binah q., melancholic, ineffectual sympathetic supervillain. formerly churroroscuro. i tend to ramble in the tags. icon art by dan mora & alejandro sánchez.
We are so excited for this interview with the author of Whiskey Four, @johnlouisif!
Do you want to play a retired contract killer? Who's being hunted down by the corpos, the cops and even your (supposedly dead) ex! Oh right...you also need to save the galaxy from an unknown entity...
Have what it takes?
Check out the other winners in the action/adventure category here.
About the author
I don’t drink coffee. Or alcohol. My inspiration for my work comes purely from the pains of cold sobriety. I broke my wrist when I was eleven years old and my handwriting hasn’t recovered since, and I very often can’t read my own notes when I’m annotating books.
About the book
John Wick in space meets Lovecraftian cosmic horror.
Tell us a bit about what you're working on right now and your journey into interactive fiction
I’m working on the sequel to my first interactive fiction game, I, the Forgotten One. It’s a pretty beastly project, as the multiple endings diverge into three primary routes, so every chapter needs to be written about two and a half times. I started ITFO six years ago during COVID, and it was just a hobby for a while, but I’ve been attempting to take it more seriously with the opening of a Patreon, hoping that I can potentially do writing full time in the future.
What was the inspiration for this game and why did you want to write an action story?
I wanted to write in a futuristic/sci-fi setting after finishing ITFO, but more than that, I wanted to write a story with completely different pacing. ITFO and its sequel, I, the Unbroken One, take place over months. I need, for the sake of the plot, a great deal of time to pass. The characters are marching or riding vast distances; medieval war involves a lot of waiting and boredom. This doesn’t make for a good story, so time needs to be skipped. The great danger of this style of story is that it can sometimes feel like a series of vignettes; if I keep skipping time and just jumping between major scenes, there won’t be any connective tissue.
Whiskey-Four is all connective tissue. The game takes place over four days, and each scene leads immediately into the next. The movement of time is kept in check by the use of a clock which tells the reader what time it is after every minor time skip. This style of pacing is best suited to action/adventure stories, I believe.
What is one thing you're really proud of that you've written? Do you have any favourite character or scene you've written?
I think writing Ulysses/Ulyssa, the primary love interest from Whiskey-Four, was the best creative decision I have made in writing. I believe they are singlehandedly responsible for a full half of Whiskey-Four’s popularity. In the grand scheme of love interests, they don’t even have a lot of time with the protagonist, and yet they’re still so well-liked, which I think is a testament to how compelling they turned out.
How has your identity, heritage/background, or personal experiences influenced your storytelling or writing process?
I’ve dealt with mental health troubles in the past which really colored the prose and, for lack of a better term, the vibe of I, the Forgotten One. It’s a vibe I can’t really recapture, now that I’m in a better place.
For folks who have enjoyed your IF, what other book/music/movie should they check out for the same 'vibe'?
I discovered the song “Infinite Skin” by Blaqk Audio when writing Whiskey-Four, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard a song better encapsulate something I wrote. The entire album, “Only Things We Love,” fits the cyberpunk aesthetic of Whiskey-Four so well.
What are you excited to tackle/implement/work on next?
I, the Unbroken One, the sequel to ITFO! It’s up to 200,000+ words now, and it’s… maybe a quarter done. It’s been a huge project, much larger than I typically like, but I’ve so far enjoyed the process. I think the third chapter which I just released publicly is the best of the story so far. I started ITFO six years ago, and I’ve become a better writer since then, so the sequel is an opportunity to take existing characters and make them even stronger.
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Thoughts on superboy prime reacting to his absolute lack of merch?🥹 (Me caressing the singular new McFarlane figure of him I have on my shelf…) Everything else I see online is like two old as hell action figures that cost 80 bucks…He probs still has like more than the other underrated BUT STILL‼️
I may have to start looking for that McFarlane figure now too...
Also, fun fact: the DC Direct one (top right) shows up in Adventure Comics #4! It looks good imo, I would've bought it at 50% off.
Fun fact... from 2009 to 2012, DC did a thing with this European company called Eaglemoss, where they had a run called "DC Comics Super Hero Collection", which lasted 120 issues(!), each issue talking about a different DC character, like their past, their character, people important to them... kinda like a Wikipedia article in a magazine format.
Why do I bring this up? Well, notably, issue 32 was all about Prime! And included in every single issue is a figurine of the relevant character!
Here's some pictures of him. He's not that big (you can barely see my McFarland Jason next to him, Prime goes up to his mid-thigh or so), but he is HEFTY. He's probably twice the weight of your average McFarland action figure!!
thinking about his most replayed memory in the paradise dimension being his 9th birthday, and the chocolate cake he got to eat during it. thinking about prime escaping and still not getting to sit down and eat with someone for years because he was stuck in prison, alone. thinking about how even when prime got back to a fake version of his parents at the end of countdown, they were terrified of him and he ate all his meals isolated in his basement.
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hilarious to me that CK is finally clark kenting properly by wearing looser clothes and glasses only to have it burnt off immediately
for prime she's not even "the nice girl from before" it's "pull box number 87". he's just a geek that loves his job. also dc comics presents #87 reference. i see you.
was. was witchfire going to burn a regular civilian with magic? hello? wasn't the villain thing supposed to be a fakeout?
before this comic came out i had this theory that rebecca knew CK was prime because he didn't wear his glasses in 37 when he talked to her. and i tried to guess that a) the coven was evil and b) she's a hero infiltrating it and needed prime's help to take it down. turns out it wasn't that elaborate and i was just trying to figure out why CK didn't wear his glasses LOL
is he manipulating reality so people don't recognize him without his glasses. is this something he just does now
ok wait. wait wait wait. you mean to tell me prime wears a metal S shield… over an S shield already on his suit? and both over the S shield already carved into his chest? prime relax nobody's taking the symbol from you anymore
"most of it was an accident or not my fault" [LOUD INCORRECT BUZZER]
ok to be fair, some of it wasn't on him but also he's seriously downplaying his culpability. if prime "retcons" or erases what he did, what's the point of a redemption arc?
the fact that prime defaults to calling jimmy "pal" made me guffaw out loud
good to know he dances like a dweeb
i heard that so many people were pissed about the laurie breakup so i went into it expecting something a lot worse. turns out it wasn't… that bad? i'm really glad that they're still friends and that prime still writes to her (however that works multiverse-wise). they don't need to be in a romantic relationship to love each other deeply, and laurie should be allowed to be her own person and not just prime's love interest.
also appreciate the contrast between this and the fictional world's tendency to lock couples into a permanent relationship. it's a reminder that prime's from a realistic world where romance is messier and more complicated. also i definitely think they needed more reasons for prime to stay on prime earth without itching to return home
while it's nice to FINALLY have laurie mentioned for the first time in this run, a brief 3 panel discussion without even showing a flashback isn't doing her justice. i understand that they're rushing, but she deserves more than that. prime committed so many atrocities just to see her again. he refused to live in a world without her in it. her name was on his lips as he died. prime tells rebecca that laurie was his whole world, but the story treats it like an aside. it's frustrating.
and it's treated like an aside in favor of a rushed romance with witchfire. while i do think prime and witchfire make an interesting teamup, them being a couple feels shoehorned in and i haven't the slightest idea how it helps prime's redemption arc in a substantial way. idk maybe it's for boosting sales. maybe it's a self-indulgent thing for the creators. imo this plot could have easily been scrapped for a stronger one that actually develops prime's story.
as someone who's only read a handful of witchfire's appearances, i can't comment much on her characterization BUT the idea that she's been reintroduced after so long just to be a love interest doesn't sit well with me at all. one of the things that stood out to me while reading power company is that her personality sometimes reminded me of prime's, and i thought that they'd tackle that in some way. turns out she, like prime, got her rougher edges sanded down just to make her more likeable. hopefully she shows up in a different book where she's written better
will say though that becca's expressions are delightful in this ish
overall i wish that there was space to delve into these characters more deeply, and that they didn't need to rush everything. i also wish they didn't try so hard to make these notoriously messy characters more palatable because their complexity is part of what made them interesting in the first place
thought the upside down page was interesting as a transition into another world. also liking the subtle callback to prime's fear of the dark, and the purple background hinting at manchester black's influence.
if there's a silver lining to this magic plot, it's prime cutting loose against an army of demons. i've missed this side of him so much. he's dismembering them a bit too gleefully, and it becomes disturbing when you consider he used to do that to people. we've seen visions of him being extremely violent in this run, but this is the first time (iirc) that we see him actually enjoying it. he's been trying hard to put on a heroic front, but here the cracks are showing and i love it
favorite panels in this book ngl (aside from the meta pages at the end). he's terrifying again! thank you dan mora
they could've doubled down on prime being smug about his magic immunity i think. it's stuff like this that makes him think he's a "better" superman. he should be allowed to be an arrogant little prick
prime ripping through the ad and crashing through the panels! the page template and mora's notes!!
they've placed him in a box again where he's powerless, but the twist is that it's a comic page and he's trapped in his own memories. he can bleed. he's at the mercy of manchester black in the same way he's at the mercy of writers. scrumptious
yeah i was missing villain prime. thanks manchester black
excited about him giving the reader a highlight reel of prime's worst moments because we've been starved of details lately. prime's had it too good these days. black please dredge up his crimes and dont hold back i believe in you
this happened in 37 but he managed to shut prime down telepathically. nobody has incapacitated him like that before. prime probably should've panicked about that. it's fine, he can panic for the entirety of 39!
:( 15 year old clark looks even younger in mora's style. he was just a kid
in summary: i want to like this issue but i can't stand the rushed, unnecessary romance plot and the surface level exploration of these characters. they're playing it too safe, but there's so much potential! here's hoping the kid gloves come off next issue
also i am gripping black by his crusty undead shoulders. bring laurie back. please.
🎉 The submissions for the Interact-IF genre lists (May 2026) are in — and now it’s time to vote! 🎉
Over the past week, we've received submissions for an incredible range of games across 5 genres.
We move into the next stage of the Interact-IF Genre List Event: COMMUNITY VOTING!
Vote for your favorite submitted games in each genre category HERE! Whether you’re cheering on longtime classics, hidden gems, or newer projects that deserve more eyes, this is your chance to help spotlight the games that made an impression on you.
Voting will run from now till May 21. Once again, here's the link to the form for voting.
*Note: For the sake of voting fairness, IFs that have been submitted to more than one category have been included in only ONE category. However, in the rec lists, the IF will be included in any/all categories that it appears in. If you think a game should be in a different main category from what it's listed as, you can DM us or leave a comment at the end of this form to let us know.
If you missed out submitting a game to the rec lists, you can use this google form to submit the game, but do note that these would not be eligible for the voting round. This will be open until May 21 as well.
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self care is the burning heat when rage washes over you. self care is when you feel the bones crack under your powerful fists. self care is the fear in your enemies eyes
