#professionally unprofessional

[professionallyunprofessional]

The 7th Guest VR

If you've been following me for any length of time, you know that The 7th Guest is one of my most favorite games ever. I have talked about pretty much every iteration of it on here, except for things like the mobile 'Infection' game and the T7G board game (which, sadly, I don't own). It is time for me to talk about it again. :D

This past year, a VR remake of The 7th Guest was created by Vertigo Games. It was teased both on its own Facebook page and on Trilobyte's pages as well. The game was released on October 19th, 2023. I would be lying if I said that I didn't want a VR headset just for that game. I got both a headset and the game for Christmas.

As always, spoilers below the cut. But the TL;DR version of this review is thus- This game is very good. 4/5 stars. From the moment I first started it up, it already had the gloriously spooky vibes of the original. For this review, I'm going to break it down into parts, wherein I'll be talking about both the good and bad of each.

The Gameplay

When I first heard that a VR remake of T7G was being made, I was excited. I had such fond memories of the original, and it was an absolute treat to revisit the Stauf Mansion. Experiencing it now is a whole new level of amazing. Not only are the graphics much sharper, of course, but you can see so much more of the house. Instead of a still frame backdrop like the original, you’re able to freely wander around the rooms and interact with objects. A few rooms were scrapped (the art gallery and laboratory were removed entirely, and the maze/catacombs were reworked into a storage room and basement), but I feel like it doesn’t take anything away from the game. If anything, the removal/revamping of certain areas streamlined things.

A new mechanic added to the remake is the lantern your character walks around with. With the lantern, you can spawn in items, see hidden messages on the walls, and get hints for some of the puzzles. It took some getting used to, but I thought it was fun. The original game was point-and-click, so it was cool to see something new added to it.

Slightly less successful, at least for me, were some of the spooky effects in the remake. The original game had the occasional cutscene that wasn’t necessarily plot relevant, but they were still fun. Hands coming out of a picture, floating table settings, a clown ghost appearing in the game room, the Woman in White beckoning you to follow her, etc. The remake's spooky effects come in two ways- One is blink-and-you'll-miss-it moments of shadowy figures appearing in rooms and hallways. Another is paintings that change when you shine your lantern on them.

The Story

Both the original 7th Guest and the VR remake tell the story of one fateful, bloody night at the mansion of the disgraced toymaker Henry Stauf. Six guests were purposely invited, and a seventh was very much in the wrong place at the wrong time. The original game had an opening blurb about the events leading up to the story of the game, but the VR remake takes it a step further. Not only does the story of Stauf’s childhood slowly unfold throughout the game, but each guest’s room has bits of information about them and their backstories that gives insight as to why they accepted the invitation to come to the house. Frankly, I love this. Especially because the expansion of Stauf’s lore gives clarity as to why he chose those six people specifically.

The Characters

The six guests from the original game make their glorious return in the VR remake. In the weeks leading up to the game’s release, Vertigo Games put out various teaser images and video from the game. At first, I was skeptical (a few of the characters seemed not quite right for their parts), but I think most of the actors did a fantastic job. In particular, I adored both Temple and Elinor. I wasn’t particularly wowed by their choice for Henry Stauf, though. To me, Carl Wharton didn’t have quite the same oomph that Robert Hirschboeck brought to the role.

The Music

The soundtrack for 7th Guest VR was composed by Jonathan van den Wijngaarden, and I think he did a fantastic job. His score has the same delightfully spooky, but still strangely beautiful quality to it, especially with several of the tracks including familiar tunes from the original. George ‘The Fat Man’ Sanger himself even contributed to the piece of music that plays when you enter the chapel. I honestly have no complaints about the music. It was my favorite thing in the original and it might be one of my favorite things about the remake.

The Puzzles

I was very curious as to what the puzzles would be like in the remake. I have to say, I’m impressed. They have been reworked entirely, with each puzzle now being distinctly themed to whatever room it’s in. Temple’s puzzles all have to do with stage magic tricks, Julia’s puzzles are about either drinking or her fear of getting old, the kitchen puzzles involve things like finding ingredients for soup, etc. The only one that hasn’t changed is the puzzle with the 8 queens in the game room. If I had to nitpick something, it would be that it’s not always easy to spot the puzzles. Unlike the original game, there is no pulsing brain icon to show you what’s a puzzle and what isn’t.

The Easter Eggs

The 7th Guest VR is full of delightful nods to the original 7th Guest. The achievements you can unlock are all named for bits of dialogue from the original game, the dining room has a few glorious nods to the original dining room scene, and there was one particularly delightful music-based Easter egg I stumbled upon purely by accident (pro-tip: Explore every wardrobe, cabinet, and closet).

All in all, this game is fantastic. Not quite perfect, but almost.

[paleoblue]

my next piece has been delayed due to my tablet pen breaking, so this'll be my last art post for a little while. i'm so sorry to deltarune fans

[ryan-is-a-god]

"he/she" (In a sentence. Example: he/she will be expected to perform this task)

You have butchered the English language, as if it isn't already in shambles. Just say "they", why is it so hard!? This is a job listing you animals!

[hobbitonwheels]

Had to be done. The newest Professionally Unprofessional is about the discovery and reveal of the lost pilot episode of ToonMakers’ version of Sailor Moon.

[teplejtrouba]

a detective who has a partner🔍 and a partner💕 who are friends so the three of them end up doing a lof things together and the detective refers to them as "my partners" and doesn't realise this makes everyone think they're polyamorous (they do end up polyamorous by the end of the story)

[moonlume]

tumblr said draw something bad so I did but I'm mad I still didn't feel anything

[welcometololaland]

Are you ready to get (un)professional?

NOW COMPLETE

(UN)PROFESSIONAL SERVICES | CHAPTER 7/7 | TARLOS | E

Please see enclosed the seventh and final chapter of the unprofessional professional services Tarlos AU by @rmd-writes and I.

Thank you so much to @celeritas2997 for beta reading and for supervising our spiralling! 1000000 fruit baskets for you.

Chapter 1 - Identify the Lead

Chapter 2 - Connect with the Lead

Chapter 3 - Understand the Lead

Chapter 4 - Close the Deal (Part 1)

Chapter 5 - Close the Deal (Part 2)

Chapter 6 - Always have a Contingency Plan

Chapter 7 - Epilogue

As it turns out, the gods of the subway system are smiling down on TK today because their usual train is running just late enough for them to squeeze on at the last minute. He tries not to be too smug about it as he watches Carlos lean against the door of the packed carriage as it speeds through the tunnels, pretending to read the news on his phone.  He’s only made aware of the pretending part when Carlos looks up at him after a few minutes and whispers, “So, when can I return the favour?” Cottoning on to the innuendo, TK tries not to look too pleased and begs his body to behave – getting a hard on around so many people would be kind of problematic. “Tomorrow night,” he replies. “I’ll be expecting something good because that floor wasn’t easy on my knees.” Carlos fixes TK with a challenging look. “I’ll think about it,” he says softly. “I have time tonight, while I’m home alone with nothing else to do.” “I’m ditching my mom,” TK murmurs, trying to keep his tone conversational. “I just remembered I have plans.” “Mhm?” Carlos hums, evidently trying to retain the veneer of being politely engaged. “With your di—” “TK.” TK snorts. “Don’t start something you can’t finish, baby.”

Continue on Ao3

[alexiethymia]

Millie (about Meryl): I admire Senpai very much! She’s so dedicated to her work, she’s practically married to the job!

(cue Millie pointing to Vash, stuffing his face with donuts and wearing a wedding ring)

Meryl: No, Millie, that’s not what that means…

[professionallyunprofessional]

ToonMakers Sailor Moon- The (No Longer) Lost Pilot episode

If you or someone you know is part of the Sailor Moon fandom, it’s very likely that you know about ‘Saban Moon’, the English version of Sailor Moon that almost was. Created by a company called ToonMakers and taking a page from the success of Power Rangers (which itself is a combination of action scenes from Japan’s Super Sentai series and newly created storylines for Western audiences), it was the original concept for Sailor Moon in the US and would have combined live-action with animation. It was never greenlit, however, and the only evidence of its existence for years was in the form of a music video that was shown at Anime Expo in LA. In the early 2000s, a few animation cels and a script *for* the pilot appeared. However, there was still no episode to be found. Until now.

YouTuber Ray Mona has spent months investigating the lost pilot episode, getting in touch with anyone who might be involved with the production, from directors to cast members. Her investigation is spread across two videos, which you can check out here. I highly suggest you do, because the amount of work that went into this is beyond impressive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdYD5StqHxk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0L67YFwnQCQ

The second link, at the 1 hour and 45 minute mark, is where the lost pilot episode can be found. When I heard the news, there was no way I *wasn’t* going to watch it and review it here. As always, review under the cut.

Right away, the animated bits are very reminiscent of the 1985 version of She-Ra. As someone who grew up with that cartoon, I personally don’t mind the animation style. Slightly less successful is that the voice acting during these parts also reminded me of the 1985 version of She-Ra. I won’t say it was bad, but it was definitely a product of its time. I will say, though, that I love its dedication to keeping a few things from the anime. The Sailors’ respective color schemes, Jupiter and Moon’s attacks looking like those of their anime counterparts, even Tuxedo Mask’s signature rose throw. With the last one, I thought it was a nice touch that the rose actually did something and gave Sailor Moon a power boost.

The live-action parts were very 90s, in terms of both the acting and the way it was filmed, and I kind of loved it. The ‘dressing up for the dance’ montage, the quirky jump cuts and dance moves...it was kitschy and charming as only a 90s kid show could be. One thing that immediately caught my interest is that, in this version, Sailor Moon’s civilian name is Victoria. That’s the exact name used in the original promo for DiC’s dub of the series:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLYx-sGdjUc

Does this mean we would have also gotten Blue (Sailor Mercury), Sarah (Sailor Jupiter), Dana (Sailor Mars), and Carrie (Sailor Venus)? I guess we’ll never know, as Victoria is the only one whose name is mentioned in the pilot. Speaking of Sailor Mercury in particular, she just by herself would have sold me on this series if it had aired. 1994 was about the time when I first started using a wheelchair myself, so seeing a girl in a wheelchair as one of the heroes would have blown my tiny mind.

Am I glad that we ended up with the dub that we got? Yes. DiC’s dub of Sailor Moon, despite its problems, paved the way for a lot of other anime to be introduced to North American audiences. Do I wish we could have gotten to see more of this version? Also yes, I won’t lie.

[eternally-smitten]

Drabblecember - Sharing Snacks

pairing: Natalie x Trevor Philips

summary: Natalie makes popcorn for both a decoration and a snack

word count: 653

author's note: yeah I had no idea what I was doing with this but enjoy!

divider credit: benkeibear

With a proud smile, Natalie plopped two large bowls of popcorn on the table and said, “There! I'm finally done with that!”

“Excellent, sugar,” Trevor's lips curled into a smile, “Why two bowls? One for you and one for me, I hope.”

She shook her head and clicked her tongue, “Tsk, tsk. Greedy, ain't ya? I want to use one of them as tree popcorn and the other bowl is for us to share. Unless you have an issue with that, Mr. Philips?”

“For the tree?”

“Yeah,”

“...Are you fucking serious.”

She knitted her eyebrows together, “What's with this hostility? Yes, I made popcorn to put on the tree.”

“Ya lost me.” He admitted. Trevor was starting to think his girlfriend had gone a little crazy.

She tilted her head to the side, “Have you never made like, popcorn garland for your Christmas tree?”

He sneered and shook his head no, “I've never even heard of doin’ that. I feel like you're making that shit up to mess with me.”

Natalie took an incredibly long piece of red thread and sat down next to him, fishing through the one bowl, “I'm not, jackass. This is a real thing real people do. Look it up! I'm tellin’ you I'm right!”

“Alright! I trust ya, I trust ya!” Trevor said, not trusting her at all, “Lemme help.”

So, Natalie handed him a sewing needle and made him be in sewing duty. Her job was to give him the unsalted popcorn when the last piece was secured on the thread. Since it was a pretty easy job, she went back and forth between giving him the decoration popcorn and the buttered kind she made to eat. 

“Open,” She commanded quietly. 

Trevor didn't look at her and opened his mouth slightly, not really thinking about it. His eyes and hands were focused on making the garland he wasn't entirely sure was a real thing amongst other families. She placed the buttery piece in his mouth and went back to giving him the plain ones. 

He hummed, “Mm, thanks.”

“Sure,” Natalie grabbed a handful of the salted kind and started to munch on it, “I couldn't let you starve, poor thing. You looked so frightened when I said we had to share a bowl.”

He snorted, “No, I was more offended that you made an entire fuckin’ bowl for the tree and not one for just me.”

She feigned being hurt, “Do you really hate sharing with me, your prized girlfriend, that much? Gosh, my heart…I think it's breaking!”

“Don't get all dramatic on me!” Trevor's raspy laugh echoed in the room, “I just like how ya make popcorn. That's all there is to it, doll.”

“You can always make your own if you feel like I'm depriving you of sustenance.”

“Will ya stop with that?” He elbowed her, making her laugh, “And you know damn well you have forbidden me from even entering the kitchen.”

“Hmm,” Natalie slid another piece in his mouth, “True. Especially after that one time you almost burnt the place down after trying to make ramen.”

“That was an accident!”

“How the hell you almost made a fire with boiling water is beyond me.”

As retaliation for that, he grabbed a fist full of the plain popcorn and threw it at Natalie, “Shut up! It was one fuckin’ time!”

She erupted in boisterous laughter, “You dick! I'm making you clean that up!”

“That's what you get for saying this popcorn decoration is a real thing.”

“It is a real thing, asshat!”

They bickered back and forth like that until the garland was finished. They continued to argue when they were hanging it on the tree. Eventually, Natalie grew frustrated and forced him to watch numerous Christmas specials to prove that they made popcorn for that intention. Without either of them realizing it, though, the edible popcorn bowl grew emptier as they shared it. 

Tag list: @blood-moon-ships @bobmckenzie @kylars-princess @gideongrovel @felixrichtershubby @fates-theysband @cherrypieships @bioexorcizm @lieutenantselnia lmk if you want to be added/removed! ♡

[risingsunresistance]

i need to pay a subscription for some kind of documentary service but i dont want your standard documentaries. where else am i gonna find some guy talking about the history of the brown lego pieces other than youtube. but youtube's algorithm absolutely WILL NOT recommend me content longer than 30 minutes no matter how hard i try, it refuses to believe i could possibly enjoy anything other than shortform content

[bonebrokebuddy]

If I’m not able to pull up the DSM-5 and check off at least half of the criteria for autism when reading a Batman run, then I believe the author fundamentally misunderstands Batman’s character.

It’s not that I’m saying Bruce should be autistic. What I am saying is that if Bruce is not at least neurodivergent-coded then he ultimately loses nearly all of his most defining habits and personality traits. Expecially the ones that are shown through interacting with other characters & internal dialogue.

[dollsarcadia]

[femmefeedist]

That gut just looks unprofessional.

You think anyone is going to trust a girl with a muffin top with any kind of real responsibility?

Hell, you can't even keep your weight in order.

How can you be expected to manage anything important if you can't stick to a diet? How can you supervise anything when you look like you need someone to monitor your eating habits?

That new fat roll around your waist is inexcusable. You've literally gone soft. It makes you look lazy, uncommitted, dull, and content. You're falling behind and letting yourself go at the same time.

So suck it in and get your act together if you want a chance of keeping your spot, lest a fitter, sharper newcomer notices your weakness and swoops in to steal your position.

fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck I just melted into a pile of pudge

[pigeonpeach]

Got my first hate ask today! Friendly reminder that the unfollow button is literally easy to access and completely fucking free. If you don’t like my content then don’t follow its simple as that. Also there is in fact something called a block button if I keep showing up on your feed unwanted.

[welcometololaland]

The first chapter will be posted Sunday, 13 August 2023.

Borne of our actual hatred of business development and networking events, @rmd-writes and I have created (Un)professional Services: 6 chapters and 60,000 words of corporate-Tarlos chaos, to be posted over 6 weeks.

This project was the result of many many hours of no one telling us "no", including each other, and the answer to everything being "yes, and then what if...":

There are hot people at networking events?

We make Owen the most chaotic he’s ever been?

Gwyn lives and roasts TK at every opportunity?

Carlos spirals like a zoodle?

TK has to endure seeing Carlos in a suit all the time?

A law firm makes corporate branded condoms?

Fire safety training is an ongoing and slightly unexplained theme?

Stay tuned to find out the answer to some of these and more.

A thousand forehead kisses and fruit baskets for @celeritas2997 for letting us derail the gc over this so many times and for beta reading!

Summary below just because we like to tease:

TK Strand has been an attorney long enough to know that networking events with accounting firms offer little more than terrible wine that he doesn’t drink, uninspiring small talk and a stack of identical-looking business cards.  Until he takes Nancy up on a bet and winds up having all of his preconceived ideas about business development being challenged by an accountant who is very far from boring. The Tarlos Professional Services AU.