Hiveswap Friendship Simulator: Volume Eighteen is the eighteenth installment of Hiveswap Friendship Simulator, a series of "loosely-canonical" Hiveswap spinoff visual novels in the style of dating sim games, but termed "friendship simulators" instead due to their focus on platonic friendships instead of romance. The befriendable characters in this installment (first introduced in the Troll Call) are Lanque Bombyx and the pair of Barzum and Baizli Soleil. Volume 18 is, to current knowledge, the final Friendsim volume that will be produced (excluding the epilogue), and completes the full roster of Troll Call trolls featured in Friendsim with the final three who had yet to be featured.
As with all other volumes, it is sold as $0.99 DLC for Volume One.
Plot[]
You first repeat what you first said upon crash landing on Alternia, but quickly ignore all that in favour of getting answers to the strange and unnerving events that have been happening. Friendship isn't exactly your main goal now.
Lanque[]
Lynera texts you while you're out on the streets, and you aren't exactly filled with enthusiasm to attend a party that she's been invited to. Even so, you try to get into the mood and meet Lynera at the locale. You realize that the party's held at Ardata's place, and there are already numerous teens passed out in the general area. The sight of that makes you and Lynera quite nervous, but you go up to the front door all the same. Ardata greets you in her customary manner, then asks how you and Lynera caught wind of her exclusive kickback. Lynera stammers a response, admitting that she wasn't exactly invited—Lanque told her to come here. Ardata suddenly pulls you close and asks whether you're ready (in legal capacity) for all the mayhem about to take place.
- If you tell her that you're too scared, Ardata gives you a disdainful look and draws a big blue X on the back of your hand with a marker. She informs you that her guests will now know that you're of the fragile sort, and turns to Lynera to ask whether she's alright with things. Once all that's settled, Ardata invites you and Lynera inside. You ask Lyerna where Lanque is, and she spots him almost immediately among the partygoers. Looking around, you notice that several other friends of yours are also present: Skylla, Diemen and Elwurd. Beaming, Lanque makes his way over to you and Lynera, delighted that she made it after all. When he asks who you are, Lynera jumps in with an exceedingly long and detailed explanation. Despite this, Lanque thinks its sweet of you to accompany Lynera to a party. Lanque then invites you to sit with his friends, where a poetry reading is currently taking place. He continues the session by reading one of his works, the pure emotion in his writing moving himself and others to tears. Lynera is asked to go next, and she timidly recites a short poem about her conflicting emotions with Bronya. While everyone is accepting of any kind of poem irrespective of length or form, Lynera chooses to return home as she's too emotionally choked-up to remain. Lanque doesn't mind Lynera's departure in the slightest, merely asking you to make sure she returns to the caverns safely. Back outside, you realize that Lynera's actually quite happy. When you ask about her and Lanque, however, she informs you that they're just friends, nothing more. Lynera hopes that things would be easier for her in the future, and you agree with her wholeheartedly. You decide that strengthening one's bond with an already established friend is rewarding in its own right, deciding to screw the idea of good and bad endings. VALID!
- If you tell her that you're a-okay with it and want in, Ardata agrees, though she warns you to not post anything about how 'problematic' her party might be. Upon entering the hive, you and Lynera are more than taken aback by how chaotic things are going. Before you can ask whether Lynera would rather ditch the party, Lanque approaches you both. He's delighted to see that Lynera made it, and gives her a surprisingly intimate hug. As Lynera is rendered too flustered to say much, Lanque turns his attention to you and asks why you're dressed like that. Not knowing what he really means, you explain that you're an alien that crash landed here and are basically a walking disaster. Amused with your reply, Lanque stares hungrily at you, though he adds that he doesn't bite unless asked. Ignoring the pass he made at you, you firmly steer the conversation back to Lynera, wondering how long she and Lanque have known each other. Lanque admits that he doesn't really remember, though Lynera helpfully reminds him that it's been 2.43 sweeps. When Lanque calls Lynera a bitch, Lynera vehemently denies everything. However, Lanque doesn't stop until Lynera leaves in tears. Angry, you defend Lynera's honour and snap that Lanque has been very rude. Snorting, Lanque claims that Lynera got what she deserved. While you concede that you aren't entirely clear with jadeblood cloister dynamics, you still think that it's pretty low of him. Reassuring you that he never meant to invite Lynera only to burn her (he only invited her because his ex was being difficult), Lanque tells you that he was merely curious what Lynera would be like in bed. Feeling uncomfortable, you try to remain neutral on the topic, but Lanque decides that you can be his date instead. Instead of leading you to the dance floor as promised, Lanque first takes you to the kitchen so that he can buy drugs from Elwurd. Lanque offers you a capsule, but when you voice your reservations, Lanque sneers that you're boring and unadventrous. You snap that you aren't going to take that drug no matter what, so Lanque passes the pills to Diemen. Lanque then really takes you to dance, though having him directly grind on you is off-putting until you suddenly get with the program and go all out for him. Suddenly Lanque looks terrified and drags you into a bedroom before Bronya spots him. Hidden from view, Lanque admits that he would like to pail before getting sent off planet. Suddenly Bronya's voice is just outside.
- Should you let Lanque go ahead, you are rendered completely spent once he's done with business. When asked for his chittr handle, however, Lanque is reluctant to indulge you, awkwardly commenting that you weren't that good. The immense feeling of shame blooming inside you is more than you can bear. SHAMED 2 DEATH
- Should you call Bronya, Lanque is stunned by your betrayal and is mortified when Bronya barges in. When Lanque concludes that Bronya's crazier than Lynera, Bronya gives him a hard slap on the face. Incensed with Lanque's reckless behavior, Bronya gives him a lecture on his wrongful ways and insists that there will be consequences if he doesn't change for the better. Relenting, Lanque puts his clothes back on and agrees to leave with her. Before being hauled off, however, Lanque gives you his chittr handle so he may contact you in the future. CHITTR MUTUALS!
- Should you choose to understand, you find youself speaking with Doc Scratch (see Hiveswap Friendship Simulator: Epilogue for full details).
- Should you choose to ignore it, you sit unhappily in your temporary home. GAME OVER
Barzum & Baizli[]
While you're an old hand at making friends, this night isn't going exactly as planned. You're desperate to increase your friend count, but as the sun's rising you need to find shelter quickly. You call up Skylla to check if she's okay with you coming over, but get distracted while on your way there. The seemingly abandoned house gives you the creeps, but as Skylla's abode is quite some distance away, you think that it might be a good idea to seek refuge in the house first.
- If you choose to leave, you inadvertently find yourself back at the house despite following your map. Even so, you absolutely refuse to enter the place.
- Should you choose to go left, you still wind up back where you started. With the sun up, you are left with no choice but to approach the house.
- Should you choose to go right, you make little progress before you're back at square one. Out of time, you approach the house.
- If you choose to approach the house, you cautiously knock on the door just as the sun's about to cook you. Instead of being relieved that the door's open, your nausea and terror becomes more than you can handle. When you finally regain consciousness, you realize that you're no longer in the foyer, though you aren't any less scared. Finding an open door gives you hope that you'll be able to leave this creepy place, cold chill sinking into your bones as you try to find your way out. Abruptly, one of the portraits on the walls of the corridor light up. Two figures stand before you, both expressing delight that you're awake since they've been incredibly bored. After telling you that they'd like to play a game, the line goes dead while a door opens on the other end of the corridor. Frightful, you consider your options.
- Should you choose to find another exit, you notice that one of the portraits has a thicker frame than the others. Pushing on the hidden button opens a secret panel, and you rush in without thinking. It was only then did you realize that there's no floor beyond this point, and you go plummeting into a pit of knives. You are upset that there won't be anyone to update your chittr after your death. GAME OVER
- Should you approach the door, the walls start bleeding with all sorts of hues and the trails of blood follow you no matter how quickly to move. Darting into the open door, you fret that the two figures mean you grievous harm. However, you cannot turn back as the door has locked itself behind you. Panicking, you try to come up with a way to escape this mess, but you are suddenly bound with ropes. Barzum and Baizli are excited that you finally made it, the place lighting up so that you may get a clearer view of your surroundings. The twins begin wondering whether your alien intestines would writhe around upon slicing open your stomach, but you rapidly tell them that you only meant to seek shelter from the sun and would like to leave if it's safe. Upset with your words, the twins rant that it's been far too long since they've had some real fun, though you're not exactly focused on how they're feeling. The sounds of a revving chainsaw turns your blood to ice, then you suddenly wake up in the foyer again. You re-enter the second door, but instead of being bound you trip into a glue pit. When the twins repeat what they've said moments earlier, you ask them why. Confused, they insist that they've never met you before (they would've remembered). Then everything turns black a third time, this time you get trapped in a box. This routine of passing out and waking up in the same room goes on numerous times, though the twins' ways of capturing you changes all the time. Getting frustrated with the time loop, you rack your brains for a way out of this madness.
- If you decide to give up trying to appeal to the twins and try something else, you pass out. Waking up, you barge into their room and try to be as intimidating as possible. While the twins are perplexed with your odd display, you notice an air vent with a loose grill and hurry towards it. Crawling around in the dusty vent, you fret that the twins would either follow you or cut you off at some other point in the house. Yet, you thankfully find yourself outside the house at dusk and flee as the twins stand screaming on the front doorway. Opening your palmhusk reveals that Skylla's been wondering where you've been, though she's still cool with you coming by. But after a long while of walking, you notice that your surroundings haven't changed in the slightest. Looking around, you realize that you're stuck in whatever pocket dimension the house is contained in, since you can't seem to leave to matter how hard you try. You are still defiant of going inside the house to deal with the twins, so you decide to get used to the sight of undergrowth and shrubbery. FOREVER LOST.
- If you decide to remember who you are, you decide to befriend them for real. At least this time their torture method is somewhat benign, though you find it difficult to talk while strapped to a tickling machine. Eventually the machine stops so you can talk to them, and they spend a few moments considering your proposition: letting you live so that they can have someone to play with, since you being dead means that they won't have anyone to play with. The twins exclaim that they never meant to kill you, just maybe maim you a bit for laughs. You realize that they assume everyone to heal quickly like them, since they've never been told otherwise. As such, you take the time to explain that humans don't heal as quickly as highblood trolls. The moment you offer to be their friend for real, they let you down and turn on all the lights. Since the twins don't really know what to do with someone voluntarily playing with them, you suggest that they show you some stunts and tricks. While you are stunned with their skills, the twins reveal their origins to you and begin recounting some of their past pranks and adventures. After recounting some of your adventures as well, you suggest that everyone try to escape the house. It took some convincing, but the twins eventually come along with you. Things go according to plan at first, but then the twins loudly blurt that most of the creep factor in the house was caused by their chucklevoodoos. Even so, being trapped in that house wasn't their idea or doing. They then lead you to their real hive for some real fun, and you're glad to leave the house for good. TWO FOR ONE FRIENDS!
- Should you choose to understand, you wind up at Doc Scratch's place (refer Hiveswap Friendsim: Epilogue).
- Should you choose to ignore it, you dejectedly sit in your hideout. GAME OVER
Character Sprites[]
Gallery[]
Lanque's first good ending.
Lanque's bad ending.
Lanque's second good ending.
The Soleil twins' first bad ending.
The Soleil twins' second bad ending.
The Soleil twins' good ending.
An insert screen appearing before Lanque's bad ending.
The first promotional character select screen.
The second promotional character select screen.
Trivia[]
- Despite never interacting with the Reader, both Skylla and the hotdog juggling troll from Volume Sixteen can be seen in the background at Ardata's party.
- When the MSPA Reader muses about completing a circle in a thoughtless and imbecilic manner, it references the line “The circle of stupidity is complete”
. - In Barzum and Baizli's route, a portrait featuring the Summoner can be seen in the corridor. Another portrait depicts the ICP .
- When Soleil twins speak in unison, their typing quirk matches that of Gamzee's.
- The line 'We want to play a game' spoken by the Soleil twins is a reference to Saw.
- In the end cards of the Soleils' route, Mallek's sign appears to be indigo rather than cerulean.
