Hello, folks! Chief here! Okay, not really here, I’m down visiting family for the day. I’m writing this while everyone is sleeping. In addition to seeing my own brothers and sisters, I got to see Fuzzy’s brother as well. It’s a bit strange to see a cat that looks just like my fuzzball except not as fuzzy and calm… kind of. Glad to see spastic is a family trait. I don’t know when he’s going to come back and steal my keyboard, so let’s get on with the update!

Wordcount: 12,808 (As everyone may remember from last week, I was having a bit of a rough spot with Act 3. I just couldn’t figure out how I was going to treat Natalie’s side of the adventure. Good news, I finally found my way through that one. Bad news, there are now a lot more ways that you can really mess-up Natalie’s adventure. Like all writers, I tend to… accidentally let my characters get into really bad, heart-rending situations. There are a lot of tough calls to make in Fates and I can officially say that Act 3 is the most difficult of the four to get an all-survivors ending. I was going to say get a happy ending, but there are ways to still end happily. Happiness is in the eye of the beholder, after all.

But there is one scene that is coming up that I’m both really looking forward to since some light and cute after all this death 20,000 leagues under the sea, but has some really depressing things depending on how you ended Act 3. That’s right, it is time to write the Natalie’s Birthday scene. Originally, it was slatted to be at the end of Act 2, when everyone was most likely to be there. Now, it can be a very lonely birthday.

Without getting too spoilery, each character route has their own take on the event. Zuri, being a draemon and hatched from an egg with no real family, doesn’t have a good understanding of what birthdays are. With the help of Akurel, she undertakes the daunting task of trying to throw a party of Natalie. In Sol’s route, he very much understands what a birthday is, especially since he spent many of Natalie’s younger ones with her. This time, it wants it to be a special one and is going to try and be romantic for her. Naturally, romance and Sol are two polar concepts. The Great Kika Starr knows how to throw a party. Even if they are stuck in space, Kika has big plans and is a totally awesome host! If anyone wants to help, that is… Which leads to Akurel’s version… where they just watch movies and hang out. Or not. Who knows what that Raltin temptress has in store…

But there are multiple versions of these events. It’s hard to have cute or romantic moments if you’ve spent the entire game hurting their feelings, fingering them for possible crimes, or if they aren’t among the living anymore. The last one is the worst to write. If you have developing a strong romance and then have to celebrate such a moment alone… or worse, completely alone since nobody made it out… Don’t slack in your investigations. I’d rather be the only one who has to suffer these scenes.

Contest update: The Rising Angels Art Contest is still going on! We will be extending out the deadline since IRL work has kept me from properly spreading the word. The new deadline will be August 15th.

Side work: The work on the book of short stories is going well. We’ve got stories for most of the main cast (Zuri and her childhood (I ended up finishing this one from a previous open story), Sol and Kika on the Xeon, Anton and Name’s adventure before Fates, and a few others.) However, I’ve realized I have one opening in my lineup. I’d like to propose a few ideas for the final story. This story will be open to everyone as well as included in the short stories.

1.Syl’s Day Off, a story of the trained assassin’s day off with Yoi.

2.Natalie’s MMO Adventure, a somewhat alternative universe with Natalie and Name’s favorite fantasy MMO as they attempt to clear the final boss before Natalie leaves for the Academy.

3.Alexi:Desert Queen, the story of Alexi leading her band of cutthroat… I mean, merry thieves and escaping the law.

4.Your ideas! What sort of canon, alt universe, or weird adventure would you like to see with which members of the cast? I’d prefer lighter stories, but I’ll take all ideas into consideration.

My family is awake now and I should be spending what limited time I have with them. Until next week, Chief out!