#be nice I’m not good with armor or mechs alike

[razs-archetype]

Gabeeriel..

[tallyquark]

Arcane Warmup

@ghostbo-yuh and I were talking about Jynx and Vi's tattoos and the idea was born in ghoob that it could have been the same tattooist. And then I wrote this as a warmup because I couldn't help myself and we're doing an Arcane rewatch

The lanes were falling apart after the death of Vander, the disappearance of his oldest daughter, and the death of his five others. For Markus, this was of little consequence; he liked the man well enough, and Vander had done a good job holding the Lanes together. But they hadn’t been close, beyond the fact that Markus had owned a small tattoo parlor close to the Last Drop, and once a month had both attended a community-led outreach program to provide food or services to families in need (or in Markus’ case, want). They’d only sat with the man on occasion, laughing at his crass jokes and, just the once, giving the man a tattoo that they’d been particularly proud of. 

Perhaps not close isn’t the right way to put it either. 

Markus watches from his shop as Silco takes over the Last Drop, ripping out the well-used benches and tables to replace with shiny, glittering things. They do their best to stay quiet, out of sight. Markus fought in the last war between the Lanes and Piltover. They can remember the way Silco used to be, but they’d always been Vander’s man, in a matter of speaking. In Vander’s camp. And then everything had gone to shit and you were lucky if you made it out alive, much less with all limbs functional and intact. 

Silco’s power move doesn’t come as a surprise to them or to any of their neighbors in this market center of the Lanes. They all keep their heads down, and Markus only takes note of the glittery pink drug that hits the streets, a super-soldier serum with an extremely addictive side affect of making one feel like they’re invincible. They have no desire to try this new drug, they need steady hands to complete their work with pride. 

People will tell you all sorts of things when they’re lying on your table for hours with only techno from the speakers and the sound of the gun buzzing to surround them. People will say almost anything, in those circumstances. 

Vander had known that. Markus just hopes Silco never thinks to truly look into where the old bastard had gotten some of his best tips. 

Markus and Vander had been close, and his death, and the death of all those kids, makes their heart throb oddly in their chest sometimes. But there’s nothing to be done about it now. All they can do is keep their head down and try to keep clients coming in so they can pay for the roof over their head, and keep their employees in a job. 

Years pass, and Shimmer floods the open and not-so-open market alike. Markus begins to see competition in the form of body modding, and as soon as they have a client come in who willingly cut off their own arm to have it replaced by a shimmer-powered mech arm, Markus goes out to find the installer and offers them a place in his parlor and the protection of living with a group of likemided people. The armorer agrees after some haggling, and then Markus is the proud supplier of body modifications ranging from piercings to mecha replacements. Lucky them. 

One day, a young girl slams both of their doors open, skipping her way inside. Bright blue braided tails of hair swing with her every step, and a somewhat manic gleam shines in her eyes. 

“The name’s Jynx,” she announces proudly, slamming a hand on Markus’ check-in counter. “I’m here for a tat.”

“Of course,” Markus says pleasantly. “You’ve come to the right place.” They narrow their eyes at the teenager before tilting their head to the side. “...Powder?”

The girl’s eyes widen and her face tightens into something angry. “It’s Jynx now, didn’t you just hear me? It’s Jynx.”

Markus blinks, and relief and disbelief and a thousand other emotions crowd for their attention. They push them away, settling on offering…Jynx…a wide smile. “Well, Jynx, it’s nice to see a friendly face. I’m glad you made it out of the whole mess. Everyone here thought you perished with the rest of them.”

Jynx stills at this, her fingers that have been tap-tapping away at her thigh stopping. Now that she’s stopped moving, Markus notices how frantically jittery she was. The stillness is somehow more eerie. “Silco took me in. He saved me. And Vi—Vi—” she pauses, and her fingers begin to tap again, one-two-three, on her thigh. She folds her arms, and now she’s tapping at her elbow, one-two-three. “You haven’t seen Vi around, have you?”

Markus shakes their head, chilled all of the sudden. If Silco took this girl in, they can’t trust her anymore. It hurts to think; they can remember her running around at the monthly function, can remember her watching them with wide, interested eyes when they’d do pop-up flash booths in the streets. She even came into the shop once, trailing behind her firecracker of an older sister with a snaggle tooth and spiky hair. 

“Figures,” Jynx mutters. “Anywho, let’s get to it!”

“What do you have in mind?” Markus asks, professional as always. Just a job. 

She smiles wide and pulls a sheet of paper from her back pocket, handing it over to them. Markus takes it and unfolds it, eyebrow raising. They look up at her. “You know, something this size will take a few sessions. Also, its not policy for something like this to be a walk-in. However—”

She’s slams a gun on the table, something stocky and powerful. They hadn’t even seen the holster for it. Markus rolls their eyes, unfazed. 

“However, seeing as you’re an old friend, I’m willing to bend the rules a little. Give me a few moments to check my schedule and I’ll take you back.”

She preens, pleased. “Thanks Markus. Knew I could count on you.” She slings the gun around her pointer finger before shoving it back into it’s holster and going to sit down in a chair near the door. 

“Damned whipper-snappers,” Markus mutters, snapping their fingers. Latisha pops her head out of her office at the noise. “Ya boss?”

“Clear my schedule for the day, would ya?” They say, rubbing at their eyes. “Take any that are willing to change, and tell the rest to fuck off until next week. High priority client came in.”

Latisha side-eyes Jynx, who in now playing with string, looping it around her fingers into intricate little knots. “Will do.”

***

Markus prints out the stencils and places them across Jynx’ body, readjusting where she tells him to as she watches herself in the mirror. 

For the first session, he outlines it. Swirl after swirl, it begins to take shape under their hands. Jynx says nothing the first session; the only indication she’s even alive are the little huffs she sometimes lets out when they go over a tender spot. 

“See you in two weeks!” She says after their first session, and Markus shakes his head, smiling. 

***

The second session she won’t stop talking. Markus begins the process of coloring in the lines, carefully dabbing at her skin as ink and blood well beneath their gun. It’s a lot of blue. 

She chats about her day, and then about her week. She talks about who she killed the other day, and how she’s finally perfected the little bombs she used to work so hard on. Markus responds when they feel they need to, but otherwise lets her talk and talk. 

They finish the session and she beams at Markus, sweeping them into a big hug that shows off the strength of her wiry frame. They don’t know why they’re surprised — any one of Vander’s would be strong, and anyone close to Silco is stronger. 

One more session

***

This session, she’s a little quieter, but Jynx talks about how much she missed her sister, and how much she misses Vander. Near the end, with the voice of a confessionary, she talks about the night Vander died, and how Silco stepped in to take his place. Markus doesn’t know what to say as she cries silently, but they squeeze her shoulder once, to show that they’re listening. 

It’s finally done, and Jynx babbles about how much she loves it, and what a good job Markus did. She hugs him again and promises to keep in touch. Markus chuckles as she goes

***

Three days later, Silco himself is in their shop, fucked-up eye and all. Markus silently pushes a small button under their desk, and they hope their employees and any clients get out while they can. 

“The only reason I’m not killing you right here is because Jynx is ecstatic about the work you did, and I myself am pleasantly impressed,” the man says, a small smile on his lips. “I thought I had wrapped up all that remained of her old life. I hope you understand, this isn’t personal.”

Markus barks out a laugh, something stilted and rotten. “Just business, eh?”

Silco shrugs. “You’re a painful reminder of the past. I want to keep Jynx looking towards the future.”

With that, he snaps his fingers and Markus is grabbed, roughly. They don’t fight it, can’t. These are shimmer-junkies, and Markus has never even tasted a drop of the stuff. 

***

Prison sucks. Markus never thought they’d get to know this detail so intimately. Prison sucks, and they get beat up by the guards or fellow inmates or some combination of both. They eat slop, try to avoid solitary at all costs, and build tattoo guns out of trades gears and needles, buying ink off of someone with contact to the outside.

Sometimes they lay awake at night and tattoo meaningless designs into the skin around their ankles. They run out of space there, and move up. It’s soothing, familiar. 

***

They get moved, and they don’t know how long they’ve been down here. Could be decades, but has probably been years. Someone slaps their tray down next to theirs the first time they eat in their new place.

“Hey Markus. Long time no see.”

Markus looks up, and a fiery, grown-up Vi smirks at him, genuine and real. 

They stand to hug her, and Vi returns it, squeezing hard until a guard yells at them to break it up. 

“You’re not dead,” Markus says in wonder, and Vi shrugs. 

“Got nabbed by Silco’s corrupt cop the night everything went down. Been here ever since. But enough about me! What’d you do to land yourself in here?”

Markus shrugs. “I was always Vander’s. Silco just finally figured that out.”

She leans down, something hopeful in her eyes. “Have you seen Powder? 

They nod. “She’s out there. Silco has her, seems like ever since shit went sideways. Gave her a tat. It was a good one.”

Vi closes her eyes, settling beside them. “Fuck.”

***

They eat together the next day, and then Markus doesn’t see Vi for a few weeks. When they do again, she’s spitting mad and in a bad mood. 

“I know you have a contraband gun,” she says, settling heavily besides them. 

Markus nods, eying her warily. 

She clenches her fists on the table. Markus notices they’re bloodied and chaffed. She has a bruise under her eye. 

“I want something big,” she says, ignoring her slop in favor of flexing her fingers, clenching and unclenching them over and over. 

Markus shakes his head. “Of course you do.”

“Can you do that for me?” she asks quietly. “I think I’m being moved soon. Please.”

“Alright. Tonight,” they reply. “Anything in mind?”

Vi’s eyes go far away. “Back and shoulders. Arms. Gears. Smoke. And initials.”

Markus sighs. It will take all night. But if Vi wants it, they’ll do it for her. And then they’ll consider whatever debt they might still own Vander as repaid. 

“I’ll see what I can do.”

***

They end up having enough ink stored around for the idea forming in their mind. They get to work and Vi just sits silently, hands clasped into a fist that she rests her chin on. When Markus asks her to move, she does. When they ask her to stay still, she does. It’s morning meal by the time they finish, but Markus is proud of their work. Vi looks tired but extremely happy. Markus feels sore and achy and their fingers are half-numb from working for almost nine hours straight, but they are content. It's a sick piece of ink, if they do say so themself.

They eat together two more times, before she is moved, just like she said she would be. 

Markus never sees her again.

[needs-to-stop-looking-at-valves]

Scenario to get creative with: Skyquake taking Dreadwing to brothel to "get loose" a bit. ;)

So I found this buried in my asks, and I’m shook because this is actually a VERY fun idea, so let’s fucking go, let’s get carried away with this fuckin idea.

“Ah ah ah, optics closed, brother.”

Dreadwing was usually the one in charge of their creation day celebrations,  but this year, Skyquake wanted to take the reigns. Dreadwing, being a bit of a pushover for his little brother, allowed him to take this one. He knew Cybertron better than he did, so he was expecting something new, something exciting, especially given his tone. Dreadwing allowed his little brother to guide him, optics offline and walking to Primus knows where. Then he finally stopped.

“Okay, open!”

Dreadwing looked around. A bit of an odd building. It didn’t have anything on the outside, apart from a glowing neon sign, depicting a fem blowing a kiss. Dreadwing raised a brow.

“Okay, you got me. What is this?”

“The one thing that makes this place a million times better than Caminus.”

Skyquake paused, clearly wanting his brother to take a moment to think. It then clicked.

“Brother! Are you telling me we’re at a BROTHEL? That’s not even legal-”

“On CAMINUS. Here in Cyberton, they’re quite popular, and this one is the best of the best.”

“Primus sake, how many of these have you seen?”

“I’m not flinging myself at any pretty fem I see, brother. I just like supporting local businesses. Besides, you’ve been so tense with work lately, you deserve just one night to relax. Come on, you trust your brother, do you not?”

Dreadwing hesitated. Skyquake had promised he was going to pay for the evening, and his intentions seemed honest. It felt rude to say no, as uncomfortable as he was. He sighed.

“Fine. Just, make this easy for me, and...be in a different room when you do your thing.”

“Because you need to see my aft when I’m giving it to a fem.”

“Brother.”

“Sorry, sorry, just trying to ease the mood. Come on, follow me.”

Skyquake pushed past the front door, and were met with mechs and fems alike, greeting them loudly. Dreadwing let his brother walk up to the counter as he looked around. There was quite a pretty bunch of mechs and fems around. Freshly waxed and painted, some in the laps of paying customers, some bringing out drinks, and quite a few giving him the optic.

“So, in short, we’re here to celebrate!”

Dreadwing just tuned in to what Skyquake was saying. He was talking to an older fem, who was quite fetching herself. Claws that looked like daggers, and optics that glistened in greed, she looked like she’d have her fair share of prey. She gave him a look over, and chuckled.

“Mmm. Handsome thing, that one is. First time in here, darling?”

“Yes, ma’am. We’re from Caminus, so this is...different.”

“Ah yes, these kinds of places are a big no no there, if I recall. Anyhow, don’t you worry, we’ll take good care of you both. A friend of Skyquake’s is a friend of ours, afterall.”

Skyquake shrugged as his brother gave him the side optic. While there was nothing wrong about visiting this place, Dreadwing was still kink shaming. Skyquake chuckled.

“Don’t look so nervous. They’re all quite kind, I assure you. Now, I’m paying for everything afterwards, I don’t want him to see just how much this is. He’s nosey like that.”

Dreadwing turned his helm away, a bit flustered to be caught in the act of peeking.

“I’m not nosey. I’m...observant.”

“Uh huh. Anyway, Is Maxima here tonight?”

“Yep, you’re lucky, she JUST got in. I’ll see if she’s willing to see you.”

“Maxima?”

Dreadwing found it odd that he was so specific on this particular fem. Skyquake scoffed.

“She’s just a fem. Don’t read too much into it.”

“You mentioned her by name, a bit late for that.”

The fem behind the counter chuckled, seeming to type something on her data pad, before leaning over at Dreadwing.

“Okay handsome, what do YOU like? You lookin’ for a wine and dine type, or a wham bam thank you ma’am?”

Dreadwing stammered. What a question to be asked. Skyquake snorted.

“We can’t afford taking ANYONE out tonight, so tell Cheesecake we gotta pass on that front. Just let him meet a few, see who he clicks with.”

“Can do. And Maxima just told me she’s got time to see you, so head to room one fifteen, you know where that is. Big blue, you’re with me.”

“Please don’t leave me alone. Not that you’re uh, not good company ma’am.”

Skyquake rolled his optics, patting his brother on his shoulder.

“If I didn’t trust them, we wouldn’t be here.”

Dreadwing sighed, before nodding. Skyquake left him to Primus knows where, and Dreadwing followed the fem ahead of him. She opened the door to a reasonable sized room, and the large couches signified it was meant as a sort of waiting room.

“Now, take a seat, we’ll have a few girls and boys pop in, see who you like. Once you find someone, you just come and give me a holler outside. Don’t be nervous, now.”

Dreadwing sat down, and let her leave. He was alone in this room now, and he felt tense. He had the occasional bout of intercourse, but that was SO long ago. Relationships of any sort just felt...odd to him now, as if the only other bot he could interact with, was his own brother. It was a bit sad, if he thought about it for too long. Enough so, that meeting all these mechs and fems did nothing for him. Some of the fems were pretty and sweet, some of the mechs were charming and handsome, but none of them really caught his optics. He was about ready to call it quits, when one remained.

“Hello. I’m Orion Pax.”

He was a small, cute little thing. Amongst the shiny paint jobs, fresh wax, and fish nets, he stuck out like a sore servo. Dreadwing couldn’t help but look at him up and down, perplexed.

“I’m sorry, you...work here?”

“As a part time job, yes. It’s nice to have a little extra credits to spend on the weekends. May I sit next to you?”

All the other’s did the same thing, but for some reason, this made him...nervous. He nodded however, scooting a bit to allow him to sit.

“Everyone is talking about how difficult you are to please. I take it you aren’t quite like your brother.”

“Primus I should hope not.”

That made little Orion chuckle. He pulled out a data pad from his sub space.

“You seem a bit tense. Poetry always relaxes me, personally. Would It help to read you something I wrote?”

“Please, I do love my fair share of poetry.”

The little bot cleared his vocal processor.

“Migrating answers

Beast of love discovers all

Bargain intertwined.”

“That’s...rather lovely. Did you write that?”

“Yes actually. I dabble in poetry in my free time, and more often than not, my sweetspark double checks my work.”

“Does...your sweetspark know you do this?”

“Of course. And he’s fine with it. He isn’t...around a lot, and sometimes you just need a big mech to-”

His face suddenly flared, and he hid it past his data pad.

“I..shouldn’t have said that, ignore it.”

Dreadwing chuckled, pushing the data pad down. What pretty optics, this little bot has.

“There’s...nothing really wrong with that, honestly. You like big mechs, and I like...well, you quite frankly.”

There was an odd moment of silence between them, before Dreadwing pressed his lips against his. There was no resistance, no uncomfortable tension. Dreadwing wanted him, and he clearly felt the exact same. Orion pulled away, cheeks still aflame. Even if this was just some kind of act to draw in more customers, Dreadwing didn’t care. It FELT honest, and the shy little poet angle was adorable. He was cute, innocent, and Dreadwing wanted to frag him till his processor malfunctioned. Orion clearly felt the same way, given how he lingered for a moment, before tapping his servo.

“I...have to go. Don’t forget my name.”

Dreadwing wanted to just take him here and now, but he was not the kind of mech to break etiquette, especially in new places. He waited for little Orion to walk out of the room, waited a moment, and the fem from before popped her helm in.

“So, you got your pick of the litter. Anyone-”

“Orion Pax. The small fellow.”

Realizing he sounded a bit too eager, he cleared his vocal processor. How desperate was he? Not even letting her finish her sentence. She chuckled, before motioning him to follow her once again.

“Let’s get you a room big guy. Feel like if I keep you two apart any longer, you’ll start breaking doors down.”

Dreadwing slipped past the other mechs and fems, and was brought to another room. It felt so much more intimate in here than the previous room. A nice, soft looking berth, soft music being played in the background, and the best part? A little Orion Pax. Standing there, in a rather thin looking night gown. The fem chuckled, nudging his side.

“Don’t let his size fool you. He’s sturdy.”

She slipped out, and Orion groaned in humiliation.

“I’m sorry about that, she uh, has no idea what she’s talking about.”

“Are you saying you’re NOT sturdy?”

Dreadwing had no idea where that question came from. He delivered it so eagerly, it made BOTH of their faces feel flushed. Orion rubbed the back of his helm, finally putting his gaze back upon him.

“I...I mean, I wouldn’t say THAT…”

Dreadwing had no idea he’d be so easily wooed by someone so small. Orion gestured to the berth.

“Do you uh, want a massage? We usually do that to kinda ease customers into it.”

“I don’t need easing in, to be frank.”

Dreadwing had no idea what came over him. He was on Orion like some hound dog, lifting him off the floor, and practically flinging him onto berth. He pressed his lips against his, and Orion did nothing to fight it. His little servos ran across his chest, dipped in between those nooks and crannies of his armor. Dreadwing savored those touches. Savored the way he groaned into his lips, savored the way he smelled even. Orion pulled away, servos lightly caressing his face. 

“You...should open your spike panel. A big mech like you needs to be taken care of.”

It might have been just sweet talk, but Primus this little one had such a way with words. Dreadwing pushed off of him, popping open his spike panel. He was almost embarrassed, how pressurized his spike was already. There was greed in his optics, and he sat up, using his little servos to grab and stroke his girth.

“Something...tells me you aren’t as innocent as I thought previously.”

Orion chuckled, rubbing his cheek against the thick, eager spike.

“I...just like big mechs. And you’re as big as they come. You deserve to feel SO good.”

Orion pushed the tip past his lips, and Dreadwing felt himself tense up. Such a little mouth, with such a wanting, skilled glossa. His glossa was small, just like the rest of him, but with the way it circled around him, the way he let the drool dribble down his base. Dreadwing couldn’t help but have his helm toss back as the little mech only took him further. This wasn’t the first time he took a spike that size, he doubted it’d be the last. After a good, solid moment of lubing up his spike, Orion pulled away. Orion laid on his back, opening both his legs, and his valve panel. He made quite the show; playing and kneading at his already soaked folds. Dreadwing couldn’t help but stroke himself, and that seemed to only egg on the little bot.

“If I can be lewd for a moment...I want you to frag me as hard as you can. I want to feel that big, throbbing spike inside of me. And YOU want my little valve.”

He was right. Dreadwing leaned forward, putting his servo over his little chest, as if he’d try to run away from him.

“When you say as hard as you can, I do hope you understand I do not take that lightly.”

“Oh trust me, I know what I’m asking for. Come on big mech. Give it to me. Use me. Fuck me.”

Such pretty words, they could be poetry in itself. Dreadwing no longer hesitated. He pushed himself past the lips, and instead of taking it slowly, Dreadwing just stuffed himself right inside, fully and totally. Orion threw his helm back, little servos clinging to his back desperately.

“Are you hurt? Should I-”

“Don’t you pull out. Don’t you dare.”

That was all the permission Dreadwing needed. He was done being nice. He started thrusting into him, his hips clanging against his own. Dreadwing wasn’t merciful; having enough force in his thrust to move the berth itself. Orion’s mouth was a tool for evil, first being used to charm him into this berth, now using it to arouse him further. The way he cried out for him, the way he cried for more, the way he screamed, as if for mercy. Dreadwing kept his face shoved into that sweet, soft neck of his, and the little one wasn’t even spared his bites. Orion’s breath was hot, husky in his audial.

“You can bite me harder, big boy. Take a bite out of me, like I know you want.”

A good, harsh bite not only made his neck bleed, but made Orion squeal in ecstasy. Dreadwing knew he wasn’t going to last very long, not with a tight valve like this, not with a mech so hungry for his touch. When Orion grabbed fist fulls of his aft (with a rather surprising grip), he was forced into an overload. He panicked, realizing he was still inside, before he pulled out. He ended up showering the little mech in his pink, hot load. The sight of the little mech bathed in the afterglow, was enough to make Dreadwing want him yet again. Orion wiped his face with his servo, and licked it off, sighing in content.

“You...REALLY needed that, didn’t you?”

“More...than I thought, honestly. I apologize, I don’t know what’s the polite thing to do from here. Am I supposed to...give you a tip, or-”

“You gave me a LOT more than a tip, big mech.”

Orion chuckled, one hand leaning down to help ease fluids out of his gaping valve. This little mech was so quick witted, so eager to pull him further into affection. Dreadwing was about to go for a second round, when there was a knock at their door.

“Time’s up you two. Everything alright?”

“Just fine! He was just saying he wants to buy more time.”

Dreadwing was about to speak against that, as he said no such thing, until Orion held onto his helm, taking a nip out of his chin. Dreadwing lightly gulped.

“I...suppose I could use more time. It IS my creation day, after all.”

“Good to hear! Go on you two, I’ll check in later!”

As the voice left, Orion chuckled.

“Now that we have just a little more time...how do you feel about letting me at YOUR valve?”

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

Dreadwing lost track of time as he walked out of that room. His brother had been waiting there for what seemed like a while, given the relief on his face.

“Primus sake, there you are! You were in there for SO long, thought someone was killing you or something.”

“I...apologize. I lost track of time.”

Skyquake chuckled, shaking his helm.

“Alright, let’s see the damage here…”

Skyquake handled the final bill for them both, and Dreadwing was too lost in his thoughts to peek over his shoulder. He did some rather...embarrassing things in there. Sure he liked it all, but he didn’t like figuring out all these secret kinks he seemed to have. No matter.

What were the odds he was going to see him again, anyway?

[goldstonegolem64]

epilogue

On the planet of Olkarion Rebels,Queen slayers Mercarnies and Olkair alike were celebrating the Huge Victory they just had against the empire .But above the planet the Castle of lions , Along with several other rebel ships were being repaired by Vanguards cloud of nanobots. An as this was happening inside of the Castle of lions .Lance,Keith, Hunk, Pidge,Jay and Matt  Were all sitting around The healing pods that housed Thace and Shiro now both armless seeing as Shiro was rejected do to his metal arm being severally damaged in the fight  

“ Hey Jay can you put some music on sitting here in silence is really depressing “Matt asked 

“ Alright  “ Jay replied as he tapped on his wrist computer and let his music start play 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wccRif2DaGs

“ Thank you “Matt said 

“ Your welcome “ Jay said before the room return to the semi silence it was before just with music playing in the background They all sat there for a few minutes until Allura,Coran, Ezra,Shay and Kolivan walked in

“ So how's everyone doing  ?” Coran asked But no one answered” Oh that bad uh” Coran rubbed the back of  his head as Ezra and Shay walked to their respective Boyfriends 

“ Well after everything they have gone through it makes sense that they would be tried and well worried “Allura looked towards  The healing Thace and Shiro

“ So Allura what is are next move?” Keith asked

“ Well I wanted to talk to you about that. After learning Zarkon’s plan to capture your families and use them as a bargaining chip against us. I believe we should go back to your homeworld and make sure your families are alright and to well recruit Earth to the coalition along with recruiting Mars if that’s ok with you jay ”  Allura looked over to jay to see his reaction 

“ Yeah it’s fine we would  have to go there eventually” Jay said as he leaned his head on Ezra’s shoulder 

“ An the rest of you ?” Allura turned her head towards the other 

“ Yeah going home sounds nice” Lance said

“ Same here it would be nice to show Shay around my hometown   “ Hunk said  

“ I would like that” Shay add

“ I wouldn’t mind going home after a year of fighting see mom again would be a breath of fresh air.Right Katie “ Matt said as he elbow bumped his sister 

“ Yeah it would be nice to see mom again. I just hope see doesn’t loss it when she sees what happened to my leg “ Pidge said as she tapped on her right foot   

‘ Yeah that’s going to be a pain explain also she might want you to stop being a Paladin after seeing your foot” Matt replied 

“ Keith what’s your opinion on this ?” Lance asked 

“ I mean where am i going to go. I live on this ship and my brother brother in law and Nephew also live here.So where they go i go” Keith said Bluntly 

“ Alright it looks like were all in agreement So when are we heading out?” Jay asked 

“Once Adam and your kids are back on board and the repair are done will be heading out to your home system“  Allura said

“ Alright with that out of the way is there anything else we need to take about?” Lance asked 

“ Well i think K-7 could be useful he was made to be pilot so having more mech pilots on are sie would be nice.Once we start make are own V-types. As for the twins “

“ They did help us fight Zarkon” Pidge add  

“ But they almost kill us the first time we meet them” Hunk said he felt Shay’s grip around his arm tighten a bit 

“ Yeh i don’t trust them to much after that “ Shay added 

“ But they also worried us about zarkon plan to kidnap  are families “Pidge countered 

“ But they helped kill entire rebel outpost” Matt add 

“ Ok but they helped us and can pilot Robeasts and i firmly believe that they can help us in the long run and i mean if the do betray us we can just end them without a second thought “ Jay said 

“ Not to interrupt your discussion” Everyone turned to look at the speaker who was Kolivan “ but i believe the Twins should go with us seeing as they are children of are former members “ Kolivan said     

“ Well Before we make a concrete decision  let have Adam be here and see what the twins want to do.” Jay said 

“ no i think they Should go with the Blade it would get them out are hands, An they could still help us in th long run”Keith said   

“ Yeah that sounds fine but still lets wait for adam to get he so we have a full team decides “ jay replied 

“ Well you are third in command so will wait “ Lance said 

“ Well Allura’s here and her word trumps mine” Jay turned his head to look at the princess  “ So boss what do you want to do with them ?” He asked

“Lets wait til Adam is here and when Shiro wakes up “ Allura said she then turn to look towards Kolivan “ Will you being willing to wait an few more hours ?”

“ It will be fine i am not need back for a few more day.But if you don’t mind we would like to send Thace back to base with Axtok?”

“ That is fine “Allura replied 

“ Thank you “ 

[ Princess The prometheus is approaching and will be docking soon.  ] 

“ Well i looks like will get are answer soon “ Matt add 

“ So whose going to be the one to tell Adam what happened to Shiro ‘ Hunk said 

“ I will i’m a doctor intraining and i was the one who had promised to Shiro home alive” Jay got to his feet helped Erza up to their feet  ”  lets get this over with  “ Jay said as he walked out of the room followed by Ezra 

Elsewhere 

in his peranol chamber of his Capital Ship Lotor looked at The badly damaged Command center with thousands of plasma impact burneds ,Bullet holes, and a long gash that lay their like an open wound on the side of the command center. “ I wish i could have seen it. Most have been a beautiful fight “ Lotor said to himself as he starred at the carnage caused by the Rebel army. As he looked the door to his chamber.Lotor turn to see a Women with lite blue skin dark purple and blue hair. Blue eyes with yellow sclera  She also had four small horn sticking out of the side of her head and they wore the armor of his generals

“ Lord lotor we have collected the fragments of those cubes “ The woman said 

“ Good have are top researchers on in i want to know what they're made of and where they came from “ 

“ Yes my lord” 

“ Then once your done with that bring me the man named skyver followed by Contacting are spies in the rebellion and tell them to watch this Jay person closely i want any and all information on them. He is are only lead to this second Altean Colony and we must find it before my mother does .  I will not let her kill of what is left of my people. “ Lotor ordered 

“ Yes my lord” 

“ one last have we found where bandor disappeared to ?” Lotor asked 

“ Yes we have  “

“ Where “

“ Back i the first colony we was found by guard barely alive. He is currently being treated there and is said to make a full recovery in the come months. We also did a head count after the crash and found that we are now missing one other person”

“ Who is it ?” Lotor asked 

“ Bandors older sister Romelle Silva ‘ 

“ Do we any idea on her current whereabouts ?” 

“ No she has disappeared near the Void’s opening she may be dead My lord “

Lotor clenched his fists hearing that “ And what of CenterPoint labs 

Axca voice when from her normal stern and militaristic tone to more somber one “ completely destroyed and only a few members of the team survived”

“And what about the few survivors “   

“ Off world and in recovery “

“ Alright We'll hold off  on the gate project for another few year and keep me posted on the recovery. You are dismissed “Lotor order 

“ Yes my lotor “ Axca said as she left Lotors Chamber    

Lotor stood there in silence for a few minutes 

“ It was not your fault My friend sciences as it’s rises   “ Ragna said as he walked out from a shadowy corner of the room 

“ Still It was my orders that sealed  the fates of all those people “ Lotor said looking at the smokey wolf      

“ True but you now know what not to do next time “

“ Not to follow my parents notes and stop trying to tear a hole into the fabric of reality “

“Correct Now what is the next step seeing as your father failed to capture  Voltron or the Valkyrie  “

“ I still believe conniving  Voltron  to join us is are best options and to make peace with the rebellion.But i don’t think mother or most of the Generals that were under my fathers rule wouldn’t  be happy about it “

“ Then fight for it and make them listen to you”  Ragna said 

“That is the easy part the hard part is going to be talking to the Paladin in the first place”

“ The worst thing they can do is kill you and fully shatter the empire and bring peace to the universe “ Ragna said 

“  They won’t kill me hopefully when they make this new universal government.Now how is my mother doing “

“ She is in grieving still “ 

“ And of the force that influencing her.”

“ It’s still there stronger now then it was before ” 

“ Alright then it’s going to be but we most keep pushing forwards if we are to stop what is coming “  Lotor said as he walked over to a desk in his room and tapped a button on it to reveal a screen that show a crack in the fabric of reality that was slowly getting bigger and had several different energies leaking out of it

Back in the castle of lions   

Jay and Ezra walked down the hall way towards the hanger beau had told them to go to meet Adam and Jay’s kids

“So you guys going to stay with the fleet or got back to hunting down Queens?” Jay asked 

“ once the repair are done will follow you guys for a few day see what worlds your going to recruit some people then go back to bugs” Ezra replied as They  held onto Jay’s arm 

“ Good to know ‘Jay replied

“ So have you figured out what your going to tell ADam when you see him ?” ill Ezra asked 

“ I’l just tell  him the truth we won and Shiro’s in the healing pods and is missing his arm. “ Jay replied as the two entire into the Hanger. As they entered the Hanger they saw several rebel Ships parked along with Seeing the Valkyrie sitting there surrounded by dozens of rebel pilots engineers and ground troops They also saw the Prometheus parked with next to the dragon mech  

“ Looks like Val has a little fan club “Ezra said 

“ Yeah it looks like it and it looks like Adam’s already he let get this over with then ” Jay replied as the two walked towards the crowd surrounding.

As they got closer to it A female voice Yelled out to them“ Hey Silver lining do you have a moment “Jay stopped in place with Ezra stopping alongside him 

  Jay didn’t know if the person was referring to him or someone else but he turned his head towards the voice and saw a Coeihns woman with short Green hair, Blue eyes  wearing a muscl-t and a open  fleet suit with the upper half tied around her waist .she was walking towards them and the only reason he know the women’s race the moment he saw here was because she looked very similar  to bastion which made him fell a little uneasy.

“ You talking to me “ Jay said while pointing to himself as his helmet automatically pitch shifted his voice to sound like sound wave 

“ Oh my god really” erza asked as they fought back laughter at the stupid voice 

“ What i am i suppose to do it just happens “ Jay said as he pulled of his helmet and started to messing with the in working off 

“ Well that answer my first question “ The Coeilhn woman said as a carma bot float in front of Jay’s face and was about to take his picture 

But if on reflex most of Jay’s facial features disappeared leaving just as the flash when off  

‘ OK that one’s new” Ezra said starring at a now faceless jay 

The Jay mouth reappeared” Next time ask someone  if you want to take their  picture” Jay pushed the carma bot away from his face as he put his helmet back   “ Now who are you and why are you bothering me “ He said he voice dripping with annoyance and anger following that his face marking glowing brightly    

The Coeilhn women stepped back a little scared by the sudden tone shift “ I’m Rey Wellmore I’m photographer working with the Rebels. An i was hoping that i could get a few pictures you and the valkyrie along with Asking you a few question “ REy replied 

Jay’s anger faded away ‘ Next time ask a head of time because  right now i have some where to be and someone to me wi” JAy was cut off as something slammed into his back nearly knocking him to the floor. Jay’s head did a 180% and looked down to see bastion face pressed against his back followed by him  hugging Jay “ Oh hi Bastion”   

“ Your back “ BAstion said his voice muffled   

“ Yeah i am .What did you think i wasn’t going to comeback ?”

“ Maybe”

“ Why?” He question 

“ I don’t know when you didn’t come down with everyone. We thought maybe you had died  “

“ You could have called i bought you all phones for that reason” 

“ we may have forgotten that “ Bastion replied 

“ God you guys really are taking after me “ Jay said as he patted Bastion on his head 

“ Excuse me but who are you talking to ? “ Rey asked

Jay’s neck snapped back into place to look at the reporter “ Sorry Ms. Rey This is Bastion one of my Boy . say hi Bastion “

Bastion walked from behind Jay and looked up towards Rey and when their eyes meet Rey He felt like he was looking  mirror into a which made him felt a little uncomfortabl.So he step back behind Jay  “ Hello Ms.Rey Bastion said “ He said with a wave. and a noticeable hint of nervousness in his voice 

“ Hi Bastion “ Rey said but she sounded Distance and a little confused  

Jay notice this an made a note of this “ Alright with that out of the way. If you wish for an interview when i’m not working you can find me either living in there “ jjay pointed towards the Prometheus “ or in the med by learn from doctor Ventair or in the training deck ‘ Jay said as he, Ezra and bastion started walking towards the Prometheus 

“ Yeah talk to you later “Ray said lose in thought . She watched the three entire into the prometheus   and once she knew she would see her she pulled out a her phone and call someone “ HEy Gillmore it’s me Rey can you check check something out for me ?”

In the Prometheus 

Jay,Ezra and Bastion walked into the Living room 

“ Hey everybody i’m home  “ Jay said as he walked in the living room.

The moment his voice rang out  in the room  Molly head turned around and She scrambled out of Fitz lap crawled up the couch and throw herself at he father. Not noticing the two foot gap between the two of them. Jay with the reflexes that all people get when they become Parents. Quickly grabbed his Daughter out of the air before she even started to fall.Once she was in his hands he quickly pulled her close to him “ God you are going give me a heart attack one of this days”  Jay said

“ Papa’s home” Molly said as she wrapped her arms around Jay’s Helmeted Head 

“ Yeah i’m home Sweety daddy’s home “ He said sweetly as he hugged his daughter back 

“ Hey Jay how was the Mission?” Fitz asked as he looked up toward Jay from his seat 

“ Yeah how did the mision go and why did it take you so long to get back ?” Usamu asked

“ Well that’s a long story see ‘ Just stopped mid Sentence as something Grabbed his Leg. So he looked down and saw Clay hugging it “ Hey Clay “

“ Where you go “ She said as she looked up to him with tears in her eyes 

Jay felt like he had just been punched in the heart as he looked at his other daughter “ I’m sorry Daddy had to go save the universe “ Jay said felling really bad 

“ No leave again “ She said as her grip around Jay’s Leg tightened

“ Yeah no go away again” Moly said as she tried to wiggled out of her father’s arm.Jay didn’t want to drop her. So he place her down .Once she was on floor she grabbed onto Jay’s other leg mimicking her sister 

“YOu both know that not going to stop me right.” Jay said as he start walking  as he did molly started Giggling while Clay stayed quiet  

“ Oh god this is the adorable “ Ezra said as they watched their boyfriend and his kids just goof around as Usamu jumped onto jay back while Bastion and Fitz watched and laughed 

“ Yes it is “ Adam said as he walked out of the stairway holding onto a walke and curious Izuku 

Jay stopped in place “ Hey bub”

“ Is Shiro alive ?” Adam asked already know what jay was trying to do 

“Yes missing his arm but yes “

“ Alright Same medbay as before “

“ Yes “

“ Alright  See at lunch and thanks for for keeping your promises man “ Adam said as he patted Jay on the shoulder before walking out of the Prometheus 

“ Your welcome man “ Jay replied as he watched adam leave “ Ok tat was easy”

“ Yes it was “ Ezra said 

“ Now with that out of the way “ Jay looked to fit then Bastion seeing as the other three were still holding on to him “ Um So there is a chance that were going back to my home world and then to the home of the other Paladins  “ Jay said as Usamu jumped off of his back 

“ So were going to meet Grandpa then?” Usamu asked as he walked in front of his father with a tone of wonder in his voice 

“ Yeah along with my brothers and sister some friends of mine and my mom’s parents  an if we're lucky hopefully not my dad’s family “Jay said that last bit with a little bit of venom in his voice

“ Why not you dad’s family ?” Ezra asked 

“ it’s along story my dear and my DAd can explain it better . Now who wants hear how the mission when “ Jay said not wanting to talk about his families problems 

In what remained of Galra central command

Haggar stood looking over her comatose husband. She had been starring there for the past few hours and wonder how this could have happened . They had taken ever precaution studied every battle that the paladins were in and even equipped the titan with weapon’s tailor made to handle Voltron and the Valkyrie at the same time  but when the snap dragon self destructed on top of the Titan it sealed his fate “ Oh my love what have they done to you” She asked herself 

“ They butchered him “ A very familiar yet strange disembody voice said right behind her

She quickly turned around and slashed at the person behind her only to swipe at empty air “ Who goes there show yourself ‘ She yelled To the empty room

“ I’m hurt Honvera how could you forget me..I’m the reason that you and your husband are even alive after your little encounter that beast from the void ’ the voice said 

“ What “ Haggar thought back to when she and Zarkon had died she remembered hearing a voice talking.But she had put that up to being on death's door. ‘ So it was  you i have to thank for our revival “

“ Yes it was me” The Voice said as a faint humanoid being started to form from purple quintessons  that was powering the lazuriz chamber that Zarkon was resting in  the figure had only defining feature was the two bright soul burning yellow eye “ My name is  Deceit and despite my name i’m here to help you again. ”

“ Why “ Haggar asked  not trusting this thing but she had to be weary seeing as this thing was just sitting on her husbands healing chamber 

 “ Because  every time you  drained a world of it’s quintessens and used it to fue you and your husband.It feed me and i wish to keep that relationship on going. So i’ll help you again by keeping your husband alive. Seeing as this thing “ He tapped on the Lazarus chamber “ Is only postponing the inevitable .” Deceit    said as a jagged smile started to appeared on his avatar’s face.

“ What do i have to do for this deal to work?” Haggar asked knowing that it’s not that easy 

“ Your a smart one “ Decit pointed the newly formed finger at her “ I want you to find this ship   “ Deciet’s hand seemingly grabbed onto reality itself and opened at portal that showed of a massive ship that looked like the castle of lions mixed with her Son’s Capital ship surrounding it it was a massive ring around it “ An destroy it”

“ Why ?” 

“ It’s existence has put plans i have had in motion for a long time in jeopardy. and that is all i’m will to tell you at the moment “ Deceit said 

Haggar glared at Deceit but she really had no real choice  but to follow “ Alright then we have a deal ‘

“ Good i’ll see you in the funny pages Honvera “ Deceit said as he faded out leaving the tear in reality that show off the ship there for a few seconds before it closed up 

Haggar stood there starring at the empty space before turning back to her husband and hoped she man the right choice 

Back in the Castle of lions  

“ So right before Zarkon Die he grabbed on to the black lion’s head with his robeasts remaining arm and tried to electrocute shiro to death but his arm took most of the damage and now he’s healing for the next hour.An once he’s a wakes We’ll be deciding whether or not will be going back home along with the Fates of The twins and K-7 am i correct “ Adam said

“ Yeah that sums it up real well “Matt said

“Alright and thin else i need to know before me and Izuku have to wait another hour just so we can take to him “

“ Uh were going to need a new black paladin for a few months while Shiro new prosthetics are installed from what Jay and that spider said “ Hunk added 

“ That spiders name is  Ventair and she is one of the best Doctor in the whole rebelion so please show her some respected “Matt said 

“ Sorry what Dr.Ventair said “Hunk said  

“ Alright when will decided who the next black paladin then ?” Adam as 

“ After we decide are next course of action will pick the next Black Paladin and with Shiro still around along with Leonidas it won’t take to long i hope “ Allura said 

“ Yeah lets hope “ Lance said 

“ It would be funny if Jay was chosen to fly the black lion “ Matt said Jokingly 

“ I mean Val’s design was some what based off of the black lion so it could be possible that if we  run into  trouble we could possibly combined with the Valkyrie  to make new version of Voltron  “ Pidge added as she grabbed her laptop and started typing away at the possibilities of powers that could come from the union between the two mechs  

“ We could run that by Jay and Val before anything happens i know val was against at first but maybe she changer he mind after the fight with Zarkon. I’ll go ask him“ Lance  said as he got up.But before could full get on his feet Beau’s voice came over the P.A System

[ Alert Alert A gargantuan class dreadnaught of unknown origin as exited a wormhole  8 kilometer north east from are location ] This was followed by a screen show ff the massive ship

Everyone stood or sat there in stunned silence as the massive ship which was a weird mix between the Castle and That war ship that attacked then before they had left the battle fleet 

“ Hey guy is anyone else getting a weird case  desaviolooking at this thing  ?” Pidge asked  

“Yeah i feel it too” Shay said 

“ Same here” Hunk add 

Allura looked at the ship as she did one name came to mind “kronse” Allura said under her breath.Before hundreds and hundreds of Image flashed right in front of her mind causing her a massive and painful head that caused her to fall to the ground clutching her head 

“Princess !!” Everyone yelled in surprise 

“ What’s wrong” Coran asked worried as he helped Allura back to her feet 

“ I don’t know but something about that ship is causing me to see thin Ah “ She grabbed he head again as another set of flash happened 

[were receiving a message from the Ship ]

“Send it through”Adam said taking charge of the situation as he said that a message written in english which surprised everyone.But that’s wasn’t what caught their attention what was write on was 

Hello my old friend let us take like the old day :Signed Queen Allura of the Altean/Galrain Empire 

To be continued in Book two Time to change History 

[beardcore-blog]

Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus Review

This review will have all the spoilers. You’ve been warned.

It was either late 2013 or early 2014. Good times. I was messing around on Youtube one day looking at videos of the latest Batman game. Then in the recommended videos I saw something that both confused and intrigued me. The thumbnail was the iconic image of Niel Armstrong saluting the American flag he just planted on the moon. Except there were a couple differences. Twisted, terrifying differences. The American flag was replaced with the banner of Nazi Germany. And Niel was Seig Heil’ing to it. I’m pretty sure I let out an audible "what the fuck?" apon seeing this. This was the E3 trailer for Wolfenstein: The New Order. For those who don’t know, Wolfenstein is one of the oldest franchises in gaming, and put FPS games on the map. A goofy game about shooting Nazis in WWII that gave 90s gamers the chance to shoot the hell out of Mecha-Hitler. Think of it as a prototype to the more infamous Doom series that would launch shorty after. The New Order was a modern-day reboot with some ambitious questions. The biggest one being "what if they won instead?" The New Order takes you to an alternate 1960 where the Nazis beat the allied forces to the nuke (among other advanced tech) and thus took over the world. It was grim. It was campy. It was subtle. It was loud. It was dumb. And it was also much smarter and more engaging than anyone would’ve thought. So it went on to be a smash hit in 2014, and one of my favorite games ever. A few months ago to the day this is being posted, Bethesda stopped by E3 and showed the world it was sequel time, showing off Wolfenstein 2 The New Colossus (Actually like the 3rd or 5th in the series) to the world. The next day I preordered the hell out of it. Was it worth it? Well after 10 days of tearing through it, lemme tell you.

So I’ll start off with things I didn’t like, get the negativity out of the way. It’s not a big list but I think what on it is valid. In The New Order, which I shall now abbreviate as TNO, in nearly all sections you could either go in fast and loud, putting holes in everything that moves with dual automatic shotguns and a big laser cannon. Or you could be a bit more stealthy about things, sneaking through vents and corridors putting knives in throats and taking care of problematic enemies from afar with a suppressed pistol (which might I mention was one of the things I loved about the TNO; keeping the pistol relevant and not just a forgettable starter weapon like most shooters). It was all about personal play style, but both options were viable. In The New Colossus, which I shall now abbreviate as TNC, going in loud was the way I always went because it seemed more viable. And I always went stealth in TNO. I probably just need to learn the areas, but there was some problems I ran into. Like this game being dark. Not story wise (even though it is) but literally. I remember alot of areas meant to be stealth-able lacking in the lighting department, and I set my brightness at the recommended settings, too. Anytime I’d get caught it’d be from and enemy that I couldn’t see. And that leads to another problem. In TNO, enemies stuck out in the maps. Even if they were dully-colored humaniods coming in plentiful shades of gray you’d still spot them from across the area. It was probably due to both TNO being brighter and the enemies having a wide design variety. Not so much in the TNC. There’s less design variety here and they all seem to just blend into the background alot. Even the brightly-colored HAZMAT and Venus space troopers don’t pop in anything less than Glamour Magazine photo booth. On top of that those two previously mentioned troopers, while being obvious separate models apon inspection, honestly just look like classic Mortal Kombat-esque palette swaps. Again, TNO had alot of variety in their designs. Which is why it was a shame there was no proper model viewer in TNO, and why it’s straight-up bullshit their isn’t one in TNC. One of my favorite bits of last year’s DOOM (another Id games classic updated for the modern world) was a model viewer that let you get an up-close look at the game’s monsters and weapons. The Batman: Arkham games have had it for years. Hell, I remember having them back in 2005 with Jak III. Why can’t Wolfenstein, with their toybox of greatly-designed characters, weapons and assets have it? Or a photo mode, too? I’m not insane about graphics in games, but I still appreciate them with how incredible they are today, and TNC is no exception. It’s a beautiful game. Let me appreciate it to the fullest extent possible. Honestly these days model viewers and photo modes are something all games should have with how far graphics have gone. If only bosses got the same advancement. TNO had a few that aren’t Psycho Mantis or Big Baby Bowser levels, but they were fun nonetheless. DOOM’s bosses were one of the highlights for me. TNC has none of those. Here and then there’s an enemy that can act as a sort-of miniboss, but their’s nothing big and climactic like TNO’s showdown with the towering London Monitor, or the final showdown with the main antagonist, General Deathshead. The "final boss" of TNC is more of a gauntlet than anything. 3 pairs of Supersoldiers, a higher-powered but still common enemy assisted by a shitload of standard infantry, finished off by 2 "Zerstörers", which are basically super versions of the Supersoldiers (I call them "Super-duper Soliders"). The main antagonist of the game, General Engel, goes down with one melee attack, only vainly defending herself with a pistol. An outdated pistol by both the game’s and IRL standards. In a game where mechs, actual Avengers Helicarriers and boimechanically-enhanced mutants are possible, you’d expect so much more. Especially with Hitler himself making an appearance. I was really looking forward to a modern-day Mecha-Hitler. Not sure if I’d want bosses to worry about though since something as simple as getting your weapons out can be a pain. In TNO you could dual wield nearly every weapon in the game, but you could only dual wield two of the same gun. In TNC dual wield returns, for every weapon you can carry, and you can interchange between them. And while it has it’s uses for sure, it feels kinda clunky, not to mention slow. TNC takes it’s sweet time letting you change your weapons which can be fatal, especially since this game carries over a problem TNO had in that you’re not exactly warned when your current ammo’s about to run dry and you’re gonna get lit up while changing a clip.

Now to the good, which I assure you outweighs the bad. Lemme start by saying that the gunplay feels as fantastic as before. Every gun has kick and you feel it whenever you see a Nazi get turned to mush by your triple-barreled automatic rotary shotgun. Yes, that’s a thing in this game. As is a pistol-sized grenade launcher. And sticky-bomb launcher. And an OP-as hell laser cannon that atomizes people and metal covers/doors alike. And all of these can be powered-up through upgrades. The Shotgun can be upgraded to have ricochet rounds to deal even more damage. The pistol can have a suppressor so it stays useful like it did in TNO. The Assault Rifle can have both a scope and armor piercing rounds making it able to down mechanical enemies in one shot. And the laser cannon. Oh god the Laser cannon. Called the LaserkraftWerk in the game, it’s by far the best weapon you’ll get, even before upgrades. One shot will destroy even more armored infantry, but when you upgrade it so the blast can be charged, ooooooohhh. One charged blast will down Super soldiers with ease, and even on higher difficulties the powerful Zerstörer units I mentioned earlier will fall with a few good shots. Combo this with an extended battery doubling your already-decent ammo pool, And you’re unstoppable. I guess that leads to another issue. While every gun has their uses and you’ll likely use every one at one point, like DOOM before it you’ll probably cruise along primary’ing 2 guns. For me it was the Shotgun and Laserkraftwerk. But even then they weren’t the weapons I used the most. It was the heavy weapons. In TNO there was a Heavy MG you’d find here and there. It was powerful, sure, but could only be picked up and not carried in your inventory, and slowed you down considerably. You couldn’t sprint and crouching reduced you to a snail’s pace, and interacting with anything would make you drop it. In TNC there’s 4 types of heavy weapons and they’re awesome. They still slow you down but nowhere near the TNO’s. You CAN interact with stuff and you can even sprint with them. Doesn’t sound like much but believe me, that makes a world of difference. Another thing that gives you an edge in combat is the contraptions. There’s 3 in total; The Ram Shackles, which allow you to bash through both weak walls and enemies alike, the Constrictor Harness, which allows you to sneak around in tight spaces, and the Battle Walker, my favorite, which is just some goddamn stilts. They let you get to higher places so its not anywhere as useless as it sounds, but also has perks, like the other contraptions. You’ll be able to tank explosions without falling over, make enemies freeze n terror at the sight of you, and even keep your overcharged health from going down, my favorite. Speaking of health, one thing that makes the newer Wolfenstein and Doom games is the lack of regenerating health. You have to find health and armor in the levels, and this returns in TNC. One addition though is instead of having to pick up stuff manually, walking over health and armor pieces will make you pick it up automatically, though manually picking them up like before is still an option. It admitting needs refinement but it works well enough. It’s nice after a firefight were I took a beating, I remember where a health pack or some armor was, I run to that location, and I already have some extra heath/armor on me when I get there from the bits that was lying around. While I did say that their isn’t much variety in the enemie’s designs, the designs that are there are good, and carry over that retrofuturistic asthetic I loved so much about TNO. My favorites are either the Ubersoldat, with is basically a Nazi T-800, or the previously-mentioned Zerstörer. Enemy behavior is much better in this game too. In TNO during a stealth section if an enemy ran into a dead body, they’d just move along like something happened. In TNC, enemies are much more sharp. Anything louder and light sniffle they’re hear and investigate, and if they find a dead body they go into high alert and start hunting for you. The levels are incredible too, truly feeling and looking like a 1960s America under Nazi control. The level layouts in this game are kinda funny. In TNO a new level was an entirely new location. In TNC, multiple levels are across one location. This is due to the levels being so much more vast than TNO if anything. My favorite level is either the Nazi base on Venus (the actual planet), or Manhattan, which was directly hit by a Nazi nuke in WWII and is now a desolate, irradiated wasteland. You could feel how thick and cancerous the air is, and the devastated buildings have their upper skeletons eerily bent and curled from the blast. Fallout fans will have a bit of deja vu going through it. All these locales help guide the story along, which like TNO before it is a standout part of the game. TNC takes place right after TNO more or less, after the main character, BJ Blazcowiz, is mortally injured in his big battle with General Deathshead. You’re saved by your resistance buddies before they nuke the place, but you’re still messed up. After 5 months in a coma, the game finally starts. With you shooting Nazis on a U-boat you captured previously in a wheelchair. For half the game the only reason you’re able fight again is thanks to a power suit wired to BJ’s brain. Even while you’re fighting BJ’s injuries are taking their toll. By his own estimate, he has weeks. Which is tragic to think about since in TNO, he met Anya Oliwa, a nurse who took care of him during a prior comatose, and eventual lover. By the time TNC rolls around, she’s heavily pregnant with BJ’s twins. Not being their for his kids is something BJ laments a few times, and you feel for him. Especially when you learn about his awful childhood at the beginning of the game. He deserves a good family, and it sucks he’ll never get that. And for a bit it really seemed like that he wouldn’t since midway through the game, BJ’s betrayed by his abusive, racist, Nazi-loving father who make his childhood such a shitshow, and is captured by Nazi forces. After a few weeks of parading "Terror Billy" The most horrible terrorist the world has ever seen according to the Nazi propaganda machine, BJ is executed in front of the Nazified Lincoln memorial to an audience of millions. Beheaded, it really seems like the game took a grim turn. Luckily due to the quick work of his aforementioned buddies in the resistance and some advanced tech, BJ is saved, if head slapped onto a new super soldier body. This brings up something that some reviewers had an issue with. TNC goes through a tone shift in story midway through the game. It starts out very grim and foreboding. Your base was attacked, the leader of the resistance is murdered right in front of you, America seems like it’s perfectly fine living under the Nazi’s boot, BJ is crippled and basically expecting death, and his unborn kids seem like they won’t have a dad. Even in gameplay things feel grim at first. Even with the power suit giving double armor you can’t escaped the halved health. You really feel like you’re playing a crippled character. BJ himself puts it out there pretty good. "I take it off, I’m afraid I’ll fall apart and all the pieces won’t fit back together again." Then he loses that body and gains one that can actually move on it’s own power and then some. BJ is basically reborn. stronger than ever. It makes sense that the game would kick up to a more upbeat tone. You’re a new man, more powerful than ever before. This can be done. You can save the world. This upbeat attitude peaks at the birthday party scene. Just before the final assault, it turns out it’s BJs birthday, so what do you and your resistance buddies do? Party like theirs no tomorrow, because for all they know there might not be. If their’s one thing I like in a story it’s reminding me that the character I’m playing and the characters around them are people, and not by just showing me their trauma and flaws. Every character in Wolfenstein already has those in spades. I’m more for seeing them having fun. Being happy. Enjoying eachother’s company. Take me out of the misery for once and remind me that their’s something good in the world. Not to say seeing smiles on their faces is what made them good characters. Every major character is pretty good in this game. Grace Walker, The new resistance leader and black revolutionary front member is pretty much a female Samuel L. Jackson. General Engel, The game’s antagonist, is the perfect villain in that you want nothing more but to see her get what’s coming to her. Super Spesh, Grace’s husband and crackpot alien conspiracy theorist, gives some good comic relief for the time he’s around. And Anya. Fucking Anya. Loyal, smart, and considering the crazy shit she does while carrying twins in her, may be more badass than BJ himself. And even with the grim beginnings don’t think this game takes itself too seriously. In one level, right after BJ monologues to himself about his imminent mortality, he (and us) get a first glimpse at the Nazi’s rocket-powered train system. Something he immediately responds to with basically "what the fuck?". After nuking the Nazi high command in fucking Roswell, BJ escapes on what’s pretty much the monocycle from Men In Black. Before BJ’s head is slapped onto his new body, it’s dropped in a jar like Futurama. That Venus level I mentioned earlier? You get there on a Nazi flying saucer. And again, stilts. One of your upgrades is big, stompy stilts.

Overall out of all the recent iD software games to hit the scene lately, I’d say DOOM is my favorite. But I’ll give it to The New Colossus. With a few bumps here and their it’s just as fun to play as it’s predecessor, and improves in most areas. Overall, yes, it’s a step up from The New Order, and if you want a fun, absurd shooter with a good story to tell, look no further,

Posted by SHARPSPEED on 2017-11-08 21:23:49

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