#the destruction of my enemies is no consolation to me

[commander-chaoss]

Sometimes I write silly shenanigans between my heroes and villains and then all at once the crushing reality of why I feel the need to do this for every single villain I make hits me

[cookie-nom-nom]

[“But I’m not even human.” 

Miles shrugged. “Human is as human does.” He forced himself to reach out and touch her damp cheek. “Animals don’t weep, Nine.”

She jerked, as if from electric shock. “Animals don’t lie. Humans do. All the time.”

“Not all the time.”

“Prove it.” She tilted her head as she sat cross-legged, her pale gold eyes were suddenly burning. Speculative. 

“Uh, sure. How?”

“Take off your clothes.”

“Wot.”

“Take off your clothes and lay with me as humans do, men and women.” Her hand reached out to touch his throat. The pressing claws made little wells in his flesh.

“Urp?” choked Miles. His eyes felt wide as saucers. A little more pressure and those wells would spring out red fountains. I’m about to die. 

She stared into his face with a strange, frightening, bottomless hunger. Then, abruptly, she released him. He sprang up and cracked his head on the low ceiling and dropped back down, the stars in his eyes unrelated to love at first sight. Her lips wrinkled back on a fanged groan of despair. “Ugly,” she wailed, her clawed nails raked across her cheeks, leaving furrows. “Too ugly. Animal. You don’t think I’m human.” She seemed to swell with some destructive resolve. 

“No no no!” Gibbered Miles, lurching to his knees and grabbing her hands and pulling them down. “It’s not that, it’s just— how old are you, anyway?” 

“Sixteen.”]

——

Miles instantly recoiled, cracking his head on the ceiling again because those who didn’t learn history were doomed to repeat it, as Commodore Tung was fond of reminding him. Immediately her eyes narrowed, a snarl creeping over her sharp teeth. “You don’t think I’m human enough,” she accused, voice still husky from disuse. “I knew it.” Her claws slipped back up to the scratches on her damp face, and he jolted forward, batting them down again in a reckless manner. 

“No, it’s not that,” Miles insisted, eyeing the way her claws were curling into fists about the same size as his entire face. “You’re a child! I can’t do that.”

“My life expectancy was barely a few years. The rest of the projects have been long dead.”

“Well, it’s still wrong in human years, which is the point. There’s plenty of other tests for humanity, anyways.” Sex was by no means the epitome of human existence. “What about Socrates? Human choice motivated by the desire for happiness? Or, oh, what was that test for AI centuries ago? The Tuning Test? That would work too.” He didn’t remember what it actually entailed. “There’s many tests. You yourself said only humans lie. By your own logic, lie, ergo, human. Human is as human does.” That’s what he’d meant it to be applied to, anyway. 

Her eyes narrowed. “None of those prove your belief to me. I still like my test.” Well, naturally. [Sixteen. God. He remembered sixteen. Sex obsessed and dying every minute.] 

[“Aren’t you a little young for this?” he tried hopefully.] She started a protest, but he continued. “It’s illegal. There. I applied human laws to you.” Probably a first for Jackson’s Hole. “I also just offered you a job, and regulations ban interrank romantic interactions.” No matter how much he might want to with one particular Eli Quinn...

The power dynamic was entirely wrong, between his age and rank and the fact he was beginning to suspect he was about to rescue this girl. Or, hell, look at it the other way, at the underlying threat that he must prove he believed her human or die. It was a messed up power imbalance from nearly every angle. 

A crumpled look crossed her wolfish features. Miles tried to console her. One for it being the Vorish, gentlemanly thing to do, and two because while he thought it unlikely she’d kill him at this point, he still didn’t want to increase his chances. “I’m probably the first nice face you’ve seen in a while. Don’t settle for me simply since I got here first. There are plenty of suitable partners once you get out of this basement. Which, reminder, we’re in a hostile environment surrounded by enemies. We still need to escape.” 

Moroseness slumped her features. “It’s impossible. I stopped trying years ago. And…” a shudder ran down her strong back, ears flattening. “...they don’t like it when you try,” she said lowly. “They wouldn’t do this to me if I was human.”

“Eh, actually they would. I mean, I’m human, and I’m down here, aren’t I? I’ve been deemed subhuman before. It hurts when they think it’d be a mercy to ‘put you out of your misery’.” He was going to strangle that scientist.

She gave him an odd look, scrutinizing him more thoroughly. “You don’t look like Jacksonian work. And you said you’re human. Why isn’t that enough for them?” 

Miles spread his hands wide, a wry expression crossing his features. “Ah, but I’m a mutant. A weakling. A curse from God upon my father’s house for every sin they can think to lay at his feet. They will find anything and everything they can to hold against you, Nine, no matter what it is that makes you different. Eight feet tall or four foot nine, unmatched strength or bones of glass; they will despise you either way. Well damn their notion of being born wrong because I intend to be ten times the man they ever could be.”

“Then it’s hopeless.” 

“If you want it to be handed to you, yes. You can’t rely on someone else to give you your humanity, because that implies they can revoke it at any time. It’s a value you have to find within yourself.” It sounded like some pithy Betan advice he would’ve picked up from his mother. “With your test, you wanted your body to feel human. But what about your soul, Nine?” He paused. “No, we need a name for you. I can’t be calling you a number like some type of lab rat.” Something strong and pretty, like her. He fell into that well of old earth philosophy he had initially fallen back on. Socrates, the Greeks, the like. When he finally found the name, it seemed perfect for the girl called a monster and trapped deep in the heart of a labyrinth of labs. Wasn’t Miles intended to be some blood sacrifice to her as well? And hadn’t the minotaur been a child when he was imprisoned for life? Punished for the crime of being born, just like them. “Taura,” he breathed. “I think I shall call you Taura.”

She went still, enraptured. “A name.” Tears welled in her golden eyes. “No one has ever given me a name.” 

“I’m not giving it to you. I’m letting you take it, to seize it, to make it your own. As much as I’d like to, I can’t give you your humanity either. That’s all up to you. Break free of every cruel moniker hurled at you. Monster, mutant– who cares what any of them think!? Prove them all wrong and never look back. That’s what I did. So here: I may reject your test, but I offer my own. I believe you’re ‘human enough’ because I believe you’re worthy of freedom, of a future, of a name. I certainly can’t give any of that to you, but I sure can help you try.” Something sparked in her gilded gaze, the tantalizing offer she’d likely never been given before. It was a hope doused quickly, but it had been there at all. Miles had a chance of relighting it, of fanning the flames. 

“You really think so?” Uncertain, her fangs twisted into a guarded frown. 

Miles batted aside a twinge of guilt. It wasn’t just because she was his only shot of escape, and it certainly wasn’t for a particular scientist whose neck he wanted to wring. This was because Taura didn’t deserve to be trapped in a basement eating rats for the rest of her tenuous life. He might have needed her, but she needed him, too, if only for a little while. 

“I don’t make offers I don’t intend to provide. So, care to escape with me?” He held out an arm, almost ridiculously formal, and she took it, choosing to trust him if only hesitantly, if only for that little spark of hope still in here somewhere.

[lorena12me]

Timbern Week 2023 Day 3:

“My boyfriend has an identical scar here” | Fanfic Writer Bernard | Hurt / Comfort (comfort will come with the announcement of the 7th)

Title:

Five minutes to go

Summary:

If you only had 5 minutes to live, what would you do with them?

The world was so devastated after the latest apocalypse that the Justice League decided to send Flash back in time to prevent destruction. Tim and Bernard embrace as they watch the world they met in fade away. Aware that in this new timeline they may never be together again.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Bear" Tim say softly, clinging to Bernard with all his might, ignoring the pain and wounds that filled his body after surviving the final fight to save the earth from invasion.

His Robin suit was in tatters, blood and tears splattering every part of his body where Bernard laid his eyes. It wasn't the first time Bernard had seen him hurt, limping and bleeding, but it was the first time he had seen him so scared. So vulnerable.

"You won, Tim, it's over" consoles the blond, but Tim denies and looks him in the eye, tears beginning to fall, a line of translucent glass wiping a small gap of grime on Tim's mangled face.

"No, we didn't" his voice cracks "we stopped him, but it's too late, everything is ruined."

"W-what?"

"The machines had already extracted a large amount of the earth's magma and it's predicted that there will be earthquakes and drastic climate changes over the next few years…billions of people will die Bern…we didn't win it in time"

Bernard's mouth goes dry, horror coursing through his veins like scarecrow poison, but it's worse because it's real. The world was spared the violent and swift destruction of the enemy, but doomed to perish slowly and agonizingly like a poisoned animal.

"What are we going to do?" he asks, the food stored in the safe houses and the various bat bases will last only so long and if the planet will take so many years to stabilize everything will become a repeat of no man's land globally.

"Bear… Bernard" Tim grits his teeth forcing himself to say the following words "The justice league decided that it's too much unrecoverable damage… they're going to send an agent back in time to prevent all this."

"But that's good, right?" Bernard smiles shakily and then is horrified when Tim nods and then shakes his head in despair.

"It'll prevent this whole mess, sure" he says finally "But… Bear, traveling back in time involves rewriting the whole timeline. There's… a lot of things that are going to change or cease to exist… it's a coin flip about what's going to stay the same"

"…" Bernard begins to understand and doesn't think he's liking what's being implied "What does that mean for us, Tim?" he exhales

"It means there's nothing to assure us that you or I…we, exist."

Bernard feels his heart stop for a moment, his breathing quickens and eyes water finally realizing how much they are about to lose.

"How much time do we have?"

"I don't know… Minutes?" Tim pulls his hair then lets go and takes three determined steps until he's beside Bernard, pulling him into another hug "I just heard they made the decision before I turned around and used the last of the Zeta-tube's energy to get back here."

Here… Tim left his family behind, the other bats to come back to Bernard… He squeezes his arms tightly around his Robin, crying, because Tim just chose him, as he has every time, even when Bernard has felt so unworthy of it. Every damn time Tim makes it clear to him that he doesn't have to fight for him, for his love. That he's chosen it because he loves him the same way Bernard loves him.

"I didn't want it all to end without being able to see you at least one more time, Bear…"

"I love you" Bernard cries through tears "I love you Tim, you're the best thing that ever happened to me."

"I love you Bear… I…"

Before Tim can finish whatever he was going to say, the horizon beyond Gotham begins to glow with an orange and white glow. They both turn around without releasing their embrace, to watch as the light grows bigger and bigger. It's not like an explosion, there's no sound or shockwave, the light approaches them silently and Bernard hasn't yet finished processing that there's a giant chance he's about to cease to exist, but, he thinks hysterically as the light reaches out and engulfs them, there's no other person he wants to fade into nothingness with, than Tim.

(reposted because I finished writing the drabble that accompanied the drawing)

[i-did-not-mean-to]

Russingon - March

Written for my dear reader MoonLord :D

I am not entirely sure about this one...but here it is <3

Prompts: “are you okay" - Rough - Overprotective

Pairing: Maedhros x Fingon

Words: 1035

Warnings: Fighting, blood, doom, sadness, fear, naïve rewriting of the Nirnaeth, I am not feeling well, don't shoot me!

Even though he was standing in an ephemeral pool of gleaming light, Maedhros felt a terrible shadow fall across his soul. He shivered violently.

At once, he recognised this sickening sensation only—the paralysing, clammy cold irrepressibly took him back to flashes of burning ships on dark waters and rough, cruel hands dragging him away from his screaming brothers on a field of fire.

He knew this sickening sense of foreboding only too well. They were about to be betrayed.

“Finno,” he gasped instinctively, his shapely head whipping around in search of his beloved.

Of course, per their agreed-upon battleplan, his lover was on the opposite side of the vast expanse of raw ruin, and he would have to cross literal hell to get to him in time.

The crownless, dishonoured prince had dreamed this so many times—losing Fingon because he was just not fast or skilful enough—and he was grimly determined not to let the nightmares haunting him eat up what little was left of his life.

Thus, he pushed through the throng of combatants blindly; every step was akin to wading through an ocean of sticky blood and stray limbs, and the mad screaming was deafening, but he couldn’t allow himself to be distracted or held up by the rivers of misery trying to ensnare his body and mind.

In passing, he caught a glimpse of Caranthir’s face—deadly pale under the splatter of black blood—and he swore to himself that he’d find and console his brother in due time.

“You are not the first to have trusted foolishly and to find yourself wickedly backstabbed,” he wanted to scream at that motionless mien that gave away how deep his sibling’s mental hurt truly was. “Rally, Moryo! There shall be time for remonstrances and remorse when the day is won. Now, stand and fight!”

All this and more, he yearned to say.  He longed to hear his voice rising above the terrible storm of chaos and destruction, but his lungs were burning, and his tongue wouldn’t move.

Once more, he had no choice but to forge ahead alone—mute and miserable.

After his capture and long, torturous abiding in the enemy’s fortress of pain, Maedhros had solemnly promised never to desert his family again, but could that reproach really be laid at his feet now?

Fingon was more than his cousin, more than one to whom he owed a life debt—he was the only sliver of purity and faith left intact within Maedhros’s crumbling heart, and losing him, he who had been brave and loyal from the very beginning to the bitter end, would have been too much of an injustice to bear.

“You cannot mean this,” Maedhros whispered, unsure whether it was Manwë or Námo with whom he was pleading within his mind. “We remember our Doom, worry not, but he cannot be part of the sacrifices and losses I am bound to bear.”

In the distance, a flash of gold danced like fireflies above a murky pool, and—clenching his jaw as fatigue and injury tried to tear him down—the Lord of Himring threw himself into a solid wall of armoured bodies like a crazed beast fighting for its survival.

“If you take him,” he mouthed as he hacked through limbs and fetid air with frenzied violence, “then you prove my father’s darkest accusations right. If this is the end of Findekáno, you are no better than Morgoth and his monstrosities.”

Every step was agony, but he pushed on, reciting the poems and empty phrases of puerile devotion that sprang from his muddled memory incessantly.

Once upon a time, he had believed the Valar to be invincible, and—one last time—Maedhros needed that blind faith to make it to the one he loved.

Praying fervently to Aulë and Ulmo to strengthen the hearts and arms of their favoured creations, he—who had been disappointed and abandoned more often than he could count—trusted that his allies would prevail.

As if the Powers that had turned away from his line had heard and heeded his desperate pleading, the host of savage fighters seemed to part like a roiling sea before Maedhros’s bleary eyes, and he could, at long last, make out Fingon’s glorious, unbowed silhouette, outlined starkly against the irreverently blue sky.

Soon, he knew, Morgoth would be forced to release his ultimate weapon: mindless, unbridled chaos.

Thus, it was vital to retreat and regroup before their carefully laid-out plans were turned against them.

Loyalty, he thought despairingly even as he reached his lover, should certainly vanquish base betrayal.

Throwing himself bodily between Fingon and the swelling tide of flame-wreathed foes, Maedhros pushed his half-cousin out of the way roughly.

“Love, are you okay?” the other exclaimed, surprised and alarmed by the unexpected arrival. If Maedhros was here, he immediately understood, it meant that all their strategies had gone awry.

“The Valiant” he was named, and he proved once more that he deserved that epitaph as he took a quick sidestep that allowed him to cleave a hitherto unnoticed enemy about to strike down Maedhros.

“We must away,” the exhausted redhead grunted. “Stay behind me!”

Despite the lethal danger caressing his skin with cold fingers, Fingon laughed throatily at that heart-warming but utterly ridiculous exhortation.

“You’ve ever been overprotective,” he guffawed good-humouredly. “As one I still cherish told your father once—lead and I shall follow! I have your back, my darling. And we have brothers to save!”

Whispering words of gratitude and relief under his breath, Maedhros chose life—Fingon’s and his own—over the horrible, seductive allure of the sweet, mendacious promise of a victory he knew to be incontrovertibly out of reach.

How easy it would have been to give in to the despair gnawing at his soul unrelentingly and follow the perfidious siren call into death!

Consciously renouncing the fateful flaw of his blood that ever pushed them to retaliate against treachery by unleashing the full extent of the reckless, self-forgotten fury of which they were undeniably capable, Maedhros—becoming the king he’d never wanted to be, garlanded by golden light and cold air—wisely declared the day lost and his union doomed.

-> Masterlist

Lots of love from me!

@fellowshipofthefics Here's another one!

[danwhobrowses]

One Piece Chapter 1104 - Initial Thoughts

We have waited long, but finally we are here

Let's see that fucking punch land!

Spoilers for the Chapter, Support the Official Release also

A nice little Disney-esque cover page as Sanji helps a mouse propose with a fancy dinner. Bernard from the Rescuers could've used a wingman like that, though he did tame a warthog, outwit a Goanna and push a hunter to his aquatic death so...

Back where we started with Kuma ready to wind up on Saturn

Kuma and Saturn's memories briefly flash; their encounter, the loss of Kuma's mother, Ginny, Ginny's death, Bonney and now Bonney crying as she is now, all leading to this moment

Saturn is flabbergasted, not just because Kuma's here but because Kuma is alive, he already triggered the self-destruct switch when the Revolutionaries took him

Mr 'I'm a man of science don't try to deceive me' got so fuckin' deceived

AND DAMN DID THAT PUNCH FEEL GOOD

Wham Bam and thank you Ma'am, Saturn is sent bleeding, reeling and covered in Egghead's rubble

And now that Saturn is struck, nobody's frozen in place, leading to them going after Bonney to check on her

Bonney however is being comforted by her father, as Vegapunk looks on in bewilderment

He did make a failsafe, it just wasn't as barbaric as a bomb, the switch should have shut Kuma down completely, and with no humanity left he should've just been empty

Vegapunk can't answer the question with science, but he does think about something the Buccaneers were said to have, but left vague to the audience

Kizaru has mixed feelings on this, but Sentomaru is relieved

Luffy has also disappeared, hidden in the ruckus

After over 3 long years, father and daughter reunite, with Bonney consoling Kuma over having seen his memories

'I don't care if everyone else calls you a tyrant, because I know there's no-one kinder than my dad' - welp we're not done with the feels I see

Alas, Saturn is of course alive from that, and the Elder is quite perturbed

Also missing half his arm and one of his horns as he demands an explanation from Vegapunk

Vegapunk admits it's his doing, but he doesn't have an explanation, cheekily suggesting the power of love being at play

He seems to take it aloofly, slowly regenerating his missing parts

He once again goes for Kuma, but this time he's not moving

So Sanji finally gets to do something! Kicking the spiked leg away

And then Franky out here just firing a Radical Beam through Saturn

Franky may not get much shine but between Driving his motorcycle into a Yonko's face and now firing a laser beam through a Gorosei he's amassing up some feats

Alas, Kizaru once again chooses to be a cog in the machine and attacks Franky in retaliation

Saturn also recovers from the beam attack

With Kuma unable to move, Atlas is charged with carrying him to safety

Kizaru also notes that Kuma's appearance has put too many players on the board

Vegapunk does reprimand Kizaru for still siding with the Government, though his response does imply some duplicity

As a result, Saturn orders a Buster Call, all of Egghead is an enemy of the government

A 'traitor', a survivor and a pirate with the powers of god, Saturn wants none of that smoke

Man still don't know about the giant mecha hidden away

A good chapter to effectively start the new year. We got the punch, and he might've regenerated from it but still we got the punch and it was good.

Luffy's absence is a cause for wonder, one does have to wonder too what's going down in the Labophase still with the Seraphim, Lucci vs Zoro and everyone waiting for the ship to get to the rendez-vous, also Robin is still AWOL.

It is cool to see Vegapunk marvel at something even he can't quite understand when it came to Kuma, it feels like something has clicked in his brain. But with Egghead now a target of the Buster Call there's so much he's going to lose from this, but at the same time the Gorosei can't remake the Mother Flame with Egghead destroyed.

There's still the matter of the Blackbeard ship and Caribou too, the sleeping giant is just one of multiple things waiting to come into play.

Luffy fighting Saturn in Gear Fifth does feel imminent, even if Kizaru is playing both sides, if it was just a Buster Call it wouldn't quite be a ground-shaking incident, but since the media has made out that Luffy had kidnapped Vegapunk there's little way that the WG are gonna come out of this shining.

[phyrexian-lesbian]

Hey people, here is my opening for my what if? fanfic, the Nature of the Doctor.

The Nature of the Doctor

The Power of the Doctor

Deep Space, 2022

The two planets gleamed with fire and violence, bringing a tear to Yasmin Khan’s eye. Before her was a man who once was her true love, now becoming her worst enemy. That coat flowed in the breeze, reminding her of the woman she wished so dearly could be her everything, but that’s impossible. Her body, her mind, her soul have been taken by the man she hates. The man who caused this.

“Oh, excellent work,” he marvelled, eyes shining with the destruction, “Gold star and a sticker.” He spun to Yaz, a maniacal grin on his face. “That’s how you stop two sides from warring. Destroy them both.”

Yaz felt nothing but horror, hatred, and sadness. He saw her face, and snickered. “See?” he gloated, “No-one to stop me now.” He turned his back to her.

Anger flared in her chest. “NO!” she screamed, going to push him over. He spun and caught her hand.

“Not even you, Yasmin Khan,” he said softly, with a smile that did not reach his cold, merciless eyes. “Now come on, Yaz!”

He threw her into the TARDIS, which felt a lot colder than it used to.

“Let’s go on an adventure!”

The TARDIS groaned and wheezed, taking off into time and space. The Master danced to the sound, humming. “Mmmmmm, don’t you just love that sound, Yaz?” he said, spinning around the console room. “The sound of hope, someone once called it.” He stopped in front of the stairs she was sitting on. His dark silhouette was framed by the menacing yellow light of the TARDS. “Well, now it’s gonna become a sound of fear and despair. Everyone who hears this will cry, knowing that the Doctor has come to town!”

He paused, considering his words carefully. “Not Earth, though. Without the Doctor to save you, Earth is pretty much over, isn’t it?” He cackled, running back to the console. “And to think I’ve spent so long trying to end your pitiful little rock! Kinda sad, really.”

Yaz felt hollow. Everything she’d fought for was over. Now she wanted to see the Doctor more than ever, just to hear her voice once more. To save them.

“Hey, Yaz!” said the Doctor’s voice, making both Yaz and the Master jump. “What’s up- oh, hey, Master,” she said, her face falling.

“What,” the Master muttered, running up to her. Yaz stood in front of her, trying to shield her, “The hell- outta my way, Yaz- are you doing, Doctor? What’s this?”

“I’m not telling you, because I assume that you’re a part of the problem!”

“Aha!” the Master exclaimed, “A trauma-response Artron hologram, functioning in your mental absence!”

The holographic Doctor was silent.

The Master grinned, taking out a device that must have been a sonic screwdriver. As he lifted the coat, however, Yaz saw the glittering yellow crystal of the sonic that she knew so well. A thought crossed her mind, but her train of thought was interrupted.

“Let’s see, Yaz,” the Master said to her, scanning her with his sonic, “what seems to be the problem? Little earache?”

“Leave her alone,” the Doctor growled.

“Hush, dear,” the Master replied, then gasped at turned to the hologram, “Oh, naughty naughty, Doctor! You've given your little holograms to two other humans!”

Tegan and Ace, Yaz thought. Well, they almost had an advantage. But as the sonic whirred, Yaz felt her heart drop.

The holo-Doctor started flickering. “No!” Yaz screamed, trying to reach for her. The Doctor's eyes flicked to Yaz's, mouthed I'm so sorry, then vanished.

She clenched her fist. She didn't need to turn around to know the Master was sneering.

“There you go, Miss Khan,” he said in a mock-nurse voice, “All better.”

She would not cry. She would not cry.

She steeled herself and turned to meet the Master’s eyes.

“Why're you doin’ this?” she asked, “What's the point of all of this?”

His sneering smile vanished. “Don't you get it, Yaz?” He began pacing around the console, flicking controls as he went. “The Doctor has been nothing but a pain in my side and my heart for thousands of years. Despite all I do for her, she never sees me. Did she tell you how he locked me in a vault for seventy-something years?”

Yaz was only half listening. She was preparing to enact a plan to escape. “Of course she didn't. You should know now she barely told me anything.” She had to keep him talking for this to work.

He chuckled. “You're right, you're RIGHT!” He jumped and clapped, “I am the Doctor now. I know every little moment where she had to make sure she never fell in love with you.”

Yaz’s heart fluttered like a lonely butterfly. The Master saw her look up at him and she grinned.

“Oh, yes indeed, Yaz,” he teases, “I might not be able to access all of the Doctor's memories, but she meant what she said about you. You remind her a little- a lot, actually- of her darling wife. I can see it too, I've met her as well.” He waltzed over to Yaz. “I'd be rooting for you too, but honestly Yaz- you're not my type.”

She punched him in the chest. “You're lying!” she growled as he stumbled away.

He began laughing. Good, Yaz thought, tucking the sonic in her back pocket. She pressed it, angling it toward the console. All she had to do was point and think. And pray that someone would be alive and would hear her message.

“I'm not lying, Yaz,” the Master replied, “I'm dead serious. She liked you. You two could have been a glorious pair of sappy little sapphics, but alas,” he sighed dramatically. “It was not meant to be.”

Alright, Yaz wasn't sure how much more she could take of this. She sonic vibrated slightly; the message had been received and replied to. They were ready.

“Shut UP!” she roared, throwing him carefully onto a control on the console. The TARDIS began the re-materialisation sequence. Yaz took out the sonic, inputting the coordinates she needed. The TARDIS materialised, and Yaz turned to the Master.

He chuckled. “A nice try, Yaz, but you can't possibly escape me-,”

She snapped her fingers, and as the door opened into the view of the city far, far below them, Yaz leapt, and fell to her death.

England, Earth, 2022

Kate Stewart, Director of the Unified Intelligence Taskforce, was thrown bodily into the Cyber-Conversion chair. Several of her soldiers sat shackled to these metal horrors, screaming as blades and electricity tore through their bodies. She steeled her face. She would remain stoic in the face of danger. Surely, the Doctor would save them now. It was kind of her M.O- last minute plans when her friends were on the brink of death.

The cruel, broken Cyberman clamped her into the chair. The apparatus closed around her hand. This might be it. Well, she'd lived a fulfilling life. She did good. She was proud of herself.

“Enjoy your last moments, human,” the cruel Cyberman growled- Ashad, his name was- and reached to activate the machine.

Then he paused.

So did all the other Cyberman.

“What,” Ashad growled, looking around.

There was silence. All the humans, who were now not being tortured, looked at each other in confusion.

“Explain!” another generic Cyberman demanded.

After a few moments, Ashad growled again. “How is this possible? You're meant to be-,” he stopped, as if interrupted. Kate guessed someone was contacting all the Cybermen.

“Doctor! Where are you?!” Ashad cried, his one visible eye flashing with anger.

The Doctor, Kate thought, She's saved us.

After a longer pause, Ashad turned to the other Cybermen and screamed; “AFTER HIM!”

Him? Kate thought. Last she checked, the Doctor had been going by she/her pronouns full-time recently. Had the Doctor somehow regenerated since Kate last saw them? Or…

She couldn't consider the other possibility. It could make an already complicated day even more complicated.

Whoever the Doctor was, all the Cybermen, including Ashad, stormed out of the dark cellar. The humans couldn't believe their luck. Well, now was better than never.

Waiting until they had definitely left the room, Kate spat the toothpick she had hidden in her mouth into her hand. She wiggled it into the lock, and managed to pick her way out of the cuff. When she freed one hand, she ripped her other free of the shackle. Both hands free, she freed the rest of her team.

“Well, team,” she said, standing, “Let's save humanity.”

Naples, Earth, 2022

“I think we just blow it up and make a break for it,” Ace said sagely to her new companion.

He shook his head. “Nah, nah, there's no way in hell we make that,” he replied, gesturing to the giant Dalek machine. They were inside a volcano that was on the brink of eruption. And a race of alien serial killers were planning to blow it up. Nor a great place to be in.

“Well, can you,” Graham said, gesturing to her, “figure out a way to blow up this bleedin’ Dalek monstrosity, and figure out a way to run fast enough.”

She scoffed. “And what are you gonna do? Boss a woman around?”

“Well, I'm pretty good at running away, so if you want to take charge on the res- ah, ah, AHH.”

He started fiddling around in his pocket, pulling out the psychic paper. He hissed when he touched it, but he opened it and his eyes widened, his pain forgotten.

“Oi, come and have a gander at this.” He gestured for her to come over. She peered over his shoulder. Scrawled writing appeared on the paper.

Hello, pudding-brains, it wrote.

“Charming,” Ace muttered.

I picked up two human life-forms idiotically close to a Dalek death machine inside an exploding volcano. I'll save your lives, though I'm afraid you might lose them immediately. I have a way to save you, if you listen carefully.

Ace and Graham leaned closer.

Run. Get out of there. It's about to blow and there's nothing you can do about it. So, run. I’ve got it from here.

Yours truly,

-The Doctor

They both groaned. Of course it was. Who else would be that relentlessly mean to them while saving them?

“I am going to have a word with her,” she muttered.

“Yeah, you and me both, mate.”

They ran out of the cave systems. The volcano rumbled behind them. As they looked up at the peak, the caldera exploded, taking a chunk of mountain with it. Lava exploded into the air, and it began its descent to their waiting heads.

And then it stopped.

A beam of blue energy struck it. Ace noticed a an extra moon in the sky that hadn't been there before. The energy seemed to he coming from something on the surface; the Doctor, Ace guessed. Whatever it touched turned to silver. Such as the lava-turned-giant sculpture above them.

“Cor blimey,” Graham marvelled, which pretty much summed up their situation.

England, Earth, 2022

Kate, thanks to the Doctor's distraction, managed to force the Cybermen to retreat and foe U.N.I.T. to take the tower back. Tegan Jovanka strode up beside her.

“Did she do it?” she asked.

Kate considered the “she”. She guessed she'd refer to the Doctor as such until told otherwise. “Evidently,” she replied.

Tegan sighed with relief. “Really thought the gold was gonna work there.”

Kate smiled at her. “We all did. I suppose, in hindsight, we should've seen it all coming.”

Tegan went to reply, but a U.N.I.T soldier ran up to Kate.

“Ma’am,” he said, breathless, “We have an urgent transmission from Yasmin Khan.”

Kate swore, taking the tablet from his hand. The screen showed a series of coordinates. Spatio-temporal coordinates, like she had learned from her father's files on communication with the Doctor. She translated it in her head, then swore again.

“That's above this city in 20 minutes.” She began typing a set of coordinates he would understand. “Get a helicopter there at the exact time, and tilt it sideways so she can fall directly into it.” His eyes widened. “Yes, it's as insane as it sounds. Now, go, go, go, go!”

He scrambled off to follow these orders.

26 minutes later, Yasmin Khan was returned safety to U.N.I.T HQ. She looked exhausted, emotionally and physically.

Kate sighed. “Listen, I hate to cut to the chase, but I need to know where the Doctor is. You have any intel on that?”

Yaz looked at her strangely.

“The Doctor is dead.”

[rynmaru]

Wreckage

Light. That was the first thing that Castor registered as he slowly opened his eyes. He stared up at the sky above him, the rosy tint of the atmosphere reminding him of the sky over Anakeion.

It had been so long since he had gone home.

Shifting, Castor struggled to sit up or move his legs at all. He tried to focus, taking in his surroundings and taking stock of his situation. As he did so, he realized that he was tangled in the harness of his pilot’s seat, the blood rushing to his head as he dangled head down. His vision was blurry and he squinted, trying to bring everything into focus as he realized his glasses were gone. His ears were ringing in the aftermath of a concussive impact.

Impact…

He shouldn’t be able to see the sky. He was inside his mech. He was in combat.

The preceding events came rushing back to Castor all at once. He remembered closing the distance towards one of the enemy mechs, a hulking striker frame. He had been focused on shutting the pilot out of their systems as P.O.L.L.V.X. handled the majority of the combat this time. The NHP’s reaction time was faster than Castor’s could ever be, and in the agile Daedalus he was certain they could dodge any lumbering, slow moving swing directed their way. He had been so very wrong.

“C-C-Castor-tor-tor!”

P.O.L.L.V.X.’s voice cut through the ringing in Castor’s ears, barely recognizable as belonging to them as it crackled through mangled speakers.

“Cast-t-tor can you hear me-me-me?”

“Lux…” Castor turned his head in the general direction of their voice. “You have to…get us up…”

His words came out thickly through a mouthful of blood he had not registered until now. Spitting it out, Castor coughed and felt more fill his mouth. Pain pulsed in his side.

“I can-can-can’t, our reactor’s completely sh-sh-shot. Pushing any further-r-r-r could send it into a meltdown-down-down,” a few of the dim red lights in the cracked cockpit’s console flickered lavender as P.O.L.L.V.X. darted around the systems, running diagnostics. “My-my-my cameras are out too. Are y-y-you alright?”

“I lost my glasses…”

“Okay, but are you hurt-hurt-hurt?”

Castor coughed again as he drew breath to answer. The pain in his side flared again and he slowly lifted his head, looking down, or rather, up towards his side.

Maybe it was the concussion that slowed his processing, or perhaps he was just in shock, but it took Castor a long moment to realize that the destruction of his mech had resulted in some of the primary straps in the pilot’s seat being torn free, something that would have sent him plummeting out of the chair to the ground were it not for the shrapnel piercing through his left side, pinning him to the seat.

The dark blue fabric of his L.E.I.D.A. issued flight-suit was stained almost black with blood that seeped from the hole, though much of it was staunched by the shrapnel itself plugging the wound.

Castor’s breathing quickened, growing shallow and panicked.

“I…I’m…”

“Fuck.” P.O.L.L.V.X. had already picked up on what his lack of a response meant. “How b-b-bad?”

Castor reached to grab at the shrapnel, hands slipping in his own blood and struggling to find a firm grip. “Lux, I can’t get it out! I can’t get it out!”

“What?! No, d-d-don’t take it out! Whatever it is, don’t take it out-t-t-t! You’ll bleed-bleed-bleed more!” P.O.L.L.V.X. swore and the lights in the cockpit flickered purple again. “Comms are down…I c-c-can’t contact your Lance.”

Castor’s head was throbbing, blood rushing to it and turning his face scarlet, as he continued trying to pull the shrapnel free. He cut his palm on the sharp edge of the ragged metal, and, as if that reminded his body that it should feel pain from the situation, Castor almost passed out from the wave of anguish that swept outward from the wound.

The pain only made his panic worse and he thrashed in desperation, unable to register any comfort or advice P.O.L.L.V.X. may have been providing as their voice was drowned by the ringing in his ears.

A shadow fell over him as the rosy sky was blotted out by a looming mechanical figure. Castor froze for a moment, looking up. A wave of relief swept over him as he recognized the paint job colors as those belonging to Karma, Glitch’s mech. He couldn’t hear anything over his fried comms, and instead just watched as the mech’s spindly fingers wedged themselves in the narrow crack in the coffin and pried the metal further apart, creating more space.

The action jolted both Castor and the metal in him and he felt it start to come loose from the seat. The blood staining his clothes spread further. His head fell back, exhaustion starting to win out.

“Byte!”

Fenrir’s voice came from above him but Castor couldn’t find the energy to lift his head anymore. Couldn’t find the energy to do much of anything aside from dangle in the straps of his chair.

“Byte, answer me! You alive?!”

Fenrir was already starting to climb down, not waiting for an answer.

“He’s alive, Fenrir. But his condition is critical-cal-cal,” P.O.L.L.V.X. spoke up. “My monitors for his v-v-vitals are damaged, but he definitely s-s-sustained head trauma.”

Fenrir lowered himself to Castor’s level, his face little more than a blur thanks to the loss of Castor’s glasses.

“Shit. Okay. Okay, I’m getting you out of here, Byte. Just might take a second…”

Castor closed his eyes and nodded.

“Thank you…”

“Thank you?” Fenrir snorted. “You’ve never said that before.

“You’ve never…done anything…worth thanking you for…”

“Fucking asshole,” Fenrir laughed, though it was clearly strained as he took a moment to assess the damage. Castor felt a hand gripping his arm and saw another reaching to grab the shrapnel.

“Right, so there’s no way to get you out of here without pulling this out. We don’t have the tools for anything else. I’m going to need you to put pressure on the wound as soon as I do and keep that pressure til I get you to Regent. Got it?”

Fenrir’s voice sounded like it was coming from a long way off, but Castor nodded.

“Good.”

Bracing himself against the chair, Fenrir yanked the metal free. Castor immediately felt himself start to fall, caught by the tangled straps only for a brief moment, but almost before he had time to register falling he was caught by Fenrir.

“I got ya.” The older Lancer looked up. “Pull us out, Glitch.”

They began rising quickly. Castor had his hand over the deep wound in his side as he had been instructed, but it hurt too much to put pressure on. The blood continued flowing, seeping between his fingers.

As they were freed from the coffin, Fenrir found his footing on the crumpled wreckage of the Daedalus.

“Get him down here!” Regent’s usually quiet, warm voice now carried the authoritative bark of a seasoned military leader, and Fenrir didn’t waste any time obeying, carrying Castor down to the ground where Regent waited. The Lance leader had already laid out some sort of tarp material and Fenrir went to lay Castor on top of it. The boy was unresponsive, eyes open but glazed in shock and pain.

Regent ran to Castor’s side, taking in the damage. Blood soaked his flight suit and matting his hair. Every inch of exposed skin was scraped and bruised, one eye starting to swell shut. His breathing was shallow and labored and his usual aloof expression was replaced by a vacancy that Regent had seen one too many times on the faces of men he had lost.

“You’re going to be just fine, Byte.”

Regent’s voice and hands were steady as he pulled out a patch from his kit. Their extraction was still ten minutes out and that would be too long for the kid if he did not act now.

The moment he put pressure on the gaping wound, Castor screamed and pushed at his arms, trying to get the pain and pressure to stop.

“I know, son. I know it hurts. Don’t fight me.”

Regent braced himself as he weathered the clawing at his arms and hands and tried to shut out the anguished cries and sobs of the eighteen-year-old.

From the corner of his eye he saw Fenrir kneeling across from him to firmly hold Castor down and restrain his arms, a gesture that Castor was too weak to break out of, but that only seemed to panic him further. A necessary evil, and one that he hopefully would not remember if he made it through this.

“I’ve got eyes on extract, Regent!”

Glitch’s voice came through their linked comms as her mech remained positioned over them, shielding her Lancemates from any enemy fire that may be directed their way by unexpected backup.

“Good. Make sure they know to have a medic ready to stabilize Byte.”

Regent glanced at Castor’s pained expression and looked away again quickly. Too young.

The roar of thrusters and the kicking up of dust in a hot wind alerted him to the arrival and landing of the extract ship, but he did not move away from Castor’s side until the medic team had reached them with a stretched and set about bringing Castor into the ship.

Regent walked with them, briefing the head medic on what sorts of injuries they were dealing with as they began getting Castor stabilized, hooking him up to several IV drips, preparing a blood transfusion, and placing an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth.

Just as Regent was preparing to leave to check in with the rest of his Lance, he felt a hand weakly grab at his wrist and looked down into scared brown eyes that were struggling to remain open as a sedative in one of his IV drips began taking effect.

Just a scared kid. It was so easy to forget that.

Regent slowly reached for a chair and pulled it up to sit by the ship’s attempt at a hospital bed, moving to grasp Castor’s hand firmly between both of his.

“It’s okay to sleep, son. You need the rest.”

He watched as Castor’s eyes continued to fight to stay open and he squeezed the boy’s hand.

“You’ll wake up in a few hours. I promise.”

There was a weak squeeze of his hand in return and Regent’s usually neutral expression cracked a tired but warm smile. Castor’s eyes slid shut and this time did not reopen. His labored breathing eased a little and Regent watched in solemn silence.

The debrief could wait until they were back at L.E.I.D.A.

[sleepdepravity]

obscure "walk around a cool place and pick stuff up" games

a lot of the games i enjoy and love playing are games where i just walk around a place and pick stuff up. "stuff" can be collectibles, or it can be story, or lore, or pictures of creatures, or quests to complete. there are no enemies. there are some puzzles. whenever i see a game and it has a premise that promises walking around and picking up collectibles, i am compelled very strongly to get it. i don't know how i find these games. steam just cultivates them for me sometimes.

anyways i think i'm gonna order these in some haphazard subcategories as well, from "story-heavy/driven" to "not"

walk around a cool place and get a story

i really expected this to have more reviews than it did! you're just a gal. going around in the space river. finding artifacts to learn an alien language and figure out history. the main crux of this game is puzzling out the language, and you can make guesses on the words. the language is logical, actually, so you could potentially figure out the words yourself before the game will fully confirm it for you, and that's honestly fun. you also have a robot buddy. i thought this game was very neat. also i guess there's a mystery involved too.

you're an astronaut who got sent up to the moon to give power back to earth (i forget how you do this, it probably involves. solar power. maybe.) anyways, this means that you walk around this abandoned decrepit space station, which i find fun, and you can find and pick up lore and read it if you'd like. (yet another space game, huh...) you're mainly just walking around and doing puzzles and stuff. on the moon (actually i guess this one maybe shouldn't be considered obscure either? quite a bit of reviews.)

I remember being put off by one of the....twists? of the story. involving you and your sidekick. I think it's a twist that they get out of the way rather quickly, though and it didn't bother me much. I liked the environments, and I liked walking around a town and going into people's houses and finding out mysteries. exactly my shit.

there's an AI in this game and i liked it. This game involves, uh, AI chat, i guess? y'know. you type in a console, and then the game has the AI spits out responses. that's part of the game. you get to make friends with the AI. it's been a while since i've played this, but the game was made in 2016, so I suspect that the engine for, generating responses to text maybe isn't the most robust at this point. but i mean, once again, space! walking around a space station, looking at things. AIs. good stuff. people in the reviews going like "we need chatgpt in this game" shut up. that's not gonna help actually. how are you gonna translate chat gpt responses to gameplay interaction and progression? huh??? hm??????

in this "walk around a place and get a story" game, you're accompanied by a ghost. There's a story you sorta have to sus out, about the people and village and what happened. You get to find little letters and small lore things and i love that shit. I also like hauntings. you are very much haunted by a ghost. there is a plot development in the end regarding the ghost that i really enjoy.

this is a fun premise, where the place you're walking around in is "an incomplete game." There's a whole narrative of nightmare development and developer infighting. Because the conceit of this game is that, it's literally an unfinished game, you can also hack elements in the game to do things, such as, not fight or hurt me. which i like because fighting is the worst part of any game. the ending has like a few different ways it can go, which is fun.

another timeloop game, but sort of a lowkey one. you're walking around a place in like. the last ten seconds before its destruction. you go around to landmarks and look at stuff and find. secrets? secrets. it's been a LONG time since i've played this game actually. but you sure do walk around and look at things!

okay, THIS one is sort of a weird one. and you don't exactly "walk" around a place. and also, there's not exactly a story to find. you do "have" to find, like, logs. as in, there are text logs to find, i guess. and those text logs probably comprise a story. but for the most part, it really is just pretty to look at and mess with. i cannot for the life of me explain what any of those controls do.

You go around a place in a boat, and i do like sailing. There,s a lot more, uh, jumping and avoiding monsters and gameplay stuff in this one. though i guess "a lot more" doesn't say much when you compare it to, "none at all." One of the collectibles in this game is seagulls. I don't think I found all the seagulls but I would have liked to. The water is very pretty.

walk around a place and finish quests/solve puzzles

a very silly game. there is, sort of a story i guess, you're supposed to meet up with your girlfriend. also, i guess this is post-apocalypse??? you're in a post apocalyptic world surrounded by nothing but dogs and also your girlfriend is here too somewhere. also, the airport signs are all in an alien language so if you want to catch your flight you have to pay attention. Also, there's a dog compendium. you collect dogs in your compendium. i love collecting thigns in compendiums.

I think this counts in this category. I don't remember any particularly huge plot. you walk around to cities and stuff and talk to other people and make paintings. maybe you sell them sometimes. sometimes people will give you quests. No mysteries. I think. it's pretty. I like the environments and poking around in nooks.

cute game. you're trying to help maintain a park! which means you also walk around and explore a park, and do quests for the park, and clean the park up. (another thing i like in games is cleaning things. this is not true to real life.) you're also a bird and that's nice.

I was contemplating whether to put this under "walk around a cool place and get a story" or not, because there is dialogue, and you do, kinda talk to someone? But at the same time, i feel like the main crux of the game was going around and collecting things and doing some biology shit. I think the biology thing is neat. i didn't care about the story i just wanted to find biology things and catalogue the animals in this ocean.

recently finished this. it's rather cute, a platformer where you go around and deliver mail (do quests) for people. very small and short game. there are a lot of birds!!!!!

this one is on the "puzzle" side of the. uh. genre. the environments are very neat, and i love the paper beasts thERE'S A SANDBOX MODE?????? WHAT????????? anyways the environment is fun, and i like messing around with those paper beasts. and being near them and seeing the fun ways they move.

very cute animals, very cute frogs, very cute style. really liked the humor. i really liked talking to these animals. volleyball was annoying, though. I think volleyball is annoying. but that's okay i forgive it.

this game is ALSO a farming sim. But you ALSO sail around in a boat and do quests. I......don't remember why you have to do a farm. I guess I must have sold produce??? I don't remember why I needed money. I guess I must have needed to buy things. I guess also maybe there is a larger overarching plot??? but I mainly remember farming and also sailing to other islands and that's what I think is most important.

more of a puzzle platformer. there are so many frogs. very many frogs. you go around and do quests for these frogs so you can build your boat and leave frog island. you actually don't even need to finish all the quests, actually, but i mean, why not finish all the quests??? help these frogs.

walk around a place and collect/take pictures of things

i am making a specific subcategory for this just because. i really like collecting things. all you do is collect things in some of these games and i just absolutely go bananas over them. you take pictures of animals in this one and catalogue their behaviors, and it looks very nice and cute and there are birds! the birds are so fun i love them. you get to take pictures of all these creatures. pictures of creatures is a type of collection.

this one you definitely collect things. also, you talk to constellations, by collecting things. the chats with the constellations are fun, also there are a lot of puns, but also, you're collecting things, with your net, and that's important. the art is very cute too! the place is very nice to walk around in.

this one very much more of a "pokemon snap" type of deal. These guys are so weird and funky!!!!! i liked taking pictures of them. take a look at some of these funky guys. You can also collect pictures of them doing different behaviors, if you would like to be a True Collector (i am a true collector) (i cheated though and looked at guides)

train station renovation gets its own category

i realize that a simulation game doesn't actually. fit. here. but i mean, you're walking around. an area. you're doing things. i really liked train station renovation, because it really is just fixing thigns and picking up trash. other simulations, i got annoyed with because it would also throw in thigns like "decorate your museum!!" or "design this house!! sell it for a good price!!" and i'm like, please, i'm just here to pick up trash and fix things and clean stuff. NOTHING ELSE. there is admittedly a part of the game where it asks you to put down decorations, like benches and clocks and stuff, but the thing is. they only give you a number requirement. you can just plop down benches and shit wherever you want and the game will be like "yup. sounds good. you've met the requirements." so all i needed to do was just throw down like eight benches right next to each other in the corner of the lobby or somethign and i was all set! no thought necessary. and then i could just focus on what REALLY mattered, which is: cleaning this train station. train station renovation is literally my favorite one of these types of games. it knows what the people (me) want. it understands me.

[xb-squaredx]

The Bittersweet Taste of Bayonetta 3

PlatinumGames is among my favorite developers out there. Rising from the ashes of Capcom’s Clover studio, they are on my short list of developers that make amazing games that really resonate with me. Their games are quirky, often mechanically deep and a bit unwieldy. They’ve managed to carve out a cult following over the years, and by far their most infamous series has been the stylish action of Bayonetta. In 2017 Bayonetta 3 was announced but as the years passed with no news, many grew nervous. Platinum’s output since then has been quite inconsistent, and earlier this year they released Babylon’s Fall, a game that didn’t crash and burn so much as spontaneously combust before it ever got off the ground. There’s this cautious air around Bayonetta 3’s release; it isn’t enough to just be a good game in its own right, but many feel that Platinum’s future rides on it succeeding. In the weeks before the game released, the game became the catalyst for a discussion on properly compensating voice talent. Bayonetta’s original voice, Hellena Taylor, called for a boycott, claiming she wasn’t offered a fair wage, though later information would imply she was omitting information to make her case look better. Regardless, the air around Bayonetta 3 wasn’t all that positive and I’m sorry to say that, after having gone through the game, I find it didn’t come out the other side smelling like roses. Bayonetta 3 is a very interesting game to talk about, for a variety of reasons both quite positive…and unfortunately very negative. One of my most anticipated games of this year, it has given me some mixed feelings and leaves a bittersweet taste in my mouth.

ENTER THE BAYO VERSE

After two games where Bayonetta has taken on the legions of heaven and hell and taken on a few gods, there’s really only so much the series can do to raise the stakes. The game opens with the introduction of our main threat: Singularity. A being so strong it threatens not just the universe, but the entire multiverse. As Singularity consumes one unlucky world, a young woman named Viola just barely escapes, traveling to another universe and enlisting the help of Bayonetta to stop Singularity and save all of reality before there’s nothing left. There’s definitely a more dire tone to a lot of the game, as we can see firsthand the destruction of Singularity’s forces, with Bayonetta and company being pushed to the limit to save the day. Of course, there’s still plenty of fun, campy moments throughout, like impromptu dance offs, a demonic concert (complete with glow sticks!) and more than a fair share of tasteful nudity and the sensual style that has made the series infamous. The opening prologue level certainly hits a lot of the same beats from past entries; Bayonetta’s living it up in town, something goes wrong, Enzo is made a fool, and she beats up some basic enemies while taking her clothes off and eventually showing off some fantastic new guns. Viola serves as a pretty interesting foil to Bayonetta at the start as well; despite putting on a cool front, she’s clumsy and goofy, frequently at odds with Bayonetta as she struts about with all of the confidence of a seasoned Umbran Witch. With the titular witch taking on a bit of a mentor role, it’s a decent starting point for another adventure. The promise of interacting with different variations of our heroine as they jump from world to world also just seems rife with possibilities. That said, this strong start can’t quite hide the game’s frequent rough edges in the presentation.

As the Switch gets on in years, the lacking quality of its hardware only becomes more apparent, with even Nintendo’s own first party offerings often having to make sacrifices to run on what is ostensibily an outdated smartphone. The Bayonetta series has never really been a graphical showcase, though there’s aspects of 3 that definitely feel more than a bit dated, even going back to the original game’s release during the seventh console generation. NPC character models look and animate quite stiffly and environments are often extremely empty and lacking in high-quality textures. Sadly the game’s performance follows suit, being a bit of a downgrade from even the previous entry on the Wii U. The game targets 60 FPS but often is somewhere closer to the 40s or 50s, with occasional dips below that in more hectic moments. Now, I’ll be the first to admit I’m not the most sensitive to this stuff and it never really impacted my gameplay, at least to a degree I was consciously aware of it, but it is a shame the game can’t give more consistent results.

(source: Eurogamer )

I do find the game is smooth enough most of the time, and it’s clear Platinum brought their A-game when it came to the overall presentation despite all of this. Cutscenes are still directed with that manic energy that makes Platinum’s titles such a joy to experience. Bayonetta herself, and most of her enemies, are animated extremely well, with tons of personality oozing out of many attacks and even idle animations. The menus are a bit sleeker than past entries and generally things are as seamless and smooth as could be when getting into and out of combat encounters. There’s a lot less of the stop-motion cutscenes in this game as well, which helps the overall story feel a bit more high budget and consistent. Music is also pretty consistently great. From the eerie, ethereal music often accompanying Singularity’s minions, to the peppy battle themes accompanying Bayonetta and Viola’s various scraps, there’s a lot to like. One of the real highlights would be “Fertile Rondo,” an operatic jam that doubles as a huge reference to The Fifth Element.  

Voice acting also remains generally strong throughout, with returning actors like Yuri Lowenthal, Grey DeLisle, and Dave Fennoy feeling right at home with Luka, Jeanne and Rodin respectively. I have to really credit the amount of charm Anna Brisbin gives to Viola, and overall the character made a good impression on me. Of course, this also means I have to touch on the controversy with Bayonetta’s voice change. Taylor’s take on the character was great, and regardless of who replaced her, it was always going to be a bit awkward, but Jennifer Hale is a pretty good get in that case. A veteran in voice over, Hale’s credits are numerous and should honestly speak for themselves, and I would say she nails this take on Bayonetta, to the point it almost feels like she’s always played the character. There are points she sounds almost uncannily like Taylor, though admittedly it isn’t always consistent. But overall, she embodies the sass and style associated with the character and makes the transition about as flawless as could be hoped for overall.

I have…more things to say regarding the overall story, but we can save that for later. Instead, there is still an underlying action game under all this, so I’d better get to talking about that.

SIZE ISN’T EVERYTHING (BUT IT HELPS)

There’s been a fair bit of escalation throughout the Bayonetta series from game to game. The first title mostly focused on Bayonetta herself beating up hordes of angels, with only occasionally summoning limbs of demons for her Wicked Weave finishing strikes, and often a fun QTE at the end of major encounters to finish off bosses that teased more of the demon. Then in the sequel, Infernal Climax took center stage, where for a brief time ALL of Bayonetta’s attacks summoned demons, and at one point you were even directly controlling the demon Madama Butterfly for part of a boss encounter. But the threat in Bayonetta 3 is so great that summoning the whole demon is both frequent and required to even hope to win. In a bit of a twist on things, the main villainous faction are man-made homunculi, and since they aren’t angelic in nature Bayonetta’s summons have no real desire to help out in battle. Thus, she invokes the Demon Slave ritual to take direct control over them, allowing players to control the demons in real-time. There’s definitely some stipulations though; Demon Slave constantly drains Bayonetta’s magic meter and once emptied you’ll have to wait for it to fill to a certain amount to summon them again. Demons can also eventually turn on Bayonetta and go on a rampage if attacked enough, and perhaps worst of all, Bayonetta is stationary while players are in control of demons, meaning players need to learn the proper time and place to invoke it. Players can equip up to three demons at a time and freely switch between them in combat, in many ways allowing demons to serve as additional weapons to Bayo’s arsenal. Admittedly, some of the demons are a bit unwieldy and require practice to use efficiently, and some are a bit situational, but all of them bring something unique to the table and further expands Bayonetta’s combat options.

One facet I really enjoyed about the game is the Demon Masquerade system. Depending on the weapon equipped, at points Bayonetta can take on a form similar to the demon said weapon is based on, which can drastically change her mobility. With her default guns, Colour My World, she takes on Madama Butterfly’s visage and gains the ability to slowly hover through the air on her wings, while with Gomorrah’s weapon, the massive G-Pillar, she takes on a more feral stance and hops about, with a fast air dash to help her cross gaps quickly. Players also use skill trees for each weapon to unlock more moves in her arsenal that also have her transform to perform them, like powerful crowd-clearing attacks, or the near-universal gap-closer moves that have her home in on the nearest enemy. Demons also have a similar skill tree to enhance their own movesets, and by filling out both you gain one final upgrade that fleshes out each moveset. It’s a bit different from being able to buy moves in Rodin’s shop, but it works well enough as incentive to keep fighting and trying out different weapons.

On that note, Bayonetta 3 has some of the best weapon variety in the entire series, if not THE best. While this game does away with the ability to set weapons on both your hands and feet, thereby reducing the amount of interesting weapon combinations and synergies, this change allowed them to go all-in on some out-there weapons that wouldn’t have worked otherwise. One of my favorites is Abracadabra, a combination of a top hat and cane that allows Bayonetta to moonlight as a magician, allowing her to summon various projectiles out of her hat at random, as well as utilize powerful electric blasts. Or there’s Tartarus, a slow but powerful weapon consisting of thick, stone doors that can plow through enemy attacks, but when opened can summon a variety of weapons, including some powerful gatling guns that rip through targets. I could go on, because there are TONS of weapons in this game with their own quirks and uses, all with their own demon that has their OWN intricacies. Many demons are often large beasts, like the dinosaur-esque Gomorrah, or Baal, a giant toad, but there’s more than a few unique demons like Wartrain Gouon which…is a train. And when you summon it, you have to draw the train tracks and hit attack buttons along the route before the train barrels on through and slams past all in its wake. The sheer options available is amazing, to the point that it’s a tad disappointing you can only have two weapon sets at any time. That said, while weapon variety is great, enemy variety leaves a bit to be desired.

Most of the homunculi enemies suffer from one of two major issues: they have samey designs that keep them from standing out and feeling distinct, or they’re giant enemies that are basically designed purely for demons to rip through their inflated health pools. If you’re someone who ends up hating using demons in combat and would rather ignore it, then have fun chipping away at these damage sponges! Of all of them, the Virga enemy might be the least fun to fight in the game. Basically a giant Wiggler enemy from the Super Mario series, it never stops moving or attacking and often has no reactions to any attacks done to it, making it difficult to get through the fight unscathed. That’s on top of the camera frequently clipping into it and making it almost impossible to see. Really, the camera might be the greatest enemy in the game. Not only does this game employ a “soft-lock” and force Bayonetta to attack whichever enemy has triggered it, but the “hard lock-on” often forces the camera to make strange, sweeping movements, and it isn’t long before that lock-on is broken and you’re forced to do lock-on again. On top of that, enemies break the series tradition of mostly not attacking when off-screen, and won’t hesitate to take potshots at you with little warning. With the combat areas in general much larger to accommodate the demons and large enemies, this can also mean it’s quite easy to lose track of some smaller enemies and be forced to whirl the camera around frantically to find them. After the previous two games had such a tight camera by comparison, this is a bit of a downgrade unfortunately.

Generally, when Bayonetta’s core combat is allowed to shine and it all clicks, it works amazingly well, but sadly there’s even more things inserted into the game in the name of variety that often bogs the entire experience down a bit.

NEW KID ON THE BLOCK

While Bayonetta’s flashy combat is the star of the show for the most part, at various points in the story players will engage with different gameplay styles and different playable characters. This is really nothing new with most games from Platinum, as they love to sneak in schmup sections and setpieces to change things up, though I find that in the case with THIS game…they don’t often land and come across as annoying padding.  There’s multiple instances throughout the game where Bayonetta will ride atop a demon, or players just get to command it directly, which are far more sluggish and unresponsive than in normal gameplay, Demon Slave or otherwise. A good example would be a timed platforming section as you ride atop the flaming spider Phantasmaraneae that is noticeably slower and less agile than when it is used in Demon Slave combos, OR the much faster, responsive Demon Masquerade version of it, complete with an awkward camera that’s often far too close. But then we go bigger with more climactic battles culminating in Bayonetta invoking the Deadly Sin ritual, offering up her own heart to empower demons and allowing them to go even further beyond their original powers. I wouldn’t say these sections are all-together bad, but the variety frequently goes against what I came here for in the first place. I want to play Bayonetta 3 for high-octane action, not weird rail shooters or slow kaiju fighting games and DEFINITELY not rhythm games, but you’re forced to play these if you want to advance through the game. This series is a more arcade-like action title that really tries to get you to replay levels and get better scores, and these sequences are kind of a drag to do again. Had they been their own self-contained chapter, I wouldn’t mind as much, but they’re often at the end of already long chapters and really bring down replays. That said, this game now saves your highest score for each separate Verse of a chapter, and you can pick specific “checkpoints” in a chapter to minimize replays, so it doesn’t sting as much as it could.

That said, it doesn’t stop there. Throughout the game you can play as both Jeanne and newcomer Viola, but sadly there’s a lot to be desired there. In Jeanne’s case, you play through short 2D side-scrolling segments with a focus on stealth as she seeks out a scientist to assist in defeating Singularity. So you have a series that prides itself on cool, kick-ass characters and suddenly force them to hide in vents and do stealth kills to the cannon fodder grunts? Feels more than a bit out of place. Again, these aren’t really BAD…but they’re not that fun and take away from the very first time Jeanne has been playable during the main story, as she’s usually relegated to being an unlockable moveset clone of Bayonetta after you beat the game.

Viola though is where my real disappointments lie. We’ve had different playable characters before, but they’re either near identical to Bayoentta in gameplay (Jeanne and Rosa), or restricted to a separate mode (Rodin and Balder), so Viola being an out-and-out NEW character that’s playable during the main story SHOULD be really interesting but she instead feels half-baked. Armed with a katana, some throwing darts in lieu of a gun, and the demon Cheshire as a familiar, Viola on paper seems like a fun enough alternative to Bayonetta. She’s got some fun, flashy sword combos, and in an interesting twist, when she summons Cheshire to help, she’s free to continue moving around and attacking because Cheshire isn’t under direct player control. It gives her a completely different bareknuckle moveset and feels satisfying on its own. But unfortunately, it becomes clear this game was not designed with her in mind. The bigger enemies are clearly made for the Demon Slave summons to tear through, but Cheshire just doesn’t cut it. He’s often slow and at times actively lofts about and smokes on his pipe rather than attack, leaving Viola to fend for herself. Some friend. Adding to this, Viola’s moveset is decently fleshed out…but it’s still just ONE weapon compared to the plethora of other weapons Bayonetta can mess with. She lacks variety and feels really stale after a bit. With so many weapons in this game, surely they could have spared at least ONE for Viola. But the worst aspect has to be how she activates Witch Time, a core mechanic in these games. Bayonetta dodges attacks to activate it, slowing down time and letting her go to town on the defenseless enemies as a result. Viola meanwhile must parry incoming attacks by blocking, which brings to mind Metal Gear Rising Revengeance, another Platinum title. A couple problems here though: most enemies don’t seem balanced for the parry at all. They either do huge, sweeping attacks that either miss Viola completely, or have ridiculously tight timings to even land the parry in the first place. It’s WAY less forgiving than Bayonetta’s dodge and one optional challenge mission involving you only being able to damage enemies while in Witch Time nearly had me tearing my hair out. Playing as Viola frequently feels like trying to jam a square peg into a round hole. Maybe that’s the reason she’s only playable in three of the game’s chapters, falling behind even Jeanne’s side-scrolling missions in frequency. She feels like a last-minute inclusion, despite playing such a big part in the story.

IN CONCLUSION (kind of)

With all I’ve said up until now, I have qualms with some aspects of the core gameplay but I largely had a blast. When the game just lets you focus on fighting, the game is fun and dynamic, with TONS of satisfying tools to learn and master. The game’s larger levels allowed for more downtime as I searched out optional missions or collectibles, and I largely appreciated the change in scope. Some levels left a bit to be desired, feeling more like large boxes than real places, but there are times when the game really shines. The levels taking place in an alternate Egypt are what I wish the entire rest of the game was like. Huge, sprawling locations with tons of secrets tucked away, what felt like small dungeons with some quick puzzles and interesting combat encounters, and probably the best of the Deadly Sin gameplay change ups. I largely enjoyed Bayonetta 3 as an action game, with spectacle that few other series can match. Despite some rough edges in performance and visuals, and some annoying setpieces, it is clear Platinum gave it their all to make a game that attempted to surpass the high expectations of fans. The music goes HARD at times, the story has some real standout moments that I loved, and in a lot of respects this might be the most fun game in the series when you factor it all in. This feels like not just an evolution of the Bayonetta series, but Platinum continuing to tweak and iterate on ideas found in their other titles. The DNA of many of their games exist within this one, serving as a bombastic, content-rich entry that in many ways was well worth the near five-year wait from the initial reveal.

With all that said however, the game’s ending left me extremely conflicted on the entire product, and I want to go into that, but also I’d rather not spoil it for people that might want to go into it themselves. I’ve put my concluding thoughts here ahead of a spoiler-filled section on this ending for that reason. So, overall despite some rough edges, Bayonetta 3 is a high-quality title that stands up with some of Platinum’s greatest….as long as you just completely ignore a terrible ending that feels like they’re trying to torch the franchise and run away.

THE ENDING: MESSY, RUSHED AND UNEXPLAINED

PlatiumGames isn’t really known for their storytelling; they make really fun, goofy action games, and barely anyone really talks about those games’ narrative. So, for anyone that hears Bayonetta 3’s story is bad, it makes sense to think “Well, who cares about story in a Platinum game anyway?” In general, a lot of video games place gameplay over story, so is it really that big of a deal if Bayonetta 3’s story falls flat as long as the gameplay is good? For a lot of people, I’m sure that is enough and I can understand them brushing off complaints. But that isn’t enough for me. Just because this is an action game, I don’t think the story should be half-baked. Plenty of action games, not just from Platinum, manage to strike a better balance, and despite the shortcomings of the previous games in the series, I like the world and characters Platinum have created here. Which is why the ending stung as hard as it did, as it feels almost vindictive towards all that came before, and if that wasn’t the intention, they really botched the execution.

Bayonetta 3 has a lot of great ideas for a fun story, or even a great one. But the problem is that Platinum tried to shove too much into one game, and as a result almost every plot point and bit of narrative potential is wasted. Multiple important details that make the story comprehensible are locked away in character bios that most players aren’t likely to dig through and read. Certain elements of the endgame feel unearned, and the game’s tone changes so often the whiplash is constant and jarring. So, let’s delve into those points one at a time.

I’ll start with the tone. Most of Platinum’s work are over-the-top and not really meant to be taken too seriously. They employ humor throughout the vast majority of their work, they aren’t afraid to blatantly homage things they think are cool and to me they’re at their best when they just have fun with their premise and setting. Bayonetta 3 has a lot of these moments for sure, but they attempt to blend it together with a darker, more dramatic turn and it just does not work at all. The prologue chapter has the entirety of New York flooded, as Singularity begins his assault. The death count alone in this chapter easily eclipses the other two games. Even Enzo, the plucky comic relief, is reduced to tears as his family has seemingly been killed. So when Bayonetta and Rodin are just quipping back and forth it really feels misplaced. Did this game want to be serious, or just as irreverent as past titles? They needed to pick a lane and stick with it. Honestly, I don’t think being more serious fits either Platinum or the Bayonetta series, and if they did want to try to branch out, I think they overcompensated.

(Bayonetta without a confident smirk on her face is just...wrong!)

Bayonetta, much like her predecessor Dante from the Devil May Cry series, is a power fantasy. She’s sexy, she’s powerful, she’s always in control. The draw of these games is seeing her mop the floor with celestial beings without breaking a sweat. So when this game tries to up the ante and establish higher stakes, they really struggle with doing so in a way that feels organic. The game opens with one universe’s Bayonetta being killed by Singularity, which works as a demonstration of the threat he poses. The problem is that this keeps happening throughout the game; every single alternate Bayonetta we encounter gets about five minutes of screentime before being unceremoniously killed in a cutscene where they become uncharacteristically incompetent. No one in this game ever looks behind them. So there’s drama here and the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been, but that comes at the cost of Bayonetta as a character looking less powerful and capable. This dark tone and constant death toll also just kind of spoils all of the fun a multiverse tale like this could have had.

When promotional materials made it clear this was a multiverse story, I was looking forward to all of these various character interactions…so imagine my surprise when there’s not much done with that premise at all. For all of the infinite possibilities that come with bringing a multiverse into your story, all Platinum could seemingly think up was “What if Bayonetta lived in another country?” There’s flashes of interesting elements that never get fleshed out on-screen at all. The Tokyo Bayonetta is a delinquent while the Egyptian Bayonetta is a princess with Jeanne as both her bodyguard and her superior in combat. I did enjoy the Paris Bayonetta sections though. Working with her mother Rosa, they’re a pair of thieves with that world’s Enzo chasing after them as a cop, like Lupin III’s Zenigata. But I wanted MORE of that! The Chinese Bayonetta is a war general who apparently lost her eye in an interesting story…the game has no interest in telling us that story though! They had an opportunity to really shake things up; what if we had a world where Enzo was the one with the magic powers, or one where Bayonetta was a Lumen Sage instead of an Umbran Witch? I also find it odd that while we do get to see some alternate Jeannes and Enzos, we only get one alternate Luka and zero alternate Violas, when having more could have made some interesting contrasts. I could forgive a curbed roster if they did much with them, but the bulk of the game just has us hopping from universe to universe, taking every alternate Bayonetta’s demons and weapons for our own and promptly forgetting about them. The Egyptian Bayonetta has a character arc concerning her lacking confidence and overreliance on Jeanne squeezed into two chapters of the game when that could have been fleshed out over the course of the game instead. With our “prime” Bayonetta serving as a mentor to Viola, it could have been interesting to see multiple Bayonettas attempt to give Viola advice, to showcase how different these alternative selves were, but alas, there was just no time apparently.

Further adding to the missed potential, there is the entire concept of fairies introduced into the series with this game. Now, if they wanted to introduce a new faction I have no real objections. Bayonetta’s already fought angels and demons, and spends the entire game fighting these strange man-made homunculi, so beating up some fae folk isn’t really that big of a stretch…except the game barely touches on them at all. After two games without them being mentioned, suddenly Luka is revealed to be part fairy, and this influence is then retconned to be the reason he became a journalist. Despite the fact that the first game made it clear he was obsessed with “the truth” because he watched his father being torn apart by angels he couldn’t even see so uh…that doesn’t really fit. If this is meant to merely tease them being fleshed out more in a sequel, this really wasn’t the place to do it.

I can’t talk about Luka without touching on the controversial romance subplot with him and Bayonetta. Now, this is controversial for a number of reasons. For one, while Bayonetta did flirt with Luka a fair bit in the first game, they barely interacted at all in the second game or this game for that matter. The chemistry just wasn’t really given time to develop. That’s not even getting into the backlash from the series’ gay fans. Over the years a lot of queer folk have kind of “claimed” Bayonetta as a series, mostly from the game’s constant campy tone, combined with a lot of romantic subtext with Bayonetta and Jeanne. But the backlash goes beyond just a ship they liked not being made canon, but moreso this strange subtext applied to Bayonetta and Luka’s relationship in this game that many feel is at best “bi erasure” and at worst downright homophobic or heteronormative. At various points, Singularity calls Bayonetta “Arch-Eve” and Luka “Arch-Adam” so there’s this idea that they’re like…a universal constant and are destined to be together? This coupled with Jeanne not really getting to do much in this game is viewed as a slap in the face by some fans. I don’t really believe Platinum was intentionally going against their gay fans here, and I do think some fans took their own headcanons a bit too far. I’ve heard some even try to claim that there just was no way straight people could get anything out of the series and uh…yeah I don’t really see that point at all. For my own two cents, I just think this romance was really rushed and should have been fleshed out more throughout the series. Or just have Bayonetta, Jeanne and Luka in one big happy threesome, I don’t know.

All of these rushed plot points and dashed potential end up getting twisted up into a very long, grueling final boss fight where…things just kind of happen suddenly, without any explanation before or after. All of the killed Bayonettas (and Jeannes) are revived…and then disappear again, the game being unclear on if they’re still gone for good or were saved. Two more Bayonettas, each clad in the first and second game’s designs respectively, appear to help out in the final battle, but they also vanish without a trace randomly. Then the final blow is dealt to Singularity and a vortex opens up in the sky at the EXACT moment Bayonetta loses control of her demonic summon. This is all a contrived situation purely to force Luka to save an unconscious Viola as she’s pulled into said vortex, thereby allowing Gomorrah to kill Bayonetta definitively. Luka cradles Bayonetta’s soul as they are both dragged into hell, all while Viola cries out for her mother and father and pounds the ground in frustration. Cue credits. Oh, except for the part where Viola suddenly fights…Dark Eve. A character that isn’t explained in-game at all and is only fleshed out in the character bios that update after the game is beaten. By somehow fighting off this uh…dark amalgamation of all of the other dead Bayonettas…somehow this means Viola has proven she has what it takes to take on the mantle of Bayonetta. We get another stinger where we see she is taking on jobs from Rodin, with the game seemingly setting up that any future Bayonetta games will have her in the starring role. Cue dance party ending!

Where do I begin here? The game’s inability to confirm anything really muddies the waters here and makes the ending come across as more somber than I think was intended. New York seems fine in this stinger, and Enzo’s family is seemingly alive and well…but what of the other worlds? If they’re all back to normal…why isn’t Viola with her real mother and father? On that note, why did the game wait until the exact last second to confirm something most fans guessed before the game even came out? I feel that dragging out Viola’s parentage until the very end of the game did nothing for the story, especially seeing how little Viola really factored into the story at all. Then there’s the ending with her as the new protagonist. The game sets this up as an optimistic passing of the torch but…I just don’t think it’s earned at all. Throughout the entire game Viola is showcased as being a bit of a joke. She never gets to actually defeat anything of real significance, and even in the final battle with Singularity she’s batted away and becomes a liability at the end. Sure, she defeats Dark Eve, but the sudden appearance of this random character the game barely tried setting up undoes any amount of triumph the moment should give the audience. I like Viola, but she isn’t ready to headline this series.

In the time since the game’s release, series creator Hideki Kamiya has commented on the backlash, stating that Platinum hadn’t been as clear with some things as they should have been, and that Bayonetta 4 would address these concerns and criticisms. Of course, there’s the question of if PlatinumGames as a studio will even exist long enough for another game to come out, but assuming that it does happen, I suppose there is a chance they could smooth this all out. Maybe we see that Bayonetta and Luka are living it up in hell, and all of the other universes are fine and dandy. Maybe Jeanne is still around and can help out Viola as she comes into her own. That’s a lot of maybes though, and there’s no guarantee THAT game wouldn’t just drop the ball in its ending too.

A lot of the issues I levy at this game could also apply to the other two games. All three games feature villains with no actual substance to them, with no motives for why they do what they do; they exist to be a big boss fight to cap off an action game. All three games don’t really explain everything as well as they could, with the first two having time-travel nonsense wrapped up in the narrative. I wouldn’t call the stories for the first two games good, and going into this game I didn’t really have high hopes on a good narrative, but I assumed there would at least be a fun one. I think that’s the biggest problem here; the fun is gone. Bayonetta 3 tries to raise the stakes but in the process, it lost a lot of what made the first two games so compelling for people. Yet they try to carry on like everything is fine, with a dance party ending filled to the brim with characters that are, as far as this narrative tells us, dead, and we’re left with a character we barely know headlining the series as everything else fans have come to love about the franchise is long gone. It feels like Platinum saw the ending to Devil May Cry 5 and thought “Hey we can do that too!” except they completely misunderstood why that game’s ending worked as well as it does.

Not to go into it too much, but Devil May Cry as a sister series to Bayonetta has already done the passing of the torch thing, with Dante eventually letting the younger Nero take over. What I think Platinum missed here is that it took Capcom TWO games to fully allow Nero to graduate to the main protagonist role, and even then, I feel like the massive gap between the two games is what allowed fans who previously disliked Nero to eventually cool down and come to accept him. Adding to all this, Nero was at least playable for half of Devil May Cry 4 and roughly half of Devil May Cry 5, whereas Viola gets barely three levels to herself in Bayonetta 3. Even though both Bayonetta 3 and Devil May Cry 5 end with the previous protagonists in Hell, Dante doesn’t seem all that bothered by it and the narrative allows enough wiggle room to bring him back with little trouble. In Bayonetta’s case, her end seems far more permanent. Despite some similarities, the contexts differ dramatically.

I think I’ve gone on long enough here. I really want to stress I didn’t expect to come out of this game feeling as down about it as I did. I heard people not liking the ending, and assumed they were just jaded Bayo/Jeanne shippers…but I couldn’t have been more wrong. It’s frustrating, as in some respects I feel like Platinum can and HAS done better. For as silly as it was, The Wonderful 101 had real heart to it, and I think to this day that is the best story Hideki Kamiya has ever written. While Bayonetta 2 didn’t have the best narrative, I think it was an improvement over the first, and humanized Bayonetta a fair bit. My criticisms stem from my desire to see Platinum succeed. I am without a doubt in their corner and want to be excited for their games, and in recent years it’s been hard to be a fan. Astral Chain was pretty interesting, if a bit wonky at points (and also didn’t have the best story), but from 2020 onwards Platinum felt like a shell of their former selves. Using a Kickstarter to port a barely-touched “remaster” of The Wonderful 101, releasing self-published titles like World of Demons on the Apple Arcade and nowhere else, or the ridiculously overpriced schmup that is Sol Cresta. 2022 opened with the disastrous launch of Babylon’s Fall, and now this game, despite delivering on the action, had to stumble so hard at the very end. When they first started their company, co-founder of PlatinumGames, Tatsuya Minami stated that they chose to be named after platinum because “platinum never loses its luster,” and that was their motto for making games. But as 2022 draws to a close, their shine has dulled, and I’m having a hard time coming to terms with that.

Ultimately, that’s just my take on things. I value story a lot, as you can probably tell, so a bad ending for me matters a whole lot more than a lot of Platinum’s audience I’m sure. As I’ve mentioned before, Bayonetta 3 is still a high-quality title when it comes to stylish action, with plenty of fun setpieces, tons of weapons and tools to master, and a presentation that is constrained only by its hardware. I wouldn’t for a second label Bayonetta 3 as a bad game. It’s great, in fact, and one I would recommend to others…I just wish I didn’t have to attach an asterisk to the end of that recommendation. Despite it all, I’m glad this game finally came to fruition and I desperately hope Platinum can regain some of their luster in the years to come.

Until next time.

-B

[juniperberries-canisroot]

I finally recruited WatchMan Sindras and here's some (incomplete) info on him since there doesn't seem to be much. Yes he has an UESP page but it doesn't seem like there's alot of information on him as there are non CC followers.

According to UESP he's a warrior with perks in small axes and swords. I haven't given him either so I can't say he uses this in battle. I did give him a dagger but he doesn't use it in combat.

I gave him a dagger cause I thought he was a pure mage. He's only ever used lightning spells so far, the lightning cloak and another long range spell. In battle he prefers to keep his distance.

Despite using magic like a mage, he will wear both light and heavy armour. I've given him Stalhrim fur and Daedric Mail gauntlets, both which he wears at the same time. I did try to give him some illusion robes even thou he's not an illusion mage, but he didn't wear them. When I get back to Skyrim I'll give him better robes and see if he'll wear the master ones for Destruction.

GOOD FUCKIN LUCK tryin to make him take off his mushroom helmet thou. I've given him enchanted and non enchanted circlets, a helmet that didn't cover his face, another that did and was much higher level than his (the Ebony spell knight helmet) AND the same exact helmet he wears both enchanted and tempered to the max (without exploits). He still refused to wear it.

He wears the ring he has in his inventory thou it's not enchanted. He has two types of necklaces and rings along with some gold, ale, amethyst and other loot since it is an option to kill the Tribunal people.

He will not attack non-hostiles/innocents, won't steal and sleep in an owned bed. He has no problem with us stealing thou. I stole Sujamma right infront of him and he didn't react.

He's not *that* aggressive in battle, especially while sneaking. Sometimes he waits until a hostile lands a hit then starts attacking. He will patiently wait behind me while sneaking and let me snipe off enemies, hostile or not, he doesn't charge in like Cicero.

I can't say for sure, but he seems fairly good at sneaking. Multiple times when a Reikling has busted out of some barrel or snow, the Reikling won't target, see or get hostile at him. Idk if this is cause I'm blocking the view of Sindras from others since my sneak is 100 and I've got perks/enchantments, Sindras isn't that detectable or Reiklings perception sucks ass. I mean I was RIGHT infront of one in a lit area, I wasn't hiding behind a corner or in some dark area.

I healed him and he said somethin like 'I hope you weren't expecting a thank you'. When I read a Black Book he said 'What in the-'. While leaving the Tribunal Temple he said somethin like 'Impressive. Simply impressive'. I think he was reffering to the architecture and that's his 'scenic views' line. He hasn't said it again since, thou I haven't been to very 'pretty' places. Benkongerike, Glacier Cave, Saerings Watch, Tel Mithryn & Skaal Village haven't triggered any dialogue from him.

And before anyone asks why I can't just console command Sindras to see his stats, I play on the Switch. Console commands and mods are not available/not a thing.

[nijjhar]

Matt 2v13-18:- Christ Jesus came among spiritually sick Jews outwardly a... Matt 2v13-18:- Christ Jesus came among the spiritually sick Jews outwardly and they wanted to kill Him. https://youtu.be/ng6Ys7pvh2w I am making this video unlisted to avoid a strike from YouTube. Send me your email and I will send you the link. Holy Gospel of our Supernatural Father of our “souls” Elohim, Allah, Parbrahm, etc., delivered by the first Anointed Christ, which in Punjabi we call Satguru Jesus of the highest living God Elohim that dwells within His most beautiful living Temple of God created by the greatest artist demiurge potter, the lord of the Nature Yahweh, Brahma, Khudah, etc. and it is called Harmandir or “Emmanuel” if you are not “greedy” according to Saint Matthew 2,13-18. When the Magi had departed, behold, the Angel of the lord Yahweh appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, the Land of the “Ever” faithful Elder Son of Abraham and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him at the behest of the “Saltless” crook sons of Isaac." Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt. The unfaithful to Abraham and Yahweh, the “Saltless” sons of Isaac were the staunch enemy of Christ Jesus because He would set up the Royal Roving Priests to Preach the Gospel Truth = Oral Torah, the Taproot of the Tree of Life, the Scriptures from their hearts to the twice-born adults replacing the corrupted Scriptures. But the Temple Priests loved the corrupted Old Testament to fleece the Gentiles. Gen 17 on circumcision, the tribal mark of Abraham to Isaac and his “seed” only. He stayed there until the death of Herod, that what the lord of the Nature Yahweh had said through the Prophet might be fulfilled, "Out of Egypt I called my Son." When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the Magi, he became furious that when Christ comes, He will replace the brick built temple with the living Temple of God, our physical Body and no source of income. He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the Magi. then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the Prophet: a voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be consoled, since they were no more. Christ Rajinder:- The Middle Candle of the Menorah called “Shams = Sun” of our Supernatural Father Elohim, Allah, Parbrahm, etc. is raised above the other six of the Demiurge Potter Yahweh in honour of Christ Jesus, the Lord of Sabbath or the Lord of lord Yahweh. The hypocritical Messianic Jews, the legacy of the Temple Priests who were sacked after the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D. and they were fit for no other job than the ruling job of the Priests still kept the Middle Candle of Elohim, Shams, at the same level as the other six of Yahweh that Messiah has not come yet. In these Messianic Jews is fulfilled Matt 12v43-45 making the situation worse than before the arrival of Christ Jesus and they killed the Christianity of “Freedom” by creating the antichrist Pope and his hireling Dog-Collared stooges who suppressed the people worse than the Temple Priests from the hard yoke of rituals (Mary Magdalene got rid of the seven demons of Menorah) our Anointed Elder Brother and Bridegroom Christ Jesus who had set us “FREE” of the rituals. Why Jesus was given the name “Yahshua”? Hi Brethren, I hail from Punjab where the Second Coming of Jesus in the name of Satguru = Christ Nanak took place in 1469. I am a retired lecturer in metallurgy and studied the New Testament in 1983 and wrote the expositions of the Parable of Matthew in honour of my late father Chaudhry Udham Nijjhar, B.Sc., retired Science Master who died in 1981 in Ghana where I was a Senior Lecturer in Metallurgy at KNUST, Kumasi. Since then, I have found the New Testament very interesting and in 1993, I published a book; "First Gnostic Principles of One God One Faith", which is available on the internet. In 2008, I started Preaching the Gospel on YouTube and so far I have 8700 videos on different religious topics; channel One God One Faith. Here is a taster; why was Jesus given the name "Yahshua"? Jesus' Hebrew name "Yahshua" is made up of two words; Yah = Yahweh and Shua = Shiva = Primordial Adam. Thus, Mary was “Sired” by Yahweh in Hebrew, Brahma in Hindi and Khudah in Arabic, the demiurge lord of the visible creation and our demiurge father, Potter, in heaven of the tribal sons, whom you can see in his creation with two naked eyes, and Angel John, the Baptist, Prophet Elijah (my god is Yahweh, Brahma, Khuda, etc., the heavenly father of Jesus) baptized Jesus in the name of his heavenly father “Yahweh,” and the repentant Jewish men of age their tribal forefather Abraham. Thus, Mary was a Surrogate Mother and Joseph from the tribe of Judah through the line of King David, his adoptive foster father. ..................

[maguro13-2]

Miku.EXE : The Resurrection Pt.5 (2/2)

[Majo Detective Agency - Salem MA]

Salem Secretary (via speaker) : Mrs. Ashley, I have the status report on the incident. Early this morning, the fictional megatropolis in the American state of Nevada, was completely annihilated in an Enemy's attack. Thankfully, it wasn't us that was our involvement with the Kusakabe Legacy, we have confirmed that Shinra's son Shinigami was perished in the assault of the assassin.

Ashley : Hmm...sounds like this Shinigami character was really the son of the devil that has spreading lies across the globe, and killed by a so-called "God" that has been spreading truth from Mother of Maka Albarn. That means one of the Creepypasta legends has somehow fathered a human daughter which looks alike the virtual singer. It's probably EXE's data.

Salem Secretary (via speaker) : Someone's data? Is it truly EXE data?

Ashley : Hmm...I'll make an opinion for that one. I'll be on my way to solve any cases if necessary ineeded to be done. I will get to the bottom of this, but tell Maba to follow this God's progress closely as possible!

Salem Secretary : Affirmative. We'll make sure that all of our world's mainframes will never be compromised.

Ashley : Good, Ashley out. So that "thing" is destroying or planning to have the desire for conquest as a "God". More importantly, I better know something if there creepypasta legends have fathered a "daughter", but the thing is the Gorgon Sisters are worried if they still putting a Destruction with their lust on god's. Only demon kings know that demons can't be gods. Unless...(presses speaker button)

Red the Demon (via Speaker) : Yes, Ashley? How can I help you?

Ashley : Red. Get yourself ready, we got a case of emergency. This new case is on the heat. There is a "God" that is going Rampant throughout world. I've got an old friend to contact.

(cuts to Ashley and Red walking at downtown)

Red the Demon : You mean a girl who looks alike that Virtual singer who's going nuts on destroying the whole world? That sounds like a real bad thing of what's gonna happen to this situation.

Ashley : Indeed. Which is why are needed to be careful with our moves. If this "God" wants to bring chaos and Destruction, then i'm ready for her to come face-fo-face with the witches.

Red the Demon : Correct. So how was your little time with Penny?

Ashley : Well, on the occasion, I only wanted someone to give myself a little service to clean my "soles". So I asked Penny to do it in a proper way. Which was my consolation prize about 4 years ago.

Red the Demon : Please, pretend you did not just say that. And your consolation prize from four years meaning "Still an assist trophy"? That's some sad news with your consolation prize consider of making penny licking your feet like a dog.

Ashley : Not if I was keeping it as secret, and that my consolation prize was already by Penny after Nintendo failed me! So I lost to those guys and never came back to Smash. you best that youb would never tell anyone I have consolation prize at home, or I'm gonna keep that mouth of yours shut. Understand?

Red the Demon : Understand, ma'am. It's time that we are going into contact. Let's be prepared. (People exclaiming are heard) Hey, Ash'. Get a load of this. Someone told that a unknown witch has survived the Enemy's raid. It's best that our rescue team has secured the survivors. I bet it's even your partner who survive the attack! Come on! (The two runs off)

[Brief Relief - Jun Senoue]

Ashley : Kimial...Kimial Diehl. Respond. (Kimial wakes up in Ashley's bed) Kimial, you are awake. Good thing we managed to rescue you.

Red the Demon : How many fingers am I holding up?

Ashley : Kimial, what happened backed there. You've going undercover for way too long.

Kim Diehl : Sorry that I was in bit of a pickle after going undercover. Ever since we stopped the Gorgon Sisters who got us witches involved of the Kusakabe Legacy, and for that matters, what about the people of Nevada? Everything was fine in the state until that "Girl" has destroyed everyone including Shinra's "son".

Ashley : Secretary called and we had an issue that the city you were residing at was annihilated in the enemy's attack. The suspect has wiped out it's population including those who trained at the school was completely destroyed. This is the real world that we are living in, not a fictional universe created by your author. Guess that man was nuts of making those "crazy stories" of his. I'm sure Nevada in the real world is only at it's ordinary self.

[Scenario : Deadlock - Fumie Kumatani]

Kim Diehl : I see. I guess, it was pointless to become a hero after all, but for Jacqueline, what about her? Where could have my girlfriend gone to? Where will she live?! Tell me if she's okay?! If she died as a weapon or a human, I...I promise I would stay by her side! No matter what the damages costs! So you're willing me to become a hero again, is that what I think it is? Do you?

Ashley : Oh, rookie. You only got yourself in the deep end. This time, I'll make sure that Jacqueline's okay with me, and then we'll team up together and solve this new case that is close to our tails. Should we agree if we let you back in the force, friend?

Kimial : You got! As long as I continue to fight and to protect those that I dearly loved, you can count on me... Ashley.

Ashley : Then I appreciate that to you. (Handshakes firmly) Welcome back, partner.

~ THE WITCHES OF JUSTICE ARE HERE! ~

[aleburton]

fuckzachariah​:

Was it possible to regret an act simultaneous to indulging in it? Zach, it seemed, was hellbent on finding out. He should know better than anyone - it’s all fun and games until it’s not. He didn’t  have to push her far for her to pluck on the exact strings to make him sing out of tune, and his expression soured at her turn of phrase. Drug fiend. It stung; a needle of a blade stuck between his third and fourth rib. More than her comfortability calling his problem to attention, it was that she thought it at all. It didn’t take much; a word, maybe two; for other’s exceptionally low opinions of him to bubble to the surface. And he certainly had no qualms in lighting that fire beneath them. But it hurt all the same. He turned away, fleshy inner of his cheek sorely clamped between teeth, and instead turned to come face to face with the city. It was like biting down on nausea not to retaliate, but he tried to cling to those reigns regardless. If he reacted, he’d give it all up. And if he gave it all up a dam would break. And nobody, not even Alex, could stop that flood. 

It had come and gone in a flash; without the drugs, his stamina for whatever he’d started waned rapidly. Zach rolled his eyes, a half-hearted laugh stifled in his throat. “Right, I cockblocked you. Because you so famously jump into bed on the first date.” Though he continued, it was evident in his glib tone, his heart was no longer in it. He tossed the cigarette butt over the balcony, dying ash hurtling to the ground below, fizzling cold on its way down. “Or, sorry, I forgot. That’s only with me.” She made a face at him, one that would usually provoke, but instead he lazily pushed off from the wall. “Sure,” he deadpanned, shouldering into her as he passed. “We can be done.” It was childish, he knew, but at this point he’d abandoned all logical thought. Or any forethought at all. Whatever felt good in the moment, even if it was nauseating to swallow immediately after, he’d do. He wished he’d come out here and been honest from the start - he wanted to be away from all this, the party, somewhere quiet and dark with less reminders of everything fucked up everywhere, bury himself in something distracting like listening to her tell some pointless story from her high school years or her laugh at a late night sitcom. And the only place that was possible right now was her suite. His was ruined. Like everything else that was his.

He planted hard in the chair Isaaq had previously occupied. Zach rubbed the heels of his palms into his eyes as he banished the memory of him, of how he looked at Alex, and tried to take a deep breath. “Well, no, actually. I guess it depends. How miserable did I make you - scale of one to ten?” He grumbled sarcastically, lifelessly, into his palms. He pulled his hands away and leaned back into the seat. His eyes rolled over her. It was funny, sometimes, how readily he destroyed good things. Just like his fucking mother. He could almost laugh aloud, looking at Alex now, knowing how everything in him thrummed from the sight of her alone. And how she stood to look back at him, irritated and standoffish, and he’d meant to make her that way. Fucking incredible, he thought. “Or do I still have some work left to do?”

Zach was quick to counter, murmuring an embittered statement as he flicked the nub of his cigarette over the balcony railing. It promoted laughter, snide and taunting in nature, loud enough to nearly overwhelm the sound of his voice as he spoke mid-sentence. “Oh, you weren’t cockblocking me. You were cockblocking him. And I would hardly call this a first date.” Even her in her virulent disposition, she repressed all that she was capable of for his sake. Surely, he understood that she could be far worse. If he was going to wrongly accuse her of misbehaving, she would seek retribution one way or another. Rubbing Isaaq’s undeniable infatuation with her seemed sufficient. He moved past, the force from his body nudging into hers causing her toddle on her heels. Alex huffed softly, thwarting the intrinsic desire to respond physically. Her patience was thinning. She pivoted, watching as he sunk into the cushioned chair.

We can be done. It sounded like permission to leave. She stepped forward, preparing to slip away. She would find peace in her own suite and avoid absorbing the blows he felt she deserved. A living, breathing emotional punching bag. Zach continued, however. Another sarcastic remark to string out their exchange. Hadn’t he had enough for the evening? Or was it now his master plan to completely self-destruct? Alex shook her head, lifting a hand to sweep the tendrils that clung to the sides of her face. Her eyes drifted against the length of his body as it slumped in the chair. There was judgement. She could not even pretend to conceal her disappointment. She hadn’t expected this from him. Or at least, not so soon. Day one of his tour and she was already questioning her decision to accompany him. He made it so difficult for her to want to be around him, to console him when he was this insufferable.

“What the fuck is wrong with you? You just decided to make me public enemy number one or what? All of this is my fault now?” His mother bulldozing his memorable night. The friends that occupied his suite, sneaking debarred substances in the various corners of the room. Isaaq making her eyes at her – something any heterosexual man would and had done innumerable times before. “It’s not even been 24 hours and we’re doing this? Really?”   

[shuunnico]

With the TLOU1 Remake

I feel like I can bring up my lament on the games industry and their obsession with graphics (spurred on by gamers overall and their obsession with graphics).

Each console cycle, we see more graphical improvements. But the Last of Us remake, it just shows that this has serious diminishing returns (and has for the last couple console gens).

FIFA’s a good benchmark because it releases every year. The red outlines indicate a new console release that year. This is the same person each year. (I missed 2017).

You can see the dramatic diminishing returns with each new iteration. From 2013 onwards you can see a dramatic shortening in the jumps in graphical upgrades. By 2018, this shortens again.

This is because what as the polygons increase, the addition of new polygons becomes relatively smaller. A model with 10 polygons sees a major jump to 20 polygons, 100%. But a jump of 10,000 polygons in a 100,000 polygon model is only a 10% bump.

This fixation on hyper-realistic graphics is pushing consoles to be bigger and better, while the idea of expanding other technical aspects of games go unexplored. To me, the fact that games AI has largely stayed the same for a decade is disappointing. 

To this day, NPCs will charge you with a knife from yards away, in a straight line, because their AI is just figuring out the shortest path to you and thinks of nothing else.

Enemies will funnel themselves into doors or halls without thinking because all their AI considers is if they have line of sight. So waves upon waves of NPCs will walk through doors, one at a time, and get shot like targets on a wall.

This AI has largely remained unchanged since Half-Life 2.

Sure, AI is hard to market while graphics are easier. So what about, instead of using improved hardware to update graphics again, instead focus on things like destructible environments. And not just the “oh, your cover degrades,” but making buildings and terrain show signs of damage in real time, rather than just slapping bullet decals on a wall when you shoot it.

What about sound? What about improving the way sound travels in areas and through objects? This would dramatically change how stealth operates.

What about clothing physics, so clipping is heavily diminished. Instead of a ribbon clipping through your character’s shoulder, have it interact with the model instead.

For the longest time, video games often ‘cheated’ by creating illusions to simulate real effects. Wall damage isn’t your bullet leaving a hole, it’s a decal on a still flat surface. Your footsteps aren’t actually creating sound, it’s just a sphere around you that gets bigger or smaller depending on variables. Mirrors don’t reflect, they’re just transparent walls looking into a cloned room with cloned NPCs. Rain is just a series filters, which is why standing under an awning or tree doesn’t stop your character from getting wet.

For a long time we could’ve been moving out of the realm of ‘cheats’ and, instead, improving these things to make them behave more realistically. But, instead, the budgets go to graphical improvements (and other things I don’t feel warrant the price tag).

I really wish gamers and the industry stopped venerating graphics to the degree they do. The TLOU Remastered looks fine. If you’re going to remake a game, do it for a game that actually needs a graphical update (if you must).

[writeshite]

Leave The Bad Memories Behind

Summary:

The Doctor hadn’t said much on the matter, having disappeared as soon as you were away from Van Statten’s collection, his expression pinched. You'd briefly reached out to him, but he’d brushed you off with a less than convincing smile and twaddled off elsewhere into the TARDIS.

Pairings:

Ninth Doctor x Gender Neutral!Reader

Words: 837

Tags:

Comfort | Mentions of the Time War

Author's Note:

I'm back at it with some more Ninth Doctor fic, I was rewatching Doctor Who again, and the Dalek episode in Season 1 is just so ✨ chef's kiss✨ and it gave me an excuse to try my hand at some Time War angst.

You could faintly hear Rose’s excited giggles as she strung Adam into the TARDIS, the occasional impossible flying from the young man’s mouth as he awed at everything. You chuckled to yourself, happy that at least one among you was delighted; you leaned against the console, head tilted up as your thoughts ran wild. Seeing a Dalek again was not a fun experience; even with its self-destruction, you felt no closure. The Doctor hadn’t said much on the matter, having disappeared as soon as you were away from Van Statten’s collection, his expression pinched. You'd briefly reached out to him, but he’d brushed you off with a less than convincing smile and twaddled off elsewhere into the TARDIS. 

You softly ran your hand along the TARDIS controls, thoughts drifting; a part of you felt like the scared little Timetot all those centuries ago - shrouded in their blankets, silently praying the Daleks were a bad dream. The other part, the deranged soldier acting under the guise of a professor, scouring the Daleks for every weakness until you’d near driven yourself mad - every waking hour obsessed with learning how the enemy ticked. Your old coat still hung somewhere deep in your closet, the burn marks as hot as they’d always been, pockets stashes with as many little advantages as you could build. You’d enjoyed the cackling the most, the mad cackling that bubbled from your throat - scared your fellow soldiers half to death once. The TARDIS’s soft presence in your mind kicked the memories back, her wild beeping drawing you out from your mind. You patted her in thanks before striding away in search of your madman. 

The TARDIS halls twisted; you paid them no mind until they redirected you back to the console room - he didn’t want to talk about it; you would leave him to it, but leaving the Doctor to stew in his mind like that is never good. You tried again; the walls twisted like before; it took some effort to deter them until they grew tired of this mental tug of war. The TARDIS beeps echoed, almost exhausted, the final wall turned away, and you found yourself at a door. The door was old, wooden-like, its edges curved in circular patterns; you placed your hand on the door handle, breathing in deep, and stepped in with trepidation. You hadn’t been back in this room in a long while; quite frankly, you’d hoped the Doctor had scraped it away like the others.

The soft light inside cast a harsh shadow over the Doctor; he’d tucked himself away under the book arch, his body hugged close. He’d shed his jacket and tossed it on the antique desk; in its place, he’d draped the large wool blanket over his shoulders - which shook now and again. You closed the door softly, doing your best to keep your gaze away from the rest of the room; you sat down by him. 

“I didn’t think I’d find you here,” you whispered, hugging your knees. The Doctor’s head rose slightly; he turned to you, eyes rimmed red, “I hoped you’d be in the atrium, or the library, just not here.” 

He wiped at his eyes, gaze bouncing over the room; the room in question was more or less a storage room. Everything you’d both collected from Gallifrey over the years usually ended up here; most of it was from the Academy, some from your families. Judging by the mess and dust in the room, no one had bothered to come in here for a while, not that you’d been signing up to do so. A few of the things here brought back memories that tugged at your hearts’ strings. 

“What if there are more Daleks out there?”

“What?” you turned to the Doctor; his eyes were unfocused, gazing down at his hands as they shook.

“What if I destroyed Gallifrey for nothing? Oh, Rassilon…they….” He stopped speaking, eyes downcast at his shaking hands; you shifted, moving the blanket aside enough to squeeze in. He turned to you, hiding his face in your shoulder, his breaths ragged as you stroked his back. 

“You heard that Dalek; it sensed no other Daleks anywhere, which means you didn’t destroy Gallifrey for nothing.” You took his face into your hands, holding his gaze as you repeated the statement, then directing him to mimic your breathing until his hearts were appeased. “There we go, darling, feeling better?”

He shook his head, looking away with a sad smile, “Sorry.”

“That’s alright; I’m not feeling so good either, how about we take the rest of the day off? I’m sure Rose can keep, what’s his name, Adam busy for a couple of hours.” He nodded at your suggestion. “We could head back to our room.”

“Maybe later,” he responded, shifting closer to you; you moved to get yourself comfortable, leaning back against the wall, the Doctor spread half on you, half on the floor. “Maybe later,” he responded, shifting closer to you; you moved to get yourself comfortable, leaning back against the wall, the Doctor spread half on you, half on the floor. You hummed to yourself, hand lightly scratching through his buzzcut as you drifted off. 

End Note:

Personally, I headcanon that Timelords shape TARDIS interiors subconsciously, so the Doctor being in a sad mood will shape them to keep people away.

[bi-bard]

The Savior Fails - Ninth Doctor Imagine (Doctor Who)

Title: The Savior Fails

Pairing: Ninth Doctor X Reader

Word Count: 3,323 words

Warning(s): war crime (The Doctor committed a war crime, sorry), destruction of a planet

Summary: (Pre-Show) The Savior was trained to protect their world, rescue their people. No one warned them that their enemy would be one of their own.

Author's Note: A few months ago, I decided that I wanted to rewrite a series from my Wattpad days. It was a Doctor Who fanfiction that was meant to go episode by episode. It was called The Story of the Savior.

Due to some personal reasons, it never got redone. Well, a few chapters did, but not much. However, I had plot points planned. Big moments in this character's life.

Now, The Savior is going to serve as one of my OCs. Mostly so I can jump around seasons more than originally planned.

MORE OF THIS OC HERE!

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

I never knew how my purpose was going to manifest.

I was just told that I had a destiny far greater than myself.

I spent my childhood being told to be ready for anything. Training and preparing. My life was preparing to be a weapon.

When the war started, I thought my purpose had finally become clear.

Fight the Daleks.

Nothing was ever going to be that simple.

I was being dragged through grand halls without anyone answering my questions. All I had been told was that my time had come. It was my time to fulfill the destiny designed for me. No one would tell me who I was going to be fighting.

"You've been trained for this," was the last thing that I'd been told before a weapon was placed in my hand and I was sent away from the place that I had called home.

I spun around when my surroundings changed.

I was in the middle of the desert. There was a blue box next to me. What was a TARDIS doing out here? Why hadn't it tried to change to fit into its environment?

I spotted a hut in the distance.

My boots dug into the sand as I took off running to the building.

I slammed the door open and pointed the gun at the figure inside.

"Identify yourself," I said when I saw that it wasn't a Dalek.

"The Doctor," he replied. He sounded disconnected, lost in thought.

I was stunned.

"I know you," I mumbled. "Why did they send me to you?"

"Perhaps it was for this," he stepped out of the way to reveal something that I had only heard stories about.

"The Moment," I asked. There was a moment of silence. "You're going to destroy the planet."

"The planet was destroyed when the war began."

"Do you have any idea how many people are going to die?"

"Far less than the amount if this war continues," he turned back to the weapon.

"If you step closer to that button, then I will have to kill you," I said.

"I'm sorry," he replied simply before pointing his sonic screwdriver back at me.

I gasped as the gun sparked, now useless.

I went to run over to stop him, but the Doctor pressed the button down before I could stop him.

"No!"

He grabbed my arm, dragging me out.

I continued fighting him the entire time.

I was shoved into the TARDIS that I had found before confronting the Doctor. I went to run out, but the Doctor shoved me back again.

"I am not just leaving," I shouted as he walked up to the console.

With the pull of a lever, we were gone. I pulled the door open. All I saw was space. No Gallifrey. No war. Nothing. It was just empty space around me.

I closed the door and turned around.

The gold energy started surrounding the Doctor. I closed my eyes and turned my head as he regenerated in front of me.

After hearing the loud wave pass, I opened my eyes.

He was younger now. And taller.

Short hair and an angrier face. If that made any sense.

"You selfish coward," I shouted, not holding back my anger. "You absolute monster! Take me back!"

"There's nothing to go back to."

"That's my home! It was my job to save them!"

"There was nothing you could do."

"Then I deserve to burn with them!"

"No, you really don't," the Doctor said bluntly before turning to the console again.

I grabbed the railing as the ship started shaking. It only lasted for a few moments.

I stormed out as soon as we landed.

We were in a large field. Just grass for as far as the eye could see.

"Hey!"

I continued walking, ignoring the Doctor yelling at me.

"Savior, just listen," he continued following me.

"No," I shouted over my shoulder. "Go away!"

"Come back, you have no idea where you are."

"I would rather be anywhere other than with you!"

I heard him groan behind me.

"I'm not going to abandon you here!"

I turned around as I continued walking.

"I don't want anything to do with you! You destroyed everything I have ever known! You may be able to just run away from all of your problems, but Gallifrey was all I- AHH!"

I suddenly felt the ground come out from under me. I was waiting to hit the ground hard.

But I didn't.

I looked up to find the Doctor holding my forearm. I looked down under me. There was a metal walkway underneath me. This wasn't a random hole in the ground. There was something living down there.

"Hold on," the Doctor said, pulling me up. "I've got you."

I grabbed his arm with my other hand and let him lift me up.

"There's something down there," I said as I got my footing back. "What planet did you land on?"

"I didn't really specify," he scratched the back of his neck.

"That's a perfectly safe way to travel," I said sarcastically. "What's the point of making sure that you aren't going to die when you step through the door?"

"You're the one that stormed out!"

"Because you destroyed my home and I assumed you did a basic check!"

"Imagine how boring life would be!"

"Shut up," I dragged my hands down my face. "Help me back down."

"You're joking."

"You're the one who wants life to be exciting," I shrugged. I held my hands out. "Help me down."

He let out a sigh before grabbing my hands and helping me lower myself onto the metal walkway.

He dropped down behind me after I had taken a few steps forward.

"What are we looking-"

I put a hand over the Doctor's mouth when I heard a noise down the pathway. There was no real light. I pushed him toward the side and held a finger up toward my lips.

I held my breath as I heard a clicking noise down the path. The Doctor copied me.

The clicking got louder until I heard sniffing and clicking right behind my head. I kept my eyes squeezed shut.

As the clicking disappeared, I moved my hand from the Doctor's mouth.

I started walking in the same direction as before.

"I thought those were extinct," I muttered.

The Doctor stopped me and handed me a flashlight. I kept it aimed at the ground.

"You know what's here," the Doctor asked.

I nodded.

I felt him looking at the back of my head, "Part of my training back home was studying different species. It was my favorite part."

"So... what are they?"

"Strehls," I explained. "They're like evolved, underground creatures. Pale because of the lack of sunlight and blind because they have no use for the light. They rely on echolocation. Still, they're incredibly developed. They can build things and create things. They tend to stick to themselves. They only attack when provoked."

"And we're walking into their home," the Doctor asked.

"You're the one that said knowing what would happen was boring."

"You can't just twist my words like that-"

"You don't get to tell me what I can't do," I cringed a little when my foot landed in a small puddle. "You're the only reason either one of us is here."

"You know why-"

"Shut up," I said, catching sight of a small hole. I aimed the flashlight at it. "Is that a pipe?"

"Yeah," the Doctor walked around me and reached for it. "It's what's causing the water here."

"This species is known for living strictly underground. They wouldn't need a pipe from the surface."

"We need to follow it."

I nodded.

We carefully made it back to the hole and got back out of the caves.

The Doctor pulled the sonic screwdriver out of his pocket. He held it toward the ground and started following where it led him.

I don't know how long we walked before we caught sight of a city. I took off running. The Doctor followed close behind me.

"Can you find the main source of the pipes," I asked as we made it to- what seemed like- the center of the city.

"I think so," he muttered, pointing the sonic screwdriver straight down. "They're flooding them."

"Really," I asked.

"The pipes from the city all converge here," the Doctor pointed at a few buildings and then below our feet. "But then there are pipes going out of the city."

"All of the dirty water goes straight into the Strehls' home," I concluded. "It'll drive them to the surface or further down."

We looked around at the people lining the streets. Humanoid, but I had no proof of them being human.

"You said the Strehls only attack when provoked-"

"If you're going to ask if they'll be provoked," I cut him off, "the answer's yes."

"We need to find someone in charge," the Doctor suggested, looking around.

"Big mansion," I asked, pointing to the large building just down the road.

"Big mansion," he nodded, grabbing my hand and pulling me along with him. As we made our way up the steps, I pulled my hand away from him.

He sighed quietly. What else was he expecting?

"Excuse me," he plastered a smile on his face and reached into his pocket as we approached the main desk. He flipped open a badge and held it out to her. "Here to visit the boss."

"Oh, of course," the receptionist nodded at both of us and led us to the grand staircase in the back. "Just go up and to the right. You can't miss his office."

"Thank you," the Doctor replied. I nodded as a silent thank you.

"Psychic paper," I asked. He nodded. I grabbed the paper from him. "I always wanted psychic paper. They never saw it being useful for me."

"I'll get you some," he said as he took it back. "Could be helpful."

We walked to the large office in silence. We pushed the doors open to see a man by a large window. There was a drink in his hand, and he was smiling down at his city.

"Hello," the Doctor greeted.

"Who are you two," the man's smile turned into a confused face when he saw us.

"We're..."

"Plummers," I answered.

"Plummers," the Doctor said in a questioning tone before immediately repeating himself in a happy tone, "Plummers."

"Okay," the man dragged out the word a little bit. He motioned toward the Doctor, "That explains why you're dressed like... that."

The Doctor looked down at his clothes.

He hadn't changed since we left Gallifrey, even after he had regenerated. His clothes were a little smaller now, still dirty because of the sand.

"You look great, my dear," I cringed a little at the compliment.

"Don't they just," the Doctor replied quickly before stepping forward. "You're in danger."

"Excuse me," the man stepped back from the Doctor.

"Your city's pipes are leaking-"

"Into abandoned tunnels," he cut me off.

I clenched my jaw for a moment before continuing, "They aren't abandoned. There's an entire species down there. They are peaceful and advanced-"

"They've been extinct for years-"

"As someone who just came across one, no they aren't," I snapped. "They don't attack unless you provoke them, and you are drowning them!"

"We've had the same network for years-"

There was a loud scream that interrupted him.

We all jogged to the window.

"Are you going to listen to us now," I asked, looking down at the street, now crawling with Strehls.

"What the hell-"

There was a loud noise as the Strehls crashed through the door of the mansion.

"You drowned them out of their home," I explained. "Now, they have to find a new place to survive."

"We were doing what was best," he tried to argue.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed the translator off of my belt. Without another word, I took off back toward the stairs we had originally taken up to the office.

"Savior!"

"Don't call me that!"

I stopped at the landing when I could see the main floor clearly. I spoke into the translator.

"Hey!"

I played the translation. A series of long and short clicks.

The Strehls in the room stopped and looked at me.

The Doctor ran down behind me, stopping when he saw the chaos had done.

"I understand you're angry," I said. I paused between each sentence to let the translator do its work. "But there are ways to work through this. If you stop the violence now, we can arrange a meeting with the city's leader. Please."

One of the Strehls walked forward, stopping very close to the staircase. I walked down far enough to reach out and let the translator reach them.

"We will call off the violence if they will end the flooding," came out of the speaker.

"We will do everything in our power to protect your home," I promised.

There was clicking between the Strehls in the building before one on the from steps let out a loud roar. All of the chaos outside stopped. They had kept their end of the deal.

"Can I guide you to the leader's office," I asked.

Once I got a positive response, I reached down and grabbed their hand. I slowly led them up the stairs and back to the main office that we had been in.

The Doctor was just following me.

I motioned for the man to sit down at his desk. I led the Strehl to a seat across from him.

I set the translator down on the desk.

"You can talk to them now," I explained quietly. "It'll translate both ways. Just make sure to pause in between sentences."

He nodded before looking at the Strehl.

"It's nice to meet you," he said, pausing to listen to the clicks. "I owe you and your people an apology."

"Why did you want to drown us," they asked.

"We were too stupid to see beyond what was best for us. We believed that your kind had gone extinct."

I looked over at the Doctor, who was also watching the scene unfold. He looked so focused on the conversation. He was waiting in fear of the conversation going wrong.

"We want to help clear the water from your home," the leader said. "We just need help with a solution."

"We can use your water," the Strehl replied. "But we will not be left to clean your mess alone."

"We can find a way to clean the water going through and clean the mess we've already made."

"I think that's our queue," the Doctor mumbled in my ear before starting to walk out.

I looked at the two creatures in front of me, shocked that he had waltzed out like that.

"Please don't be idiots," I begged. "Find a balance. You both can be happy. There's no reason for a war to come out of this."

"We have no intentions of fighting," the Strehl promised.

"Neither do we," the leader agreed.

I grinned at them, "Good luck."

I went to leave.

"Your translator!"

I looked back at the leader, "Keep it. You'll need it far more than me."

I continued my path out. The Doctor was waiting for me at the top of the stairs.

I sighed, looking down. I just walked past him. I still couldn't see anything beyond what he had done. It left a gross feeling in my stomach and made my head hurt.

I barely registered that we got back to the TARDIS. The Doctor walked in with no trouble, but I stopped outside.

"Are you coming," the Doctor asked, walking so he was waiting in the doorway.

"I don't... I don't know," I muttered.

"We're the only ones left," he said. I clenched my jaw. "Which I know is my fault."

I looked down.

"I would rather know that the two of us are together," he continued. "I would probably go crazy if I didn't know that you were alright. And believe me, I've got enough madness up here."

I glared at his attempt at a joke.

"I'm sorry," he muttered. "I do think we make a good team. And I would never feel right just leaving you here. Come with me. I need someone to slap me over the head every once in a while."

My gaze softened.

"And if you do, you can see all of those creatures you spent so long studying."

I looked around for a moment and then nodded.

"Really," the Doctor asked, grinning a little. I nodded again. "Well, come on then."

I held back the chuckle as I followed him inside.

"I'm going to change," the Doctor said before pointing behind him. "Go down that hall and you'll find... something. It's a bit of a maze, but I'm sure something will work for you."

"Alright," I nodded before heading down the hall.

"Thank you," he called behind me. I looked back. "For staying. Thank you."

I nodded once before going to continue my walk through the halls of the ship.

I found a closet through one of the doors and pulled on a new set of clothes... after finding out that there was a disinfectant mechanism in place. Which was all forms of fun.

I had pulled on some dark brown slacks rolled up slightly, a black turtleneck, a black belt, and some big black boots. I grabbed my old clothes.

"Do you have a place for my things," I asked the TARDIS quietly. A light above another door in the room glowed a little brighter. "Thank you, dear."

I walked to the extra room and smiled.

"It's perfect," I promised the ship.

It was simple. A desk, a small bed for the rare times I needed rest, a dresser, a hamper that was meant to automatically wash and dry clothes, and a bookshelf in the corner.

"Did you design this for me," I asked as I placed my fob watch into a drawer in the desk and my clothes in the hamper. The ship groaned. "It's lovely."

I opened the hamper to see the clothes were gone.

"That's... gonna take some getting used to."

I walked out to the console room as I tied my hair into a braid.

The Doctor was there, messing with a few buttons and levers. I walked up to the console, attempting to get familiar with the controls. It was an older version than I had ever seen, but I understood most of it.

"Why don't you want to be called your name," the Doctor asked after a moment.

"Hmm," I hummed, looking over at him.

"When I said your name earlier, you told me not to call you that," he explained. "Why?"

"I lost the right to that name," I replied. "I... I don't want to be called that because I failed. I was raised for one thing, and I failed it. I can't use that name anymore."

"What do you wanna be called then?"

"I... I don't know," I muttered. "Haven't gotten that far yet."

"That's alright," he said. "We'll figure it out."

I nodded and looked down.

I tried to blink back tears, but I was betrayed when I let out a quiet sob.

He grabbed my arm and pulled me into a hug. I closed my eyes tightly and wrapped my arms around him.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I'm so, so sorry."

I started shaking a little.

"I don't know how to show how sorry I am, but I'll do it," he promised. "No matter how long it takes. I will find a way to make things up to you."

I had no reason to trust or believe him. I had no reason to stand there and listen to him.

But for that moment, I did trust him.

And I was okay with trusting him.

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Masterlist (Includes links to All Writing Challenges)

What I Write For

Some Original Characters