innocently Headbutting trees, why are you here?

This is intensely awkward. My usual mode with these things is that something only fits the requirement of my Nuzlocke team if it’s been Randomized, and for whatever reason, the randomness doesn’t touch Headbutt encounters. Exeggcute is part Grass, but it is not Randomized. Sleet and Cloud are more proper team candidates.

I’m just going to say that Headbutting doesn’t count for a route’s encounter. This run isn’t intended to be overly difficult (this is not the grindlocke); the aim is fun, and I have more fun not using the standard encounters for the game.

What I’m saying is the Exeggcute dies.

(I’m just never going to be able to get a Psychic Type in this.)

My thing at the moment is beating up pokemon in the wild because I’m not sure how to deal with Whitney. Stress-grinding. Chance can’t fight the Miltank. Rollout against Ice sounds like a nightmare. But Chance is also the only female on the team, and my teams have terrible luck in love, which Whitney like exploiting.

Fludd doesn’t really have moves. Water Pulse is nice, but Mud Slap is his only other attack. Downpour is theoretically a cool option, but I don’t know what Nature Power does in the Gym. These kiddos do not have movesets that play well together. Tickle spam would be ideal, but Fludd doesn’t have a physical attack. Only Chance does, and there we have the Rollout problem.

This team could have some nice synergy (for once I almost think I might want to have someone with Rain Dance), but right now they just don’t know enough, and I do not like heading into Whitney this way.

So let us continue to explore the countryside in hopes that a solution is found.

Yanmega is not Grass or Water. Neither is Pikachu.

RIOLU.

You’re not, either.

Neither is the Zubat in the next route. Bonsly looks like it should be, and yet. Volbeat is a nope.

You, on the other hand.

Okay okay okay. Downpour. Do not ruin this for us. I know you want to kill it. We can feel it in your heart. However, we could use a friend. We could use another link in our chain.

...Actually, Fludd, how about you lend a hand with this.

SHARPEDO GET!

I dub thee Hurricane. Hurricane is Modest (dang it) and alert to sounds.

To use, or not to use. That is the question. Physical attacker? Good. Yet another pokemon with a generic shrug at the difference between physical and special? Hm.

I think Hurricane is a reserve. If we’re leveling you, little guy, it’ll be a bit later. We’re happy to have you, but you don’t fix anything well enough that I think I want to train you up just yet.

On to the park. Where the Dunsparce lurk. More Smoochum. Zubat.

I found a Dig TM. That might go to Fludd. ..Or is Fludd going to learn Dig naturally? Fludd will learn Magnitude in a few. I can wait. I don’t remember if this gen allows multiple uses of TMs or not. I could look that up, but effort.

Er. On that subject, though... internet, where can has Water Stone?

“ Johto: National Park (Come 1st in Bug Catching Contest), Route 42 (PokéGear Phonecall) “

Uh.

Oh no?

Wait!

“ Johto: Pokeathlon Dome“

Hope.

Yikes. I wanted to avoid that, having no touch screen, but Downpour, I’m not abandoning you so easily. We’re a team, man. A team. We’ll get you your usefulness.

Welp, I’ve defeated all the trainers I can.

I guess.

It’s time.

Downpour is level 24, Chance is 25, and Fludd is 23. Fludd’s going to be taking the early parts in the interest of balance. For Whitney herself... I really don’t know. I’ll play it by feel. I do want to make sure Downpour uses Nature Power before that fight, though. I don’t want to go in without knowing what it does.

It does Tri Attack in here.

...Yeah, I’m looking it up. What the heck does Nature Power actually do? Besides use moves that are strongly connected with things occurring in nature?

Finding the gen four version is too much trouble. Let’s just proceed knowing limited amounts. Yay for Tri Attack.

-makes an unhappy face best represented by toddlers-

One Clefairy and one Miltank.

This is not a scary thing.

See? Fludd already massacred the Clefairy.

This is fine. It will be fine.

Fludd stop flinching.

Aaaaaand there’s the Attract. The Miltank’s been using Stomp only, so it should be safe for Chance to go in and get a few hits. Fludd used Tickle a few times to counteract the Stomp being annoying.

Chance. Sweetie.

Stop. fucking. flinching.

FUCK YOU AND YOUR SUPER POTIONS, WHITNEY.

YES. IT’S DEAD.

YOU ARE NOT THE ONE WHO SHOULD BE CRYING HERE. MY SOUL IS IN DESPAIR, WHITNEY. YOU AND YOUR STUPID MILTANK. EVEN WHEN IT ISN’T USING ROLLOUT.

I sort of ship the flunky that tells you not to worry, Whitney will give you your badge after she stops crying--with Whitney. Just because. I spend a great deal of time in my Pokemon playing shipping random NPCs.

Pokeathlon opened, time to. grind for the Water Stone.

If my memory of this is correct, before you beat the Elite Four, there’s a different evolution stone available for purchase each day. Today’s is a Moon Stone.

Oh, this is going to be hell!

tfw you remember the Jump course being the kindest so pick it but none of your team is actually good at jumping so you’ve got to bring in the reserves.

Hurricane, Cloud, Sleet? Your time is now.

...

..

.

These games are not meant to be played on a touchpad.

Yikes.

Oh my fucking gosh this is hell do not want.

Well.

I lost.

Yay for 325 points.

LET’S KEEP GOING, SHALL WE????

Where’s my mouse...

Let’s try Power on for size. Chance, Downpour, Fludd, go for it.

Oh look I lost.

Downpour, you better appreciate how much I love you.

LOOK WE WON THE STAMINA ONE.

I’m not documenting this further. Know that I am miserable, and this is not meant, in any way, to be played with a mouse. The levels of unfortunate are everlasting and I am sad.

-the next day-

I have to wait another day for a Water Stone, but I have enough for it, so now we can move on to fun things. Like the game. The game. Which is fun.

tfw Jirachi is secretly an odd tree.

Route 37, have ye any Water or Dark?

Chimchar, you are found lacking.

Ah crud.

Totodile is not lacking, but I really don’t think catching it is a good idea. Pure Water locks me into Water. We might end up there anyway, but I’m not in such a hurry to commit just yet. I can kill a route to keep some variety alive.

Sorry, Totodile. :(

Ecruteak means Bill, which means I could go back to Goldenrod and find out what his Eevee has become. Let’s do that before we think about anything fancy like plot progression.

Sleet, into the box with you. Maybe you’ll come back if I don’t like whatever Bill’s offering.

Carnivine. Interesting. Uh. How about... Drizzle? Drizzle. Cool. And. Uh. Sleet. You’re staying in the box. Sorry, but level 5 things that are filling out party count are really just going to end up as very sad sacrifices. We’re avoiding that for now.

-another day passes-

(without me getting balls from Kurt, whoops)

WE DID IT.

Now to find out that Downpour’s spending another twenty levels not needing it because moves matter more than stats. To the internet.

...Oh.

Oh, Downpour.

Oh, no.

You, uh.

Kiddo, you’re going to be needing some help as we move forward.

But the good news is that means we’re evolving you now! Yay! Power boost! You go, you funky little duck frog thing.

Maximum cuteness achieved.

That’s a good stopping point for this round, I think.

[glopratchet]

cldstrm000

You can't see anything on it, but you guess that it's probably a little more advanced than what your computer was capable of back in grade school What we have is a screen of buttons and a list of plot lines and a bunch or characters who are either important to the story or just there for you to kill You're not really sure how much you want to play with this thing though since all of these games seem pretty cut and dry, like they're going to be exactly the same no matter which one you choose Throw it up there let us see it Plot -Bunny's right, it's better if you choose since A: You're the mastermind behind all this and B: You'll enjoy it more that way Press the button with a flourish, we have work to do Plot-Bunny's right, Unseen story Try to incorpate in to mechanics but descriptions are nice too You can pay others to use their creations, or even make your own a separate items with a single coin ; (much smaller than the gold coins) A "Creations for Coin" topic will be started, but it is not necessary to use it First impression of character -creation What can you character do with what abilities they have? How does the begining of the story effect the outcome of it all? So many factors come into play, that this is going to be unbelievable hard Very few people can say they got an A in Writing Class ; (Or any other Subject), but you're going to TRY for one of those few Who are the characters you'll be controlling in this giant game of marbles? What kind of relationships will you make with them? That's all down to choice my friend, choice Your grade for This is going to be decided by a poll on "What was your favorite questline? " along with other things, ex: "What was your Favorite Line? or "Did the ending meet expectations? " so make it count! Delivering lore is about consistent details Collecting 5 of the same rune creates a stack of that rune that some may argue that you don't need in a game, but you'll need them to understand your bios - From backstory to in-game details Everyone starts with 3 Inventory Slots, each lasting 3 Posts ; (Coins are included in this), get more by investing in "Backpack Creation" Head cannon ideas can range from silly to creative Bad ones get deleted, good ones' get used (Starting Gold: Briar ; (Thyme? A dash of herbs and a sprig of flowers Power: Healing Touch ; (3 Use) - Sacrifice Thyme's herbs and flowers for Health Packs Ability1: Harmful Smell ; (1 Use) - Release a scentless gas that knock's enemies back and confuses them momentarily So do you control a character or do you watch a character Tell me about it: Why are you resigned to telling a story instead of playing one? Why would someone willingly do this to themselves? You could watch the character manage the story or manage it for them, makes no difference to me Rejoice! To become a Narration Pixie! For that is what you are now (Also who reads this stuff? ) Your Friends, your Classmates, your Family ; (Surly they're reading this) nobody will ever look at you the same way again ; (Except for Sophie who just asks "What now? Don't believe me? Move from hex to hex and let the story unfold from there, don't just watch some scrub do it for you Also there isn't just survival on the line ; (Although there is that), but your grade in my class, of course Then the ui is like dashboard for witnessing plots / ui plot select Select a plot to start the game To skip the prologue and go to credits, choose 1 To jump into the action, choose 2 For more info about each section and the credits, choose 3 There's not much but A, and C so that narrows it down at least How do you interact with the plot By lightly to heavily imagining what the plot is and actually feeling the emotions, this plays out like a choose your own adventure This gives you shares in game, but losses shares for your choosing Make all the choices and you have nothing to represent the fact that you ever existed The 1% of people who finish get 1% shared in being a winner Are you roman During the market stampede? By creating alligator snapping turltes and dropping them down into the world they slowly grow over time, eventually turning into a deadly underwaterbeast that can crush and burn anything your grade in my class, The events tab would write out stories In the past you thumbed through them like a college radio enthusiast, but with this set of incomprehensible inputs you decide that it might be better if you personally arranged them about the nonplayer characters and their life events--what they felt, saw, thought, and how they were died You didn't read too much into it then, but maybe somebody was trying to tell you something Rant: Ultimately written with NaNoRe write your user story So what you are creating is one giant story that quite frankly nobody will ever read mainly because they aren't instructed too Also many sections are so long that nobody, even you have the persistence to read it all through But that doesn't matter, in fact you probably don't even care if anybody reads it But how is interactive when you enter text it plays out in real time based on how you set up the characters and events Your main character is a veteran that served 20 years? Have him reminiscence about the past, but don't go overboard Got a bully? change what they say based on your input Have mother nature herself be a female Goddess of destruction? Have mechanics come up that support the theory after you get passed the religious fanaticism of it all I mean little bubbles could pop up that tell you that the plot as been advanced to a new page It needs tweaking so that's going to take time So what do you do until then? Bold: The unending sun accosts your skin with only the mercy of lukewarm breezes to cool you down "Not bad, not bad, A full head of gray hair onto your Violet scalp thanks to your orc heritage, dark circles surround your eyes and a white beard reflects how many worries have plagued you in the past few days Perhaps even re watch the drama unfold on the hex map You killed forty of the young men in the ensuing battle and now have them at your beck and call to take out to the battlegrounds as you decide on what to do with your Nation, So your resourceful half-dragon master makes first contact with a nearby orc village--it went better than anyone could have anticipated That would fade into video during certain segments that really need a high definiton render His elaborate map shows what could only be the western front of an on going war It's quite frankly more high tech than anything he's shown you before You peer closer at the twenty foot hexagonal tiled ground and watch as the war drones fly overhead and bombard a nearby rocky outcrop They cut through it like butter, then continue on The why from his perfect memory and ingenious implementation You fondle your many options You see a screen of all the characters names and on the row exists options that can be choosen for them to say or do when 'active Something about alligator snapping turtles dropping from the sky (he said dropping not falling Well that's interesting) Must be an event He had many connections to companies out side of the village so that might be lucrative Someone is spying on the village, via a drone maybe? You can try and track it down and disable it Or leave it alone thinking nobody noticed Nah He had only four re-inforcements waiting to aid him in his journey as commander of the war-band Or are you the turtle roaming about The screen pulls back and now you are shown to have your pointer finger on a yellow giant star at the center Also other planets exist out side of your vision Maybe the moon of this planet contains resources You can only control events that YOU personally have been a part of If someone else where to take command no doubt you would be demoted Where did he come from? Why is he here? Could he have destroyed the village in the first place? But if it lands in certain places it opens up new characters for you to play The universal storyteller could have ideas for you for a price presumably The thing is all of this story is really happening in the background or to make your own Hitting select pulls up a prompt to continue the story Turning the three terminal into one large hexagon would allow you to use it as a visual mapping tech for re-creations of battles or wildlife etc Combining functions eh? Removing enemies from the story could increase the rate of survival for people such as your character There is a fourth column that exists with the why, how and what columns In the simulation this displayed 'life' and was at 100% Pressing it changes the column heading to a screen ending of continue or create The hallway now exists with walls on each side displaying blue swirly patterns that seem to form words, sentences thoughts Everything feels very Matrix like right now Now you start to panic, wonder if you had something to drink before heading into the lab best get out of here quick And i need to program it out so others cant use this stupid machine! Now you try to exit, but the terminal wont let you Only one option remains no no that won't work! horrors This ending is nonsensical under most circumstances! The question is how do you program out the simulation It was designed to be a visual storyteller Your sacrifices or their sacrifices were used in the formulas to allow my abilities to program and design video games! Even a light switch is knowledge of electrons and protons in our Universe! o I hear opening music usually reserved for grand space battles the sensations of flying through space are filling your mind I wonder if something I ate disagreed with me You need to create the alligator turtle drop for others to use without them being participators in my whole scheme argh music is mathematical structure but what will I choose as the columns? To have your music relived via hologram at your funeral or not This seems almost backwards i was about to try something out and now I am on a decision screen! The story was about someone dying from snakebite now music? This doesn't seem right The idea of a single page decision does not sound like a good one I have been having trouble of late and cant be sure that there are not things broken in the narrative The world is a loop that resets itself over and over We can only hope to change the tiniest portion of it But what choice do we have but to try? NOTE: This story was previously titled "The Storyteller: A Music Tale" Think more about the company that creates this experience in movies and games Wish I could list all my sources and influences or this note would be far too long Thank you for your time, patience and support How does the alligator turtle drop game work It is the closing drop of a magic act A bowl is place on a table and a ball is placed on the floor beneath it The magician slowly puts each finger into the bowl one at a time and then makes a horrifying discovery a small alligator turtle has been secretly placed underneath the bowl! You must play through the choices in chronological order Each choice represents one of the fingers But yes dropping more and more turtle reviels more and more of the game If you get desperate one can use the other website link ; (or copy and paste) to try and figure out the elaborate set of circumstances needed to create this tale Please do not post these answers online anywhere as it is likely to ruin the fun for others in the future Let the adventure and discovery begin! The protector robot has safeguards to prevent itself from being hacked and summarily destroyed by evil types It can tell when these types are trying to gain access to the place It would be very rare for someone to be of this unusually interested in this tale It is easy enough to get a hold of me through the contact information at the front of this website The idea to creat a simlation was developed through talking to a number of high school and college students who were heading into these fields It really stemmed from my desire ot get the programming language Python ; (used in the creation of this tale) into classroom CS101 curriculum's After I retired it seamed natural to revisit the idea of switching my focus to online teaching This venture was much longer and more successful than my 74seconds org venture because it seemed to tap into an underserved market! Remember the idea is to create a simulation of a physical space so that you the reader can learn logic gates So keep interaction in mind when you are moving through each page! Maybe the reader does not focus on the details difference with each new reading but the programmer watching you will see if there is any pattern or repeatable strategy There needs to be a bit of adventure for flavor but mechanically the entire story is built with interaction in mind Finally the idea is to create a computer simulation of a physical space so that you the reader can learn logic gates without all the tedious work I believe this idea could be applied to other in-demand career fields as well; from medical technicians to kindergarten teaching Where a robot design to protect a snapping turtle baby malfunctions and does not disappear when dead and effects the swamp opera around them The snapping turtle baby also metamorphisizes as it grows up The interaction between the swamp creatures and the robot as well as their mannerisms are used to represent bits and bytes of information That second paragraph was for you programmers trying to solve out the sim Just think binary if it helps! One day I would love to try this as an app or some other kind of video game form but sadly I do not have the knowledge to accomplish this But you still have not figured out how the players of the game can add something unpredictable to the mix so that each play through is different Feel free to email me your ; (sensible) solution! I would also like comment on the image of R2-D2 above the robot design I am a big time star wars nerd and carrying that over into the design was a no-brainer for me But what you may not know is that this robot design was made by one C-3PO! The players make the game unpredictable by selecting which wires to cut If the wrong wire is cut then the robot may misread a command and turn hostile! Thanks again for visiting my site and good luck with the puzzles! - modified on Tuesday, October 3, 2013 9: 26: 04 PM Labels: All , Software Break those chains - for freedom! I think that this is brilliant because it really ties into my theory of only education certain types of schooling can really prepare you The most unpredictable method of changing the game by the players is Something even more unpredictable than the roll of a dice and that's the chaos in human behavior which these gladiators will find out today Some lessons in life can only be taught through pain and loss and maybe even death Something even more unpredictable than the roll of a dice and that's the chaos in human behavior The most unpredictable method of changing the game by the players is actually very simple It is the one thing every 'person' has that separates us from other creatures: Choice My challenge to you, readers, is to find a way to introduce choice-based actions for the gladiators to do within the narratives I lay out Specifics on how this will happen will be in each post Doesn't have to be complex and it doesn't have rewrite the entire post