#i also wanted to put the psi symbol in the background but it ended up looking like akechi wanted you to join him in his satanic activities

[thebigladjake]

AX3001: Oddyssey - TV Show Research and Development: Giygas and the Intrigue of having an unexplainable villain

When it came to making a TV Show, I always had an idea for an Earthbound spiritual successor since 2018 and over this last Summer when we were briefed to make three TV Shows. I had to really think about what ideas I wanted to do. However, during my downtime, I suddenly remembered one specific thing about my Earthbound experience...

Giygas

The Embodiment of Evil, the Universal Cosmic Destroyer or the Almighty Idiot according to who you ask, Giygas is the main antagonist of Earthbound and appropriately serves as the game’s final boss before your adventure comes to a close. Granted, him being the very last thing you fight leads to you leaving with that boss fresh on your mind. But, I hadn’t played Earthbound for a few years... And Giygas just suddenly popped into my head. And a lot of the questions were “Why is he like this? This cute and friendly game has a boss that looks like a nightmare?” I was absolutely fascinated by this boss and it led to my second playthrough of the game.

Onett, the start of the Adventure

This is the hometown of our main character, Ness and effectively our window into the world of this game. We see the town he lives in, it’s so bright and colourful with all the town essentials! A burger shop, a town hall, an arcade, hospital, police station and library, it’s familiar to us as our hometowns most likely have similar locations. The vibrant colours of all the buildings is eye-catching and welcoming! 

The music is also worth noting as it’s very peppy and upbeat, it feels like the theme of a small town with a nice community. Most of the music follows this formula.

Most of the towns in the game follow this design and it does feel like you’re exploring more and more of the world, like you’ve ventured further than you have ever gone before and you’re not going to stop because this world is so interesting and welcoming!

Some towns deviate from the formula, but the good people in the towns help to established the same welcoming energy that we’re used to.

Now, let’s take a look at the final map before Giygas’ lair...

The Cave of the Past, the end of the Adventure

Complete contrast to what has been established this entire game. There are absolutely no colours, there are no buildings, no operations of Giygas’ in the background. It’s just a path to the end of the journey and it’s so simple... But, it’s super effective! The lack of colour helps to make it feel otherworldly, makes it feel alien to the world that you’re used to and that’s exactly what Giygas is, he’s not from the world. 

Even our main cast of heroes could not be transported back in time without being transferred into robot bodies, all of their colour is gone too. All except Ness’ hat, showing a small bit of colour almost as if it’s that one bit of hope of beating Giygas.

At the end of games, usually going to the final boss’ lair will be some huge event where you see all of their plans, what they’ve built over time and will be accompanied by some epic score. Earthbound does things differently.

Just give that a listen, it’s a eerie, droning piece that doesn’t sound like a great confrontation theme. It sounds like ambience more than a score to me and I think that makes it scarier, like you are in the positions of the kids who are probably incredibly scared of what they are going to have to face once inside that cave. It’s so incredible and it’s a sample of the Beach Boys song, ‘Deirdre’.

It’s the opening note and I find it amazing how a single sample can do so much! There is another Earthbound track that I will link here which features a sample of the trumpet in the intro of the Beatles song, ‘All you need is Love’ and again, it sets up so much with just a tiny little sample.

This is used just before going to the Cave of the Past, instead being the Cave of the Present. It’s technically just two notes with a reverb, but the sample adds so much and it just feels uncomfortable. However, we don’t need to talk about this for long, let’s go right to Giygas’ lair!

Giygas Lair, the true contrast to Earthbound’s style!

I apologise for the size of the image, but it’s pretty much a straight path but LOOK AT THIS! A trail of organs and entrails twisting and turning through this dark void until you find this uncanny monstrosity of a machine made of the same organic material you were walking on. This. This is what made me come back, it’s such a disturbing idea. 

This is open to interpretation, but the way caves are represented in Earthbound is to only make sprites of the ground and walls. All the stuff you can’t see is black, just like how a cave should be. Giygas’ lair has this same motif, but there doesn’t really appear to be any walls around. So depending on your view, they’re either walking through a tunnel or entrails or walking through the void as previously stated. Personally, I think both are terrifically terrifying but I definitely see the void more.

The organs pulse as you walk up them, the only noise complimenting the atmosphere is the clanking of robo-feet and the breathing of Giygas which is what I feel gives it the whole void feeling. It’s so unnerving that this is the final confrontation, but the fact that it is actually puts us in Ness and his friends shoes.

Getting to the Machine causes everything to stop, the ambience vanishes. Giygas’ intro music plays as the Machine changes to show the robots a picture of Ness’ face. Ness was prophesied to be the one who brings down Giygas and the first thing we see from the Machine is Ness, already suggesting to us that Giygas knows that we’re here...

Pokey, Ness’ childhood friend and eventual enemy over the course of the game, descends in a Spider Mech and just like that the Final Battle is about to begin!

The Final Fight

Of course, the final boss begins with Pokey standing before you with Giygas’ number one thought right now... Ness is here and he’s come to defeat me. This is a pretty standard affair for a boss, only Pokey can be harmed and he is much more a threat in this Spider Mech than he was previously in battle. 

Giygas has a shield that is impervious to any kind of physical or psychic attacks and cannot be destroyed or disabled. He attacks using the special power that only Ness knows ‘PSI Rockin’’. His shield will always reflect your shots back at the character who attacks him and even when they have shield themselves, they will get hit regardless. The Machine is what keeps Giygas stable and alive, making him completely invincible...

However... He has one big idiot on his side...

Pokey can be damaged and the strategy of the fight is to focus on him and avoid any attacks that hit the both of them. Pokey, like the main cast, is a kid and he’s incredibly immature. So as soon as his mech is defeated, he taunts the main gang and turns off the Devil’s Machine... The one thing preventing Giygas’ defeat...

Giygas Released

Once released, Pokey explains that Giygas isn’t even himself anymore. He became so powerful that his body was destroyed and had to be contained into a machine in order to maintain some sort of grasp on his thoughts. Without that machine, the four heroes are taken into a dimension of Giygas’ thoughts and since we play as Ness we hear his thoughts directed towards us the player.

He reaches out with such thoughts as repeating Ness’ (The player’s) name, saying “I feel... Sad.” or “It feels good.” and added upon these thoughts Giygas’ attacks cannot be comprehended by our characters. It really helps to add a sense of hopelessness because we have no idea what is truly going on and we can’t fight what we don’t know. 

An Unconventional Resolution

Attacks don’t work, defending won’t work either, you can’t heal or save yourself. All hopes seem lost until you notice a certain act that Paula can do. Pray.

When Paula prays, she reaches out to the world she left behind and the folks that are waiting for their return get the feeling that something bad is happening. So, they too pray from the bottom of their hearts...

https://youtu.be/cptFVD3eTEs?start=320&end=374

If you watch the small clip above, once he feels the support from the Earth. The sound cue to signify that Giygas has been damaged and that Giygas is not okay.

Onward to his next form.

Now I would like you to take a close look at this image, I’ve asked a few people about this and sometimes they get it without me saying anything and others don’t. So, just take a moment to find an image amongst the Giygas’.

Got it or have you given up? In the realm of Giygas, here in the black void is a pretty damn distinct shape of a baby. And this is what fascinated me about Giygas, there is a theory that this is symbolism for abortion as you go back in time to kill Giygas but that theory has been disproven by Shigesato Itoi, the game’s creator. There’s evidence that goes against this theory anyway, but this fetus imagery always stuck out to me. 

It’s said to be a coincidence that the Super Nintendo generated these sprites and in this pattern. But, it’s such a definite shape of a baby and I find it absolutely mental that it’s just a coincidence. And that curiosity is what brought me back to Earthbound, just this happy go lucky game where you make friends with a little monkey that chews bubblegum, make friends with a man who converts himself into a huge dungeon man and at the very end, you’re faced with this. 

It’s not only impactful imagewise, but storywise it’s just as impactful for the opposite reasons. As Giygas can now be damaged by feeling the love and support coming from the friends Ness has made across the world. Each time Giygas is hit, it gets worse, but the moment he really breaks down is when Ness’ Mother wakes up in the middle of the night and rushes downstairs with Ness’ little sister and their dog. They all feel uneasy and begin to pray for the safety of Ness and his friends.

https://youtu.be/cptFVD3eTEs?start=702&end=738

This is the moment Giygas truly breaks down, feeling the support of a loving Mother looking out for her son is a feeling he had long since buried. It’s about time I talk about the backstory of Giygas, while it’s not touched upon in Earthbound/Mother 2, in Earthbound Beginnings/Mother we see Giygas as an alien and we learn about how he came to be.

Giygas and Trauma

Giygas was an alien that was raised by Maria and George, a couple that was abducted by the other members of Giygas’ race. Maria adopted Giygas and looked after him while George studied their powers without their approval and eventually escaped with this knowledge, never being seen again. Once Giygas grows up, he was instructed to ensure that no human is capable of using PSI powers and not wanting to betray the people who raised him, he forcefully detached himself from Maria to prepare for the invasion.

Maria was sent back to Earth, but with amnesia and once the Eight Melodies are obtained, she regains her memory and explains that it was a song she used to sing to Giygas when he was young. This is very important.

Giygas’ first attempt to take over the world. He comes down, looking upon the gang and the battle begins. Starting the trend of Mother/Earthbound games having a unusual way of defeating the final boss. This time, the group begins to sing the Eight Melodies which brings up emotions in Giygas that he thought he had long since repressed or even got over. Giygas has a complete mental breakdown and recalls his forces, swearing revenge on the planet and that he will return.

In Earthbound, Giygas has worked on himself and made sure that what brought him down before cannot bring him down again. However, he didn’t do enough since the feeling of a loving Mother reaching out to her son in his time of need still hurts him severely and it’s at this point where Giygas can hardly do anything. His sprite starts contorting, the colours shift and the audio turns into a droning whirring noise.

Ness’ Mothers love is one thing, but it’s not enough. Giygas is wounded, but he is still fighting. Paula keeps praying for one more person and with a few more attempts, that person is you. There’s a moment in the game where the fourth wall is broken and asks you to enter your name. It can even be your full name, my name is pretty long and my name fits into it perfectly. It’s emotionally engaging since it includes you and you feel like in a way you are defeating him rather than Giygas being defeated by the world of the game. 

https://youtu.be/cptFVD3eTEs?start=838&end=938

After this Giygas loses control, the whirring increases, his sprite distorts further to the point where he is unrecognisable, the visuals cutting in with static occassionally. Static that appears at the very beginning of the game, suggesting the approach of Giygas and showing pictures of the invasion, and at the end of the game it suggest that he’s retreating, he’s getting out of reach and eventually he is gone.

And after all of that craziness, the robots are outside of Giygas’ lair. Everything is quiet, ��The War against Giygas is over.”

What was Shigesato Itoi thinking?

Shigesato Itoi drew inspiration from an event of his childhood, where he had walked into the wrong screen at the theatre. He walked in on a murder scene which as a kid he mistook for a rape scene which had such a potent effect on him. He drew inspiration from it for Giygas’ final battle and some of the things Giygas says. 

In an interview, Itoi claims that there was a scene where a guy grabbed a woman’s breast which distorted it into a ball shape. He said “It all hit me really hard. It was a direct attack on my brain.” despite the fact that this doesn’t actually happen in the movie, which Itoi admits that his memories are a little fuzzy. It’s probably because it all happened so fast and his child brain may have created false memories or just failed to understand it. Itoi also goes onto say, "this sense of terror having atrocity and eroticism side-by-side, and that’s what Giygas's lines at the end are. During the end, he says, “It hurts,” right? That's... her breast. It’s like, how do I put it, a “living-being” sensation." and the purpose of the scene is to get the player’s mind working.

Another interesting part of this interview is when Itoi talks about typical villains and says this, “Well, you know, having a villain there who simply goes, “Wahahaha!” and the like would clearly be bad. But, actually, when I think about it, having villains go, “Wahahaha!” is a really intriguing pattern. But there’s no point in wondering all by yourself for days on end what it means for a bad guy to go, “Wahahaha!” at the climax of a game, you know? I get the feeling that there aren’t many people in the game industry who would do that sort of thing, though.” Which is something important to consider, Earthbound is such a colourful game bursting with personality, so having it end with just a standard final boss affair probably wouldn’t feel satisfying.

What the Earthbound/Mother series taught me about final confrontations?

Giygas’ character and what it taught me that even “Universal Cosmic Destroyers” can have trauma that they are trying to avoid and bury. It humanises them in a way and it can make the final confrontation that more powerful as it’s a problem we can all relate to. They’re not all evil for the sake of being evil, sometimes they don’t have a choice. 

I think this is a good thing to take on board and I have already begun planning on my main antagonist’s motivations on Oddyssey. It might be changed since it’s a sensitive topic for me right now, but these motivations won’t be brought up in Season 1 anyway

[crackmadhi]

Why would I hate you for loving me?

Saturday, 23 June 2029

It was Saturday evening. In four days Nahyuta and Apollo would fly back to Khura’in and Klavier had decided that they should make a little celebration before they would leave on Tuesday.

This was why Nahyuta sat at a table with Ema, Kay and Athena, who were vividly discussing the most useful self-defence techniques. In the background he heard Apollo, Sebastian, and Klavier discuss about something related to music, while Pearl and Trucy were talking about Trucy’s last show. He was quite amused by women’s discussion and was content to sit with them.

Yet he knew that he had to do something important this evening. And he had to do it tonight or he would not do it at all. His stomach started turning as soon as he just thought of it but there was no way leading around this.

Finally, Nahyuta heard Klavier going into the kitchen and excused himself and followed the man quickly. As he entered the room, Klavier was standing in front of the fridge and took out some bottles of soda. Nahyuta walked over to him and waited until he was noticed by the blond.

“Do you need something?”, Klavier asked sensing that the monk wanted something particular.

Nahyuta smiled serenely and looked out of the window. He really did not want to do this.

“Simon went upstairs some time ago, correct?”

Klavier froze and blinked quizzingly for some seconds. Then he suddenly understood where Nahyuta was going. The boldness of that move surprised him quite a bit.

“Yeah. You know him. Too many people and too much talking. I told him he could rest in the guest room”, he now told the prince quickly. “Do you want to… to tell him now?”

There was no hint of hesitation or fear in Nahyuta’s eyes, when Klavier had asked him this. But somehow the rock star still felt something strange radiating from the other man. He knew that Nahyuta always tried to keep it cool and acted so untouchable and divine, because it was part of his defence mechanism and an act for the khura’inese court, but in reality, he was quite a sensitive person, who wanted nothing more than to be accepted.

Due to this, Klavier had a hard time believing Nahyuta as he answered calmly: “Yes, I do. I already told you I would tell him, after I’d collected my thoughts. Now my thoughts are collected and I’m ready to tell him. It’s just easy like that.”

“No, Nahyuta it’s not. I know how afraid I was when Apollo and I talked about our feelings for each other for the first time. I was simply terrified and convinced that I’d die on the spot. But I’m not stopping you by any means. Go and tell him. Take your time, I’ll make sure nobody is going to disturb you two.”

Nahyuta nodded as he tried to ignore the whole first part of Klavier’s words. He was already afraid enough without thinking of a mortified Klavier.

“Thank you for your help. But I don’t think it will take to long”, Nahyuta now said and started walking towards the door leading to the corridor upstairs.

“If you say so… Still, good luck with this!”, Klavier told his friend as he exited the room.

Lightly Nahyuta climbed the stairs, leaving the muffled chattering form the living room behind. He felt his heart beating faster, as he saw the white door to his right. This was where Simon always went when they were at Klavier’s. The room had a small balcony, what was ideal for the samurai’s beloved hawk. Also, the view from the window was quite nice and Nahyuta did not doubt that the dawning city made a beautiful picture.

Taking one last breath to collect himself, before he knocked tenderly at the door and said: “Are you in there Simon?”

He heard a somewhat approvingly sounding gruff from inside the room. A smile stole its way on Nahyuta’s lips and he asked: “Would you mind me coming in?”

Simon did not respond for several moments. Nahyuta’s heart was beating twice as fast as it normally did as the other finally said: “Nah, it’s fine. Come in.”

Swiftly the monk opened the door and entered, closing the door quietly behind him. Immediately he found his friend sitting crossed legged on the guest bed. He was looking at him with keen eyes and an unreadable expression.

Hesitantly Nahyuta walked across the room and stopped in front of the bed. As Simon gestured him to sit down, he took a seat on the other end of the bed. He tensely stared on his legs and flattened out some none-existing wrinkles in his white trousers.

Bravely smiling he looked up and met Simon’s gaze. They had come separately to the event, he with Apollo, Trucy and Pearl, while Simon had come with Athena. That was why he hadn’t had the chance to look at the man properly today, and only now he was able to appreciate the quite unique attire typical for the samurai. A black long-sleeves pullover with a white Psi symbol on it hung from his shoulders. Beneath it he was wearing a snow-white shirt with a wingtip collar. It was longer than the pullover and the lower hem part reached his crotch. As always, when he was outside of court, he was wearing black skinny jeans.

This style had really grown on Nahyuta. Wasn’t it strange that he used to think of these black and white combinations as lazy and edgy? And now he actually admired the way he dressed even though he still did not like the style in general.

Yet Nahyuta said nothing concerning the other’s look. To comment on it would only be a waste of his breath, he figured and licked his lips nervously.

“I hope I do not bother you too much. I understand you are only here because you needed some time away from us all”, Nahyuta started and looked down on his hands once again.

Simon watched him closely. He got a lot of different signals from the man right now and he understood quite well that he wanted to talk about something that scared him terribly. And he also saw, how desperately Nahyuta needed to talk about it. It made him uneasy to see his friend so tense in his presence and he wanted him to feel more at ease.

Eyeing him from the side and putting on calming smile Simon answered then: “You don’t count as people. You were never nearly as energy sucking as half of the people down there. Pearl is probably the only one, who is even less talkative than you but even she’s taking more of my energy than you do. So, don’t worry. I’m pretty happy with you being here.”

While listening to Simon’s words Nahyuta had looked up and was now facing him. Sometimes he would have sacrificed a leg, so Simon would stop reading all his motions and words perfectly right. It was nearly impossible for him to keep anything from this ridiculous goth.

“If you had been around during my time as Ga’ran’s pawn, I could never have pulled this off. Seriously, it is annoying how easy it is for you to look through me”, Nahyuta complained playfully and leaned back.

Still observing him closely Simon did not budge but shrugged and answered: “I don’t know about that. I have a lot of knowledge from your past today and when you focus it, it’s not that hard to read between the lines. Wanna tell me now what’s up? You’ve been acting strange for the past few days.”

Nahyuta braced himself for what would be coming now. He felt his mask falling and closed his eyes in desperation.

“I – I need to confess something. I don’t want you to hate me for it but it’s – it’s not like I could decide that. I – While we spent time together, also with or without Klavier, I – I started to grow really attached to it and I liked it a lot, and I’m grateful for every second, and I don’t want to lose that at all, but I know – well, I don’t really – you are the one to make the decision. – Vehemently he paused and took a deep breath – Anyway, what I want to say is that I … have … Developed … feelings … for-for … you. Romantic feelings. … And I – don’t know what to do w-with it”, Nahyuta broke off in tears.

Simon had untangled his legs and moved carefully towards Nahyuta. The monk tried to keep his sobbing to a minimum but was miserably failing. Apparently crying was the one thing even Nahyuta could not pull off while looking somehow divine.

Tenderly Simon tapped on Nahyuta’s arm and waited for the man to finally look at him. It took quite a while until the monk had gathered his courage and found the strength to meet Simon’s gaze again.

His lip was shivering emotionally, and Simon felt as if someone had punched him in the stomach. For the first time in a while Simon had actual difficulties to put a smile on his face. But he wanted to show Nahyuta that it was okay, that he was not angry or mad. That nothing bad was going to happen just now.

“I don’t hate you, Yuta. Why would I? You did not choose these feelings and by all means, love is not something horrible to experience. It’s going to be okay”, Simon told Nahyuta with a warm voice as he gently patted his shoulder.

Nahyuta gaped at him in wonder before he broke out in confusion: “But? Aren’t you afraid of how our friendship will change, now that you know it? Aren’t you worried that I might overstep any boundaries or – “

“You never overstepped your boundaries before and change is not necessarily a bad thing. I mean, I don’t even know what I would like to change between us. I have no idea what you want of a romantic relationship. Have you considered, that maybe it would be fine with me to change some things? That I’d like some more contact with you?”

Baffled Nahyuta stared at Simon. This was not something he had seen coming. It was nothing he had ever dreamt of.

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

“But you’re aromantic and asexual? I mean you – I thought – Why would you be fine with dating then? I don’t understand.”

Nahyuta looked at him at loss of words. This did not make any sense to him.

With a patience unknown to the monk Simon took his hand and sighed slowly. There was something soft and kind in his features and Nahyuta felt how the samurai had just let down a layer of his well-built defence wall. He was letting him in on something he normally did not share with people.

“You know…”, Simon stared with a low voice and slightly quivering hands, “I am aro/ace. I’m not attracted towards anybody in a sexual or romantic sense. But I’m not made of stone. I like being hugged and being told … nice things. And somehow apparently only people in romantic relationships get these things. And I don’t think that that makes any sense or is fair in any possible way… I’ve spent a long time on my own, without anybody close to me. It’s mostly my own fault that it was like this, but I’m still rather… touch deprived. I really could need someone who would like to be close to me. And I do like you. You are a good friend and I trust you. I want you to be happy and if you think you can’t be with someone who doesn’t feel the same way about you how you feel about them, I’m fine with that. Just know… I care about you, I do like you a lot. And having a prioritized relationship with you sounds really great to me.”

This was straight up one of the cutest yet saddest things Nahyuta had ever heard. And it was coming from a man who could easily wrestle with Datz and exclusively wore black. When exactly had his life made this turn, he questioned himself as he suddenly realized that Simon’s hand was still quivering.

Taken aback Nahyuta squeezed the others hand lightly and smiled at him warily. Somehow, he did no longer feel so pathetic. Even Simon was somehow scared, and he was not even in love with him. Maybe this situation would be easier to fix, than he had expected.

“Simon… I’m honoured that you see me like this. And if there would be a way to have a closer relationship with you, I’d like to take that way.”

Simon saw Nahyuta’s eyes sparkle. It was truly incredible how much excitement fitted in this man’s little chest. He smiled fondly and asked his friend: “So what would you like to do in a relationship then? Let’s check what’s on the list, good?”

“Good!”, Nahyuta nodded and started thinking. He had never been in a relationship before, everything he had were just wild guesses of what he – no, they might enjoy together. But it was something and he supposed that was better than nothing.

“Well, I don’t have any real experience with this terrain, but I’d like to cook and eat more with you. When I’m here of course. Take-out is nice, but cooking is clearly more fun, right?”

Simon grinned amused and nodded.

“Yeah sure. I kinda expected you to start with something food related.”

“Eating is life and it would be a real blessing if it was part of everything of my life. Unfortunately, that’s not the case and I’ll have to work with what I get. Anyway, I simply would like some more quality time with you. Nothing against Klav, but sometimes it would be nice to just have some time for ourselves.”

Again, Simon simply nodded.

“Would be fine with me.”

“To clarify it a bit, so you know what I am getting at; I’m talking about watching movies or series together, being lazy and just talking together. I’d be really happy to just have more of that.”

Encouraged by Simon’s approving smile Nahyuta continued bravely: “I also would appreciate it, if we would video chat once in a while. Something like Klav and Apollo do. I mean, we often just are involved in those chats, but I’d like to have a private one with you now and then, if you’d be fine with it.”

“Totally. I enjoy talking to you without being observed by your brother or Klav. I’d like that a lot”, Simon approved, his hands now finally being still again.

Nahyuta smiled brightly and playfully brushed his bangs behind his ear. He was glad seeing his friend relax again. The trembling fingers, which most people overlooked constantly, were never a good sign and he was just glad that it had stopped again.

Maybe now was the time to bring up some intimate requests? Nahyuta was not so sure but he somehow also suspected that there would never come more fitting opportunity again. So why not just go for it, he told himself and put his doubts aside.

“I do not know how you stand to these things, but I’d like to talk also about some physical things. Like – where lie the boundaries for you? What kind of touching or contact are you fine with? That stuff”, Nahyuta said as he looked very seriously at his friend.

Simon’s expression had hardened word by word. Nevertheless, he did not appear to be overly concerned or serious. It was more of a respectful awe he showed for the cause.

Understandingly he straightened up and said: “That’s indeed important. I’m glad you consider my needs, but neither of us should be hurt or neglected in this relationship. Your feelings in this are just as important as mine and I also need to know what you like in general.”

When Nahyuta approved with the hint of a nod Simon continued frankly: “I like body contact a lot. Just not on the naked skin. I dislike it when my stomach, chest, upper arms and legs are exposed, and I really, really hate it when somebody touches me there without asking. Same goes with the hair. Please, please don’t touch it. I’m weird with this but I really can’t stand it. Other than that, I really appreciate hugs and cuddling, and I’m not even opposed to share a bed from time to time. Well, I – I really like the idea, actually.”

Nahyuta had closed his eyes and let the samurai’s words sink. Not liking to expose his skin. It did not surprise him. The vulnerability that the scars from the fights and torture revealed, must pain Simon up to this day. Maybe it was something similar with the hair. The white patch could tell one just as much and maybe touching it reminded the man of it.

Then a smile crept on his face. There was a wish in Simon to cuddle. The huge, scary-looking samurai, who still told stories about his murderous inmates to creep away people and could stare lethally, wanted to spoon in a bed. It basically made him to the world most fearsome teddy bear.

Holding back a giggle, Nahyuta opened his eyes again and responded amused: “I will remember those things and will not overstep the boundaries you set. If something changes though, do not fret to inform me. I want you to be as comfortable as you can be. I myself do not dislike it if you touch my bare skin. Sometimes, I would probably even enjoy it if you would stroke me. But that’s more of an extra than actually necessary. As you know I like it when my hair is being brushed. However, I dislike it when someone touches my stomach. No matter what, do not touch that. That also goes for the feet and the sides. I’m ticklish there and if you ever try to tickle me, I’ll walk outside and will not talk with you for a week. Understood?”

Immediately Simon agreed under the monk’s fierce gaze. Contently Nahyuta continued: “Good. This is absolutely confidential information and I trust you to keep it to yourself. Anyway, I wanted to tell you that I’m not opposed to hugging or cuddling you, because I enjoy it just as much as you do. Yet I would like it if we did it in private though, since I do not want to cause a scandal. Not that you would be scandalous. But me being a prince of a highly religious country and you being a man, might be enough for the press to form a scandal and that would be annoying for my country, you and me.”

“Define ‘in private’”

“I – Well, no hand holding on the street, in the courthouse or other work spaces and probably also in other public facilities, like theatres or restaurants, where the press could see us.”

“But it would be fine if we did that in one of our friends’ homes or in their company? You don’t want to keep it from them?”

Surprised Nahyuta blinked. Abruptly he realized that Simon did not want to waste energy in keeping their relationship a secret. He did not want to hide or pretend. He did not want to lie to anyone.

“No, I don’t. They shall know about it. As I said before, I’m not ashamed of you or my feelings for you.”

A glint of warmth flashed in the swampy dark eyes of the samurai. This kind of recognition did him well.

“All right. I’m fine with that. Please go on. You weren’t finished yet”, Simon told his friend with a casual hand gesture.

“Ah yes. I wanted to say that I’m also not opposed to share a bed with you from time to time. I mean that has happened in the past and you are quite a pleasant partner to spoon with. I’d enjoy repeating that.”

Nahyuta winked daringly and thought to have spotted a light pinkness on Simon’s pale cheeks. But maybe he only imagined it, since it was gone in the blink of an eye.

A silence spread out between the two. Most things were said, and they had found a way to handle their feelings. They had come closer and now their legs touched. Nahyuta felt Simon’s weight leaning against his side and watched how Simon’s eyelids closing slowly and opening them again rapidly.

Suddenly Simon lifted his hand in front of his mouth and hid a yawn. The prosecuting panda apparently was sleepy Nahyuta concluded amused. Gently he nudged his arm and asked: “Could it be that you retreated this early because you are tired?”

“What would lead you to such a conclusion? It’s not the first time I’ve escaped from a social event”, Simon countered fighting off another yawn.

“It surely is not the first time you did this. But it was unusually early for you to do so. You’ve maybe spent about an hour and a half with us and you only talked with Pearl for maybe twenty minutes. We haven’t been loud, and your discussion wasn’t intense. And as far as I know, you haven’t had any other meetings this day. You wouldn’t be this exhausted if you hadn’t already been tired when you came here in the first place.”

“Alright”, Simon confessed and let himself drop on the mattress. He had real trouble to keep his eyes open.

“You haven’t slept a lot last night, have you?”, Nahyuta asked and lay down next to him.

“Nope.”

“You should try to take a nap now.”

“I can’t sleep. No matter how tired I am, as soon as I close my eyes I feel like I need to stand up again. And it’s too cold.”

Nahyuta giggled at that and told Simon to move properly on the bed. Quickly he slipped out of his shoes, and as he lay back down next to his samurai he tucked them in a blanket. Gently he put his arm around the others chest und nuzzled his head to Simon’s chin.

He heard Simon’s heart beat growing slower and felt his breathing going steadier. Apparently, he provided enough warmth for the samurai to slowly fall asleep. He even felt himself growing more tired from second to second.

Yet before Nahyuta’s consciousness ultimately faded the dream world he asked Simon: “Do you think, that you’d be okay if I’d kiss you one day?”

“… Yeah. That’d be fine.”

And then they fell asleep.

Link to the fanfiction ond ao3 (there is a 2nd chapter^^):

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16288769/chapters/38094824

[letstraveltoorion]

Why a story about Master of Orion? (Part 2)

2018-09-10

 Although I explained why I’ve decided to do a story on Master of Orion, I’ve never really explained the reasons behind that story. Reasons that are both complexes and quite nebulous in some area.

 First, I must admit this is not my first attempt at writing. For as long as I remembered, I’ve tried very hard to come up with a story. Usually, those attempts were basically my take a story I liked and spines it my way. Today, I recognized those failed attempts as trial runs for a story one day I will write. Some of these failed starts were based on Yoko Tsuno (French Graphic novels), Robotech (my favourite setting), Battletech, Jovian Chronicles, Heavy Gear and others. All of them grandiose in my mind … all of them, except maybe one, were sent to oblivion.

 To be frank, I’ve lost faith in my abilities to come up with a good story. I keep dreaming but I never come up with anything … worth writing for. That is, until a couple of years ago … sometimes in 2016, I stumble upon “the dialogue”!

 The Seed

 One particular weekend of 2016, not fully awake yet, I surprised myself imagining a conversation between two entities in regard of a third party. It went like this:

 “They’re courageous and clever … maybe we should help them a bit?”

 “No!” Responded the second being. “Leave them! They are below our considerations, not worth our energies.”

 “Really?” interjected the first being, “I notice they have mastered the primary basic of nuclear energy, and they have managed to build a starship to travel beyond their solar system…”

 “Don’t be ridiculous!” Protested the other one. “Giving enough resources, time and a good dose of luck, any animals could develop nuclear weapons and build starships! It doesn’t mean they have reached enlightenment at all…”

 At this point, I “woke up” with the realization that “I got something! I do not know what it is, but I got something!”

 This realization leads me to reflect on our perception of civilizations throughout history and how we “rank” them through their scientific and technological achievements … but then, I came to ask: What if another civilization had “other” criteria’s? How “we” will be judged by “them”? What if a civilization put more value on the philosophical concepts rather than technology? Or how good are we to make the lands fertile and bountiful? Or in a more exotic way, what if they value magic or psi powers?

 Sure, I must not be the first one to think about these concepts but, it got me thinking about how I could explore these concepts…

 This was the seed for my story.

 The Field

 Having the seed is one thing, but to explore this seed to its full potential, I needed a canvas, a sandbox, where I could explore and play with it in any way I saw fit. I chose “Master of Orion” mainly because I enjoyed the game and working a story in that setting should to be fun to do. I said “should”, as it turns out much more work than I originally thought. To be honest, Master of Orion is just a frame for my story. A strong and solid frame in where I can weave anything I want. This frame provided me with textures and flavours along with a general guide line or a starting point to depart from.

 Since that frame is quite neutral, neither good nor bad, this means for the story I’m writing that it success or failure will rest solely on my shoulders…

 Damn! This is pretty heavy.

 The Water

 Following my original reasoning, I started to gather data to assist me in my world-building process. During that time, I stumble upon two pieces of information that would shape both the type of story I will tell but also the background of the story…. The primordial “spark” if you wish.

 The first information was the myth of Orion himself. On how he would hunt and kill every creature of the Earth was stopped by a scorpion sent by the gods and also, on how both were placed in the sky as constellations … the Scorpion forever chasing Orion in the Milky Way.

 Now, I’m sure the people at Microprose probably never thought of the full implications in symbolism then when they put out their second game Master of Orion: Battle at Antares. On how this title fit perfectly with the mythology of Orion.

 The second information I stumble upon was the fact that Orion was known as Osiris by the ancient Egyptians. This in turn, let me investigate the ancient Egyptian’s myth which proves to be a bountiful as I’ve found many elements I could apply into my story.

 As you can see, this is an opportunity way too good to pass up…. Those ancient myths, or at least some part of them, could be used a background source for long past events that shaped the current universe. So, Mythology will be the water of my story; past events have dramatically affected the galaxy and those ramifications are still felt today.

 Mythology also gave me a way to study the interaction between the gods and the mortal. Why? Because: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic” (Arthur C. Clark). Which means that if mankind has to, one day, deal with a type II or type III civilization (from the Karshev’s Scale), their achievement will look like magic to us and they will probably act like gods toward us.

 As water is required for life to grow, I will use mythological tales to infuse life in my story; especially when I have to deal with occurrences that happened thousands of years ago that are still impacting the current events of today.

 The Fertilizers

 Because a story is, like any other story, a living thing that will grow and evolve as I’m writing it, I will also require some “fertilizer” to help it grow. In this particular case, this will apply to the multitudes of books, novel, comic books and Bandes-dessinnées (French Graphic Novel) I have at my disposal. As I move forward, those books and publications that inspire me for this story will be posted into my Bibliography section of my blog. Also, by reading the description I’ll write about them, you’ll be able to see and understand what part of this specific book or story is fuelling my imagination. But here a few examples:

 RPG

Among these sources, you’ll find Role Playing Games (RPG) such as Traveller and 2300 AD, mostly for their world-building materials (very good sources of inspirations). Empire Galactique, one of the rare French RPG by François Nedelec which I love because it gave me a sense of grandeur of what could be a real Galactic Empire. Although the rules are a bit obsolete, its encyclopedia galactica gave me a sets of rules for commerce and judicial systems.

 There is also the series Numenéra and their Cypher system by Monte Cook, which include other universe like the Strange, Predations, etc. But Mostly Numenéra because it gave me a visual look of what could be the left-over of a type one or two civilizations. Without their work, my imagination would never have flared up as it did for this project.

 But before I go any further, I must also do a special mention to an almost forgotten RPG from TSR (now Wizard of the Coast); the grandfather of the sci-fi genre in the RPG industry… I named Starfrontiers! Launched on the heel of Advanced Donjons & Dragons, perhaps around the same times as Traveller, this game capitalized on the AD&D enthusiasm, this little space opera RPG, although quite cheese by today’s standards, had quite a few details right and to my surprise, can still be relevant today with only a few slight modifications. But what I retain the most from that game was their antagonist: the Sathar! The sathars were an alien race that were enigmatic, sneaky, highly advanced in cybernetic and very deadly … all the marks of a great villain.

 There is also the multitude of books of the G.U.R.P.S. by Steve Jackson Games. Due to the intensive research that went into those books, they provided me background or layout on subject I was not familiar with or, like the rest of us, got warped vision of Hollywood and TV shows.

 Also, I need to include the multitude universes published by Palladium Books. Their unique take on different subjects was enough to fire my imaginations. Going from their high fantasy world of Paladium World to their post-apocalyptic future of Rifts, and not forgetting their take on the Vietnam War, or the Robotech franchise to their Superhero or super spy genre, every one of them had something to contribute or get inspiration from.

 Lastly, I must also include the work of Games Workshop in Warhammer 40,000. Not because of their dystopia future they describe but for the simple fact it was the, maybe not the first, but the most recent example of what it would take to have an Empire on a GALACTIC scale. On that level, their take on the subject is unchallenged and unmatched.

 Books and Novels

 Other sources of inspiration come from old stories and novels, such as the work of A. E Van Vogt (more specifically the novella “The Monster [a.k.a. Resurrection]” published in 1948. There is also the work of Edgar Rice Burroughs [mostly the Barsoom series] who are still a great source of inspiration for me.

 Another writer is Edmond Hamilton who happens to be the writer of one of my childhood hero Capitaine Flam [Captain Future in English]. I didn’t make the link between both of them until a few years back. At the time my favourite story by him was “the Dead Planet”, which I read as part of an anthology. It was when I started to do my research for this current work that I came to the realization of who he was and de facto gave me a greater respect for the man and his work.

 Of course, there are many other writers whom I can name here but let just say it will be easier to simply read about them in my Bibliography section of my blog. However, I can’t end this part of my reasoning without talking about one of the most influential piece of science-fiction to me: Perry Rhodan.

 Perry Rhodan is a German science-fiction serial novel that started in 1961 and still going strong today. The brainchild of Karl-Herbert Scheer and Clark Darlton, their story started with the first venture of man to the moon and ended up pitching our hero onto a massive galactic background. Right from the beginning, the series had beam weapons, jump drives, teleportation, psychic powers, alien [both humanoid and not], positronic brain, robots, a dying galactic empire, etc. If one thing could define the series, it is the scales of things: EVERYTHING is done on an epic scale. Going from ships that vary between 800 metres and 2.5 km, to planet size arsenal and factories, to engineering on a galactic scale … everything is HUGE. Trust me, what could be a better source of inspiration if you want to do an epic space opera than the grandfather of the genre?

 Out of my French side, there are also two little-known writers that I really enjoyed and have influenced my work: Frank Dartal and P.-J. Hérault. Frank Dartal, on which I could barely find any information at all, wrote stories in the 70s and 80s that are still readable by today’s standard … which is quite an achievement if you think about it. The second, P.-J. Hérault, impressed by his profound humanity and his love for flying which he managed to infuse all of his work.

 Games

 As I mentioned earlier, two games that I plan to use as a source of inspiration and, also I might also include elements of both in my story. The first one is another computer game by Binary System and the other is Galactic Empires, the collective card game by Companion Games.

 Starflight … back in the late 80s that game was one of the best in the genre. Part action, part quest, part exploration and part business … but most important, 100 percent fun. Back then, it is quite poetic to have a ship for which you had to hire the right crew and be sent on a mission to find the cause that makes your sun going nova. As you explore the space around you, collecting minerals and clues, meeting aliens and fighting some implacable enemies, until you find the culprit and destroy it. As I said, 100% fun! However, it was in their sequel, Starflight 2, that Binary System lifted the veil on some of the questions that were left unanswered in the first game. Mainly who were the Uhlek and where they came from. This origin story game me the idea of a great antagonist, a Sauron or Galactus type of antagonist that may, one day come to threaten all life in the galaxy, if not the universe itself. Lastly, because the game was so good, I might include some of their alien races in my story. The beauty of it all is that it will mix perfectly to what I want to write and it will not contradict what was already published in Master of Orion. But don’t worry I’m still very far from that goal and I do not even know if I’ll ever reach that point … as it stands right now.

 This brings me to the second game: Galactic Empires. This game came out in the wake of Magic the Gathering card game. However, although well thought the game never really took off. However, they had some great ideas in it. Because of this, I intent to use some of them in my story. More specifically things like spatial phenomena, some space creature, a few strange planet and, of course, some alien races. Among those are the Krebiz Capitalist Alliance, the Indirigan Tribes [space nomads] and but not least, the Space Dragons.

 What? Space Dragons? Well, since there was a space dragon event in the very first Master of Orion, I thought it could be nice to reintroduce them in my story … but I intent of tweaking them to make them a bit more … galactic!

 That said, there are also numerous movies and TV shows that I could name but I need to conclude this so…

 In conclusion, the main reason why I’m doing this is to give a canvas for my creativity and a means to keep my sanity. In the last few years, I came to realize that one of the reasons I was not happy at my work was the simple fact that I had no venue for my creativity. The day-to-day work only serves to grind my mind and personality into dust. That if I didn’t do something fast I was running the risk to see my soul die! And because the feeling of being useless and powerless can kill a man as surely as a gun or cyanide would be the main motivation for this story.

I am not looking for fame or fortunes. I just want to write and tell a good story that will entertain you and make you dream a bit… If you like what I wrote and make you want to know more … then I have reached my goal.

 Nothing more, nothing less.

 Come on board, the journey is about to start and, I hope, it will be amazing.

 Alain Vollant.

[retphienix]

Claus is the final encounter.

This is a wonderful case of observing narrative and gameplay mechanics because just like Earthbound or Undertale, it blends these for emotional effect to varying degrees.

The beauty of these games I've mentioned is that they blend the game mechanics of the combat and the story of the scene before you into the fight itself, making it emotionally impactful and occasionally giving you that sense of crying out in your head for the better and ultimately impossible solution to this conflict. The end of Undertale has you begging for the happy impossible ending for Asriel, Earthbound doesn't push this emotion and instead pushes an overall dread of what this culmination of events has revealed. You're fighting an entirely symbolic enemy who can mean so many levels of torment, sorrow, abuse, or other fantheories which continue to evolve because of how intensely harrowing an event this fight is and it mostly comes down to the eerie words Gigyas had to share as he stretched, skewed, and tore in pieces before your eyes.

Mother 3, in retrospect, felt like a predecessor to Undertale's way of doing things. Sadly, I also felt like it didn't do this as effectively as it could have until the last moments.

Yes I know the Mother series is part of the inspiration for Undertale, I wasn’t implying I made some breakthrough theory, I am simply saying between Earthbound and Mother 3, Mother 3′s ending feels MUCH more like Undertale’s True Ending.

The entire fight wasn't helped by the mechanics put before it. In a game like Undertale the mechanics of the fight reflect what you're thinking as you play it. You're begging for the better solution, the happy ending- and the fight has you doing just that. You reach out to Asriel and push things towards what you wanted despite the inevitable unpleasantness that wish will bring you. (I'm not comparing in a way that demeans Mother 3 so much as I'm saying Undertale had so many years to analyse and evolve the ideas presented here and due to this it refined what Mother 3 did)

This fight against Claus isn't as effective. Instead of you pushing Claus to remember and begging him to stop, you stand in place and spam heals on yourself for the entire fight. That's not an example of mechanics supporting the story in the slightest. If anything it made each turn tear me away from the tone of the event for a few seconds as I quickly clicked through my psi abilities to throw yet another Lifeup B on myself, all the while hoping the next turn was another critical story driven turn where someone other than myself would actively progress this fight and reach out to Claus.

Now the fact that you cannot in any way attack Claus until the end of the fight DOES support the tone of the fight, but due to Claus hitting you so harshly that each turn you have to heal yourself, the novelty of Lucas refusing to fight is lost due to the annoyance felt by knowing you wasted a turn and are pushed further into the wall as you quickly attempt to recover.

This isn't to say the fight loses its impact, it's to say this fight could have been better if it was refined in today's world of hindsight. In other words, impossible at the time, but still worth mentioning as we are playing this TODAY and not at release.

Now where this fight does hit its mark amazingly is the end (of the combat section leading into the actual end which will be my following post).

As Hinawa breaks through to what remains of Claus we are given a short flashback which, tangent here, WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO READ ON MY COPY FOR SOME REASON AS THE RETRON 5 PUMPED THE GAMMA UP TOO HIGH SO I HAD TO PAUSE THE CUTSCENE AND WATCH IT ON YOUTUBE AND THEN RETURN TO THE FIGHT WHICH REALLY TORE ME FROM THE EXPERIENCE FOR A FEW MINUTES THERE WHAT THE HECK WAS UP WITH THAT. WHITE TEXT ON A WHITE BACKGROUND IS IMPOSSIBLE TO READ SO I WISH IT WAS OUTLINED IN SOME WAY BECAUSE THE 'LIGHT GRAY' BACKGROUND BECOMES WHITE ON HIGH GAMMA SETTINGS. *ahem*

As Hinawa breaks through to Claus you are finally given a chance to compete. Claus is shaken and begins hitting you for extremely negligible amounts and you can finally swing back.

This is when the mechanics begin pushing the narrative ever so slightly.

Each attack you send is chance driven due to how emotionally shaken both of you are. While this could go a step further and state that both Lucas and Claus are crying (a game mechanic that would be amazing to add to this scene as it 'is' involved thematically but not literally), each strike can be a miss due to 'thematically' crying (as in you don't have the status which you really should have had to add to this scene) or you finally land a strike only for Lucas to respond negatively to hurting his brother.

This scene is so simply executed in just lowering your accuracy and adding flavor text to each swing, but it just hurts to read, which shows how impactful it has become.

Swinging a few times has Hinawa call out once more for Claus and we're bought to the final moments of the game.

(Part 1)