#after defeating them you would get their blessing which is the new gimmick that is a temporary help in battle

[jackredfieldwasmyjacob]

me every time i'm bored: I should make another fake pokemon game

[athetos]

Yesterday, after taking the piss out of the relatively mediocre Donkey Kong Land 2, I commented that I figured Donkey Kong Land 3 would be more of the same: bland remixes of levels from its SNES counterpart, complemented by a weak conversion of its soundtrack and physics that felt slightly off.

Well, I was wrong. It’s easily the best of the DKL games, and I’m only about halfway through.

While the music is mostly 8-bit renditions of the DKC3 soundtrack (both composed by the highly underrated Eveline Fischer, and its much higher in quality than DKL2’s), and the scenery and enemies are the ones you’re familiar with, every level is completely original. And not only that, but they’re great, better than the ones from DKL1. The layouts are interesting, and several stages have alternate routes you can take through them, such as an aboveground and an underwater path, or two separate passages in an underwater level that will meet back up.

Like DKL2, some of the gimmicks weren’t able to translate to the weaker hardware, and were left out, which is a blessing in this case - DKC3 had more than its fair share of obnoxious gameplay twists, like the saw cutting down the tree, the poisonous pond, being chased by bees, defeating mice in wheels… you get the point. They’ve either been replaced (such as crumbling platforms instead of the barrels falling down the waterfall) or removed entirely. Honestly, pretty much every level I’ve played thus far has been a hit. They also significantly changed the Bleak boss fight - it’s no longer a snowball fight, but a standard boss battle, which I’m not complaining about. The banana birds, fetch quests for the Bears, and overworld exploration are also dropped, which I didn’t hate in the first place, but I don’t miss them here. Apparently they even have a secret world here too! The first two DKL’s didn’t! And even a time attack mode! That’s completely new!

Oddly enough, they completely changed the plot for this game, too. It’s not like the plots for the other DKL/DKC games have ever been too complicated - “Kong is kidnapped (or bananas stolen), other Kongs save the day by defeating K. Rool, the end.” But here, they’re just competing to win a contest? They’re competing against not just K. Rool, but also DK and Diddy? That’s so silly. Sillier than the traditional plots. There are no stakes here. If you lose, they just, like, lose the contest and don’t go to the lost world. Also, I think Dixie is supposed to be babysitting Kiddy, and he decides to follow after her. Good stuff.

There is one major complaint I have though - it’s called Donkey Kong Land III. Roman numerals. But the previous entry was Donkey Kong Land 2. That makes me so mad actually I take back everything I just said. This game sucks for that alone. Absolute trash.

[quartings]

How Pokemon could double the length of the games’ story without changing their writing style!

This will be quite a long post, so a lot of it will be under the cut!

Even though many Pokemon postgames can be really fun and fulfilling, it’s really only thanks to the battle facilities that some of them are blessed with. The postgame areas/story themselves usually feel very rushed and/or hollow. Meanwhile, Mystery Dungeon games have 20+ hour main stories that are followed up with even longer postgames adding up to over 50 hours of story! So how do the Mystery Dungeon games do it (Besides having a far superior programming and writing team)?

This is because among the three pillars of content in mainline Pokemon games, (Gym Leaders- aka distinct minibosses, new areas to explore with new Pokemon, and a b-plot) one or two of them always disappear in the postgame.

For example:

Johto: Has new gym leaders, but barely any b-plot to provide pacing, and the many new areas have barely any usable new Pokemon.

Sinnoh: Has a few new areas and a small b-plot, but no minibosses, explaining why the b-plot feels so small.

BW Unova: Has many new areas and new pokemon, but no minibosses and the Sage-finding b-plot barely counts

B2W2 Unova: The new areas are less new, the new Pokemon are less new, and none of the minibosses are mandatory. Outside of finding N again, there’s really not any b-plot.

Kalos/ORAS Hoenn/Alola/Galar: Barely any new areas, barely any new Pokemon, mostly a lot of backtracking in a condensed plot. Having more of a concrete story is nice but the lack of challenging fights makes it feel even shorter and less significant.

 IMPORTANT NOTE: This is only re-crafting the story based on using plot devices that Pokemon have already used to improve and lengthen the playthrough. If we were allowed to use plot points or creative ideas that Gamefreak hasn’t used before, then we might as well turn the story into a 200 hour Mystery Dungeon-style epic saga, haha.

So-! Let’s take a look at this reworked story, where the main and postgame both have all three pillars of storytelling!

 Main Game:

The main game will be based off Gen 5 (Stopping an evil team) and Gen 7 (Setting up a league)

Set in a region where the evil team has already won (not really post-apocalyptic and edgy, just roughed-up like anime Kanto) and is a gang that constantly terrorises the residents. Gyms have been dismantled by this evil team, and the now-jobless gym leaders are trying to protect their towns from the villains.

You get your starter from the professor to save them from a grunt.

Instead of gym leaders, you fight the evil team admins in their hideouts across the region. There’s still puzzles and the admins are type specialists, so these simulate gyms to teach type matchups.

I guess to prove that it’s still to teach type matchups, some townsfolk will say stuff like “Admin X scorched my poor Grass and Bug-types with his Fire-type Pokemon!” and “If only I still had my Water-type Pokemon with me- then I’d teach them a lesson!”

Reasons to stop individual admins can be very different to make fighting them not feel stale- Rescuing Pokemon, the Professor, unblocking routes, re-securing an important facility, protecting cargo/a VIP, obtaining an artifact, etc. One of the reasons the grunts challenge you is because they want your Pokedex. For some reason, even though it’s been a plot point in the manga and the anime, saving your mom from the evil team has never happened in the games, which I think is a big missed opportunity for creating an intense high-stakes conflict!

You learn history in this region from former gym leaders/elite four/champion maybe? Sometimes gym leaders may make you take on their old gyms to see if you’re good enough to help them stop the evil team.

Rivals:

You have two rivals. One is a happy and friendly rival who becomes morally swayed as the evil team affects them personally (They become evil for like one fight because Pokemon would never allow more than that) until you help redeem them. And the other starts out edgy and driven to stop the evil team, like a Silver or Gladion, but learns compassion and overcomes most of their trauma by the end of the main game.

Villainous Team Boss:

There’s a scripted unwinnable battle with the evil team boss (like with Zacian and Zamazenta) early on in the game. This’ll help you feel like the boss is real threat and a scummy person you want to beat later!

And since the best evil team bosses are shitty parents, let’s make them the parent of the edgy rival!

This villain would probably be using the box legendary you have to save in the final battle against them?

We’ve somehow never had a villain who HATES Pokemon as their motive, just ones who see them as tools, so maybe this villain or their family member was injured by Pokemon before and now they hate Pokemon and want them subjugated? And as the first trainer in a while who openly loves their Pokemon, you specifically pose a threat to this villain?

This idea mostly came from realising that you’re pretty much always a reactionary protagonist and not a proactive one. You’re not really out to change the status quo on most Pokemon games, but in this one, the status quo starts out as villainous and it’s up to you to change it! This also comes from the critique from SwSh and Borderlands 3 where your character has no personal reason to do anything and just gets dragged around by some arrogant adult giving you orders.

Postgame:

The postgame will then be what the main games are usually like (Beating the league, completing the dex, dealing with legendaries)

It’s been several weeks since you beat the villain, and many towns have been repaired. A proper league has been set up, and you, as the hero of the region, are invited to test it.

A handful of new Pokemon are now in old routes, and several new routes are unlocked too.

Most gyms are in towns you’ve been to before, but some are in all-new towns that were blocked off by the evil team before!

Some gym leaders are former gym leaders who have reclaimed their titles, some of them are all-new characters, and at least one of them is a redeemed evil team admin. All of them have teams of six, plus gimmicks like Raihan or many NPCs in prior games like triple battles, held items, special moves, etc, in addition to the type matchup stuff.

You get a third new rival who’s a champion from another region, wanting to try this league out. They’re friendly but really cocky like Leon- maybe they’re actually Leon, who knows?

Instead of just using the shiny charm to incentivize Dex completion, there are many NPCs who give sidequests wanting to see specific rare Pokemon, offering hints to their location, items, TMs, etc in exchange. Some of them are even mandatory mini-arcs to help space out the gyms. Think the Solaceon news people or the Unova Hip Waders. All the NPCs have names to distinguish them more.

Like in SwSh, the Elite Four is a rivals tournament with 1) Recurring Fan like SwSh’s Orbeetle Girl, 2) Edgy Rival, 3) Cocky rival, 4) Former Champion. And like in USUM, the champion challenger is your very first rival, as cliché as it may be.

Bonus Postgame:

The third bonus postgame thing mostly features what modern Pokemon postgames and DLCs are like (Short story arcs with new characters and Legendary Pokemon showcases)

You travel to a new island area where the remnants of the evil team have freed their boss and they’re trying to use Space Dragon Legendary #4 to eradicate everyone, and you and edgy rival have to stop them, with many other characters all playing a part. Maybe even Looker too!

Overall Rival Character Development:

Nice rival: Starts out nice, becomes conflicted, turns kinda evil for one fight, becomes good again and regrets it, gets closure at the Champion fight, becomes a gym leader or something.

Edgy rival: Starts out edgy, wants the sole responsibility to stopping the villains, but gets pummelled by the villains, gives up for a while, gets motivated by you, helps you stop themain villain, tries to understand how to be a normal trainer kid, tries out the league challenge, gets closure from fully helping stop the main villain in the bonus postgame.

Cocky rival: Starts out seeing you as a stepping stone, sees you as a challenge after a few defeats, sees you as a bully after a few more defeats, and becomes depressed after losing the league, finally recognizes you as a better person than them after you save the world again in the bonus postgame, and gets downgraded to both a rematch character and helpful postgame NPC in the end.

In a perfect world, there would be PMD Sky-style bonus stories to develop the rivals and other characters, but I’m trying to make a slightly plausible story so I’m not including it in the main pitch here.

[lintheotaku]

Watched Anime Genre

Watched List: Isekai 2016-Present 

Anime:  The Rising of the Shield Hero 

Plot:  Naofumi Iwatani is an otaku that is summoned through a book as 1 of 4 heroes to the world of Melromarc, to stop the Waves from destroying the world. Betrayal and ruined reputation causes Naofumi to be shunned by the people of Melromarc as well as the other heroes, forcing him to fight the Waves in his own way, all because he bares the shield. Pros: One of the more unique isekai animes out there. Instead of just one hero, there are four heroes, each from different versions of Japan. Instead of having a quirk or completely overpowered from the beginning, the main is instead knocked down to his lowest, resulting his not so heroic approach to situations. Gradually he begins to trust those closest to him and out of the bunch, he is the most grounded person and grasps reality far better than his fellow heroes. Cons: Pacing can feel a bit slow in the anime since there is a lot of small things building up before you get to the next big thing.(omg I want to knock some sense into the other heroes) And the anime tends to throw in a tad more details to make it feel as those Naofumi has a harem than it really is. (the one filler moment actually contradicts a detail the following canon scene) Personal Rating:  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥  ♡ [4.5/5] Comments: With the pacing, it’s perhaps better to be reading the manga. And since this is originally a Light Novel, I HIGHLY recommend watching AniNews’s youtube channel on Rising of the Shield Hero: Skipped Content as it helps fill in gaps not placed in the manga and/or anime. 

Andddd I really can’t wait for the Scythe Hero to appear in ep 22<3

Anime: KonoSuba: God's Blessing On This Wonderful World! Plot: “When high schooler Kazuma Satou dies, his given the choice to be reincarnated in a fantasy world much like a video game and be granted one item or ability. But can a dimwitted Goddess, explosion craze crimson demon,  masochist crusader, and a lucky/unlucky adventurer to defeat the Devil King?” Pros: A very clever and humorous adventure with a group of misfits. Cons: There were a few points that felt a bit much or overly done. *cough*Aqua*cough* but luckily goes back into genuinely funny scenes. Too easily can turn into perverted moments for a non harlem type series. Personal Rating:  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥  ♡ [4/5] Personal Thoughts: Honestly can’t help comparing Megumin’s ability to another light novel character. Agnis, from Adventures of Duan Surk, a fire sorceress that can only use high level fire magic and passes out after each use.  Except in Megumin’s case it’s Explosion magic. Besides that, and the quite troublemaking goddess- this series is unique enough as a comedy of misfits trying to live in a fantasy RPG world.

Anime: Re:Zero - Starting Life in Another World Plot:  “ With the biggest crisis of his life being summoned to another world and no sign of the one who summoned him, things become worse when he is attacked. However, when he is saved by a mysterious silver-haired girl with a fairy cat, Subaru cooperates with the girl to return the favor.” Pros: A series with mix of carefree moments as well as suspenseful.  Cons: Subaru can have some very unlikable moments, other times you can feel your heart being torn to shreds to the point you wonder how would you fair in his shoes. Personal Rating:  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥  ♡ [4/5] Comments: Seriously Sabaru- Forget Emilia and go for waifu-Rem! TTATT

Anime: Saga Of Tanya The Evil Plot:  “An unnamed atheist Japanese salaryman, in the moment of being murdered by a disgruntled subordinate who he had fired due to poor performance at work, is confronted by a entity that could stop time which he refers to as "Being X" or god, who condemns the man for not having 'faith'. He is sentenced to be reborn in a world that is similar to World War I Europe, mixed with early aspects of World War II and magic, in an empire torn apart by countless wars with all nearby countries.”  Pros: Seeing the main getting bested and even frighten by “Being X” in an endless mind game while in a world in middle of war. Cons: ... uh what else is there to this series? Like how is the plot still moving? Personal Rating:  ♥ ♥ ♥  ♡  ♡ [3/5] Comments:  I’m not much into war types but this was alright I suppose. Not terrible, not a fave, and not memorable.

Anime: Overlord Plot: “When the shut-down time arrives, Momonga finds that the game hasn't vanished. Instead it appears as if Yggdrasil has been recreated as its own reality along with its various NPCs having been brought to life while Momonga has been trapped in the form of his game avatar, leaving him unable to use the normal player functions, such as General Message, or even to log out. With no other option, Momonga sets out to learn if anyone from the real world is also in this new world with him.” Pros: Curiously await what the future holds in Ainz’s adventure in this fantasy world and his NPCs seeking control of the world in his name. Cons: Albedo needs to dial back just a smidge. Personal Rating:  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥  ♡ [4.5/5] Comments: Don’t get attached to anyone outside the Great Tomb of Nazarick . 

Anime: Isekai Quartet Plot: 12 minute comedic episodes of characters (Overlord, KonoSoba, Re:Zero, and Saga of Tanya the Evil) are sent to another world to survive ‘school life’. Pros: Ever wonder what it would be like to have different series come together and temporarily work together at school? Wanna see what character would get along and their reactions? Yep, this would be the show for ya.  Cons: Episodes are too short! Once you finally get somewhere interesting, it gets cut to the next episode. Personal Rating:  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥  ♡ [4.5/5] Comments: Best way to watch this series is to binge tbh. It’s actually a lot of fun seeing the mains becoming friends and understanding their strengths and weaknesses. 

Anime: That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Plot:  “Satoru Mikami, an average 37 year old office worker from Tokyo with no girlfriend, is stabbed to death by a passing robber. After making some requests during his death, he is reincarnated in another world as a slime with the ability known as predator (which can devour other creatures and obtain their abilities)” Pros: Unique concept of an overpowered little slime Cons: Personal Rating:  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥  ♡ [4/5] Comments: I really need to watch the rest of this series TTwTT

Anime: The Wise Man’s Grandson/Grandchild Plot: “A young salaryman dead in an accident was reborn in another world filled with magic and demons. As a baby, he was picked up by the patriot hero "Sage" Merlin Wolford and was given the name Shin. He was raised as a grandson and soaked up Merlin's teachings, earning him some irresistible powers. However, when Shin became 15, Merlin realized, "I forgot to teach him common practice!"” Pros: comical moments and fun action scenes. Interesting uses of knowledge from past life. Cons: Um... when/why did this become a gakuen life show? Why should we care about the very generic classmates that add little to nothing to the plot besides the crown prince? .... and you call that romance? Personal Rating:  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥  ♡ [4/5] Comments: Has a very strong start and I REALLY WANNA LIKE it but I’m starting to lose interest whenever Shin isn’t using his magic in a battle as everything tends to be ‘oh noes we can’t let the world know of Shin’s gifts’ to ‘Look what Shin did for us!’ in the next instant.... everything looks pretty at least.

Anime: How NOT To Summon a Demon Lord Plot:  “Takuma Sakamoto is a hikikomori gamer who is mysteriously transported to the world of his favourite MMORPG, Cross Reverie, with the appearance of his own character in the game, the Demon Lord Diablo. The two young girls who summoned him, the pantherian Rem and the elf Shera, attempt to use a spell to make Takuma their servant, but due to his passive "Magic Reflection" ability, the spell rebounds, and both end up with magic collars stuck on their necks, thus becoming his slaves instead. With a serious case of social anxiety, Takuma decides to act like his character while interacting with others, and makes use of his high stats and vast knowledge of Cross Reverie's lore to survive in his new environment, traveling along with Rem and Shera to look for a way to remove their slave collars while helping them with their own, personal issues that led them to summon him in the first place.” Pros: The comedy and Diablo’s battles are satisfying to watch. Cons: The not so subtle ecchi moments, in particular one ritual scene that was... a bit much personally. Personal Rating:  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥  ♡ [4.5/5] Comments: If you don’t mind watching ecchi stuff, you’ll have a fun time with the story and overpowering battle moments.

Anime: Death March To The Parallel World Rhapsody Plot: “Ichiro Suzuki is a 29-year old gaming programmer who was tasked with fixing several bugs in two MMORPGs his company is preparing for publication. After taking a nap, he mysteriously wakes up in a parallel world that resembles some of the fantasy RPG worlds he had worked on, as a 15-year old named Satou Pendragon. However, before he could grasp his current situation, an army of lizardmen ambush him and launches an all-out attack on him. In desperation, he uses all three of his special 'Meteor Rain' attack options (a quick fix he added to the game for new players which kills all enemies in the vicinity) at once and wipes them all out.” Pros: A very casual journey of a character with too much exp points and money. Cons: Everything always works out in the end. Is a harlem REALLY needed here? Personal Rating:  ♥ ♥ ♥  ♡  ♡ [3/5] Comments: It’s a nice laid back Isekai series. I just wish the Elf arch had more of challenge and thrill, and the very cliche harlem girl gimmicks doesn’t make the relaxing scenes all that pleasant. Guess I was really hoping more to the story? I mean it has potential just doesn’t go there quick enough.

Anime: In Another World With My Smartphone Plot:  “ Fifteen-year-old Touya Mochizuki is accidentally killed by God. As an apology, God allows him to be resurrected, but since he cannot send him back to his old world, he instead reincarnates him into a fantasy world along with a single special request. Touya uses his request in order to bring his smartphone into the new world with him, which God modifies so that the phone will function in the new world. God also greatly amplifies Touya's physical, magical, and cognitive abilities to a certain degree as a further apology for the inconvenience of killing him. Taking full advantage of his second chance at life, Touya befriends many different people, mainly females and high-ranking people in the new world. He begins to travel from country to country, solving political disputes, minor quests, and nonchalantly enjoying himself with his newfound allies.” Pros: Visuals are pretty Cons: What was meant to be ‘basics’ in magic turns out to be the over power ability of knowing all affinities, thus you’re the strongest being in the world. There’s little to no consequences for his actions... everything always works out because of his op ability and the number of girls grow.  Personal Rating:  ♥ ♥ ♥  ♡  ♡ [3/5] Comments:  This is straight up a LITERAL harem anime.  I’m having to stop watching after episode 12 as it reveals he’ll wind up with 9 wives by the end of the series. Given how everything is hunky-dory and the girls are just being unreasonable- yeah- lost interest.

[crystalelemental]

FE Fates Replay - Part 5

I was having such a good time.  And then...

Chapter 9 starts out with Corrin returning successful from her mission to suppress the Ice Tribe’s rebellion.  Even Garon is impressed, and makes some hesitant comments about being proud of her.  Honestly, this is the Garon I want.  The one that’s slightly unhinged, but generally does care about the well-being of his children.  You know.  The one with any level of complexity at all.  For a moment all is well, until Iago decides to be the way that he is and announces that Corrin didn’t do it alone as commanded.  Xander’s response here is kinda funny.  “That’s really shitty, Iago, even for your slimy ass.”  Or something to that effect.  Anyway, Garon’s slightly miffed, but let’s it go because damn, she did a real good job on suppressing the rebellion without taking lives.  Again, the Garon with some level of complexity.  Instead of just murder man, he commends her specifically for not taking life in the suppression, which would be cool if that mentality of “not taking life in the conflict is a good thing.”  Shame about the way this game handles villains.

You’re immediately given another assignment: go to...uh...shit.  I can’t remember how to spell the place.  Basically, he wants you to go capture a territory.  Chapter 9 involves going through a fortress that’s the remains of a dragon, which is held by the Hoshidans.  This is a fairly fun chapter.  Not too difficult.  Mostly Effie and Silas carry the day.  You also recruit Azura and Nyx, making this the best recruitment chapter so far!  I really like both of them.  It’s a shame that Nyx is at level 9 when you get her.  Her stats are, uh...pretty terrible.  Okay, really terrible.  Skill, Luck, and Defense are all abysmal, with Magic and Speed being her only worthwhile stats.  They wouldn’t be as bad if she showed up a few levels lower, but at level 9, a lot of her stat spread is unsalvageable without stat boosting items.  Which means if you’re gonna use her, you have to invest.  And I absolutely intend to use her.

The map is your standard Seize map, after clearing everyone out, so not much to report on in terms of combat.  After the fight, Azura explains that she’s stuck here because the Hoshidans, wary after Corrin’s decision, turned on her too and had her locked up here.  So I guess that proves I made the right call.  So much for family, am I right?  Fuck Hoshido.  Azura instantly joins up with you, since she’s got nowhere else to go.  As for Nyx, just to give a bit of info on her, she’s apparently a really old magic user who, for reasons unknown, is in the body of a child.  Honestly, if it weren’t for her outfit, she’d be perfect.  She’s sassy and fun, and admittedly I like her hair.

Chapter 10 has the group arrive in some port town looking for passage to this territory they’re to take.  At first, it’s assumed this port will be safe, but unfortunately for them, it’s now crawling with Hoshidans.  Fortunately for me, Takumi is leading the charge, meaning it’s finally time to kick his ass.  He goes on about Corrin being a traitor and all that, but what’s interesting is he mentions that some Hoshidans took Azura away, and that Ryoma was worried about her.  He wasn’t, obviously, but what’s neat to me is that the eneimes from last chapter were apparently in active defiance of Ryoma, who is essentially their king now that the old queen is dead.  At the very least, the Hoshidans are very disorganized.  So that’s funny.  Good job, idiots.

Honestly?  This is my favorite chapter so far.  I mentioned last time, I think, but while the developers of this game were insistent that Awakening’s weak point was its story (don’t ask how one can be so out of touch, I don’t know either), its actual weak point is mostly its maps.  It’s been a while since I’ve fully played Awakening, but I remember about 90% of it being “route the enemy,” with very little else aside from standard Seize and Defeat the Boss.  There aren’t too many weird conditions or gimmicks.  Fates, at least on the Conquest route, has given some more interesting stuff.  This one in particular is really fun.  You’re defending the territory, so you have four squares at the far north of the map, where your units start, that the enemy can’t reach.  If they do, you lose.  To help out, you get a bunch of ranged weapons near your position to help weaken, but not KO, foes.  There are also a lot of homes around the area that you can access to get some items.  Naturally, as with any defending map, there are tons of reinforcements.  What really makes the map interesting to me is that, so far, we’ve been using a lot of Dragon Veins.  Allegedly.  I don’t use them that often.  They’re not always as helpful as they think.  But in this map, Takumi activates one, and dries up all the water, allowing the enemies to traverse around the paths you’ve been defending.  It’s incredibly frustrating, but a neat surprise that the map pulls to make your attempts at defense even harder.  I know for me, I had spread out my units by this point.  We’d managed to put a dent in their forces and were alerting the houses and trying to push south.  But as soon as that happened, a bunch of reinforcements came in.  The only one who could continue to move forward was Dragon Corrin.  Everyone else had to start back-tracking to defend.

Chapter 10 also introduces three new units to our party.  In order of least to greatest importance, we first have Beruka, one of Camilla’s retainers.  She’s quiet and doesn’t talk much, but honestly was pretty funny in her debut.  Selena, or Severa for those of us who played Awakening, is the same as she ever was, so you kind of expect her to tease Corrin about being heartless for not remembering them, but Beruka joining in was pretty good.  Speaking of, Selena’s the other character who joins, and just like as Severa, she’s a lot of fun.  She’s a bit more mellow here, if only slightly.  A little more in tune with herself, perhaps?  Then we have Camilla.  She arrives, and is surprisingly intense about murdering dudes.  Almost a bit Faye-like, only instead of the love of Alm, it’s for the love of her sister.  It’s a bit disconcerting, frankly.  I go back and forth on really liking Camilla and really disliking her.  They just go a bit too heavy on some of her more intense traits, you know?

The map is pretty tough, but Corrin and Azura wound up kicking Takumi’s ass no sweat.  In fact, I first had Corrin do it, and then with save states thanks to Casual, went back and had Azura finish him instead.  Both of their dialogue reveals about what you’d expect.  Takumi’s just a butthurt baby.  After you win, he whines about Corrin’s betrayal again, and then gets a migraine or something and fucks off.  This is one of those “Camilla is great” moments, because as Takumi is throwing insults as Corrin, Camilla just goes “What a rude boy.  Perhaps I should beat some manners into him...”  Corrin stops her and says no violence, but we really should’ve allowed it.  Takumi mentions the Rainbow Sage, which is apparently our objective that I don’t think anyone has mentioned until now.  He says Ryoma got the blessing so it’s all over for you fuckers now.  Camilla lets us know that it’s fine, Xander also got the blessing ages ago, so the Hoshidans are really just one step behind.  Though depending on time frame of Xander getting this blessing, this would mean that Ryoma could potentially be considered stronger, based on them being “even” in Chapter 6.  Though in fairness, my run involved Xander immediately getting a crit and taking Ryoma out in one shot.  So that was fucking hilarious.

Chapter 11, we finally arrive in this territory.  We meet a nice lady who tells us about the dangers of the mountain the sage lives on, and that he’s been taken captive by the Hoshidans.  Corrin naturally hurries to his rescue, and the fight is on!  This time, it’s against Hinoka.  The map itself is alright?  It kinda forces you to take two separate paths and gets a little cluttered, but not too bad.  Azama is, without question the worst part of this map.  Staves don’t count as a weapon, so his special ability means you continuously take counter damage equal to what you deal to him, and he has some bullshit Hexlock Staff that cuts the HP of anyone hit by it to half for the remainder of the map.  It’s such garbage.  Thankfully, Jakob is very fast, so haha, idiot.  I did get special dialogue with Hinoka, though.  Camilla is just...so incredibly petty here.  “She’s my sister now, you lose, bitch.”  The amount of pettiness on display is unreal.  Corrin, by comparison, actually has a pretty touching conversation.  Hinoka seems to understand Corrin’s resolve, and doesn’t really pressure her the way the others did.  She’s not happy with Corrin’s decision at all, but ultimately accepts Corrin’s decision and lives with it.  This automatically makes Hinoka the best Hoshidan sibling in my book.  I don’t regret siding against the others, but I do regret siding against her.

After the battle, Hinoka recognizes they need to retreat, and makes a comment about gathering their dead later.  She is then informed that there are no dead, only wounded.  Corrin gave the command to not kill anyone in this fight, and announces that she wants to end the war peacefully, without bloodshed if possible.  Hinoka is taken aback, but flees quickly after.  Kaze, however, remains behind to speak with Corrin.  He’s impressed by her devotion to peace, and pledges loyalty to her.  Another new ally!  And a ninja at that!

We meet the Rainbow Sage, who activates something with Yato.  He tells us to seek out the Nohrians who will activate the blade’s true power and awaken it as Grim Yato, the ultimate blade of darkness or whatever!  Given that we already have two Nohrian siblings, I wonder who the two we need could be.  Honestly, I’ve been holding on to this complaint, but now’s a good time: it’s bullshit that the female siblings don’t get unique weapons.  Xander and Leo get unique, powerful weapons, as do Ryoma and Takumi.  But the sisters?  They have to make do with generic weapons.  That’s such utter horseshit, and frankly, kinda sexist.

Immediately after this, Iago shows up and again, decides to be the way he is.  Garon gave a command to kill the sage.  Corrin outright refuses, stating the obvious: Ryoma already got the power, we’re not preventing anyone important from getting it because everyone already has said blessing, you’re doing this for nothing.  The Rainbow Sage thanks Corrin for wanting to spare his life, but proclaims it was time for him to die anyway and just dies out on the spot.  So I guess Mission Successful?  Weird.

I was gonna cut here, as the natural end to a particular thread of the game, but I’m kinda having fun, so let’s keep going.  Chapter 12!  Elise takes ill from a weird virus thing in that territory, and we need to find help!  Garon gives another command, specifically, to go to this one place for rest and relaxation.  Oddly kind.  It also turns out this place is the medical hub of the world, so suspiciously fortuitous.  They group hurries there and fucking surprise, there are Hoshidans everywhere.  Led by Ryoma.  Amazing.  Corrin begs him to let her pass, telling him about Elise’s condition.  He offers the trade: Corrin comes with him, and they’ll let her pass without a fight.  Corrin, of course, refuses.  As she should.  Listen, I get that it’s war, but by now they know what Corrin’s about.  She’s aimed to prevent the death of their soldiers in every battle.  They know she’s shown mercy where protecting life is concerned.  So what does Ryoma do?  Insist on fighting, potentially allowing Elise to die.  Bastard.

Thankfully we get reinforcements in the nick of time, in the form of-oh fuck me.  Laslow, listen.  You’re cool.  I’m glad you’re here.  I liked Inigo too.  But Peri.  Motherfucking Peri.  She is the worst character in the entire series for me.  There’s no question.  Not even a close second.  Even Tharja doesn’t come close, because some of Tharja’s supports were at least endearing in some way.  Peri is just a little sociopath who can’t shut the fuck up about murder.  Xander, where the fuck did you find her, and why is she not in jail?  I honestly feel it’s hypocritical to complain about Hans when you hired Peri on purpose, you asshat.  Honestly, for your belief in doing right by people and wanting to protect others, I cannot believe you thought putting Peri in charge of anything was a good call.  This is actively a blemish on your record.

Fuck, I can’t do this now.  I can’t deal with Peri.  We were having such a good day, then this little freak-ass gremlin shows up and prattles on about stabface of whatever the fuck, and now I’m just angry.  I’ll deal with her later.

[tokupedia]

Hey Marco, I had my own Ideas when I had the free time:

Cutie Honey GRX (Generation RemiX): An imaginary anime that if it were real would be on Sundays and advertised during Superhero Time. This takes elements of Cutie Honey’s long history and blends them into a new spin (including aspects of The Live). 

Dr. Gou Kisaragi is experimenting with an unknown space isotope and nanotechnology that can make a system capable of making any form of matter materialize from surrounding air molecules. He is targeted for his research by Panther Claw and his pregnant wife Eiko is attacked by an assailant who works for them. Desperate to save his dying unborn child after his wife dies, Dr. Kisaragi uses the device to create an artificial womb and repair the cells and create nutrients to sustain the baby. 

However, an unforeseen result happens as the baby begins self replicating its cells into fetal clones with the genetic quirk of differing hair colors and become fully grown infants in a matter of weeks. Dr. Kisaragi is then blessed with four healthy newborn daughters, Honey, Seira, Miki and Yuki. 

19 years later Seira is getting married to a boy named Akira Hazuki, but their wedding is crashed by Panther Claw, who have finally found Dr. Kisaragi after going into hiding for so long. Akira is revealed to be a demon-like agent of Panther Claw and Gou tells his girls to change to fight Panther Claw off. The four becoming the shapeshifting superpowered Honey Warriors: Cutie, Misty, Hurricane and Flash. Together they fight Panther Claw led by the evil Panther Zora and try to solve the mystery of their mother’s killer!

Kamen Rider Pecos:

It is the future ...The Fire from the Stars has burned our world, In this age of fear.... a legend is told .... that the Waters of Strength and Wisdom shall cleanse the Water of Evil...and wash away the Fire from the Stars.

I envisioned a Wild-Western cyberpunk sci-fi “bad future” where the heroics of the Kamen Riders of the past get the attention of a race called the Pra’meths (Prah-Meeths, a play on Prometheus), who arrive in our galaxy long after the all the Riders have passed on or died in battle. The Pra’Meths are weapon makers and love war so much they consider it an actual religion, viewing slaughter and death as the divine work of God. Once they begin to invade, they are disappointed as no matter how many they hurt or kill, the Riders of legend will not come out. 

Due to centuries of political corruption, apathy towards their citizens needs and living in spoiled luxury from corporate bribes, the leaders of the Earth surrender immediately after their weapons and defenses are destroyed and turn over our world to the Pra’meths in an act of cowardice. The aliens then use our planet as a weapons testing ground, scorching the Earth and leaving little water on it. 

In the refugee city of Leone, The Pra’meths try to use their war devices in the hopes of bringing out humanity’s “war gods” the Kamen Riders. Only to find a ghostly figure and an actual Kamen Rider appearing before them! 

The female whip wielding Rider named Nile is the city’s protector and the “ghost” says that she has been preparing for the arrival of the Pra’meths. The ghost also envisions that the Water of Wisdom shall soon meet the Water of Strength. During a tough fight, Nile sees a stranger walking into town and tells him to back away. He does not and dons a belt of his own, becoming a wind whipping, gun toting Kamen Rider known as Pecos!

The motif is modern style/cyberpunk western cowboys and cowgirls mixed with a desert animal from myths. Nile is based on a Raven and has a final form based on a Thunderbird. Pecos is obviously based on the legend of Pecos Bill (as it involves a wind theme of riding tornadoes) and is themed on a Rattlesnake. His final form is based on a Quetzalcoatl. I wanted him to have the classic “double scarf” like V3, but stylized in a way that gives it the illusion of a duster coat when it isn’t blowing in the wind. Nile has a dark blue scarf with a sun, moon and star on it, which references an old Native American myth about how Raven made the sky. 

There is also a villain Rider the Pra’Meths “created” to try to deal with the threat after several failures, Khabur, an “Amazon gone wrong” idea of a wolf themed Rider who is mute and feral. An abducted human programmed to kill from childhood and has a psychotic animalistic nature. His final form is based on a Jackal. He is also sort of modeled in terms of personality when he isn’t all berserker on Jack Palance, the silent, black hat wearing evil cowboy seen in most old westerns. His belt can siphon the life force energy of people and animals to regenerate or simply weaken any resistance, based on data the Pra’Meths took from Kamen Rider J. (I thought of this before Genm was a thing)

The “water” thing is a metaphor, as the “ghost” (who is actually a “pure” good Pra’Meth from an alternate reality) thinks that the Riders will “wash away” the evil that burned the Earth and allow the planet to slowly heal itself. (Also, the Riders in the series are named after rivers) The “Soul Rounds” orbs they use are drawn from Earth’s remaining life force from a special spring or from ancient spirits of myth (In other words: Legend Rider toys!). 

First and foremost, I want action. The gimmicks of the real shows proper are fine, but I decided that the Soul Rounds should be of a limited supply and expendable. This would allow more martial arts and gunplay to be incorporated and tense situations where it may seem the Riders may not win or have to retreat to plan out a strategy to defeat the enemy. I liked the old days when a Rider worked at it to gain victory. The Pra’Meths being weapons manufacturers  and warmongers, would have various combat variants of footsoldier humanoid drones called Dorugs. (Infantry, Flying, stealth, human duplicates.)

Plasmids: The monsters of the week. I wanted to go back to basics by having remodeled humans who become monsters and are beyond saving. These people represent the worst in humanity: serial killers, thieves, some of the politically corrupt, racist extremists, scientists who abuse their gifts to harm others, a game hunter who hunts humans and at least one who is a child murderer. These are meant to be the Pra’meths evaluation of humans, just tools and worshippers of death. However, the Riders represent humanity’s compassion and desire for survival and preservation of life.

Each Plasmid is enhanced with powers that are unique and interesting, at least to me. A human female lieutenant of the bad guys who is a bat that can nullify light and sound in a surrounding area and fire sonic blasts. A lizardman who gets bigger and stronger whenever he is exposed to pain via an implanted gland that creates a steroid. A polar bear monster that has a “cryonic venom” that slowly freezes its victim secreted from the claws etc.

Despite going a bit apocalyptic, I wanted to show that humans are a resilient bunch and put a bit of optimism in it, showing the citizens of Leone building gardens, businesses and houses and using whatever they can find to make technology to cope with the hostile environment. 

While there are moments where they feel despair or just pure hopelessness, the sight of the Kamen Riders never giving up on them give the people the drive to keep going, thus Leone thrives and grows as their spirits are raised and more and more of the Pra’meths are defeated.

What do you think sirs?

[freshaslime]

What I like/don’t like about FE games that I’ve played (contain spoilers)

I just want an excuse to talk about my favorite series so I decided to make this post. Some of you maybe could relate to this or not, either it’s fine. I’m also open for conversation if you want to elaborate further. 

Disclaimer: This is super subjective there’s no way everyone will agree with me and it’s okay. And yes I really need to play Tellius games but my laptop is not strong enough to emulate it. 

Fire Emblem: Genealogy of The Holy War (FE4)

What I like: Great politics and world building. The way the map and story are connected are amazing as well. It has also has great cast (Lewyn quickly became my favorite anima mage). For some reason, it feels like I’m controlling an army while playing this game and makes the game feel big. I also have embraced the broken Holy Weapons. Oh and the auto save feature is great, I wish they would implement it to the other games. 

What I don’t like: They don’t tell the player about how the game works, like arena, inheritance, pairings, and money. If a player has to check a guide to understand basic things about the game, then it has a problem. Going across the map for 10 minutes after 5 minutes battling can be boring as well. 

Fire Emblem: Binding Blade (FE6)

What I like: Igrene’s supports. If you haven’t read it, do yourself a favor and read it now. Hard mode is full of suffering but those hard mode bonuses are so great and beautiful. It also has great pre-promotes, this is the game that makes me appreciate them. Zephiel’s nihilism view on the world is really interesting and it makes him one of my favorite villains. He also has a badass animation, honestly the animations in the GBA games are cool as heck. 

What I don’t like: A R C A D I A. A fog of war desert chapter that has wyvern knights coming at the army and with a horse unit and a useless dark mage are forced to be deployed along with reinforcements at your tail is bad enough. But no, they had to include a sandstorm effect. I get it that it relates to the story but omg it always makes my eyes watery and uncomfortable. No other map gives more physical pain as this one. It also has ambush reinforcements but I don’t have too much of an issue on this game. RNG is… weird in this game. Roy is a dead weight until he promotes #NotMyBoy. Sophia can go to join Nino, Amelia, and Ewan.

Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword (FE7)

What I like: Battle Before Dawn is super fun. Hector and Lyn are cool lords. I’m not a huge shipper but this game has most of my FE otps (Lyn/Rath, Pent/Louise, and Matthew/Leila). Also Black Fang is a cool name for an organization. 

What I don’t like: Rain. Overall, this game is like Eliwood, mediocre. Both story and gameplay-wise, which is both good and bad at the same time. Rain. Considering that this is the prequel of FE7, Lyn’s addition feels weird since she’s nowhere to be found in FE6. Rain. Also Nino, I know you’ve been through a lot but thanks for making FE6 happen I guess, smh go join Sophia, Amelia, and Ewan. Rain.

Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones (FE8)

What I like: Overall, this game has the strongest cast in the series and good villains as well and I couldn’t praise it enough. It’s super fun to see Ephraim being a gary stu and everyone embraces it. The Rausten defense map is pretty fun as well. The split campaign encourages replayability which is nice to have. Also I gotta mention Seth somewhere so they you go.

What I don’t like: The short campaign hurts, especially with an enjoyable cast. It also wouldn’t hurt to have more difficulty level, for people who wants more challenge. Amelia and Ewan can join Sophia and Nino. 

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (FE11)

What I like: Save spots, it’s only second to FE4’s auto saves feature imo. Caeda and Wing Spear are a blessing. I also quite like the portrait art. Good gameplay experience overall, since this is my first FE game and I got HOOKED after finishing it. Last but not least, Anna/Jake is otp. It also have a lot of difficulty levels, which I feel every FE games need.

What I don’t like: The 2.5D battle model looks weird on the DS. No supports hurts this game too. It has a huge cast and without any development for them, a lot of them are easily forgotten. The gaiden chapters requirement only makes it worse. Also hey ambush reinforcements that’s slightly more annoying that FE6’s

Fire Emblem: New Mystery of The Emblem ~Heroes of Light and Shadow~

What I like: They removed FE11’s dumb gaiden requirement, thankfully. Battling Legion, while the map is nothing special, it leaves me with a strong impression, probably because of his “Uweeheehee”. It’s quite similar to FE11 so I don’t have much to say here.

What I don’t like: The way Kris is handled as the avatar doesn’t feel right, I don’t oppose of Marth having an advisor other than Jagen but idk it’s like they both try to stroke each other’s ego. At least Kris got a monocle I guess. Oh and CAN WRYS STOP ASKING ME IF I WANT TO BE BALD??? Go hang out with Bantu or something smh. Honestly it’s been a while since I’ve played this game and I forget a lot about it. You can say it’s not too memorable.

Fire Emblem: Awakening (FE13)

What I like: Fun characters, except for a select few. There are some interesting and enjoyable supports in the game too (Gaius/Libra’s doughnut rain support always makes me laugh). It’s awesome if you’re playing to make great children with high stats and all the skills and see them break the game. Cutscenes and some maps look amazing. Great voice acting too. 

What I don’t like: The story falls off a bit in the end for me. Some characters stretching out their gimmicks too much. Open wide maps with ambush reinforcements are not a great match whatsoever, much more annoying than FE11’s since Awakening has relatively smaller maps (someone please correct me if I’m wrong, I’m talking out of memory here). Lunatic is difficult in a bad way with those enemy-only skills. Some of the class skills are completely inferior compared to the others.

Fire Emblem: Fates (FE14)

What I like: Overall, I like the balancing they did with pair up, reclassing, and Lunatic mode. The added personal skill is great and gives more personality to each character while some new classes skills added aren’t completely useless. The new classes are fun to use too. The cast is pretty good as well and there are great supports as well (shoutout for Charlotte/Kaden). Birthright wins in the story department, while Conquest deserves the praise for gameplay (Chapter 10 is frustrating when played blind but afterward it’s a complete fun), and Revelations leads in having everyone on the team and doing themed run on. I did a maid/butler run and it was amazing to see a huge ass dragon was killed by a team full of well dressed maids and butlers. 

What I don’t like: There are cases of missed opportunity on some of the characters here. Some outfit designs aren’t the best. It’s sad because the armored knights looks great, especially with the black and pink armor for Benni and Effie and then there’s the cavalry with thong. The excuse for children is bs. My biggest gripe with Birthright is that there are maps who would do just fine with “defeat the boss” goal but nope, it has to be “route the enemy”. It sucks to have finished killing the boss but can’t end the map because there’s still enemies at the other side of the map (Camilla’s underground chapter I’m looking at you). With Conquest, it has a weak story, even in FE standard which not high at all. Roy needs to thank Conquest!Corrin for taking the worst lord position from him. Revelation plays too much on gimmicks on the maps. The elevator map makes me want to cry out of sadness honestly. It also has balancing problems with the recruitable units. You don’t put a level 9 Dark Mage and a level 5 promoted bow user on the same map or make a unit useless on the map they join in.

[waldos-writing]

The Dig Initiative: Chapter 32

Today I Am

“Thomas?” It was an echo through a dream. It came down to him through pitch, again and again. “Thomas?” Someone familiar calling to him. He’d been sleeping in a cocoon of hands, of familiar friends who had gone silent after the fever. They were warm and soft and silent compared to the rest of the world. One of them pushed their fingers into his left eye. It hurt, bruised, but he didn’t brush it away. “Thomas?” Fingers were going down his throat too, jabbing at his gums. He didn’t want to fight it. Not really. He wanted to sleep some more. Maybe forever. But they were calling out to him. Crisp, bright sounds. He had to get up.

The place was dark, but busy. There were people chatting nearby, nothing hurried or urgent. Someone turned a light his way, blinding. He flinched and shielded his face before figures started taking shape. A blurry man to his right. A distant one down near his feet. Someone to his left, but they were still dark.

“Thomas?” That was Dr. Fletcher next to him. He had to turn his head to see her. It was almost like there was a dark film over his left eye. “Oh, I can’t tell you how good it is to see you awake.”

“I can’t see,” he said calmly.

“What was that?”

Thomas waved a hand in front of his left eye, staring wide-eyed, even going so far as to close his right eye just in case, but didn’t see anything. His arms flopped back down on his chest and he said, with a small sigh, “I can’t see.”

“You can’t…at all?” asked Harvey, bless that worry wort, who hovered closer. He didn’t have to open his eyes to find him. He shimmered like a flash of light through cobwebs and lace.

“No, I can.”

“You can or you can’t?”

“I can.” And he sat up, ignoring Dr. Fletcher who crowed at him to take his time, with her “Okay, okay. Easy now.” When he was propped up, he looked right at Harvey and covered his useless eye. “I can’t.”

“Oh.” Then it dawned on him. “Oh! Oh, okay. Ah. Really blind, huh?”

“Just the one, though.”

“Ah.”

“Mm.”

Thomas opened his arms just as Harvey barreled into him, and the two embraced, so damn happy that the other one was alive and well. They laughed, clapping each other on the back and gripping onto shoulders and arms, saying how good it was to see the other.

They gave him time to come together, get used to his eye. He joked about taking Warren’s, but the hard woman was somewhere else and not up for jokes just yet. He took in the dark surroundings, squinting up at a low square light in the ceiling that pulsed down UV like the solar substitutes. There were other lights too, more orange, more organic. The girl, Alice, was back. Her head was cool but there was something dull in her eyes. Thomas decided he would see to that later. His head hurt and he had to chew flour paste and cold beans around the pain in his mouth. The teeth were ruined, and they screamed whenever he managed to bite down on them. It was exhausting to give them attention, so he pushed that back too.

“What happened while I was asleep?” Thomas asked the small group eating off of aluminum foil and paper plates. “Do we have word from the city?”

“Oh, we have word,” Harvey said. He nodded and shoved some more food between his teeth, scraping his finger on the rough patch of beard that covered his skin. Still wouldn’t grow in full. Harvey didn’t like to be teased about it, but it was such an ugly thing.

“And?”

They were all silently trying to figure out how to line up their answers, who was going to say what. Melissa wouldn’t look at him but stayed close by to make sure nothing happened. Warren was busy with the kids telling stories. Jay and Annalise were off comforting Alice. The new kid, the recruit, crouched nearby.

Thomas turned to Harvey and pressed him, impatiently grabbing at any thought. He heard …been five days…and…full lock down. Ask about Subject 01.

“Who’s Subject 01?” Thomas asked.

“Joe Diggs,” Melissa said with a defeated sigh, her back still to him. “Said his name was Joe Diggs.”

“He was a patient of yours.”

“More a ward of Montemille.”

“But he was specifically your patient. What was he like?”

Her first reaction, of course, was to ask how he knew. She wanted to throw it at him like an accusation. Thomas held his hand over his blind eye, cupping it as he propped his elbow up on one knee. He wanted her to accuse. He wanted her to test him, but he was afraid of her anger and her fear and her scorn. He just wanted to be Thomas Carter. Back at the Center of Hope. Back with his mop and his watch and the quiet room with her photographs. He wanted to be Thomas Carter, that’s all. Instead of whatever this was.

“He was bullheaded, which is to be expected from a case like his. I preface this because he was textbook sociopath, and that doesn’t automatically make him evil or a bad person, no more than someone who is manic depressive or schizophrenic or autistic. All it meant was that he had no empathy towards others and he had learned to read someone like an open book and offer the emotion that would best suit the situation. A good trick, really. I could tell you how many CEOs…. Anyways. So, along with being a sociopath, he had delusions of grandeur. Pretty standard for people who claim what he claims.”

“What was that?”

“Oh, when they brought him in he claimed to be the Messiah. He was the fourth Jesus Christ I’d dealt with. The only reason he was at Montemille was because he had swindled dozens of families out of millions of dollars to support a church in his name. That was the reason for his arrest. This has happened before.”

“Yeah?’ asked Harvey with a laugh. “Got a lot of Gods running around?”

“We do,” said Dr. Fletcher matter-of-factly. “We have plenty of people around the United States who think they’re Jesus. There will be others.

“Joe was charming. He was. He was compliant to a point—he didn’t enjoy the meals and would arrange food strike protests until he eventually caused panic by suggesting that we were poisoning them and he was given a feeding tube for a stretch of time. That wasn’t my idea, but my advisor demanded it.”

Thomas wasn’t sure if he wanted to pry into that and discover Melissa was lying. Not that she had actively lied to him, of course, but she kept these secrets from him. It would be ugly to pry. He let her continue.  

“Joe was helpful to others in the program and offered to pray over them when they first started the injections. He had, I recall, a very sweet voice. Very convincing with that whole ‘I am the Shepard of my flock’ gimmick he liked to give.”

Melissa leaned back, the makeshift plate resting at a hazardous angle on her thigh. She closed her eyes and disappeared in there, recalling.

“When we got the first Westwood trial correct, he noticed that he was the only one who knew how to get through it. I’d been talking to him, reminding him of his humility, if there was any. He used to laugh and promise....” Melissa laughed and it was discordant and sad. “He promised me a place in heaven. I couldn’t get through to him, but the whole point was that we were re-developing the brain to overwrite these anomalies and correct disorders. I just told him I appreciated it and thanked him each time, because I thought it better to appease him then, right when he was fighting off the fever.”

“Now he thinks he’s a god,” Thomas said.

“He was the first successful patient. ‘Burned him clean’ is what he was always saying. He knew, I swear, that when he made it through he would be gifted with the unknown abilities attributed to the virus. I mean, we couldn’t detain him if we tried. I was gone before he broke out with his partner, the woman. I never learned her name, just that she was paired with him, this symbiotic nature that kept them both alive. Subject 47. Augmenter.”

“What do you think his connection is with the director? Lawrence DuVang?”

“I don’t know,” she answered with a helpless shrug. No eye contact. Maybe he appreciated that too, because he wasn’t sure what his blind eye saying. What his good eye was saying. “Working for him? Maybe he is Lawrence DuVang. I mean, it wouldn’t be hard to come up with a persona. Not for him.”

“But they’re going to do something with the CleanAire systems,” Harvey offered. He took Melissa’s plate, folding the tinfoil together into a tight ball and hooking it towards a large black plastic bag that they were using as a trash bin. “And, hey,” he added with pointed bitterness, “at least we have that Declan guy hacking away at them.”

“What?”

“Jay and Alice,” said Harvey. He rolled his eyes. “They have this guy in their band who says he can hack the towers and take them offline. I mean, Christ, if he can do it, we’re saved. For now. But that’s a pretty huge if, you know? He does it or not, we still have to act on this Diggs guy or this Lawrence guy or whoever, don’t we?”

“How’s she holding up?” asked Thomas.

“She’s….” Harvey rolled his shoulder, glancing back at Jay and Annalise who sat next to her, stroking her hand occasionally or joking about nothing. “Found out about Devon. Remember that guy we found? That was Jay’s cousin. Doorman Devon. Apparently he was a DJ and then a priest or something, I don’t know. She was in love with him. Really wrecked her to hear about it. That and. Well. I mean, I can only imagine, but she….”

“She lost the kid,” the recruit said. He’d been watching the trio too, with big soft sighs and slumped shoulders. “Fucking sucked, man.”

“Yeah,” Harvey answered. “Yeah. Sucks.”

“Fucking sucks,” the Recruit corrected.

“Okay, so, who asked you anyway?”

The recruit just shrugged and got up without saying anything. They watched him go. Harvey was vocal about his displeasure at having him at all, though he was not actually unkind to him. Just tired. There was nothing cruel to Harvey, nothing that would force the kid out and back up there with the rest of the Black Jackets. Thomas wasn’t sure what he would do if Harvey ever did become cruel.

Thomas got up to take a walk. He couldn’t have imagined what the underground place would look like. There were so many people. So many more than he remembered in the nest. They came out of little garbage tents and makeshift rooms and hidden coves. It reminded Thomas of his time with Ma Stuff, with the homeless people near the river, but everyone here was warm and slower and calmer.

Everyone came up to him, in groups or one at a time, and asked him questions from “How are you” to “When are we getting out of here” to “I had a dream and it scared me and I want to know if everything is going to be okay.” He loved them each and listened because he wanted to. He found Warren and hugged her, even if she bristled and turned over to Kay like it was the most embarrassing thing she could do. He found Harlow and Kate and their young children, the twins who had needed so much care. He wiggled their feet and made them laugh. He helped the three trouble makers—Ian, Mijar, and Avrich—find a string of lights with some of the underground people and told them all to go decorate one of the corners. He took his time so that they each felt appreciated and content and, for a moment, assuaged from the cruelty of everything. He made his way over to Alice and sat with her as Jay and Annalise went to talk to some of the other people. The subway people.

“Hey,” he said and pressed his back against the wall. She was sitting on his right, so he didn’t have to turn his head to see her out of the corner of his eye. “Did you get some food?”

She offered him a shrug in response. He had to ask if she wanted anything, to which she shrugged again.

“Yeah,” he said and sighed, letting his head fall back so he could look up at the ceiling. Or maybe try. It was too dark to see it. “I wonder how it’s going up there.”

They both looked up, trying to imagine the Heights spread out like a map. He had heard Harvey squawk about an extended curfew, something he would have to ask about. But, just then, he thought of the people in the city. Mothers and fathers inside their homes, old guys named Jerry rubbing grease off their knuckles with turpentine, artists named Vivian pushing big globs of acrylic around a five-foot canvas. He imagined children doing homework or pretending to do homework or just watching TV until someone called them out of their room. He imagined a young man with locks tied up in a thick bunch, pouring over a computer, poisoning himself with water laced with anti-anxiety medication.

“I’m glad I lost it,” Alice said quietly. She pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. “For lots of reasons. I just didn’t think I could be a mother, you know.”

“I don’t think I could be one either,” Thomas said and smiled. “Sorry.”

“Sounds like something he would say,” she answered with a laugh, but it was gone just as it started. “I can’t believe he’s gone.”

Thomas didn’t know him. They never had a chance to meet, and the cold body they found didn’t have any spark rattling around inside to get a read off of. He could see flashes of him drifting from her, though. They were yellow lens flares over a drum kit. Blue smoke in a dark room. Red sprinkles of wandering fingertips. The colors spooled around him and he started to feel a deep pit grow in his stomach.

“It won’t help, I know. But, if I find the bastard who started this? And I take him down? It’s all I can offer.”

Alice snaked her hand towards his and entwined their fingers in a loose knot. She gave it a squeeze then. He would miss that warmth when he was back in the city, marching towards the end of the street with an army of black and white boiling around him. He tried to keep hold of her colorful memories. Maybe that would comfort him in the gray.

“Take his head and I’d call it square.”

“You want it delivered on a silver platter?”

“I like gold better,” she said, and there was that little smirk at the side of her face again.

“Golds harder to come by.”

“Hey. Steal one of those ceramic platters from like a grandmother’s pantry or something, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Thanksgiving dinner style,” she added, and laughed, short and simple, before she took her hand away.

Harvey had stowed away in the largest shed, the one where he had been sleeping. He enjoyed a kind of privilege there, but the man who governed the subway people was nearby, mending some clothes with a big ugly needle and a spool of fishing wire. Clause. Thomas would need to talk to him too. Harvey was busy with Melissa, distracting themselves with camping trips when they were younger, sharing recipes to make the right S’mores.

“I’ll be back,” said Thomas as he got back up. He was lying.

“Okay,” said Alice, her knees up by her chest. She knew.

Thomas left Harvey and Melissa, veering off instead towards Clause. The big man with his big white beard didn’t look up as Thomas approached.

“So you’re their guy,” said Clause, tugging the needle through the leather sleeve of his jacket. “The top dog.”

“Not by choice,” said Thomas. “Is this seat taken.”

“Taken in that it was stolen from up top? Yes. Taken as in occupied? No.” He motioned to the milk crate near him. “It’s yours.”

“Thanks.” Thomas sat on the milk crate, leaning on his knees to give the illusion that he was shorter than Clause. Even with the different heights in chairs, Thomas was right there at his eye-level. “How’s it going down here?”

“Well enough,” said Clause, still not looking up. “You got a lot of people with you.”

“So do you.”

“First come, first serve.”

“Do you think you can keep them a little longer for me?” Thomas asked, bracing himself on the milk crate.

“How long?”

“Only a little longer.”

“I need more than that,” said Clause and finished up his stitch in the sleeve. It was ragged and lumpy, but it would hold well. He admired his work by shaking the jacket and cutting the extra wire with a short knife from his belt. “How’s that?”

“Looks good,” said Thomas with a nod.

“Looks like shit.” Clause shook it out again, giving it a good once over, before he nodded and shrugged himself into it. It barely fit. He appeared to be very proud of it all the same. “Anyways, you going to give me a time and I’ll tell you yes or no, or we’re going to end this now.”

“And where would everyone go if we did?” Thomas asked, just because he felt up to a little challenge.

“I dunno. Not here.”

“Up there?”

They both looked up at the ceiling, imagining the empty streets above and the cold gray clouds above that. It was a dead world up there compared to the warm fires and Christmas lights in the subway tunnel.

“Up there with the Black Jackets?” Thomas continued.

Clause’s whole face scrunched up at the words “Black Jacket.” He huffed and started respooling the fishing wire. But he was firm in his beliefs and his need to protect not only his people, but what he perceived to be rightfully his, if anything could be belong to anyone in that dark little world of theirs.

“Two days,” Thomas said at last.

He got up before Clause said anything, dusting his hands on the side of his pants. It was good enough. Thomas knew the offer was valid and he’d make sure he kept his end of the bargain.

“But what’re you going to do?” Clause asked after him, still on his seat, still holding the needle and thread.

“I need to find Joe Diggs.” Before Clause could ask why, he continued, “I owe someone a head on a platter.”

“Well.” Clause wasn’t getting up. In fact, he sank further into the shadows. Someone came to them with a basket, leaning in towards Clause to share a few words. If he wanted, Thomas could listen in, but he didn’t. Clause nodded and turned back to say, “Give ‘im hell for us.”

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