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keyheartsia-dorm · 4 years

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*Sighs*

I’m bored let’s do a lore dump

It’s a Map~

Oh Yeah I mentioned a Sprinkle of Final Fantasy and KH but I haven’t talked about that Aspect of my Canon At all have I? Well truth be told it’s cause I’m focusing on getting the more Basic Aspects of my Oc’s Before I get into that but Guess who made this Baby on a Whim!

So this is the Map of the Isle of Light well the Main Island at least there are other Littler Bits of land Yet to surface I̶t̶’̶s̶ ̶t̶o̶t̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶s̶o̶ ̶I̶ ̶c̶a̶n̶ ̶A̶d̶d̶ ̶o̶n̶t̶o̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶L̶a̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶h̶a̶h̶a̶ oh yeah did I mention it’s a FLOATING ISLAND!! Yeah P Sick right? Okay so I’ll go into the Island’s History and it’s Area’s but it may have some Spoilers I guess you could say but honestly I wouldn’t wait on me making a full fledged...Anything outta the Story I’ve made like I’ll sum it up (not here but like in general) but comics are hard Videos are hard Fics are hard maybe not individually but this is more of a Anime Series then an Anime movie if you feel me without further ado...Stuff

Oh god this was longer then expected

Some General Background

So The Isle of Light was Originally the Black Forest A Place of Freedom and Expression for all who lead lives who Needed to hide Such and Some Such was The Coven of the Black Forest made up of 3 sisters (not biologically also there was a 4th) they all found comfort and love with each other one being the Princess of the Kingdom nearby (The 4th and Littlest one) She had a fiancé who was Mad with a Lust for power and Control over things he Didn’t need power and control over He Treated the Littlest one Cruelly when the other 3 Decided enough was enough when he did...SOMETHING to Part of the Forest so Horrible it turned Dead and Cruel (Subtle Subtle Hint Hint Wink) When all 3 Of them saw the Ruin They went so mad they turned to Darkness and fought him and all his Manmade monstrosities there when the Princess Arrived there was so much Dark energy everywhere it was Bad like Real Bad So with her friends now monsters she Fought them with a heavy heart her heart broke so much she fell afterwards immediately Unintentionally Sending her Kingdom to somewhere nobody knows where she is though...That’s an even bigger question BUT the story would live on as a Weilder of the key blade who slayed 3 evil witches...(Oh yeah did I mention Crowley knows And that’s Why He Let the Girls Attend because he thought they might be the Black Forest Coven Reincarnated And the Prophecy that when they Awakened the “Keys to their Hearts once more” They’d Free The Princess From her Mirror Prison Oh Yeah also the princess DID Die But her Reincarnation Goes inside a Mirror and is trapped there when she turns 17 and Doesn’t leave until she dIES ALSO ITS HIS OLDEST DAUGHTER THIS TIME ALSO YES HE HAS 2 DAUGHTERS...Okay lemme just calm down..Also yeah she thought of the Princess System) but After a Wish got safe haven for all Keyblade Weilders (I have KH Oc’s other then these don’t ask Longer story they live and basically founded Fortana Haven) I guess the Isle of Light Rose from the Shadow Realm to be just that oh yeah also the Isle of light is literally that kingdom if ya didn’t know

Fortana Haven

(Some Love Nikki BGs for Visualization if I’m Wrong about this from being from Love Nikki Correct me pls and if this is your art sorry and I’ll take it down)

Okay this Place Basically a Modern Fairytale Everything is so Rustic~ but they Have Cafe’s and Stuff~ They’re still very much in Development as a City..or town..or whatever Boss of everything Locket Clover (An OG KH OC) Runs Everything Wonderfully she welcomes everything with open arms and If you wanna run a shop or want a Building for a particular Thing or Activity she’s Pretty open to the idea unless it’s Incredibly Dumb But she will make you get The Wood and Supplies and The Bricks and the Brick Stick Sauce or whatever it’s called she might get give you help constructing but dang is she a firm believer in “DIY” but I like how she’s Determined to Have a Good Balance between Industrial and Rural In fact there is a Mall (God knows how it got there) And that’s pretty much all there is for your Juicy Capitalism Fix She Runs “Hope Stir” Workshop according to Her boyfriend Ephmer It was always Called a workshop but for the longest time she did EVERYTHING Subtle Farmwork And Animal Husbandry ACTUAL Workshop things all cause she wanted to help every Weilder she knew out and made sure they had a place for food and such She is a bit of a Moneyholic but when you’ve been doing what she’s been doing I bet you’d be too overall While it doesn’t have much History yet Fortana Haven (4-Tana is how you say it btw) Is truly well a Haven

The Crowned Castle

(More Pics for Visuals I don’t think this is from love Nikki but if this is your artwork same applies I’m not gonna be the guy who Claims just cause it’s on google it belongs to everybody or something even though yeah I did find it on google)

The...Crown of the Isle of Light Before We came to the Isle for the first time Apparently Everyone In Fortana thought it was Haunted! Which..Fair enough Before we Placed the Princess Medals (Okay QUICK SUMMARY OF THIS BIT Okay so in the KH Mobile game there’s Medals and I wanted them to be in my story basically They’re Memories formed into powers when all my Oc’s Met the Princess’s Of Heart They Each got a Medal Representing them and then the Medals Restored the Castle I left out some details but basically that’s it) This Castle is the BOMB There’s Cool Pretty Princess Room’s And a Bedroom JUST FOR SLUMBER PARTIES!! And it’s just a good Place to Vibe and Hang out with your friends (I’m sorry I’m about to Lore Dumb all over this place) The Princess’s Fiancé Made a Crown for her before she could put it on he put some of his Subconscious in it poor Eden When she wanted to get stronger for Malleus (Malleus is her adoptive big brother and she was upset cause she felt she wasn’t good enough ran away to get power and found the crown) It really did almost completely overtake her I shudder thinking about it “Kachow”...Ew (The fiancé said that a lot ok) a lotta bad stuff happened here but as selfish as this may sound I feel like I earned my spot here and I wanna keep sharing it with my friends

The Matteria Deadland

(Also Imagine some Pointy Mountains and some Lite Mech debris)

Man What to say... So Much Happened here as well probably Tragedy I can’t comprehend there is a few good places about this place though Diane likes to Scavange around Here for Interesting Debris Eden doesn’t like the Air around here but she says she finds Interesting Jewels here and Latte says the same thing so there is good to be found here We all come here every so often to try to help..Anything grow but they don’t call this deadland for nothing but still ya can’t give up hope! I wanna grow some beautiful Lillies here one day! Also hey! Also pretty cool name (Matter-RI-a is how you say it btw) All the sadness that happened here it actually did make the land rich in Metal if nothing else there’s even a whole Cavern we found in the mountains...it almost killed us but we found it

Opal Cove

(also these are Gacha Backgrounds)

Is this Place an Actual Cove? Idk

Is this Place super cool and pretty? Yeah

Is this one of my favorite places in this whole Isle? FRICK YEAH

okay I love a lot about this Isle but Opal Cove!!

Our mermaid friend Mitella I guess “Runs” the Place Our KINDA merman Friend Skye also spends a whole lotta time here Basically it’s a Giant Pool and rumor has it...It’s endless Water...CAUSE IT IS SOMEHOW CAUSE I KNOW weird thing is the Sand it’s at the end of the Isle so there’s not really a beach just...Sand Near Water Odd The Coral Near the Bottom or well “Bottom” Is SO PRETTY it’s like Crystals in the morning the light shines its SO DANG PRETTY I’m glad Mitella is a Sea Witch Or else we couldn’t go so deep underwater it’s SOOO worth it!! She does NOT let a lotta people at once though Heck she doesn’t like Skye that much from what I can tell but she makes an Exception for ~friends~ So...BE NICE TO OUR CUTE MITELLA I’m glad we have a Convient Place for Blitzball practice and also Swimming around with pretty Mermaid Tails (New Nix Mermaid Action Fashion Doll only 25.99! Get it for your Child or they’ll cry!! Also a 5 dollar Boy doll take his Shirt off! That’s it!) Hyde Mi And Skye are kinda an Iconic Trio Mi Also Teaches how to swim with a mermaid tail better for the Weilders who wanna go to Atlantica Hey Mermaids gotta eat so get a Swim Lesson! (And also a transforming Mermaid Doll!)

Bianco Nero Forest

Well tbh I have the least to say because it’s Appeal is simple ADVENTURE AND MYSTERY! Lots can happen in Bianco Nero it’s Basically the Base foundation of the whole Isle! Presumably cause it’s the Black Forest or was at least though it can be dangerous it’s the only place heartless are know to appear in the whole isle (So where you’ll grind In the Video Game that’ll definitely happen :Says the girl who can’t commit to a single comic) They drop all sortsa cool stuff! Heck you can FIND Cool stuff just...Around so..Yeah!!

It’s 2 am maybe I’ll edit this later thanks for reading sorry I got obviously tired by the end goodbye my dearests~ (Seriously y’all deserve like a reward for reading this dumpster fire) I was inspired by those maps in those scholastic books like the Rainbow Fairies I think it was called (Anyone remember those?) that had lil maps in the beginning and also the map’s stickers all on PicsArt

#twisted wonderland #disney twst #gacha life #keyheartsia #oc #gacha club #twisted wonderland dorm #twisted wonderland oc #twisted wonderland oc dorm #anime #oc lore #kingdom hearts Oc #oh my god did you read this? thank you I worked so hard just read it pls #twst oc #twst oc dorm #Oc lore dump

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crusherthedoctor · 4 years

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Sonic Villains: Sweet or Shite? - Part 15: DR. EGGMAN

There are some villains I like. And there are some villains I don’t like. But why do I feel about them the way I do? That’s where this comes in.

This is a mini-series of mine, in which I go into slightly more detail about my thoughts on the villains in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, and why I think they either work well, or fall flat (or somewhere in-between). I’ll be giving my stance on their designs, their personalities, and what they had to show for themselves in the game(s) they featured in. Keep in mind that these are just my own personal thoughts. Whether you agree or disagree, feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions! I don’t bite. :>

Anyhow, for today’s installment, it’s finally time for him. The bad doctor himself. Gather round ladies and gentleman, for the spotlight is on the arch-villain that shines above them all... Dr. Eggman.

The Gist: It's the dawn of the 90's. A little company called SEGA had an ephiphany. They wanted to make a video game juggernaut that could rival the quality and iconic appeal of the then-unmatched Super Mario Bros, and their current star, Alex Kidd, just wasn't doing it in the way that they hoped. They promptly set about starting anew, as a worldwide phenomenon wasn't going to make itself.

So a gentleman named Naoto Ohshima created a selection of design concepts for this brand new mascot. One of these concepts was President Roosevelt in his pajamas.

Seen here with his catgirl body pillow.

The response to this character was “This is good, but we think kids would prefer kicking the shit out of him”, and so he was given an antagonistic role instead. In the meantime, after juggling the rest of their ideas, they eventually settled on a rabbit hedgehog named Sonic for their main protagonist, knowing his Mickey Mouse-like aesthetic would help endear him to the audience, and the franchise as a whole would have an easier time gaining a DeviantART fanbase later on down the line.

Initially, the character of today's review was but a mere lackey among many, seemingly little more than one of numerous minions working for Sonic's originally intended main villain, the Nonspecific Goblin. He was also dressed as a bee for some reason.

Which is the least weirdest thing in this image.

At some point however, they all got together and decided that actually, the guy with the moustache was the only one worth shit, and so he was upgraded to the role of main villain himself. With a spiffy new attire of red and black, he was given the bold title of Dr. Eggman, because with a shape like that, what else are you gonna call him?

“Funny you should say that”, laughed SEGA of America, as they rebelled like an angsty teen and named him Dr. Ivo Robotnik instead. While this name does make equal sense for the character, as he is indeed a hard worker who also happens to like robots, the reason for this name's existence seems to have been mainly because they thought Eggman was too out there of a name for an egg-like man. Whatever the case, this would confuse a lot of fans for years, and remains a point of divisiveness to this day... Unless you're like me and your first game in the series was Advance 2, in which the manual clears it up right away, and you accept the idea of a character having two names and immediately carry on with your life.

He would have aimed it perfectly if it weren't for the Sonic Heroes Parrot distracting him.

And that was that, really. It didn't take long for them to come up with his characterization, which was that of a cackling fiend with an ego to end all egos. This guy was the Narcissist Alpha, more king than actual kings, no strings attached. Other villains would build statues of themselves, but only Robotnik would deface Ancient Egyptian monuments to improve them with his face. Other villains would think “Nah, refacing all four in Rushmore would look silly”, but only the Eggman, the Eggmyth, the Egglegend, would go “Well fuck you, I'm doing it anyway.” Then he'd do it anyway, and proceed to address to the entire world that he did in fact do it anyway.

It also didn't take long for them to develop his primary schtick. With the dynamic of Sonic VS Eggman, you had a classic rivalry between nature and technology. Interestingly enough however, this turned out to be executed more tactfully than your typical Amish-abiding examples in similar media. Never was technology itself regarded as a corruptive influence that you should never utilise no matter what. Rather, it was only as good or as evil as the person using it, with it just so happening that the villain loved machinery only slightly less than he loved himself, and it was countered by Sonic’s best friend being a techno wiz in his own right anyway. Anyhow, with his machinery, the doctor would make a name for himself among video game baddies by confronting his enemy as the boss of nearly every zone in each game, rather than hide away until the endgame.

And all without a driver's licence.

In his soon-to-be-30 years of activity, he has largely remained the same since his inception. Other characters have been introduced, other villains have came and went, but Eggman has remained THE villain of the franchise, and he's remained a vital part of the Sonic the Hedgehog universe... with a slight redesign along the way.

The only ad I don't want to skip.

The Design: Eggman's design may be more simplistic than the likes of Bowser and Ganondorf, and he may not look as openly threatening at first glance, but it's still a very iconic look no matter what look it is. His original appearance was devised so that kids could have an easy time drawing him, which only makes me feel worse about not being able to do it as a grown adult without it looking like a Sexy Legs Kirby.

Still, it's a classic for a reason. With his to-the-point colour scheme, contrasting heavily with Sonic's blue, and his capelet collar resembling walrus tusks, it was an instant winner and made everyone goo goo for g'joob.

The Emeralds he’s juggling are a metaphor for the divided fan community.

And when it was time to give the cast an update for Sonic's first real 3D adventure (or at least the first one that didn't get axed for being a magic eye seizure), Eggman got a respectable change of his own. He was taller, his getup was militaristic, and his body was more legitimately egg-shaped rather than basketball-shaped. He also gained a pair of goggles that he never uses, except in scenes where he puts them on and then never uses them.

“How do my chicken legs not collapse under the might of my gluttonous mass? Find out in an unrelated tie-in novel that you have to pay additional money for.”

There was also that one redesign from 2006, but...

Be it Classic or Modern, I've always loved his design. Before he even says a word or does anything, you know from his appearance that he's a bit of a clownish sort. But he also has a subtle creepy vibe going on, with the way his glasses often obscure his eyes, and how this only makes the pearly-white, unnecessarily wide grin on his face that much more empty and unsettling. This little bit of eeriness hiding among his cartoonish physique reflects the full extent of his character pretty accurately, as we’ll delve into soon enough.

If nothing else, it's more effective than him having no eyes at all.

GRRRRRRRR FUCK YOU BUNNIES THAT I CAN'T SEE

The Personality: If you've seen my villain reviews, then you'll have gathered that Sonic's rogues aren't known for having much in the way of personality. There are exceptions, but they are indeed the exceptions. More often than not though, whether it's an alien conquerer, an ancient monster, or Dan Green the Recolour, they can be summed up thusly: They're evil, they want to destroy the world, and the heroes stop them because they're evil and want to destroy the world. If they're feeling particularly daring, they might go for a second colour.

Luckily, as if to counter all these cardboard drawings, the central adversary of the franchise makes up for these voids of personality by actually having one. And what a personality it is.

The writers of SatAM looked at this and thought “No, this won't do, there's no character to work with here.”

He really is brimming with comedic charm. Every moment that he's present...

Every moment that he shows off...

Every moment that he basks in his own glory...

Every moment that he unveils a new wicked scheme...

Every moment that he puts his enemies to the test...

Every moment that he challenges the world...

Every moment that he laughs at the world...

Every moment that he lives, nay, every moment that he breathes...

Yes, the man has plenty of humor, and it's part of what makes him so enjoyable and memorable. However, if you think being a clown is all there is to him, then prepare to have your expectations subverted initial assumptions taken in a unexpected direction, because although he puts the goof in goofy, he ALSO puts the “oh...?” in “oh shit”.

For you see, Eggman is by all means the epitome of Laughably Evil, but do not, under any circumstance, take him at face value and write him off as a joke. He is anything but.

For starters, he can swing a planet.

There is a rule of thumb that I personally go by with Eggman’s characterization, one that I believe is an immediate make or break factor in regards to whether or not you understand what makes this villain work. Eggman - when you put all his secondary traits aside - is made up of two prominent halves. There’s the egocentric meme machine that bounces up and down like a kid with his N64 and laughs like Santa... and there’s the monster buried within that remains completely and utterly unrepentant for everything he’s responsible for. This is very important. Despite the character’s simplicity at his core, many writers have failed to grasp this, official writers included, and I for the life of me cannot understand why this is such a recurring problem. Eggman is funny, AND Eggman is evil. Both are equal. When you take away one or the other, you may have a funny character, or you may have an evil character, but you don’t have Eggman. Simple as.

Armchair intellectuals may argue that Eggman’s deeds aren’t that evil, since he tends to be merely callous rather than actively trying to hurt or kill people. Those people are probably the types on TV Tropes who weigh a villain’s evilness and effectiveness purely through the surface-level scale of their goals rather than what they actually do to achieve them. While it is true that Eggman tends to be more apathetic about the aftermath of his actions, that doesn’t - and shouldn’t - negate how dangerous he is. It shouldn’t negate what he’s capable of. It shouldn’t negate how far he’s willing to go. And it shouldn’t negate the consequences and casualties that can and do result from his many schemes.

Seriously, think about this for a second. If you confronted Eggman about his current plan to... I dunno, make a water park in Africa or some shit, and you informed him that there has been unexpected mass suffering as a result of this, how do you think he would truly feel about that? What do you think he would actually say to that?

Spoiler: No fucks.

If anything, that he “merely” doesn’t care either way as long as he gets what he wants is more uniquely horrific and deplorable than if he were a generic baddie who committed his evulz specifically for evulz’s own sake and nothing more. At least you’re inadvertently acknowledging that other people’s lives have value when you act one-dimensionally gleeful over ending them, but when your immediate response to the side-effect of a million potential deaths and environmental disasters is “Oh well, fuck ‘em, Eggmanland time baybeeee”, that’s a new level of cruelty.

Besides, even in the Genesis era, he was carpet bombing Angel Island...

“Good thing I have this shield. Sucks to be this forest!”

And he’s only gotten worse since then, indulging in such acts as going full suicide bomber with a missile, after his initial plot to destroy and rebuild Station Square through the means of Chaos and the Egg Carrier didn’t work out...

But don’t worry, he kept it lighthearted by making it look like a penis.

Making one of Sonic’s friends go insane with power against their will, forcing the Blue Blur to put them down personally...

It’s ironic, cause he’s metal. Or do I have to awkwardly explain the joke two more times before I’m a proper YouTuber?

Capturing thousands of innocent aliens, and forcefully converting them into mindless beasts...

I’m pretty sure I saw Alfred Molina conduct this experiment one time.

He even removed the heroes’ collective IQs so that he could shoehorn a cliffhanger on an already terrible game.

Thanks, cunt.

And honestly? When it comes to Sonic and chums at least, Eggman does let out a more openly sadistic side now and then. Need I mention that time when the doctor forced Sonic and two random buddies to make their way through a trap-infested island of his own creation? Not for the sake of nabbing Chaos Emeralds or anything of the sort mind you, he just wanted the blue motor mouth to suffer.

Images you can hear.

To make matters even worse, as befitting of his manchild tendencies, he’s ridiculously petty. How petty? Petty enough to abduct a little girl’s mother for no other reason than because Cheese completely trivialized his forces the girl was friends with Sonic and helped participate in the latest kicking of his own ass.

He only picked Vanilla because there was no Strawberry.

But at least his captives can admire the sheer variety that their captor has to offer. One of the greatest things about the doctor's style is that anything goes. With all due respect to Bowser, he tends to stick with his fiery castles (although he has been branching out recently), and plenty of other villains in gaming tend to be similarly stuck in their ways when it comes to tastes. Eggman, on the other hand, will create all sorts of fortresses and reside anywhere on the planet and beyond. It can be in the sky, in space, somewhere hot, somewhere cold, under the sea, in a circus... and every now and then, he might combine some of them together and thensome. So long as it's even vaguely mechanical in some way, his ground rules have already been ticked off.

Hang on a minute...

You know what else Eggman is? Relentless.

Persistence is a quality that most villains by their very nature share, lest they cease to be an effective antagonist. But once again, Rrrrrrrobotnik maxes out more than any other, and will often go to insane lengths to keep the current plan going, or if not that, then to spite Sonic.

Exhibit A: Sonic 3 & Knuckles, in which the grand finale consists of the madman throwing a gravity-shifting contraption your way, busting out a Kaiju-sized robo, escaping with the Master Emerald after his defeat, continuing to escape even after the Death Egg has been thoroughly destroyed, getting chased through the asteroid fields in space by Super Sonic, and only finally going down when the escape craft and the piloted mech controlling the escape craft are down. And all of this came after a grand adventure where, among other things, he destroyed an entire level just to kill you.

There are immortal omnipotents that put up less of a challenge.

“Looks like it’s time for Plan... *checks paper*... F.”

His relentlessness also reveals another side of the doctor that is simultaneously admirable and terrifying: He bows to no one. No one. Doesn’t matter who it is. Doesn’t matter how powerful they are. Doesn’t matter how much the odds are stacked against him. If another villain were to demand that he cower before them, the scientist would laugh and show through physical demonstration that this is not the way the egg rolls. Unless he’s absolutely unable to do so, he will give it his all every time, and even if he can’t, he’ll use his crafty mind to find some other way to get around the issue. You can beat him in battle, you can foil his plans, but you absolutely cannot break his resolve.

“Dad said it’s my turn to play with the Ruby. I know this, because I’m your dad.”

What about his relationship with those who actually serve him? Specifically, his own robots? Well for the most part, he treats them like absolute crap, what with verbally abusing them at every corner and being all too willing to go full Vader on them the moment they mess up. He IS capable of expressing fondness and giving praise to his more successful creations, like with Metal Sonic and Gamma, but even then, it’s a roundabout way of praising himself, since he’s the one who made them what they are. So basically, you’re only valuable to him if you make him look good.

Gaming in the Clinton Years in a nutshell.

And as for Sonic? Yeah, like with any legendary and long-lasting hero/villain dynamic, it’s obvious that Eggman has some degree of begrudging respect for his opponent. But if you think this respect would dissuade him from actually going through with his ambitions of rulership...

As the hedgehog’s apparent demise in Sonic Adventure 2 proves, as well as his defeat at the hands of Infinite and the subsequent six months of brutal conquest in Sonic Forces, Eggman is dead serious about his goals. If you think he’d get bored after conquering the world, he would simply expand his resources and have a crack at conquering the rest of the universe. When he says he hates that hedgehog, I’m inclined to believe that he means it, and although he may enjoy his “games” with Sonic to an extent, I also can’t see him wanting to remain stuck on square one forever.

If this were Sonic X, he’d just grieve.

By the way, the scene above? Undeniable proof that for all the doctor’s boasting, he’s not actually lying or exaggerating when he prides himself on his brilliance. Because when you get past his goofy exterior, when you look beyond the occasional, relatively minor mistake (*glares at IDW*), you’ll see that... yes. He IS brilliant. And not just in the science department either, although his countless robots and strongholds over the years are no doubt a testament to his credentials there. While he may prefer to go in big and bold, he can also be shrewd with his strategies when he wants to be.

Sonic’s aforementioned near-death experience, for example, was the result of Eggman turning the heroes’ own cunning plan on its head by being one step ahead of them. And in Sonic Unleashed, he lured his enemy into a trap, culminating with him cancelling out Super Sonic.

“...and pay the price for your Werehog gameplay...”

And after all those years of struggling, he finally got a giant monster under his complete control. “But he had help!”, you say? Yeah, from himself.

Did Flynn sleep through all this...?

Much like his inner nature as an evil bastard, Eggman's effectiveness is likewise commonly underestimated by writers. Yes, he occasionally makes mistakes. Yes, he occasionally overlooks details. Yes, he occasionally lacks foresight. But he is NOT stupid. A hero is only as good as their villain after all, and if Eggman is portrayed as a bumbling fool, then how can Sonic be a truly great hero? Eggman is humorous, sinister, and when the chips are down, competent.

...Did I mention that he's also a master Olympian?

The Execution: There's no surprises here. You knew from the moment you saw this review that my stance wasn't going to be anything less than 100% fanboy adoration. In that respect, this section almost feels redundant, because there's only so many ways I can say “Dr. Eggman is the fucking shit and I'm eternally grateful to Mr. Ohshima for bringing this absolute masterpiece into our world” without it getting repetitive. So to cap this review off, I'm going to very briefly compare his portrayals in other media, and explain why they tend to not be as good as the original SEGA Eggman.

“Cause they’re not balanced, right?” you ask. “Cause they veer too far in a particular direction? You're so predictable,” you add. To that I say:

1. Yeah, basically.

2. ...S-Shut up...

3. While the conclusion may be obvious, it's nonetheless important because as I mentioned previously, despite how straightforward this villain is, writers seem absolutely intent on not getting the point. There are loads of villains out there who share Eggman's talent of mixing hilarity and evil together with a bow of competence on top. Two of those villains are among the most famous supervillains of all time, in fact. You might have heard of them.

Joker can do it just fine. Green Goblin can do it just fine. And plenty of others can do it just fine. So why is it such an issue with Eggman? What is it about a round body and a long moustache that gets people to think “No, this guy is absolutely incapable of being comedic and threatening at the same time, no question, end of.” Is it because he’s a more cartoony franchise? Well, that can't be the case, because even Mario has a couple of beloved examples. Fawful, anyone? How about Dimentio? Cackletta? King Boo? K. Rool? Hell, you could even count Bowser himself depending on the portrayal.

Anyway, the point is, writers tend to miss the mark for one reason or another. With Sonic X for example, he wasn't too bad in the beginning, but as the show went on, he became exactly the toothless non-villain that many people misjudge him as. We all know that scene where he berates Black Narcissus for harming their captives (not for pragmatic reasons mind you, he genuinely took issue with the act on moral grounds, even though his own hands weren’t exactly clean either), but even before that point, he was doing such things as healing an injured Sonic without an ulterior motive, not taking any opportunity whatsoever to start conquering Sonic's world because he was pining for Sonic's attention, and being the Jiminy Cricket to Chris Thorndyke's Pinocchio. Why they thought the goddamn villain should be the moral conscience of this show remains an unanswered question, but at least it no longer influences how he's portrayed in the games.

Then you have the IDW comic, which is a similar tale of starting off decent and then careening wildly into the abyss, but for different reasons. Initially, he was built up to be in-line with his competent, foresight-packed self from Forces, with his inevitable return being met with dread, and a delightfully devilish scheme to match when he finally did so. But somewhere along the way, Ian Flynn thought that Eggman coming back from his amnesiac period and returning stronger than ever with a new minion and a deadly virus wasn't enough to up the stakes... so they decided to “up the stakes” by turning both the doctor and his new minion into massive imbeciles so as to justify their plot getting hijacked by the Deadly Six, a move so predictable yet infuriating that it got even me to turn against the Six. And the reason the Six got invited in-universe is because Starline decided he didn’t like being unique and devolved into Snively 2.0 behind Eggman’s back. All this from the alleged “best writer” for the series...

Yeah, same.

And then you have the Boom version, which shares basically the same issues as Sonic X but in a more mundane fashion. It's easier to dismiss because it's a comedy-centric show and his redesign makes it easier to separate him from mainline Eggman, and I'll gladly admit that he does have a lot of genuinely funny lines that redeem him a little bit. But yeah, too much of not being a true villain for my tastes.

Now this isn't to say that there haven't been portrayals in other media that are up there with the original. The versions that I consider better off than the ones above include...

- The OVA Eggman is pretty faithful all things considered, aside from his romantic feelings for Sara, which feels slightly off since the idea of Eggman loving anyone other than himself is incredibly unrealistic at best. But it doesn't actually soften or undermine his deviousness, so I'm willing to let it slide for an alternate take. Especially since he gave us the best Metal Sonic out there.

- AoStH is far from a perfect show, but there's a reason why even its detractors tend to treat its version of Robotnik like a national treasure. Admittedly most of that is because of the legendary Long John Baldry and the endless memes associated with this incarnation, but despite hailing from a comedy-focused show like Boom Eggman, this Robotnik still had a lot of legitimately dangerous moments, more than you'd think.

- And of course, Jim Carrey's Robotnik in the Sonic movie is just... *chef's kiss*

So obvious aesop though it may be, but you see what the more effective portrayals have in common, I assume?

Granted, this also isn't to say that SEGA Eggman himself has had a perfect track record. The decade's worth of upstagings and backstabbings by other villains should be enough of a counterpoint to that claim, and I've also made it clear now and then that I take issue with certain games regarding what they do with the doc, no matter how revered they may be by other fans. Sonic Adventure 2, for instance. I praised the fake emerald scene, and I do sincerely believe that he has a number of other badass moments in that game, but because Shadow was playing him like a fool the whole time, I can't help but have a bitter taste in my mouth when I look at the bigger picture.

So close to greatness, yet so far...

So in that case, which game do I think has Eggman's best showing overall? That's not in any way an easy question, but lack of dialogue aside, I'm gonna go with Sonic 3 & Knuckles again, as the classic journey through the sights of Angel Island plays out in a way that highlights just how determined, ruthless, and underhanded he is with carrying out his mission to revive the Death Egg by any means necessary. Other games do win out in other areas - SA1 for how bastardly he is, Forces for how cunning he is, Colours for his hilarious announcements, CD for using the scenery to show the effects of his actions, Mania for not letting the other villain walk all over him - but for the purest essence of the doctor at his cartoony yet competent best, I'd say S3&K is a reasonable bet.

And when it comes to all his many traits, which one do I find the most special one of all? Well again, far from easy to answer, but I think the coolest aspect about him is also one of the most overlooked. Robotnik, despite whatever superhuman qualities he may occasionally unveil, is for all intents and purposes a regular guy with a big brain. This might make him appear unimpressive when compared to your average Final Fantasy villain and the like, but if anything, it paints him in a more flattering light than expected, because he doesn't even need to be on their level to still be on the radar. It's easy to be a big bad threat when you're an ancient demon or an almighty god-like being, and you only have to wave a hand to cause armageddon. But when you're just Some Guy™ going up against superpowered opponents, meaning you have to earn your threat level the hard way, and you prove to be a challenge every step of the way regardless, because you're just THAT much of a genius... that's fucking awesome, no other way to put it.

And you know what else is awesome? You may not like Eggman, and you don’t have to like him, but like it or not, he is directly and indirectly responsible for a vast majority of the coolest and most loved moments and aspects of this franchise.

The opening to Unleashed? Eggman set up the scene.

Shadow running around and continuing to be part of the franchise? Eggman released him.

Blaze getting involved with Sonic’s world and continuing to be part of the franchise? Eggman’s half-responsible for that.

Metal Sonic? Eggman made him.

Egg Dragoon? Eggman.

Big Arm? Eggman.

Monkey Dude? Eggman.

That text is missing a blue checkmark.

This review is probably longer than the echidna family tree in Archie at this point, so I better finish it off. If it wasn't obvious from all the paragraphs I've belted out in this post, I'm very passionate about Eggman and the way he’s portrayed. Ever since I got into the Sonic franchise in 2003, I immediately took a liking to the doctor, and to this day, he remains not only my favourite Sonic villain, my favourite Sonic character, but also my favourite character period. Some may find it a weird or lame choice compared to other, “better” characters, but that's the way it is, and I ain't about to change it. I am very unlikely to ever stop enjoying the hell out of this villain, and even if he got irreversibly ruined in some way, I'd still continue to love what he was before that point.

Because yeah, he's not the deepest character ever, but... who cares? Is it not enough that we find something that appeals to us? When I got into Sonic, I was introduced to fantastic games, a likable cast, high quality soundtracks, beautiful worlds, numerous friends on this very site, and of course, the lovely treasure that is my partner. I may not have been with this franchise during the 90's, but it's given me just as much fun, nostalgia, and happiness as those who were. Despite the flawed titles, despite the fandom conundrums, I still love this series.

And I still love this absolute prick.

Crusher Gives Dr. Eggman a: TWO Thumbs Up!

#Sonic Villains: Sweet or Shite?#Opinion #Sonic the Hedgehog #Dr. Ivo Robotnik

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r3b3lgrrrrrrrl · 4 years

Text

A LunaTic and Her Gunn (Part 112) "Sliding Safely Back Home"

@crystalbaby12 @backoftheroomandnotbelonging @5sosfam1dlover @rosefilledhearts-blog

Colson had immediately called Ashleigh; who called his Cleveland housekeeper, Lucy. On a Sunday, during Fourth of July Weekend; asking her to please come clean up the mess that he had made. The conversation between Colson and Ashleigh involved a strong talking to and the promise of him watching her LIVE tutorial regarding the difference between dish soap and DISHWASHER DETERGENT. Along with an even stronger suggestion of leaving Lucy a HUGE tip for her inconvenience and troubles. Colson had agreed easily. He didn't care how much it cost as long as he didn't have to deal with the ocean of bubbles he was responsible for.

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Sticky, soaked and gross, Colson was still irritated with Luna when he joined her in the shower. Pulling hard on her hair, he roughly fucked her from behind. Not saying a word amongst his grunts and moans. Alleviating some of his frustrations along the way as he made her wince multiple times from the hard slaps he'd landed directly onto her plump ass. Luna took her punishment like a Good Girl, bouncing off of his thick cock studiously. Making them both willingly explode for the other amongst the steam.

After rinsing himself off, Colson had pushed Luna against the wall. With his oversized, heavy palm against her collarbone, he kissed her hard. Biting her lip after.

"This isn't fucking over." He promised her before stepping out of the shower.

"UGH... I hate him so FUCKING much..." Luna had thought to herself as her body flushed in desire from Colson's threat.

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"I know she didn't do shit but still...." Colson's mind continued to throb. His stomach twisting at the thought of Luna's lips touching anyone else's but his, making the jealousy roll thickly throughout his body while he dried himself off. Adamantly trying to remind himself instead of the many times Luna had shown her devotion to him.

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Colson's attitude softened a bit more as they fell into their usual routine of getting stoned and doing other drugs together while getting dressed. They talked about what Colson expected from the game amongst other small things.

With light makeup on, Luna braided her long hair into pigtails. It was when she tossed on her cherished Rizzuto jersey over a knotted white T and black leggings along with her Yankees hat, that she caught a hard SideEye from Colson.

"I seriously hope he doesn't expect me to rep The Indians... Like, EVER... Because that's a hard NO." Luna thought to herself kinda baffled by his reaction.

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"Yo! You guys wanna kick it with Sid today?" Pete had asked once they had made their way downstairs.

"What? No. We're bringing Case." Luna scowled at both of them, killing their vibe.

"Fine, how 'bout a little micro dosing then?" Pete offered up a comprise as he pulled out a bag of mushrooms.

Before Luna could protest again, Colson's hand was down the bag and the mushrooms were inside of his mouth. Chewing with a smug look on his face while watching Luna's reaction.

"Fine." She had rolled her eyes as she grabbed her own small handful.

"Let the games begin." Colson declared as he rubbed his hands together with a diabolical smile while Luna chewed.

"You guys are the worst." She went on to sigh as she shook her head, both grinning as they agreed with her.

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Not being able to find her leather on their way out, Luna had grabbed Colson's oversized jean jacket off of the couch. With Casie in her beloved, clean, yellow T-shirt, they were out the door with Mod, Rook, Benny and a strongly protesting Pete to the idea of leaving Kevin behind.

"He'll be lonely and think I abandoned him!" Pete had shouted with wild eyes, he'd started micro dosing way before offering any to Luna and Colson.

"I talked to Kev, Petey... He's knows... He's cool. I set him up with a movie and everything." Luna had calmly reassured him.

Only being able to get Pete inside the SUV after convincing him it was for Kevin's own safety. That there just weren't enough seatbelts in Colson's Navigator to get all of them to Progressive Field safely. He continued to complain with worry for a majority of the ride until Casie told him to Calm It Down.

Phem, Noah and Caroline had caught an Uber to Hopkins for a flight to LA a bit earlier. Slim heading back to his own Cleveland house in the meantime. The plan being to meet back at Colson's for Family Dinner around 730/8ish to map out the upcoming week or so.

Leaving Kevin to chill at the house alone, watching Back To The Future with a blanket and a bowl of Doritos. Luna doesn't lie.

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At Progressive Field, it's Team World V. Team Cleveland. Colson gets changed as Luna roams around the stadium with Casie, Pete, Rook, Mod and Benny. Grabbing enough hot dogs, pizza, sodas, french fries and beers to satisfy Chris Farley, minus the speedball, they head onto the field.

Mixing in with the other celebrities, Luna introduces herself to Dascha Polanco. Making an immediate friend as she genuinely gushes and congratulates her with a huge hug over her success through Orange Is The New Black and How she's Dying for the Last Season BUT NO SPOILERS, PLEASE.

Also being a NYC native, Luna finds herself having a LOT of things in common the actress. Starting off with the Bitching of The Bagel that includes huge, knowing laughs. They flow through to different HangOuts, common friends and experiences until the conversational river finally opens up to Luna's humble embarrassment when Dascha realizes who she actually is. Knowing her first and foremost by her photography and obscure reputation, it just so happens that Dascha is also a genuine fan of Dysfunctional Baggage.

Luna's new friend being wise enough to not to make a big deal out of her FanGirling Soul and to skip the verbal condolences with a simple look of acknowledgment. Breaking the verbal damn by asking Luna What Her Favorite Book Is to the artist's relief.

It's The Little Disturbances of Man. Luna's kept a hardback copy of it on her ever since she first read it when she was 10yrs old. Finding that it helps her humanize the masses when The World seems too mean for it's own good.

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Colson is busy introducing Casie to Anthony Mackie, who plays Falcon in the MCU. They're all huge fans and Colson's can't help his slightly spiteful mind snark to itself how Luna's missing out. He's still mad. At her. At Jackson. At the idea of anyone other than him being near His Girl.

"She's gonna be saaaallttyy... I don't even fucking care. Fuck her..." Colson's mind abruptly shifts scenarios. "It may be more Jackson's fault... But that fucking bitch needs to realize what the fuck she's capable of on her own... Like, for real. Kissen' MOTHERFUCKERS and SHIT..." Colson feels his jealousy bubbles begin to simmer. Looking over Casie's head he catches Luna's eye not too far down the field. Their souls connecting instantly. Colson can feel her smile seep deep inside of him as she spreads her fingers wide to greet him like she always does. "FUUUUUUUCK Me." He pouts to himself as he feels his dick stiffen at the sight of her. Taking a gulp of air, he looks down at Casie. "Chill Kells... Focus. Kick this fucker out, then we'll deal with Luna." He pep talks himself before turning all of his attention back to Anthony, his daughter and the game ahead of him.

"Are you and AntMan friends yet? I don't believe that Captain just reeee-tired." Casie challenges as she rolls her eyes. "Annnnnnnnd, just so you know. Human is better and Carol Danvers is THE BEST." Casie cocks out her hip as she thrusts her hand onto it. "But I like that you can fly." She offers out with a slightly forgiving tone.

Colson and Anthony burst out laughing over the girl's questions and opinions. Anthony can't help but slap Colson's on the back. Reassuring him that he's got a Wild One as his roarous laughter continues before he squats down to speak with the girl.

"Yeah... I'm friends with AntMan... But he's tiny and annoying... And... Yeup, unfortunately, Cap's retired. He needed a break. He is like 500YRS OLD, you know!" Anthony chuckles as he throws his hands out to Casie's giggle. He continues on slightly serious as he looks her in the eyes. "Human is definitely better though and I don't care what the other Avengers's say..." Anthony leans closer to Casie. "You're right. Captain Marvel is THE BOSS... Her WHOLE body is an energy source!" Falcon goes on to laugh with Casie at his CoStar's undeniable powers. "And, Thank You." His tone lightens as he smiles at her softly. "I like that I can fly too." Anthony nods his head in solidification at Casie as his smile turns into grin, knowing it's more important to boost kindness, strength and acceptance inside a child over anything else.

After finishing up her chat with Falcon, Colson leads Casie over to his reserved seats. The mushrooms are just kicking in as he finds Luna and The Boys. Settling Casie, he kisses Luna with a forgiving look. With Casie muching, Rook and Benny drinking away and Luna beginning to feel the giddiness of the fungai with Pete, they all wish Colson a Good Game before he disappears again to find his team.

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Travis Hafners's daughter opens the game with The National Anthem at 5P. For as young as she is, she's perfectly on pitch and astonishingly commanding of the entire stadium. If she wasn't so young, Luna might've immediately thought to sign her.

Being leery of the Music Business herself, she finds herself going back and forth about it by the bottom of the First as her third eye opens. Not being able to decide on whether to leave the girl alone or to step in. "I know I'm not the only one to hear her power... Fuck, the game's being the televised... I COULD be a protective barrier between an impressionable girl and some much unnecessary Nastiness though...." Luna holds onto her thoughts. Choosing to consult Colson and The Ash's... And possibly Sammy before deciding on any type of action. Trying to focus on Colson and the game instead for the rest of the evening, the strong voice continues to sing in the back of her colorful mind as ideas manifest along with it.

The lineup is stocked with Cleveland's greatest, finest and most map worthy. The World's Team rounding out with a wide array of goodies itself. The game is filled with Ewwws & Awwws, whooping, clapping, screaming and even the occasional Boo. Cleveland is an unforgiving City, almost rivaling Philadelphia.

The Miz from WWE opens up the game by coming out looking like Wild Thing as The World's Team takes the plate. Driving the crowd insane by rocking thick, black glasses on the mound while he imitates Charlie Sheen’s stance from the iconic film. On The World's Team, Daddy Yankee hit a triple slightly past Colson in the first inning. He could've caught it but was too distracted by the signs in clouds. Thankfully no one caught THAT as the batter ALMOST ran out of his pants as he flew past first base. Making Casie point and laugh loudly with her adult company. Falcon from The Avengers hit a pop fly to The Miz, causing him to crash backwards into their second baseman Stephanie Beatriz as he made the catch. Successfully ending the first inning.

Rook and Mod miss The Funny while conversing with Casie and the Hot Girl Summer happening behind them. Being RockStars truly has it's perks... ALL of the time. Luna on the other hand is an avid sports fan, having caught Benny's eye and a couple of Pete's elbows to her giggly ribcage during the first inning. Cracking up together over the on field collision they had all witnessed. There's something about people from NY... They love their fucking baseball.

During the third inning, Jim Thome's son joins the game acting as a pinch hitter. Batting left-handed, the young boy points his bat at the pitcher, just like his legendary father used to. With that and a solid smack, he snatches a two-run single through center field that pulls Cleveland's Team within four runs at a score of 16-12. JR Smith enthusiastically welcoming the boy as he runs Home.

The announcer mentions The Hometown Anti Heroe's love of Ramen as Colson steps up to the plate with multicolored vision. Following the young Thome with a drive to right field that eludes Ryan Howard, The Great HomeRun Hitter of the 2008 World FUCKING Champions. Colson races around past third with his tongue wagging in determination as he finds himself sliding safely back Home for an InField HomeRun.

"MOTHAFUCKEN' RIGHT YOU DID IT!! YOU ARE A GOLDEN FUCKING GOD." His tripping soul excitedly screams at him as he hits a light peak.

Colson's HomeRun leaves The World's Team within a three run grasp. Smith hoisting Colson high in the air as Team Cleveland celebrates his epic run. Casie and Luna hooting and hollering as they ecstatically cheer him on along with with Pete, Mod, Rook and Benny.

Finally, in comes The Legend of Cleveland himself, Travis Hafner. The retired Indians slugger crushes a ball to the left, over the wall and nearly hits Mustard the Hot Dog mascot standing near The Corner. Who took the surprise gracefully. Had it been the Philly Phanatic and Victorino, there probably would've been a fight on Broad Street.

Cleveland’s comeback being only a run behind now as another one of The Indian's legends steps up to bat. Carlos Baerga nailing a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth. Bringing the score to 16-15 heading into the fifth.

The World's Team scores five fucking times in the top of the fifth. Luna losing her shit along the way as Mod, Rook and Casie look at her like she's crazy but Pete and Benny laugh in appreciation of her passion and knowledge. It's the shocking two-run homer by Falcon as his drive to the left slips under the glove of The Great Hafner that truly fucks her up. Screaming WHAT THE FUUUUUCK as she jumps up and Pete laughs while pulling her back down. Rooting for the other team, Luna's soul is torn as Yankees legend, Bernie Williams steps up to bat. With a solo blast to left, Luna silently exchanges a cheering look with Pete for their hometown team as he slams another HomeRun. Pushing the score to 21-15. The World's Team leading hard with six runs at the bottom of the inning.

Cleveland comes to bat one last time. Allie LaForce starting them off with a single and scoring Cleveland another run on a ground ball by Beatriz. It's JR's pop up that gives them their last out. Swiftly stealing Team Cleveland's hopes for comeback. Ending the five inning game at 21-16.

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Hanging out for a bit after, even with the loss Colson's giddy from the mushrooms and happy with his performance. He's in the middle of busting it up with Jamie Fox while Luna talks with Stephanie close by. Casie leaves Rook and Benny to find her dad. Standing next to him, she dangles on his arm while patiently waiting for him to finish his conversation.

"Anyone ever told you how smooth your daddy is?" A middle aged woman asks as she slinks up to the young girl.

Colson forgets about his conversation as he turns around and laughs loudly at her absurdity while Casie physically recoils. Offended by the stranger's words and grasping onto her father's arm, she recovers quickly.

"Yeah. His GIRLFRIEND." Casie fires back with a monotoned voice before perking up. "Hi, Looney!" She exclaims as her face shifts from a scowl to a relieved, bright smile before falling into a smug look that she smoothly shoots at the stranger from the comfort of Luna's presence.

"Hiii, Dilla." Luna coos with her own gleam, having observed the whole scene. "How are you?" She asks the woman as her grin sweetly widens while she acknowledges and glides past her with eye contact and a nod. "You guys ready? We should find The Boys, we gotta get home for dinner." She advises as she ignores the woman and collects her family.

Luna takes Casie by the hand as Colson slips his arm around Luna. Tucking her wounded shoulder safely inside of him as always. Walking away, Casie turns over her left shoulder in between her and Luna. Glaring at the woman, she throws up her middle finger behind her back with her free right hand. Smirking at the woman's shocked reaction before turning back around triumphantly.

On their way home from the baseball field Colson posts the playful picture Rook had taken of him, Casie and Luna on the way to the car out of the park. A smile curling up on his lips as he places the caption. Proving they're always better together.

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"Who needs luck when you got them skills and these two as your biggest fans 🏆❤️💎💯"

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"FUUUUUUUCK, I MISSED YOU!!" Luna exclaims with overwhelmingly vibrant enthusiasm as soon as she walks into the kitchen and sees Sam. Grabbing her into a deep, soul hug, she plunks a huge kiss on her cheek. Squeezing her hand, she drags her around the island to a cooking Ashleigh. "I missed you tooooo, Buddy!" Luna squishes her with a hug from behind as she smooches her cheek also. Noticing two women she doesn't know at the island, she immediately greets them warmly. "Hi! I'm Luna." She smiles at the women as she extends her hand to AJ's wife, Naomi and Dub's girlfriend, Natasha. "It's a pleasure." She beams at them.

"Shit. Shit. Shit. I hope she doesn't know I hit Her Dude." Luna immediately thinks of her mishap with Dub.

"More wine?" She asks as she tests the waters while still dragging Sam along with her to finally sit at the island as she fills the ladies wine glasses. "So tell me.... What's the story mornin' glories?" Luna laughs as she pours herself a glass of wine, figuring that if it's gonna be something... It's gonna be something.

Gathered in the kitchen, the four women talk about all kinds of different things as they get to know each other. Jumping from their individual careers and hobbies to fashion and politics and everything in between. Including the dumb shit their guys do. Sam smiling slyly while Ashleigh shrugs with a Fucking Men as she continues battering chicken. Potatoes are boiling to be mashed and green beans are sautéing. Colson comes into the kitchen to pick at dinner while Ashleigh swats at him. There's a bunch of them over and she's been air frying for over an hour now. Her chicken is NOT to be fucked with.

"What I tell ya, fucking men." Ashleigh mimicks a young Madonna as she clucks her tongue and rolls her eyes.

"Fugkin' MEN, WHAT?" He asks with his hands, imitating a horrible Brooklyn accent before he kisses Ashleigh's cheek.

Laughing at the two of them while shaking her head and standing, Luna watches Casie along with Ashton, Dub's daughter and AJ's two girls. Gazing out at them, she notices how they're very much

like their parents. Rolling and falling all over each other as they rough house around the huge yard. Still in the kitchen and spotting her Polaroid camera in her bag on the counter; Colson snaps a quick picture of Luna without her noticing. Setting the camera back where he found it, he plops a wet kiss in the side of her head to her tilted smile. Walking back into the living room, he shakes the instant photo in his hand. Watching as it slowly creeps into focus, his heart beats faster as it forms.

"FUCK, she's gorgeous." He can't help but smile to himself as he pulls on his wallet chain to tuck it into it's new home safely.

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"DIIINNNNERRR!!!" Ashleigh yells.

Those who aren't already in the kitchen come roaring inside. With almost twenty of them that are functional, they each help carry parts of their meal into the dining room with the expanded table. You'd think they'd be a hot mess but some how they function surprisingly well together. Each naturally gravitating to a job.

Luna counts plates. Sam grabs the green beans, Casie and AJ's daughters collect silverware as Colson places down the napkins. Slim pulls another bottle of white as Mod helps him with beers and lemonade out of the fridge. AJ collecting cups for the kids out of the cabinet. D gets Ashton milk as Rook happily snatches up the bowl of mashed potatoes, salt and pepper. Sneakily dipping his finger into it and taking a bite to Ashleigh's immediate ROOK. Pete strictly limits himself to butter duty, he's too high to handle anything else. Dub and Benny help with the salad, bowls and dressings as Natasha settles their daughter and Ashton at the table. Ashleigh handles the chicken with Naomi, making The Kid's plates first. Kevin's sat down for dinner before anyone, making Baze hop up to grab the Louisiana hot sauce from the fridge upon his judgmental request to everyone's equal shame and laughter.

Dinner is loud as always. Everyone talking over each other as they pass food and condiments during cross table conversations. The Three Dinner Questions are answered by everyone before they talk about the game. Filling Slim and Dub in on Colson's inpark HomeRun. The Boys eventually going on to bust each other's balls as usual while The Women continue to get to know each other and The Kids ask questions about EVERYTHING. Beers and white wine being passed along as quickly as Ashleigh's homemade chicken.

"So, you don't mind the air fryer?" She asks.

"This is air fried?" Dub asks in shock.

"What the FUCK is air fried?" Benny asks with such a panicked authority Luna can't help but laugh; she's never seen him react like that.

"You cook with hot air instead of grease." Ashleigh tries to explain.

"Fuck that voodoo ass nonsense, Ash." Benny drops his chicken and crosses his arms.

"You good, Benz? Cuz you're on some real weird ass shit right now, Pal." Luna lightly laughs again.

"Nah man, that shit ain't right... Fucking air fry... Just sounds like some voodoo shit." Benny sticks to his guns with his arms still crossed.

"What the fuck do you think a microwave is?" Sam scoffs at him. "Talk about unnatural? That's fucking electromagnetic waves verses air, Bro. Get it. Together." She rolls her eyes as she chomps into her chicken leg.

Benny thinks about science for a minute before picking his chicken back up. It's too delicious too deny. Even if it is voodoo chicken.

"Fucking Men." Sam mumbles to Ashleigh's laughter as she shakes her head and enjoys her chicken.

No one else is afraid of air fried chicken. Easily finishing it off. Benny eating five pieces of the devil's work alone. As they sit with full bellies, they start to talk about the up coming week. Colson and AJ having their girls clear the table so that they can work.

"I've got you guys booked for GMA this Thursday." Ashleigh informs Luna and Colson while looking at the calendar on her phone.

"This Thursday? Like four days from now?" Luna asks. "For what?"

"Have you not talked to Jackie?" Ashleigh sighs, sounding like Monica.

"No... It's the Fourth of July Weeknd. I figured she'd start tomorrow." Luna shrugs.

When Ashleigh sighs again Sam, AJ and Rook simultaneously stand up, grabbing odd things the kids had missed off the table and heading into the kitchen. Naomi, Natasha, Baze and Benny follow behind shortly along with Dub and D grabbing their babies. That leaves Luna, Colson, Slim, Kevin and a super stoned Pete. He still has is plate in front of him and is just hangen' out while he figures it out.

"They were supposed to contact her." Ashleigh explains.

"Here... Let's just fucking call her." Luna pulls her phone out and looks for Jackie's number, there's a slight attitude to her tone.

It's not directed at Ashleigh. It's more towards television and MorningTime Bullshit Talk TV. Luna's avoided things like this all of her career. Now it like she's Tom from Tom&Jerry; with fame and over exposure being the rake that constantly keeps smacking her in fucking her face.

"Hello?" Jackie answers on the second ring.

"Hey Jack, it's Loon..." Luna greets her friend. "I got you on speaker with Colson and his manager, Ashleigh..." Luna pauses for them to say Hello. "Uhmmmm... She has me booked for GMA Thursday? Do you know anything about that? Apparently they were supposed to hit you up?" Luna asks.

"Yeah, you didn't get my messages?" Her chipper voice slips through the speakerphone.

"What messages?" Luna asks as Ashleigh cuts her a What The Fuck look.

"The text, email and voicemail I left Friday evening, telling you about the booking... Is there a problem, Loons?" Jackie's sweet Australian accent asks suddenly concerned.

"Yeah. Luna's a jackass who doesn't answer her phone." Colson laughs as he smirks at her.

"Man, fuck you." Luna rolls her eyes but knows that it's true. "Is there anything else?"

"Yeah, Rolling Stone wants to book you and Colson in September for their October issue... I need whatever IT is...? I got a call from Kimmel for either Nightmare or Bad Things, they don't care which. One for something called Hot Ones. Oh! This is fun... I also got call asking for you to be a judge on RuPaul's drag show! I think you should definitely do that one!" She giggles after rattling off the long list.

"What the fuck.... Why? Ugh." Luna mentally sighs as she rubs her forehead in irritation.

"Hi, Jackie... This is Ashleigh, Colson's manager. I'm gonna take your number if you don't mind. Colson's going back on tour overseas in August, this way we can just coordinate their schedules together." Ashleigh steps in to help out. "Get them booked on the right things... And make sure everyone's communicating." She gives Luna a glance to her grateful smile and playful middle finger in return.

"That's a great idea!" Jackie immediately agrees.

"While we have her on the phone, let's get everyone in here so we can lock down the week." Ashleigh suggests to Luna's nod.

With Baze, AJ, Sammy, Benny, Rook and Mod back in the dining room, they go over the upcoming week. Monday, Luna and Colson are headed to the DMV for her Ohio ID, the courthouse to apply for their marriage license and to Colson's Cleveland jeweler to hopefully find their wedding bands. Deanna's expected in early Tuesday morning to finish the rest of the fittings. Casie is set to head back to her mom's Wednesday evening while Mod flies back to LA and Luna, Colson, The Boys, Sammy, Kevin, Pete and Deanna take off in the other direction to NYC. Thursday is GMA and other business. Sam agrees to call Mikey to see if he'll fly back with them Thursday night to record IT on Friday.

Feeling confident about the upcoming week, Luna takes Jackie off of speaker to talk to her privately. Ashleigh going on to present Colson with a handful of movie scripts as Luna heads out back.

"I need you to do me a favor..." Luna begins. "When I'm in The City on Thursday, I wanna get into my storage unit and pull the things I want in The Brownstone... Can you book movers and make sure it all safely gets there afterwards? I'll give you a key beforehand."

"Yeah... No problem, Loons. You want me to meet you there and help?" Jackie asks.

"If you wouldn't mind, that'd be awesome. Sammy'll probably be with me too." Luna answers.

"Absolutely. I'll meet you Thursday morning in Times Square, Sweetie." Jackie's Australian accent coos before Luna Thanks her and they say GoodBye.

Once off the phone with Jackie, Luna calls Monica. They speak on the details regarding the two new properties Luna's trying to obtain. Luna then goes on to ask Monica about the PreNump. It's ready to be signed, Luna informing her attorney when she'll be in town this upcoming week as they can schedule a meeting.

"I know you don't wanna do this Loons..." Monica tries to comfort Luna before she cuts her off.

"I don't wanna talk about it. I'll see you Thursday. Thanks as always, Mon." Luna quickly ends the conversation.

Walking back into the house, everyone is still gathered at the dining room table. Luna politely asks to talk to Colson and Ashleigh alone.

"What's up?" Colson asks with concern as he fills her wine glass.

"Did you happen to mention the PreNump to Ash?" She asks lowly as she looks over at their friend.

"He did... Why? Is everything okay?" Ashleigh's voice now holds it's own tone of concern.

"Yeah, uhmmmm... I just got off the phone with Monica. It's drawn up and we're set to sign it while we're in NY....." Luna trails.

"But..." Colson leads her as he lights a joint.

"You know I don't want this and I trust Monica with my life but I'd feel so much better if you brought Cyrus to look over it on your behalf." Luna explains to Colson as she takes a sip of her wine. "Do you think you can get him out there with us?" She asks as she turns to Ashleigh.

"I'll call him right now." Ashleigh replies, appreciating Luna's transparency as she calls Colson's private lawyer.

Colson and Luna sit and share the joint as Ashleigh makes the phone call. He gently comforts her worries about the PreNump before they start talking about how they want the performance on GMA to feel. Off the phone, Ashleigh reassures them Cyrus will be at the meeting.

After a while AJ, Dub and Ashleigh collect their families. Spreading Love and GoodByes as Baze and Sam head out with them. Slim not far behind. Leaving Colson, Luna, Casie, Pete, Kevin, Rook, Mod and Benny.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Casie is tucked safely in bed after her and Colson's tradition of three books and their GoodNight Song. Mod is painting in the living room with Kevin. Benny, Rook and Pete are with them but deeply enthralled in a session of COD. Luna and Colson finally finding some time alone.

Sitting quietly by the edge of the pool, their feet playfully comfort one another's in the cool water as they sit shoulder to shoulder. Vance Joy is dreamily floating from Luna's phone as the moon beams down upon them. Sharing a joint, they go over the day's events. From their dry bubblebath to Colson's InPark HomeRun. Luna takes a deep drag off of the joint as the topic of Jackson finally comes up.

"I know why he kissed you, Loons, I'm a fucking dude." He deadpans as he looks over at her. "It was a pathetic last ditch effort to try to get you to change your mind." Colson looks away from Luna as he hesitates. "Which I hate that I get... Because I wouldn't wanna lose you either." He looks back into her eyes during his last sentence while he laces his fingers into her free hand that's resting beside him. Slightly squeezing it tighter along with what follows. "It's fucking disrespectful though. To you, to me... I still don't get why you had to go down there but I know you had good intentions... And it pisses me off because I feel like he takes advantage of that and your history together. And for real, I know it's not a big deal to you but you left him with a glimmer of hope when you kissed him GoodBye." Air quoting her on the last word.

Colson's now gripping her hand with a worrisome look. Luna finds herself in a unique position. Never one to explain herself but at the same time always knowing when to acknowledge that she's wrong, she gives Colson her own weird look. He's right... And, he's right. She has nothing to protest.

"I..." She begins to agree with him as Colson cuts her off, assuming she's about to argue with him as always.

"Aht." He puts his free hand up that's holding the joint hostage. "I told you. I'm a dude. I know what I'm talkin' about. So fucking stop. You wanna kiss someone GoodBye, kiss em on the God Damn cheek. Or Imma start kissen' bitches GoodBye too." He states firmly as he uses his joint laced hand to adamantly make his point.

Still holding onto Luna's hand tightly, he hits the joint finally. Staring out into the darkness just beyond the pool, they sit silently. Both thinking about his honest words. Puffing hard on the joint, he passes it to Luna. They catch eyes as she reaches for it. Like magnets, they're held there by each other's souls. Both of their blue eyes studying the other's. It's not they're normal challenging stare. It's more of a deep, inquisitive look into one another's truth.

"I'll fucking kill you." Luna lightly chuckles with that half grin that he loves as she holds his gaze and hits the joint seductively.

"EXACTLY." Colson retorts with a belly laugh before she lifts the joint to his lips.

Taking a full hit, he pulls Luna in by her jawbone and delicate neck. Kissing her passionately, he balloons her lungs with his smoke before releasing her. Luna's lungs expand beyond belief, taking Colson's WHOLE hit and the kiss he left on her lips. Exhaling, she coughs her head off.

"That's what you get..." He says with a slightly sarcastic tone as he rubs her back.

Luna proceeds to cough for another minute only for it to feel like forever as Colson shoots a couple more small zingers her way. Looking over at him as she's doubled over, losing a lung, Luna gives Colson the DeathStare. This shuts him up, leaving him to rub her back until she can breathe again after another minute or so.

"You're RIGHT." Luna slightly gasps out, Colson had hit her lungs too hard.

"Why... Wait... What??" Colson looks around the backyard in his honest confusion before scrunching his face up at Luna.

"I agree with you." Luna shrugs as she takes his arm and wraps it around herself. Nestling into him, she explains her logic. "He was disrespectful to both of us and our relationship... That's not cool. That's not fair and that's certainly not friendship. I would hope that you DO know that, THAT part of my life is bigger than Jackson..." They're both staring out into the star sprinkled and city line laced abyss as they talk.

"I do..." Colson sighs. "What are you getting at?" Knowing that Luna doesn't give details for no reason.

Sitting up, she turns to him. "I'd like for Opie to be at our Cleveland wedding. Along with his wife, dad and my niece and nephew..."

"I thought you didn't like kids?" Colson teases her under the midnight sky.

"I mean... I don't. Not REALLY." Luna lightly laughs at herself for a moment before thinking about it; she's slightly amazed by how many kids she truly interacts with and loves with her WHOLE heart without even realizing it.

"I'm teasing you, Buttercup." Colson pulls on her by the shoulders as he leans in closer to kiss the side of her head. "I know they're important to you... Invite who you need. Just not FUCKING Jackson. Or Tommy... Actually, you know what? Offer 'em both tickets to EstFest. On me." Colson looks at her smugly as he waits for her reaction to his new idea.

"No. That's not necessary." Luna answers after she hits the joint a few times before passing it back. "I may need to invite his mother though..." Luna looks over at Colson with a worrisome look.

"Who's?" Colson asks with a slight attitude.

"Jackson's mom, Gemma. Out of respect." Before Colson can to begin to argue with her she reminds him of Old Codes to his understanding sigh. "I don't know though because of my Mom-Mom..." Luna trails at the end.

Their joint is long gone. Luna and Colson sit together quietly again, still side by side as they pass a fresh one back and forth. Saying what she needed to, Luna waits for Colson to speak.

"I'll make you a deal..." Colson finally breaks their silence as he passes her the joint. "I'll support whatever you feel is right for our private ceremony... As long as you let me record all of EstFest for a special Kelly Vision. Behind the scenes and all." He offers up his compromise with a cocky smirk.

The idea of recording their EstFest Wedding has been brewing in his head for a minute now. Knowing Luna hates feeling exposed, he had thought of a thousand different ways to convince her to do it. Now, Colson sees his shot free and clear and he's not missing it. In his mind, it also won't hurt his ego to have Jackson's Mommy watch as Luna takes him as Her Only either.

"Like all weekend?" Luna asks with a terrified look as she passes back the bone.

"ALLLL weekend." Colson grins as he takes a satisfied hit, knowing he has her on the hook.

"Fine..." Luna sighs, annoyed by whatever Buttercup shit just came out of his mouth beforehand and the fact that she's pretty sure Gemma won't dare come because of Patti but only mentioned it as a precaution; while simultaneously deciding it's all worth it to prove whatever point or loyalty to Colson that he needs.

"Thanks, Kitten." Colson pulls her closer with his draped arm still around her as he kisses the side of her head again, feeling bad for slightly manipulating her. "You can sit in on editing if you want..." He offers as he passes the shrinking joint.

"I'd fucking hope so." Luna scoffs before hitting it. "Considering you're basically talking about our wedding video."

"Shit... I didn't think about it like that." Colson admits.

"Yeah..." Luna exhales through her hit. "I didn't hire a photographer because it never struck me until now." She answers with her hands out as she yawns.

"No sweat, I'll hit up Wozy... I'm sure he'd love to do it." Colson reassures her with another kiss to the head.

"You ready to go tomorrow?" Luna asks him softly.

"Where? To the DMV or the courthouse?" Colson teases her.

"To the fucking courthouse, you Asshole." She chuckles as she slightly jabs him in the ribs with her elbow.

"Definitely. More than anything." He answers as he pulls her face in with his oversized hand to kiss her. "You?" He asks, letting his hand drop to fully study her as his eyes slightly darken.

"Absolutely." She smiles at him with That One Look, pulling him in now with both of her hands.

Luna kisses Colson passionately as his firm hands roam her body. With their tongues twisting inside their kiss, Colson pops back and grins against her lips. Pressing his lips onto her mouth with force, he breaks away slightly to grin again. This time wider. Rocking her slowly inside his hold as he begins to kiss her again, he picks up his pace. Realizing what he's doing, Luna starts to panic.

"Colson!! Nooo!!" Luna shouts as he throws them both into the pool.

Popping her head up, Luna spits out a mouth full of water at Colson. Making him quickly dunk her again. He pulls her up with his strong arms and plants a solid kiss on her sputtering lips. Still in their clothes, Luna wraps her body around his as they begin to heavily make out. Pulling off their wet clothing, they let the articles carelessly float around the pool as Colson guides her body to the side of the pool. Kissing all over her neck as he slowly pushes himself into her warm pussy. She gasps with a purring shudder as he hits her back wall.

"YOU. ARE FUCKING MINE." Colson's deep voice causes Luna to moan out in pleasure as he tangles his fingers in her wet hair and thrusts deeper inside of her.

The demanding authority in his voice has Luna bucking against him wildly. Pulling on his hair as she bites down on his shoulder and cums easily for him. Sliding safely back Home once more, Colson grips Luna's ribcage tightly.

"Oooooh, FUUUUUCK!!" He growls out as his body shakes and he releases himself inside of Luna while the water flows around their orgasms.

"Still mad?" Luna asks sweetly as she nibbles on his ear.

Not mad but definitely still hard, Colson drives himself further inside of Luna. She gasps again at his length and girth, her body twitches and she lowly purrs as her insides wrap themselves around him.

"This dick your only dick?" He taunts while pleased by her reaction.

"Mhhm..." Luna moans as she kisses him.

Unable to contain her desire for him, Luna starts grinding against Colson's solid dick. Leading them to fuck each other again feverishly in the pool. Sloppy, wet kisses land everywhere before Luna clutches onto Colson's body. Letting him take all that he wants from her. Again and again.

---------------------------------------------------

To be continued...

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halfincubus · 4 years

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got tagged by @riosgoodgirll for this game like [checks notes] almost two weeks ago, sorry it’s super late but it got long because I ramble about ladies I like

rules: list 10 different female faves from 10 different fandoms, then tag 10 people

under cut, because it really did get long

1. Farscape – Aeryn Sun Where do I start with her? She is everything. She’s one of the earliest examples that I can remember seeing on tv of a strong female character that has trouble connecting to her emotions, while the male counterpart of her pairing is the one who wanted to talk about his feelings. She’s also a tough soldier for a dodgy race of militant space-humans (but not really humans) whose sole purpose in life is to fight and die, and through her relationship with her fellow shipmates, learns that there’s more to life than following orders and killing people. I just love her more than words can say. She definitely broke the mould.

2. True Blood – Jessica God, she’s so sweet. I love her character growth. She goes from this god-fearing teen girl, to spoilt, angry goth baby vamp, to total sweetheart with a serious vicious streak when it comes to protecting those she loves. Also she’s more beautiful than I have words for and I am so gay. Like, I could look at her for hours, wow what a face.

3. Buffy the vampire slayer – Buffy The OG strong female lead, the first of many in my life. Also one half of my first foray into enemies to lovers shipping – you never forget your first, as they say! I love her cheery wisecracks as she kicks vampire ass, the way she mimes staking, and her bouncy shampoo-commercial-hair

4. Harry Potter – Hermione I saw so much of myself in her when I was a young, frizzy-haired bookworm that I immediately identified with her, hard, and she’s left a permanent mark on my heart. I only liked her more as the series went on and more of her ‘flaws’ were layered onto her character, which really brought her to life in my mind. I say ‘flaws’ because I fucking love how vindictive she is and how much of a flaw is being intelligent enough to find dirt on people that you can blackmail them with, really? Especially if they’re sucky people. When she doesn’t like someone she absolutely destroys them, mad respect.

5. Penny Dreadful – Vanessa Ives I have a type, and she is it. Dark, brooding and with otherworldly good looks (I still remember Eva Green as the witch Serafina Pekkala the best) I still can’t recall her character without getting a pang in my chest. The show’s ending DID HER SO DIRTY but we won’t get into that, I’m just gonna talk about why she’s my fave, I promise. She is so mentally strong and yet simultaneously so fragile at the same time, I want to take care of her so bad. The Devil with a capital D has been trying to possess her all her life, and she is in constant mental battle against him, and she just never stopped trying (until the stupid finale but we aren’t talking about that!) and she’s so strong, I adore her. When she does a tarot card spread you can’t look away, her gaze is so piercing and haunting.

6. LOTR – Éowyn This is another one that got a strong hold of me in my formative years and shook me to my core. From the moment I read the ICONIC ‘what do you fear my lady?’ speech I was a fan for life. I strongly identified with her attitude to life (I, too, fear growing old and useless) and her totally boss moment against the Witch-King (more like BITCH king) made her my hero. Whenever I rewatch LOTR I have a stupid sappy expression on my face when she’s on screen.

7. The Walking Dead – Michonne Back when I watched this show, and when she graced our screens for the first time I was shaking with excitement. She had such an iconic look – the dreads, the bandana, the katana slung over her back. Her strong & silent archetype was something I was very into, and enjoyed watching. She just oozes cool. The only one on the show with the skills to use something other than a gun on a daily basis, so her kills were not only skillful but super stylish too! Oh and I really liked the vibe she had with Andrea – they should totally have been gfs but network tv are cowards

8. Killing Eve – Villanelle the inherent eroticism of a woman who is trying to kill you. I find assassins sexy, always have, don’t judge me. I really enjoy the fine line Jodie Comer straddles playing her as a sociopath with feelings that can get hurt. Also the chemissssstry with Eve is *chefs kiss*

9. Lirael – Lirael She spends her entire life up until early young adulthood feeling out of place and wondering why she doesn’t belong, and I just want to hug her. She is so lonely that she teaches herself a spell to MAKE HER OWN DOG (which is 100% relatable tbh) and then she and the dog strike out on their own adventure, which is super cute and heart warming to me. She’s so shy and withdrawn at first but then she really grows into herself with time, and teaches herself to be more confident in her own abilities, despite the fact that these don’t necessarily match up with the powers she has dreamed of her whole life.

10. GLOW – the whole cast Ok so it’s cheating a bit but how can you choose one favourite woman from that whole cast? Everyone is amazing and has their own strengths and character flaws, their own little quirks… it’s such good writing, real shame the show was cancelled (another ‘rona casualty)

and I’ll tag anyone who sees this and wants to do this because I can’t think of 10 whole people lol

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fnlrndcllctv · 4 years

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Tekken

In our Soundtrack Sunday series, we take a look at the music of fighting games, track by track!

For the fifth instalment, Shaun Eddleston takes a look at the music of 1994’s Tekken…

(For the purpose of this article, only the Arcade version of the game’s soundtrack is being covered).

In 1994, 3D fighting games were still in their infancy. SEGA’s first fighting game experiment in the form of Dark Edge and the boundary-pushing Virtua Fighter had barely been out for a year, and games such as Battle Arena Toshinden were still just around the corner for the next generation of home consoles such as the Sony PlayStation and SEGA Saturn.

Namco wanted in on the action, so enlisted the talents of Virtua Racing & Virtua Fighter game designer Seiichi Ishii to help develop 3D fighting game of their own, based on a hardware demo that was initially developed to show off some fancy new graphics off to investors. What started off as a game called “RAVE WAR” would eventually go on to become not only one of the most successful and longest-running fighting game franchises, but one of the biggest selling video game series of all time; Tekken.

As the technology was still somewhat limited at the time, Tekken’s stages were a simple affair. A seemingly infinite scrolling plane placed in front of some parallax backgrounds to give the impression of depth, each of these fighting arenas required a little bit more oomph to push forward and create a suitable, varied atmosphere in which players could beat each other up.

That’s where the music comes in. As Tekken was such an early entry in the realm of 3D fighters, the soundtrack played a considerably larger role in establishing how the game felt than in later entries.

So, how does the original soundtrack holdup today?

Let’s find out…

The game’s introduction is fairly non-eventful in its 20-second runtime, but it does make good use of the game’s stereo mix by panning left and right to create a more immersive effect, and reminds me a little bit of elements found in the PlayStation startup jingle.

Tekken’s character select music is a loop of what initially appears to be a fuzzy, overdriven funk bassline over a simple drumbeat, but to me personally, there was always something about this version that didn’t sit right with me. Upon listening closer, I think I’ve figured out what it is.

Behind the upbeat bass that is designed to get players pumped up before a fight, there’s two droning chords being played in the background that elicit a very serious, uneasy tone. Its a strange sensation that’s also present in the PlayStation version of the soundtrack (although it’s not as strong, thanks to better quality remixing!)

“Marine Stadium, Japan” is where the soundtrack has the most fun with the stereo mix, creating a dizzying effect by throwing samples at the listener from all directions in the left and right speaker. Once the track gets moving, there’s a call & response going on between many of the tracks separate elements, running a fine line between being a disjointed mess and a brilliantly cohesive piece.

Luckily the rhythm section and background pads do a great job of keeping things in check.

Definitely one of my favourites in the game.

“Chicago, USA” is probably the grittiest track of the OST, and is probably closer to what a lot of the game’s music sounds like in the modern era than the rest of the tracklist.

The fuzzy bass tone of the character select screen makes yet another appearance here, and immediately starts to make each of the “verse” sections feel incredibly busy and muddies the entire mix straight away.

The chorus, although very brief, saves the song in a big way. The soaring keys, accompanied by some fun percussive claps, make this one of the most enjoyable songs that still holds up really well today.

On a related note, the arrange version found in the PlayStation port is flawless.

The most immediate thing I noticed about this track is just how loud and distracting the bass is. It rumbles throughout the majority of the runtime, and almost ruins the whole experience for me, that is until the bass drops out and allows listeners to focus in a bit more on the tracks other elements.

Once you get past the overpowering synth bass, this is actually a really fun track. Utilising samples of traditional Chinese stringed instruments and gong hits, it’s a high energy track that perks up the players fighting in the mountainous stage.

Imagine a hard-hitting techno remix of Chun-Li from Street Fighter II’s music and you’ve got the right idea.

“Angkor Watt, Cambodia” is probably the closest that the game comes to an industrial sound, and I mean that in a literal sense. The drums and bass is accentuated with what sounds like stylised machinery interspersed with synth leads for the whole track. This robotic selection is an odd choice to use for a stage that’s based on the real life Angkor Watt (i.e. a complex of ancient temples in Cambodia, NOT a factory filled with heavy machinery).

The track also ends before it has the chance to build up into anything really interesting, and remains as a bit of a teaser for me.

“Fiji” is unlike anything else in the Tekken soundtrack, and is arguably one of the series’ most iconic pieces of music (it gets revisited a handful of times throughout the franchise’s long history). The track dials things up into party mode, with steel drums and a catchy salsa beat that really makes you feel like you are on holiday on a tropical island, with a bassline that you’d expect to hear in a bustling nightclub.

A true highlight of the soundtrack, and most definitely the biggest earworm of the whole tracklist.

With “Acropolis, Greece”, we steer into something with a much more dramatic mood.

While the drums and bass for most of the song leave a lot to be desired in terms of differentiating themselves from damn near every other song in the soundtrack, its the the chorus that saves the whole composition. Backed up by some choir keys that remind me of Angel Dust-era Faith No More (the best era, by the way!) and some military-style drumming that’s sprinkled throughout, it builds up to something pleasant, even though it doesn’t quite reach the majesty of the location’s namesake.

“Kyoto, Japan” follows in the footsteps of “Sichuan, China”, in that it utilises samples of traditional instruments from the location’s culture.

This is another track that makes great use of the stereo mix, with the instruments constantly in flux from the left to right speaker (and vice versa). The song does feel a little choppier than the rest of the soundtrack in places though, and the constant “un-tiss-un-tiss-un-tiss” drumbeat mixed together with the percussion samples of blocks being hit makes the song sound like something from the Samurai Shodown games if they were all on ecstasy.

“King George Island, Antarctica” is one of the more interesting items on this fighting game menu, as the song is driven forward by something outside of the simple drumbeat and funk bassline. Instead, it’s powered by an ongoing drone sound hidden in the background. While not quite in Sunn O))) territory, it’s something that makes the track feel unique to its peers, even though it largely contains a lot of the same elements as them.

This one took me by surprise.

Most of the runtime of “Venezia, Italy” sees the music simmering away comfortably, then once the chorus hits, it erupts into a slightly operatic, adventurous display of strings and choirs. Not only that, but for the latter half of the brief chorus, the drum beat instantly shifts into a jazzy offbeat section that definitely threw me off in terms of where I was expecting the music to go.

It’s a gamble that ultimately pays off, and it’s one that results in one of the more underrated tracks in the collection.

“Windermere, U.K.” is where the quality of the game’s music takes a hard hit.

Everything in the song sounds like you’re listening to it through a wall, with the individual instruments being drowned out by the overblown bass and frankly dull drum loops, and even then, the synthetic saxophone sections of the song don’t sound very interesting either. It’s a couple of minutes that holds the entire OST back.

At least the Arrange version in the following year’s PlayStation port was an improvement.

From the game’s weakest track, we head straight into one of the best moments in the entire OST.

“Monument Valley, USA” is one of the most ominous, evil-sounding stage themes that you’re likely to encounter in any fighting game. Just over a minute of harsh windy soundscapes, thunderous gongs, grandiose strings and monk chants that feel more like a summoning of an ancient demon than an actual song. It’s such a deviation from the rest of the music in Tekken, almost to the point where it could be from a totally different game altogether.

The PlayStation version of this song is rightfully in my top 10 favourite fighting game tracks of all time.

Tekken’s final credits music is an absolute pleasure to listen to. In just a couple of minutes, it effectively melds together all of the different vibes of each stage in the game without resorting to just clipping them together as a cheap montage.

Besides, it’s just a relief to have something relatively soothing after dealing with the horrid AI of Heihachi as a final boss.

Overall, the soundtrack to the very first Tekken game is pretty far away from people may be used to from the high intensity of the modern entries in the franchise.

Instead of punishing dubstep and songs you’d expect to hear from a harder-edged Dance Dance Revolution game soundtracks (is that even a thing?), the music selection here is much simpler and way more subdued.

Tasked with trying to represent the various locations from around the world, Namco Sounds did an admirable job getting the vibe right for each stage. From the absolute party of “Fiji” and the sports broadcast jingle of “Marine Stadium, Japan” to the gritty club beats of “Chicago, USA” and the windy soundscapes of “Monument Valley, USA”, the Tekken soundtrack is a varied, interesting mix that not only gives each landmark and setting more personality, but also attempts to set the bar for a series that has since become known for its great music.

Now, time to try and get “Fiji” out of my head until Tekken 2’s edition of Soundtrack Sunday…

The soundtrack is available on vinyl here.

Are you a fan of the original Tekken’s music? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

#Tekken #Namco #Soundtrack #1994

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solitaria-fantasma · 4 years

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((Session #4 highlights, GO!))

We met a rider on the road who gave us a flyer for a nearby bazaar - which was convenient, since we were all running low on rations.

Also the DM has brand new maps and they look nICE.

There is a GIANT horse for sale and I nEED it but it’s 120 gold??? So expensive??? I only have 22 and I suck at negotiating???

I immediately ran off to baby-talk this giant horse and completely missed the thieves’ marks all over the bazaar.

Claus was similarly enthralled with this giant horse, and came over to help me negotiate for it.

I rolled a 25 to sing a spontaneous song about how much I loved this horse, and also offered the white sapphire I’d gotten in Session 1 for trade.

Claus counter-offered for me to trade my white sapphire (apparently worth 1000 gold???) for FIVE horses and ten days’ rations for ALL of us.

The DM had completely forgotten they’d given me that gem.

I am going to name this horse Ganondorf.

“My circumstances for this session - which are, in no way, bad WHATSOEVER - require you to spend some of that suspicious gold.”

Mountain is not a material Tiefling, and takes a long time to decide beside sh

“I threw a lot of money at you to see how crazy you guys would get with it, but it turns out that you’re ALL that person who hoards health potions until the credits roll ‘just in case’!”

“The cost to create a Carpet of Flying is about 17,000 gold.”

Matthias spent a lot of the fake gold that we’d found in Session 1 on potions and arrows.

Then Mountain, Matthias, and Astrid all got surrounded and ‘kindly’ asked to go to the big tent.

Udaji saw Mountain entering the tent, but didn’t think it looked suspicious, and so remained outside, fawning over her new steed, Ganondorf.

Because Udaji has terrible perception rolls, I’m left sitting there listening as the rest of the party gets threatened by the criminal underground running the bazaar for the fake gold they were seen with, and taking notes as Matthias tries to steal back the white sapphire I traded for the horses.

It’s hilarious.

“Can’t we just kill them??”

“It’s pretty cut-and dry: There is a chest, and I am going to steal it.”

“I’m strengthening my bond with Ganandorf! I need him to love me!”

“Say this water bottle is a person’s neck…”

Mountain and Matthias’ players debated for ten minutes on whether or not it would be easier to just steal the bazaar’s chest out from under the boss’ nose while being interrogated OR murder everyone, take the chest, and ride away.

“Are you trying to get your daughter to seduce the boss???”

I legit worked on fanfic while they decided. I’m not even mad. I’m just happy we got to play tonight.

We’re finally rolling initiative and I rEMEMBERED TO HIGHLIGHT MY ICON FIRST THIS TIME YEAH!!!

“Heck!” is becoming my default Vicious Mockery line.

“Alright, that’s a critical fumble, so let’s say...he tries to draw his scimitar, but throws it at his boss instead.

“Ooooohohoho, he’s fired.”

“Wait, how are we actually going to get this chest out of here?!”

Astrid and Matthias dragged the chest out of the big tent while Matthias tried desperately not to die while one v. one-ing the boss.

“I love that you guys are actually committing a robbery.”

I am slowly figuring out how spell slots and magic work.

“Udaji, kindly take four points of damage.”

“Wait - did any of you tell Astrid about the Crescent Gang? Or does she just think you’re spontaneously robbing the place?”

“If nobody told her, then she’s VERY ride-or-die for these strangers she met only a few weeks ago.”

“Stop bullying Claus!”

I tried to punch the bandit captain, but critical failed, and nearly hit Matthias.

So far we have “Ganondorf” and “Ezekiel”. Mountain, Claus, and Matthias have yet to name their horses.

“Udaji didn’t see ANY of the bandit signage, so as far as she’s concerned, we just robbed a market and kidnapped two people.”

Udaji picks at her lute strings when nervous.

We tried interrogating the two people we kidnapped and Mountain kept rolling all the high rolls.

Mountain MAY be about to make the shift to Neutral Evil omg.

“You’re gonna roll for ‘fear boner’?”

Udaji watched in abject horror as the Tiefling tried to seduce the guard he’d previously intimidated into giving him more information.

He failed.

Our second captive - an elf - accidentally set himself on fire and died while trying to burn through his ropes.

Claus and Udaji are going to have a VERY large bone to pick with the others if this potential-bandit doesn’t actually have a bounty out for him.

Meanwhile, Matthias rode back to the bazaar site to try and steal more things, and crit-failed his stealth roll.

“You snapped a twig and screamed ‘FUCK!’.”

“Ganondorf is a unit of a horse, you know?”

Claus is now my best friend. A Halfling and a Dragonborn, just straight vibing.

“You guys DO realize you stole, like, $30,000 worth of stuff, right?”

#OOC #Quarantine D&D

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tastingmellow · 5 years

Text

All You Need

A/N: Pumping out fics, baby! Thank you so much for the love and the support! You guys are amazingly beautiful and deserve the absolute best things in life!

Summary: You’ve been having a trying week at work and Erik want to relieve your stress.

Warnings: None. Erik and Reader aren’t engaged and don’t have a child yet.

Word Count: You know me, not knowing and shit.

The clock struck five and you were packing up your things to go home. Your head was pounding and your hands were sore from writing up all your paperwork. You feet were sore from your pumps and your back slightly aches from all the standing. It was Friday and you were just so ready to get home! Your week had been one of the roughest. Your boss had denied your request for a raise but had given your co-worker, a blonde man with blue eyes and that “it’s a man’s world” vibe, a raise without question.

Your mother and father have been struggling with bills so you’ve been helping them the best you could. Erik had been working nights so you barely got to see him besides a quick conversation in the morning. You’d been swamped with paper work. You’ve been overlooked in your meetings this ENTIRE week because they got a new employee, yeah, white woman, and all eyes were on. And on top of that the bitch had the nerve to stuff her head in your head full of curls, effectively making it messy. Did I mention she did it without your permission?

You just wanted to go home and relax. Go to sleep, wake up in the middle of the night, eat some snacks, then go back to sleep. Even if you were tired and it seemed like everyone was stepping on you, you were always the nicest you could be. With that being said, anyone you passed on your way out was greeted and waved goodbye to.

As you made your way to your car, you grabbed your keys, praying to God you didn’t drop them. You smiled as you kept a grip, unlocking the door and quickly setting yourself up so you could make your way home.

———————————————————

The drive home was steady...until you hit traffic. You sighed deeply and looked up. “Why....just why?” You sat back, thinking of how the usual 25 minute commute home would now have an extra 45 minutes added.

The traffic moved on and you finally pulled into your driveway, breathing deeply as you turned your car off, noticing Erik’s car was gone. You rested your head on the steering wheel, slightly disappointed but not detoured.

You gathered your things, getting out and locking the car before making your way to your car. As you pulled out your keys, rifling through them to get the key to your front door, they fell out of your hand. You paused for a moment before sighing and looking up. You squeezed your eyes shut, blinking away the tears. “Please, not right now. Please...” you softly whispered as your hands shook and tears ran down your brown cheeks.

You leaned against the door, dropping your bags and slightly gasping as you cried harder. The week just has been so trying and something so simple as dropping your keys had broken you. You pressed your back against the door, slowly sliding down before covering your face, taking in deep breaths.

You didn’t have time to just sit and sob as you heard a car pull up. You looked up, noticing that Erik had come home earlier. You immediately tried to straighten yourself out, standing up and quickly wiping your tears as you heard his door slam.

His footsteps made you come back from your short breakdown, making you pick up your keys and personal items. As you picked up your last item Erik gently pressed his hand to your back and you straightened up, giving him a fake smile. “Hey, baby!” You spoke, trying your best to adjust your voice.

Erik’s eyes stared down at you, gently cupping your face. “What happened, Y/N...?” His eyes showed his worry and fear. All the exhaustion, tiredness, and fatigue came rushing back and you rested your head on his chest, dropping your things and hugging him tightly as the dam broke again.

“It’s been so hard...this week. I’m so tired, Erik...” your voice was small, weak and quiet, contrary to the blissfully bright, loud yet gentle voice you had. He tightly hugged you, squeezing you as you sobbed harder. “It’s okay, baby. I’m here.” He kissed your head, his heart aching at hearing you sob.

“Come on...” He gently grabbed your keys, unlocking the door and opening it before picking you up, allowing you to wrap your arms and legs around him. “Erik... my paperwork.” You spoke and shushed you. “I’ll get it, Princess. Just let me take care of you first.

You nodded gently, clinging to his muscular build like a child. You placed your face in his neck, breathing in his cologne to calm yourself down.

———————————————————-

Erik had ushered you upstairs, stripping you of your clothes as a hot bath was being made in the background. Erik gently kissed your fore head as he hugged you. “I’m gonna go and make you some dinner, you take a bath, do your little skin routine and come downstairs when your ready?”

He pulled away but you pulled him closer, breathing him in. “Can you just order takeout? I want to spend time with you.” He chuckled and nodded grabbing his phone as you walked off to get in the bath. You sighed as you set your foot in, the water seeming to relieve the tension in your muscles.

“Oh my god...” you moaned as you slowly slid your body in, submerging yourself in the soapy, warm water. Erik made his way into the bathroom, placing the phone on the counter. “Food will be here in about 45 minutes. Tell me what happened, Princess?”

He sat himself on the side of the tub and you sighed, rubbing your hand over the bubbles in your bath. “Well...” You began before going into full detail about your week. You continued to talk, your eyes closing as you leaned your head back and Erik’s hand glided across your smooth, mocha skin. He listened to you intently, gently massaging your calf.

“...and that was my trash ass week.” You sighed and opened your eyes to find Erik staring back at you. You gave him a gentle smile as he sighed. “Y/N, you give people so much of you. And I’ll never understand why, especially when they do you so wrong. You take care of everyone, so let me take care of you. From now to the next Friday.”

“Erik, I have to go to work—“ Erik shook his head and stood up, stripping from his clothes. “No, I already called. You’re cashing in some of those vacations days, baby.” He dropped his pants and slid in the bath, sitting across from you and resting your legs over his.

You looked at him before sitting up, straddling his waist as you grabbed his face. His hands rested on your thighs, slightly rubbing them. “I love you...” you whispered to him before pressing your lips to his. He chuckled, wrapping his arms around you and kissing you back with three times the passion.

You slowly pulled away, rubbing his scruff as you pressed your forehead to his, reveling in the comfortable silence.

——————————————————

You and Erik sat on your couch, completely naked besides undies. The two of you had decided against clothes, wanting to be as comfortable as possible. You didn’t wanna wear a bra and he didn’t wanna wear sweatpants. The only option was undies.

You sat on the couch, watching cartoons, saving your movie for when the food arrived. Speaking of which, the doorbell had rang a few times. Erik unraveled himself from you before adjusting his briefs. You turned, following his movements. Erik opened the door, laying the delivery man who had stolen a peek behind him and caught a glimpse of your naked breasts while you were busy looking through the movie selections.

Erik caught him, looking at the young boy, who couldn’t be any older than 18, and chuckled. “She’s beautiful, I know. But you wouldn’t be able to keep up with her pretty ass, even if you did your best. Keep the change.” And he shut the door, leaving the kid scratching the back of his neck, embarrassed.

Erik plopped down beside you with the food, pulling out the containers and setting them on the table in front of you two. Your squeal caught his attention and you leaned over to catch his eye. “Let’s watch Princess and the Frog!” He smiles at your excitements he quickly running to the kitchen to grab two plastic cups.

When he came back he kissed your forehead as you grabbed some chopsticks, “Whatever you want, baby.” You smiled and pressed play, watching the iconic Disney pre-movie scene come up.

You looked over at Erik and kissed his cheek, causing him to look at you. “Thank you, Erik...for being there for me.”

He smiled sweetly and gently cupped your chin, “I’m here to relieve your stress and love you through it all.” He pecked your lips and turned to grab a dumpling.

You stared at him a little longer before turning your attention the food and the movie, thanking God he blessed you with Erik.

—————————————————

A/N: Did you like it? If so then make sure to comment and share! Send in requests too!

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#big daddy erik #erik killmonger x reader #soft!Erik #erik stevens x you #erik killmonger au #erik stevens au #erik killmonger imagine #erik killmonger #erik killmonger x black reader #erik stevens x reader #Bold’s Fics

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magicofthepen · 5 years

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Time War 3 Thoughts (Eps. 1-3)

Only the first three episodes because this is already long, and I have a lot of in-depth reactions and thoughts on Unity alone. These are based on my live reaction notes, with some “in hindsight” thoughts sprinkled in there. Fair warning, I’ve only listened once, so there are points of confusion that might be fixed with a relisten.

HOSTILES

The whole “on a ship with a core that’s going to implode” thing immediately gave me Enemy Lines vibes — and these vibes skyrocketed with Romana shouting “take my hand” down to Narvin. (Very disappointed in Narvin for not doing it, I will take any and all canonical handholding, even if it is for boring logistical reasons.)

Love that callback to Narvin almost falling off the roof :)

The way Narvin says “all this vegetation” is so funny, and really it’s hilarious how much of Time War 3 is “let’s make Narvin interact with as many plants and animals as possible.” No idea why this was the agenda, but I’m here for it.

I am 100% confused on the timeline re: the Sicari. If they didn’t show up until shortly before Romana’s failed assassination plot/the exile, but Trellick was sent to investigate their home a while before Romana was kicked off Gallifrey...that doesn’t line up??? Plus in Assassins don’t they mention that they’ve never caught one, and in Hostiles they have Sicari prisoners...generally I’m not too fussed about plot details but this one kept really throwing me off as I tried to connect the dots.

Trellick calls Romana Narvin’s boss at one point (not knowing otherwise), and really up until now those two have always had to navigate their personal relationship around their professional roles and hierarchy. And tbh I wish there had been more overt exploration of how the sudden absence of that hierarchy affects their dynamic.

“Narvin, this isn’t a shopping trip” — I enjoyed Narvin collecting all the tech, but in hindsight so annoyed at myself for not catching onto the chameleon arch being An Important Thing That Will Come Back Later

There are some really interesting moments of tension between Romana and Narvin (Romana wanting to trust and help Trellick vs. Narvin’s paranoia and focus on survival and escape) and the little moments of argument and tension that bubble up and fizzle out between them (”You almost went without me.” / “I knew you’d catch up.”)...the episode itself didn’t really dig deep and unpack them, but in many scenes it feels like there’s a lot going on under the surface and I love these layers!

I can’t believe these two had to swing on vines, this is iconic and amazing.

“Let’s replace the circuit together” is super cheesy and such a ridiculously technical way to express affection and I love it.

NEVERNOR

Re: the biodata tracking — how exactly did they get that info? Did Mantus give actual physical information to Narvin that he was able to hang onto? And how is that different from how they were trying (and failing) to track Leela before? (Since i think Narvin had mentioned tracking Ace through biodata in Time War 2...)

Narvin’s interaction with the goat? Yes.

Me, the instant they mention spending the night at the farm: Oh my god if there is Only One Bed, I might forgive this boxset for whatever horrible thing it’s going to do to Romana.

(That is a lie, of course, but I am extremely invested in bed sharing tropes.)

Tragically, this episode failed to live up to its trope-y potential (and Episode 4 remains unforgiven), although I do treasure the fact that we got to hear them share a sleeping space, complete with Romana waking Narvin up in the middle of the night because the ghosts are freaking her out.

On a related note: this episode was genuinely spooky and tense, and I was really into that atmosphere!!

Ooh I like this subtle reminder of how much time Romana and Leela have spent traveling in the Vortex...but not Narvin. This boxset doesn’t get into the whole “this is Narvin’s first time as a renegade but it isn’t Romana’s” dynamic too much, but I like this hint of it.

I really liked the moral implications the Nevernor test set up for the episode (the only way to pass is to not care), but it didn’t seem like it was actually relevant to the episode’s conclusion? Sure, Romana and Narvin left those people behind, but they were alive and they did their best to save them? I’m a bit confused about what the emotional beat here was supposed to be.

MOTHER TONGUE

Leela!! ...screaming in pain which isn’t great but still good to hear her voice.

The logistics of the whole consciousness transfer are still confusing to me. Did she take over someone else’s life on this world, someone who just happened to have the same name as her? If she only lived certain moments, did that mean the other person’s consciousness was in control the other times?

“How do you know they are wise when they do not speak?” That doesn’t sound like Leela

What is up with Leela bonding so quickly with Sholan and also being so harsh — “You need to be a man. You have a good heart, but you must teach it to be colder, harder.” The idea of her not being in a great emotional place to be a parent right now and messing up big time is so interesting in theory, but once Leela’s seen the future where Sholan is cold and hardened, I find it hard to believe she would actively push him in that direction. Also I don’t quite buy how quickly she embraces this mother-son relationship.

I do like how Leela keeps mentioning the Daleks as the main threat of the war, but of course in the end she sees it’s the Time Lords who are the antagonists here. There’s something fascinatingly awful about seeing the evil of the Time Lords completely from the outside, as opposed to Time War 2 which is all tangled up inside the system.

There is so much in these episodes about choice — it’s Trellick’s choice to try to escape even thought it could mean not surviving, it’s Agata’s choice to sacrifice herself to save the younger version of herself and her husband, it’s Sholan’s choice to die to save his cousin. And I have Thoughts about how this concludes in Unity, but I also want to point out that Leela is also given a choice at the end here, but unlike the other ones, she chooses to live.

#gallifrey spoilers #gallifrey audios #gallifrey #me: uhhh let's focus on the less emotionally traumatizing bits first #as i try to figure out how to talk about the last episode #also as an overall note i liked the small casts and contained stories!#it was cool to hear those kinds of stories plus it meant more main cast interaction which i'm always happy about #ramblings #emily listens to big finish #romana #narvin #leela

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messer92 · 5 years

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Demon's Souls

So I've gotten back into the Souls Series recently, particularly I've been binging on Dark Souls 3 and it got me feeling nostalgic....

Now I'm sure you all know all that will be said but I feel like rambling so here goes;

Demon's Souls is the PS3 exclusive and and could be considered the prototype title of the Souls games, many of its iconic charecteristics refined or improved upon come the Dark Souls trilogy.

In this game you aren't some undead who came to fulfill a prophecy or link the fire, wether your character is a benelevont sort or not your some warrior who heard of Boletaria, a kingdom invaded by demons spawned from the Old One, massive being who hungers for souls, and you head there either to save the land or harness the power of souls.

As per usual in the souls games they set you out in a beginner's area where the enemies aren't that tough save one or two but are likely to come ahead in the end, easing you in and introducing you to the controls along the way before you encountre the tutorial boss.

Now if you all remember the Jail Demon in Daro Souls 1 then you'll be very familiar with how this Imp Demon boss fights, except the battle area is smaller. For those unfamiliar with the Souls Series the boss is supposed to represent as a big ol' wakeup call, because he hits hard and he doesnt go down easy, in fact you aren't expected to win most of the time because if you lose they quickly untroduce you go the original 'hollow' state after whisking you away to the Nexus, the hubworld of Dark Souls much like the Shrin in DS3.

If you do win however you get teleported to another area you can't leave and get one shotted by an Archdemon, then they teleport you the enxus

Players will immediately notice they've less health than when they were alive and that they are glowy phantoms which is the similar to how it worked in Dark Souls 1 , find some NPCs that serve their very basic needs, meet a couple of quest important NPCs and the staple crestfallen warrior but most importanly they get to meet the Maiden in Black.

The OG Fire Keeper, where you offer up souls to level up your stats. This lady was the first Souls Waifu and don't you forget it!

You will be going in and out the Nexus a lot, especially since within there are five giant stone tablets (well it was six but that one was broken) that you will be using to begin your journey to slay the Old One's Archdemons starting with world 1, area 1 of Boletaria proper.

Boletaria itself is oretty much the typical 'medival area with undead soldiers' that you've seen in early Dark Souls areas, and much like them you will also probably be revisting it later as once you reach the end of world 1-2 or 1-3 I can't remember you are required to slay the Archdemons of the other areas first before you can access the remainder areas.

Thus leads you into;

A prison world with cthulu looking monstrositities and some boss gimivks that have been recycled in other games.

A cave dwelving world with mindless miners, demonic slave masters, and eventual area with a lot of heat.

A tomb with skeletal undead that (don't resurrect to catch you off guard) can wreck you because they're gosh damng agile and have good reach and other undead things, along with another boss gimmick that gets reused in a certain other Dark Souls game.

And the last but definitely least liked area, the Blight world. You know exactly what I mean by this, filthy, poisonous, and you'll be running around in movement hampering muck all the while trying to avoid the big enemy that threatens to stomp you flat.

As you can imagine each has their own flavor and of course there is some exploration to be had. But the thing is.... Demon's Souls is a lot more linear compared to Dark Souls, and while some of the areas are definitely large there isn't as much as you can discover in comparison.

In fact some of the exploration mechanics are dependant on your characters soul alignment, killing bosses and helpijg other players as blue phantoms to pure white tendancies unlock some NPC interactions and side quests, while Pure Black which you get from commiting suicide (cliff jumping) or invading as a black phantom will alsonunlock some ares but also bring out tougher black phantom versions of some enemies and NPCs to face.

The online methods are no longer feasible unfortuenately due to the servers being officially shut down, leaving slaying bosses and such for pure white while suicide and probably NPC slaying for black.

This also means that resurrecting yourself to your living form is also limited to beating bosses or using Stone of Ephemeral Eyes.

Healing in Demon's Souls is easier than in Dark Souls though in the form of grasses that you can stack up to 99, especially if you discover an exploit which lets you bulk purchase a specific type of Grass. You can imagine how that effects your survivability and how ruthlessy that its exploited.

Which is probably why Dark Souls has Estus Flasks and Why Bloodbourn limits its bloodvials...

Yeah.....

But yeah once you finish off all the other Archdemons and defeat the Final Boss, choose either the good or bad ending, you are whisked away to NG+ to do it all over again with hardr enemies!

Now if you read through that mess above and haven't jabbed your own brain out with a spork, I'm hoping you've formed your own idea regarding Demon's Souls compared to its successors.

Demon's Souls if it were played now would definitely be considered rough around the edges, and length wise its certainly shorter, but it was the base that gave us Dark Souls and Bloodborne and inspired many similar games that follow a similar formula such as Nioh.

Would I like it if it had a sequel? Honestly, nostalgically I'd say yes because I was there before the Souls series became cool (hipster vibes!) And it was just a sleeper hit. But I don't think it needs a sequel, its successors seriies Dark Souls carried the torch more than enough and the setting is largely similar that it would become tiring for.

I would love a Bloodborne sequel though but I am not holding my breath on that.

Damn if I don't miss those tricorn hats though.

#Demon's Souls #soul series #dark souls

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m00nslippers · 6 years

Text

All of our questions were answered in RHATO #31! OR WERE THEY? (They weren’t, like at all.)

When we left off in #30, Jason was confronting the guy who claims to be Willis Todd in the basement of an abandoned creepy prison made over into some kind of drug distribution center/android factory/still a prison. That’s pretty much right where they pick up. Oh and also the cover says:

They really don’t, though. One guy dies. One. This cover was an outright lie. There are ZERO zombies in this issue! WHY WOULD YOU LIE TO ME LIKE THIS DC?

There’s a flashback of ‘Willis’ looking back on how Rebirth has gone so far and saying some pretty poignant stuff about how Gotham hasn’t treated Jason the way he deserves. I’m not going to lie, I’m really into the Jason as the promised son/savior allegories. The Damned Prince of Gotham is an iconic epithet.

THIS is where we left off, and we learn Willis is calling himself Solitary and starts calling Jason ‘son’ but Jay isn’t having it.

Jason, you’re like two or three years older than this kid. And you’ve been way worse than kidnapped when you were way younger. Seriously, it’s like he doesn’t even realize he’s traumatized.

ALSO, JayMig, you guys. He’s LEGAL. Ship ship ship ship ship....(it’s okay if you don’t get on my ship I’m just going to be weird over here in this corner...)

Solitary: You missed me! *crowbar wooshes past him* Jason: I ain’t missed nuthin’! *crowbar hits Bunker’s prison-vat* Solitary: Ulp! (no he literally said ulp! in one panel.) Jason: You’ve been bamboozled, SON!

Classic Jason Todd.

I guess Solitary can control perception? I thought he was literally just omnipresent like he was literally everywhere and nowhere. That’s what he said to Ma Gunn, his ‘mother’. But whatever. This is Lobdell, he forgets what he’s doing halfway through doing it and just starts doing something else entirely.

Bunker is Mexican, if you guys didn’t know. It actually makes some sense that he’s here. in Mexico. Also, canonically gay.

( Ship ship ship ship ship )

Technically I’m not sure they actually met in that comic. It was a crossover event in New 52, Roy and Starfire and the Teen Titans (including Bunker) fought zombies, or something while Tim and Jason were captured by the Joker and Jason actually got to show off a little by psyching out the Joker and shooting him while blindfolded and breaking him and Tim out of trouble after getting kidnapped (those two sure do get kidnapped a lot when they are together...)

Also, SUPER REFRESHING for a hero to run into the Red Hood and be all, “Hey man, let’s be friends!” instead of immediately belike “What!? The Red Hood? Yuck, you’re a bad guy! Imma fight you!”

Dog has been around for 2 issues and she’s already the most useful teammate Jason has ever had. Jason and Dog, besties forever!

You really didn’t though, Jay. We have no idea who this guy is, how he got your old costume, what he wants or why he’s here. All we know is he wants you to go back to Gotham.

WHY CAN’T YOU BE HONEST WITH US!? WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!?

They were fighting right before this panel, and the fight was pretty good too, they seem to be evenly matched in terms of fighting ability. Maybe Wingman was slightly better, but Jason had a Doggo on his side so it evened out.

Unrelated, but I actually like this artist and what they are doing, everything looks really clean, the action is very readable and the anatomy is excellent, I’m not a fan of Jason’s haircut but luckily we already know he gets his longer hair back in an issue or two, thank god.

Solitary comes out as Jason’s dad. Apparently when he was in prison he volunteered for some experiments on people’s minds to try to get out early. We saw a little of this foreshadowed like ten issues ago. The experiments were done with tech stolen from Lex Luthor, so he hired Artemis to go fuck them up for stealing it and using it on people. In the fight it messed Wilis up and combined his mind with a few other inmates into his body or something. So that’s what happened to him.

I think it’s trying to be implied that this prison Jason is at where Solitary is operating out of was literally the prison where it all happened, but there are a few problems with that, namely 1) they don’t send American prisoners to Mexican prisons, and 2) that prison had water around it in the panels where it showed it happening and this prison is in the middle of a dessert so who knows what’s going on here.

Okay, so a Gotham thug getting a batman tattoo after coming out of a fight with him without going to prison is the kind of thing a Gotham thug would totally brag about. “See this scar? I got it from Batman, yo! And then I got a bat tattoo to commemorate it!”

Guess what though, Willis/Solitary doesn’t have the tattoo. SOLITARY ISN’T HIS DAD. Maybe this guy thinks he’s Willis but he’s actually not, he just has his memories or perceptions or whatever. He was one of the minds combined into this dude. This explains why Jason walked right past him more than once, he wasn’t really his dad (although with ‘perception’ powers it wouldn't actually have mattered even if he was). Jason has so many shitty wannabe dads it’s crazy. Batman, Solitary, Joker, Ra’s, get in line, folks.

Jason straight up kills this guy, no flinching. I love how Jason is so matter of fact about everything in this issue, Solitary says he’s his dad, and Jason is just like, “Okay, no, and I can prove it.” No melodramatic gasps or anything.

It amazes me that people seem to think Jason is so overemotional and angry all the time, and can’t get anything done because he’s too busy being mad, when he does shit like this without making any kind of deal about it or shouting or anything. Jason gets angry and emotional about ONE THING, and that’s his ACTUAL FAMILY BEING SHITTY TO HIM. A.K.A batfam stuff. Pretty much whenever he’s actually mad, and acting crazy it’s justified, he’s in serious emotional distress. He’s not some super angry murder boy all the time! I mean, he does murder people...but not because he’s just angry, it’s always a calculated move.

A slight time skip (a week).

*cries* WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME!?

I think Lobdell is as pissed off as we are that Roy was killed off in a stupid way for stupid drama. Because he’s been really selling us Jason being super sad and messed up about it and even tried to give him a good send off in the Annual. Like, I complain a lot about Lobdell, but at least I think he actually likes Jason and tries to do right by him in his stories, he’s just really scatterbrained about storylines sometimes. Like he needs someone to say, “Yeah, maybe not this, but this stuff is good.” That’s kind of the comics industry in general though, they don’t have anyone making sure characters act in character. They need someone vetoing some of the more stupid ideas, but they don’t seem to have any of that.

The New Outlaws! Red Hood, Bunker, Dog and Wingman.

Wingman is...some old guy. We see his face but it’s no one obvious. Clearly he has some connection to Jason. But he’s definitely not Roy, unless something REALLY weird is going on.

I still think there’s a good chance that he’s a future Jason from another dimension. But there’s also a chance that he’s Jason’s REAL FATHER since we know Solitary wasn’t. Hell, maybe he’s got the same powers Solitary had and it was him who went to see Ma Gunn before because she seemed pretty sure that guy was really Willis Todd, and he’s changing how he looks so Jay won’t know. We’ll see I guess.

And Bunker is just like, oh, you’re gonna go back to Gotham, fuck up Penguin and take all his stuff and start running a mob? I’m down. I don’t know his character (except that Lobdell created him and purposefully made him not angsty), I’m going to have to read some old Teen Titans, but I’m into it so far. He’s just super puppy-like, helpful, “I don’t know what’s happening but let’s be friends!” I can imagine Jason just blinking at him and being like, “Just...what even are you? Why are you so nice?! Why do you even like me!? Why are you even here!?” Miguel, all like, *shrug* “You saved my life and you’re hot?” Jason, “...well that’s a reason, I guess.”

YEEEEES. Tell me the old costume is making a come back! Also, Jason in a Trench Coat is the shit. He looks so sexy, you guys. I’m so ready for Mob Boss Jason. And Miguel is his gay right hand lover I mean man. YES.

( Ship ship ship ship ship )

Yeah, I’m getting so many “Wingman is from the future” vibes right now. He’s either Jason himself or someone he knows, but from the future/another dimension. Or maybe he can see the future.

Well, that was it. It was pretty good even if I was raising my eyebrows a few times at all the NOT explaining we were getting. I’m actually kind of excited for next issue though, you guys! Jason is going to mess up Penguin and take the Ice Burg Lounge, I’m so up for this!

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dungeonecologist · 5 years

Text

WILD ARMS 2 - Raline Observatory

The Raline Observatory is a neat set piece, albeit one riddled with issues in English. It distracts us with side characters, but actually sets up a pretty core feature of the world that will come back much later in conjunction with the Live Reflectors (which are about to become defunct once we finish this quest and unlock our flying ship) The name however is yet another mistransliteration from the Japanese for “Ley Line.”

Ley Lines came from the observations of one Alfred Watkins, an amateur archaeologist/explorer of the 1920s (as was not terribly uncommon at the time) who made note of the arrangement of major historical landmarks in straight lines across the British country side, from which he questioned the meaning, cause, or function. In the 1960s this work was incorporated along side Chinese fengshui to theorize that a kind of natural flow of energies across the Earth existed, and that spiritually attuned cultures all across history had been drawn to places where such streams of energy intersected, either by divination or by the consequence of ideal circumstances for settlement or ritual structures stemming from said concentrated energies.

Here, it those theories are applied rather literally, and will be revisited more explicitly at a later point in the story. Not coincidentally, this dungeon is located on a string of volcanic not-quite-islands, volcanoes being a rather on the nose example of a point at which energy has built up and been released from the Earth, literal energy obviously but in many belief systems spiritual energy as well. Oddly there aren’t actually any apparent Ley Lines on the Filgaia map; the dungeons are all pretty evenly distributed. The only semblance of patterns* are that various locations that come in 4s are deliberately scattered across 4 quadrants, but that’s less meaningful and more just practical when you don’t want your game’s marathon of dungeons to take place right next to each other.

*(The ones I’ve marked here are the 4 Live Reactors: red, the 4 Diablo Pillars: Blue, and the 4 Ray Points: Green. Perhaps the only real deliberate design here is that the finale dungeon which is tied by lore to the Raypoints, is located right in between the 4 of them; the intersection if you draw lines between opposite points. On this note: the Raypoint dungeons may also be a mistransliteration, meant to be “Ley Points.”)

Anyway we get into this neat abandoned lab setting and immediately have a boss thrown at us.

I think I’ve mentioned both the Kobold, and accidentally the Salamandra, now but among those iconic elemental monsters is also the Undine; Generally portrayed as a beautiful humanoid water nymph. The boss monster, Undines (I don’t know why there’s an “s”, the Japanese even reads ウンディーネ:u-n’-di-ne) is very much not. Actually, given the circumstances I’d almost assume this was some kind of mistransliteration, but the boss card even says “Elemental Spirit,” so what else could it be other than a water spirit? (although when I looked over the epithet in Japanese the phrase is 素体精霊獣, so what they translated as “Elemental” actually means something more in line with “base form” as in a chemical element, not an alchemical one.) Also of note are its moves: Hookey Bust, Intafada, Reject all Fools, and Shocking Guinea.

We’ll start with Shocking Guinea, as it might be the most straight forward; it alludes to Undines being a manufactured monster, and presumably kind of a lab experiment. It has turned on its creators so perhaps it was inhumanely experimented on until it lashed out? This move is also perhaps the outlier in the set. Intafada I can only assume refers here to the literal meaning of “shaking” or a small tremor and not the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in Gaza in the early 90s... Ignoring the bizarre language choice for that, the move Hookey Bust is a little confusing but suggests one of two things to me; either being caught playing hooky, or rolling a losing number in a game of dice. The former fits with the idea of an escaped experiment, but the latter along with Intafada and the general jester look of Undines seems to suggest shaking and rolling dice? That in some vague sense seems to match with the Reject all Fools, if it means Fool like a court jester.

Okay you know what, I gave the translators too much credit. The moment I started digging things got all kinds of muddled. The move Reject All Fools in Japanese is 理解できないモノは拒絶: “[I] reject things [I] don’t understand.” I take it the translators interpreted 理解できないモノ as “things/people that can not understand” i.e. “Fools,” but it might also be, “things/people that cannot be understood.” I make the distinction because I think it has to do with ghost stories and belief in the supernatural, although what “supernatural” would really mean in a fantasy setting isn’t super clear...

The move Hookey Bust is 学校の怖い胸像: “Scary Bust of School” as in a scary sculpture found in a school, which I’m pretty certain is a reference to the trope of Japanese middle or high schools having a kind of local hauntings where some kind of ghost turns out to be the anatomical model in the science lab or the nurse’s office. It ties into the science lab/experiment theme going on all throughout here. Spooky science lab also explains the “shiver”/”shake”/”tremor” we get from Intafada.

Speaking of terrible translations, the baffling Lilly Pad monster appears here, a bizarre imp with a little sword and cape, and boobs on its head??? The katakana here is I believe meant to be a transliteration of Lilliput, as in Lilliputians from Jonathan Swift’s novel, Gulliver’s Travels. The actual design doesn’t make much more sense in light of that, as they aren’t especially tiny, but at least the basic idea gets across, as opposed to the entirely nonsensical Lilly Pad. I’m not sure they add to the theme going on exactly, but the visual aesthetic of a tiny or shrunken person does resonate with some classic mad science lab cliches.

And we also have the Jelly Blob, which is just a staple of RPGs by this point. Technically speaking I think the origin is, again, Dungeons and Dragons, with he Gelatinous Cube and Ooze monsters, and in turn any number of variants on the both as well as the off shoot Slime family of monsters. Again, very in line with the science experiment vibes.

The one thing that presents a tiny hiccup in this is the Pas de Chat; in Japanese simply named Laughing Haunt. It might be a stretch, but I think it’s just another reference to school hauntings, like the Hookey Bust reference. It’s the only way I can think to fit this into the overarching themes of the dungeon. The “English” name, Pas de Chat, is a ballet term referring to a jump in which the legs are brought up toward the opposite knee in quick sequence before landing. It is French for “Step of the Cat.”

I have no idea why it looks the way it does, but it does display some interesting animations with leaps and twirls that is understandably evocative of dancers. It also fights with a pair of stiletto daggers.

I kind of neglected to mention, but throughout this whole dungeon we’ve been followed by the wacky comedy relief duo, Liz and Ard. (Toka and Ge in Japanese: You get one guess as to what the word “Tokage” translates to.) As we reach the end of the dungeon they of course spring on us that they too are after the rare Germatron mineral, and that they are apparently Odessa’s free lance monster engineers. The two jump us with a second boss fight where the two showcase a host of battle tactics about as wacky as everything else we’ve put up with from them thus far:

Liz, the self-styled lead researcher of the duo can throw concoctions to ail the team, but that also hit himself and his assistant, Ard. Meanwhile Ard is a tank and a powerhouse, even as the inevitable Poison ailment from Liz’s attacks chips away at his HP. But to add to it, his strongest attack deals huge recoil damage to himself trading off for yet more offensive power. If you focus your attacks on Liz and heal as needed, Ard will likely kill himself even before Liz falls. An appropriate end to the mad science theme of the dungeon all around. And naturally, we’ll be seeing more of the lizard duo as the game goes on.

#wild arms 2 #jrpg #psx

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keyboard-smashed · 5 years

Text

The Storm That's Brewing

Summary: first glance of restaurant

Warnings: food/eating mention

(first, previous & next chapters linked at bottom)

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Chapter 5- The Mind Palace

The car journey wasn’t great. Patton called shotgun, so he sat up front with Roman (who, for the record, was a terrible driver). The pair ended up singing the whole journey. Logan inquired about whether it was best for Roman to be wearing out his voice before a performance, but Sir Sing-A-Lot argued that he was warming up. Though, Virgil knew that there were better ways to warm up your voice than failing at rapping Nicki's part in Bang Bang.

That left the two less enthusiastic singers in the back trying, failing and eventually giving up on holding a regular conversation. Luckily, the car journey was pretty short- lasting only four songs (two of which Virgil, the emo he was, didn't even recognise).

From outside, the restaurant didn’t look like anything special. The white paint on the bricks was peeling and the whole place looked quite small. The door was painted dark blue, with several darker panels painted in, and white squares at the top that reminded Virgil of the TARDIS. When he walked inside the restaurant, he found out why. The place was a lot bigger, and a lot cooler, than its outside suggested.

The entire restaurant was a mix and match of seats and sofas from various film and television shows' sets all centred towards a small stage in the middle of the back wall, between two closed off rooms Virgil assumed to be the kitchen and perhaps a storage or changing room.

Immediately next to the entrance was the iconic couch and table set from Friends. There sat five girls; one of whom didn’t look completely dissimilar to Phoebe, with long blonde hair and hippie clothes. Virgil thought that perhaps it was on purpose, or maybe just a lucky coincidence. Although Virgil didn’t quite believe in coincidences. He chose instead to believe that figures, like the Fates from Greek mythology, liked to sit around and decide on fun ways to mess with Virgil.

Behind the Friends set up were four wooden tables with benches on both sides. They were relatively big; Virgil thought that with a squeeze, each bench could fit about eight people, meaning a table could seat sixteen. When the group walked a little further in, he saw four prominent, coloured banners hanging on the walls above the tables: yellow for Hufflepuff, red for Gryffindor, blue for Ravenclaw and green for Slytherin. Hanging above the tables were electronic candles. They weren’t on at that moment, but Virgil still thought they looked extremely cool, and it was a great detail to throw in.

Further back was a dark oak door. There was a sign on it, but from the distance, Virgil couldn’t make it out.

A small, dark wooden corner bar sat at the edge of the room. Over the top of the bar was a sign that said 'Puzzles'. Virgil couldn’t figure out what the bar was a reference to. To him it was, well, a puzzle. Virgil internally groaned. He’d been spending too much time with Patton.

In the centre of the room stood six circular tables with white table cloths covering them. Each table had a set of menus in the middle, accompanied with a small pink lamp on one side and a vase of (probably fake) roses. It was very cliché. Very romantic (not like Virgil would ever going with a date). Very tasteful. The whole set up gave Virgil a French vibe for some reason. Those tables definitely had the best view of the stage, but each only seated two people.

The stage itself was not very big. However, in the pretty small restaurant-café-bar-hybrid it looked bigger. It was clearly supposed to be the central point of focus. Red curtains hang open either side of the stage, although Virgil wasn’t sure if they were functional or not.

The whole place felt like someone at the movies had eaten a pick 'n mix bag of fandoms and then thrown it all up. In other words, it looked quite like their side of Virgil’s mind. The place was called 'The Mind Palace' after all.

Confirming all earlier suspicions, Roman's manager was very surprised to see him arrive early, even more so when he said he was there to help set up the stage. Turns out, they never actually put the equipment away since they had live music on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays and karaoke on Sundays. Virgil made a note in his phone about never going to the restaurant on Sundays.

With almost an hour to kill before Roman's performance, all four got a table. Well, shared a table with some strangers. The only tables left that could fit them all were the Hogwarts tables. Everyone agreed that Roman could pick the table so of course he picked Gryffindor which was the busiest.

Roman and Logan sat on one side, Logan wedged between Roman and a stranger. Roman insisted on sitting on the edge so that he could leave quickly to sing. Virgil sat on the end for the same reason, minus the singing. He also didn’t like the idea of being sardined next to a stranger. Logan wasn’t particularly fond of it either, but he knew that he’d have more space once Roman left, unlike Patton and Virgil who’d remain squished, so he didn’t complain... Much.

The menus were presented in rolled up scrolls. Virgil thought that was a nice touch. Roman informed his friends that each section of the restaurant had a specialised menu themed on what fandom they were from, except the Hogwarts section where the food was a big mix and match of everything. Roman's boss was the coolest.

Roman only ordered a drink, yet his still took the longest to order as his drink order was so unnecessarily complicated: warm milk with about one eighth of a cup of honey, a spoonful of sugar (a line that he sung, to which Virgil commented about how he really chose to be as extra as possible whenever he was given the opportunity), 3 drops of vanilla extract and several drops from a fresh lime.

The waitress sighed, "Roman, you know we don't stock any limes."

Roman smiled and threw the waitress, Mandy, a lime he brought out from his pocket. Seriously, what? Where did he get the lime from? Had he bought it before his manicure and had it in his pocket the whole time?

Mandy laughed, pocketing the lime. She continued to take their orders as if this was normal.

Mandy seemed to be used to Roman's stupid antics. If Virgil got a customer as annoying as Roman, he'd probably quit right then and there. Roman claimed the drink readied his throat for singing which was fair, except Virgil was sure plain water or milk would do fine. He was just being fussy.

The two vegetarians with glasses both ordered salads and vegetarian burgers. Logan ordered a green tea too. There was some boring reason for his choice that he'd explained to the rest, and the waitress, but Virgil had been really interested in his napkin while he was explaining and missed it.

Patton also ordered a regular burger for Virgil and hot chocolates for the both of them. Virgil had actually wanted a soda, but Patton thought a hot chocolate was more appropriate for the late hour. Virgil wasn’t going to protest.

The restaurant began to fill up in anticipation of Roman singing, but their food still came relatively quickly. It was delicious too. Everybody wolfed down their food and was finished before Roman's performance, except from Roman

"Logan, what time befalls us?" Roman asked dramatically, pointing at Logan's watch, as if he didn't have his phone in his hand.

"This watch shows the time in Greenland which I doubt would be of much use to you, however..." Logan briefly brought out his phone, "In our current time zone, the time would be four minutes to nine."

"Thanks teach." Roman said, sliding himself of of the bench. He slid his drink over to Virgil, "It's best when warm but I'm sure you'll still love it. Enjoy!"

Roman pranced off behind the bar and through a door before Virgil could protest. Virgil looked cautiously at the drink. Who knew what illness that drama queen could be hosting? Still, Virgil was curious.

He picked up the mug, discreetly warming it in his hands. Then, he sipped. Admittedly, despite being as obnoxious as it was, it was really good. Sweet enough to satisfy Virgil's sweet tooth, but not so sweet that he thought he'd have to schedule a dentist appointment straight afterwards. That lime really added a nice tang.

Virgil was brought back to attention by a gentle tap on the shoulder. Patton barely touched him, yet still received a static shock and shocked (in the less literal sense) Virgil.

"Sorry," he whispered, "But look!"

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Taglist: me, myself, I

Chapter 1:

Chapter 4:

Chapter 6:

#the storm that's brewing #tstb #tstb chapter 5 #prinxiety #logicality #logan sanders #roman sanders #patton sanders #virgil sanders #thomas sanders #sanders sides #moving this fic to tumblr is driving me insane

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assimkamukaadvancedcomp · 6 years

Text

Advanced Compositing

This is by far the most ideas I had for a project, which was kind of like a blessing and a curse. I had enough good ideas but because there was so much I was constantly thinking it over, starting and switching projects.

So these are some of the other concepts.

The first concept that I pursue and fully planned was called K.Academy which revolved around a school that trains kids on becoming lethal assassins, the ‘Academy’ gets its student by forcing the parents to sell their kids to the academy or something bad will happen to them.

I asked Kris to play the headmaster of this academy and I was planning on having him talk into the camera from an office room that I would've comped together. He would be talking to a parent and telling them what was going. While he’d be doing that I would’ve cut to some children training at target practice, using real targets.

I even started drawing up a storyboard: (StoryBoard Image here)

But after a lot of thought I decided that I don’t want to rush this concept and do it properly in the future because I am into making it into a indie series.

Moving on to the next concept was a World War Then vs Now, which is pretty much self explanatory, I was planning on shooting videos in Cardiff and London, and then comp them as if they were World War footage, using a layer masking cutting back and forth showing the Now vs Then concept.

Another concept was also related to the World War 2 theme, it was going to be 3 matte paintings featuring soldier characters in each one. The first one was going to be a pilot running to his fighter plane in the airfield as he was called to action, the second one was going to be soldiers enjoying a can of baked beans on a checkpoint and the third would’ve been some sort of a bunker shot.

The final concept I experimented with was a fantasy theme where they would be two characters fighting with superpowers, but this theme wasn’t strong enough and was disregarded.

The rest of the concepts I felt I would want to to explore in the future and experiment with more time and skill.

This brings us to the final concept that I decided to follow through with which was originally called “Overtime” but was later changed to “Small Job” and I’ll get into that.

Small Job:

So the original concept for this project was to have a hit man have a call from his boss while he’s eating breakfast (cornflakes) on his day of, his boss calls him and tells him to come in and work overtime for a small job since his co-worker’s wife is giving birth. Frustrated the hitman walks to his in-house gun vault muttering and cursing while picking out the right tool for this ‘small job’.

This had a comedic value and would’ve been sort of like a short film, it created a sense of mystery since we don’t really find out he’s a hitman until he walks into his domestic gun vault.

But I had trouble recording the audio and the footage where the hitman was eating breakfast was to grainy and would’ve bought the project’s value down. So I decided to re-shape the concept and keep in the last two scenes with no audio and slightly changing up the hitman character.

Originally the hitman was supposed to come across as a grungy and rough - gun to hire character, someone that’s from like the expendables or the A-Team to give you an idea.

Instead of having a typical tie and suit hitman.

So I was planning on having the main character be wearing his pyjamas and robe while he got his phone call, I filmed it back at my place but it came out to noise, blurry and had no audio. Also it was to late to reshoot it so I just went with a casual guy walking into his gun vault.

The vault:

I looked at so many movies and how they shot gun vaults or gun walls. Some of the movies that I looked at where John Wick 2, we all remember the iconic scene where the handler was describing the guns so exquisitely while standing in front of a beautiful ‘exhibit’ of weaponry.

There was also a rugged looking scene with the hobo underground that caught my interest.

I love how the gold design goes well with the red pattern and the black silhouette of the guns, looks absolutely stunning.

I also looked at Kingsman which was super classy, and I liked it even though it wasn’t what I was initially looking for.

Am pretty sure the following ones are fan made mock ups (or not) but they still have the same vibe.

Polar, the new Netflix movie also fuled my inspiration. (Btw AMAZING MOVIE, MACHINE GUN FINGERS!!!).

The main character for polar was also rocking an eyepatch which was something I considered adding to my character.

In addition to looking to movies for reference, I also looked at what gun enthusiasts built in their home. These are usually rough looking and fit more into my theme.

After looking at these reference images I realized that messy and rugged looking gun vaults are usually mess on the shelves and the ground, not the racks since there isn’t room to mess up there. So I started designing my gun wall.

This was my first prototype, from the get go I knew I wanted artiellery shells for comedic value, since this hitman is well equipped for any job, be it small or big job. I also wanted to have the gun that I would be holding in the end which is the Mac 10.

Eventually I completed this prototype and was planning on using it for the comp.

I interpreted with different HDRI’s to get the best lighting.

Storeroom

Satara

Preller

Moonless

Lounge.

With all this planned I headed to the shooting phase.

The Shoot:

So there is this huge lift in the back of the uni that’s just way to big I feel, every time I go in it I always picture it as something, sometimes a space shuttle, or a sci-fi room that will mess you up when you inside. And I though that if the buttons were removed it would look like a gun vault. So I decided to use it as the gun vault room and planned to track gun racks on to its walls.

I was playing on having a dolly track where the camera starts of facing the door, and as soon as the character walks in and faces the wall the camera follows him, then we get a shot from that’s from the walls perspective.

But it turned out that the dolly wasn’t on my media account and Kris didn’t add in time, but I still wanted the tracking shot so I settled for a tripod tilt that turned out pretty well.

I scouted it one last time before the shoot to make sure that it would work. Then I headed there with my trusty camera man Hayden. We placed tracking markers on the wall to make sure it tracks, this is something I learnt in tracking 1, which you should always have tracking markers no matter how easy you think the track will be.

I took out the FS5 camera along side a tripod and filmed a basic panning shot.

The shoot went pretty well but as you would imagine it was kind of awkward with people walking in and out always asking “am I in your shot” like no mate am still putting up tracking markers. Also since the main character would step outside and would need to enter the lift aka the “gun vault”, the lift would get called to other floor, but nonetheless, we still got our shot.

The second shot required the green screen studio since I wanted to add an element of reality to the project by actually handling a physical gun, it was an airsoft gun so put the phone down. But it did look realistic so I couldn’t be waving that thing around in the lift since so many people walk in and out. I asked the person handeling the camera to hold the gun so I could reach for it and it would look as if I was pulling the thing of the rack.

Kris helped me film in the studio but even though we still rushed it. I forgot to pull the curtains back, push the cameras back up, light the screen properly, light the character properly. Check the camera’s setting, (Kris actually handled the camera, I know sound like am blaming Kris, but, am not). All of these issues caused problems in the keying process.

Shot 1:

The first shot was the Lift shot and I immediately realized that my original model wasn’t going to work. Because the lift wasn’t symmetrical like my model and most of the model wouldn’t even fit in the shot.

The shelf on the left looked odd because the wall it’s against is smaller than the one opposite it, so I had to get rid of the shelf and shift some models around to make the wall looking packed with weapons.

Since the far right of the image was visible and the middle wasn’t, I moved the models to the right and left the model kind of empty.

Now that the model was adjusted, I moved onto comping it with the footage..

Comping and 3D Tracking:

In order to really sell this as a hitman home work space I couldn’t just leave the university hallway in, I had to remove it and replace it with a suitable hallway.

So using luma keys and key merges I managed to isolate hair detail from the background, and I rotoed the rest out.

I tried using the bear minimum of keyframes for the roto but there were gaps where the alpha masks didn’t join up that I had to adjust which caused more keyframes.

Also I had to make sure that the roto was clean and no part of the background could act like spill.

I did separate rotos for the head, one for each ear, nose, one of the right and left side of the neck, a final roto for all the hair, one for the torso, bottom, one of each arm, one for each hand, one for each side of the hood, and one for the hoodlace.

After fine tuning and refining the results were pretty good.

Then all I dead was colour grade the character plate and the gun rack plate separately so they could blend in together, then I merged them together and then did a joint grade to make them seem as if they’re part of the same shoot.

For the background I decided to make it into a sort of hallyway with art on the wall and the cannon in there as well. It looks like an exhibit. I just wanted to fit the cannon in since it was to big and awkward in the lift shot, but it actually brings the background picture together very well.

So this is it raw staright out of the render, I actually faced a small challenge with this because the 3D render messed up and speed up the frames even though I’m pretty sure I matched the frame rate. In order to fix it and get it to line up again I basically found out the frame that the camera starts to move and set my read starting point there and everything worked out.

Also am most proud of this for colour grading.

First I took bought down the contrast.

Then I reduced the saturation

Added a blur

Colour graded it once again

Then I drew a mask for the right side of the wall to grade separately, and I rotoed the cannon so it would be out the way. but I feathred it to look like as if the light is spilling onto the cannon

But I feathred it to look like as if the light is spilling onto the cannon

Same thing done to the wall at the back. I fitted it in with the roof using roto and edge blurs to give it a nice shadow.

I achieved this result with diffrenet experiments withe the roto node, playing around with the position and feather.

Then I did the gun racks that were tracked onto the walls of the lift. Colour grading them wasn’t that difficult since I found a HDRI that resemble the lift a lot. Adding a radial blur and grade nodes really made the the metalness and shininess of the lift pop.

Keying:

This was the most difficult thing to be honest, there is a small ring around the character. I tried using multiple keying techniques, first one was done through the basics, where I got a primate keyer to have a silhouette of the body, then I used multiple keylights get an alpha for the hair and then mix them all together with keymix. Unfortunately that didn’t look to great, the hair details was fine but there was so much spill and whenever I tried keying it, the inner matte will be affected.

So instead I used a keylight for the whole key and used gizmo to suppress the spill.

I used a backdrop to check the mask and I was happy with the results.

Grading the green screen shot was so difficult because I wanted it to follow the same colour schemes as the shot before, and sometimes I would be thinking it’s not cold enough.

Or it’s not warm enough.

In the end I decided to use a radial node to cast contrast and give variation to the grade instead of keeping it flat.

A huge problem with my keying is that there is a bit of white despilled on the top of the characters head, but with this grade it looks like a light reflection so it doesn’t really stick out like a sore thumb.

Clean up:

As for clean up I removed the buttons on the side of the lift by rotoing around it and using a constant and a ramp to match the gardiant to the other plates of the wall. I even animated the constant and the ramp since there is a change in lighting. I even added noise just to make it seem even more natural.

Mistakes were made:

After all the roto, grading and luma keying, I was only able to use around 40 frames from the original 8 second clip. This is because the background track was HIDEOUS. The wall on the right would slightly come out towards the left one. When I saw it I immediately knew what was the problem, when I modeled this scene in Maya there was a problem on Maya’s end where I couldn’t see my render port or the tracking image plane, so I had to place it based on the previous gun rack. However, even though I measured the distance using basic geometry I still placed the gallery hallway to far back for whatever reason. I realised how far back it was, I just ignored it. But when I saw problems in the track immediately guessed that it was at fault. I really should’ve take the posting more seriously.

Solutions: I tried moving the background plate around in Nuke in hopes in finding a new perspective, but that didn’t help. The only option was to just cut it out of the project, but I realised that the beginning and the ending are actually useful since the beginning is static and towards the end the perspective matches the track.

I considered keeping the first 100 frames where its static.

Then cutting to the second shot.

Then cut again to the first shot but it would be towards the end, so I basically cut out the walking in part.

Then back to the second shot where I’m about to grab the gun of the rack.

However this felt taccy and way to forces, I wouldn’t enjoy a piece that was this choppy, so I just decided to use 40 frames of the first shot and just move on to the second shot.

Evaluation:

This was the most stressful project ever, I really doubt that the FMP will be this stressful, but then again I did keep on switching idea back and forth so I need to be more decisive.

Overall this project has shown how powerful of a compositor nuke is and how it could go so deep into the footage grading every nook and cranny, for example the layersheet just blew my mind with what you could with it. How you could go and isolate a CG object and grade it on its own even if it was rendered with other objects.

I learnt so much and I am planning on learning even more. However, I am also truly disappointed and gutted at the end result of the first shot when I realised that the background hasn’t tracked. I’m aiming to become a tracker or a matchmover so seeing such a stupid mistake ruin the whole project that I’ve worked so hard on just broke my heart, but at the end of the day it was a stupid mistake that I made, no one else. I will defiantly learn from this and make sure everything is in line and the perspective is correct in future tracks.

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