#on itch.io

[hanihakii]

Dead plate doodles!!

I swear I'm normal about this game

[chestersbraincell]

Have you ever masked yourself with indifference,

only to hide the overwhelming emotions hiding beneath?

[denieatsart]

How Nightmare and Dream would do as fallen humans in DustTale

Feat. Me and my friend Eclipse playing the DustTale IF [ by @ /Darkpetal16 ] in character as Dream and Nightmare respectively

What we learned :

Dream could make friends with Dust

Would survive somewhat well

He's prepared

Nightmare died . Repeatedly . Like more times than my first go as Ink . I sat there for 10 minutes as Eclipse struggled to get past the first . 5 pages ? 10 ?

Was not prepared

Even Passive . Did not make it

Extra notes :

Me waiting for 10 minutes was deserved because my old slow laptop unplugged then I had to turn it back on , let it unfreeze a couple times , then restart the game including customizing Dream . So yeah about 10 minutes of wait time for them too

Lunchables are a good snack for playing these games

DustTale is hard but fun

I almost cried

This is why you don't leave us unattended because next thing you know we're dying repeatedly in an interactive fiction game

[jrwiyuri]

Why is this indie dating game better and more customizable than any visual novel I’ve ever seen?

[dyaz-stories]

Inuvember 2019: Day 10 — Kohaku

One day late, hope I’ll be able to post for day 11 today!

Hearing the loud, high-pitched scream coming from her daughters should have worried Sango. Instead, she looked up, smiling. She’d come to recognize what that sound announced, and it always made her happy. She got up and opened the door, waiting for the twins to arrive, both perched on their very young uncle.

“Kohaku!” she greeted him excitedly. “I didn’t think we’d see you before this winter…”

“Hey sis,” he replied, his smile soft and kind as it usually was. “Mission turned out shorter than expected, I met— Ah— Could you help me with, um…”

She laughed whole-heartedly and easily tore her daughters away from him.

“You’re getting really good at climbing girls, but perhaps you should find another place to practice, don’t you think?”

Miroku was going to kill her for that. His daughters should not get away from the village and certainly not near any big cliff, or tree, or puddles of water. She wasn’t sure how he expected them to survive, or really how he expected them to obey him, but she did find it sweet. Endearing. They had all been snatched from childhood so young. She certainly hoped a better life for their kids.

“You know one day they’ll get too big for that,” Kohaku grimaced while she put them on the ground, massaging his neck and shoulders, numb from the weight that had been on them.

“You’re still growing too,” Sango reminded him, reaching out to ruffle his hair. He was only a few inches shorter than her now, it probably wouldn’t be long until he was actually taller than her. Fortunately, she doubted she’d lose her superiority in combat that soon. Even with limited training since having her children, she knew she could send him to the ground easily.

Almost just to prove a point, she kicked his legs from underneath him, and she laughed again at his expression of surprise when he collapsed on the ground. The twins did not miss the opportunity, and soon the two little demons were sitting, very self-satisfied, on top of Kohaku.

“Where are your reflexes?” Sango teased, rising an eyebrow, only half-joking.

“I was not expecting…”

“I could be a kitsune in disguise. Our family certainly has a couple of enemies here and there.”

Kohaku chuckled, and Sango marveled at the sight, as a sharp pain went through her chest. She wished their father had been there to see it. Wished their whole village was around them right now. At the same time, it felt— greedy. After everything they’d been through, seeing her brother smile… It was already almost more than she could ask for.

“As if anyone would attack the ones who got rid of Naraku,” he grinned. “The incredible demon slayers siblings…”

“Is that what they’re calling us those days?”

“…living with the demon-eater and the traitorous half-demon.”

“Demon-eat— Wait, Miroku?”

She shook her head. She knew the Wind Tunnel had worried demons a lot, but the more time passed, the weirder the stories got.

“Speaking of your father, can you go get him, girls?”

They shrieked happily, immediately starting to run towards the village for him. Sango smiled to herself, watching them. Oh yeah, Miroku was going to be furious at her.

“You had a story,” she said, turning her eyes back to her brother. “Come on in. Let’s talk.”

By the time Miroku arrived, they were deep in a conversation about other demon slayers village. It felt weird to be the authority on the subject, Sango would admit, but did know more than Kohaku. Less than she would have, could have, in another world, however it was all precious.

“Welcome home, Kohaku!” he greeted him warmly. “Sango, I thought we—”

“They know the village like the back of their hand, Miroku. They won’t ever be as safe anywhere as they are here.”

“They’re also four.”

She rolled her eyes. When she was four, she had started her training. She could wield a blade, albeit clumsily, and name at least a dozen demonic species and the way to destroy them. She doubted he was much older when he had chosen the path of the monk and when he’d been cursed with the wind tunnel.

In a way, arguing about their daughters, having the choice to raise them peacefully felt wonderfully mundane. Impossible. All this situation was surreal. Having Kohaku, who’d been dead for an entire year, sitting opposite her, telling her excitedly about his encounters. Having Miroku by her side, when he’d almost been consumed by the Wind Tunnel. Herself, who had almost lost sense of who she was during the fight.

A miracle. It was all a miracle.

“It’s good to have you here, Kohaku,” she said softly.

“True,” Miroku immediately joined in, letting himself fall down at his wife’s side, argument immediately forgotten as his arm wrapped around her waist. “Tell us now, any beautiful young lady who captured your heart?”

Sango clicked her tongue, and Kohaku laughed.

He had missed them. Missed this. Missed having a family. Having a place he could return to now… Blew his mind. He’d thought all hope was lost, and here he was, given a second chance. He intended to make the most of it.

But he had all the time in the world for that. And tonight, sitting around a table with the people he cared about most…

He felt he deserved it.

[chestersbraincell]

In my desperation, I always attempt to piece them back together.

I kneel and search for the missing fragments of myself,

But they are never there.

Maybe the wind takes them somewhere out of my reach,

And that…makes me sad.

So sad, I put my hands where my eyes should be

And I burrow my fingers

And I take it out

I take everything out

Every little piece that remains

Harder, furiously, and wallowing in sorrow.

I pray to whoever’s listening to give back what’s mine

To not make me lose more than I’ve already lost

Yet no one delivers.

No one is listening.

And so I weep invisible tears

Until I can feel the sorrow no more.

…Have you ever strained yourself so hard to see what you want to see,

that you end up blinding yourself to all?

[chestersbraincell]

…Sometimes, however, they can’t reach as far as they’d like

That’s when I…lend a hand

I take over and stretch

Stretch

And they grow.

Maybe just the length of a fingernail every time,

But they grow.

Just so they can reach out, clutch what they want

…and then throw it aside,

Discarded

And forgotten.

That’s why they are tired,

Because they never stop seeking.

And most likely never will.

…Have you ever stretched your fingers grab ahold of something important,

only to learn it’s been long out of your grasp?