#like i understand not being too complacent and having some amount of ambition or personal drive

[appleslices]

not that i really have Done anything with me life that he can brag about but like will it ever be enough? like if i get a degree will that be enough or will i then have to somehow miraculously pull some kind of prestigious job out of a hat for him? if i end up being some random artist who does like mid-tier work will that be enough because i have a low paying "career" instead of a low paid job? will he expect me to paint modern masterpieces that get displayed in a gallery what if i get the degree but can't find an art job or even have to do freelance as a "gig job"? why can't he come down to my level to actually understand my perspective? the man who hasn't had to job hunt in like three decades wants to look down on my abilities and judge me for not living up to his standards? i have a job i actually like for once, that i get good feedback from both customers and management and coworkers and its not enough. like sure i still have to live at home bc i can't make a living for myself but so does my brother who HAS a "career" so why the fuck doesn't he ever get the "you need a degree or to get married" speech over and over. fuck him!!!!

[funkymbtifiction]

1 or 4?

This is a long one so prepare yourself and sorry in advance.

I definitely relate to the line between 1 and 4 but I do wonder about whether i’m integrating in a 1 or disintegrating into a 4. I certainly seem to fit the 4 personality more as i’m your typical mystical emo edgelord who get a bit of an ego about liking things before everyone does and having the coolest/deepest/most diverse tastes, but since my teen years i’ve been constantly focused on my self-improvement, as well as my imperfections, and i’ve always had my eyes on almost unattainable standards for myself and my life...

I suspect 3w2/2w3. You seem to use image management, be aware of how others might react to your emotional upheaval, and be considerate of what's appropriate and/or invasive. Some things that leapt out at me:

I have a tendency to be preachy about things at times, but i’m still always eager to help out. [...] i’m often desperate to share myself, and feel more comfortable to do so when i’m feeling safe and uplifted, but I still get plagued with the sense that no one will truly ever understand me, but also that even if they did, I have fears of how it would make me and my personality ineffective and complacent somehow, and while I can see beauty in intimacy and being seen, I feel there’s still a part of you that you need to hold onto to make you you, and I think that’s alot of what drives me in my aspirations to create art and be a well-renowned artist and visionary.

This seems like maybe 3 ambition, determination to succeed, and image-crafting, blended with a 2ish enjoyment of reaching out and influencing others for the better.

I guess I do tend to idealise alot about things in my head too and have always dreamed of being a badass trailblazer in the creative world. I do care alot about my reputation and the way people view me too, and I feel I have a strong ability of controlling such a thing, mostly with how much i’m able to hide and keep mysterious, and then what I do put out I try my best for it to be my best most coolest parts of me while still giving people alot to wonder about

That's 3 image-crafting/management. (And being on your guard, not wanting to let others get TOO close to you, is also 3.)

I worry about the consequences of where acting on my anger could lead, though I imagine there are times where the frustration may be seeping out of me regardless.

That's anti-4. They are reactive types who don't really think about (or care about) whether they are overreacting or not; this is how I FEEL.

I do feel when i’m at my lowest, I really do just sink further into myself and hide away in my fantasies, not wanting to rely on anyone for help and just suffer alone, and while I may explode at times, I tend to hide away not allowing my troubles to effect anyone or burden them.

4s are one of the more self-centered Enneagram types, their feelings eclipse other people's, so they are not really concerned, when they are upset, about whether they are 'affecting' others or not. This is both a Fe thing and a 2/3 area of concern. It might also be, again, "managing my image -- I'm not one of THOSE people who burdens others with their troubles."

I’m not sure I fully understand how the 2 integration could manifest within me as I feel many of my 2-like qualities I feel are some of my best ones, as I find a good amount of pleasure in helping people and I like being someone that people can rely on at times, it honestly comes so naturally to me alot of the time

2 wing, IMO. Positive association toward it, it's softening the 3 and making it more approachable, it's a play zone / something you enjoy doing as a way to 'give back' and it's instinctual.

though I can resent it when people depend on me too much too often, especially when it’s much more so than they’re willing to depend on themselves, as I feel they’re shifting their own responsibility away from themselves onto me, but I never take it out on anyone and put the other person first when they’re in need.

More 2 ego response (they come first), plus a 3ish "but you are your own responsibility, I shouldn't have to be your mother/father; I have my own goals/ambitions, you should get some" thinking.

While I am cautious of consequences at times and I am very considerate of others, I definitely have an independent rebellious streak and highly value my autonomy and both in terms of my character but also the degrees to which I connect with people, I definitely can be very open to people and go out of my way for them very easliy if I want to but I certainly do keep a good distance from them if need be.

Self-pres dominant.

I’ve always seemed to struggle a little bit with intimacy seemingly, either way I haven’t had many intimate experiences and find it hard to naturally move into people and get down and dirty even when I feel/think I want to. 

3 emotional repression; 3s fear getting too close to people, so the deeper a relationship goes, the more discomfort they have to wade through (unlike a 2, who wants closeness RIGHT NOW).

Lastly I really do feel that when i’m at my best, i’m a super upbeat fun-loving person who’s always open to adventure and is hopeful of the future and tends to lift people up with my positivity. I feel I can go into this mode on occasions especially when i’m having fun and enjoying new experiences though it can often require me to loosen up at times which i occasionally struggle with unless i’m in good safe company, and being entirely present in a physical almost sx-like way can be kinda intimidating if done for too long when i’m not entirely comfortable and cause me to shrivel up a bit. I guess it kinda relates to an integration towards 7 though i’m aware it may a fairly basic stereotypical description of it. 

2w3s and 3w2s are also bubbly, good-natured, upbeat, self-confident, and like to see things in a positive way. 4s and 1s... do not. They are picky, critical, condemning, and 4s in particular are unabashed about bringing negativity to the table as a reactive type.

I would look at 2w3/3w2. You're one of those. :) If you can relate somewhat to 4, you might be a 3 since it would be your under-used wing and you would have some access to it.

[shijiujun]

[ENG] History3: Trapped Novel - Chapter Two

~6,500 words (proofread by @weilongfu​)

Translation Masterpost can be found here

Disclaimer: Translations are entirely mine - these are not official translations and some phrases have been changed for better English interpretation so you’ll definitely see better/different translations elsewhere. Also keeping in mind when we translated this we aren’t exactly thinking about the style of writing and this translation is as close to the novel as we can make it XD So yes, some parts may be a little awkward to read. And yes some teeny weeny details and words may not turn up in the translation because the Chi to Eng mind acrobatics didn’t work out. If you see asterisks, scroll all the way to the bottom for notes!

Full chapter below the cut

Chapter Two

The sound of a gun’s silencer echoes from inside a black sedan, and both Wang Kun Cheng and his driver are found dead inside with bullet wounds through their right temple, just hours after their meeting with Xing Tian Meng.

Time of death, 9pm.

Meng Shao Fei lies on his bed, thinking back to the meeting with Interpol during the day, where Team 3 and Interpol exchanged information on this case. Although Wang Kun Cheng’s men insist that the person who murdered their leader was Tang Yi, but as seen from Team 3 and Interpol’s investigation, there were no signs of struggle and fights inside the club where both parties met, and   moreover, Tang Yi has a perfect alibi.

As Wang Kun Cheng was shot at close range after he left the club, it is impossible that Tang Yi, who was at another location attending an evening gala dinner — they have CCTV footage to prove that he entered the hotel at 8.30pm and left only at 1am in the morning —  was the culprit for the murder. They aren’t ruling out the possibility of a third party committing the murder at Tang Yi’s orders, but the surveillance cameras in the area were tampered with and damaged before the murder happened, so before they can find further evidence and witnesses, Tang Yi is definitely not the culprit. However, he is curious about one thing… in the 48 hours after news of Wang Kun Cheng’s death was made known, Cambodia’s drug syndicate’s leader Chen Wen Hao immediately returned to Taiwan. Both Chen Wen Hao and Wang Kun Cheng used to be members of Xing Tian Meng, especially Chen Wen Hao. Xing Tian Meng is able to grow to its scale today because it was he and Tang Guo Dong who built the organisation up from scratch.

Even after Chen Wen Hao was sentenced to prison for 24 years due to the skirmish with Si He Hui, but during this time, the person who visited him most frequently was Tang Guo Dong. From this, it is obvious that they were very close to each other and had a deep relationship. If this was so, what reason would Tang Yi, who took over Xing Tian Meng in Tang Guo Dong’s place, have to go create trouble with Chen Wen Hao’s men, and even going so far as to kill the man?

Unable to sleep no matter what he does, Shao Fei finds himself leaving the bed and walking over to his bulletin board, filled entirely with profiles of people and information related to Xing Tian Meng. Staring at the drawing he made, he mumbles, “Four years ago…”

Four years ago, Chen Wen Hao immediately fled for Southeast Asia the moment he was released from prison, and his whereabouts have been unknown ever since until now with his return to Taiwan. Four years ago, Tang Guo Dong and Li Zhen both died on that hill, and no one knew why they met in secret, and there were so many rumors about Li Zhen illegally colluding with the mob. Four years ago, Tang Yi was shot at the scene and managed to live after many attempts at trying to resuscitate him. He became the only survivor of the incident, the only witness who possibly knows what happened on that day.

Meng Shao Fei looks at Tang Yi’s portrait sketch again, and asks it, as if he’s speaking directly to Tang Yi himself, “Aren’t you going clean with the mob? Aren’t you staying away from drugs? And didn’t you say you would never kill a person? Why are you giving up on your principles NOW? Why did you go touch Chen Wen Hao’s people?”

Shao Fei cannot think of any possible answer, and scratches at his head in frustration, pacing back and forth in his apartment.

The Tang Household

Standing at the balcony and looking into the night view in the distance, in Tang Yi’s hand lies a black, metallic lighter. He recalls what Boss Tang said to him eight years ago…

“Drizzle olive oil in the wok and circle it for two rounds? Can we do three rounds?”

At that time, Tang Yi had just turned 20 years old, and the thing he liked to do most was to bother Boss Tang in his space when he could, asking him to pass his cooking skills on to him.

“That’s fine too. The point is you have to make sure the entire wok gets the same amount of heat, that’s why we circle it,” Tang Guo Dong stands next to the stove, an apron tied around his own waist and guides Tang Yi to pay more attention to cooking as he smokes.

People always say that the lines on one’s foreheads represent the passing of time and age, as it catches up with you, and with every horizontal line therein lies a story that belongs to it, but in Tang Yi’s eyes, every mark on Boss Tang’s face is the culmination of both wisdom and duty. No matter how severe the problem is, once it lands in Boss Tang’s hands, the problem can be solved easily, just like no matter how complicated the cooking and recipes are, he is always able to handle it, all the while smoking at the same time.

In comparison Tang Yi is impatient in both his personality and cooking and thus, he deeply respects this man who is both like a father and teacher to him. He wonders if there ever will be a day, where he’s able to catch up to Boss Tang and this 30 year age gap, and from Boss Tang’s mouth hear-

I feel at ease leaving everything to you.

“Don’t smoke when you’re cooking,” Tang Yi says, immediately dropping the garlic and bell peppers he’s holding and snatches the cigarette pressed between Boss Tang’s lips.

The man whose cigarette was snatched away smiles a little helplessly, then crosses his arms and continues guiding Tang Yi, “After you put in the noodles, you need to stir it in the wok, otherwise it’ll stick to the base.”

Tang Yi looks at the food cooking in his wok and says, delighted, “It looks just like yours!”

“We’ll have to try the dish to know.”

Tang Yi tastes a spoonful of the food from the wok, frowns, then picks up the spicy sauce next to him and adds another half a spoon in, “Not spicy enough.”

Tang Guo Dong, who tried the dish at the same time, is frowning on the other hand, because of the spiciness he is tasting in his mouth. “Xiao Tang, you’re eating this so spicy?”

“Strange, why is it that no matter how I cook I just cook it the same way you do?”

“To govern a country is like cooking, have you ever heard of this?”

“No.

Tang Guo Dong smiles, then opens his mouth to explain, “All these years from handling and dealing with the gang’s every single matter no matter how big or small, I felt that, when we do things, we cannot be overly impulsive and rush into things, nor can we be complacent and passive. we have to think through each detail carefully in order to do things well. Take cooking for example, every brother is like an ingredient, you need to understand each ingredient’s taste to be able to put it in a dish, and then the taste of the finished dish will be the best.”

Tang Yi is intrigued by this analogy, and also curious about how Boss Tang sees him, he asks, “So which ingredient am I?”

“Lotus root.”

“Lotus root? Why a lotus root?”

“Did you forget the first time we met, how much dirt you had all over your body? Isn’t it just like the lotus root that’s just been harvested and pulled out from the soil?”

“Oh, so you detested me this much actually,” Tang Yi says, sulking as he brings the wok over to the person who’s plating dishes at his side.

The person most important to him just called him a dirty little runt, how could anyone be happy?

Tang Guo Dong laughs and takes out his cigarette box again. “Hey, Xiao Tang, you were born into unfortunate circumstances and grew up in a terrible environment, you managed to keep your spirit and character pure. I hope you never forget this, and that you don’t ever change.”

At this, Tang Yi returns Tang Guo Dong’s smile and replies, “I got it, Lao Tang. I will keep being like this.”

As long as Tang Guo Dong likes him like this, then Tang Yi will become the person that he likes, because to him, there’s no one else in the world who’s more important to him, more important than Tang Guo Dong.

“Actually, there’s another reason in persevering in cooking,” Tang Guo Dong adds somberly, taking off his apron and walking over to Tang Yi’s side, opening a wine bottle and pouring a glass for himself.

“What is it?”

“People like us who face death every day and are used to it, we don’t even know when we’ll die and go to meet our makers. If we can’t even deal with the basic necessity and function of eating in our lives, then what more fun in our lives can we have? So we have to be serious towards every meal, and that means also that we have to live our lives seriously.

“I understand. So when I’m done learning cooking from you, I’ll let you taste my cooking.”

“Done learning? You little shit, you only just learnt this little bit and you want to represent the Tang family and con people outside already?”

“I have confidence that I don’t need too much time to learn your ways.”

Tang Guo Dong puts up his thumb and praises, “Okay, you’ve got ambition. But if you want to take the wok and metals away from me, it’s not that easy!”

“I won’t disappoint you… although-“ Tang Yi looks at the failed finished product in the wok today, and laughs, “It looks like we still have to eat this not so delicious dish, let’s hope when we are done we won’t need a trip to emergency.”

Watching Tang Yi’s back as he picks up the plate and walk towards the dining room, Tang Guo Dong, who’s lived more than half a century, stops smiling, and in his heart, he makes a decision.

At a Japanese restaurant

The various members of Team 3 are gathered at a restaurant undercover as guests and wait staff for the ongoing investigation on Wang Kun Cheng’s death. They are currently surveilling a particular guest, who’s discussing business with another person.

Suddenly, a tall figure walks into the store, and once Shao Fei, who’s seated right at the entrance of the restaurant sees him, he stands up and brings the other person to a corner in the restaurant.

“Why are you here?”

Walking into the restaurant and stunned at seeing Shao Fei, Tang Yi abandons his original intentions for coming here and turns to leave.

“Since the police are investigating a case, I will not disturb.”

On the other side of the restaurant, Zhao Li An, who’s dressed as a waiter, is just about to run over to stop Shao Fei, but Zhou Guan Zhi stops him by holding onto his arm. He eyes Zhao Zi, indicating that they should continue as planned, or they will risk ruining the mission this time.

Shao Fei grabs onto Tang Yi’s elbow, staring right into his eyes and asks, “Since you’re already here, you might as well assist us on our investigation. Do you know a person called ‘Chen Wen Hao’?”

Tang Yi’s expression suddenly becomes stiff, and this does not go unnoticed by the cop who’s been hounding him for the past four years.

“Looks like we have the same goal, we’re here for the same person,” Shao Fei continues, his eyebrows raised.

“So you killed Wang Kun Cheng just to lure Chen Wen Hao back here. And for you, Xing Tian Meng’s leader who’s also trying to wash everything clean at the moment, to care so much about a Cambodian drug syndicate leader, there can only be two reasons. Firstly, you’ve made him come back because this was Tang Guo Dong’s mission for you.Or two, Chen Wen Hao has something to do with the double homicide from four years ago.”

Shao Fei’s guesses are so close to the truth, that in that moment, Tang Yi’s repressed rage emerges again — these four years, he has wanted to kill this person who’s only ever ruined all his plans countless of times, but countless of times, Tang Yi has also had to end his murderous thoughts towards this police officer.

Such action is out of character for Tang Yi — if Hong Ye and Ah De are unable to comprehend why he’s doing this, Tang Yi himself has no idea either.

“Have I hit the nail on the head, is that why you want to run?”

“I have nothing to say to Officer Meng,” Tang Yi snaps, gritting his teeth and turning away to leave the store.

He follows the stairs outside the restaurant to where he parked his car. His tone filled with anger, Shao Fei who’s only ever seen Tang Yi’s two sarcastic and cold expressions, is momentarily stunned. He breaks out of his trance, then rushes out of the restaurant to chase Tang Yi, his hand pressing against Tang Yi’s chest and stopping him from moving forward, his eyes incredibly sharp.

“I’m getting closer to the truth, correct?”

If he isn’t getting closer to the truth, why would Xing Tian Meng’s poker-faced leader make the effort of snapping at him?

“Officer Meng has his own mission that he’s not carrying out, and instead he’s here to obstruct my freedom again?”

“If my hypothesis is correct, then following you is the only way I can find out the truth.”

Tang Yi pushes Shao Fei’s hand away and walks over to the driver’s side to open the door, but Shao Fei grabs onto his wrist instead, slamming shut the door that’s just been opened.

“I’m asking you to leave, did you not hear me? These four years my tolerance towards you has reached a tipping point. Meng. Shao. Fei! Don’t test my patience!”

He pushes Shao Fei away, hard, and settles in the driver’s seat, shutting the door behind him securely. Unexpectedly, Shao Fei circles the car to the passenger side and unceremoniously sits inside the car, holding onto the brake.

“Tang Yi, if I don’t get my answers today I’m not letting you leave!”

Tang Yi points outside and shouts, “I’m warning you for the last time, get out of my car.”

“Hmph!”

Shao Fei turns to grab for the seatbelt, obviously having no intention to leave.

“You!”

Angrily, Tang Yi swings his right fist out to restrain both of Shao Fei’s hands, reaching to his back and grabbing the young police officer’s gun, that Tang Yi knows he has usually stuffed into the back of his waist, then pressing the muzzle of the gun to Shao Fei’s temple.

Just as Tang Yi is about to throw Shao Fei out of the car, the driver’s seat door is flung open from the outside, and reflex has Tang Yi moving the hand holding onto the gun towards the person outside, but his opponent quickly strikes at his hand, the gun falling to the ground.

Losing his most useful weapon hardly means that he has no other way to defend himself. He rushes out of the car with tight fists and immediately starts to land repeated blows on his attacker, who’s clad in a black suit. Shao Fei on the other hand is also facing a similar attack by a person wearing a black baseball cap and fighting him intensely.

Eventually, both Tang Yi and Shao Fei are forced into a corner by their attackers, pressed back to back. Unconsciously, they leave their vulnerable backs to one another, exchange a glance and then simultaneously attack. Punches and kicks going against the two men with retractable batons and knives, they are soon overpowered by the weapons.

“Boss wants you to meet him,” says the man attacking Tang Yi, pushing him to the floor and pressing a knife at his jugular.

===

As the black van follows along the left and right curves of the mountainous road, the occupants of the vehicle find themselves swaying from left to right as well.

“I can’t believe I’m handcuffed by my own handcuffs.”

Tang Yi side-eyes the man next to him, and scoffs, “It’s not like this is the first time.”

“Hey do you have to speak like this? If you didn’t take away my gun, would we be in this situation?” Shao Fei retorts, holding up his right hand that is currently attached to Tang Yi’s.

“Shut up!” warns the man seated in the third row of the car, one hand holding up a knife.

Tang Yi turns around to look at the man in black seated right behind them, and says, “Kidnapping a police officer is going to get troublesome for you guys.”

The man ignores Tang Yi; instead, it is the man seated in front driving the van that shoots both hostages a look through the rearview mirror, and smiles icily, “You should worry about yourself first!”

Their hands handcuffed together, Tang Yi taps Shao Fei’s pinky finger with his own, and once their gazes meet, Tang Yi gestures at Shao Fei. Shao Fei nods in understanding, then in an irritated tone, laments, “Why is it that when you guys do bad things you always run towards the mountains? It’s not that I want to comment, but this method lacks so much creativity that it really isn’t OK-“

Shao Fei yells immediately, after ensuring that Tang Yi’s right hand is creeping towards the handbrake of the van, “NOW!”

Bam!

Tang Yi kicks at the driver’s right arm, sending the man forward against the steering wheel, and at the same time Shao Fei leans forward to pull the handbrake up. The van strikes against the walls of the mountain and the impact stops the van immediately. Before the driver can react, Shao Fei has already moved into the passenger seat and with a kick, knocks the driver out.

He sees Tang Yi getting punched in the face by the other guy in the back, and Tang Yi, with his hand movement restricted, can barely defend himself against the attack. Seeing that the other guy is rushing towards Tang Yi with a knife in his hands, Shao Fei moves back to his seat and stands between Tang Yi and his attacker, getting a slash across his arm for his trouble. Then, they use the handcuff chains between them to trap their attacker’s wrists, and Tang Yi strikes the knife in his hands to the ground.

In the chaos, Tang Yi sees Shao Fei’s wound on his right arm, bleeding profusely.

And right in that moment, Tang Yi loses all composure and logic that he is so proud of. He swings his fist repeatedly at his attacker, and doesn’t stop even when his face is all bloodied from the impact of his punches.

“We have to go!”

Shao Fei is afraid that Tang Yi will just kill the man, so he opens the door and pulls Tang Yi, who has lost all control, out of the car. They give up on moving along the visible and easily trackable roads and instead choose to head inside the dense forest to escape.

In between the trees, four other men — their attackers’ accomplices who were travelling behind them in another van — split up to look through every nook and cranny of the forest.

“Damn it, they can really hide huh?”

“Did you find them on your side?”

“No.”

“You, and you, go that side and look.”

“Yes.”

They continue their search for an hour to no avail, and they do not realise that the Xing Tian Meng leader they’re trying to find is actually hiding behind a big rock, covered in green moss.

Tang Yi is using his entire body to protect and shield Shao Fei, until the noise grows faint and more distant from their hiding spot, only then does Tang Yi heave a sigh of relief. He turns around and crouches low to the ground, using the rock as a backrest.

Maybe it’s because fleeing for their lives is an intense sport, or maybe it’s because the both of them were suddenly so close to each other earlier, so close that Shao Fei can even catch a hint of Tang Yi’s cologne, Shao Fei feels his face heating up strangely. All he can do is raise their hands up, still cuffed to each other, to distract himself.

“If only we didn’t have this.”

“Who brought it here?”

Having just experienced a life or death situation, Tang Yi’s tone as he speaks to Shao Fei has changed somewhat from before. From being ice cold and distant, Tang Yi is now talking as if he would make fun of a friend.

Unable to retort, Shao Fei rolls his eyes instead, but in the next second see Tang Yi using his right hand to pinch at this left thumb, and just as he’s about to ask, he hears the sound of a bone being dislocated.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

With his left thumb dislocated successfully, Tang Yi’s hand leaves the restraints of the handcuffs, and then easily snaps his dislocated thumb back into its original place. Shao Fei can feel how painful that action just was just by looking, but Tang Yi just did it with barely a sound and a frown.

“This can also work?”

Shao Fei, with wide eyes, watches as Tang Yi just walks off with a shake of his hands, then follows the man to hopefully somewhere more suitable to hide at, a hand covering his own wound.

===

Ding dong ding dong!

“Ah Fei!!! Ah Fei are you inside?” Zhao Zi stands outside Shao Fei’s apartment door, one hand pressing at the doorbell and the other dialling Shao Fei’s number, but all he gets is Shao Fei’s voice message.

“This is Meng Shao Fei, if there’s anything urgent, please leave a message.”

“Ah Fei if you don’t pick up the phone, Boss is really going to throw me out!”

Zhao Zi’s pitiful complaint echoes down the empty stairway. After half an hour of no reply, all he can do is give up. He walks down the stairs, worried.

“I’m at the alley near Ah Fei’s house. He’s not at home and I can’t get through to him on his phone. Oh, okay. We’ll keep in touch. I’ll contact you guys after I find him. Okay, bye.”

Hanging up on the call with his team’s colleagues, Zhao Zi recalls how Boss always scolds him for not using his brains, and at the spur of the moment, he leaves his phone in his jacket’s pocket and pulls up the zip, then does a handstand and begins walking on the ground on his hands.

He giggles. He’s actually still pretty smart, as long as he make all the blood rush into the top of his head, and when that happens, his brain will begin to work at a higher capacity. Maybe he’ll be able to find a way to find Shao Fei like this even! Just as Zhao Zi smiles gleefully to himself, a pair of cool blue leather shoes step into his line of vision, and as his eyes follow along those long legs all the way up to see who this person is, he sees the man who he brought to the station previously. Tang Yi’s bodyguard, the man called Jack.

“Are you looking for me?”

Zhao Zi puts both his legs down and dusts his hands off, but Jack grabs him by the back of his shirt collar around his neck, and picks him up. “Let’s go!”

“Huh? What are you doing? Where are you bringing me to?”

Like a rabbit whose neck was just bitten by a wolf in the wild, Zhao Zi follows the man called Jack helpless, leaving the alley at Shao Fei’s house.

“What are you catching me for?” asks Zhao Zi later.

He doesn’t know when he was struck unconscious. All he knows is that when he woke up earlier, he found himself incarcerated in a dark room. In the room sits only a single lamp and the big bad wolf who caught him, and brought him here.

“Where did Meng Shao Fei bring my boss?”

Zhao Zi opens his mouth wide, surprised, and asks, “Ah Fei is really with Tang Yi then?”

“Are you pretending to be stupid?”

Jack, with a whole head of red hair, glares at the rookie police officer, his eyes tinged with a glint of danger and sharpness. Jack doesn’t know what tricks Zhao Zi is playing here, but he takes out his phone, and plays the surveillance footage from the camera at the Japanese restaurant’s entrance for Zhao Zi to see.

“They’re really together! I’m looking for Ah Fei urgently, do you know where they went?” He sighs. “Forget it. You definitely don’t know either, otherwise you wouldn’t have brought me here… Damn it, if we don’t find Ah Fei soon, it’ll be my turn to write 3000 words in my apology letter,” Zhao mumbles, standing up from the chair.

“Call him!” Jack commands, taking out his phone and presenting it to his ‘hostage’.

“I tried, but his phone is switched off.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“I said, if I can’t get through to him, I really can’t get through to him.”

Jack holds onto his own phone, and coldly says, “Then give me his number, I’ll call.”

“I’m not going to give it to you! I’m a police officer and at the very least I need to ensure that my colleague is protected and safe, so I won’t give you Ah Fei’s number. I absolutely will not!”

Intrigued suddenly by this fearless boy, Jack circles around Zhao Zi, then stares at him head on, unnervingly.

“Even if you glare at me I won’t.”

Jack takes a step forward, approaching the boy who’s hugging his knees and curling into a ball on the couch.

“Even if you beat me to death I won’t.”

Bam!

Wrapped in fingerless leather gloves, that fist suddenly slams against the back of the couch, and the sound of something being hit echoes in the room.

“No matter what you do, I won’t!”

Zhao Zi is so afraid that he’s already covering his own ears, his entire body shaking in fear, and yet he still refuses Jack in a clear, loud voice.

Jack’s lips curve in a smile. He turns around and walks out of the dark room, and locks the door from the outside.

“Hey! Open the door! Open the door!! Don’t leave me here alone! Hey!” shouts the rookie cop at the top of his lungs as he strikes at the door, the rookie cop who’s not afraid of threats but is apparently, afraid of the dark.

On the mountains, in an abandoned structure

In order to hide from either Wang Kun Cheng or Chen Wen Hao’s men, both Tang Yi and Shao Fei chose to take temporary refuge at this abandoned house first. They started a fire earlier with the wood that Tang Yi found to keep warm, and it is the only source of light in the dark place.

“Can you really not help me open this?” Shao Fei asks, shaking the handcuff still attached to his right wrist.

Tang Yi sends Shao Fei a look, then stresses, “It will hurt!”

“Please, I, Meng Shao Fei, have survived even bullet wounds, will I be scared of this pain?”

Carelessly, Shao Fei reaches his hand over, but the moment Tang Yi grabs onto his thumb and starts to twist it, Shao Fei begins to yell out in pain, “It hurts! It seriously hurts!!”

“I thought you aren’t afraid of pain?”

“Stop twisting it!! Okay okay, I’ll just keep on wearing it then!” Shao Fei implores, his face entirely pale as he hits at Tang Yi’s arm to let him go.

Tang Yi smiles knowingly, as if expecting this outcome all along, and returns to his position by the fire. At this, Shao Fei steals glances at Tang Yi with astonishment, and mumbles, “Fuck. How can this not hurt? Does that guy have any pain nerves in the first place?”

Leaning against the wall, Tang Yi watches as Shao Fei picks up the unused wood and head towards the inside of the house, and he asks, “What are you doing?”

“The weather is so cold, I’m going to start a fire inside and at night we’ll sleep in there.”

“I’m going to take the first watch,” refuses Tang Yi.

It’s as if his rejection just erected a tall and cold wall between them both, but Shao Fei is already used to the way Tang Yi is, so he merely shrugs. He picks up the lighter sitting next to the wood, and says, “Up to you. If you’re not afraid of the cold you can sleep here by yourself, I’m going inside, and lend me this-“

“Don’t touch that!”

Suddenly, Tang Yi who was just a few seconds ago sitting next to the fire, snatches the lighter back from Shao Fei’s hands.

“Why are you so fierce? If you don’t give me the lighter how am I going to start a fire?”

Tang Yi does not reply, only picking up glowing branch from the fire and passing it to Shao Fei. He listens as Shao Fei’s mumbles return to where he was earlier, and as he looks at the lighter sitting in his palm, Tang Yi recalls…

Four years ago

“Here.”

After lighting a cigarette, Tang Guo Dong passes the lighter in his hand to the young man standing next to him.

“Why?”

“I thought you liked it?”

“No work, no reward,” Tang Yi places the lighter back in Tang Guo Dong’s hand, and seriously looks at the man. “What do you want me to help you with?”

Tang Guo Dong is stunned for a moment, and then he laughs, “”Xiao Tang, it’s really so hard to lie to you! I think you, too, know the answer to this question. Help to dismantle Xing Tian Meng, and start to move everything into legal businesses.”

“Aren’t you already doing that?”

“I need someone to continue doing it for me.”

Tang Yi frowns, and once again snatches the cigarette away from Tang Guo Dong’s mouth. “Don’t say that as if you’re going to die soon.”

“When you’re in this line of business, you must always be prepared for death.”

Tang Guo Dong exhales, then opens his left hand where the lighter rests in his palm. He asks, “So what is it? Do you dare take it?”

“Hmph. You failed at your request, so you’ve switched to challenging me instead?”

Tang Guo Dong laughs, taking the cigarette back from Tang Yi, and replies, “You’ll accept it, because you hate drugs more than anyone else. But to make sure you take care of everyone, you need to have money, that’s why no gang in the world will stay away from drugs. Since we’ve decided to call a halt to it, we must be prepared.”

“The person you’re meeting tomorrow… is there a problem?”

“No.. it’s just,” Tang Guo Dong shakes his head, then reaches out with his left arm and hooks it around Tang Yi, “Just treat it as a back up plan. Please. If one day I’m not here anymore, you have to continue with the work of washing Xing Tian Meng clean.”

Hesitantly, Tang Yi looks at Tang Guo Dong who’s speaking with so much emotion. Tang Guo Dong, who is both his father and teacher.

“Xiao Tang! Humans are really too weak, we’re always looking for excuses so we can escape, finding excuses so we can make mistakes, and even blaming our failures on fate, but we forget that for every decision and action we make, we have to pay its price. After all, the money we made from drugs is dirty money, and even if we survived long enough to earn the money, we wouldn’t get to spend it. I don’t want our brothers to live a life standing at the edge of death. I’m not afraid to be laughed at, but it took me a few decades to realise that the best life is one where we live normally.”

“What’s good about a normal life? We’ll only get bullied.”

Just like that year’s 12-year old Tang Yi and 10-year old Hong Ye, two children stranded on the streets, homeless — that was normal enough a life, was it not? But ‘normal’ didn’t feed them, and it would only ensure that they get bullied by children older than they, and if they didn’t meet Tang Guo Dong then, they probably wouldn’t have made it to adulthood. They definitely would not be like this now, having experienced the happiness of being doted on by someone.

Tang Guo Dong turns around, leaning against the railings behind him and thinks about the past. “Maybe the you right now won’t be able to understand, but some people, because of me, were robbed of the ‘normal life’ he should have had. I owe him too much, and in this life, I am unable to make amends.”

“Who? A woman?” Tang Yi asks curiously, looking at the man who, with every sentence, is becoming even more serious.

However, Tang Guo Dong has no intentions of answering that question, and instead just smiles. “One day there’ll be a certain someone who will make you understand what it means to lead a normal life, and what a beautiful feeling it is, to be able to lead this life. So, do you accept?”

The lighter is once against thrust under his nose, and this time, as Tang Yi looks at the wisps of white smoke in the air, he promises, “I promise you. If you’re not around anymore, I will still make sure Xing Tian Meng is washed clean, even if I die-“

“Hey hey hey! You’ve only got one life, don’t waste it.”

Tang Guo Dong tries to stop Tang Yi from saying such inauspicious words, but the 24-year old merely looks into the sky and repeats what the man just told him, “When you’re in this line of business, you must always be prepared for death.”

“You!”

Lines pulling at the edges of his mouth as he smiles, Tang Guo Dong looks at Tang Yi, doting.

“Lao Tang.”

“Hmm?”

Tang Guo Dong throws the butt of his cigarette on the ground and steps on it, then proceeds to light up a second stick.

“I want to ask you a question.”

“Nnn!”

“Why did you pick me? Xing Tian Meng has so many other uncles, and brothers, no? Even if you wanted to find someone younger, there’s still-“

“It can only be you.”

“Why?”

“Because only if I hand it over to you will I be at ease.”

Tears quickly fill his eyes and his vision blurs. Tang Yi looks away, because finally, he’s hearing the words he wanted to hear most.

I’ll be at ease, handing everything over to you.

On the mountains, in an abandoned structure

Tang Yi returns back to the present from his thoughts, only to see that Shao Fei is already lying on the wooden boards, prepared to sleep.

“I really envy you, you can sleep anywhere.”

Lying on the boards, Shao Fei covers his own body with his olive green jacket, as he removed the jacket earlier to treat his own wound, and says, “As human beings we need to be adaptable and take whatever comes, a young, rich master like you who can’t sleep without a bed will never understand.”

“Do you know how to train, to escape?”

Shao Fei looks at Tang Yi at his sudden, seemingly irrelevant question, not understanding why he’s bringing this up at all.

“You have to train when you’re young. First, you twist the thumb inwards. Wait for the bone to grow again and then twist it broken again. Grow, then break. You practice it repeatedly until you’re able to do it. I ask you, which rich master from any family grows up like that?”

Shao Fei looks at this man, who now seems so different from the man he imagined in his head, and asks, “Who forced you to?”

“No one forced me to, I wanted to do it myself. Being part of any gang… we are closer to death, and when you want to survive, you’ll force yourself to do a lot of things.”

“So it’s not that you can’t sleep… but you don’t dare to sleep?”

So when Tang Yi said that he would keep watch earlier, it wasn’t because he was distancing himself, or putting a wall back up in between the both of them, but because the man before his eyes doesn’t feel that he has a person he can truly rely on and trust.

At this sudden display of sensitivity from the usually impulsive and fiery character that is Shao Fei, Tang Yi is speechless. He then laughs wistfully, walking to where there should have been windows installed in this entire building. Leaning against the rusty surface and looking at the clear sky and moon, he says, “I’m only pretending to go legal with Xing Tian Meng, actually I am-“

Shao Fei gets up from where he’s seated and interrupts Tang Yi’s sarcastic monologue. Bowing, he apologises, “It’s my fault! I was wrong. I was too full of myself, to be so sure that it was you… Tang Yi, I’m sorry!”

Tang Yi looks at the man before him, and somewhere deep inside his heart, he is moved by Shao Fei’s words.

“Hey, I’ve already said so much, you should at least give me a response!”

“This is my first time seeing a monkey who knows how to reflect on himself.”

“Hey! Who are you calling a monkey? Let me tell you, even if you’re sincere in trying to wash Xing Tian Meng clean, I will be keeping my eyes on you. The moment you do anything illegal, I’ll still arrest you!”

“Keep your eyes on me?”

“Yes! Keep my eyes on you. Both eyes!” Shao Fei points his fingers at Tang Yi.

In that moment, Tang Yi’s mouth curves into a smile that Shao Fei has never seen before, and says, “Okay. Then I’ll keep on letting you keep your eyes on me.”

“Then I- I’m going to sleep. Good- good night…”

Suddenly, Shao Fei can feel his cheeks heating up again. He flees back to the corner he was lying at earlier, pulls his jacket over himself and pretends to sleep.

[yasbxxgie]

On Monday, the United States officially began the process of pulling out of the Paris Agreement, an international deal struck in 2016 that aimed to keep greenhouse gas emissions low enough to keep Earth’s climate-induced warming to under 2 degrees Celsius (3.7 degrees Fahrenheit).

But even if the U.S. stayed in the agreement, finds new research published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday, there are long-tail, unavoidable consequences for the world’s coastlines. Even if all countries hit their Paris targets by 2030 and then stopped emitting carbon entirely, an unrealistic scenario but a useful thought experiment, the world’s oceans will still slosh higher. Under these idealistic conditions, by 2300—about eight generations away—sea levels around the world will be about 3 feet higher than today, the scientists say.

From the Paris Agreement period alone—between 2015, when the agreement was signed, and 2030, when the stated commitments end—the world will have caused enough warming to drive sea levels about 4.5 inches higher in the future. That’s just from that 15-year stretch.

That doesn’t mean the situation is hopeless, the authors say: far from it. What it means is that decisions made today matter greatly. The quicker emissions drop to essentially zero, they found, the slower the ice will respond—giving coastal cities more time to prepare or move, and giving humans more time to devise solutions to the climate crisis.

“We can clearly see that there’s a massive sea level rise contribution coming from emissions over such a short time frame, just over the Paris period,” says Alexander Nauels, the lead author of the report and a sea level rise expert at Climate Analytics. “But this is risk we can reduce, by all means, if we can, and it seems like we can.”

The Paris period

In 2015, leaders from 195 countries gathered in Paris to sort out an international strategy for addressing climate change. At the meeting they agreed to aim to cut greenhouse gas emissions enough to limit global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius (3.7 degrees Fahrenheit) over temperatures in the 1800s, before the Industrial Revolution. It would be even better, the leaders agreed, to keep temperatures from warming past 1.5 degrees.

(See which countries are hitting their targets, and which aren't).

Since then, an avalanche of major scientific reports backed up the 1.5-degree goal, warning that each bit of warming past that threshold would endanger millions more people and make adaptation harder and more expensive. Other science has demonstrated that those thresholds may have been passed already in many parts of the world.

That reality makes the commitments set out in the Paris Agreement even more important to hit.

In the 2015 Agreement (which went into effect in 2016), countries agreed to aim to cut their emissions by some self-determined amount by either 2025 or 2030, and to keep revising those goals every five years until then. These “Nationally Determined Contributions,” or NDCs, varied widely in ambition and feasibility, but marked an important benchmark by which progress could be measured. (See which countries are hitting their targets and which aren’t even trying.)

The Trump Administration has indicated that it intends to withdraw the U.S. from the agreement. November 4 is the first day it can legally begin the process, which takes a year to complete. Already, though, the U.S. is far from hitting its targets.

Emit today, feel the impacts tomorrow

The NDCs were designed to get countries on track to keep air temperatures from rising too much. But it’s not just heat that will affect people in the future. Warmer air means all kinds of other changes to the climate system, from stronger storms and wetter monsoons to rising seas. Many of those impacts are already being felt.

“We’re already seeing the impacts happen much more quickly than we thought we would,,” says Nick Golledge, an ice sheet expert at Victoria University Wellington, in New Zealand, “so we don’t want to get complacent. We are committed to that amount of sea level rise, but there’s still quite a lot we can do about how fast it happens.”

But many of the impacts will take a long time to make themselves felt, and probably can’t be reversed even if the world got on track toward its best-laid plans.

Sea level changes are one of those slow-developing impacts. Even if emissions dropped to nothing and stayed there, sea levels are still going to rise for the next few hundred years. That’s because the world’s ice responds slowly, like a shuddering, awakening bear coming out of hibernation, to the stimulus we apply now.

Over the past few years, scientists have built a robust understanding of how that ice in Greenland, Antarctica, and in the mountains will change, if it’s pushed by hotter temperatures. What they’ve found is that the speed of the change depends strongly on the speed of the warming.

It's adding up, and fast

In this study, the scientists wanted to pin down exactly how much today’s emissions, and today’s major emitters, would affect the future. They designed an experiment that could calculate the sea level rise from specific time periods and from specific emitters. First, they looked at the sum total of all emissions since the preindustrial period through the end of the Paris Agreement targets in 2030 and found the total amount of sea level rise those emissions would cause in the future: about 17 inches by the end of the century, and over 41 inches by 2300, on average.

Then, they broke those numbers down further. Five countries or regions—the U.S., China, India, Russia, and the EU—account for well over half of total emissions today. Each of those countries, therefore, will be responsible for a measurable amount of sea level rise in the future. From just the 15-year Paris Agreement period—2016 to 2030, the time when countries are allegedly doing serious work to rein in emissions—those top five emitters will lock in about 4.5 inches of sea level rise in the future, or 20 percent of 2300’s total.

Over what the authors call the “IPCC period,” starting from 1990, when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (the IPCC) published its first major report on how humans were affecting Earth’s climate and stretching through 2030, those top five emitters will be personally responsible for over 10 inches of sea level rise by 2030.

In comparison, the planet has seen an average about 8 inches of sea level rise since 1900.

“Even a few inches it doesn’t sound like much, but every bit matters,” says Kristina Hill, a landscape architect and environmental design expert at the University of California, Berkeley. “Especially for things like pollution. You have a pollution lump sitting there in the soil, and it only takes the water intersecting it for that to be a problem, and higher sea levels mean more chance of that.”

Recently, scientists also re-evaluated the maps they’d been using to figure out how global cities will be affected by sea level rise. It turns out that, after correcting the satellite data that shows how high the ground is in many coastal cities worldwide, around 190 million people will live below 2100’s high tide line—about 80 million more than today, and about three times as many as had previously been expected.

For those 190 million people, just a little bit of extra water adds a lot of risk, explains Peter Girard of Climate Central, which did the re-evaluation.

“It’s the difference between damaged property or not, or an overtopped road or a dry one,” he says.

Act now to slow the seas

Although 280 years may feel far away, it’s well within the range of human memory. “I grew up in a country, in the U.K., where we still drove on roads built by the Romans 2,000 years before,” says Golledge. “So let’s not think that a few hundred years is outside of the realm of reality for our infrastructure.”

And the actions that are taken now—in pursuit of the Paris Agreement goals, or even more ambitious emissions reductions goals, will shape the experiences for millions of people in the future.

“The most important factor in continuing to protect people and building new defenses is time,” says Girard. “The more and the sooner global emissions are reduced, the slower the rate of sea level rise will be, and the more time governments and communities around the world will have to evaluate and plan and build defenses.”

[operationrainfall]

  Title Towards the Pantheon Developer Connor O.R.T. Linning Publisher Connor O.R.T. Linning Release Date May 16th, 2018 Genre RPG Platform PC

When I first heard about Towards the Pantheon, it wasn’t so much the coverage about the game that caught my attention, but rather its developer. Despite my being an avid fan of classic RPGs, especially those that draw inspiration from the SNES and that golden age of RPGs, what ended up sticking with me enough to try this game was the man behind it; Connor Linning. A writer, musician, and game developer, spending just a few minutes on Connor’s blog made me realize the passion and drive this man possesses. I think it’s his ambition in the face of complacency attitude that sparked my interest in his project, Towards the Pantheon. 16-bit graphics, original sound score, narrative and gameplay that draws influence from classic RPG tropes, Towards the Pantheon is a game that honors some of the best this genre has to offer.

Towards the Pantheon drops you into a world in which four quarreling groups are pitted against one another by the Sworn Light, a militaristic entity using divide and conquer tactics to take control of the world. Immediately, we meet Freyja, a young warrior tasked to journey to the Pantheon, the headquarters of the Sworn Light, to deliver a fatal blow to their organization. Advised by Wuotan, an elder of her village, she first sets off to find a willing companion, Bam the cat. From there, she will venture into the four civilizations and interact with their people, learning of their struggles and the oppression by the Sworn Light. Freyja will meet new companions, explore the vast lands, and discover the depth of tyranny and evil the Sworn Light have instilled in the world.

The story of Towards the Pantheon is fairly straightforward, in that you have four isolated populations further turned against one another by an all-influential puppet master. Themes of prejudice, intolerance, and misinformation make up the core of the story, but there is plenty more to spark initial interest. The lore and the individual details of the four types of beings in this world are intriguing and are a pleasure to discover. I also like how equal attention is provided to both a grand scale and an individual level in terms of how the Sworn Light is oppressing the world. Hearing about how individuals, ranging from children, business owners, students, etc., are impacted is a nice touch, as it demonstrates how a world event influences the individual on a personal scale. I found these personal perspectives well written and was motivated to learn as much as I could about this world and its people.

The plot has its shortcomings, however, as one of my biggest gripes is with the strength and pacing of the plot. Simply put, the plot starts slow and remains more a framework than a fleshed out story. After Freyja is tasked with her quest, it takes quite some time before the plot picks up again. In between, we see Freyja and her growing party reduced to errand runners. Yes, plot details do get filled in, but it’s not enough, both in quantity and quality. Bland may be too strong of a word, but at times I definitely felt like saving the world was more an excuse than a purpose, as I was forced around the world on fetch quests and meet ups. Another element that concerns me is with the Pantheon itself. The game is Towards the Pantheon, yet the Pantheon ends up as just a place that houses the final boss. There is a dire need of lore or some unseen importance to this keyword. Give me something. Imagine if Ocarina of Time were instead called The Legend of Zelda – That Room atop that Flight of Stairs. Nobody cares about that room, it’s the Ocarina that’s central to the plot, receiving appropriate lore and significance. Yet here, the Pantheon really is just a place; a feeble finish line.

And finally, there is the horror element of the plot, which doesn’t actually show itself until the last stretch of the game. I am referring to the segment right before the Pantheon in which you have to unlock and cut through an old mansion/ hotel. It feels completely like a tangent, just thrown in at the end. As for the events within, I believe they do occur to the characters in their reality and it’s not some screwed up dream sequence, yet it came out of nowhere and didn’t fit the tone of the previous 3/4 of the game. Although it does make you think about who or what those soldiers really are, with the hints and notes on disappearances, kidnappings, and the electropunk culture of replacing body parts, I wouldn’t consider the game a “horror game” just because of a portion of play. It also fails to add significant depth to its characters, as I believe this segment is supposed to explore the individual characters’ inner struggles, whether it’s regret, loss, powerlessness, or what have you. But again, just throwing it in at the end doesn’t do any justice and it falls flat. Lack of pacing and plot strength make the plot an overall underwhelming experience.

In terms of its implementation, the story unfolds mainly through conversations between party members, NPC interactions, and scattered fragments of books or journal entries found throughout the world. Not a whole lot of the plot is unveiled through the main characters themselves and their interactions with each other, as is common for the genre. Rather, much of the plot is left for the player to discover. Speaking with NPCs multiple times throughout the game, completing side quests and requests, and reading through all the fragments will color in the plot. From history and the origins of the Sworn Light’s threat, to the current desolation and impact, most of these details and the depth they bring require the player’s willingness to discover them.

While I can appreciate this unorthodox method of delivering a story, I felt the narrative overall suffered from it. Typically, this method is used as a support, providing backstory and anything else that fills in the history and lore of a central narrative. Here though, I don’t appreciate this method at the cost of a robust story building effort. I would have preferred a stronger, more directly conveyed story that details unfolding events, rather than the fragments we collect along the way. I understand the intent of this choice; to let us discover the plot ourselves, however, this method lacks the immersion I was seeking during play. The conversations and fragments we come across are not substantial enough to draw you in and keep you immersed. Instead, they only provide just enough to eventually string a story together. Again, I acknowledge the attempt at something different, and while the plot has plenty of intrigue in and of itself, the potency and impact just wasn’t there, failing to consistently trigger immersion or draw my emotional investment.

I’ll admit, there are plenty of helpful hints too

As for its characters, Towards the Pantheon does an adequate job of presenting a set of characters that are easy to care for, instilling a want for seeing their journey through. There are plenty of personal details and friendship building elements to be had throughout and they stand out nicely. The campfire scenes that occur in save locations provide the most character development, allowing the group to recap, unwind, and interact with each other. Their sharing of their personal struggles, past pains, future goals, but also their good natures, humor, and uplifting encouragements to one another, all help to provide much needed depth. I especially like the expressiveness of the characters’ portraits during dialogues, as they help add a nice emotional element to their conversations. Since Freyja is mute, these expressions she shows really help convey her youthful and kindhearted personality without words. My only complaint would be that I wish there were more growth or transformation. The characters we see at the start are pretty much what we end up with. Besides that one point, I enjoyed journeying with this group.

*Heart melts

Towards the Pantheon also follows a traditional RPG style for its gameplay, as exploration and combat make up the majority of play. The world is made up of expansive maps with plenty to discover. Whether it’s finding hidden caves and secret caches for extra items or locations hiding fragments of plot lore, exploration is key to unveiling everything this game has to offer. Exploration is further enhanced by the unique traits each character possesses while on the world map. Although Freyja’s unique skill is climbing ladders, Bam the cat can fit within small openings, Mishima can hack through locked doors, and Phenez can turn invisible, bypassing guards to enter restricted areas. As the team grows, revisiting previous towns and areas is always a good move. Lastly, since exploration and, to a degree, backtracking are encouraged, the game also features a fast-travel system from the start. In typical fashion, once you’ve reached the town a first time, you can fast-travel to and fro.

For the most, combat is your traditional turn-based style, but there are specifics to using each character. With Freyja, each of her attacks requires Stamina Points (SP), which regenerate during every turn. Bam’s skills use EP, the SP equivalent, but they do not regenerate, requiring Bam to rely on EP regenerating skills during the fight. Mishima uses CPU and GPU points, her HP and SP equivalents, meaning that every attack she unleashes also does harm to her. Finally, Phenez uses NP, his HP, so again his attacks also do self-harm. It makes combat far more engaging, as you need to plan your actions accordingly. I found that having a particular strategy for each character’s usage helps greatly. Not having a sound strategy or being able to adapt it during a tough battle will have consequences. Something I do appreciate, even if a party member is incapacitated during battle, they will still receive the same amount of experience points, which is especially helpful for newly joined members, as they all start at Lv 1. With every level gained, a point is rewarded to be used for that character’s specific skill tree. Increases in health, power, recovery and more can be unlocked, so leveling is key. Finally, there are extra combo skills that are unlocked as you collect cards throughout your journey. These help immensely during tougher fights and can be found or purchased in packs throughout the game.

Combat isn’t perfect however, as I found the difficulty level is a touch higher than convention, especially early on. Fortunately, with some grinding, the campaign is very much doable and the grinding required is within a reasonable level. Yet, my issue is with the time it takes. The number of battles needed to maintain an acceptable challenge level is a bit high, taking a bit more time than I would have preferred. Also, combat can drag on, especially with multiple enemies on-screen using their own sets of skills during battle. While enemy encounters are visible and avoidable, they are very much a necessity, so quicker battles would have been ideal.

A final note on gameplay, throughout the game you will encounter event specific items used to solve puzzles, complete subquests, or access new areas. Instead of an auto-use style, you are required to open the item menu and search for the specific item you wish to use for interaction. At first, this is a non-issue, but as your inventory grows, this can become an inconvenience. I prefer auto-use, as most of the time choosing the right item to use, give, or place is fairly predictable. Again, a minor inconvenience, yet it springs up often enough for me to comment on.

Now we move to what I believe are the strongest points of Towards the Pantheon; its aesthetic appeal. This game looks and feels perfectly like a golden era RPG. Visually, the 16-bit graphics are fantastic, capturing the magic of the SNES styling. Everything is custom designed, from sprites to tilesets and the results are amazing. The portrait art showing the expressions of our heroes during their conversations is also incredible, providing an ample boost to the moods and tones of these scenes. Especially for Freyja, I love these changes of facial expressions, as they bring a feeling of genuine life. Humor, thought, and reactions to each other are made so much more lifelike with these simple changes to their faces. I can’t praise that level of detail enough. My only complaints are that, first, there were concept drawing and other artwork that never made it into the game. I would have liked to have seen them incorporated during cutscenes or in-between snippets because they further depicted our heroes in an appealing light. Secondly, the layouts of some maps are a bit jarring. For example, when you leave a forest and enter an electropunk town, the contrast is far too sharp. Better transitions from forest to urban are needed badly, as it looks like a rushed effort on map design.

I would have loved this in-game

The audio efforts are equally impressive and are some of the most impressive I’ve experienced in the genre. As a musician, Connor Linning does an incredible job of adding energy and life through his compositions. Every track fit its area or event perfectly. Plus, there’s plenty of music to enjoy. I love that he incorporated various dungeon themes, multiple battle themes, and an assortment of tracks for almost every location, all in that classic chiptune style. This is easily the game’s highest point and worth a playthrough to experience. Overall, the aesthetics of Towards the Pantheon are brilliant, perfectly capturing the look and feel of that classic RPG style.

Again, inclusion of art would have taken the aesthetics to another level

As a first offering, Towards the Pantheon is impressive, hitting many of the major RPG notes that makes a game of this genre outstanding. For RPG fans, many of the gameplay tropes are there; party based combat, unique skillsets, and traits and peculiarities both in and outside of battle, yet it all comes together and it works. While the ball was dropped in terms of story development and gameplay has its flaws, it was still very much a pleasure to play. I would recommend Towards the Pantheon to anyone looking for a solid 10+ hours of classic RPG to lose themselves in. Like me, it will take closer to 12-13 hours to complete your first run, and with a price tag as low as $1.99 during a Steam sale, there’s no reason to miss out. And finally, although the game is a far cry from perfection, I hope we see more from Connor Linning in the near future, for as he says, “If you fear failure, then consider that it is better to fail creating something that fulfills you than to fail creating something that is heartless.”

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[easyreview cat1title=”Overall” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”3.5″]

TBT REVIEW: Towards the Pantheon Title Towards the Pantheon