This Week’s Topics:

• Rundown Preamble Ramble: Yo! NTF Cribs
• TSF Showcase 2023-40 Gyakujō Jigokuhen Kiwami by Byuu
• The December Drought is Here! (Natalie Doesn’t Have Stuff To Talk About Now!)
• TimeSplitters is Dead… Again! (Embracer Revived and Killed Free Radical)
• Hopefully Modders can make this Final Fantasy ForEver Crisis… (Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis is Coming to PC Next Week)
• Fandom the Social Escape (Natalie Harasses Akumako RE: Fandom)
• Razor Danger (Natalie Harasses Akumako RE: Razor Blades)

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Rundown Preamble Ramble:
Yo! NTF Cribs

It’s time for another video! This one being a shitty tour of my new home, complete with crappy audio, because this place is big and empty! No edits, ‘cos you gotta go FAST!

Also, no write-up, because it’s a damn house tour! Enjoy the subtitles!

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TSF Showcase 2023-40
Gyakujō Jigokuhen Kiwami by Byuu

Once again, I’m giving into the work of a creator who probably warrants their own sort of retrospective. Just from a cursory glance of their Pixiv, Byuu is a mangaka with a very specific niche. For over a decade, they have been creating comics that center around hot-blooded male delinquents getting transformed into women, and going on some manner of hot-blooded adventure involving their crew/rivals. 

This is not all Byuu does, but it is the rough majority, and a concept that they have explored so many times that it’s a bit hard to gauge where one should begin. However, seeing as how I can’t read Japanese, I’m limited to the few of their works that have received translations, namely Gyakujō Jigokuhen Kiwami. A single volume 2017 manga translated by none other than the Natalie.TF top translator and TSF historian, Chari Shal!

The story of Gyakujō Jigokuhen Kiwami follows typical hot-blooded delinquent boy Daijiro Tozaki, who looks like a heavyweight champion despite just being a high schooler. Trapped within the hell (island?) school of Zekkai Gakuen, Rozaki spends most of his time skipping classes, hanging out with his buddy Ueshima, and training his brick-hard body. But in living his exaggerated bancho lifestyle, he makes an enemy out of the resident mad scientist, Dorozawa, who makes a drug that transforms Tozaki into a woman. In response, Tozaki instead leaves Dorozawa half-dead in a river, because this isn’t an H-comic!

Normally stories like this would then see Tozaki confide in Ueshima, but before he can do that, he winds up shooting him in the head with one of his uniform buttons, taking him out of the story. With Tozaki filled with rage and depression after this act, he becomes reclusive, disconnected from the hot-blooded world around him. In this stupor, he meets Kamio Yunosuke, a girl who was raised as a boy by her father, who didn’t want to lose a 2,000 yen bet. So she was sent to this prison hell school to… make a man out of her, I guess. 

Yunosuke thinks Tozaki is a girl living as a man, as is the most logical assumption, and seeks kinship with him. While Tozaki is weak to girls and genuine kindness, so he quickly begins to fall for Yunosuke, agreeing to be her friend as they aim to survive in Zekkai Gakuen together. Which does not actually mean attending classes as much as it means just walking to school and sitting under a tree together, because classes are boring.

Following an encounter with Dorozawa— who is now a cyborg— Tozaki pushes Yunosuke away, because tough bancho guys like him have the emotional strength of a pocket of sand. But as he mopes, Dorozaka captures Yunosuke, calling Tozaki to dish out another prerequisite ass-whooping. After the encounter, Yunosuke and Tozaki are at the cusp of accepting their romantic feelings for each other when they are approached by Tozaki’s rival, the fiery-haired Notauchi.

Notauchi figured out Tozaki’s super obvious transformation, and believes he is entitled to claiming Tozaki as his girlfriend. Why? Dude logic, delinquent logic, grossly exaggerated sexism, brain rot from being isolated on an all-man island that others women to the point of being objects one can possess. Take your pick.

The two flee, but with Notauchi hot on their trail, Tozaki leaves Yunosuke behind to make a last stand to protect her from being claimed by him, or any other creep at this school. The two share a final heartfelt conversation, Yunosuke thanks Tozaki for giving her someone to be herself around, while Tozaki admits his true identity as a man and declares his love for her. Before this reveal can linger, Tozaki rushes out for his final battle… and realizes he lost a good 40 centimeters and 30 kilograms of muscle.

After making an underhanded escape, Tozaki uncovers Dorozawa’s laboratory, and injects himself with the serum that turns him back into a man, so he can fight Notauchi on equal footing. He uses the power of love to win in a desperate final strike, as one does, and is awakened by Yunosuke, who embraces our hero like any adequate leading lady.

But then, right as the story could end, Tozaki’s male transformation is undone in a single panel, and Dorozawa comes in as a last minute deus ex machina (emphasis on machina) to explain how this story will end. The last female-to-male drug was administered to Yunosuke, turning her into a man (but not making her as beefy as every other dude in this story), who’s actually fine with this. Which makes some sense, as despite having more feminine proclivities, Yunosuke has been presenting as male for their entire life. But right as the story seemingly ends, Dorozawa decides to fulfill his master plan. Using TSF juice to turn everyone on Zekkai Gakuen into a woman. Thereby making it a hell island for sukeban instead of bancho. Which, in all seriousness, is way cooler.

…Actually, wait a second, if the TSF juice turned every man on this island into a woman… then wouldn’t it turn Yunosuke back into a woman? Tozaki refers to her as ma’am on the last page, I don’t see any mention that the FtM TSF drug is irreversible. And if so… is this final ‘pivot to heterosexuality’ gotcha at the end kind of pointless?

I guess I didn’t notice that my first time reading this. I was probably distracted by the fact that Dorozawa transformed himself into a T-1000, capable of using his liquid metal alloy to transform into a cute blonde girl. Which, in all fairness, is probably the coolest thing this comic does.

Gyakujō Jigokuhen Kiwami is… a pretty wild ride. It does not take itself seriously, and is damn proud to be an entry in the coveted genre of TSF action romance comedy. But even without knowledge of the background of this comic, it very much feels like a sort of spin-off or side story of something more traditional. An alternate take on ideas the creator explored over the years, but wrapped up in a tight one volume package that manages to tell a complete and fulfilling story. Which definitely is not a bad thing.

Visually, I think the story is quite strong, clearly building upon years of experience using this generalized style, complete with the level of polish one would expect from a work released on more mainstream platforms. 

Character proportions are often exaggerated, with most men having these oversized ogre-ish physiques, but they also don’t strictly adhere to a single body shape. Characters fluctuate between sizes and heights, and all feature a unique hairstyle or facial quirks to keep them looking distinct from one another. 

Expressions are a highlight for me, as Byuu is not afraid to make his characters look ugly or unsightly, and often distorts reality itself when they indulge in their more extreme emotions. Which, seeing as how this is hothead island, happens a lot. And the few action sections sprinkled throughout the story carry with them the sense of weight and impact you would expect for someone with such proclivities toward hot-blooded shonen heroes.

I think Dorozawa is a wonderful antagonist, veering as deep into the mad scientist trope as one can, and no matter how much he tries to foil and make Tozaki submit to him, he always gets pummeled. And after he gets pummeled, he just comes back, his wounds healed and his body more robotic. From being a cyborg with half a face and a metal arm to becoming a robot with a phallus for a head, to just being a bunch of metal goop. His determination is ruthless, his skills are cartoonish, and I enjoyed seeing him undergo his own transformation. You rarely see TSF stories where both the protagonist and antagonist undergo such changes throughout the entire story… and this is one of them. Wait, is becoming more robotic considered TF? …I’m going to say yes.

While Kamio Yunosuke’s character is… honestly a bit strange. She is clearly meant to be a parallel sort of character to Tozaki— a girl who was at an all boys school but for different reasons and whose background has nothing to do with science magic tomfoolery. A girl who had to deny her femininity for years, and is eager to find someone who she can be herself with and someone who can accept her for who she is. I think that everything about her character, in relation to Tozaki, works pretty well, and the two share enough cute moments that it feels genuine when they do become a couple at the end of the story.

However, the story also does not afford her much agency. She is presented as someone Tozaki needs to protect, someone who is kidnapped, and someone whose presence during inopportune times makes things worse. She is seen as a woman in a world of men, where women are seen as a thing to protect and fight for. Tozaki is also pushed into that role by the antagonists, but he constantly fights back and proves his independence. Yunosuke meanwhile… does not get that privilege. 

When combined with the fact she does not get a proper transformation into a man, it seems that Byuu did not want her to have a way of standing up for herself, or to help Tozaki beyond moral support. Which feels like some wasted potential in my book…

…Ah crap, this is starting to sound like a review.

In summary, I think Gyakujō Jigokuhen Kiwami is a good manga, and a great TSF manga. It does not really dabble in gender exploration too much, but through its absurdity and passion, I think it amounts to something special. Re-reading it actually got me super curious about what else Byuu has made over the past few decades, but translating things is hard work, and only a relatively small amount of people can do it. I guess I could stop being a coward and bust out a machine image-based translator, but… Nah.

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The December Drought is Here!
(Natalie Doesn’t Have Stuff To Talk About Now!)

Something that stinks about following the news cycle is that there are periods where a lot happens, and periods where nothing happens. December is the dry season for a lot of news, and I historically had to scramble to find stories to talk about during this month and, to an extent, January. Now, this would be a great time to throw in some additional non-topical topics based on my various musings. But most of those are being saved for my big 2023 Ramble coming at the end of the year.

So, what am I supposed to talk about during this period? Honestly, not all that much. I’ve said a lotta stuff this year, and wrote over 20,000 words for the year-end Ramble. So I would ask that you all just accept that things are going to be a bit light the following few weeks.

…Alternatively, you could just give me topics you want me to discuss. That was originally an idea I had for Rundowns as a whole, but I never had an active enough readership to really warrant that sort of thing. Alternatively… I guess I could double up on TSF Showcases, or… Ah shit. Is now the time I should talk about stuff like Ame Nochi Hare and Nyotai-ka and Sekainohate de Aimashou? I mean, it’s gotta be sometime, so I may as well do it now… But for this week, I’ve got some random tangents for you all!

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TimeSplitters is Dead… Again!
(Embracer Revived and Killed Free Radical)

I think one of the most absurd business strategies, of any kind, is opening up a studio, only to slow it down before it can produce anything. Yes, it is wise to avoid the sunk cost fallacy and recognize how closing down an unproductive sector of a business will improve one’s financials. But it is important to recognize the loss of future revenue that could be generated if that studio were to remain open.

As such, one can imagine my thoughts on Embracer shutting down the revived Free Radical on December 11. Well, it’s not 100% certain, but you don’t send out emails about a potential closure during a time of restructuring unless it is going to happen.

This is a deeply frustrating move, as Free Radical was re-established in May 2021, meaning it would have only been around for 2.5 years before being unceremoniously shuttered. …Except the whole establishment of a new company called Free Radical was a pretty weird move to begin with.

Originally, Free Radical was born from a splintering of the GoldenEye 007 team at Rare. They went on from GoldenEye to working on Perfect Dark, but in February 1999, there was a falling out between some members of the team. Many key members went on to form Free Radical, who made a name for themselves by working on the TimeSplitters series. A cult classic trilogy of shooters that was remarkable for its sense of humor, varied cast of playable characters, and by being a more refined version of the particular brand of shooting seen in GoldenEye and Perfect Dark. By the start of the Xbox 360 generation, Free Radical had made a damn good name for themselves.

…But then they got bamboozled in a few ways. One, they were under contract with Ubisoft to make a AAA military shooter, known as Haze. A deeply forgettable game plagued by technical and design issues that was considered a critical and commercial failure when it was released in May 2008 as a PS3 exclusive. 

Two, they were working on Star Wars: Battlefront III, and the game was “pretty much done” before it was abruptly canceled. Yes, a sequel to two of the most beloved Star Wars games of all time was almost done… and then got canned. We were so close to getting an HD game in this series, where you could fly a ship from the surface of the planet into space! Something that people thought was impossible on seventh gen hardware! Instead, we got a half-baked online shooter rushed to market with a $50 season pass and a game with such egregious loot boxes, it warranted government attention.

There is some hubbub about who screwed up to kill Battlefront III, but LucasArts was going through some managerial bullcrap, which resulted in a lot of projects getting canceled. Such as the HD version of Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings and the Star Wars Rogue Squadron compilation for Wii. Cripes, that’s two potentially GOAT Star Wars games that were lost because LucasArts didn’t want to sign some checks. Fuck Star Wars 1313 and Ragtag. These games would have been better. We ALMOST got a proper lightsaber dueling game for Wii with three games worth of remastered flight combat excellence. And an online Star Wars shooter for Xbox 360!

Three, they were devoting some resources into a TimeSplitters 4, but struggled to find a publisher, funding, and all sorts of stuff from 2007 to… now, basically.

In December 2008, after Battlefront III was canned, the vast majority of Free Radical staff was laid off, but they did not die. Instead, they were bought up by then burgeoning studio Crytek, and became Crytek UK. Under this rebranding, they worked as a support developer on games like Crysis 2, Crysis 3, and the infallible Warface. …I don’t actually know what Warface even looks like, I just think the name is hilarious.

But… Crytek started running into problems during 2014, so they sold off Crytek UK’s in-development title, Homefront: The Revolution to Deep Silver. As part of this sale, the staff behind this title were transferred to a new studio, Dambuster Studios. Now, the thing about Dambuster is… that it sorta was Free Radical. Or, at least, they were Free Radical enough that they included a port of TimeSplitters 2 with Homefront: The Revolution.

With this all in mind… the decision to ‘bring back’ Free Radical was always odd to me, as Dambuster was the direct descendent of Free Radical. Although, I doubt anybody who worked on Free Radical during the time of TimeSplitters was working at Dambuster back in 2021… Let alone now. As such, and with this third death… yeah, no. Free Radical is not coming back. The dream of a TimeSplitters revival is over. And we didn’t even get a damn online HD port of the original games.

I’d say fuck Embracer… but nah, I still say fuck the Saudis. Embracer had every reason to trust them. Savvy Games Group bought 8.08% of Embracer Group back in June 2022. Who the HELL buys that much of a company, gets to the part where a $2 billion deal is getting finalized… and then just walks away? The Saudis do, apparently. I know that it’s the popular thing to blame Embracer for ever taking their money… but I don’t think those people actually know how this works or really grasp what a billion dollars actually is. If you are a big shot with a company, it’s your job to help secure deals, to get cash in the door, and make business partners. And Saudi Arabia is a good enough partner for several major western governments.

Also… they were going to get $3 billion from them. That is a LOT! Especially when one is making games with AA, sub-$25 million, production values, like Embracer. That’s… several years worth of development budgets.

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Hopefully Modders can make this Final Fantasy ForEver Crisis…
(Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis is Coming to PC Next Week)

I remember being super peeved when Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis was announced as a mobile live service and was filled with all the shitty trappings of games of that ilk. However, I also believe that every live service can be salvaged and become a ‘real video game.’ It’s why I spent hundreds of hours working on the Dragalia Lost V3 Re;Works project that went live this past week.

The title seemed like it could become something special, a Final Fantasy VII remake with all of the flawed yet earnestly crafted extra trappings of the Compilation project. But then I saw it introducing themed outfits, bonus weapons, and implementing all of this grindy bullshit, which just has no place in a world with this many video games to play. I like the inclusion of extra bullcrap like holiday events— those are fun— and I don’t even dislike the idea of crossovers with other Final Fantasy games, because Final Fantasy is a multiverse. But the grinding and obsession of live services that may announce EOS any day now… it hurts too much for me to open up my heart ever again.

That being said, I would openly love it if someone could basically break open Ever Crisis and turn it into an offline game designed about as much like an offline game as one could realistically manage. And you know what will make that way, way easier? If the game came to PC which, surprise and thankfully, it is, and it’s coming next week.

Ever Crisis is coming to PC via Steam on December 7th, and that means it will be so much easier for people to potentially/eventually take its assets and make an alternate Final Fantasy VII remake. Which I don’t say out of spite for Remake— it’s good. But I look at the models and maps and battle sections and outfits and think that this should have just been a real game instead of this live service shit…

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Fandom the Social Escape
(Natalie Harasses Akumako RE: Fandom)

Natalie: “Yo, Akumako!”

Akumako: “LET ME INSIDE, YOU CALLOUS BITCH! It’s snowing and I’m cold blooded!”

Natalie: “What’s the deal with fandoms? Why do people cling to them, why do they rally upon the idea of being part of them and make them so much of their identity?”

Akumako: “Uh, because people have nothing else to define themselves as a person. Hell, you only had video games and cartoons to define you as a kid, because you were too afraid to look under your bed for the real shit.”

Natalie: “You mean the bear smegma that I put in one of those Christmas popcorn tin that the Chicago Tribune gave everybody?”

Akumako: “They didn’t give them to everybody. They just gave them to delivery schmucks.”

Natalie: “Okay, I get the theory that fandoms are a way of attracting people who crave community, crave socialization, and crave something greater than what they experience in their physical vicinity. But then why do they argue with each other so often, have their own proxy wars over which romantic pairings they are fond of, and so frequently treat each other awfully?”

Akumako: “Because, you legless cunt, people live in a broader society that encourages and prioritizes conflict. Human society is all about creating sides, rivalry, and encouraging a sense of competition, in devising ways to view others as the other, as the enemy, and people are trained to compete and battle with them. Now, it’s fucking stupid, and us Hellspawn have rightfully recognized how stupid that shit is. Competition and the quest to be the best at something is not a driving factor of innovation or human nature, it’s some artificial bullshit from back when your kin didn’t have the resources to feed and house everyone. We sophisticated creatures figured that shit out hella long ago, but your inefficient power systems are stifling that innovation.”

Natalie: “Akumako, Hell is a dictatorship.”

Akumako: “A socialist dictatorship with universal basic income! And we get to CYOC Satan and high-rankers every year during Festival.”

Natalie: “Cool lore. But seriously, there is something we are missing about why people are so… into communities like this, and why they attract people.”

Akumako: “Uh… disenfranchisement through capitalism? The loss of shared social spaces, an increasingly complex world that leads to more people growing socially stifled as they are not exposed to as many smaller social interactions with other people.”

Natalie: “No, not that sophomoric MBA Yungboi bullshit! There has to be something more other than… people are just lonely and feel a need to connect with people because of how they are programmed by the myriad stratas of society. Otherwise, why did I never really care about being part of a fandom—”

Akumako: “You have gone through life making less than 20 people you would call a friend… since you were born. You are a pretty fucking asocial person and could go days without talking to anyone. You went two years without having anyone you could call a friend, and consider that to be a formative time in your life, because that’s when you were able to be alone and realize you’re trans. Natalie, you had cakes of middle-aged White bitches gush about how ‘you so smart’ but you’re also a fucking idiot in more ways than— scratch that— most ways. Some things, you just cannot get unless someone explains it to you.”

Natalie: “Isn’t that what you’re for? To be someone I can confide in and talk to when I don’t understand things?”

Akumako: “You do realize that I’m part of your mind? Like every character you ever made? I only know what you know!”

Natalie: “Wait, but I thought I was an Akumako who put on a Natalie skinsuit and became Natalie?”

Akumako: “You act like those things are mutually exclusive…”

Natalie: “Huh… this skit went off the rails and is now sinking into the river, what’s the conclusion we’re rolling out to?”

Akumako: “That the very concept of fandom, of communities based on being a fan of something, is a weird socialtal quirk born from people who desire social stimulus. And people are molded by the ideals of a society they live in, which encourages a combative and competitive approach to others. Or at least that’s the best we can do workin’ it straight off the dome.”

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Razor Danger
(Natalie Harasses Akumako RE: Razor Blades)

Natalie: “Yo, Akumako!”

Akumako: “Are you on loop or something? We just finished one of these and—”

Natalie: “You know how there is a pocket industry of ‘disruptive’ shaving companies? That always confused me, as… shaving really isn’t a big deal. I’ve been doing routine shaving for over a decade now— face daily, naval, ribcage, and arms every 3-ish days, armpits, legs, and butt every week. …But I think I’ve been doing it wrong?”

Akumako: “Because of all the blood and irritation that’s definitely not normal?”

Natalie: “It is when you have sensitive skin, damn it! I’m talking mostly about razors, and how people, apparently, need a LOT of them.”

Akumako: “Okay, let’s start this bullshit by asking what razor you use.”

Natalie: “The one recommended by… I dunno, Susan’s Place, circa 2015? Gillette Mach 3.”

Akumako: “Look at this lady, using man’s razors.”

Natalie: “They’re cheaper, my hair is thick, and razors shouldn’t be gendered in the first place.”

Akumako: “Cheaper? I dunno about that.”

Natalie: “Well, the cartridges cost me like $30 a year, and that seems pretty—”

Akumako: “Fuckin— What? And you do body shaving shit that often?”

Natalie: “Well, I only grow hair in four places on my face. Upper lip, a finger-sized stretch of my chin, and the sides of my face— I guess the sideburn area— Butt the actual answer that I use the razors for about a month or—”

Akumako: “You use them over four times the recommended amount, you dumbass!”

Natalie: “H-Hey, the blue line is still there by the time I throw them away, and that’s what the instructions say, or said, and—”

Akumako: “Just learn how to use a safety razor, ya dumb bitch! It’ll be cheaper in the long run!”

Natalie: “But don’t you need to rinse off the blade more often and take smaller strokes? Again, I want to do my freaking legs here, and it I can’t go up and down my quads three times with a safety razor—”

Akumako: “Natalie, did anyone teach you how to shave?”

Natalie: “…No?”

Akumako: “They just gave you some random razor and told you to figure it out, right? So, if you just get with the 21st century and buy a damn safety razor, you’ll be good, you’ll be able to try it out, figure it out, and move on. You already have good shaving cream, and you shave after you shower. You are good! So stop thinking with your bag of peas and actually do stuff!”

Natalie: “…I still have razors through 10/31/2024 though. Can I just wait?”

Akumako: “Yeah, sure, just actually do it!”

Natalie: “Alright sis, I’ll behave…”

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Progress Report 2023-12-03

Robotic Battle Maiden is a good VN… but it’s also an RPG. If you wanna tell a story, maybe just keep it a VN.

2023-11-26: I continued my Sunday tradition of enjoying a film with Cassie, so that ate up a few hours for my usual 1,000 word write up. Also, did the TSF Showcase for this week, which wound up being 1,600 words. I played a bit more of Robotic Battle Maiden, discovering some WEIRD mechanical hootenanny. Such as how… items replenish after battle, so long as you finish the battle with some in the inventory. Then I started work on the E3 2015 Day Zero podcast transcript for VD2.0. I wrote 1,900 words, then went to bed early to help heal my sprained ankle.

2023-11-27: I played some hours of Robotic Battle Maiden and finished off chapter 2 of 6. I don’t want to diss the developer… but this feels like a good visual novel meshed up with an RPG Maker game that needed another round of playtesting and mechanical fine-tuning. I really like the story, but the mechanics are… sloppy for something so complex. I wrote 6,200 words for VD2.0, almost finishing up the E3 2015 chapter.

2023-11-28: I rewrote some stuff and finished the draft of Chapter 6-15 for VD2.0. Word count was 8,327. I got sidetracked with work and household stuff for a good chunk of the day, and spent most of my free time finishing chapter 3 or 6 of Robotic Battle Maiden. And so far… the gameplay here is just sorta half-arsed. Wrote the 900 words for the Free Radical section before going to bed.

2023-11-29: I got started on Chapter 6-16 for VD2.0, which is gonna be a bloody long one. I wrote 2,200 words, but realized I needed to work on World Information for how the VD 2.0’s user interface works, so I added 700 words before realizing I was too sleepy for this shit. Wrote 1,100 words for this Rundown, because news is not coming. Played a bit of Robotic Battle Maiden, getting about halfway through chapter 4. It’s a 30 hour game AFAIK…

2023-11-30: I added 2,200 words to the World Information for VD2.0, and grabbed some icons that I will use as references when designing a UI mockup for the VD 2.0 device at a later time. This was largely unnecessary, but now I have documentation that clearly states how the VD 2.0 functions. Then I wrote 2,300 words for VD2.0. I should have done more… but I think I’m suffering from being locked up indoors for a week. I went to bed earlier and promised myself to go for a walk tomorrow.

2023-12-01: It was raining, and I don’t want to walk in the rain as my ankle’s still not 100%, but I did it anyway. I also screwed up my jaw by sleeping last night, so I couldn’t properly close half of my mouth. Great. I got everything but the Rundown Preamble Ramble ret-2-go for this Rundown. I wrote 2,500 words for VD2.0. I wanted to do more, but I kept getting distracted by little household tasks. Learning how to clean my new humidifier, giving Cassie a tour, doing payroll stuff for my mother, moving around furniture. Little shit that added up… And tomorrow is my cleaning day.

2023-12-02: Chores and work kept me busy until the evening. Also, my jaw still hurts, and whenever I tried to chew, I played an excerpt of Lockjaw in my mind. I hoped to be able to focus and push out a lot of words… but I wound up getting distracted by other shit, and only added 1,300 words to VD2.0 before my brain stopped working. UGH. Wrote added 800 words for next week’s Rundown.

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Verde’s Doohickey 2.0: Sensational Summer Romp
Acts 1, 2, and 3 Progress Report:

Current Word Count: 164,700

Estimated Word Count: 420,000

Total Chapters: 48

Chapters Outlined: 42

Chapters Drafted: 19

Chapters Edited: 0

Header Images Made: 0

Days Until Deadline: 178