We've hit the 50% mark of our target, which is really exciting. Obviously there's a long way to go (I think if we're lucky, we'll hit 70% by the end of January), but I'm really relieved that we've managed to get back up to 50% a month after Disaster Day.

Anyway, I now owe you another info dump about our next major planned diaper game, so let me introduce you properly to the Enforcer.

Enforcers are the Long Arm of the Captain's Law. They have greater access privileges, greater combat prowess, and greater authority than everyone except the Captain. When the Captain is unavailable or otherwise indisposed, the crew should normally be expected to obey the enforcers.

Do you know what the chain of command is?

They also have a unique zipper on their diapers - while they often have to use their diaper and get a change like the rest of the crew, they sometimes may be able to get permission from the Captain to use the Captain's toilet. (The zipper will only allow itself to be opened when the Enforcer is inside the Captain's toilet cubicle.) Staying on the Captain's good side has its perks.

However... There's also a very good reason to not stay on the Captain's good side. If that Captain loses her job, the ship computer will automatically promote a random Enforcer to Captain. So, if you want to get that top job, and wear big girl underwear again, and potentially rack of lots of points quite quickly... Then you may be incentivized to arrange the Captain's downfall. Or at least make it more likely.

The DIPS virus is airborne, or something like that, at least. The enforcer's gas mask prevents her from breathing the normal air, and therefore makes her (largely) immune to the DIPS - there are still a few things that can get her infected, but much much fewer. However, this comes with some drawbacks - she can't perform diaper checks (sniff checks), and she can't eat or drink in the normal way. Instead, her mask automatically force-feeds her a special cocktail over time. This, unfortunately, means that she'll probably need to go potty more frequently than the average crewmember.

Being unable to perform diaper checks makes it difficult to perform her main duty of enforcing. She is supposed to hunt down other crewmembers with soiled diapers, and discipline them for not immediately reporting for a change... By setting the computer's nannybots on them using her special armband, and demoting them to safekeeping. However, if the target had a dry diaper after all, then she made a false arrest, and gets punished by the computer herself... In exactly the same manner. She is demoted to safekeeping, and an enforcer slot is opened up, for someone else to get promoted into.

In normal circumstances, it is up to the Captain to choose who becomes an enforcer. But if the Captain takes too long, then it will happen automatically and at random from amongst the grunts.

Since you can't check yourself, you'll probably have to wait until a fellow crewmember performs a diaper check and then informs you that a fellow crewmember has used their diaper. Then it'll be a case of he-said-she-said, and you have to work out who's telling the truth, perhaps taking any gameplay factors you can into account (when was the last time anyone saw them go get a diaper change? Have they interacted with any environment objects that have recently been reported to cause accidents?)

Sometimes, fights will break out amongst crewmembers. This could be for a variety of reasons - perhaps someone is causing mischief, and someone else wants to stop them. Perhaps someone has been infected with the DIPS for too long, and has turned into a rampaging mutant. Or perhaps there was a simple misunderstanding, miscommunication, or a case of mistaken identity, caused by heightened suspicions and rapidly deflating levels of trust. The enforcer is the strongest combatant in these situations (except DIPS mutants), needing to spend less energy to attack, and therefore very likely to win an otherwise even one-on-one fight.

...And of course, in a dire spot, an enforcer could pull a Hail Mary and activate the nannybots. Perhaps the enemy has soiled themselves and the enforcer won't be punished for using this extremely powerful option.

And if not, it's time for a little stint as a crewmember in 'Safekeeping' mode.

A player put into 'Safekeeping' is immediately cured of the DIPS virus, if they have it, and then released back into the ship, but now wearing a megadiaper bitchsuit. Nobody, not even the captain, can release you from your suit until the ship's computer has decided that you've served your time.

When in a safekeeping suit, you can still move, but it costs more energy than normal. You can also still chat with the other players in your location.

...That's about it, though. Except for that, you will be blocked from almost every other action - your only job is filling your oversized pamps like a good little baby slave.

This may change, but right now my plan is that in order to be released from safekeeping, you must fill your megadiaper to the brim. Some of this will happen naturally over time, but also you can try to speed things along by getting a chef to feed you, and by searching the ship for any other unusual environmental objects that cause crewmembers to need the toilet when they get too close. (Each of these things will only help once each.)

I may also allow those trapped in safekeeping to carry one item at a time (in their mouths), allowing them to still help the crew out a little bit, by delivering messages and/or useful items from one part of the ship to another.

One other thing about being locked in Safekeeping that makes it hopefully a bit fun rather than just frustrating and annoying, is that this is the one time that you can roleplay using your diaper as much as you want. In the rest of the game, whether your diaper is soiled or dry is a core game mechanic, and secret information, which means you can't spend your idle time roleplaying humiliating uses of your diaper. But when you're locked in a Safekeeping Suit, it doesn't matter. The idea is that you're soiling yourself a lot, and there's no chance of a change and no need for others to care about whether you're wet or dry, so you can just let it rip.

After you're released from Safekeeping, you'll be returned to normal 'Grunt' status. That's who we'll be meeting next. Being a grunt might be the default state, but it's also arguably the most important and most interesting role. More on that next time.

As always, if you want to be one of the 360 people responsible for bringing this game to life (as well as getting all those juicy unlockable extras in DQ), then join us on SubscribeStar at the ($12 + tax) DQ Tester tier.

Thank you so much!