Zodai

...This sounds much too badass for lowly fiends such as themselves. Elaborate.

Well, they certainly seem to have some form of a link. Thought Sekai might've just published it though I didn't remember the "developer's" name.

That link seems to be broken. https://dischan.co/blog/2015/01/dysfunctional-systems-what-went-wrong/ Here's the copy/paste from me. (Oh, he edited it. Well, this is awkward.)

Thanks. I'd started it but I haven't finished it. Guess I should've anticipated that. Aside from that, I understand that Sekai needs the money and all, as they're still one of the more important translation companies around, but I do hope they up the quality on their original stuff sometimes. Maybe once the translation need dies down they'll start working on it...

I should assume Zakamutt is still watching this thread, yes? Being the all-powerful writer-god that I am, I've considered jumping into the blog myself with some articles on writing, particularly fiction novels and the creation of our almighty VNs. While I have very little experience in actual blog-writing, and most of my knowledge actually comes from other sites I've researched across the boundaries of time and space, I'm hoping my involvement may or may not result in an increase in the amount of higher-quality VNs released that come from this particular corner of the internet. I could also write some 'general pieces', but that depends on what kind of stuff is needed. I'd rather take those on a case-by-case basis. I tend to take a bit much upon myself during these phases of my life, so I surely can't promise anything, but I'll certainly make an effort. It's nice to meet you.

...What anime is this .gif from?

Are you familiar with general torrenting processes? Your downloads are from Fuwa, correct?

I actually like the new avatar. On the downside it lacks a single face as a focus (Which makes it more difficult to recognize in the swarm) but on the bright side it has a nice feel to it. It's a trade-off, but it's certainly quite good.

To confirm, is that not showing up? ** Ah, right... on topic... um... Tay, feel free to take whatever you want from the translation project thread without crediting. There's a minigame item collection guide there that'd be pretty useful, a scene lookup guide, etc.

Actually, since we're talking here already, I think I need some assistance on my end. After playing through the 'Crest Fever' scene, It said I had unlocked a new scene, though the instructions said 'go to the entrance on the holiday morning' which may make sense depending on the context, but it sounds like such a roundabout method and doesn't seem to really work mechanically. If anyone knows how to access the scene unlocked by going through this, it would be greatly appreciated. Regards, Zodai.

Not really sure if this belongs in the recommendation forum, as it seems more like a discussion than 'is there anything like this'? That said, I doubt it's the 'best', and truth be told the absolute greatest is probably too difficult to ascertain in a medium with so many great works. That said, I'd have to say Umineko no Naku Koro ni gets my vote. Really an amazing read almost all the way through.

That's alright. We all have our off days. Thank you for the feedback, and if you have anything else on a better day, feel free to let me know.

Thank you, it's quite appreciated.

If you look at the URL above, this one is .org, not .com. I'm not entirely sure if .com is related to our Fuwanovel at all. I don't have the information nor standing required to look into it, but that's something I thought I should point out.

So, I've been looking for feedback on my writing drafts. I'll keep this short to avoid biasing you in anyway, but these are mostly unedited and meant for feedback rather than being made to impress. Let me know if anything pops out at you or if anything is unclear, including your general thoughts on the drafts and your favorite/least favorite ones. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me here or in a PM. I may also ask for some elaboration or further details on your end as well. Currently, drafts 1-5 are finished. You can read them in a google doc, or in the spoilered tabs below. Apologies for any formatting errors. https://docs.google.com/document/d/17tHRKRf_MUgYsswZDGBrClYJSqXtCG_8i-oDOtvB1e4/edit ~~Draft 1 ~~Draft 2 ~~Draft 3 A white blanket gently falls across the city. The lights sparkle overhead like a set of man-made stars, and the bustling passerbys pace back and forth without much regard for their surroundings, glued to their phones for some reason or another like they are all the other times of the year. It’s cold. The ice melts on contact with my face and the frozen chill seeps through my skin. It doesn’t usually snow around here, so we decided to head out. It’s only the two of us this time. Don’t ask me why. “Hey, hurry up! What are you waiting for?” Kori-chan notices I’ve fallen behind, so I decide to pick up the pace. She’s always felt far away from the rest of us. It’s a feeling I can’t seem to shake. I’m wearing a fluffy jacket, but I couldn’t find my gloves before we headed out. I keep rubbing my palms together for warmth, and it’s hard to keep up while I’m doing that – I’d considered holding hands, but something tells me that wouldn’t turn out well. Melting snow drips down my face like beads of sweat, and the imprecise shards of ice pierce my skin should they make contact. They do. A lot. I’m not very heavily dressed under the waist either, with a pair of brown slacks reaching down to my ankles. It was warm for a while, but then a passing car splashed into a puddle and they got half-soaked. The cold pierces through to my underpants and I can feel my nether regions shrinking by the second. It’s cold. I can’t tell if I want to go home or not. Kori-chan walks ahead at a brisk pace, with her boots going against the ground at each step. A beige jacket and a long black skirt, most likely in the trying-too-hard fashion most girls tend towards on every occasion, according to dad. I didn’t find it too important either way. Her hair was short, reaching about halfway down her neck, and gentle flakes of snow came down on it one after the other. Isn’t she cold? Why doesn’t she put on a hat or something? Then again, I’m not wearing one either… If you looked closely, you could see she had a pair of black legwarmers on under her skirt. This isn’t the first time she’s worn some, though they look a bit different than usual. Are they new? On that note, why are we even going out today? Is there some sale at a nearby shop or something? I didn’t bring any money, so I hope that isn’t the case… We aren’t talking. Why aren’t we talking? We usually talk when we’re walking like this, like on the way to school. Frankly, we’ve talked so much I would wish she’d slow down from time to time. Why isn’t she talking now? Is she waiting for me? Why? Am I not walking fast enough? Has my face suddenly transformed to that of the raging adolescent? I hope not, but it’s certainly possible. “H-Hey, Kori-chan?” …Crap. I’m stuttering. Why the hell am I stuttering? I’m cold as hell, but that shouldn’t make me stutter. It’s just a basic conversation. Nothing to get nervous about. “Um…-“ I stop. Kori-chan opens her mouth to speak. “We’re here, Ichiba-kun.” Kori-chan seems to have started using my first name recently. I don’t remember exactly when. ~~~ ~~Draft 5 “Mama! Where are you!?” The grass cuts at my ankles as I shout. It’s night, and a full moon is in the air. I want to go home, but I can’t. There are bad things there. I'm wearing a white dress I went to sleep in. Mama said I looked cute in it. I didn’t have any time to put on my shoes, so I’m running barefoot as fast as I can. I was asleep up until a few minutes ago. “Where are you!?” I shout. No reply. It doesn’t make sense. The men in black cloaks. They were only here when mama came to visit. If they’re here, she must be here too. So why can’t I find her? It doesn’t make sense. I’m cold. My feet are bleeding; there are sticks and broken glass on the floor. It hurts. I don’t stop. There aren’t many other houses around here. The grass is up to my neck and it’s cutting my face as I run past. I can’t stop to breathe. I might die if I do. Mama said to find her if I ever see them. They’re not nice people. Daddy isn’t nice either. He’s with them. I can’t find her. Where is she? I fall to the ground, and my face smashes against the dirt. Blood drops out of my mouth. It’s dripping faster than I can stop it. I cough, and more comes out. I’ve been running for longer than I can remember. There’s a piece of glass stuck in my foot. I want to pull it out, but that’ll just make it bleed more. I want to shout. But what if someone hears me? They’ll take me back home. I don’t want to go back. I want to find mama. I can see a city on the horizon. Even in the middle of the night, the lights are as bright as ever. Is mama there? It’s so far away. How can I get there? The grass goes on for as far as I can see. There might be a house nearby, but the lights are probably out right now. I wouldn’t be able to see it. If anyone is in there, they might just die if they let me hide. So I won’t ask them. Someone’s coming. I’m breathing so hard. They’ll hear me. How could they not? The people here are too nice. They care too much to just ignore me. So they won’t go away, and they’ll die. “Hm? What’s that sound?” She’s noticed. I recognize her voice; she came to drop off food while Sakumi was in the hospital. I haven’t seen her in a while, but she was good at singing. That’s how I remember her. There are a bunch of bugs crawling on my legs. I can feel them moving. It hurts. Go away. The girl starts pushing aside the tall grass. She’s not as short as me, so it’s a lot easier for her. I can’t move. My body won’t let me. It’s telling me to rest, but I have to get out of here. Why won’t you move? “Hm? What are you doing here?” She says. She brushes away my hair to get a look at my face. Her hands feel nice. They’re better than the bugs. There are a few flies nearby, but she swats them away and brushes the rest of the ants off my legs. She seems to be good at this. “Let’s see…what was your name again?” The girl said. She takes a first-aid kit out of her purse and starts wrapping my foot in something. I think she’s a medical student. She must have been on her way back from school. I heard a lot of adults stay late studying. I don’t want her to die. Go away. Please. She has long brown hair. It’s really nice, it reflects off the moonlight. Her shirt is a bright yellow, and she has a frilly green shirt. She seems to prefer spring colors over anything else. Her knees are showing, and they have bandages on them. Is she injured? “Now…where was your house again? Could you help me find it, miss?” I want her to let go. My mouth won’t open. I’m too tired to speak. I want to shake my arm free, but it’s too gentle. It feels too nice to break free. What am I saying? Let go. Please. It’s dangerous here. Go home. Forget you ever saw me. “Hm? You’re crying. Did something happen?” I’m not. The wind is just blowing really hard, and a bunch of dirt is getting in my eyes. It’s nothing to worry about. Go away. I don’t need your help. Please. I see light. There’s a car coming. It’s those men – their cars are always really loud and old. It makes my ears hurt. She might have heard it for a bit, but she probably doesn’t think much of it. It doesn’t mean anything to her. Their car stopped. Do they see us? She hasn’t noticed yet. She’s going to die. Run away. You can still live. Why are you so nice? Two men step out of the car. They’re in black cloaks. They’re coming this way. Daddy isn’t with them. He’s the strongest. Since he isn’t there, I can still run away. But she can’t yet. She doesn’t see them. The wind is too loud, she can’t hear their footsteps. They have guns. They always do. Why wouldn’t they? There are a lot of bugs. They’re crawling up my skin, and they’re biting every chance they get. It hurts. Why wouldn’t it? One of them pinches my arm, and I can feel the blood pouring out. There’s so many. She’s still focused on my foot, so she doesn’t notice the men. They’re scary. They’re like the bugs. They’re everywhere and you can’t get away. They’ll crawl up your skin and make you bleed everywhere you can. If you get close to the strong ones, they’ll just kill you before you can react. You can’t see them when it’s too dark, and by the time you do it’s already too late. That’s the kind of people they are. She’s still focused on my foot. She’s in the way, so they’re going to kill her. It’s simple logic. What else could it be? “Alright, all done!” She says. She still hasn’t noticed them. I back away as soon as she lets go. “Is something wrong?” Of course something’s wrong. You’re going to die! Get out of here! “You look scared. Can you let me know what’s wrong?” Of course I can’t. I’m too afraid to speak. If they recognize my voice, they’ll know it’s me. If they’ve heard you, they’ll know there’s someone else. They probably already think it’s me anyway. Why wouldn’t they? He raises his gun. I can see it reflect off the moonlight. “…What is it?” She’s completely oblivious. The man’s gun gives off a click before firing. It was really close to her head, so I doubt she wouldn’t be able to hear it. The gunshot pierces the silent night, and I make a mad break for the grass behind me. I look back for a brief moment. There’s a hole in the girl’s head, and she lifelessly drops to the ground. The bugs are already swarming her face, they’ve dug inside her mouth and they’re starting to claw through her eyes. They’re everywhere. I have to get out of here. Far, far away. I don’t have time to stop. I’ll die if I do. They haven’t tried to kill me before, but mama isn’t here right now. There’s nothing to stop them, so why wouldn’t they? I have to find her. I’m scared. The wind is still really strong. It’s blowing my hair everywhere and the dirt won’t get out of my eyes, and every once in a while a big bug will come flying onto my face and start crawling around everywhere. I’m running. I’m pushing the grass out of the way as much as I can, and it’s probably making a lot of irregular movements. But they can’t see it. It’s dark and the wind is blowing stuff around everywhere. I’m going to die if they can. Since I’m not dead, they can’t see it. They’re shooting. Gunshots pierce the air, and I can feel the bullets shake the ground when they land. It’s like an earthquake. They’re close, but they haven’t hit me yet. I need to keep going. I can see the city on the other end of the road. It’s far away. What other choice do I have? If I stay here they’ll find me by daybreak. I can’t be outside then, but if I’m still in town they’ll just search all the houses. There aren’t that many anyway. They’ll definitely find me. It’s a lot harder to search for people in the city. So I’ll go there. It’s dangerous, and there are bad men there, but it’s safer than them, no matter who I find. That’s what I’ve decided. I run. I run as fast as I can. I have to. Otherwise I’ll die. There’s no other choice to make. My feet press against the road. It’s cold and hard, and there are a bunch of rocks that try to poke holes in my feet. But there isn’t any glass, so I guess that’s good. They’re still shooting at the grass. They don’t see me. Light. The streetlight above me flickers on. I heard this one was faulty, so sometimes it’ll go on and off without warning. A lot of them are like this. It’s caused at least a few accidents in my lifetime. The two turn their eyes towards me. I’m fully visible. I feel it. The bullet enters my back like getting hit by a truck, and I nearly fall over. The blood bursts from my back and I can feel the bugs swarming close to it. I heard that some bugs have a scent for blood. I wonder if that’s true. I regain my balance. The bullet lodges itself in my back. I’m bleeding and the pain makes me want to scream with every step. But I can’t. I’ll die if I do, so I keep running. I make it to the other side without getting shot again, and rush under the cover of darkness. I hear their footsteps. They’re still following me. I run, but I can’t tell how fast I’m going. My vision if a blur, but the lights are right in front of me. I just have to keep going. I can make it before they catch me. They’re still shooting at me. I’m not keeping count, but it’s been a lot between the two of them. How much ammo do they have? If they had a clear shot, they could probably kill everyone in this town and still have bullets to spare. It’s probably normal for them. My feet snag on a tree root, and I seem to be falling over. But, something’s wrong. Where did the ground go? I’m falling through the air. If I look ahead, the lights extend much further down. There seems to be a cliffside behind me. It’s dark, but I should’ve been able to notice. Why didn’t I notice it? *SNAP* I scream. The shriek shatters my eardrum and trails off into the night. My right leg shatters on impact, and the shards of bone pierce through my skin in every direction. I can feel my skull starting to crack and there’s a lot of blood in my eyes. I bear the pain and wipe it off, but within seconds it’s already back. I have to keep going. I don’t have a choice. They probably heard that. There’s no way they didn’t. It hurts. The bugs and maggots crawl around my leg and try to dig their way inside. They bite into my skin again and again and again without any end in sight. They always do this. I claw at the ground and drag myself forward. I might faint soon. I have to make it to the city before then. There’s a snake. I read about it on the internet. It has glow in the dark yellow skin, so it’s really easy to see. Other animals think light usually means protection, so it’s quite a useful tactic. Highly dangerous. Known to break an adult’s neck with relative ease. Two to three meters in length when stretched out. Hold still. Maybe there’s something more noticeable nearby. If it senses heat, I might be cold enough that there’s something warmer. Maybe a tiger or something. Or a rat. I hear footsteps. The leaves are crackling under their feet. A black cloak. I don’t have the strength to run away. I can hear the click of his gun, and the footsteps grow closer and closer until I can feel their impact on the ground. He fires. The bullet casing falls to the ground, and the snake’s freshly pierced head falls to the ground. I can see the ground through the hole if I look closely enough. I look up to the man. I should at least see his face. It’s daddy. That makes sense. He’s probably been waiting here for me. He’s smart. He probably knew I’d be injured too. …But, I can’t do anything anymore. My head hurts. He’s smiling. Why? I can’t tell. I want to ask, but I’m in too much pain. That, and the bugs might climb in my mouth. I don’t want them to. Daddy’s arms reach down and pick me up. He’s being careful with my leg. I don’t know why. I’m tired. I want to sleep. I don’t have a choice though. I have to keep running. But my vision goes black, and I fall asleep anyway. ~~~ Thank you for your assistance. Your feedback is highly appreciated.

It's a meaningless argument - the existence of choices does not add to or take away from the quality of the writing. If the writing's good I frankly don't care about the choices either way - Umineko's my favorite VN thus far.

Definitely Umineko. Without a doubt. A small part of my mind says F/SN has an all-ages patch existing somewhere, but it might be a bit difficult to find. I've just got it on the mind right now

I'd rather just experience it myself. Thanks for the offer, though.

Story is my main draw in VN-type games. I don't play for the gameplay as the main priority, but it's something I value more than sex scenes. Aside from that Rance is one of the few gameplay VNs out there that I know of, so the gameplay stands out a lot more than it usually would. (There's also stuff like Little Busters!, which has 'gameplay' but isn't substantial enough to be a main draw, especially considering the main story is such high-quality.)

RAISE THE FLAGS. OUR CHOSEN ONE HAS ARRIVED! SOMEONE, GET THE BEER.

No problem, I don't think anything's been heavily spoiled for me. I actually haven't read through the other posts in-detail since most of the terms are unfamiliar to me ><

*poke* Do you mind if I ask how good Sengoku Rance is? And by that I mean how much do the sex scenes (I've heard them described as poorly done rape as character development ><) take away from the experience? How easily skippable are they? I've been interested in the gameplay for a while, but that's always been something turning me off. Apologies for the intrusion, and thank you in advance.

Alright, then. I'll just be waiting for the Sekaiproject one. Good luck to the victor!