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This was great work! I don't even know where to start on the praise.

I loved the artwork and the designs, both the characters and the monsters. Some of them honestly reminded me of some Fear and Hunger enemies (most particularly the entity that attacks the intern).

Trying to piece together the story of the game was also fun. I didn't trust Eva nor did I trust Noh or J, but I especially didn't trust Eva because Noh was very clearly mentally out of it and was just doing what came to mind. 

SPOILERS

It clicked to me fast that Eva was the Perfect Human prototype, just before the scene where the intern gets attacked. I remembered that aside from the intern pointing out that she was a patient when we first rescue him, Eva remembered the name Merck despite it being a bit hard to read at first. The plaque we read confirmed it after mentioning a Merck Johnson. I won't lie; I clocked that Eva was Merck's daughter when J consoled Eva in the room with the large computer by referring to her as [My Sweet Child] and the fact that he indicated only her escaping with the word [you] being in orange text.

As for the endings, the only one's I want to talk about are Noh's, Eva's, and the True Ending. Mostly the themes of co-dependency surrounding each of them.

 I got Noh's first. I was curious honestly and was surprised at how oddly romantic it was. Sad yes, but it was strange to see him care for Moku in their final moments. He acknowledges that Moku wants to remain human/retain some of their humanity and had them form a literal co-dependent relationship. Moku only survives because Noh uses his body to protect them from outside enemies and their humanity stays intact because Noh eats away the growth on them. Comparatively, Moku gives Noh a sense of purpose to protect and survives by eating at Moku's growth. His brain can handle the pain and he can keep the growth from consuming him. Something about that, just seemed so strangely romantic to me.

I went for Eva's next. Even before they make it to the pods, Eva admits how she values Moku's opinions of her. How she wants them to like her and trust her and doesn't think she'd be able to do much without them. She states her co-dependency outright. When Moku has her escape, they do come back for Moku, but Moku isn't able to do much. They rely on her as their caretaker, and Eva, because of what she promised to force the Construction Company to get Moku, she relies on Moku's input for everything she does or doesn't do. Another co-dependent dynamic that the two of them are trapped in for the foreseeable eternity because they can't live without each other. If Moku were to succumb to the growth, Eva would lose herself and go with them. If Eva somehow loses her life, Moku's ending would be much like the Lone Ending, being constantly monitored.

The True Ending was very much a sad ending for all. I wasn't hoping for a miracle, but somehow it ended up being more tragic than anything. The last-ditch effort the Intern made to turn us away was a bit overshadowed by what followed after. Fusing Noh and Eva into an amalgamated mess and then inserting it inside Moku to take to the surface. The three of them forever bound together as humanity's last hope for survival. They all ended up losing. Moku lost the humanity the sought after, Eva never got to be a normal girl who got to go to school and make friends, and while Noh didn't seemingly have anything he wanted, he did want to protect Moku. Offering to kill everyone while Moku made a run for it was a last-ditch effort and he didn't fight it when Moku told him it wouldn't make a difference. I can't imagine the pain their new existence brings to each other. Dependent and at the whims of people who see them as a product to be cloned and sold. Just sucks overall for everyone involved.

Thank you for this creation. I look forward to your next works.

Honestly, loved this game.

I sought to get the completionist ending without the guide and managed after a couple of hours and the contrast between them was lovely to say the least. I also realized (and I don't know if this was intentional or not) that the title of the game "Take Care of It" refers to how (in two of the endings) Riley constantly reassures that he'll do whatever he can for Austin as long as it'll help him. He'll [Take Care of It]. But it also could refer to how Austin is no longer himself and essentially becomes a puppet, and the "it" being taken care of is Austin himself.

This game kind of reminded me of Cold Front by RachelDrawsThis. And I mean it in a good way since I like that game as well. Two best friends with a somewhat strained relationship forced to rely on one another. Similar in concept, different in execution. That game has two endings: a "good" that isn't necessarily good and "bad" ending that isn't necessarily bad in relation to the characters (I love these types of endings) and this game is similar in that regard as well.

SPOILERS FOR ALL ENDINGS:

The first ending I got was the Mercy Ending. Riley chooses himself over Austin, choosing to not be guilted or manipulated by him. This is the only ending where he draws the line. I won't lie; I was terrified of Austin actually harming Riley during the chase sequence just after Riley rejects the idea of bringing the cat, and kept running around the 5F. While this ending is what one would consider the "good" ending, Riley is clearly devastated at having to be the one to end Austin (he, like I mentioned before, took care of "it" by killing rather than caring), as seen in his expression in the title screen after that ending. While he put a stop to Austin, Riley will unfortunately have to mourn him and feel guilty about him and not being able to help him for the rest of his life.

After the first ending, I was kind of able to predict how the other two endings would go. The second ending I got was the Self Sacrifice Ending. Riley prioritizes Austin over everything else, including his own health despite the injuries he also sustained from the bear. And Austin uses Riley's "want" to be needed to manipulate him even as Austin's demands become more and more unhinged. But when Riley is unable to meet his demands (more particularly the retrieval of the cat), Austin snaps at him. This ending, in my opinion, is the neutral ending. Yes, Riley dies, but during that scene he laments that this is helping Austin. That he's willing to do this because he's been bad to Austin and that he deserves it. This ending is neither good nor bad because it ends with uncertainty unlike the other two. We don't know what will come of Austin once he becomes lucid again after eating Riley.

The last ending was the Compliance Ending. The hardest ending for me to acquire since I kept getting the Mercy Ending when I tried to do it. It was pretty self-explanatory, combining elements from both endings to achieve it. Riley decides to comply with everything. He doesn't go against anything Austin asks, does things even after hesitation, and conditions himself to be okay with it because of Austin's positive reactions. Excuses it because Austin "needs" him. Austin doesn't even need to manipulate him after a certain point, Riley just starts doing it. I was surprised to have switched to the cat's perspective during the chase, and I ended up avoiding Riley until I was tired and he took me anyway. Riley isn't even as shaken with the scene of Austin eating the cat and even behaves as normal afterwards. I also noticed the little detail of how in the other two endings, Austin hesitates before mentioning wanting to try human flesh, but in this ending, he knows that Riley is so willing to do anything for him, that he admits it outright and Riley, already conditioned, already knows his target. This ending, again to me, is the "bad" ending. Not only is Austin alive and craving more, but he has someone willing to get their hands dirty on his behalf. Neither of them dies in this ending, but Riley has chosen to compromise on his morals for Austin and turn the other cheek.

Also, the themes!

Austin watching Animal Planet and hearing about deception and mimicry (things that the New Austin does to manipulate Riley). Then the two of them finding the green-banded broodsac snail. Austin calls the snail a "puppet" and crushes it to put it out of the misery caused by the parasite. Riley does the same thing to Austin in the Mercy Ending. But in the Sacrifice Ending, Riley gives himself up to the parasite, and in the Compliance Ending, he chooses to become its protector.

All in all, I found their codependency interesting. I clocked it during the ride to The Hill, during Austin's POV when he mentioned how Riley had a fascination with the supernatural and that he was the only one who showed interest and that he liked being leaned on like that.

Thank you for making this game. I hope to see more of your works. ^v^

Loved this. I won't lie, I didn't think I was going to be as interested in the lore as I thought I was going to be. 

SPOILERS:

I managed to guess roughly the extinction of humanity, the mutations, and disappearance of land just from our interaction with Typus and the dialogue in the stream with Odus. Finding out I was right was really rewarding!

I especially loved the detail that the mermaids the way they do because we're a mermaid ourselves. I kinda wish we got to see Typus and Viperfish but I enjoyed the experience.

The designs of the characters are amazing too (another reason I wanted to see the others through the non-mermaid lens). They perfectly encapsulate each character and their respective archetypes.

Loved everything about this game!

All the love interests were quirky and fun to interact with, and the art was the cherry on top.

Love that there's an ending for Bob too lol.

Looking forward to seeing what happens next with this!

After finishing the demo, I have to say that it was amazing! The comic-strip-esque panels honestly brought to life the storytelling.  Especially when it looks like they're breaking the 4th-wall almost. I love it when games have the characters' sprites move around and engage with each other, and how expressive they are (which is the case with this game and OW). I will be very devastated to see how they go, but at the same time, I'm interested in how it'll end up playing out.

After playing the demo, I compared the characters to the OW characters a bit, since there were some similarities (I know they are completely seperate characters but there's significant overlap): Gum and Iggy are both out of touch with the group for months before the start of the game,  lingering feelings from the friend they're closest to seen in Genzou and Cordy (I kept calling him Gordy for a while without realizing lol),  Orlem and Ze with their gremlin-rat energy, and a lot of sex jokes, Gidget and Berek having a caretaker type vibe to them that really is only towards their respective MC, and whatever Marshall and Buxley have going on with them being the strong, athletic type and the reuion taking place at both their "homes".

Overall, I'm ready to see what happens in the next installment! Can't wait :)

I've been waiting for this ^^

I GOT IT!!!!

How did you get the third ending? I got Love and Feast, but I'm having trouble getting the third ending T-T