#i think that's something hit and miss about the dr game mechanics

[aparticularbandit]

....

I'm still mad at the DR2 ending mechanics of having to sit and wait for the loop to go through enough times and not knowing that's what it was and trying everything else and being able to make no forward motion until eventually it works kind of maybe eventually something I did did SOMETHING like—

I understand that this is a mechanics way of explaining how Hajime feels in this moment where the entire thing feels lose/lose and this is how we as the players can feel his despair in the moment of choosing to just stay in NWP forever doing the same things over and over but like—

MAN, I hated it.

[blacktobackmesa]

What do you think about Darnold being a tutorial NPC like Coomer? Nobody really talks about his "ACTIVATE DEVIL GUN MODE" bit and how he's seemingly unaware of it.

God, it's FASCINATING.

Darnold is the game's way of adapting to a surprise change in game mechanics. The scenario got bumped around by the existing AI characters, and oop, now Gordon's missing a hand and taking constant bleeding damage. Now the underlying algorithm has to come up with a fix to make it all fit into the gameplay. Hey, you made it through the tough part, have an overpowered weapon with unlimited ammo! Ah, but that's a new feature... there's no audio clips or special behavior present in the data to give to the Long Jump Module scientist.

So the game patches itself up while Gordon is slogging through Act 3, putting together a Tutorial NPC that can give Gordon an upgrade and teach him how to use it. The game has a lot more time to put something together than it did with Dr. Coomer, who had to be generated as soon as the game started. This NPC also had a lot less tutorial behavior to have baked in-- while Coomer had every in-game mechanic and several cut features wired into his programming, Darnold had to be a one-hit wonder. Help a fellow scientist in need, tell him how to use his new ability. That's all he had to work with. The rest of their personality could be randomly generated.

However, since the game was so URGENT in its need to have this bug fix patched in, the instructions ended up a bit. Forceful. And by forceful I mean the game copypasted words into Darnold's mouth without asking. Rude.

[loregoddess]

For the unpopular opinion ask game, how about🤍🖤 and 💔? (for any series you want to do!)

It's funny, albeit a little baffling, that I got the questions about fictional character morality twice. Not a bad thing, but definitely not the two nickels I was expecting to collect.

I wrote a sort of "overview to my epistemological approach when thinking about morality in fiction" over here, but the tl;dr is that analyzing morality in fiction is tricky, and I currently feel that looking at the morals of characters and fictional settings in the context of the narrative is important to separate from my personal responses to the work which stem from my own moral sensibilities, but that it's also important to talk about both when trying to do critical analyses because both are valid sources of experiences and information w/ fiction works (and other forms of art) worth contemplating.

And I'll go with...hmm...FE:3H bc I can hit all three questions for that. (Under the cut bc, you guessed it, length!)

🤍: Which character is not as morally bad as everyone else seems to think?

Hmmmmmmmmm I'm gonna just say it as it is: Ingrid. See, AM was my first route, and I went in blind and therefore did not know about the A-support roulette, and the game mechanics worked so well for getting all the characters I was using for my main force (the Lions kids for AM obviously) to full supports with each other. Which meant that while Ingrid and Dedue's C and B supports did not leave a good taste in my mouth, I still went ahead and viewed their A support where lo and behold, Ingrid has some amazing and very important character development where she apologizes to Dedue, and admits her racism was wrong. Which is like, huge for her characterization, since some of her own racist attitudes are deeply tied to the fact that she lost Glenn, which is a huge defining event for a lot of her characterization beyond just the learned racism from Farghus culture.

And again, I didn't know how A-support roulette worked my first run, and bc of this and that, I also ended up getting Ingrid and Dedue's paired ending, which is...surprisingly fine. Very typical fare for a lot of Ingrid's endings actually, but with the bonus that apparently relations between the people of Faeghus and Duscur did improve bc of Ingrid and Dedue's unfailing friendship.

Honestly, Ingrid's arc is fairly well handled all things considered, and the writers of Hopes also decided that "Ingrid learns to seriously look at her core beliefs and reevaluate them, and actively chooses to work against her internalized racist feelings towards Duscur" was such an integral part of Ingrid's character that rather than just being hidden in one easily missed A-support and ending card, Ingrid's growth is a fundamental part of her character in the AG route as a whole (and works alongside the themes of that route), and it's worked into several of Ingrid's supports and her paralogue.

But the thing is the fandom might as well have burned Ingrid at the stake for a character flaw that was written to be a flaw and also written as something she can grow past, but this is the piss on the poor reading comprehension website, so it's not like anyone actually bothered reading/watching her A-support with Dedue or think critically about literally any of her writing (at least in the early days of the 3H fandom, I dunno what the fandom's like now since I have so many blogs blocked).

Ingrid's not even my favorite character, but her treatment by the fandom really irked me, and even when fans of color wrote up actual critical analyses on her character and pointed out that she's technically not that bad as a person and decently written, and that moving past her racism is part of her characterization, well, as is typical for fandom spaces, those fans got harassed despite being y'know, people of color themselves who definitely knew what they were talking about. There's not really a whole lot else I could write on that subject specifically that hasn't been said already and better by fans of color, but it really is telling of a fandom space's racism when they performativity demonize a fictional character over said fictional character's fictional racism, and then turn around and harass actual real live people of color.

🖤: Which character is not as morally good as everyone else seems to think?

Aaaand the flipside of Ingrid's treatment by the fandom is Hilda. Now, this is partly the fault of 3H's writing, since Hilda's overall writing is much weaker than Ingrid's, as the writers don't often branch out much from the "Hilda is super strong and capable, but lazy af" joke trait. But then they drop the whole story bit with Cyril being a former "servant" of House Goneril, and it's strongly implied that after being used as a child soldier in Almyra's army and losing a battle, he was captured by House Goneril and made to work for them, only being saved (quite literally) by Rhea when she happened to visit.

This is never addressed in any of Hilda's supports with Cyril, and even the idea that House Goneril apparently takes Almyran soldiers as prisoners of war is never brought up. Ever. Not even in Three Hopes, where we get Holst as a character and theoretically more insight into House Goneril, do we get any explanation for whatever the hell happened to Cyril.

So, unlike Ingrid, who has an entire "I'm in the wrong and I need to be a better person" moment (in two games!), Hilda doesn't get this. The writers entirely ignore the inherent racism present in Hilda's characterization. This doesn't necessarily make Hilda herself a "bad person" or morally bankrupt, since again, a lot of this hinges on the fact that the writing just straight-up isn't there, so we can't even look at the narrative worldbuilding for in-story morality to analyze Hilda.

But the fandom had no problem overlooking the whole "foreign servants captured from battle" thing, in part bc the fandom loves to ignore Cyril, and in part bc Hilda ended up being treated as the poster lesbian, which is more or less what most of her fanon rep dilutes her character to. Which again, the lackluster writing bugs me, but the way the fandom decided to handle Hilda's character bugs me 100x more, bc I don't like characters being boiled down to one or two traits and I don't like watching one character who actually gets character development and decent writing be sent through a witch hunt while another, with arguably the same issues but significantly less development and writing, is treated as having done nothing wrong ever. Which like, sure they're both fictional characters, neither can actually do anything, but the fandom's behavior still bothers me.

💔: If you had to remove one major character from the series, who would you choose?

I'm not really keen on removing characters from finished stories bc usually every character serves some sort of purpose (I mean sure, there are some finished stories where I feel story elements served no purpose and should have been cut, but that's neither here no there), and whatever my gripes with 3H's wild writing are, I think this applies to 3H as well: every character serves a purpose of some sort or other.

However, if I had to remove a "character", I'd remove all of the Agarthans and all of the worldbuilding for Agartha, but only for the "what if Edelgard was actually the main villain" rewrite ideas in my head. Mostly this is bc the Agarthans, as the "actual" villains behind everything, significantly weaken Edelgard's role and impact as an antagonist. Also, since we never actually get to learn anything about the war that "killed" Sothis or anything about Sothis's lifetime, nothing about the Agarthans or Agartha really feels like it matters to the overall narrative of 3H.

So, yeet the Agartha subplot and we suddenly have so much more room to try out different ways to write Edelgard into an actual antagonist, which like, I enjoy a really well-written antagonist, I love when I find women who are villains who are well-written and interesting and devastating in the stories they inhabit, I would have loved to see the sort of villain Edelgard could have been sans the Agarthans.

Of course though, I contain multitudes, and would also have liked to see an actual proper redemption arc for her, but in any of my speculative "how would I (re)write 3H?" daydreams, the only way I can achieve both "Edelgard should be an interesting antagonist in her own right", and also "have the chance at a redemption arc" I actually do need to keep the Agarthans around, and would have to expand all the Agarthan lore (and likewise Sothis's writing), so in the end it's not like I feel like the Agarthan characters actually have to go for 3H story's loose ends to be sewn up. And they've got the potential to be interesting, like with a little polish they could have been really fun, terrifying villains, so I don't hate the Agarthans. If nothing else, the FE dubstep is still the funniest song I've ever come across in a FE game, and I want that to stay around.

[itbelillian]

deltarune ch2 spoilers

seriously I'm about to spoil the fuck out of the game and also the Alternative Route For Assholes

ok the 24 hour spoiler ban has passed but still: FINAL SPOILER WARNING. 

first: GOD this game is so. GOOD? holy sweet mother of meatball, I have been thinking about it nonstop for the past 2 days. it feels like a shitpost. I love queen dearly. the potassium gag. “what does bosom mean??” “tity.” every single interaction with her and berdly made me PISS myself laughing and especially The Statue. actually this whole game was really, really funny. the part where you and ralsei go on the swan boat, literally on acid, and battle it out with rouxls kaard. who is riding a duck. god where does toby come up with this material?? it is so weird but.... so good. his comedic chops have gotten a LOT better since undertale, and even chapter 1.

the art, music, and mechanics were SPOT ON. the recruitment thing, the implication that at some point you’re going to have to de-recruit someone for the betterment of your town, the town itself, just... good lord. toby has outdone himself. this adds so much complexity to the gameplay that was kind of lacking in undertale? I also love the way that the equipment has been done this time around, it adds an element of strategy to deciding who should get what items and when to equip different items. the team as a whole is so great, mechanics wise. fights with them are INFINITELY more entertaining than fighting alone as kris would be. and the art is WAY better than undertale. I've never been one to criticize Undertale’s graphics, and I still won’t, but it’s impossible to deny that deltarune is a step up in every way. the little animations of kris and susie entering the dark world, susie and lancer’s high-five, the attack/defend animations, just so good. the environments are super aesthetically pleasing, too. the music is great, of course. it’s Toby Fox what am I expecting?? to be honest nothing has really Hit Me the same way any tracks from undertale have, but maybe they will as I listen to them more. a big part of it is the familiarity.

also: I was never too attached to either susie or Ralsei in chapter one, but this really sold it for me. when I played Undertale I felt very invested in the characters, but not so much my friendship with them. it felt very much like we had just met each other. in deltarune I 100000 percent buy the friendship and I ADORE both of them so much? the fact that kris literally does not say anything but still has distinct dynamics with the two of them baffles me but I can’t complain because it is?? so?? amazing??? I was genuinely very upset when ralsei and susie left to do their own thing. I didn’t realize it as it was happening but I really loved having them around. I missed them. also it seems like EVERYONE except me was suspicious of ralsei, but now that it’s been pointed out... yeah. I love him to BITS so it pains me to say but something is Wrong With Him. why can he travel from dark world to dark world without turning into a statue? what are the titans, and why is he only mentioning them now? and actually, ALL of our information about the dark world is coming from him. how much is true? what else does he know that he’s not telling us? 

and what. WHAT. is up with kris? I don’t even have any theories I am just baffled. it seems like they’re the knight, right? have they been creating... all of the dark worlds, including the first one in the storage closet? does this make kris the villain? or is the creation of dark worlds a good thing... meaning ralsei is manipulating us into thinking the dark fountains are evil? Why would they slash Toriel’s tires? why are we possessing them? also I LOVE the puppet theme with the hidden bosses... and it really seems like something about that is not sitting right with kris, either. kris full on shouting that they’re not okay to ralsei after he asks... good god I am SO CURIOUS. the mystery element here is really on point. it’s so easy to settle into the comedy and fun little group dynamic, but something is always Wrong and when something reminds you it is deeply unsettling. the only group member who doesn’t seem to have something freaky and suspicious going on is susie... if she turns out to be evil too i stg im ejecting myself from the stratosphere 

also speaking of mysteries: not knowing how Undertale and deltarune connect is KILLING me. I fully buy into the theory that sans and papyrus are “from” the world of deltarune, originally. if the theory is true, then word search from icee’s pizzeria you find in UT is actually SO? brilliant. SANS GAVE YOU A WORD SEARCH FROM A RESTAURANT THAT ONLY EXISTS IN DELTARUNE. was toby thinking about this all the way back when Undertale was released??? but is deltarune an alternate... timeline? does undertale exist at ALL, if the sans and papyrus thing doesn’t turn out to be true? but if that were the case, why would sans’ grocery store be the same building as grillby’s, logo and all? does sans owning the grillby’s building indicate that sans went to the undertale world to take it?? what is going ON??? 

and just going to say it: snowgrave route in deltarune (is that what we’re calling it???) is a MILLION times freakier than the genocide route in Undertale. like ut is  depressing, it was Unfun to kill my friends, but the way you just... slowly corrupt pure, innocent Noelle and make her do your incredibly screwed up bidding is just disturbing. the way you just say “Proceed” at all the puzzles and like, gaslight her into thinking she didn’t TOTALLY MURK berdly and that ring seller guy... god it’s so messed up but also SO???? amazing??? murdering video game characters makes you feel like you’re... well, playing a video game. but forcing Noelle to do it for you??? something about that feels so much more twisted. god I feel like a sadistic bastard. 

deltarune is not undertale but it’s not trying to be. it definitely feels distinctly different, and maybe more sinister? expectations are through the roof for toby but he’s killing it. I remember being worried when deltarune ch1 was announced, because undertale doesn’t feel like the kind of game that can, or should, be followed up by anything. I think I was wrong though. I don’t know how its possible, but deltarune is the perfect thematic successor to undertale in every way I can think of. tl;dr PLAY DELTARUNE it was good 

[reynie-muldoons]

'A Whisper, Not a Shout' liveblog!

0:00 I'm screeching I've been looking forward to this so much

1:30 so that's Miss Perumal, right? Right???

1:30 WAIT HOLD ON Number Two was sleeping????

1:48 I'm sorry but Number Two being ready to fire at will with a slingshot is funny as hell to me

1:58 Oh, I guess Rhonda makes sense too. But like what is she doing out at night if she's not the one keeping watch

2:10 as always, the intro slaps

3:14 WAIT HAHAHA Sticky yelling about cheating in the open is so in character 😂😂 so is Kate giving him shit for it

3:22 tactical advantage? Constance, as always, in on something different

3:44 ah yes, convenient Dr. Curtain is convenient

4:16 is....is she spearing a fish

4:25 is that water deep enough to even have octopus?? 😂

4:37 OOH GO RHONDA

4:43 OOOOHHHHH that's where the badminton racket from the intro comes in!!

5:15 dont fucking tell me the episode is named after an octopus dish and not the fucking Whisperer

5:29 they do all seem a bit rattled, that's a good way to put it

5:36 he cares about the kids so much stoppp 🥺

6:14 the hand gestures speak volumes 😂

6:41 workplace matters?? Workplace matters??? How is Milligan so goddamn funny on every occasion 😂😂

6:50 HIS FACE EATING THE OCTOPUS HAHAHA

6:55 here we gooo, it's time for Assault Alpha featuring special agent Bookmarks

7:10 never takes long for Dr. Curtain to say something pretentious, does it

7:16 show!Curtain is much more insidious than book!Curtain imo because in the book, he had no reservations about barking orders and being openly rude to his subordinates. In the show, he's covered in this nice, polite veneer.

7:38 omfg he's asking about the tableside salad thing, what a gem

7:57 I kinda love that he's the sort of guy to carry colored pens for coordinated notes

8:02 AYY CALLED IT Kate's in the tree, I called that in the preview last week 😂

8:21 here we go, now enter special agent Bookmarks

8:56 for some reason I expected Constance to tell her telepathically, but that's jumping the gun a little 😅

9:02 I like how the smile doesnt quite reach his eyes, he's losing patience and you can tell

10:19 and just like that, he's called Reynie a whacko with the words of a compliment

10:37 ayyyyy Sticky tryna draw a brainnnnn

11:03 hahahaha he drew everything upside down because he saw it upside down, that makes a hilarious amount of sense

11:18 "it's supposed to be a shoe" honey.......

11:39 soooooo cheating

12:10 every time I think we're seeing Miss Perumal, we see Rhonda

12:21 why is the thought of Number Two tailing her sister so funny to me

12:38 Rhonda Kazembe with the reminder to wear a mask 😌✨

12:45 OOOH VIGILANTE GRAFFITI

13:44 the butterfly effect at it's finest. It's risky, but Rhonda makes a good point

13:49 that is an exquisite example of what it's like living as a neurodivergent person. Coping mechanisms keep us sane and keep us functioning, and that's tangible.

14:30 the beauty of having a multi-faceted team with diverse skillsets

14:57 I love how he just agrees to rappelling off the building in response to getting caught cheating

15:19 Constance and Reynie's relationship hits that sweet spot later on, but right now it's really funny watching her ignore the fuck out of him

16:09 Number Two coping with her stress by withdrawing and getting snappy with everyone is painfully relatable

16:48 Mr Benedict and Rhonda being co-conspirators scratches an itch I didnt know I had

16:59 that's even funnier when you remember that the kids used 'saltines' as a code word for them

17:40 this is the class from the trailer that it looked like sticky was caught in 😬

18:34 oh yeah, not like the teacher is watching the class and would see you two staring at each other

18:51 ew 😂 I didn't have a close up on a drop of sweat on my bingo sheet, but maybe I should have

19:13 yeahhh I really dont know what he expected, they kept looking at each other and he made a face every time he did morse code with the pencil

19:46 Mr Benedict feeling hyperfixated on seeing his brother breaks my heart

20:27 Milligan 🥺🥺🥺🥺

20:38 oh hello Waiting Room

20:55 idk what to anticipate but I'm anticipating something

21:39 Oh.

22:33 nooooo 🥺

23:28 here it comes, the arc where Reynie blames himself for everything. See you in Prisoner's Dilemma when that arc concludes

24:15 she's not wrong 😂😂

24:18 HELLO TELEPATH HELLO HELLO HELLO

24:35 this is a sensory overload nightmare

25:21 oh shitttt, here's the billiards from Number Two's intro card

25:49 throwback to Rhonda saying what keeps her sane 🥺 sisters sisters sisters

26:13 dont fucking "oh"

26:28 this is what I mean about that veneer of kindness. Curtian knew Sticky was there, but presented it as a polite welcome to his office with a touch of concern.

26:54 here we goooo

27:12 disruptive fidgeting? That's ableist as fuck

27:24 "walk me through that" is such a condescending way to approach a conversation

27:47 I know he's acting it up to convince Curtain but he has made ✨points✨

28:00 so Dr. Curtain was playing the long game the whole time, knowing it was Morse code? What an ass, show some transparency

28:25 time to pin it on Martina

28:48 he's cruel and nothing less

29:28 this is psychological torture

30:02 turbines?

30:08 YEAHHHHH

30:34 he's not gonna be pleased until he sees Curtain, calling it now

31:03 Milligan gets it. He gets it so much.

31:59 STOPPPPP 😭😭😭😭

32:19 awwwwwwwwWWW

32:49 I'm so glad they kept that suspense

33:19 KATE STOP YELLINGGGG

33:38 SWEET KATE

33:45 YES ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR STRENGTHS STICKY

34:23 something about being read a story by Mr. Benedict is so comforting

34:45 🥺🥺🥺🥺

35:00 HERE WE GO MILLIGAN'S MEMORY TALK

35:48 THE PIECE IS KATE AND SHE'S ON THE ISLAND

35:57 fuck everything just give me that dynamic forever

36:29 she decoded it???? Dayummmm

36:32 so what I'm hearing is Constance has sensory overload problems. Fucking LOVE that rep

37:22 STOP YOUR BREATHING HHAHAHAH

38:04 Oh boy, we're already talking about The Improvement??

38:20 A LIST OF HELPERS?????

38:42 WHAAAAA

39:26 so what I'm hearing is, Mr. Benedict also feels as though if he sleeps in he'll miss something

40:00 traps traps traps traps

40:49 WHAT DOES RED MEAN, WHAT DOES RED MEAN

42:11 Kate overthinking everything 🥺

42:26 tetherball?? I love that that and water polo are the sports of choice

43:50 oooh tetherball team, good job Kate

44:49 HAHHAHH

45:29 Connie baby, my love, my child

45:53 Reynie putting himself out there for Constance kills me

46:33 promotion????

46:44 PROMOTIONNNNN I DIDNT THINK IT WOULD HAPPEN THIS SOOOON

47:24 lmaooo she really will never live that one down

47:47 Rhonda spits facts at every opportunity

THAT WAS SO GOOOOOD

[tareloin]

My opinions on Tengu's boss battle that nobody asked for...

... but are gonna get anyways.

Word count: 2,280

TL;DR

I don't like the boss battle because it's a bunch of waiting and has a terrible clunky damage-dealing mechanic. I suggest that we give Tengu more windows of opportunity to attack and also make the minigame more fluid to go through. That, or we just make Tengu a standard boss with a bunch of DEF that lowers when we hit him in a specific time frame. Lack of better wording.

You hit again. Maybe you had a debuff on or something, but you miss again. At this point you realize that this guy is immune to all types of damage. Okay, interesting choice, but sure.

For those who are unaware, this is how the Tengu boss battle works:

You're really looking forward to tackle Tengu because you really want that final element to finish up the storyline/get those dope-ass wings. You go through the portal, get amazed by his transformation and take your first swing... only to miss.

In the corner, Kappa begins to explain how to navigate the boss battle. She says that Tengu has a weak spot marked by the purple haze around him. Reasonably, you go up to him within the barrier and swing. Again, complete miss.

Then the letter S pops up, so you, reasonably, believe that this should be a quicktime event that you have to press the letter S for.

Nope, the word "failure" pops up. You swore you pressed S that time, but you're too distracted by the fact that Tengu crushes you under his talons and OHKOs you. Oh yeah, and NOW Kappa tells you that S stands for space. Cool, I guess.

You revive and now Tengu's on to his next attacks.

Let's start with his special attack. He backs off to the side of a map and creates a swirling whirlwind that'll suck you up and deal continuous damage over time. This lasts for about thirty seconds or so, and you're like oh, okay.

Then he does it again.

And again. You're wondering when your window of opportunity will come.

When Tengu's finally done flapping his wings and causing a tornado, you're ready to leap into that purple haze and kick Tengu ass. But you can't, because he's suddenly leaping up into the air and suddenly you can't even see him anymore.

You're running around dodging his aerial attacks while realizing that's why the game gave you 50 minutes to fight this guy until he finally comes down and swoops down. You accidentally get caught in the middle of his final swoop and die, again.

You revive and are praying for that forsaken quicktime event to come back. But then Tengu just starts screaming. He just straight up starts screeching and keeps dealing you damage. You're not even sure how to avoid it, you just have to tank it since Kappa doesn't seem to be giving any more useful information. You're chugging your pots and staring at your screen as you wait for him to actually do the purple haze thing again.

And behold! It appears! You race to the center ready to hit your space bar, and you do it! You think? Then why isn't it REGISTERING?

Suddenly, you're hit with the debuff that locks you into place and requires you to mash your left/right arrow keys, else face certain death. And try as you might, you can't do it fast enough to break free from Tengu's talons and he kills you instantly once again. You realize that's just hopeless and you shouldn't bother doing it because he's just going to go and murder you.

You instantly respawn. He crushes you under his talon again.

You respawn again. And he OHKOs you.

Again. Again.

You throw your hands up in defeat and wait for him to be done spawncamping your ass. As you watch him move onto his next attack sequence as you float above your tombstone, you're wondering if it's even worth going through with his battle. But you're stubborn, so you keep pushing forward.

Eventually, you get to the vulnerability phase again. You're basically ten minutes into the boss battle, but it feels like half an hour. You make sure you're hitting space, and it's still not registering. You give up on trying to do this solo and check an online guide to make sure that you're not just being stupid, and it turns out that everything was fucked up because the game can't figure out how to handle a keybind on the space bar.

You remove it, and that's where the real game begins.

You do the same old strategy of "wait around until Tengu is vulnerable". At one point, you accidentally missed the opportunity by running into the purple haze too late because you were halfway across the map. You feel like death.

It's been nearly 20 minutes and you finally land your first hit. Suddenly, you're pressing buttons in the right order. You're so scared of messing up because you don't want to wait another 5 minutes for Tengu to allow this to happen again.

But you did it, you beautiful bastard. You did the perfect key combo (even if it was somewhat nauseating to do with the camera movements and clunky input times). How much damage did you do?!

... Ah. You did approximately 10%. You did 10% damage to the boss after 20 minutes of running around and dying over and over again.

You're really reconsidering everything. You're really hoping these next few minutes go really smoothly, because you're quite tired of waiting around.

Eventually, nine more quicktime events later, you finally do it. You might have fucked up a few times and lost a little bit more of your lifespan while doing so, but you did it. You win. You feel like you'd be more happy about this, but you're actually more upset. Really, really upset.

What the hell was that boss fight? That was nothing more than spinning the wheel and hoping you get lucky. I wanted to kick ass, not stare at my screen for 30 minutes praying that I don't lose all my attempts. I just want my wings. I feel dead inside.

You leave the boss room, and for the final boss, you defeat him within a laughably small amount of time in comparison to your time in Tengu's boss battle. And while your victory in Mushroom Shrine is celebrated with those lovely pair of black wings in your cape slot, you will never be able to shake off the existential dread that Tengu's boss battle made you feel.

"Did that explanation have to be that long?"

Yes. You need to know how agonizing it was for me and apparently a bunch of other people.

While I do understand it ties in with his trials of patience/letting go of your obsessions, I feel like this could have been executed much better with... I don't know, actual fighting that doesn't involve waiting around twiddling your thumbs and waiting for something to happen so you aren't just a sitting duck. I'm no boss designer, but I feel like it's important that when faced with a boss, you're able to do at least some damage in all phases, even if the boss you're dealing with is immune in most aspects.

Thus, my first idea is to just give the player more windows of opportunity to attack.

It doesn't make much sense that Tengu has four different attacking phases but only one of them is actually able to be dealt damage to. Combine that with the fact that these four phases are randomly selected, and you (if you're really unlucky) could be on a dry spell for a good chunk of the battle.

I'll put the attacks out in simple English instead of going on a flowery narrative rant:

Special attack

Tengu goes over to one side of the screen before flapping his wings and creating a whirlwind that sucks you over to the opposing end. If you're sucked in, the whirlwind does smaller damage in comparison to the screaming attack but it's over a period of time (a few seconds).

Aerial attack

Tengu leaps into the air offscreen and attacks from below, indicated by red/orange spots on the ground. If you don't run out of the way, you're dealt damage (unsure of the amount). After a few seconds (approximately 10 or so) of doing so, you see him in the background of the arena flying closer towards the opening in between the buildings. If you're stuck in the open, you're OHKO'd.

Screaming attack

Tengu rears up and screeches with runes floating around him. It does some damage (as an Adele with ~34k HP, it dealt around 2k). I don't think there's any debuff.

Talon attack

Tengu is surrounded by a purple barrier (his "vulnerability area"). You're expected to jump inside and press space to start the quicktime event. You also have a chance to get a debuff that expects you to quickly mash the left/right arrow keys to escape death, but it's more likely than not that you won't be able to before Tengu kills you himself by crushing you under his talons.

The actual damage function can still keep its "hit the keys in the right order or die" mechanic (but I also disagree with this, more on this later), but these four attacks all need a window of opportunity to strike in order to make the boss feel less infuriating.

Here are my adjustments:

Space is replaced with CTRL/whatever your basic attack is. I'll be using CTRL in this explanation.

The special attack phase can be animation cancelled (stunning him before he flaps his wings) if you hit CTRL at the right time.

You can stun and damage Tengu during his aerial attack phase if you press CTRL to the moment he dives back down after his aerial attacks.

The screaming attack phase is like the special attack phase in which you can damage Tengu only before he does his scream (and also before the runes appear). Your window of opportunity is when his eyes glow bright but the runes haven't appeared yet. If you fail to strike, then Tengu inflicts a debuff on you/damages you.

The talon attack phase is the same, but isn't indicated by a purple barrier. Instead, your window of opportunity is when he rears up with his talons (thus exposing his stomach). If you fail you can be OHKO'd (depending on whether or not you're underneath his talons). You also don't get the mash-or-die debuff.

I think these are reasonable spots to put vulnerability/quicktime events, since they're realistically quite a narrow timeframe to squeeze into but also obvious openings to find in Tengu's attacks.

It also keeps the main idea of getting rid of your obsessions (mindless attacks) while being patient enough to make sure you get your timing down right.

My second idea is to improve the actual quicktime event itself.

I'll be frank: I hated how they handled it. While it was cool seeing my character hop around the screen with every button press, it was somewhat distracting and I never really knew when it was over.

I feel like the solution to this is to make a different style of quicktime events.

For the general aesthetics, zoom out completely. There's no reason to follow the player character at this point in time because your main focus is on the key presses. Also, when you're not controlling the player, the game darkens the screen so you know exactly what and when your quicktime event ends.

The event itself is also slightly different. Instead of doing the keypresses individually, we're going with a more DDR-style attack sequence. You still hit the arrow keys, but they move in a circular pattern (similar to how his rune attack looks) and you have to time your hits at the right time. You can get perfect/good/bad/miss and this DOES affect how much damage you do to Tengu (unlike the flat damage of 10%).

For the sake of referencing the original boss battle, mostly perfects knocks off 15% of total HP, mostly good knocks off 10%, mostly bad knocks off 5%, and mostly misses knock off no HP. This may not be particularly balanced due to how often you can attack Tengu now, but I'm no balancer.

After you finish this little minigame, a quick animation plays of your character leaping up and landing attacks on Tengu. If you did poorly, your character has a chance of getting smacked away by Tengu's wings/talons and getting dealt damage. If you mostly missed, then you're not able to jump up without getting grabbed by Tengu's talon and thrown across the map.

Rise and repeat until Tengu is dead.

But if it were really up to me, I wouldn't include this minigame at all. I'd just stick to attacking (with your regular attacks, no need for pressing your basic attack key) at opportune times. I'm thinking of how Ursus has a hell ton of HP, but you can temporarily take him out of fighting if you knock down enough of his parts off.

I feel that Tengu could also use this treatment-- he has very high DEF (and lower ATK), but his DEF will drastically lower if you stun him. However, he will also be much stronger for a brief moment after he recovers before returning to his default stats.

I'm not sure how to prevent players from just holding down the attack key and instantly finding the vulnerability. Perhaps some damage reflect, perhaps something else. I don't know, balancing is hard.

Not much would be changed from my original concept for the attacks, but his screaming phase would debuff you by weakening your attack and lowering HP recovery if you fail to damage him quick enough. Also, pots have cooldowns. Sorry pot spammers (me, I'm pot spammers), you have to be a little patient.

Anyways, wow, this post is longer than I expected. Thanks for reading!

[commenter2]

New Rift Apart trailer breakdown

We finally got a new trailer for Rift Apart and it is filled with TONS of new info about the story and gameplay. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p_gg9UW9k4

Like I promised here is a breakdown.

Like some people were theorizing, the trailer opens with what I think will be the opening cutscene of the game as Ratchet and Clank, and probably Qwark given the balloon and holograms, are being celebrated at a parade to thank them for saving the universe time and time again. We then see Ratchet and Clank presented with the Dimensionator which I bet the people of the parade gave to them (after Clank and others fixed it) so that Ratchet could go visit the Lombaxes in there dimension if he wanted to as part of universe's appreciation. However to there shock Dr. Nefarious (whos mech was hiding in a Dr. Nefarious balloon which is clever and funny) takes it.

The next big cutscene I think takes place at the end of the gameplay demo we got in August as Nefarious’s mech is damaged here, likely as a result of crashing after the Dimensionator blew up. Here Nefarious opens a portal to the dimension where he always wins and Ratchet and Clank get sucked into it, though I bet the end up somewhere else first. Ratchet calls out to Clank and is shocked to discover another Lombax and we see that Clank lost his arm somehow and he meets the female Lombax. An interesting note here is that Clank lost his right arm, just like the female Lombax did, which is intriguing and a relief as I was nervous that Ratchet was going to lose his own arm during the adventure like she di if it turns out she is just a female version of him. I wonder if Clank gets a replacement arm and because of it being made of materials from an alternate dimension, he gets his new interdimensional powers ?

After all this time we FINALLY learn the female Lombaxes name which is………Rivet ! I’m still kind of meh about the name but I bet I’ll learn to love it.

Were quickly given two bits of gameplay info here, one is that Clank WILL be teaming up with Rivet just like he does with Ratchet and we get a new gameplay mechanic obviously inspired by Insomniac Games’s Spider-Man as with the aid of the gravity boots Rivet (and likely Ratchet) can run on metallic walls. We also see that Rivet also has a swingshot AND a rift tether and can use it on yellow rifts.

Speaking of rifts if you look closely at that swinghsot scene, there seems to be a blue rift ! I wonder if they can only be accessed by Clank or after doing a hacking puzzle like I mentioned before ?

We then get a few scenes of some of the levels that Rivet and Clank will be able to go to in the game, one looks like AU Sargasso, one looks like a shipyard with a building with a Mr. Zurkon statue on it, a market on AU Torren IV, and some kind of asteroid field.

That last one is the most interesting as after Rivet hits a crystal it with her hammer, she and Clank seem to go to a new dimension. Maybe unlike Ratchet she has to use them to travel the omniverse ? Another idea is that this is an example of Clank’s interdimesional powers as the area that Rivet and Clank appear in does have some similarities to that weird area they were in before hitting the crystal. Maybe there in some sort of space between dimensions and hitting specific crystals can take them to specific dimensions ?

We then hear and later see a female robot surprised to see Emperor Nefarious return, followed by our Nefarious lying about being the emperor. I wonder if she’s the AU Nefarious equivalent of Lawrence ? By the way where is Lawrence ? This is interesting as it seems that the real Emperor Nefarious is gone, meaning he will probably be introduced later on in the game and when he does he will have something big planned.

We then get a scene that reminds me of a scene from ACIT as Ratchet sneaks up on Nefarious and after seeing a troubled Clank (which makes him sad) he accidently reveals himself, surprising Nefarious and we get a funny scene of Ratchet shushing him and hitting Nefarious across the face. I wonder if just like in that scene from ACIT this will cause Nefarious to get another crack on his dome and eye, but this time on the other side of his face XD

After a scene of a ship flying on Torren IV, we then hear Rivet talking about how Ratchet and Clank’s Nefarious is just like hers and is also surprised to see another Lombax. A quick note, I believe that segment of her gameplay from earlier in the trailer is the gameplay that leads to Rivet and Clank back to her base of sorts. We then see Ratchet take a Nefarious ship, likely the same one I mentioned earlier. Could this confirm that there will be space battles and if so could we ride Aphelion ?

While a battle take place on Torren IV while the giant robot shoots down a ship, just like in his bio card from twitter we hear Clank says that every dimension could be lost if they don’t get the Dimensionator back. During that screenshot of the shot ship going down, there is a statue of someone on the bottom right corner who I think could be a new character. He could be an AU character as he kinda looks like captain slag on a Vorselon like body.

We then see that the robot will go after Rivet and Clank (who is still missing his arm) as it is about to stop them while on the rails. This kinda reminds me of that Kerchu guardian boss fight from TOD which mean its seems like this will be a multi step boss fight which I love. I also feel like Torren IV is the place in the game’s story where Ratchet and Clank reunite and where Ratchet meets Rivet.

The next few scenes happen quite quickly but there are some interesting things here.

HOVERBOOTS CONFIMRED ! It also seems that he acquires them while Clank is still with Rivet.

Some new gameplay as unlike Ratchet , when Rivet dashes to the side we see her make several hologram versions of herself which actually seems to draw fire from the enemies ! We also see her wielding a new pistol weapon of sorts. Maybe it could be a modified or V5 Burst Pistol ?

There is a scene of Rivet ALONE riding a bug as she chases a bug shaped ship.

We see Ratchet AND Clank on Ardolis, specifically a remake of that room we break into in the caves to get to the Lombax artifact in TOD, blasting robot pirates with a machine gun weapon. This scene seems to confirm that maybe at certain points during the game Clank will switch between partnering up with Ratchet and Rivet. That or they are together because this is early in the game and like in the August gameplay they get separated when they get on that ship being attacked by that squid.

A Clank less Ratchet uses a grenade launcher of sorts at an enemy. Instead of exploding though the ball seems to move around pretty fast, striking the enemy multiple times.

The trailer ends with that bug shaped ship from earlier crashing and Rivet about to hit the driver with her hammer. I think that will be another multi step boss fight as a part of the ship was missing.

An awesome trailer for sure but thanks to VTNVIVI there is more info about Rift Apart. Thanks to him I found a link to PlayStation blog filled with new info: https://blog.playstation.com/2021/04/26/meet-rivet-the-mysterious-new-protagonist-in-ratchet--clank-rift-apart/

One minor thing stated here is that the level ruled by Emperor Nefarious is called Nefarious City, which I’m surprised we didn’t call it that before, oh well.

Its confirmed that Mark Mothersbaug composed the music. He was behind the music of Crash and Jak and Daxter which is interesting. Speaking of music you can actually listen to some of the soundtrack on the PS Blog, one of which is called “Ride Though the Omniverse” which on a minor note confirms that there calling this an omniverse instead of a multiverse, just like in ACIT.

We get to see the 5 armor sets that comes with preordering the game digitally. Its confirmed that they are cosmetic and you can “mix-and-match” sets of armors. Though theses armors are cosmetic I still think the Carbonox armor will work like regular armor and reduce damage.

This trailer was very needed but guess what were getting more Rift Apart news ! We will be getting 15 minutes of new gameplay at the next PlayStations State of Play which is this Thursday the 29th at 2pm Pacific/5pm Eastern ! I'll probably be busy around that time but do expect a breakdown of it later this week.

With that said what were your thoughts on the trailer and the blog news ? What was your favorite moment from the trailer ?

Did you notice anything that I missed and what theorizes do you have about Rift Apart ?

[maple-writes]

WHG 15: Post Games part 9

Tagging @concealeddarkness13 (thanks for Nesri and Shine) @ratracechronicler @pen-of-roses and @thoughts-of-nora

(maybe not super plot relevant but was a good time to write)

###

A knock on his door woke Richard up, blinking and yawning as he crossed the room to see who it was. He opened the door and smiled. Shine and Nesri stood waiting

Shine beamed, signing with barely restrained excitement. “Hi! If it’s ok, would I be able to start reparing your machines? I’ve prepared.” They leaned down and picked up a little kit a moment to show him before setting it down and continuing. “And I have an assistant.” They gestured at Nesri, watching with a tired smile.

Right, they had said something about repairs hadn’t they? He smiled and stepped out of the doorway, signing back, “Come in.” He nodded at Nesri when she passed, speaking gently. “And good to have you too.” At the very least this would keep her out of trouble for a little while. Thankfully she was starting to look a little less pained than when she arrived.

Nesri laughed. “Shine just says I’m here for manual labour. But it’s fine. I’d still like to spar with you at some point.”

“We’ll have to find a time then.” Richard laughed along with her, despite the heaviness on his eyelids and reached out to mess up her hair. She was still on that fighting thing, how cute. He turned back to Shine, taking a second to remember the right signs. “Where would you like me?”

“Wherever you are most comfortable.” They signed in between setting up their toolkit. “I think I will start with your arm. There are probably worn-down joints in your limbs.”

Oh no doubt. Every joint in his body was worn down at this point. He gave Shine a thumbs up and settled back down on the bed. The old technicians always seemed to lay him down when they worked on him so maybe that was just the best position. From there they’d take him and re-position him as needed as they made their cuts and adjusted the mechanics. He frowned, propping himself up to see Shine again. They were a mechanic. What were the odds any of the machines they’d worked with were hidden living tissue?

He waited until Shine looked up before signing, “are you okay with making the incision or do you want a hand?” They were just a kid, and he’d seen it—and felt it—to know where the skin was meant to split.

They grimaced. “Help would be appreciated. I have not really worked with the biological side of things.”

Richard nodded. Of course they hadn’t, and why would they? He pointed at a scalpel blade poking out of their kit. “Pass that over and let me know when you’re ready to start.”

They passed it over and Richard took it carefully. It felt strange, to be the one holding the blade instead of laying there with no choice but to let them do whatever they wished. In the corner of his eye he could see Nesri pretending to pout, and he couldn’t help but smile.

Eventually Shine seemed satisfied with their set up, and quickly signed, “I am ready.”

Richard slipped the blade out of it’s packaging. It was cold, and hard, and smooth in his hand. He stretched his arm out and squinted until he found the little section of slightly discoloured skin where the technicians usually made their cut. With a deep breath he steadied his hand and pressed the blade into the skin. He winced and it stung but it cut cleanly, blood shunting automatically away from the wound and paling the tissue. Wiring and mechanical elements laced the surface of the thin, translucent membrane separating the abiotic from his muscle and bone.

The cut made, he eased himself down to his back and took his phone in his other hand to text Shine, “Most of the blood flow’s shunted away from this part for now.” He turned his head and gave them a little smile, trying to ignore the burning already warming the area. “Don’t be nervous.”

Shine returned the text with a quick, “thanks,” and got to work.

They waved for Nesri’s help and tools in hand started to work their way through the network of implants and tissues. Richard stared up at the ceiling, still as he could as every nudge and touch Shine sent pain running up his arm. It was bearable, and far more gentle than he was used to, but he could still feel that knot in his stomach and that tightness in his chest that reminded him to breathe.

“So, how did you learn their sign language?”

Nesri’s question made him blink, and he turned his head to face her. No one really spoke to him during maintenance before and it took him a second to find his voice again. “Oh, Dr. Carmine taught me. It was a long time ago now so I’m a little rough.” He chuckled. He’d had to go and refresh everything since he found out Shine knew it too. It’d been years since he last had anyone else to speak it with.

“The Carmine Triel talked about in her interview?” Nesri frowned. “How was she?”

He’d almost forgotten about that interview. Triel clearly knew what she was talking about. It wasn’t a stretch that she would have told Nesri all about it too. “Right, yeah, the same Dr. Carmine.” He glanced down at Shine as a sharp pain shot out from where they worked, then let his head fall back down. “She was one of the people who would handle me once I was operational.” He smiled, face softening. “She was the only one who seemed to care if I was tired, hungry, in pain after an assignment instead of ignoring me until we got back to hand me over to the technicians. She was the only one who’d tell me I did a good job and bring something nice as a treat when I was done.”

None of the others checked his wounds on the flight back with bandages on hand. No one else ever had a blanket for him when he was tired, or brought him something to eat if it was going to be a long flight… No one else really spoke to him unless they wanted him to do something, let alone ask how he was feeling.

He sighed, smile fading. “Then one day she was just… Gone.” She left one day like she always did when it was time for her to go home and she never came back. No one would tell him what happened or where she was. Just that she was no longer a part of the team.

Shine grimaced, looking down a moment later as they continued their work and Nesri mumbled a response. “Well that sounds… nice. I’m glad she was nice to you.”

“She was then. I don’t know what she’s like now.” Richard turned his head to look back up at the ceiling. Nesri probably only heard about how she was with Umbra Ursi if Triel’s speech was any clue. No wonder she sounded so hesitant. “After I found out it was her who put Skyler through all that, I don’t know…” He paused. Even now a familiar longing crept it’s way up his chest only to be twisted in with anger, and guilt, and he didn’t know how to feel. “She doesn’t know I’m here, with Volt.” He knew Volt had her contact, from way back when she used to transport things for Umbra Ursi, but he’d never tried to contact her. It wouldn’t be fair to Skyler.

Shine laughed a little, and Richard only then noticed they’d been watching him as they signed, “Hopefully she will not figure it out after she finds the file missing.” They sat back. “Could I look at the other arm?”

How long had they been done for? “Right.” He sat up and winced as his arm shifted.

It would be a while yet until he knew if it was any better than before, one the tension and the deep ache faded enough to try it out properly. It hurt to move, even when he carefully pulled the cut back together with a series of butterfly bandages. Thankfully it would heal over soon. That was one system that still seemed to be working as it should, probably because it wasn’t mechanical. He cut the other arm and leaned back the other way for Shine to get at it. The second arm hurt just as much as the first.

He shifted his head to face Nesri again. “Even if she does figure it out, I don’t know what she would do about it. As far as I know she doesn’t work with them anymore anyway.” It wasn’t likely she’d suddenly rejoined them after he’d gotten away.

Nesri nodded, eyes wandering as if she was starting to slip into her own thoughts. “So, she doesn’t seem to be one of those people who wouldn’t let someone they had control over escape?”

“I don’t think so. She never seemed to be the kind to obsess over power.” Shine hit too close to a nerve and he stiffened, biting back a small cry and waiting for it to fade before speaking again. “She wasn’t like the others that leaned on force to control me anyway. She was stern and sometimes had high demands but not outright cruel. Now that I think of it, she never even laid a hand on me to get me to comply.” Not like the others, who’d grab him and force him where they wanted him, or hit him when he didn’t do exactly what they wanted. He shook his head out. It didn’t do anyone any good to praise her now. “But no, to answer your question. And besides, I’m pretty sure she’s known for a long time Skyler’s with Volt and hasn’t made a move to get him back in ages.”

“That’s good.” Nesri rubbed her hands over her arms, making herself small in her chair until Shine snapped at her for another tool. “I mean, not actually good, but at least she isn’t trying to take you back.” She paused, looking down and away and dropping her voice to a whisper. “Not like Churi. He won’t stop until he gets me back.”

Poor girl. “You’ll just have to keep a step ahead of him then.” Richard tried to catch her eye. His old handlers, they never believed he would be capable of making his own choices even if he did get out of their grip. They always seemed to think of him as no smarter than a well trained dog. “I bet you’re smarter than he thinks you are. All he has to do is underestimate you and you’ve won.” And the very fact she was here instead of with him meant he’d already underestimated her once.

She nodded and managed a weak half smile. “Thanks.”

Shine nudged him and waited for him to turn before signing. “Want me to work on your legs at all? Or your eye next? I should be able to make your eye functional again. But for the other large repairs, I do not have enough time to repair them. I will give you the blueprints so you can find someone else you trust to help repair.”

Richard pulled himself to sit up again, his signing awkward and clunky now that his arms hurt with the movements. “Legs maybe if you’re up for it.”

They nodded. “And then I’ll work on your eye.”

“Perfect.” He patched up the second arm and made an incision on one of his legs. If he were smarter he would have asked to start with the leg now that it was harder to hold the scalpel still in his shaky hand. In case Shine noticed though, he took his phone and texted, “You’re pretty good at this, especially for your first try.” It would hurt no matter who did it.

“Thanks. I studied the blueprints, so I know how your machines are supposed to look. That helps a lot.” They waved for Nesri to hand them something and ducked their head down to get back to work.

Despite the new pain in his leg, he couldn’t help but laugh just a little and text back, “I don’t think I want to know how far off they look compared to what they’re supposed to.”

“It’s a mess.” Shine signed back, barely holding back a laugh. “But it’s really not hard to fix. I had it worse when Triel first got her airship. She didn’t have enough money, so her old captain let her have an old one of hers. Now that took months.”

“You’re probably more than qualified then.” He gave them a nod as they wrote up the next text, typing slower now that the little movements in his arm made the new parts burn and ache, not yet calibrated. “We were lucky enough that the ship Volt snagged had been well cared for before she took it.”

Nesri grinned, leaning forward in her chair. “It’s beautiful!”

“Isn’t it?” He propped himself up a little bit to see her better. “Volt’s pretty strict on upkeep and so far it’s been nothing but reliable for us.” Only a few snags here and there, all because of her dedication to keeping it in top shape. Now that she’d been able to teach Skyler too the schedule ran even smoother.

“I’d…” She was blushing now and doing her best to not meet his eyes. “I’d love to fly in it sometime.”

Richard smiled, wide and mischievous. She’d almost spilled her secret there, hadn’t she? Volt had sighed and grumbled when she checked on the ship to find out it’s been taken out, and even more when she checked the surveillance and found out who did it. At the same time it was nice to see Skyler making friends.

“You must really want to with how red you’re getting.” He mocked.

Nesri curled up on herself, flushing deeper. “I just really love the idea of flying.” She mumbled now, guilty as charged. How sweet.

“Looks like we’ll have to have a full day sometime if you still want to fight me too.” He flopped back down. “Though I might be out a little while.”

She relaxed a little bit at that. “Hey, I wanted to fight with a cut up leg, and…” She took a pause and a sharp breath. “I failed. You rest as long as you need to, and I’ll wait.”

“Well,” Richard shot her a sneaky, sidelong look and put on a tone of mock arrogance. “Even if your legs were fine I don’t expect you to win.” She seemed like the type who’d get a kick out of teasing.

She laughed, making Richard smile again. “Shine’s just helping you get closer to my level.”

Shine shook their head and signaled for his other leg.

“I see, maybe I’ll have a chance then with them on my side.” He nodded at Shine and sat up again, getting the other leg ready for them. “But I wouldn’t be it on.” He winked, only realizing too late that he only had one eye.

She seemed to get it though, grinning like a little kid in her chair until Volt stepped in and leaned against the doorframe.

“What’s going on here?”

Nesri’s blush came back in full force, and Shine grinned up at Volt. They added her to the chat and texted with one hand. “I’m working on Richard’s machines.”

Very matter of fact, wasn’t that? Volt’s eyes snapped to his leg, split open on his bed. “Is,” She glanced between him and Shine now. “Are you sure that’s safe?”

Richard shrugged, regretting it when his muscles ached. “So far so good.”

Permanent grin on their face, Shine glanced between their work, Volt, and their phone. “As safe as I can be. I’ve been able to fix the wear on his joints, so they shouldn’t bother him as much.”

She seemed to relax, slouching into her lean. “If it works, then well done.” She sighed, long and deep. The kind Richard had heard a thousand times before and suggested she was deciding to pick her battles. “Just be careful, okay?”

Shine’s message came in an instant: “When have I not?”

“In the time I’ve known you?” Volt raised her eyebrows. “More often than not.”

“And when has it worked out in our favour anyway?”

Richard smiled at their text exchange, looking up at Volt as she finally conceded. “I can see why Triel wanted you on her crew.” Somehow Richard didn’t think she was only referring to their skill.

“I’ll take that as a complement.” They set their phone down and switched to signing. “Could I see your eye now?”

He nodded, fixed up the leg and settled down with his broken infrared eye on Shine’s side. He watched as they leaned over with their instruments and started with pulling out old, busted shards of glass and wires. It sounded like Volt and Nesri were talking now, but Richard didn’t pay them much attention. His strength was waning, sapped by the pain in his limbs and the new tugs and scraping in his eye. It felt like it was so far deeper than it really was, shooting through his head.

But even as he had to remember to breathe deeply, and try not to tense himself up too much, there was something about how carefully Shine worked. Eyes right up to his face, they worked in the socket like he was something too precious to damage. Even when the technicians would do their work he knew they would do their job, but he’d never felt quite this safe. Quite this cared for.

The eye took longer than the limbs and by the time Shine leaned back he could barely keep the other open as they signed, “how are you feeling?”

He blinked, turning his head already feeling too heavy with the replacement infrared sensors. Lifting one hand he spelled out, “O.W.” He shifted a little and brought his other shaky hand up. “But it should be alright. Thanks.”

“I am sorry. Thanks for letting me help.”

How sweet. Richard smiled, head foggy and biological eye half closed already. His signs grew sloppy and slow. “Don’t worry. The technicians were never so gentle.” Between the two of them he’d choose Shine again in a heartbeat.

Shine bowed their head and headed out with Nesri, handing something to Volt as they left. Richard closed his eye and let himself sink into the bed, giving in to the dead weight in his limbs and the low pound in his head. He squinted though, when Volt’s hand brushed his hair back from his face.

“Looks like you’re going to have to cut your hair now.” She took a strand of his overgrown bang between her fingers and tucked it behind his ear. “Want a blanket?”

Richard gave a soft mmhmm and she reached over him to grab the blanket shoved aside to lay it overtop him. He closed his eye again, letting his head fall to the side as he mumbled a thanks. She said something else but he didn’t really hear it as he slipped into sleep.

[aion-rsa]

15 Worst NES Games of All-Time

https://ift.tt/3y1xEdG

The worst NES games of all time are a truly special breed of bad video games. Say what you will about the downsides of the modern video game industry (and there is certainly a lot to say), but there is, in most cases, a baseline standard of quality ensured by better, cheaper technology, experience, and more controlled distribution channels. You may get the occasional indie game that is basically a scam, but when it comes to major releases…well, even Cyberpunk 2077 was pretty good in a lot of ways.

That wasn’t the case during the NES era. At a time when console gaming was basically the digital wild west, it was incredibly difficult to tell good games from bad ones, and developers often exploited that fact to get us to buy titles that refuse to leave the deepest, darkest parts of our nostalgia all these years later.

That’s the thing about these games. Are they among the worst NES titles ever? Absolutely, but years later, there’s something about remembering the pain of playing them and sharing those memories with others that is strangely enjoyable. 

15. Tag Team Wrestling

Even with all of the other bad wrestling games for the NES (and there were many), Tag Team Wrestling manages to stand apart largely by virtue of being fundamentally unplayable in nearly every way you can imagine.

In a dream world where you manage to overcome this game’s all-time bad animations and unresponsive controls, you still have to deal with the fact that there are times when the opponent A.I. difficulty is raised to such a degree that it becomes quite literally impossible to win. If it weren’t for the fact that this game eventually inspired Homestar Runner’s Strong Bad character, it would be entirely worthless.

14. Friday the 13th

There are some who will credit Friday the 13th for being unique and ambitious. We shall not speak their name in this house of truth where we recognize that the Friday the 13th franchise was never scarier than the moment you tried to play this game as a child.

This game’s bewildering map and unforgivable controls were practically designed to eliminate the possibility of fun. It’s easy to love Jason’s weirdly stylish purple jumpsuit in this 8-bit nightmare, but much like Patrick Bateman, no amount of style can hide the monster beneath.

13. Super Pitfall

There’s no shortage of NES games that are difficult to the point of being fundamentally unenjoyable, but Super Pitfall may just be the king of that particular trash heap.

Super Pitfall‘s developers seemed to believe that the reason people love video games is that they offer the chance to listen to repetitive music while dying all the time to obstacles you have little to no chance to avoid. Just in case that level of abuse wasn’t enough to make you love their project, the developers decided to just go ahead and fill their game with essentially invisible items that no sane person would ever find organically despite the fact that they’re required to progress. To it’s credit, this game does recreate the sensation of being trapped in a dank underground cave.

12. Operation Secret Storm

While it almost feels too easy to pick on developer Color Dreams (the studio responsible for many terrible unlicensed NES games, many of which were based on the Bible), Operation Secret Storm is really on another level in terms of all-time bad games.

Even if we can put aside the often blatant racism and bizarre Gulf War storyline, we’re left with a game where control commands are more of a polite suggestion and hit detection is a bug, not a feature. From top-to-bottom, this may be the “best” example of just how bad those old-school unlicensed NES games could be.

11. Where’s Waldo?

You know, it’s pretty amazing that Where’s Waldo? the video game can’t offer an experience comparable to the Where’s Waldo? books considering that the books weren’t exactly the great American novels.

Beating this game will either take you five minutes or 50 years. It really all depends on your ability to determine which of the blurred on-screen figures the game is trying to pretend is supposed to be Waldo. It’s truly impressive that this game manages to botch a concept this simple, but that’s the magic of the NES era. 

10. Back to the Future Part II and III

The first Back to the Future game for NES was bad, but at least it followed basic video game logic in terms of its level structure. Back to the Future Part II and III, meanwhile, somehow beats Primer for the title of “most confusing use of time travel in entertainment history.”

To be honest, I still don’t know what this game expects from me. It’s supposed to offer a time travel adventure that spans the scope of the last two Back to the Future films, but I dare you to play this for more than 20 minutes without feeling tears in your eyes and the words “What do you want me to do?!?!” escape your lungs. If it’s not the most unintuitive bit of 8-bit game design, it’s certainly one of the most unenjoyable.

9. The Adventures Of Gilligan’s Island

There are two things worth remembering about Gilligan’s Island: the theme song and how annoying Gilligan was. To its credit, this game nails both of those elements.

This game is basically the result of escort quests and bad comedy games forming an unholy union. Imagine being dropped into a hedge maze and being forced to endure the constant jeers of the dumbest man you’ve ever met while trying to figure out where to go. Also, your legs are tied together. That’s basically the Adventures of Gilligan’s Island experience. 

8. Bad Street Brawler

It’s tempting to overlook the golden age of beat ‘em ups for their seeming simplicity, but as Bad Street Brawler shows, it’s very much possible for those kinds of games to go incredibly wrong.

Bad Street Brawler was designed to be used with the NES Power Glove, which should probably tell you everything that you really need to know about what it’s like to try to “play” this game. Manage to master its nearly unplayable controls, and you’re left with a beat ’em up with bewildering visuals and fundamentally unsatisfying gameplay that leave you wondering how the industry lasted this long.

Read more

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15 Rarest and Most Valuable NES Games

By Matthew Byrd

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15 Hardest NES Games of All-Time

By Matthew Byrd

7. Mario is Missing

Look, there are a lot of bad video games on the NES, but there’s something especially insulting about a terrible Mario game on NES that passes itself off as an educational experience.

This game feels like it was made by a dentist who wanted to give young patients a way to pass the time in the waiting room while also making them less afraid of the impending pain. Nothing in this game makes sense, and the fact it fooled young gamers into thinking it was an actual Mario game makes it that much more infuriating.

6. Ghostbusters

You know, it really shouldn’t have been that difficult to make a respectable Ghostbusters game. Honestly, the only way to go wrong is to pass up the more obvious genre opportunities and try to do something weird and stupid that nobody ever asked for.

As you probably guessed, that’s exactly what we have here. Ghostbusters has the audacity to try to be this strange combination of various gameplay concepts when the fundamentals of controls, visuals, and logical progression so clearly elude it. It’s genuinely hard to believe someone had the chance to make a Ghostbusters video game and came up with this.

5. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

There are some who say that you really need to learn to play this game before you can judge it. The fundamental flaw of that premise is that it assumes that there’s a game here that’s worth playing in the first place.

I genuinely can’t imagine what Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’s developers were going for when they concocted this unintuitive blend of confusing mechanics, overwhelming (yet unimpressive) enemies, and controls that only seem to work seconds before you convince yourself to give up on the game entirely. You can read every guide about this game that’s ever been written to try to understand how its needlessly complicated mechanics work, and they still wouldn’t answer the one question everyone has about this title, “Why are you like this?”

4. Action 52

It almost feels bad to pick on Action 52 considering that it is an unlicensed collection of 52 small games that were clearly made by underfunded and inexperienced programmers working on a project that legally probably shouldn’t have been “released.” Then again, that’s perhaps all the more reason to make fun of it.

Against all odds, not one of Action 52’s 52 games manages to be even remotely playable. These games would have been embarrassing even if they were released for the Atari 2600, but in the age of the NES, they offered young gamers the chance to quickly realize that the world is full of scammers and they will try anything to part you with your money.

3. Deadly Towers

Every NES gamer has that one game they just couldn’t beat and never seemed to understand no matter how hard they tried. Well, Deadly Towers is all of those games of your respective childhoods rolled into one.

There is not a single aspect of this game that makes any kind of sense that I’m familiar with. Imagine you’re trapped in the maze from the movie Labyrinth, but instead of getting to meet sexy David Bowie at the end, you have to listen to Eric Clapton tell you what’s wrong with your generation. That’s about what’s it like to play Deadly Towers. Even if you bother to learn the game’s structure, you quickly find you don’t want anything to do with the “rewards” that follow. 

2. Dragon’s Lair

How do you take a game like Dragon’s Lair (an innovative arcade experience that combined FMV visuals with QTE gameplay) and port it to the humble NES? Well, if this port is any indication, you…don’t.

I don’t know if there’s ever been another game that inflicts so much pain on its first screen. I’m willing to bet that 90% of Dragon’s Lair players never figured out how to cross that first bridge and actually enter the castle. That’s probably because the solution to that “puzzle”makes no sense and is fundamentally unenjoyable to execute. Those 90% will be happy to know that the game only gets worse from there. 

1. The Uncanny X-Men

Imagine how easy it would have been to make a decent X-Men game for NES. Just take Batman, Mega Man, Castlevania, or any number of the other great NES games, throw some X-Men designs on the whole thing, and you have a game most of us would probably fondly remember to this day.

Infamous NES developer LJN decided to go a different route, though. They decided to make a top-down action game where hit detection is basically non-existent, the music constantly assaults your ears, half of the characters are essentially useless, the graphics are so bad that you quite literally can’t tell where you are or what you’re supposed to be doing, and the AI is useless to the point that I”m pretty sure the in-game characters have become aware of the game they’re forced to exist in and are doing everything in their power to get out.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

There’s no shortage of bad NES games (clearly), but when it comes to wasted potential, this is truly the worst of the worst. 

The post 15 Worst NES Games of All-Time appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2W6PCNC

[alterofnaught]

Did a fic trope tier list with a friend and figured I’d share it here (under a cut bc it has a few M rated tropes (like 3 generic ones nothing super explicit but just a heads up) I put them in order within the tier as well as some general explanations (mostly because I am bored and do not want to edit anymore)

Some clarification:

Friends to enemies to lovers is actually the superior mashup and I live for it. Also first kiss and missing scenes are like obligatory bc I write them a lot and I also like reading them.

College >> HS AU every time for me. Also aging up characters to be in their 20s is the best bc the freedom of being adults living by themselves and getting to do things is nice. HS (esp HPA or normal HS for DR) are fun and cute and I like reading them. But I just love the freedom you get with adult AU’s and exploring how characters would change as they get a bit older. 

Okay the blue tier. I love dark fiction but I am super picky about it. Exploring dark and taboo topics is interesting and I like to read them but it’s hard to navigate the really good ones from just that feel just edgy for the sake of it. Ones that manage to actually hit emotions and interesting characterization are top tier. The good ones are great but the bad ones are just painful.

As for PWP- keeping it mostly sfw but if I can exchange any character name and it wouldn’t change the scene.... I really don’t care and won’t enjoy reading it all that much. However, if it’s IC and well written who needs a plot? 

Character death just depends but grief/mourning is something I love reading so if it’s done well- I’m in. Miscommunication and unrequited just have to be done right but can hit hard when it is done well (otherwise it just feels forced and convenient). Gen fics are good as long as the premise is, I don’t need shippy stuff but the lack of ships does mean less attention so gen fic gems can be hard to find. 

AUs are just ones I’m picky about. Fanfic is nice because it skips the world building stage of writing some but some AUs require it and it’s hit/miss for me- just picky with these. Kind of depends on my own mood and just how it’s executed. Characterization changes a lot in an AU setting so it depends if I still vibe with it (not a bad thing- people act differently in different situations but its why I’m not always in the Mood for AU’s) 

Some soulmates stuff gets me and some just doesn’t. Most of my favorite works of fiction revolve around fighting destiny and thats a trope I really like and soulmates being a destined partner thing is kinda not my thing. Some are really good though and I don’t mind reading them! I just generally prefer relationships being depicted as difficult and requiring work as opposed to just ‘meant to be’. I def like it more than I used to (soulmates and hanahaki used to just not do it for me but theres fics I really like with them now- esp hanahaki) 

Rarely is where I’d read it if someone rec’d it but probably would never search it out

I meant to put crossover in rarely and I’m not redoing this. But I’ll read a themed crossover but like characters from multiple things probably won’t read (fun in RP but usually messy in fics)

Baby fics... if it’s an infant. No. If it’s an aged up single parent kind of deal. I’ve read that for a couple ships and really liked it. 

Alright thinking about it sex pollen is kind of just... SFW despair disease. And I will clarify that I do love fics that use mind altering game mechanics (status effects/despair disease/love hotel/gift items) as a plot device in either a SFW or NSFW context but general just sex pollen is boring to me. 

... I rarely find crack funny (sorry) 

ABO fits under the PWP qualification of it just doesn’t ever feel IC to me because it feels contrived and more about the ‘roles’ and that just isn’t my thing. Pregnancy just makes me uncomfortable in general so...

[maximumsnow]

Chapters: 4/? Fandom: Half Life VR But The AI Is Self Aware, HLVRAI - Fandom Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Gordon Freeman, Tommy Coolatta, Dr. Coomer (Half-Life), Bubby (Half-Life), Benrey (Half-Life) Additional Tags: Canon-Typical Violence, Canon-typical swearing, Basically an au exploring what if HLVRAI followed Half Life a little more closely, Au where there isn't a betrayal in that one spot, Mainly was wondering what would happen to the others if they hadn't been in on it., Some things change some don't, Oh also this is sort of intended as a not a game au

Summary: Anyone who knows original Half-Life knows that the ambush happens in that spot no matter what. What would have happened if the ambush was as rough for the others?

Chapter Summary: Gordon and Tommy found Bubby, but he doesn’t look like he’s doing well.

-

“Bubby?”

The figure stopped and squinted. “Gordon? Tommy?” He hunched over and tightened his grip on his torso as if the effort pained him, but the voice was unmistakable. “Took you long enough to find me,” he grumbled out slowly before leaning heavily against the wall.

It was Bubby. Missing his glasses and shoes and wearing a hospital gown, but he was alive, and in that moment Gordon would take whatever good news he could get. However, Bubby’s condition was concerning enough that both Tommy and Gordon quickly rushed over to him, their earlier wariness thrown away.

Gordon put a hand on Bubby’s shoulder and realized that he was also soaking wet. “Dude, you okay?”

“They took my damn pants, Gordon, do you think I’m okay?” Bubby snapped, but otherwise did not fight the contact.

“Mr. Freeman, he’s- There’s blood at his feet!” Tommy waved his free hand downwards.

Gordon looked down, and sure enough, there was a red spot left from where Bubby’s foot had shifted. “Holy shit, man. Why don’t you sit down?”

“We have to get away! There’s something in there killing the soldiers,” Bubby said in a surprisingly clear voice as he shook his head violently enough to make Gordon let go. Then regretting the motion as he hissed in pain. “They deserve it, but I’m not risking my life to find out what.” He struggled forward a step, and Gordon could see that Bubby left a bloody footprint.

“But what about Coomer? Is he in there too?”

That stopped Bubby’s efforts, and he looked down. “I don’t know. They hit me over the head, and then injected me with something. When I woke up, I was in my damn tube again and didn’t even have my clothes.”

The way Bubby talked about his tube made Gordon feel uneasy. Given that Bubby was literally a test tube human, the fact that it existed wasn’t surprising, but Bubby’s animosity about it did not sit well with him.

However, it did raise an immediate question. “Wait, how did you get out?”

“S-Something came in and slammed against the glass when those idiot boot boys left to deal with aliens.” The reminder seemed to spur Bubby into taking another step

“Something?”

“If I actually knew what the fuck it was, I would have specified, dumbass.”

Even though he wasn’t sure Bubby could actually see it, Gordon raised his hands in a surrender motion. “Sorry, had to ask.”

Bubby waved in a dismissive gesture as he tried to keep hobbling forward. “Whatever, we need to get going before it comes back.”

Tommy refused to budge even as Bubby bumped into him. “We just- We came from that way. We can’t leave from there.”

“Yeah, it’s the trash place,” Gordon confirmed.

“R-residue Processing.”

“What he said. Unless you want to go through garbage disposal, there’s nothing that way.” He saw Tommy give him a worried look, but he shook his head to keep them from going off topic.

That apparently gave Bubby pause. “… Well shit, there went my plan.”

"You said that, uh, thing slammed against the tube. How do you know that it's killing the soldiers?"

"I heard screaming and shooting when it went the same way they did. And considering the shooting stopped, and no one came back, I could make a guess." Gordon didn’t have to see Bubby’s face to know that he had rolled his eyes.

“It didn’t- but it didn’t stop to attack you? Before leaving?” Tommy asked.

“No, it cracked the glass before giving up. The tube didn’t break until a few minutes later.”

Honestly, Gordon did not want to find out what the hell was in there, but he and Tommy had checked every route possible on their way through Residue Processing, and if the door wasn’t busted, there was always some sort of hazard blocking it.

Navigating their way back wouldn’t be easy either. It was already treacherous with just Gordon being a hobbled mess; doing it with Bubby incapacitated too would be impossible.

Tommy broke the quiet that had settled across them. “We just- We have to keep moving. Are you- Do you need help, Dr. Bubby?”

Bubby’s face scrunched up in distaste, but after a painfully long minute, he finally said, “Can’t see a damn thing. Sure.”

“Hey wait, do you want some help with-” Gordon gestured towards the blood staining the ground, “-That first?”

Somehow managing to look at Gordon with a gaze that screamed, ‘Are you stupid,’ he asked, “With what?”

“You obviously stepped on something, and you’re bleeding! It’s probably glass given the tube thing!” Gordon’s voice notably went up in pitch as he explained.

“How would you- You’d need tweezers or something, Mr. Freeman. We can’t do that here.” Tommy wasn’t happy with that, but he was right.

“There’s a medkit ahead if I remember right. I think. I wouldn’t swear to it now,” Bubby rambled. Then as if catching himself, he snapped, “Now are you going to help me or not?”

“Alright, alright, fine. Here we go. I uh, don’t think I can carry you like this and Tommy needs to go first.” Gordon reached an arm under the one that Bubby wasn’t pressing against a wall and slowly maneuvered the scrawnier scientist to lean against him so that the injured foot wouldn’t bear much weight. He had never been more glad to be in the HEV suit if only so he didn’t get soaked due to being in contact with Bubby’s drenched form.

It also meant he could feel Bubby shivering.

He was distracted from asking about it by Bubby’s next question. “What do you mean, ‘like this?’”

Deciding they needed to get a move on, Gordon started walking as he explained. “Well, getting beaten to hell kinda makes my head and body scream at me, and I don’t want to drop you if that kicks in at a bad time. At least this way, you can let go before it becomes a problem.”

Tommy took the lead and opened the door leading to the tube room, and it was a mess. The giant tube that dominated the room had been shattered, and glass and some weird fluid covered the floor in front of it. Gordon didn’t have to shift to see the sneer planted on Bubby’s face and made the executive decision just pass through.

Until Bubby stopped them at the exit and went, “Wait, I think they left my glasses in the observation room. Let’s go get them.”

“I-I’ll get them, Dr. Bubby, just wait here,” Tommy volunteered. He passed by them quickly, and they could hear the crunch of glass when he got further in. The sound of an automatic door opening and closing told them that he was able to enter without a hitch.

For once, Gordon didn’t really have much to say as they waited. Bubby was not in the mood to humor any comments, and Gordon felt bad enough for the guy that he didn’t want to aggravate him on accident. Add onto the fact that they didn’t want to attract attention while they were vulnerable, and it made for a perfect cocktail of reasons to keep quiet.

It meant that they could hear something mechanical inside the tube moving.

Bubby’s head snapped up at the sound, and he started backing up. “Oh my god!” He couldn’t go far with Gordon’s arm keeping him in place, and he started to struggle against him.

“Woah dude, what’s-”

“We gotta get moving! Before it-”

CRACK

The sound was accompanied by a blinding flash of light and the smell of ozone.

Bubby’s knees gave out on him, and Gordon couldn’t keep his balance while suddenly trying to support all of their weight. They both dropped to the floor, but Gordon was able to keep himself from falling on top of Bubby. It didn’t mean he was any less winded, however. After gasping for a few breaths and reorienting himself, he turned his head to see how Bubby was.

Bubby was curled into a fetal position, and his shivering had turned into full body shaking.

“SHIT! Bubby? Bubby, talk to me!” Terrified that Bubby had been injured even more, Gordon tried to grab his shoulder.

Bubby tensed at the contact, and suddenly, Gordon’s hand felt intensely hot. He let go and tried to put out the sudden fire that tried to cover his glove.

It’s a good thing the HEV suit was fireproof, so that the flames had nothing to fuel them and died out. The sudden fire still freaked him out, even if the hazard training had already told him about the fire resistance.

“Mr. Freeman! Dr. Bubby! Are-are you okay? I didn’t- I didn’t mean to hit that button! I tripped and fell on it...” He didn’t notice Tommy rejoining them until Tommy spoke up.

“I-I’m fine, Tommy,” Gordon quickly reassured. “Bubby though… I dunno man, he just fell and won’t respond to me. I think he just set my hand on fire when I touched him?”

Gordon didn’t miss the way that Tommy’s eyes first glanced towards the exit hallway first before he knelt down beside them. Right, they still had to be careful…

“Dr. Bubby? It’s- It’s just Tommy and Mr. Freeman. Y-your friends?” Tommy spoke in a soothing tone. “Just take deep breaths, okay? Like this.” His breathing slowed down to a calming rhythm that Gordon recognized from when someone had to help him recover from panic attacks in college.

Bubby didn’t look up at them, but the thin hospital gown made it easy to see that he was trying to follow the instructions Tommy had given.

While Tommy continued to calm Bubby down, Gordon stood himself back up. He made sure his movements were purposeful and slow, not only for his own benefit, but to make sure he didn’t set Bubby off again.

Once he was upright, he appointed himself as guard and held his crowbar at the ready. The knowledge that he was a poor substitute for Tommy’s clear head and quick instincts in this state weighed heavily on him, but it was the best he could do in this situation. Crowding Bubby wouldn’t make things go any faster, and Tommy knew what he was doing.

He couldn’t help but be grateful for Tommy. He definitely owed the guy all the favors in the world. He could only hope that they would get out so that those favors could be cashed in.

As for Bubby… The fact that the tube came with an electrocuting function was horrifying in its implications, and Bubby’s reaction to that feature being turned on spoke volumes. God, he knew Black Mesa had some shady stuff going on, but this was sickening. Given that Bubby seemed to be in pain from more than a head wound and an injured foot, he wouldn’t be surprised if the electricity had been used on Bubby before the soldiers had been distracted.

That thought burned white hot, and while he would be useless in a fight at the moment, he almost wished a soldier would appear at the end of the hallway. He gripped his crowbar tightly; it would be satisfying to bring it down on one of those damn military goons.

He wasn’t sure how long he stood there before Tommy finally called his attention back to them. “Mr. Freeman! He’s… We can go now. Just help him walk, okay?” Tommy had already pulled Bubby to a standing position and let him lean against him, and Gordon noticed there was a pair of glasses sitting on Bubby’s face. Oh good, Tommy found them. The endeavor leading into that accident hadn’t been for nothing.

Gordon nodded and switched places with Tommy with relative ease. It was concerning, to say the least, that Bubby wasn’t more vocal, but given everything that just happened, he didn’t want to try forcing a conversation.

God, Bubby looked so tired. He wished they could properly stop and rest, for all of their sakes, but stopping now was out of the question.

The hallway was eerily quiet, as was the next room. The cage full of dead headcrabs did nothing to alleviate the tension, but as soon as they passed by it, Bubby spoke up. “There should be a medkit in here. There’s one in most of the specimen rooms.”

The observation room in here held what they were looking for, and while Tommy took out the sparse medical supplies, Gordon did his best to help Bubby to the floor.

Until Bubby protested, “I’m not decrepit yet. I can get down!”

Not wanting another fire incident, Gordon backed off, even as Bubby made a loud THUMP when he landed on the floor. “I’m fine!”

At least some of Bubby’s figurative fire was returning.

There wasn’t a lot of room, but Gordon and Tommy ducked below the window and joined Bubby onto the floor. The automatic door was switched to stay off while they were in there, but they didn’t want to attract any more attention than necessary.

Which they knew they were probably about to attract in spades.

Thankfully, they had tweezers, a little rubbing alcohol, and some gauze to work with, so Gordon elected to take care of the rest while Tommy stayed on guard.

“Alright, man, this is probably gonna hurt, okay? Please don’t set me on fire for this...”

“Don’t dick around then and get on with it.”

Pulling glass out of skin was never fun, but he had to say that he never had to deal with a patient who tried to kick him in the face after one shard. Not that he could entirely blame Bubby, but still. The rest of the procedure went smoothly if only because Tommy let Bubby hold his free hand. If Tommy had to shake his hand so that blood would return to it afterwards, he didn’t complain.

Once the wound was bandaged, Bubby immediately tried to stand up and hissed in pain once he put weight on the injured foot.

“You-”

“It’s better than it was. Come on, let’s go.” Bubby beckoned for them to follow while he fiddled with the door controls. Once it was open, he hobbled forward with purpose.

At least now it seemed like he could walk without assistance. Even if he clearly favored one leg.

The next hallway had a window into an office that seemed empty, so they didn’t pay much attention to it as they entered. It was more immediately concerning that there was a dead scientist riddled with bullets in the far corner. As they got closer to the corpse, Gordon couldn’t help but look it over in case it somehow got back up without a headcrab latched on.

Bubby stopped and put a hand on his chin as if deep in thought. “Wait, I-”

THUNK.

“Shit!”

“AAAAAAAAAA!” Bubby managed to break into a run and slid under the stuck decontamination door at the far end of the hallway.

Tommy released several rounds into the bullet proof glass before stopping himself.

On the other side of the window was a headcrab zombie dully beating its head against the glass. Whoever it was had been a security guard based on the blue shirt and bullet proof vest. The head of the unfortunate soul was already decayed to the point where Gordon could see a jawbone dangling listlessly.

While horrifying in its own right, the sight made Gordon’s head spin, and he had to look away to make it stop.

“Mr. Freeman?”

After taking a few seconds to close his eyes and breathe, he forced himself to look at Tommy. “I’m good. Let’s go.”

Thankfully, Bubby had only gone through the other side of the decontamination room and was waiting for them. Once they had grouped back up, he said, “There’s an employee locker room nearby, and I want to get some damn clothes. Running around in my underwear is getting old.”

“Yeah, sure.” While it would be another hold up on time, Bubby was still shivering if they stood around for too long, and he definitely needed some shoes.

“… You’re going to need to break into the lockers. That’s what I need you for.”

“Glad to know I’m just here to be your errand boy.” The sarcasm wasn’t even remotely subtle.

“You got that right.”

Even if things were still… Off, the familiar banter was taking the edge off Gordon’s nerves.

After a few more hallways, the only way forward was conveniently through the men’s locker room and bathroom. The women’s room was blocked off, and even if they wanted to go in, there was a number lock preventing entry.

What they could see through the opened door was not promising. Blood and bullet holes littered the walls, and there were several corpses lying around. The only good news about the sight was that the blood didn’t look fresh.

Trying to find a different bright side, Gordon said, “Well, looks like you lucked out, Bubby, at least we can get in.” Happy to be getting somewhere, he shoved the crowbar into the first locker he could see and prepared to open it. Until Bubby stopped him.

“Not that one.”

Gordon couldn’t figure out what Bubby’s deal was and asked, “Why not?”

“How do you know they’ll have something that fits me?” He gestured at his body. Bubby was on the taller side and lanky...

“I dunno? I thought we’d figure that out once we saw what was in there?”

“Dumbass. Let’s be smart about this. Open this one instead.” Bubby patted the locker he was standing next to.

The smug tone made Gordon roll his eyes, but he complied. The crowbar went in with little resistance, but the door needed a fair amount of force before the lock snapped. Inside the locker was a typical scientist uniform along with some other personal items. Almost immediately, Bubby grabbed the clothing and looked at the sizes.

“I was right! See?” He proudly showed off that the pants were the perfect length.

“… Wait how did you guess that that locker would have the right size?”

“Some of my prototypes were assigned to work here, and I recognized the name.” The smugness faded a little, but before any further questions could be asked, Bubby turned away and shooed them. “Let me change, and I’ll be right out.” The bathroom stalls were riddled with bullet holes and offered little privacy, but they let him have his moment and pointedly kept their backs to him.

Noticing just how tense Tommy was, Gordon asked, “How much do you know about this section, Tommy?” Gordon asked. Part of this was because he was genuinely curious, but the other part was due to wanting to help with Tommy’s nerves.

“Uh. This is the Biodome. Part of it is- Studies Xenobiology. The other part is-” he waved towards where Bubby had gone. “They had- They partnered with Cybernetics though. For a while.”

I wonder if that’s when Coomer got his… everything. Gordon had lost track of how many enhancements Coomer had offhandedly mentioned by this point.

Before he could ask, Bubby yelled out, “Bubby’s back, bitches!”

If the stall door could have opened the other way, Gordon did not doubt that Bubby would have slammed it open.

As he took in Bubby’s appearance, he noticed that Bubby was also wearing the infamous Black Mesa Tie. “… You put the tie on too? Isn’t that a bit much?”

“It’s company protocol. Of course I did.” As if in spite, which it probably was, Bubby adjusted it to fit more snugly.

Gordon’s brain short-circuited. “But. We’re.”

“He’s right, Mr. Freeman,” Tommy agreed.

Gordon slumped his shoulders and shook his head. “Fine! I guess!” he said while throwing his hands up. “Let’s just get going.”

[toxkeepxbreathing]

@imxaxmage said:  ⚖ - Opinions on the fandom your muse belong to? (DRV3 & Until Dawn)

Honestly, Imma answer this for both because honestly my opinions for any fandom seem to always coalesce. For the most part, I really love and appreciate and enjoy how intensely the fandoms I invest in in turn invest in the shows and characters. Tumblr wouldn't exist if not for people to fangasm about all their favorite shit. And everyone who engages in those labors of love from fanart to fan animations to fanfiction to memes and memelists, the RPC, cosplayers, EVERYTHING -- Is just truly mindblowing and heartwarming. That being said... I do wish people would be more open minded to differing opinions and try to keep a balanced perspective on characters. Especially when it comes to characters they like versus characters they don't. Cause I do feel, well, humanity in general, is strongly biased by looks. Or they assume that because a character doesn't wear their heart on their sleeve and reach out or seek attention that they don't care/have feelings/struggle. And it's just frustrating.

I was watching an LP of Danganronpa and the LPer said that Angie deserved to die because she was "too positive" and "not taking anything seriously" and that was in Chapter 1 before anyone even died. He didn't give her a chance to reach Chapter 3 where she legit takes so many actions to try and end the killing game and it becomes apparent that Atua is a major coping mechanism for her and the entire council -- Especially Himiko. But then, yeah, Kiyo murders nearly 100 innocent women and he's a poor innocent boy that got abused by his sister. Which I've not been able to find evidence that it's even hard canon that either him or his sister abused each other. It's just headcanons based on Kiyo's tulpa and the stories of how Kiyo got his tulpa don't even match up. (He claims she came to him in a seance, but the game itself says she manifested while he was being tortured. I imagine the truth is in between those two, and he performed the seance to convince himself that his split personality/tulpa was actually his sister.)

And it's like. It's fine to like characters like that. And to dislike characters like Angie. But it'd be nice to have that be based on equal perspective. I like Mukuro, Kyosuke, Junko, Jack, Mikan and plenty of messed up characters. But I don't try and justify or excuse their behaviours because they still exist and should be recognized as character flaws that those characters need to responsibility for. Not have them excuses and forgiven. Hell, I don't excuse Angie blaming Himiko for Ryoma's murder. And yeah, her actions, good intentions or otherwise, born of abuse or otherwise, whether she has a severe case of God-fearing or God-complex or feeling like a Prophet. Are questionable and take the choice away from other people. (It's why Kaito, Tenko, Maki and Shuichi oppose her.) Anyway, I'm rambling.

I guess the Tl;dr is: I love all fandoms, especially the ones that truly care and deeply analyse their shows/things/characters. But I also feel like human nature invites bias that I wish more people could look beyond to place themselves not just in the shoes of the people they like, but also in the shoes of the people they don't like. Because unless you do that, it becomes hard to fairly judge every character. You miss things. Or don't let yourself hear them. Hell, I was watching Persona 5 Strikers and Futaba, a character I don't particularly care for personality-wise, said something about being unable to sleep in the camper van because she didn't have her usual pillow. My initial reaction was to just not pay attention and jokingly tell her to shut up. But then I stopped to think about that line and the implications, and that line alone gave me at least SOMETHING to appreciate in Futaba. She has obsessive compulsive tendencies. Same when she froze up in public.

I appreciated the game more, and her character a little more, to see how well they delivered on her social anxiety after spending so long hermiting in her room, struggling with PTSD. Granted, I still don't like her. Especially the way she seems to trivialize the trauma, obsessive compulsive behaviours and special interests of others. But I wouldn't even appreciate what I do appreciate of her character if I just shut her down/ignored her based on past judgments. I just don't think it costs anything to keep an open myself and place yourself in their shoes and keep hoping for the best for characters. Maybe that's why Kaito is one of my favorite characters in DRV3. Maybe that's why Tenko and Himiko initially resonated so much. Maybe that's why I like Ryoma, too. And maybe that's why I like Persona IN GENERAL. Because I really do like to see the best in people.

Oh, and don't wish harm upon characters in any meaningful way just because you don't like their personality. Sure, if they're genuinely god-awful criminals, I'd get it. In The Vampire Diaries, I find the actions of characters like Stefan, Damon, Klaus, Katherine, Hayley, and even Tyler, Jeremy and Elena to be very morally fucked up. Those first five moreso than the last three. And I truly believe that a lot of their actions; which for Damon and Katherine include rape and murder and Klaus and Tyler include attempted rape (and murder and brainwashing and a shit tonne of familial abuse and gaslighting for Klaus) and Elena and Jeremy essentially committing a mass genocide on thousands of vampires. They really do highlight how fucked up the vampire's mentality is and explains why characters like Matt Donovan want RID of them from Mystic Falls. (Especially because Matt's sister died because of them.) But to say someone should die because they're too bitchy or too cheery really does disturb me.

Characters like Hiyoko and Angie and Himiko don't deserve to die JUST BECAUSE of how they carry themselves. If you don't like the way they carry themselves. FINE. I don't wish death upon Futaba, either. Hell, I don't even wish death upon characters like Miu, Saiyaka or Kirumi in DRV3, though I disagree with their moral values and motives. I even RP Miu lmao. Note: I also wouldn't wish DEATH upon Tyler, Eleanor and Jeremy based on what I've seen so far. (I'm rewatching the series from scratch for like the fifth time.) And maybe not Hayley, either. And I don't believe the rest of them deserve to be harmed for their personalities. It's the actions and lack of responsibility they take within their own character arcs. It's fine to be jaded and problematic and bitchy and cruel and a fucking asshole to an EXTENT. But only if you're actually trying to improve.  We're all human. Mistakes happen. We all hit rock bottom eventually. I just... I don't know... I wish there was less bias and judgment and more open minds and fair perspectives given to all characters in any given fandom.

. . . . .

(So much for that Tl;dr)

[kogo-dogo]

I looked at your favorite character top 5 thing and there's the one character you said was your ''problematic fave''. And I've heard of that game before because I saw somebody play it on Youtube once, I think the second one, and I was just curious about the character. Torque?? Because it seems like such a bad game and he didn't seem to have much personality but you seem very attacked so I was wondering if maybe it was worth looking into the series or something. I like old games.

I am so sorry that I said a week ago I’d answer this, Anon. I have so many thoughts about this probably-actually-one-dimensional character because I’ve had sixteen years to pick apart every scrap of info that exists about him. And overanalysis of fictional men is, at this point, my primary hobby.

First of all… eh. I won’t say to definitively not look into the series, but I would encourage you not look into the series. It’s one of those things that’s aged like an open bottle of two-buck chuck and I can tell you right now that it wouldn’t be as palatable in 2020 as it was in 2004. As much as I love Prison is Hell (the first game) and as much as I get what they were trying to do, they messed a lot of things up and it wouldn’t translate well to modern times. This is especially true for Ties That Bind. Oh my god, do NOT play Ties That Bind if you’re easily offended.

It’s fascinating to pick apart, though, even if it seems extremely basic on the surface level, and part of the reason I like Torque so much is because he’s a very interesting character to crack open and inspect. I know he probably Isn’t That Deep, but he’s interesting, figuring him out is a puzzle because of the way storytelling is carried out, and if he’d been handled better, would probably still be remembered beyond “quiet dude in a game Youtubers occasionally play on Halloween.” He’s really an unfortunate casualty of that era of gaming. It’s surprising he was handled with any dignity at all.

Spoilers are to follow, but it’s for the best. Now you don’t have to play the game.

First, a disclaimer: The Suffering games do work on a morality system, where you can get good or bad endings based on how you treat other people. The game is heavily designed to favor the good ending, and most people I’ve spoken to have agreed the good endings are likely canonical considering how much you’d miss while playing neutral/evil. So, we’re going with the “Good Aligned Torque is Canon” angle.

Okay. Now.

- Who is Torque? 

This guy.

Torque is, in essence, what happens when you take every tired trope of a horror movie villain and flip it around on its head. He’s a severely mentally ill inmate convicted of murder (while it’s never outright stated what mental illnesses he has, it’s pretty obviously a mixture of DID and schizophrenia), he never speaks (at least not in the present; he does have scant dialogue in flashbacks in the second game; it amounts to maybe eight words total), and he is… freakishly strong. Beyond that, there’s very heavy evidence that he’s somehow supernaturally inclined. 

The difference is that, instead of being presented as the villain, he’s the hero. He’s not just the hero, he’s basically one of the very few competent people in the games. Nobody treats him any different than they would anyone else, the game doesn’t go out of its way to underline that he’s some kind of “monster,” and even when the most monstrous of his alters presents itself (The Creature, who we’ll discuss later), people are just kind of like, “Oh, well that was different” and then move on with their lives.

He is a character who could very easily take the place of Jason Voorhees, and instead of being given a machete and told to kill everyone he comes across, he’s given a fire ax and a voice in his head that tells him to take care to think about how much other people are struggling and that maybe, being that he is probably stronger than them, he should put forth the effort to get them someplace safe. 

- Okay, but, like… WHO is he? Character-wise?

If you want his backstory, it’s actually one of the best parts about him and one of the few things that Ties That Bind expands upon correctly. To summarize, he’s a victim of the state that fell through the cracks, pieced his life back together, and then ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

To be more long-winded: He was a troubled child with psychiatric problems who lost both of his parents in a car accident. With no living relatives beyond his parents, he was placed into the Garvey Children’s Home, where the conditions were less than ideal. A mixture of strain, trauma, loneliness, and desperation prompted his brain to divide up into three: himself, Blackmore, and The Creature. Then, left to navigate life and his own mental health on his own, he ended up falling in with some very bad crowds.

He became a drug dealer. He got in a lot of altercations. He was in and out of prison. This only stopped when he met his wife and became a family man, and began to consciously put forth the effort to right himself. He had two sons, had everything under control… and then ended up in prison again when the guy he used to work for on the streets hired a man to come pay him a visit at his friend’s bar and press every last one of his buttons until he snapped. He wound up in prison, his wife divorced him, and everyone assumed he’d end up back to his old tricks.

Except… he didn’t go back to being a drug dealer. He got a job at a gym instead. He stayed on the right track. He started reconciling with his ex-wife who, right before the events of the first game, moved back in with him. 

This didn’t sit well with the men Torque used to run with, especially not the guy he used to work for… so a hit was ordered on him and his family. He wasn’t home when it was carried out. He walked in, found his wife and kids dead, and passed out in his apartment from the shock, where the police found him after receiving a tip.

He was bloody. He was disoriented. He was known to be a repeat offender. They pinned the whole thing on him and, after a very unfair trial, he was sentenced to death.

The first day he arrives in prison--located on scenic Carnate Island--the ground opens up and monsters begin sweeping over the land. Convenient.

- Wait, this bitch has alters?

Yeah. This… isn’t really a part of the game that’s handled well, but it’s interesting. There’s a lot of weirdness going on with Torque (remember that supernatural bend I mentioned?), and one of the two is… well, I’m not sure he’s an alter at all.

First, there’s Torque himself who is just a short-tempered, easily frustrated, but generally reasonable guy who really just wanted to keep his head above water. Secondly, there’s The Creature, a defense mechanism and literal monster that is incapable of communication and rears its head whenever he feels threatened. Physically threatened, generally, which resulted in The Creature being a bit violent. Torque has a pretty extensive arrest record and most of his arrests seem to revolve around “punched a guy at an inopportune time.”

Blackmore is more complicated, because he isn’t really clear. You see, there’s a snippet of dialogue in the second game and a lot of environmental storytelling that indicates that Torque is supernaturally gifted somehow (something he likely inherited from his mother), and that some of his mental illnesses are actually paranormal interference. Blackmore is the biggest gray area, because while he is presented as an alter, he… very much defies that. 

He’s presented as a presence that Torque experiences externally and that only he can see (not really uncommon; Torque hallucinates pretty frequently throughout the game), but he also seems to be aware and consciously trying to control Torque. When that fails, he settles for trying to find a way to take over Torque’s body permanently. He’s capable of actually getting in physical altercations with Torque, but at the same time can hijack his body to do things he wouldn’t normally be able to do. He honestly smacks more of something Torque is possessed by instead of something his brain came up with itself, made all the more obvious by the fact that the final battle in the second game is literally Torque and Blackmore beating the everloving hell out of each other after Torque consciously realizes that nobody can perceive Blackmore but him.

But at the same time, that guy that Torque worked for that ordered the hit on his family? That’s Blackmore. There’s a lot of talk about how nobody has ever seen Blackmore (indicating he only communicated via writing or phone or what have you), and it’s all… very, very stupid. It’s one of those things in TTB that made me throw up my hands and go, “Well, sure. Okay. Let’s just do that, then. That makes perfect sense thanks.”

(I do not like most of Ties That Bind.)

- Okay, so he’s supernatural somehow?

Mm-hm. Again, it’s never explicitly stated, but heavily implied through some dialogue from my second favorite character in the game (DR. Q.L. KILLJOY, MOTHERFUCKER) and just the way the story plays out. 

Carnate Island erupts with a bad case of monsters the second Torque sets foot on the island. A prologue you unlock after you beat the game once reveals that Torque actually hallucinated the first game’s end boss before he even saw it, indicating he has some precognitive abilities. The sentient spirits of both games know who Torque is and take a special interest in him, and plenty make allusions that they’re “more alike” than he thinks. Blackmore is very clearly paranormal in origin and seems to even be able to command the monsters in some way. 

Hell, Dr. Killjoy even implies at the end of the first game that Torque is somehow making all of this happen and, only by tackling the root of his problems, can he make everything stop.

While there’s never been an active fandom for this game, I used to associate with a small group of fans, and there was actually a lot of discussion/disagreements about whether Torque actually had any form of psychosis or if maybe he had latent psychic abilities he couldn’t control. Seeing things all the time, causing things to accidentally happen that nobody would believe; it’d be easy to be chalked up with a disorder when there’s no way to know or prove what you’re experiencing is Real Shit.

- Why do you hate Ties That Bind so much?

Because of the way it improperly handles a bunch of mental health stuff that the first game wisely didn’t actually touch on much beyond acknowledging the fact that This Guy Are Sick.

Prison is Hell makes it very evident that Torque has psychiatric problems but never dwells on it overmuch. There’s even an entire chapter of the game that takes place in an old asylum with an early 1900s alienist ghost (DR. KILLJOY) trying to diagnose and “treat” Torque, and it still is mostly hinged on the horrors of old-timey treatment of mentally ill patients than anything about Torque. That and Dr. Killjoy’s misguided good intent (that dude deserves a whole essay of his own, to be honest).

Instead of hammering it home that he has Issues and deciding to talk too much about Issues, it just treats Torque like a human being. Your main goal is getting off the island and saving stragglers along the way, all of which react to Torque just the same way they would to anyone. COs will either be authoritative or condescending. Fellow inmates will be suspicious but more likely to work with him. Everyone is always gracious for his help, and nobody makes any odd remarks about anything weird he does (barring when The Creature shows up; then, they just remark on, “DUDE HOW IN THE FUCK?” because you find out, later on, that all they see is Torque getting in fist fights with things twice his size and winning).

Torque is just Torque. He just do what Torque do.

Ties That Bind then goes barreling into a bunch of tired tropes and tries to make a convoluted twist ending, and then there’s the whole matter of the secret underground organization that wants to capture Torque and have been working with Blackmore and you end up fighting a helicopter and some SWAT-looking motherfuckers and… they try so much harder to be edgy and gritty and it’s really fucking stupid.

The only good things you get out of it are some further snippets into Torque’s backstory (appreciated), the return of Dr. Q.L. Killjoy (always welcome), and a set of monsters known as Gorgers (they make purr-gle sounds when they eat and I love them).

Oh, and Consuela. She is mentioned in the first game and actually shows up in the second, and I can respect any woman who gets captured by an evil paramilitary organization and, immediately upon being rescued, takes the biggest gun she can find, looks you dead in the eye, and says, “I’m going to steal a fucking boat, drive it straight into a warzone, and rescue my goddamn husband. You with me or not?”

She is literally some female parallel to Torque and my headcanon is they are bros.

- Anything else?

Yeah. The soundtrack for the game is pretty awesome and ended up inspiring some other music in a couple of other video games of the time (Mortal Kombat: Armageddon immediately comes to mind). They actually rigged up some pretty cool contraptions to make unique sounds and ambience using shit like scrap metal and garbage, and the results are pretty fucking cool.

Favorites of mine are the boss themes for Hermes, and Dr. Killjoy, with Dr. Killjoy’s being my absolute favorite of all of them. The main theme of the game is pretty great, too, and is probably the most iconic of all of the songs on the OST. I’ve even heard it used in stuff where I doubt people knew what the hell The Suffering was, lol.

[thewhiterabbit42]

Wicked Games

Pairing: Gabriel x reader

Series Summary:  When a trickster seeks revenge on Gabriel, he traps the archangel in a sex dungeon with the person he despises the most: you.  

Word Count:  3432

Chapter tags/warnings: swearing, people being dicks

Series tags/warnings (as it stands): dark fic, medium burn, kidnapping, sex dungeon, mutual pining, enemies to lovers, violence, graphic depictions of horror, dub con, non con, oral sex, it’s a sex dungeon so likely all the sex, confessed feelings, bondage, more tba

A/N: This is a dark fic.  Please read all tags/warnings carefully.  Big thanks to my beta and @starchaser-the-prophet for taking a peek at this!

Based off the following request by @inuhimesblog

Part 2

“Seriously?  You’re going to leave me with her?”  Gabriel’s disdain is palpable, overflowing from his features and spiraling out into the space surrounding him.  

You try not to take it personally.  You’d hate feeling leashed too, if you were an ancient being whose entire existence consisted of being top of the food chain, and you imagine it especially hits a nerve given how he’s spent the last seven years.  

“If you didn’t want a chaperone, then maybe you should have stayed put for the five minutes we told you to, instead of inviting a bunch of your old friends over for tea and almost getting us all killed!”  Dean insists.

“How was I supposed to know they were on Loki’s side?”  Gabriel demands.

You can see the way betrayal sparks bright behind gold, another heavy blow to an ego that, by all accounts, should be shredded beyond recognition.  Maybe it is, but even you have difficulty discerning when he insists on being such an ass about everything.

"Because all gods are a bunch of backstabbing assholes?" Dean guesses.  He’s just as sardonic and pissy as the archangel is these days, so much so, you can’t stand being in the same room with them.

"They're not gods," Gabriel says flatly.  "They're maenads."  

"I don’t really care what they are," Dean retorts, gesturing to dismembered corpses strewn along the floor.  "Demi-God, god, trickster, whatever.  The name changes, the song stays the same.    You can't trust any of them!"

If eye rolling were an Olympic event, the archangel would take home the gold.  He folds his arms over his chest, his entire upper body getting into the movement.  His head drops back and the look on his face suggests even Heaven can’t help him as his weight shifts between feet.

You can't blame him.  The entire situation screams power move by Dean.  As much as you don’t agree with it, you’re not really in a position to either challenge or refuse him, and you suspect the current predicament is as much a means to keep you in line as it is Gabriel.

"Look," Sam steps into the fray, trying to be the voice of reason in this whole mess.  "We need you, and, like it or not, you need us."

Short, sweet, to the point, and more importantly, accurate.

"And if there are more of these things out there," he looks down at the bodies at his feet.  "Then it sounds like you could use someone to help watch your back."

Gabriel's glare swings toward him, skepticism bubbling through the surface of his anger.

“And I don’t know what you’re complaining about, because she’s the one that dropped those things, not us,” Sam adds, a touch of attitude broaching his tone to drive his point home.  

While you appreciate the reminder, it’s not as if the archangel wasn’t there, moving perfectly in tandem with you.  Somehow, you make a great team, despite how roughly things go when there isn’t a common enemy you want to murder instead of each other.  

As Gabriel’s scathing stare slides in your direction, you feel another layer of your patience peel away.  You’re not thrilled with the situation anymore than he is, but then again, when has he ever been thrilled to see you?

That’s not entirely true.  There was a time he was playful and cheeky, where he used to call you endearing nicknames that drove Dean insane.  Even if they weren’t really for your benefit, it had been nice to pretend someone might want to call you those things.

Now, he calls you the littlest Winchester, despite the fact you are not related to the infamous brothers, and he treats you no differently than if you were one of them, which most days means you catch a whole lot of flak for things you’ve never done.  

You recognize it’s a defense mechanism.  He’s been through so much between his family, Loki, and Asmodeus, though it’s hard to remember that when you’re dragged into the latest pissing match, and he acts like the whole thing is your idea.

“Yeah, well, you’re not exactly my idea of a good time either,” you mutter, your irritation getting the better of you.  

You miss the way something shifts in his features, eating away at the hardness around the edge of gold as you glance back to the brothers and add, “And if I’m delegated to playing nursemaid to that one,” you jam your thumb toward the surly archangel, “Then you two are on cleanup duty.”

Dean makes a face, looking down at the collection of limbs on the floor.  Surprisingly, he doesn't argue.  "Sam, get some trash bags from the trunk.  The industrial ones."  

As if he has to specify you need the body-sized ones.  

“And my bag please,” you ask.  

Sam nods, slipping out the door without another word.  

There’s an extra tension in the room whenever it’s just the three of you.  You used to be the one to manage it, the one who could smooth things over whenever the two of them locked horns, but now you’re just as at odds with them as they are with each other.

It doesn’t feel right.  None of it does.  The bitterness.  The constant fighting.  Only you don’t know what to do about it anymore.  

"C'mon, grumbles, let's get your mess cleaned up,” Dean orders, toeing what might be part of an arm with the edge of his boot.

Gabriel is not pleased to be on the receiving end of a nickname, face pulling into a sardonic smile that borders on murder. Before he can zing anything back in the hunter’s direction, the door swings back open and Sam walks in, supplies (which wisely includes a tarp and some heavy duty rubber gloves) in hand.  

"Notice I said you two."  You gesture between the brothers, murmuring a thanks to Sam as he hands you your bag.  

"What do you plan to do?  Supervise?"  Dean’s in rare form, and there’s a thinly veiled accusation simmering beneath green that you can’t touch right now.  

“You think those claw marks are going to stitch themselves?”  You question, gesturing toward the Gabriel’s shredded leg.  From the amount of blood and nearly black stain on his pants, you’re certain he’s only alive because he can’t technically die from bleeding out.  

You reach into your satchel and pull out your modified first aid kit.  It has the basic supplies, the biggest difference being the amount of gauze and bandaging included (for those archangel sized wounds) and some herbal components that stimulate grace regeneration.    

You move a chair next to the dresser in front of what might be the only clean section of carpet left.    

"Drop the jeans,” you order, patting the back of the chair with invitation as you begin to lay out what you’ll need.  

There's a brief moment where the Gabriel you knew flits to the surface.  "Here?  In front of everyone?  Kinky."

You almost smile.  Almost.  Because one light moment isn't even close to being a bandaid on your relationship.  No matter how much you'd like it to be.  

Especially when he follows it up with another blow.

"But I think I'll pass on being the guinea pig to your Dr. Doolittle and take care of myself, thanks."  He holds out his hand expectantly, and it takes a concerted effort not to smack him upside the head with the supplies.  

You settle for shoving them directly at his chest.

“Well if nobody needs me, I need some air.”

“They need you,” Dean gestures to the body’s on the floor.  “Us, right here?”  He swings his finger between himself and Sam.  “We need you,” he says pointedly as you pass right by him.  “Hey!”

Your instincts flare as he moves toward you, and there’s a visceral jolt through your chest that prepares you to react.  Sam intervenes before you get the chance, tall frame stepping between you as he puts a hand on his brother’s chest.  

“Dean.”  

You don’t care what look is burning into your back right now.  You’ve spent the last two days trapped in a car with a volatile version of Dean who reminds you of something you spend most of your time desperately trying to forget ever existed.  

“Let her go.”  

Dean doesn’t fight him, and the slam of the door is your final contribution to the conversation before you take off across the parking lot.

***

You should have kept walking.  Doubled back to the highway.  Hitched a ride in any direction, so long as it was away from there.  Away from him.

Gabriel’s camped out on the floor, leaning against the foot of the bed.  Instead of watching TV or playing on his phone like any normal being would, he’s bouncing a baseball against the wall with a persistent ker-thunk.  

It’s the same motion over and over: off the thin carpet, against the same dingy spot parallel to the dresser, pausing just long enough to make you wonder if he’s finally done, before starting all over again.  

Good god it’s annoying.  How did you ever put up with him?

Only you know how.  

Before, he was smooth.  He knew how to lay on the charm and flatter his way into good graces.  He used to be like Cas; beneath that outer surface lay something soft and warm, though instead of a rough veneer, it was the guise of detached hedonism.  

But now he’s all pointed barbs and caustic sarcasm, and it rubs you so raw that you have little patience left to weather the truly obnoxious moments anymore.

“Drama queen, much?”  You finally snap.  You’re young, but the reference isn’t lost on you, and as much as he wants to act like he’s imprisoned, he has far more ways to escape this hole in the wall than you ever will.  

Ker-thunk.  “Better than being a lap dog.”  

He doesn’t miss a beat, and this remark hits harder than you expect.  You’re not certain if it’s the connotation or the sheer acidity behind it, but he’s never this mean-spirited with you.

You breath in.  

Ker-thunk.  

Then out.  

Ker-thunk.

And in.

Ker-thunk.

Reminding yourself - ker-thunk - of all - ker-thunk - the horrible things - ker-thunk - he’s been through - ker-thunk - and how they - ker-thunk - change a person - ker-thunk.

Ker-thunk.

Ker-thunk.

Ker-  

You grip the edges of your lorebook so hard you’re convinced you’re fingerprints are going to sear straight into the leather binding.  

“Just because you’ve been dealt a shitty hand doesn’t give you the right to be a dick to the rest of us.”  

Not exactly where you’d hoped to land, but between him and Dean, the well you maintain to stay diplomatic in these situations has run so dry it’s going to take some biblical sized relationship repairs raining down on you to fill that sucker back up.  

Silence falls and you’re given a moment of reprieve.

Literally, one.  

“I’m the dick in this situation?”  His head whips around so fast it reminds you of the movie The Exorcist.  “Tell me, which one of us is on a leash right now, and which one is holding it?”

Right.  Because it’s your fault he goes into situations half-cocked, low on energy, without any backup, nearly gets himself killed, and pisses off the only allies he may have left.  

“Door’s open, don’t let it hit your ass on the way out.”

There’s a window in the bathroom you’re happy to shove him out of as well, but you decide to keep that suggestion to yourself in an attempt to keep things marginally civil.  

You get up from your chair and toss your book aside, in need of another way to decompress.  Despite the fact it’s not even noon, you head toward the mini-fridge, which is stock full of your maladaptive coping mechanism of choice.  

The moment Gabriel sees you pull out a beer, he lets out a scornful snort.  "Have another one, Winchester."

His insult hits a target dead center, though it’s not the one he’s aiming for.  Instead of slamming your integrity or moral turpitude, or whatever the shit he thinks he’s poking at, you feel cut off at the knees.

You’re not a Winchester, and it’s not that you want to be one so much as know you never can that makes this a particularly sore spot for you.

The reminder is draining, because it’s always there, hanging over your head, and you’re as sick of it as being caught in a game of Tug of War between two equally stubborn individuals.

“Can we do something other than argue for once?”  Exasperation softens the sharpness in your tone as you sit on the edge of the dresser.  

You hold the beer in your hands, focusing on the cold against your palms and the dampness that forms against the warmth of your skin.

He considers your question, absent-mindedly tossing the ball up in his hand.  “We could always play a game.”  

For a moment, he almost looks like himself again, mischief sparking, shaking off the varnish within gold.  His lips twitch as if attempting to smile, but they're heavy, immobile, and another indication of just how much has changed.

Part of you wants to humor him for the sake of keeping this tenuous break, but the rest of you is pretty god damn tired of being someone else’s punching bag.

“I have a novel idea,” you begin, leaning forward and resting your elbows on your legs.  

He deflates, dour demeanor returning.  “Oh, this should be good…”

You regret saying anything, but as with most things in your life, it’s too late to go back.  You run your thumb along the condensation of the bottle, tongue darting out across your lips as you prepare yourself for whatever comes next.  

“Why don’t we do something productive like, I dunno, talk about the group of deities out for your blood?”  You’re careful not to sound too concerned.  Doing so gets you batted at faster than a feral cat who’s cornered.  

“Yeah.  Real fun topic to be revisiting.”  

It’s still the least combative response you’ve received recently, and it gives you some hope you might be able to reason with him.

“Gabriel, if I’m going to be sitting next to someone with a giant target on their back, I’d like to know what it is my enemy might be firing so I can do something about it.”  

That, and you’d really like to avoid becoming a smear on the wall.  

“Don’t worry, sweetheart, there’s nothing coming but a whole lotta blanks.”

You’re not sure what rankles you more: the insincere and wholly mocking term of endearment he throws at you that used to mean something, or how dismissive he is of the danger you’re both in.

“Why won’t you let anyone help you?”  

In the few moments he isn’t forcing you to see a spectrum of red that exists only in his presence, there are startling shades of deep blue that squeeze around your heart because you already know why.

Some part of that must show, his mood worsening exponentially.  "Maybe because I don’t need anyone’s help?  Especially yours."

And back to square one you go.

"You are the most frustrating man I've ever met," you mutter, slamming the top of your beer down on the edge of the dresser and popping the cap off.  You bring the bottle to your lips and the bulk of the drink bypasses your tastebuds, pouring straight down your throat.

“Seems unlikely, given your Winchester worshipping status, but you’re no walk in the park either, toots.”

You glare at him, wondering just how much trouble you’ll be in with said Winchesters if you decide to paint a banishing sigil on the other side of the bathroom door and blast the archangel’s insufferable ass into the next state.  

As if sensing the brewing mutiny, both your phones buzz, Dean’s contact flashing across both screens.  

Meet me at this address.  Important.  

Thank God, or the gods, or whatever was out there for small favors.  You need something to do other than go another ten rounds with each other.

“C’mon," you tell him, hopping back to your feet without a second thought.

“Really?”

Here it comes.  

You down the rest of your drink as he readies his next jab.

“What's up between you and the lumberjack?”

You’d ask which one, but the question is so ridiculous you can’t do anything except blink. “Excuse me?”

Is he implying… what the hell is he implying?

“Every time he says jump you ask how high without a second thought, but here you are, all up on my lamp post about not knowing what you’re walking into.”

There are differences between him and Dean.  Big ones.  Ones he should be able to grasp, but you don’t trust him to, and if there’s anything you’ve learned with either of them it’s that sometimes it’s just easier to deal with things on your own.

"There's nothing going on."

Your quick dismissal only has the archangel's stare narrowing.

"Does he have something on you?"

“Jesus christ, Gabriel, can we argue about this in the car?”   You’d prefer not to argue at all, but getting him out the door is now your number one priority, and you have a feeling this is going to be worse than the time Dean left you with that toddler from Hell.  Literally, a demon hiding in a three year old’s body that knew how to push every one of your buttons so you’d overlook the fact it couldn’t cross the line of salt in the doorway, rather than wouldn’t.  

“I’m being serious,” he says grabbing you by the arm as you try to pass.  The contact startles you, as does the admission that follows.  “I know I've been kind of an douche lately --”

“Kind of?”  

He ignores your knee-jerk response.  “The point is, you can talk to me."

That might be the funniest thing he’s said all day.  

You snort.  "Good one."

“I’m serious.”  He pins you beneath a sober stare, one noticeably lacking a scathing edge.

You’re not certain what to do with that.  

“He doesn’t have anything on me, alright?” You sigh.  “Now can we please go?”

He eyes you even more intently before his features abruptly harden again.  “Don’t tell me you’re in love with him.”

You decide not to justify that with a response.  Not a verbal one anyway.  You hope the middle finger you raise in his direction as you try to head to the door is a clear enough indication of where you stand on the matter.  

As usual, the idiot-savant in him has already made up his mind on the matter.  

“Oh for shit’s sake, you are.”  He grabs you by the wrist, stopping you in your tracks, and you’re too busy trying not to scream to notice the myriad of emotions that flash through his gaze.  “Seriously?  Since when did you become deaf, blind, and dumb?”

He's so far from the truth it should be laughable.  Except it isn’t, because it’s him, and you’re over this conversation.

“Since when did it become any of your business who the fuck I’m interested in?”  You yank out of his grip, shoving him out of your space.  “Don't act like you care about me or anything other than playing Uma Thurman in your little Kill Bill revenge fantasy."  

Gabriel freezes, surprised by the sudden burst of hostility from you.  

"Now you can either get in the car, stay here, or fuck off to Fiji for all I care, but I am leaving," you snarl before storming out of the room.

You didn't sign up for this.  He and Dean can sort it out between themselves if they're going to insist on being self-centered pricks the entire time.  You just want to wake up one morning and feel like you’re worth something again, something no one else seems inclined to let you do.

Before you even make it to the vehicle, Gabriel’s there, waiting for you in the passenger seat.  You’re relieved and annoyed.  You need a break, but despite that, you know this is far, far better than facing an irate Dean.  

Mostly.  It really depends on how much trouble either of your mouths can get into.

The answer is potentially plenty once you plug the address into your phone’s GPS and realize you have a forty-five minute drive into the middle of nowhere ahead of you.  

You take a deep breath, managing not to wrench open the car door.  There are far worse things you’ve endured.  How bad could one car ride turn out?

Part 2 >>

ALL the tags

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Gabe Squad (Gabriel)  

@disneymarina​ @starchaser-the-prophet​ @bloodstained-porcelain-doll​ @the-kryomancer​ @supernaturalways​ @erisunderthemoon​ @hankypranky​ @fruitypieq​ @missihart23​ @a-wing-and-a-pen​ @waywardspringchild​ @luciferseclipse​ @greeneyedtrickster​ @fand0maniac​ @gabegirrl86​

[sometimesiwriteangst]

Hush, Little Liar - 18

In which Patton wins a battle.

Masterlist

Also shout out to @scenecipriano for helping with ideas-

Warning for non consensual kissing.

Patton didn’t like having to take Deceit to sign language classes. He doesn’t like taking Deceit to speech therapy. He doesn’t like how Deceit comes out desperately trying to say the letter “o”. Or how happy he looks doing it.

“Yes, fantastic, you speak like a freak,” Patton snaps, and Deceit flinches.

The twins were initially going to be the ones to take Deceit to his appointments that day, but Thomas was home from visiting his aunt, and had been in need of support. So Logan had suggested that Patton take Deceit. That Roman and Remus do the comforting.

Logan was getting on Patton’s last nerve. One more attempt to take control from Patton, and Patton might just have to do something.

“I want to see Dr Picani as well.”

Patton grabs the phone from Deceit, going to delete the damn app. He was fed up of hearing the voice. He had risked a lot to keep Deceit from talking, from lying, from snatching away control. And now he had a mechanical voice to do it all for him.

Patton hated Logan almost as much as Patton hated Deceit.

But perhaps he could get Deceit to stop seeing Dr Picani…

He breathes deeply, and slowly hands the phone back to Deceit, who takes it anxiously.

“Alright. Fine. Let’s go.”

Patton had to wonder why he never thought to do this beforehand. Dr Picani wasn’t in the office today – did a Figment even have regular office hours? So it was a perfect time to shape shift and pretend to be the therapist.

Deceit had looked so relieved when Patton “left”, and he now looked forwards to ensuring the side didn’t try to tell much more to the therapist. It was like a game. Pretend to be Dr Emile Picani, and if Deceit believed him, then he won.

“So, what should we discuss today?” Patton keeps his voice bright and cheerful, as light as the therapist himself.

“I wanted to tell you a bit about my speech therapy session.”

Patton hates that voice so much, but he forces himself to stay looking happy.

“Oh? Go on!”

And Deceit is typing out eagerly about how he thinks he might be able to recover. About feeling hope, about how thinking of speaking again makes him feel optimistic. About how he misses his voice and today he could almost say the letter “o”.

Patton hates it. He hates how happy Deceit is over it all. And after a while Deceit seems to notice, because he stops typing and looks at him with concern.

“You know, Dee,” Patton says, trying to sound exasperated, “you need to stop fixating on the tongue.”

Deceit looks like he’s been hit, and Patton forces himself not to grin.

“You’re here to discuss your mental health problems, but all you do is complain about the tongue! I just...feel like you might be overreacting.”

And Patton knows Deceit can’t tell what parts are lies and what are truths.

When Deceit starts crying, he thinks he’s won.

Patton “meets” Deceit outside the clinic.

“So? How was it?” he asks, pretending not to know.

When Deceit doesn’t meet his eyes, he knows he’s won. So he chuckles, brings Deceit’s head back, and kisses him roughly without care for Deceit’s comfort.

“Don’t worry. Let’s go to my room tonight. I’ll reward you for being so well behaved, alright? Who do you want me to be? Remus again? Logan?”

He sees tears pooling in Deceit’s eyes and beams.

“Yes, Logan it is.”

Taglist: @theanxofthethomas @forestriversstars @thatonenerdphotographer @deceitful-remus-writes @whatschooldoesntteachyou @bluedressandreadytoimpress @s-t-a-r-b-i-e-s @the-princey-pie @kittycake574 @ambersky0319 @cyberpunkjinx @daflangstlairde @its-delicioustomatoes @angels-are-beautiful @samuel-the-gay @piningidiot @zephyrria @demented-dukey @resident-witch-bitch @sympathetic-deceit-trash @pieceofgarbag @pxrpleprincey @hufflepuffgirl01 @mylovelyladdyhumps @logansanderslove @trash-ratatoiulle @squipfromjapan @stuck-in-between-two-worlds @dorkoverse @remythehero  @askthesnakesides @a-chaotic-being @sanders-side-s-blog

[mobius-prime]

186. Sonic the Hedgehog #118

Oh boy, we've got a big one on our hands, guys! First of all, it's worth noting that for the next seven issues the comic kind of had this "magazine cover" gimmick going on, where every story was described on the cover in a humorous, pseudo-tabloid manner. And second, every story in this issue is highly significant, two of which have a huge impact on future storylines, and one of which resolves a problem I've been salty about for a while. So without further ado, let's jump right in!

Robotnik's Return

Writer: Benny Lee Pencils: Steven Butler Colors: Jason Jensen

“Benny”, I've noticed, as a writer has an unfortunate tendency to solve any conflicts in the plot extremely suddenly, often in a very deus-ex-machina manner that contrasts with the "long game" approach that Penders usually takes toward his stories. For those who don’t know - I was unaware as well at first - “Benny Lee” is a pseudonym that Karl Bollers took on for some of his stories after receiving criticism for his writing. (However, I’m listing him as a separate writer just for the sake of consistency, as clearly he didn’t want certain stories associated with his real name.) For whatever reason, his stories as “Benny” seem to be choppy and full of fix-it gimmicks that, instead of gently guiding the story along a natural path, blindfold it and shove it violently into the next plot point without mercy. This story is no different. Eggman and Snively have managed to finally restore themselves to new mechanical bodies without any pesky Mobian interference, and what's worse, these bodies are free of the virus that caused Eggman's data on the location of Knothole to be corrupted. He's delighted at the opportunity to find its location at last and launch an attack, but, you guessed it, right at that moment the Freedom Fighters burst in, having tracked their location.

Suddenly, the forms of Eggman, Snively, Sonic, and Tails all begin to dissolve, with Nicole confirming to a shocked Sally that they've been unexpectedly teleported somewhere else. But where might that be?

Yes, that's right, they've been randomly abducted by aliens! Now, I have to point something out about this page. You can see that at first, the aliens are speaking in some kind of alien language before they presumably switch on a translator or something. Except, that's not actually just "some alien language"! Look closely at it. Notice anything unusual? Anyone who's ever been to Disneyland in California should recognize exactly what they're looking at - the symbols used in the aliens' speech are in fact the same symbols used in the carvings on the walls of the Disneyland Indiana Jones attraction! I recognized it immediately - I grew up going to Disneyland my entire life, and it's still my favorite theme park in the world. So, I took the liberty of translating exactly what these aliens were saying using one of the old decoder cards that they used to hand out in line! For anyone hoping for some intelligible speech, you're going to be disappointed - it looks like they might have just keysmashed on a keyboard and then "translated" the results. The first dialogue bubble says, approximately, "Denite idlothxo vhry muph i," and the second one "Viuyhkvqj efsqr." I say "approximately" because the letterer appears to have taken a few liberties with the symbols, which don’t all exactly match the ones on the decoder card. It's honestly a very strange but funny homage to the ride - clearly, whoever was responsible for the symbols being included is a fan of Disneyland, and as a fellow fan, it gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling inside to see these symbols in the place I would have least expected them.

Anyway, the aliens explain that they've beamed the four of them up here for a little experiment. They use their technology to transform Sonic and Tails into mecha bodies, while transforming Eggman and Snively back into their flesh and blood forms, and inform the four that they will be made to battle each other, and the winners will be reverted to their original forms while the losers will be made to keep their new forms permanently. This seems like a rather pointless experiment, if you ask me - I mean, what is even being gained from this apart from some perverse entertainment? - but the four test subjects are beamed into a holographic recreation of Robotropolis and begin to battle it out. Eggman and Snively immediately plop themselves into a robotic mech, but Mecha Sonic and Mecha Tails easily blow it apart. Eggman runs for his life and Mecha Sonic gives chase, while Mecha Tails guards the terrified Snively to ensure he doesn't run for it. Mecha Sonic easily spots his quarry with infrared vision and shoots a net to capture him, winning the "game."

The aliens keep their word and return everyone to the planet, with Sonic and Tails back in their normal bodies, and Eggman and Snively now reverted back to an organic form. Sonic and Tails return to Knothole where they explain everything that happened to the others, and while they're a little skeptical they ultimately accept the story, though they're nervous that since Eggman is now flesh and blood once more, it will be harder to track him. You see what I mean about this being a deus-ex-machina resolution to the Robo-Robotnik problem? It's good for the story to have him be an organic being once more, so that he has to work harder to protect himself from harm instead of weathering explosions and the destruction of his various bodies like they're mere inconveniences, but just… random aliens being the cause? I dunno, man. It is quite interesting, however, to see Eggman's reaction to being transformed back into an organic being, as certainly while in his own zone he existed for the first forty-odd years of his life as an ordinary Overlander, he's remained a robotic being for decades by now. That will be hard for him to adjust…

Heart to Heart

Writer: Karl Bollers Pencils: Ron Lim Colors: Jason Jensen

Ever since Eggman's capture of the Secret Service and their subsequent infection with his nanites, the remaining members have been in treatment, with Dr. Quack unable to find a proper cure. However, with Rotor's help, a fix involving aggressive nanomachines sent in to attack the nanites has been developed, and everyone is finally cured. Sally welcomes Geoffrey's return to active duty as the leader of the Secret Service, but he seems dejected and uninterested as she walks away. Hershey asks him what's wrong, and he explains his actions up till now - that as a boy, he always greatly admired his father's sense of duty and sought to emulate it, which evolved into his no-nonsense, humorless personality of today. However, he was always jealous of Sonic and wanted to prove that he was better than him, which was why he convinced Elias to accept his "help" in ruling the kingdom in the king's stead.

Now this is the Geoffrey I like. Up till now, he's been alternately somewhat charming and likeable, and a complete jerkwad. This is the turning point where he goes from a self-centered jackass, to a genuinely focused individual who actually respects those around him, including his rivals. It seems that some time in isolated treatment has given him lots of time to reflect on himself, and in the end Hershey brings out the best in him. With his resolve renewed, he approaches the king and asks for permission to take some leave from his position and go in search of the missing Elias, which the king approves, so together he and Hershey leave to find him. This is honestly the best ending to Geoffrey's asshattery that we could get, because not only does it make him a much more likeable character, but it actually pairs him up with someone who is, well, his age, instead of him creepily pursuing a fifteen-year-old as his beau instead. Hooray for character development!

Ultimate Power (Part Four)

Writer: Ken Penders Pencils: Dawn Best Colors: Jason Jensen

We've reached the ultimate confrontation - the culmination of everything the Green Knuckles Saga has been building up to this entire time. Knuckles faces off against Mammoth Mogul, his finger on the button ready to disconnect Dimitri from life support. Mogul reveals that he was able to obtain his own version of the Chaos Syphon due to having actually met Dimitri once before, when he was still an ordinary scientist developing the device. Despite the danger, Knuckles refuses to listen to Mogul, determined to save Dimitri while preventing Mogul from taking his powers, and begins to pulse with light which reflects across the whole city, drawing Remington, Julie-Su and the Chaotix, and Lien-Da to his location like a beacon. Mogul, furious that Knuckles is refusing to submit, hits the button to disconnect Dimitri's life support, and Knuckles immediately leaps into action to prevent him from dying.

…okay, Penders, a word of advice, writer to writer. If you ever make your character say "Not if I go into overload mode," you have just ensured that no one will take him seriously and will immediately begin to meme the hell out of it. Also, when the hell did Mogul find the time and energy to build an entire Chaos Syphon room in the middle of Echidnaopolis? Knuckles, in his efforts to save Dimitri's life while resisting the Chaos Syphon, begins to expend energy at a rate he's never reached before, bathing the entire city in his green light. This rapid release of energy causes Mogul's facility to explode violently, leaving a crater in the city where the building once stood. Everyone rushes to the site of the blast, worried about what they might find.

Oh, did you think this very important main character was going to survive this altercation? Well think again, 'cause Knuckles is deader than dead! While all of this is going on, a rededication ceremony is happening across the city, to honor the return of the island's inhabitants to their homes after the firing of the Quantum Beam. The speaker is confused about Knuckles' absence for such an important gathering, but Lara-Le nervously tries to insist that he probably has a good reason. I'm sure she didn't expect the reason to be that he's really, super duper dead!

Yeah, I wasn't joking, guys. For those of you who hadn't read the comic up till now and were unaware, yes, Knuckles has actually died in this issue. There's no mistake, no trickery. He's gone. And that's the note that this issue decides to end on! I guess we have to say goodbye to Knuckles as one of the comic's main characters, because there's no way a comic book would ever temporarily kill someone off only to bring them back a few issues later…