#gab ztd

[glittergoats]

Friendship is simply unfair, don't you think?

[lightphieric]

I’ve always really adored the way Gab is handled when it comes to fanfic. What happens to him in the game is so up in the air that he just kind of exists in a quantum state where he went to live with whichever team the fic author happened to want to write family fluff about. Because everyone’s faves deserve to have a good doggy in their home

[floccesytowne]

DONT BE A SNITCH GAB

[zecretsanta]

To: @myluckysnorkel

From: @soopyloop

The 4DS will be real 2028

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!! I wanted to do so many of your prompts but I was too excited over someone else wanting to see these little guys happy, so I hope you enjoy! They are going to eat cookies and be cozy and play with their new gifts like they DESERVE

[syrupmancer]

gab!

[videogamedogbracket]

[cogandstar]

tbh i kinda wish the end of ztd leaned more into the whole You The Player Are Delta/Zero thing because i think it's super interesting. like i think it would have been cool for like, the final confrontation scene to be shot w/ you seeing through his eyes, not the cameras.

cuz it's an interesting take on "jumping through timelines to find the perfect one", particularly w/ the emphasis on how it's not just looking at the different outcomes but making some of them happen by taking control of the character's bodies. and while the other two games also have reveals about the player characters being their respective Zeros, for both of them there's a sort of distancing. in 999, you're not playing the Akane Kurashiki of 2027 who has physically kidnapped these people -- you're playing the Akane Kurashiki of 2018 who is desperately looking through time trying to find a way to save her own life. in VLR, you're not the Sigma Klim who organized the scheme and kidnapped these people. you're his past self who he kidnapped across time. and also, in both of those cases, the actual Zeros are characters you're primed to feel sympathetic towards.

meanwhile in ZTD you are playing as the Zero who kidnapped people and put them in the decision game (at least, y'know, in the timelines where the decision game happened). and not only is he the guy who did all that stuff, he's also revealed to be Brother, a character that VLR very solidly primes you to read as the Big Bad of the story. which i think is super interesting!!

i think it kinda frames things in ZTD as more critical of the "get the golden ending, damn the horrors along the way" thing. it's not like the games treat Akane and Sigma as like, 100% good people, and there's definitely tones of gray, but like. "the characters kill them as revenge" is, i think, never really presented as like. a reasonable option. whereas ZTD ends on an intentional ambiguity over whether or not that happens. and i think the ambiguity makes this bit of player-criticism stronger than a lot of other similar examples, because, like. Seeking the Golden Ending is what the game is set up to make you do, so if the game then turned around and went "you, the real life person playing this game, are a dick for doing that" it wouldn't really come off right. the fact that ZTD is intentionally ambiguous on the morality of Delta's actions, and on whether or not he should be or will be punished for it, i think saves it from that.

but i think it would be cooler if the last shot wasn't Carlos pointing the gun to the side of the screen, where Delta is -- i wish it were Carlos pointing the gun at you, where Delta is.

[chonkiiee]

id like to add my personal favorite from the ZE wiki:

Gab.

im obsessed w the zero escape wiki

[fioras-resolve]

Today's Zero Time Dilemma notes

-Aw I miss the little jingle when you begin an escape sequence. Damn.

-This is the first time I've been genuinely stuck at a puzzle and thought "You know what, I'll go somewhere else in team and deal with this shit later." It's cool to be honest

-There's something so unique about how this game handles choice, which largely comes down to the binary nature of "hesitate or don't." like, choices in something like The Walking Dead will give you a timer, and make the choice for you if you don't choose in time, but typically you at least have to choose between two options. In Zero Time Dilemma, the choice will be like "Okay, you have ten seconds before this person gets incinerated, and the only way to stop that is to pull the trigger on this gun aimed at this person's head." It's like the Trolley Problem actually, it calls attention to inaction as a choice in itself, one that people can play through an entire Telltale game not experiencing.

-Goddamn, the choice of "Who Killed Junpei" being a free text entry is kind of amazing, I love it. It allows you to consider other possibilities besides yourself and Akane, and it actually explores those possibilities. Like "DO NOT KNOW IDENTITY" if you type ZERO or "HOW WOULD A DOG DO IT?" if you type GAB. I love that, and I suspect once I have more information I can go back and enter something different.

-There's something really special to this story's framing. The way I'd phrase it is "Lost in time." One of the big gimmicks is that you only wake up for 90 minutes each time, and have amnesia from what happened before because of The Drugs. So neither the characters nor the player have any idea of what happened before then, or even what timeline you're on. The timelines are represented as a flowchart, but you experience it out of order, so you have NO IDEA what led to what, and instead have to rest with these moments as they are. It's genuinely really cool, and it's really hard to do this in any medium, let alone games, but it's something I've wanted to see and DO for a long time.

-God, you can really tell the animation team on this has never had to make anything that wasn't a visual novel before. The animations are all so STIFF. And like, yeah the animations for Virtue's Last Reward were pretty good, but crucially, there weren't that many of them per character, and they could all be crafted for a single camera angle. While a more cinematic camera is GREAT for many things, it's clear that the ZTD team haven't really learned to USE it for this game, which is a shame.

-The wire-cutting sections are the worst puzzles in the entire Zero Escape series. The instructions are unclear, they're a series of binary choices, and your punishment for getting one wrong is having to do a ten-second real-time minigame, and whether you win or lose that you still just rewind back to the point before you cut the wire. It's every pitfall of puzzle adventure game design in microcosm.

[penny-nichols]

ZERO ESCAPE SPOILERS

Anyway. Made a tierlist of wtf is going on in these people's heads when being dropped into a death game. Basing it off of their first games appearance/involvement in the main situation being experienced because like. Akane knows exactly whats going on in 999 and VLR but *not* ZTD because she didn't create that one. so. Knows exactly what's going on tier is the masterminds. Pretty self explanitory, they set this all up, there's not really a mystery for them (yes sigma is in 2 spots on the list. that one is old sigma)

Kinda knows whats going on tier have all been in/set up one of these death games before or likely knew something about it (Mira and Luna for helping Delta and Sigma/Akane, Ace and 9th guy for 1st nonary games, Snake and Clover did nonary games prior, Alice likely heard from Clover so she kinda gets the idea of whats going on) Would know some of it if not for the amnesia- yeah these guys probably know some stuff about it. shame they can't remember though

Knows nothing at all about what's going on- had no clue about the death games or anything before we get to see them. tbh, Dio is like. on the line between Knows Nothing and Kinda Knows. But he didn't expect the escape rooms Gab tier (pupydog) -the tier lists I found for ZE characters kept putting gab on here. Gab.

[seek-a-way-out]

Credit: u/Braven-Knight on r/ZeroEscape

[twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat]

>:333 in return for your wonderful rambling essay i’m gna give you my own lil rambling essay… (<- making excuses to talk abt zero escape)

ok so first off I AGREE . on everything. i also have a bit of a love/hate relationship w ztd bc it has some really good moments and characters AND it’s the funniest zero escape game by far but also just. some story/lore stuf… really didn’t hook me…. (but tbf i really didn’t like the plot twist in vlr either :’3 it’s just a Me thing to be clear but. my pet peeve are small-scale stories that turn into large-scale stories.. just… the world ending…. the weird cult….. the Virus…… yeah i’m good thanks)

as for . the Teams ….. q was the weakest by far BUT I LIKED MIRA A LOT!!! she’s beautiful and a little homicidal but i think it’s ok :3 eric was real as hell. i’ve always really liked his last words being ”i forgive you” in the scene where mira kills him…. i feel bad for him but he just isn’t charming enough to make up for how weak the q team dynamic feels 😭😭 ooh but i do like the secret ending where q kills delta :33 secret endings r fun. my favorite streamer played it and got the ending pretty early by luck and he was SO confused lmao…..

and then there’s d team ………… niku . i was also a supporter of phi/sigma 😔 (i had a feeling you were the same hehe, bickering rlly is a very Niku relationship trope)…… i just thought that twist felt so weirdddd . esp after they spend so much time flirting in vlr…. and also a bit in ztd….. then again ig it was never really Flirting since sigma was. an old ass man the whole time??? that twist was also…. kinda weird……. I LIKE THE D TEAM DYNAMIC THOUGH and more than anything i love sigma’s design <333 he’s soooo dilfy. built like shinjuku!gojo kind of. just one big brick. but yeahhh i just wasn’t very invested in diane/sigma as a ship at ALL 😭 i loved luna but diane didn’t rlly grow on me the same way…. she’s sweet but …… that’s all……..

BUT those teams aside. c team!!!! yes!!!!! our beloveds…… they were just so funny and wonderful and good. uchikoshi deserves some kind of award just for taking the exes of all time and putting them in a room w a random golden boy himbo…. he’s so cute and sweet and perfect for them :((( and GODDD the junpei/akane dynamic 😭😭 i loved the banter and bitterness and subtle dragging…… but the whole proposal thing was so sweet </3 and also kinda funny. emo junpei is dear 2 me :3 BUT C TEAM AS A POLYSHIP YES NIKU!!! join me!!!!!! i think he would balance them out so well….. i’ve seen some art of them before (and also read a fic i think..?) and they were all so sweet!! T_T

OH AND . akane as makima ….. i did in fact scream NIKUUU YOU LITTLE GENIUS …… she IS giving makima. beautiful master manipulator women!!! yes!!!! we need more of them….. 😔😔

AAA THIS IS ALREADY KINDA LONG but i haven’t even talked abt your main point yet …… i Agree. on delta. i remember him being like …. mildly interesting? but he just falls so flat when you put him next to akane and sigma 😭😭 likeee zero should always be a sympathetic lovable character trapped in their own narrative and i think delta checks some of those boxes? but he just. really isn’t given the same care as the other two….. so it’s just like . yeah ok….. this is our guy…… the man behind it all…… mr life is simply unfair snail guy…… he kills gab >:c i DO think his design (mask on ONLY) is pretty hot though but that’s my own issue to deal with

OOOOH AND AND AND !!!!!!! bten crumbs!!!!!!! thank you!!!!!! aaaa i’m still thinking abt that fic yk…… i love hearing more abt the creation of it and all the lore :3 i think shifting as a concept is so cool…. but definitely not good for our poor reader </3 i’m glad you threw them a bit of a bone…… i really am hoping they’ll turn out okay after you let them out of the box :’3 pls don’t pull a niku akutami and make them suffer right after …. plspls ….. (i would eat it up either way to be clear bUT…. still 😔)

TYSM FOR YOUR ANSWER NIKUUUUU i had sm fun reading your thoughts!!!!! i’m sorry for the kinda late reply too, i’ve been busy T_T but you alr know that…. i hope we’ll both get a lil more free time soon…… AND YES i also rlly wanna replay the games!!! if you’re interested in watching someone else play them then … here . link to a compilation of my fave streamer playing it :3 he’s kind of pretentious and critical though so . maybe… you won’t like him ….. but his streams were a lot of fun and he loves carlos !!!!! so there’s that .

anyway tyty my beloved niku!!! here is a silly little meme for you <333

i don’t know why it makes me laugh as much as it does but . i carry it w me everywhere … in my silly meme folder ……

AH YES ANOTHER PERSON OF CULTURE (zero escape fan)!!! Though I suppose I should not be surprised when you did mention loving time loops!!! Akane Kurashiki is truly my girl of all time....

NIKUUUU MY BELOVED PERSON OF CULTURE… yes…. the time loops ………. my biggest weakness 😔 uchikoshi is insane in the head (AFFECTIONATE!!) but i truly think he’s a genius for turning the classic video game format of diverging paths into a real part of the story …….. it’s just theeee coolest thing ever AND AKANEEEE OUR GIRL!!!! hehe i knew i could trust your taste :3 sigma n akane are my favs too!!! they’re just so silly…. a little insane…….. very tragic & doomed 💔 my type in other words (i think gojo and sigma would hit it off so well but i also Really don’t want them to i feel like their meeting would destroy us all)..

ok but niku ….. 👀 i neeeeed to know what you thought abt ztd . plot and lore aside i thought the carlos/junpei/akane dynamic was just so great……… i love them all so much <333 two divorcees and a Himbo

[lightphieric]

Gab and Funyarinpa Big City Adventure

[gaulemtypefemale-dm-l-016]

Google told me it's 4 years since ZTD release!

Happy birthday ZTD. (I just found out the date by chance and I noticed that I forgot about VLR)

[zecretsanta]

to: @goggles-girl

from: @mortellanarts

prompt: A reunion of Aoi and Akane post-ZTD good end

Extra gift!!! Didn’t feel right to have this as the main one because it’s a scene I was already working on for my own fic but I did make you a doodle (with outdated dialogue because I edit sentences. a lot) But yeah I love them here you go enjoy the sneak peek ^•^

——————

The first thing Akane intended to do, as soon as Carlos put down the gun, was head to the intercom. The only reason she doesn’t head there right away is because Junpei had been more concerned about going to them instead, checking the body, then checking the chamber of the weapon to be, thankfully, devoid of any more bullets. He was still very adamant about keeping it on him, though. Understandable bit of paranoia, which… she might have had a hand in embedding into him just a tiny bit… she’s glad to let him have it over anyone else here at the moment, so it’s fine.

Diana had actually gotten up there first, with Sigma in tow now permanently glued at her side, but she made the nurse hand the radio to her almost as soon as there was any reception. The excuse of her being better spoken was there for decor, no real effort into hiding her intention was going into it and she thinks Sigma can tell, not that he appreciates the tone she just took with his… partner? Crush? Spouse? Whatever their relationship status, all Akane could give a solid thought to at the moment was structuring her sentences on the radio just the way she had arranged with her brother. 

Feign a regular distress call while using just the right words of code that he’ll recognize while listening in on the monitored connection, and he’ll know to intervene and locate the source of the radio signal and send a team to pick her up, like they agreed, and he’ll be here and he’ll get her out–

Before she knows it the talking is done.

The little bit of palpable anxiety that she felt start to dread up her neck vanishes as soon as she gets the last word in, certain that Aoi picked up the signal. Now it’s back to regular anxiety that she can easily shove down in order to not display any weakness. 

Easier than breathing at the moment, practically second nature. 

Turns out they’re still subconsciously dividing themselves into teams, more or less. Mira, Eric and the kid were the first to break from the group, off to the side of the building, at first trying to find cover from the sun themselves and then for Gab’s sake. Surprisingly, Phi had then joined them, uncomfortably sneaking past her own team and sitting down petting the old fluff ball as if he were a therapy dog.

Most urgency they might have had seemed to evaporate along with the dry air outside the facility. Any normal metabolism would burn out from a shock as sudden and drastic as having their already sufficiently overwhelmed consciousness jammed into versions of their bodies with absolutely no time to anticipate. And that’s regardless of any training one could possibly have undergone, a burst of adrenaline like this is bound to mess you up eventually no matter who you are. 

What a ragtag assortment of people… Sure, they all agreed to work together now to save the world and everything, but she’s pretty much the only one here who knows the kind of work that implies. At least everyone seems equally and utterly fatigued. It is great news, as long as this provenly volatile mix of personalities doesn’t have any more energy to cause friction or implode in on itself, she’ll manage. 

The only thing that is not ideal about that is how she’s included. God, she’s at her wits end. She’s resorted to counting the seconds until Aoi gets here to keep herself awake. 

She is, afterall, oh so fond of this place. And this environment. And, best of all, the temperature. It was only the air conditioning that made the coming and going from building Q even marginally bearable. Even in winter this dress is far too heavy and warm- god– okay, where did Jumpy wander off to?

Having since joined the growing line of people forming under the sparse shade around the perimeter of the building, roughly 18 minutes pass of her trying to ground herself by indulging in conversation with Junpei. Who… didn’t seem to have wound down as much as the others himself. There’s a topic to disarm him though, sheepishly talk and tease about the ring she knows to be in his pocket, though he doesn’t want to bring it back out again just yet. Come to think of it, wasn’t one of the other couples talking about marriage proposals at the start of the week…? Weddings weren’t on her list of subjects she expected out of this venture.

Carlos is there too. She has to teach herself to be civil with him if only out of respect for the fact he never did anything to her out of truly bad intentions, even with ample room to do so. Not that she’s fond of people getting in the way out of sheer ignorance either. But, she has to know to cut her losses, and there are certainly good qualities there she could see as very useful to have on her side still.

Then, finally, the cars arrive. She’s already dusting herself off as soon as they come to a stop and of course a bed of white hair poking out of the door is the first thing she sees. Rushing out, he pulls her into a hug so quickly that she’s still piecing together the look on his face as her head rests under his chin. Considering everyone that is still here to see the scene, it’s a bit… much. But she knows she has to let him have this second of comfort. Besides, it’s not like she herself doesn’t feel overwhelmed and grateful for it too, a safe embrace after nearly a full day’s worth of torment. As always, she hides it better, but she clings on just as tight. 

“Are you going to tell me what that silence was all about?” When he pulls away just enough so they can look at each other to talk, still gripping her by the shoulders and leaning down a bit, she can tell he didn’t even touch up his hair and, even more telling, had left the house without concealing his eyebags.

“At some point, yes.”

They agreed on several times for daily check-ins. Nothing complex, literally any thought she could easily send his way counted. How many of those did she miss in this timeline? What time is it? What date- Not that- it isn’t hard to believe he’d be worried sick over just one. It’s Aoi she’s talking about, afterall. 

And she’s so relieved to talk to him.

“Ok. Are you okay?”

“I'm–!” For a second she sounded so enthusiastic she almost uttered the word, mouthing it but not quite following through the rehearsed motion. Hearing the affirmation crack under her own voice hurt more than expected, but still she cleared her throat and cheered. “–We all made it this once. No one’s, to my knowledge, currently in any need of urgent care… Oh! Right, ehrm… hehe, although we do need to clean up a little mess…”

The little twinkle in her eyes isn’t coming back anytime soon, but she’s trying her best not to falter, to keep the mood from dwindling. 

“This- once– yeah- cool, cool, cool–okay… Okay.” The more her choice of words sinks in the more he feels like he dodged a bullet, the more he has to redirect his thoughts elsewhere. “Do I have to know? And what kind of mess are we talking about here?”

She coos as if she doesn’t get what he means immediately.

“Oh-! I don't… I suppose not everything would be relevant for you to know right away, no.”

“Good then.” He places a kiss on her forehead. Priorities. Right now he has to keep focused and match her attempt at levity until further instructions, that’s all.

The near heart attack he had during the time nothing they tried could establish contact was enough of letting his imagination run amok with worst case scenarios. Plus, popping up somewhere completely different in this desert had its own implications, he knew that. 

His tone is still too shaky to really sound like a joke. 

“Please don’t do the details yet then, alright sis? Beg of you.”

Not only does she look a little dejected by that but the way she looks over to the other people with her leaves an anxious unspoken weight on both their minds. For a second, her breathing goes uneven and she looks like she’s keeping herself from crying.

Not that one could tell just hearing her voice. 

“Well, I beg of you to tell me if the air conditioner on these cars was running and if I can sit down without-”

“Fuck, of course, lemme just-” 

Even though the desert air pouring into the vehicle as they speak isn’t ideal, the cool interior is just enough relief that she needed to get her bearings back. Aoi quickly pulls some water bottles from somewhere between the seats too.

Then she nods and takes a sip before speaking again. Gesturing more energetically, more theatrically. 

And the weight is gone.

[keycrash]

some recent sorely needed junpei carlos aoi n gab headshots for some ZE roleplay stuff