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scoutception · 5 years ago

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Ranking the 5 animes I’ve recently watched

Long story short, I’ve been taking a break and watching anime, something that I’ve only really experienced in small doses before, though in general I don’t really watch a lot of stuff nowadays (to my memory, the only anime I’ve watched in full is Danganronpa 3, so I’ll go ahead and say it gave me an aversion to it all). As the title says, I’ve gone through 5 so far, so I’ve decided to just type up my personal rankings and thoughts. If I had to say anything important before starting, it’s that 1. everything I list here is a very enjoyable and worthwhile watch, and I would definitely recommend giving any of them a try, and 2. this is just a personal ranking, and so it’s very biased. I might, for example, think whatever is number 5 is technically better than whatever is number 4, but still prefer number 4 for any number of reasons. I’m at least going to try to point out when that’s the case, but it’s still something to keep in mind. I’ll also be including information like number of episodes, what streaming platforms they’re on, which I’ll admit mostly comes down to Netflix, Hulu, and Crunchyroll, and whether or not English dubs are available, or only subtitles. Other than that, let the rankings begin. 5. Little Witch Academia

Number of episodes: 25. Language options: dub and subs available. Streaming availability: Netflix. Little Witch Academia originated as a short film released in 2013 as part of a training program for animators. It was only about half an hour long, but the fun cast and beautiful animation gave it a lot of charm, and enough popularity to spawn a second short film in 2015, the Enchanted Parade, which lasted for closer to an hour. Then, in 2017, it got a full series on Netflix, produced by Studio Trigger, which did away with any continuity from the short films, but kept the general concept. Little Witch Academia follows Atsuko “Akko” Kagari, who, after witnessing a magical show hosted by the witch known as Shiny Chariot, dedicated her life to becoming a witch, despite not coming from a family with magic in its bloodline. Despite managing to enroll in the academy of Luna Nova, dedicated to training witches, Akko finds the reality of it isn’t anywhere near what she expected; Chariot is ostracized by most of the magical community for portraying magic in a flashy, illusionist manner considered embarrassing, Luna Nova’s education is much more focused on tedious, small scale magic than what Akko had come to expect, the world at large considers Luna Nova and its magic to be weak relics of the past, something even its staff can’t argue well against, and worst of all, Akko is incompetent at magic to a downright abnormal degree, even for her normal origins, incapable of so much as riding a broom. Despite the constant demoralization, Akko receives help from one of the academy’s professors, Ursula, who puts Akko on the path to unlock the secrets of the Shiny Rod, Chariot’s personal wand, found by Akko on her way to Luna Nova. This isn’t exactly the most original series out there, and if you’ve watched pretty much anything involving non evil witches and magic schools, you’re not going to be too surprised. The main strength, writing wise, is the fun cast. Akko herself is a pretty entertaining main character, being very excitable and passionate, enough to keep likeable even with her many, many missteps throughout the series, but the rest of the cast is pretty good too. Characters like Sucy, Akko’s roommate obsessed with poison, mushrooms, and picking on Akko, the delinquent Amanda O’Neil, the mute technological genius Constanze, and Akko’s alleged rival, Diana Cavendish, who, though very haughty, has a lot more depth to her than you might expect, help hold the series together very well. Most of the series is pretty goofy and lighthearted, which helps keep it from feeling too cliche. Starting with the second half of the series, though, it gets much more story based, which might be a bit jarring for some people, but still manages some surprisingly sad moments. This is all helped by the great animation, as Trigger can always be counted on to provide, and the dub is good overall, with Erica Mendez especially perfectly capturing Akko. Overall, this is a fun watch, but it’s really not much special, so I can’t really put it anywhere other than dead last. If you want a fun, lighthearted romp that isn’t stuck to only 13 episodes, this is a good one to try. 4. The Pet Girl of Sakurasou/Sakura Hall

Number of episodes: 24. Language options: subs only. Streaming availability: Crunchyroll, Hidive. Firstly, don’t let the very questionable title give too many bad impressions. Sakura Hall, as I’ll be calling it, was originally a series of light novels by Hajime Kamoshida, with 10 main novels being released. The anime, produced by JC Staff, actually only adapts the first 6, though it ends rather conclusively regardless. This is also probably the most obscure anime on this list. Sorata Kanda is a rather unremarkable high school student attending the Suimei University of the Arts High School, forced to live in the very abnormal mixed gender dorm of Sakura Hall. Sakura Hall’s other residents consist of Misaki Kamiigusa, an extremely talented, and extremely weird and energetic, animator capable of creating anime almost entirely on her own, Jin Mitaka, the scriptwriter and childhood friend of Misaki, who is cool, mature, and has an almost chronic playboy streak, Ryunosuke Akasaka, the extremely reclusive, but talented computer programmer who mostly communicates through texts, and Chihiro Sengouka, Sakura Hall’s extremely irresponsible supervisor who prefers to leave the students to fend for themselves, outside of the occasional words of advice. Sorata is only stuck in Sakura Hall due to his refusal to abandon a stray cat he rescued, and intends on escaping Sakura Hall however he can to escape his roommates and return to normalcy, a plan that’s certainly not impacted by him picking up 6 more stray cats along the way. One day, a new resident moves into Sakura Hall: Mashiro Shiina, a relative of Chihiro and extremely talented artist, on a level only Misaki and Ryunosuke can match, who is also very unemotive and almost completely incapable of caring for herself, not helped by some rather odd thought processes (she’s almost certainly autistic, but they never actually clarify that). Sorata and some of the other Sakura Hall residents thusly become Mashiro’s caretakers, and are soon additionally joined by Sorata’s friend, the workaholic aspiring voice actress Nanami Aoyama. Sorata’s previously tedious life becomes defined by his struggles to find a direction to his life, his attempts at caring for and understanding Mashiro, and the various problems of the rest of the Sakura Hall residents. The main writing strength, is, again, the cast of characters. The characters are all very enjoyable, even the designated average guy, Sorata, and they all have their share of struggles, hidden depths, and development. The first half of the series is, for the most part, plain wacky, and while it does delve into serious moments more than a few times, it’s also prone to plain breaking the mood, either by starting them suddenly, or just as suddenly interrupting them with a gag. It’s enjoyable on its own, but it can be a bit hard to get into. The second half of the series is a big change of pace, becoming much, much more focused and serious, and for the better. Bitter topics like resentment against those who can outperform others simply through natural talent, and the risks of overworking, and the slippery slope mentality against accepting help that it can generate, are frequently brought up, and it does not shy away from how brutal reality can be. It’s never dark to the point of creating apathy, though, and it overall captures a very bittersweet portrayal of nearing the end of one’s teenage years, and preparing to become an adult. The animation is pretty good, and the voice actors all give memorable performances. Overall, this was probably the hardest series for me to get into at first, but sticking with it is very worthwhile. I can’t really say much about it, if only because I don’t want to risk getting into spoilers, but it genuinely is great. I was even considering placing it higher than number 4, but the next three things were stiff competition. 3. Gurren Lagann/Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

Number of episodes: 27. Language options: dub and subs available. Streaming availability: Netflix, Crunchyroll, Hulu, Funimation. Here’s what I would bet is the second most popular anime on this list, and was more or less one of the grand finales to the golden age of Studio Gainax, directed by one of the co-founders of Studio Trigger, and is perhaps most memorably one of the series where Gainax didn’t completely mess up the budget by the end. Simon (pronunced see-moan) and his self appointed big brother Kamina live in an underground village, with Simon living a monotonous life digging tunnels so the village can expand, in hopes of finding artifacts and being awarded better dinners, while Kamina constantly causes trouble in his attempts to breach the underground and reach the surface. Simon is insecure and self deprecating, thinking he’s only capable of the job he already has while Kamina is extremely boisterous, charismatic, and capable of seeing the potential within Simon. The way to the surface is finally opened for the pair by the appearance of a giant mecha called a Gunmen, which are piloted by the beastmen, who control the surface and are out to exterminate any humans they come across. Simon and Kamina are saved by the appearance of Yoko, a human who lives on the surface, and a miniature Gunmen discovered by Simon, which Kamina dubs Lagann. Making their way to the surface and capturing an enemy Gunmen Kamina names Gurren, Kamina decides to take the fight to the beastmen themselves, and drags Simon and Yoko with him, starting what can only really be described as a rollcoaster ride of giant mechas, drills, and general insanity. The series honestly starts only about average, but starting about episode 7, the scale just starts going up and up, and doesn’t tend to slow down. It goes for bigger and bigger heights, making for some amazing action scenes, and doesn’t get desensitizing like some things would. The cast of characters is great, between characters like Kamina, being lovably boisterous and encouraging, Simon, who gets some fantastic character development, Yoko, the sniper who despite seeming just like designated fanservice has some great development herself, Viral, the recurring beastman commander who just can’t keep up, and Lordgenome, the absurdly manly leader of the beastmen, and that’s just listing a few. The animation is great, the soundtrack is very memorable, the dub is one of the best out there, especially with Kyle Herbert as Kamina, and the writing, despite just seeming like big fun robot show, makes a surprisingly great story. I unfortunately can’t go much more indepth without definitely wading into spoilers, but it doesn’t take too long to start paying off. Overall, if I had to try to rank without bias, this would actually be number 2 on this list. It’s a great ride, and one I can recommend pretty much without question. 2. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Number of episodes: 64. Language options: dub and subs available: Streaming availability: Netflix, Crunchyroll, Hulu, Funimation. Here’s what’s certainly the most popular anime on this list, and what would be my number 1 without bias. There’s actually two Fullmetal Alchemist animes, with the original 2003 one going very off track from the manga and becoming its own thing, while Brotherhood, made in 2009, stays faithful to the manga. Fullmetal Alchemist follows the Elric brothers, Edward and Alphonse, in a world where the art of alchemy allows its users to transmute materials for purposes such as reshaping them into new forms, and operates on a principle of equivalent exchange, with every transmutation made relying on something being taken away. After being abandoned by their father, Van Hohenheim, and losing their mother to a plague, Ed and Al attempted the forbidden practice of human transmutation in an attempt to bring her back to life, only to fail, with Ed losing his left leg and right arm, and Al losing his entire body, forcing Ed to affix Al’s soul to a suit of armor. His missing limbs replaced with automail, a type of prosthetic, Ed becomes a government employed alchemist for the nation of Amestris, ruled over by Fuhrer Bradley, in hopes that he and Al can find a Philosopher’s Stone, an artifact said to be capable of eliminating the equivalent exchange requirement of alchemy, in hopes they can reacquire their natural bodies. Since things can’t ever go so smoothly, they end up involved in a massive conspiracy led by one known as Father, who commands Homunculi, artificial humans, who are themed after the seven deadly sins. By far the longest anime on this list, it’s also easily one of the richest. Almost every episode does something to move the plot along, and introduces a lot of important plot points fairly quickly, which helps keep the story interesting. There are many storylines going on, but all of them are both interesting and relevant, helped by the downright amazing cast Fullmetal Alchemist has to offer. From colonel Roy Mustang, out to become Furher to help atone for Amestris’ crimes, to Ling Yao and May Chang from the country of Xing searching for the secret of immortality, to the Ishvalan named Scar, out to avenge his people, who were the victims of a war of extermination waged by Amestris. As for characters closer to the main plot, Ed and Al are both great protagonists, with plenty of development between the two, and their interactions with Winry Rockbell, their childhood friend and mechanic, make for some great scenes. The antagonists are also great, with quite a few defying how one note themed villain groups like them can be, like the shadowy abomination Pride, the sadistic rat that is Envy, the independent Greed, and especially the extremely intimidating Wrath. The animation by Studio Bones is great, as is the soundtrack, and the dub is fantastic, helped by almost all of the cast from the 2003 anime reprising their roles. Voices like Travis Willingham as Roy Mustang, Christopher Sabat as Alex Louis Armstrong, Chris Patton as Greed, and Ed Blaylock as Fuhrer Bradley especially are fantastic. Overall, this is one of the best shows I’ve watched, period. I recommend it very highly, and almost wish I could confidently declare it number 1. 1. Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai

Number of episodes: 13. Language options: subs only. Streaming availability: Crunchyroll, Hulu, Funimation. Firstly, again, this is not something to judge based on the name. Secondly, yes, this is where all the bias on this list comes from. This is anime is actually only about a year old, so it’s surprisingly recent, and is also by far the shortest of all the series I’ve listed here. Rascal is based off a series of light novels by the same author as Sakura Hall, Hajime Kamoshida, and was produced by CloverWorks. Like Sakura Hall, the anime doesn’t completely adapt, only going through 5 of the 9 novels currently released, with a movie, of all things, adapting the 6th. You may or may not have heard of this anime while it was airing, but regardless, I’m here to spread the word of it, cause it’s a special place for me. One day, while browsing a library, high school student Sakuta Azusagawa notices a girl wearing a bunny suit walking around, not being acknowledged by anyone other than himself. The girl turns out to be Mai Sakurajima, an actress on hiatus that attends his high school, who has found she’s recently become invisible to an unknown number of people outside of their school. Sakuta identifies it as “Adolescence Syndrome”, a mysterious phenomenon that occurs due to the unstable psyches of adolescences, which causes physical effects on the world based on their biggest causes of stress. Sakuta has seen the effects of Adolescence Syndrome himself, with it causing physical harm to his sister, Kaede, and causing her to become a recluse, and somehow causing Sakuta to be scarred as well. Hoping to learn more about the phenomenon, as well as just hoping to spare Mai from a similar fate, Sakuta decides to solve the mystery of her syndrome, as well as those of other girls in each story arc after. The premise is pretty unique by itself, and it uses its potential very well, thanks to the grounded writing and great cast of characters. Sakuta is not your typical protagonist: he’s blunt, blatantly perverted, and more than willing to verbally pick on people with little to no provocation. He’s not even close to a bad person, though; he treats the friends he already has at the start of the series, and everyone else he proceeds to grow closer to, much more respectfully, and when the chips come down, he’ll do crazy things for other people with no hesitation. He’s one of the most refreshing protagonists I’ve seen in a long time, and has most of the best lines in the series. The rest of the cast is also great, especially Mai, the other main lead. In fact, the main focus of the series besides the Adolescence Syndrome cases is Sakuta and Mai’s relationship, which is very well written, to the point of being my favorite part of the series. It avoids so many stumbles a lot of other series can run into: the relationship is started up early, nobody manages to threaten their feelings, and any misunderstandings, current or even just potential, they take steps to work though. Even when she’s willing to jab at and mess with Sakuta, Mai is always affectionate and transparent with her feelings, and becomes progressively even more so as it goes on. It’s also just, a refreshing change of pace compared to most relationships in anime. The other main focus, the Adolescence Syndrome cases, are just as well written. Despite exaggerated situations like becoming invisible to people, or even causing a time loop, there are few times they’re played for laughs. The series takes it all very seriously, mostly because of the kind of factors that lead to the syndrome appearing. Things like an oppressive school atmosphere, where standing out causes scrutiny, and most decide to just follow the leader to avoid consequences, or the fear of your only friendships being damaged over minor reasons. While more positive than Sakura Hall, it takes the same care to show just how damaging issues like this can be. Even Sakuta isn’t above it: he’s rumored to have send some of his classmates to the hospital once, and despite being completely false, it’s ostracized him to the point that he considers himself lucky to have 2 whole friends, and he’s just accepted the mindset that fighting against such an atmosphere is pointless. There a lot of emotional moments throughout the series, especially the last three episodes, and it earns them all. It even shies away from fanservice most of the time, even despite the very title of the show (the bunny girl part was actually only the title of the first light novel, but the series just kept it for the whole thing) The animation isn’t too wacky due to the tone and grounded writing, but it has an appealing artstyle, and the voice actors do a great job as well. Overall, this is an anime that’s genuinely very good by itself. Even so, what is it that makes me so biased towards it? For one thing, it just hits some emotional soft spots a lot of other stuff doesn’t personally manage, through stuff like, once again, Sakuta and Mai’s relationship. The very interesting premise and general grounded nature also wins it a lot of points. But, ultimately, it’s not something I can really put into words. Might be because I watched it on a very weird day. Regardless, this is one I would definitely want everyone to give a chance, and here’s hoping the movie gets a DVD release soon. And with that, there’s to end to my rambling. Again, I would recommend everything I’ve put here to most people, but especially the top 2. I’m planning on watching some more anime, so I may make another ranking like this soon. Otherwise, till next time. -Scout

#anime #bunny girl senpai #the pet girl of sakurasou #fullmetal alchimist brotherhood #gurren lagann #little witch academia

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bellygunnr · 5 years ago

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all the world’s a stage

The Death Rogumer was not a large airship, but it was imposing in its own right. It glided through the air under a quarter of its power, ponderous at such a slow speed, clad in a royal purple and burnished gold regalia. Its name was inscribed along its bow which bulged out beneath the sword-like figurehead, a deadly aerial rapier. A giant lens, a contraption of glass and steel, rotated, extending, shifting until it could view the sprawling city unobstructed. The ship banked, rolling so gently in the air, exposing the electric cannons stationed on its slim upper deck. Steam hissed out from their rounded chassis as their barrels extended; red lights flashed for as long as the cannons turned to position, glowing solid green when their mark was found.

Their target was an elegant, conical skyscraper that made the city's skyline iconic, a legendary silhouette recognized by many. Its glass face shattered in the brutal wake of the cannon-barrage. More than plasma ammunition, shards burst from the half-ton shells, raining fire on the city below. These embers floated, descending, skipping through the air as the wind took them, then latched onto the ground and neighboring buildings, singular burning cinders where they did not ignite what was below them. Above, the skyscraper shuddered, failing to regain its strength when another two-gun barrage assaulted its broken flanks.

Its assailant circled the beaten structure, engines burning low and steady. The Death Rogumer no longer lumbered, but sauntered through the air, a circling shark awaiting the next opportunity to bite. Fire from the city below washed its sleek hull in a flickering orange glow. It banked again, settled onto an even keel-- and exploded.

A fin on its starboard side burst apart from the inside. The explosion rocked the airship simultaneously with cannon fire-- the combined inertia saw the ship plummet, flaming from its open hull, a main engine going up with it. Yet, as quickly as the inferno began, all was smothered, choked out by thick white foam and a flood of emergency drones from within. The Death Rogumer shuddered violently, shaking off the wound, and struggled into a climb.

The ascent was slow. It clawed its way back to a cool, safe three thousand, above the skyscraper which was now collapsing in on itself, and above the city, terrified but alive. There was a pronounced list to the airship. The repair drones broke from their duties to latch onto the battered decks, miniature motors whining, straining, a dozen or so contributors against a starboard tilt. The airship heaved.

The airship limped.

While the center of the city burned, the rest ground to a standstill. Jumbo-Trons and billboards flickered, the now-familiar warning message disappearing. The repetitive emergency instructions played alongside city sirens died down to a low, vibrating buzz, an oppressive hum that choked the ears and numbed the brain. The sound permeated the tons of concrete and steel as to be felt in the bones of various underground shelters.

One such shelter thrummed ominously. Marcus looked up from his book, eyes flicking from his companions to the open doorway to the television screen, suddenly alive with static. He watched it apprehensively, wincing when the intercom system blared. The speakers clicked rapidly, like gunshots.

The thrum died down. The shelter stopped shaking, as did their bones, and the screen warped colorfully. When it recovered, Marcus was staring at slightly grainy footage--

"That's the airship! It has to be!" Marcus cried, shocked. The airship had been popular before the Maverick War; its decks were as familiar to him as they were to Storm Eagle. "What's happening? How are they doing this?"

The footage flickered. When it returned, it was much clearer, and audio tuned in with it. Whistling gales played over the intercom, but Marcus found it as abrasive as the feedback, if not worse.

The explosion had knocked X into a titanium door, jamming up his shoulder. The damaged joint creaks and grinds in his ear as he clambers up a narrow ladder chute, pushing himself off the upper rung and onto the ship's prow. A shadow is already cast across the deck and he's mildly glad for it-- the sun is blazing overhead, bright and uncaring. He knows it would have blinded him if not for the ship's secondary rudder.

It also helps that Storm Eagle is the one blotting out the sun , X thinks dimly.

The former Commander holds himself aloft, a combined effort between gallant purple wings and dual shoulder-mounted rockets. He's intimidating, always has been, but now he also makes X feel sickened-- this is not the same Reploid he met as a rookie Maverick Hunter.

But it is , a voice whispers. You don't know if he was infected or merely defected.

X shakes off the thought.

"You've damaged the Death Rogumer . You must know that we'll be lucky to crash land outside of city limits, yes?" Storm Eagle calls, his voice reedy, a thin whistle to it. "No matter. The only acceptable death is one found in combat!"

Storm Eagle dives down. The sun flares out, brilliant, and X's face aches as his optics work double time to compensate. He dashes across the deck, clearing it in one, but as he twists around to face his adversary, he's already within seconds of blowing him away. X stumbles more than rolls out of the way as Storm Eagle's wings threaten to cleave him in two.

When he pops back up, it is with his buster blazing, yellow plasma tracking Storm Eagle across the platform. He sights crackles of satisfying smoke; his buster hums, residual plasma beginning to gather around the mouth of the barrel.

"I see you've improved!" Storm Eagle says, laughing, a sound punctuated by chirps. "But you're still just a rookie."

The first attack had been close. Marcus paws at hands grasping his arm, prying the clutch grip off. He can feel his heartbeat in his chest, an overwhelming sense of anxiety stealing him. None of this moment made sense-- the footage, the rattling terror in their bones, or the clash of Reploids above a burning city.

It didn't make sense.

But it was hope.

The charged shot is timed well, in X's opinion. Storm Eagle's gale rips across the platform, plying at the tips of his boots as he leaps above the focused stream, but his shoulder jolts at the recoil. The shot, aimed for the other's open chest, flies wide. X hardly has time to brace himself as he falls back into the wind tunnel, fingers tearing at metal.

The gust dissipates around him. X slumps against the deck, relieved, but is violently reminded of his situation when massive, vice-like talons clamp around his torso. His skeleton creaks as Storm Eagle squeezes and lofts him into the air.

"Perhaps this is dishonorable, but you left yourself open, Maverick Hunter X!"

His body lurches, and then there is nothing but open air and pain.

Marcus cries out in alarm as he watches the battle. Had it been too much to hope? Had their naivety tipped the scales out of the blue Reploid's favor? It was agonizing. X fell through the sky, disappearing from view in only seconds, but it felt like years.

"He can't die here! We need you, X!" Marcus exclaims, but it was mostly to himself.

X descends, but not as far as God or Storm Eagle intended him to.

He descends, but his body is skidding the surface of the wounded Death Rogumer , and it's enough for his boots to find purchase. With no small amount of strain, X kicks against the bruised hull of the ship and goes the only direction available to him-- up.

Storm Eagle is walking off the platform at a casual stride. Grief and dread sit heavy in Marcus' heart. It sits heavy in all their hearts.

"He's not dead, he can't be. We need him," someone says, and Marcus can't help but agree, bowing his head.

"He's not dead! Look! Mega Man!"

X walks across the deck unopposed-- for the most part. He fights the slanting, listing deck, his eyes hardening as he understands this to be a ship in her death throes. His time was running out.

"Storm Eagle!" X shouts, throwing his arms wide open, gasping as his shoulder wrenches. "I lived! Can't we work something out?"

The former Commander turns, one hand on the door to the ship's cabin. His beak drops open in surprise, eyes wide underneath his golden mask. X stares back unflinchingly, knowing that he must be quite a sight.

"No one has to die," X continues, plaintive.

The Death Rogumer groans.

"What of Chill Penguin, then?" Storm Eagle replies.

The fight is on again.

The fight is knife's edge close, a toe-to-toe stand between a stowaway and a corsair.

The camera shakes sometimes, revealing how bad off the ship is in fits and bursts. Marcus watches Storm Eagle make sweeping dives at X, but each time he zooms away, a feather is plucked, shearing off in a smoldering heap.

"He's doing so much better!"

"He must have found his stride..."

"You can do this, X! Mega Man!"

X goes up in light. When the light fades, his armor is a paler hue, bodysuit a bold yellow. He continues to track Storm Eagle across the sky, pacing the platform, buster vibrating with a suppressed charge shot.

He watches as the Eagle wings around, flight now a wobbly, barely sustained trajectory toward his target. It's enough for X to level his buster, optics shrinking as he locks in-- the small of Storm Eagle's back, the rocket pack--

Arctic cold floods X's circuits as he looses his shot. A barbed mound of ice soars through the air, followed by a rapid-fire burst of ice shards.

The Death Rogumer shudders underfoot.

X's feet slide out from under him.

Storm Eagle crashes unceremoniously into the stern of his own flagship.

"He got him! X did it!"

"He did it! X really is a Mega Man!"

The Death Rogumer breaks apart. X finally plummets, his body going slack as he clears the fractured deck.

If the camera aboard the ship had still been rolling, then all those watching could have seen Mega Man X weep.

#rockman x #mega man x #storm eagle #mmx #megaman x #fictitions #fanfic of the damned #Three Laws of Robotics

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nelllraiser · 5 years ago

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the ring-o was their name-o | remmy & nell

LOCATION: on their way home from smashing karkinoids. PARTIES: @whatsin-yourhead and @nelllraiser. SUMMARY: nell offers remmy a deal they can’t refuse a la godfather.

The single word that would sum Nell up after everything that had occured with the big papa lobster and Mister Eye was...exhausted. After her last spike of adrenaline had worn off as they got out of the ocean, she was ready to go home and sleep for hours. Still, she couldn’t deny that she’d reveled in a good fight. Finished with scooping a handful of the strange coins from the chest, she’d walked with Remmy away from the chest, the eye, and the beach. Hopefully she’d be able to unravel some of their mysteries when she had more of her magic readily available. The last thing she’d taken from the beach was a bit more of the lobster brains, just in case Remmy got peck-ish on the way home. “So-” she began nonchalantly. “You didn’t drop your knife again during the fight, right? Or in the ocean.” Nell didn’t have any particular desire to run into the tide in hot pursuit of any red-eyed zombie ever again.

Remmy felt a little dizzy, but after everything had started to heal back up, they didn’t feel any worse for the wear. They felt a little tingle in their arms, and somehow, their chest felt lighter. As if a weight had been lifted off it. For now. The slow trickling threat of their anger was still there, now just smeared across their knuckles as the only reminder left. They’d wiped some more of the guts off and used their now tarnished jacket as a towel for the rest, holding it out to Nell when they were done. “Oh, uh, no,” they said back, giving a little frown, “where um-- where did you even find it? I lost it awhile ago, I just assumed I’d never see it again.” They pulled said knife from their pocket, emblazoned with the army insignia on one side, their initials on the other. Darie had gotten it for them, when they’d been on their first leave from being posted overseas. They sighed with the memory, feeling that aching in their chest starting to come back. “And uh...sorry. About…” nodded back towards the beach. “But it uh-- it all worked out, right? I didn’t--” hurt anyone. The words left unspoken.

“Oh, thanks,” Nell said with a smile as she accepted the jacket. She was perhaps too drained to consider any possible magical cleaning at the moment. “I uhhhh-” How to broach this subject? “Well it actually kinda turns out- I’d met you even before the bracelet and Alain thing all happened. I didn’t know it was you, though. One time when you were zombie-d out. I’ve been looking for the zombie- er- you- ever since then.” She was glad to see they hadn’t lost the knife to the depths of the ocean, though. “Oh- don’t worry about it. If I was a zombie and I saw a giant eye...slop into the ocean, I’d probably try to run after it too. That’s like- probably a zombie dream or something.” But her grin grew wider as she didn’t hesitate to confirm. “The only thing you hurt were the karkinoids, Remmy. You were a goddamned superhero with your speed and strength!”

Remmy remembered those few days with a pang of guilt. They still weren’t sure what had happened during the black out, just like...just now, but that time was different. The last thing they’d seen was Blanche’s face, and then they woke up days later in alley covered in blood. “You saw me? I didn’t-- I didn’t like...hurt anyone that time, right?” They looked away. “That was um...I think the first time I’d really...lost control. I can’t remember anything.” They turned the knife over in their hands. “Oh, I-- I wouldn’t go that far. You like...summoned fire dogs! And, well-- I don’t remember much after that. I remember following you, though? And tunneling through that…” and glance over their shoulder, even though the beach was out of sight. “It felt kinda...nice.”

“No!” Nell said hurriedly, not wanting Remmy to worry. “I mean- you like decimated a Garkain. But it was super awesome! The thing didn’t stand a chance!” She could see that Remmy was still...acclimating to all this, and she tried her best to offer a moment of comfort. “But hey- now you know how to keep yourself from getting like that!” A small scoff filled the air, as if having super strength was not something to be underestimated. “I mean- I love my hellhounds but- like you could probably chuck a dumpster or something across a football field! That’s pretty damn cool.” But perhaps here was her in. “The...fighting? You know- that’s actually like- kinda the reason I was looking for the zombie that I didn’t know was you.”

“Garkain?” Remmy’s brow scrunched. “I don’t...know what that is.” It wasn’t important, though, because it wasn’t a person and that meant Remmy hadn’t hurt anyone because of their ignorance. It was like an entire sandbag was lifted from their shoulders in that moment. They let out a long sigh. “Yeah, yeah, I do. I’m trying my best.” They perked up a little. “You think so? A whole dumpster? Not that I would. That’s like...property damage or something, probably.” The next thing came as a bit of a surprise to Remmy. “What, really? Fighting? Why were you looking to fight a zombie?? Or, gerkin? Or….whatever it was called?”

“It’s like uhhh- a really big bat, kinda. A really big deadly bat that wants to eat people and other things. And you just totally went right in and completely made a meal of its brains. It was literally so cool.” Nell gave another encouraging smile in Remmy’s direction before saying, “Yeah! And you’re doing great!” The grin became perhaps the smallest bit more mischievous, as she pictured Remmy throwing a whole dumpster. “You know, we could try it. That’d be fun. We’ll just find like- some random dumpster no one cares about!” There was a slight hesitation as she tried to decide how best to put this, not wanting to mess up something that might actually be good for Remmy. “No, no! Well- kinda. I was looking to uh- capture the Garkain. I know I said I’m a bounty hunter but that’s not really...the bulk of my work. Also Blanche doesn’t know about this yet, so please don’t tell her. But here’s kind of like….an underground supernatural Fight Ring? I thought you’d be great in it. And if the beach felt good for you...imagine how good it could feel to do stuff like that all the time.”

“Woah, I…” Remmy had to pause a minute, take in what Nell was saying. “Wow.” was all they said. “You think so? I still feel sorta…” Angry? Upset? Confused? Remmy didn’t know the exact word, but what came out was, “uncomfortable.” But with what aspect, they weren’t sure. They let the thought peter off, though, enjoying the feel of the adrenaline rushing through them, and the stupid, dopey smile Nell had on her face that made Remmy smile, too. “I guess if no one got hurt, it could fun to try. I’d like to see like...how strong I could be, you know?” They paused again, stopped walking. Blinked. “Fighting ring?” Their immediate thought was that sounded dangerous. “Like...with people or more things like...the karkinoids? I- I don’t know if I’m really cut out to fight people. I’m-- but I mean…” they looked down at their hands. It had felt really good. To let go of everything and just let fists fly. And Remmy had been trained to fight. They flexed and unflexed their fingers. “What is it, exactly?”

Nell cocked her head to the side, not entirely certain what Remmy was getting at with their reaction. “Uncomfortable? Like- how so?” But her smile was quickly returning, glad to see that Remmy seemed to be enjoying this as well— at least on some level. “We’ll find a nice big open field! We can get tons of stuff to chuck around!” She tried her best to gauge their words, truly feeling that perhaps the Ring could help Remmy get a very good form of release. She still remembered how they’d talked about that anger inside them, and what better way to get it out than this? “There’s lots of things that fight there. Mostly supernatural, but some humans as well. I fight there, too! Not just work for them. I think you could be good at it. You’ve been great every time I’ve seen you so far.” Perhaps her and Remmy had a bit more in common than she’d originally thought, at least when it came to crushing things. “A lot of the time- it’s basically anything goes. There’s some different categories and things to fight in though, too. You can choose whatever you want to do. As for what you’re fighting, I only bring in the things that are causing too much trouble- things that deserve it.”

“It--” Remmy looked at Nell. “It’s nothing. Never mind.” Remmy nodded after a moment. “Yeah, okay! Sounds fun, actually. We used to line stuff up at camp and have shooting contests. It was fun.” They said, imitating holding up a rifle and taking a shot. “I was always pretty bad at it, but maybe I’ll be better at this.” It seemed like they could be, and the thought of actually being good at something made Remmy’s heart jump a little. They smiled. “You fight in it?” they asked, raising a brow. Well, if Nell did it, then it must be okay. Nell was a good person, and Remmy liked her a lot. Plus, Blanche trusted her. So, Remmy did as well. After a long moment, they nodded again. “I, uh-- I think I’d like to do it. It sounds…” they paused, looked down at their hands, “well, not fun, but maybe fun? It felt good doing that on the beach. It feels good, you know, knowing I’m good at something. But, um-- only monsters. I only wanna fight things like the karkinoids. If that’s okay?”

“That’ll be just like this! Except with more dumpsters and like- less guns. Though- if you want to bring a gun or something, that’s your prerogative.” But Remmy’s imitation brought a grin to Nell’s face, always feeling lighter by how pure they and their actions seemed. “And I have a feeling you’re going to be very good at dumpster throwing.” Then Nell was puffing out her chest in the slightest, a part of her glad that...she could finally have someone who knew about her and the Ring. Well- someone like Remmy. “Yeah! It’s super fun! I love it. A great way to just...feel alive, you know?” Like how she’d felt alive while fighting the karkinoid. “Really, though?” she asked, mildly surprised but also excited. “You want to try? It could be so fun! Maybe we could even fight together sometimes! We made a pretty kick-ass team on the beach, in my opinion. But for sure- only monsters,” she confirmed with a wave of her hand. “And you’re not just good, you’re great. Oh also-” How could she forget this part? “You get to keep your winnings- like if you win a fight. You get a cut of the money.”

“Oh, no,” Remmy said, shaking their head, “I don’t do guns anymore.” Not that they were entirely against guns, but they weren’t allowed to own one as a citizen, so it didn’t matter anyway. They looked over at Nell. The way she described fighting made Remmy feel warm. The things they’d felt weren’t weird or out of the ordinary. Someone else felt that way, too. And… “Feel alive…” they muttered. That was what they’d been chasing this whole time, wasn’t it? Wanting to feel alive. Not being able to be touched or hug someone or accept themself. It was because they didn’t feel alive anymore, whatever that truly meant. But this...this could be the solution to that. Remmy nodded. “I wanna try,” they confirmed again. “I’ve already got like...combat training and we had to do hand to hand stuff as well at boot camp, so I’m decent at it.” Not just good, but great. Nell’s words echoed in Remmy’s head again and they looked back down at their feet, smiling. “Money? Like, from bets?” The money was just a bonus, though it would be helpful. They hadn’t cashed their disability check since finding out they were undead, so that extra money could come in handy. Not that they needed the disability anymore. It almost felt like cheating the system. They stopped and turned to Nell. “Okay, yeah. Let’s do it. I’ll do it.”

“Oh,” Nell shrugged, not having realized that. “That’s cool, then. Just dumpsters.” But as Remmy looked at her...she couldn’t help but feel like they got it. They understood that need for the blood rushing through their veins, and the edge that fighting something brought. Her own smile grew a little softer, not entirely sure she’d ever seen that in someone before that wasn’t a Hunter. And even then— it was generally something that was trained. So it was nice that someone simply just understood. “For sure- you’ll be awesome, I already know. And we could also maybe work on your like- control over going Hulk and stuff, if you wanted to. That’d probably help in the Ring, too.” Remmy’s seemingly pleased reaction made her happy, though— happy that Remmy seemed happy. She still remembered...how it had been messaging her friend after everything with Alain, and the admission they’d made. “Yeah! Exactly! It’s a decent amount the more you fight, usually. Or the better the show you put on.” She couldn’t seem to stop grinning as she stuck out a hand to Remmy, as if meaning to have a handshake. “Let’s fucking do it.”

Shaking Nell’s hand felt good, in the moment. Remmy still couldn’t remember exactly what had happened on the beach, but they knew that, at some point, it had felt good. And if they could keep feeling good, then maybe things would start to get better. Maybe then they could really be good. They smiled, the thought settling in their stomach like a warm cup of tea. “Practice will probably be good,” they finally said, before they started walking again. They hooked their arm into Nell’s as they walked. “Also, um-- I don’t think I said it, but thanks for helping me out back there. Let me uh-- let me walk you home as a thanks?” They gave a shrug. “I’ll think of something better later. Promise.”

For a moment, Nell went in to change the handshake into a little die hug, a bit sheepish about it, but doing it nonetheless. A moment too late, she realized she’d only succeeded in globbing their mutual sliminess together, and pulled away with a bit of a chuckle. “Then we’ll practice,” she confirmed, eyes still proudly crinkled as a little glow settled into her heart, only bolstered by walking alongside Remmy arm in arm. “Thanks for helping me out, back there. And yeah- I think that’s a pretty good start. So chivalrous,” she teased as the last dregs of sunlight vanished below the horizon.

#chatzy #ch:Remmy #the ringo was their nameo #wickedswriting

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fearfearer · 5 years ago

Text

i have caught up with the magnus archives.

when i started listening, i started a text file to note down any thoughts/confusion/analysis/jokes i had as i listened. i isolated a few bits of it into standalone text posts that i already posted, but here is the whole thing, my long-form liveblog

thoughts on the magnus archive as i listen

jonny sims gives an impassioned performance of someone's statement-- a diegetic impassioned performance, as we witness it being interrupted and resuming-- and follows it up with his own judgement of merciless doubt. classic. why the impassioned performance? he's just a nerd. i dearly hope this is the fandom consensus

every episode ends at the perfect volume to which i have adjusted it, and then i start the next episode and it blares in my ears. i think the volume of the intro must be like 1.75x the volume of the rest

*makes a serious effort to listen to and remember the name and date at the beginning of the statement recording* *forgets completely within 2 minutes*

i saw a fanart of gerard keay and learned [1] that he must be a good guy after all, since they drew him lookin cute, and [2] that his name is not, in fact, jared key. what, am i supposed to be looking at the transcripts? understanding names properly? in my defense, jonny sims clearly articulates "Jared" when he says it. maybe i'm not as good at decoding british accents as i thought. [footnote added in later: ok good i'm not the only one who hears "Jared" and thinks "Jared" instead of "Gerard"]

when gerard keay was described as having numerous eye tattoos on his joints, obviously my first thought was, "including the ankle? so he's count olaf?" because that's definitely a way count olaf would disguise his eye tattoo: by tattooing eyes everywhere else too and becoming The Eye Tattoo Guy. anyway this is part of why i was not at first inclined to think favorably of gerard keay

"The first thing about this statement that makes me dubious is that it comes from a fellow academic." if you know shit fuck you

it has come to my attention that there are ships. makes sense... after all, everyone in every fandom is horny af*. i'm not in deep enough to ship yet but naturally i'm keeping an eye on it

*horny af for depictions of intimacy, sexual or otherwise, but mostly sexual

definitely feel like i need to be writing down every name i hear because they're never not cropping back up but for now i'll just let it all wash over me

so sasha has been replaced with not-sasha, huh? pretty sure. though i'm not good at distinguishing voices. but that sounded pretty different, and my listening comprehension wrt that table isn't that bad. <<as time passes i doubt myself more and more on this point but not enough to go back and listen again

"You believe me?" "Yes, I think I do." (smashes button labeled "CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT" and a loud buzzer sounds)

IT'S MICHAEL!!! i hope michael is a long-term good guy... he's not seeming like a good guy right now... he says he's mostly neutral. vaguely recall seeing a tumblr post about michael in the recent past but that didn't give me any hints and i don't remember it well anyway. michael's voice is good though. good laugh

i'm not good at visualizing characters based on descriptions, let alone based merely on their voices, so the only image i have in my head of jonathan is a furrowed brow

i'm on episode 49 and i don't like jonathan's distrust of his colleagues... i don't understand why his immediate suspicion was that gertrude's murder was an inside job. hasn't he just learned firsthand that the institute is not impenetrable? it's not inconceivable that someone could enter and shoot her and leave. especially when it took place in underground tunnels connected to unknown locations.

there's a good Old Lady Voice Combo on episode 62

so agnes montague was heavily cursed... that's my conclusion after episode 67

elias seems to tell jonathan to "get some sleep" a lot. though it IS generally good advice

episode 70, 9 minutes, 41 seconds: jonny sims's cell phone goes off in the background

small brain: ghost ship medium brain: ghost train galaxy brain: dirt train

i wanted to see if there was fanart of michael so i looked it up... i might as well have googled "blonde slenderman"

sweeney todd mentions tally: II

for some reason, hearing michael described this time as "a tall man with curly blonde hair and an unnerving laugh" puts an image in my head without my consent, and that image is chris fleming. now, he's not quite blonde, is he? but that doesn't change my casting decision, which is now set in stone. hope he does a good british accent

"YES i know what a meme is."

why is melanie the first/only one to notice that sasha is now not-sasha? is it because she is experienced in firsthand paranormal encounters (whereas the archivists are experienced in decidedly SECONDhand paranormal encounters, save for the worm debacle)? oh, my question was answered handily in the next episode. ok.

the replacer definitely limits its glamour to everyone except one person just so that it can be amused by the distress and confusion of the one person who can see the truth. that must also be the reason it chooses a completely different appearance. it surely COULD replace a person with their exact likeness; it just uses another face for fun, and to be satisfied that it can get away with it.

this table has appeared in like 10 episodes... Guess It's Crucial

jonny sims yelling while swinging an axe. jonny sims goes through michael's door (eyes emoji)

the idea of the replacer killing jonathan and not even replacing him brings to mind "AT LEAST RIDE IT YOU ASSHOLE"

wasn't expecting to hear from leitner at this point... he's dropping tons of lore here. too much lore. so much is happening. i have to say i kinda like it better when the stakes are not quite so high as this.

so at the end of season 2, tim and martin believe that jonny sims killed this guy, who they probably don't know is leitner... and we the audience believe that elias, now almost certainly a double murderer, has very quietly stabbed leitner to death. do i the audience believe it? i'll keep an open mind for now. things are not always as they seem. except when sasha was replaced with not-sasha, which was exactly as it seemed. [footnote added in later: looks like elias being a double murderer was exactly as it seemed.]

so jonathan sims is the name of the actual guy voicing jonathan sims. it's a cecil situation. so are they someday going to go back and retcon every episode to change his name, like with palmer/baldwin? or does jonathan sims just not mind being a character as well? as long as it doesn't devolve into RPS i guess it's fine. if there's fanart of jonmartin i hope it doesn't depict them as their actors bc that's too close for comfort to RPS

there's been a truly hellish c*ndy cr*sh ad that has played like 40 times between episodes and i'm pretty well convinced to never ever play that curséd game

elias has some serious blackmail for daisy, huh? that's heavy, having police characters in fiction who do extrajudicial killings. life imitates art imitates life

"i'm not on drugs or anything. ...what? i could be on drugs!"

he said "ample opportunity" but like "amplopportunity" with emphasis on the "plop"

it was obviously elias who delivered the statement to jonathan in hiding, because he knew he would record it despite not being at work... bc he's a nerd

so if gerard keay has eye tattoos, does that mean he also serves the uhh the observing or whatever? [verdict arrived at later: no he just has those because he's cool. or because his mom tattooed him. ok almost certainly the latter.]

"what do i feed it?" obviously you feed it filled up cassette tapes, jon... nothing has ever been more obvious

it's okay that jon very stupidly burned his hand to a crisp. you don't need even one hand to turn on a cassette recorder. you can do that with your nose

so if these people who are wax figures serve the desolation, and not-sasha was spending time at the wax museum, does that mean there is a connection between the replacer and desolation? i think that would make sense, since both seem to enjoy making people feel bad feelings. also i'm starting to think that agnes was not actually cursed, but that would mean she burned that guy on purpose after being nice to him... was she just really selfish in that way? using him to experience Dating and mutilating him when he crossed the line, so she punished him as a cruel goodbye? or just building up his hopes so they will be even more fun to burn down when the time comes?

"perhaps doing a bit of mindless filing will help distract you." honestly that is something i would like to do in real life... i do enjoy a good mindless task. though doing mostly mindless tasks 40 hours a week is not a fun time for me lately. but it would be better if i didn't have to listen to bad radio at the same time

what?! the friendly midnight acrobat described in episode 90 sounds totally non-threatening and i hope there's fanart of it. was that gym just jared the bone turner helping people live their twisted athletic fetishes?! [footnote added in later: YES! god i hope people draw these turn-boned creatures optimized for their gymnastic of choice. show me a person who remade their body specifically for the balance beam]

so the power endowed in the archivist by the viewening is that when you sit them down across from someone they want to interview, that someone will invariably spill SOME beans and think it was their idea. maybe? [footnote added in later: yes.]

ok so Michael "The Distortion" Michael, of fractals and golden ringlets, has specifically tormented this other michael, lichtenberg michael?

jon is clearly moved to ask questions by an external force because he's a sensible guy who would not try to ask questions when daisy is holding a gun on him

i think basira has precisely the same accent as estelle... or maybe just a similarly staccato way of speaking (or of line-reading)

[episode 93] elias: (holding jon's face between two pieces of bread) what are you? jon: (sigh) the archivist...

well, they did something i didn't expect them to do with this show: create a compelling in-universe reason for jon to read statements aloud. because obviously until now there was none.

jon did the cockney accents. (insert emoji for indescribable feeling)

here's the purpose of the pit: if we all climb in the muddy pit together at night, the earthquake will only jiggle us gently and no one will be inside collapsing buildings to be crushed. it's only logical

ok i was gonna say this before but why is jon still at georgie's house??? he's not on the run for murder anymore, right? he has an apartment with all his stuff in it, right? [footnote added in later: i still don't understand why it was like this.]

i will confess that usually once the credits start to roll i zip to the next episode, but this time i zoned out a bit and it's really funny that jonny sims reads out "Rate and Review Us Online" in his archivist voice

a third michael. this one is probably already dead though. unless distortion michael takes over this guy's body or something. oh, jon came in at the end of the episode to say precisely this.

was episode 100 mostly improvised? if so, that would be appropriate. but i wouldn't put it past them to write every stuttering bit of those four statements

MARTIN...................................................................................................................................................... (typed this as martin gave some of his own money to the lady who expected payment for a statement)

i'm skipping 100.1 through 100.5 for now... just for now.

ok so michael is michael but not lightning mike michael, and two of these michaels are dead, but one is something that has never been alive nor dead. got it

everyone's morality is much more gray than i at first anticipated. the only people who seem to be solidly and earnestly on the side of good, as much as possible, are jonathan and martin and basira and georgie and maybe tim?

so michael just died and was overtaken by pseudo-helen? neo-helen? ok. that's kinda too bad, as i enjoyed michael's terrible laugh and unpredictability. but the feeling of michael being revealed as having been michael shelley feels somewhat similarly disappointing (but a bit less staggeringly groan-inducing) to when the mysterious koro-sensei in assassination classroom was revealed to have been a twink in his past. because of course he was. (that's when i stopped reading that manga. too precipitously dumb to sustain my suspension of disbelief.) it's like, ok, you had an interestingly mysterious character going on, but having solved the mystery, what interestingness is left? not much. fortunately this was resolved by promptly ending the existence of this michael and instead introducing new and improved helen

ooh martin has the asky ability too huh? nice [footnote added in later: he only used it this one time, and i'm wondering if they did that and then forgot and decided that jon is actually the only one with asky ability.] [[another footnote added in much later: How did i manage to mistake jon’s voice for martin’s voice? How?]]

the way martin said "kumo ga tabeteiru" in episode 110... alexander j newall does not watch anime

"I'm a book." ~Gerard Keay, 2017

it was a few episodes ago now but i noticed that when jon clearly articulated "Jared" referring to gerard, elias was like "Jared? you mean Gerard Keay?" (pronouncing it like "Gerard.") there is definitely a disagreement between these two (actors) about how to pronounce that name

the eye, the spiral, the end, the stranger, the lonely, the desolation, the slaughter, the vast, the buried, the dark, the corruption, the web, the flesh, the hunt.

Q: why would anyone want one of these rituals to succeed? A: it's their fetish. it's their sexual fetish

ok time to make up names for each possible apocalypse. these are the real and true names according to me, who knows such things: the eye - the viewening the spiral - down the drain the end - the really end end the stranger - oh wait we know this one. it's the unknowing. the lonely - the alonening the desolation - Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Lightless Flame the slaughter - world war all the vast - the expansion the buried - the grand lahar (or the Smothering) the dark - the extinguishment the corruption - the Great Rot the web - the spidening the flesh - the smorgasbord (or the Eatening) the hunt - come and get it

gerry said there was no dark god of indigestion, but i can tell you from personal experience that there is. though it's true that there is also fear involved, so maybe no separate pantheon is necessary

i sense that there is a battle between people who say it like "gotta get myself oriented" and "i feel disoriented" (as feels correct/natural to me) and people who say "gotta get myself orienTATed" and "i feel disorienTATed," and this podcast falls SQUARELY on the latter team. they've said it like 20 times

idk why he has to be such a dick to helen. jeez

the guy who coded his mind into a computer, which of the 14 was that? the corruption? the stranger? gotta be the corruption, but that doesn't fit perfectly with its rot/bugs aesthetic...

speed -> speeding -> sped. heed -> heeding -> hed. thus i decree

in my dream i listened to a whole episode of this show, narrated by gertrude, and i was like "whoa this is cool" and i went to write it down but i was still in the dream and writing doesn't work in dreams :( also any successful writing in dreams doesn't transfer to real life paper :( the only snippet i remember: “...in his white mouth, which had known only bread...”

"I, uh..." Jonathan Sims, a thousand times, 20XX

martin's job is PLAINLY to distract elias and elias barges in like "martin. i see you're trying to distract me." and martin's like "maybe i am!"

o, jonny took a breath. that's good

he wasn't hooked up to an EKG or anything? you spend long enough with no heartbeat that they're just like "i guess we can turn this off"

this episode about philosophical zombies sounds a lot like that NPC meme from a year or two ago... and it makes me kind of uncomfortable, the way this person inspects others to determine whether they are True Minds or Impostors based on their emotional expressions, their eyes... because i don't always do the correct or appropriate expressions, and would someone judge me as being a non-person who is trying and failing to imitate human emotions?

i generally don't enjoy ships that have more-or-less explicit canon support, but i can't say jon/martin isn't good

melanie blaming jon isn't right... no one had a better plan to stop the unknowing, did they? (they didn't!) didn't all of them agree on the plan and understand that they might die? (they did!) she's just imposing survivor's guilt upon him because he survived for supernatural reasons. but it's not like he eagerly embraced his new supernaturalness, or even asked for it outright! i think she's being unreasonable. i didn't like her insistence on trying to kill elias either, even though elias is a huge dick. what's with her?

wait, peter lukas is the lonely? (meme where calculations and equations whiz past me)

jonathan baa'd

oh, see. the bullet is making melanie act without reason. i get it now. can't say i think they had the best approach to getting the bullet out, but all's well that ends well (???)

martin is being prohibited from talking to jon >:I martin is on a first-name basis with peter lukas >:I...

martin grumbles, "i don't like being manipulated..." while obviously and continuously allowing himself to be manipulated

jon is afraid of and uncomfortable with what he's becoming, at least to a degree, right? but he seems to be going about his duties (i.e. feeding the eye) with vigor and without reluctance. is he really that motivated by his own desire to know and understand? who is he doing this for? is the eye's influence on him so strong that "doing what the eye wants" seems to manifest as what HE wants to do?

"He'd place it over the one he wore already, and he would larf and larf and larf" (from breacon’s statement... just heard it like this for some reason)

deep water could be the domain of both the buried and the vast, because you could lose yourself in the vast ocean, but experience the physical effects of being buried under thousands of feet of water...

so tom han was an avatar of the flesh but he ultimately died after being tortured by the spiral... right?

"we're not people, though, are we? not anymore." close enough, i'd say.

jonathan has deployed THREE "I, uh..."s in episode 131 alone and i want to smack him in real life. FOUR NOW. JON. JONATHAN SIMS THE REAL ACTOR. LISTEN... quit falling back on your "I, uh..."s. and if they're written into the script i'll punch whoever did that too. total of five in a single episode. never utter "I, uh..." again

i hope whoever's throat is okay after doing bone turner voice for a whole statement.

jonny sure needs saving quite often, doesn't he.

peter lukas being a slightly chipper advocate for becoming a follower of the lonely is very strange

neil lagorio and his whole cinematographic history is made up but they namedropped kevin costner, who is real

VERY, VERY GOOD laugh at 23:44 of episode 136

melanie getting her session recorded... i was doing audio transcription for a while and you'd definitely come across bits of therapy-type sessions that very much seemed like they should have been confidential.

i wonder if the eye ultimately turned its back on gertrude and allowed her to be killed. if jon could survive a collapsing building, could gertrude not have survived a couple of bullets? wouldn't the difference be the protection of the eye? [footnote added in later: of course now i see who turned their back on whom.]

i'm somewhat heartened to learn that agnes montague was, in fact, a heavily cursed individual, though she seemed to have embraced it to a degree... and she wasn't made of wax.

i like that jon now includes helen in his office politics briefing

basira's like "Edmund Halley" and jon's like "Halley's comet?" (like “Hale-ey”) and two minutes later jon's like "Edmund Hally" (not "Hale-y")

"What's this?" "OH... That's, uh... that's... my rib..." "Right." (tiny clunk of rib being set down)

so giving a statement puts a curse on you... or is it "having a statement extracted / being compelled" that puts a curse on you? and the resulting curse, the fear it reawakens, is that good for the eye, or is that good for the powers that initially caused the fear?

well, i heard a homestuck reference in one of the patreon names at the beginning of an episode, and who is surprised? of course, i'm not one to talk

episode 144- the english think their summer is bad... as a professional "hot weather is bad" person, i feel doubtful, because if the sky is grey, it is not as hot as it Could Be, and therefore one should quit one's bitching

first statement about the extinction... interesting. but hearing martin be a jerk to daisy makes me sad :(

the powers never tell avatars exactly what they need to be doing, but that's just concerning the means. the ends are always clear: the power gets fed. and all of the powers feed on fear. also jonny is horny for statements. i hope, but also doubt, that his harmful behavior is at least partially the spider's doing. oh, i see now that it's not. yeah.

jon wants to eat fresh and delicious statements produced just for him, instead of reconstituting the dusty old statements already in the archive

episode 148 - samson stiller gets a crush. but in all seriousness, is he becoming an avatar of the eye but like, not institute-related? is that a thing? i guess that would make sense, but still seems weird

episode 149 - considering ring -> rang -> rung, we seem to have stumbled upon spin -> span -> spun, and the compasses gently span around (9:40)

does martin have loneliness powers now? it's sad that he is getting lonely... as a lonely person, i know.

the lady on TV in episode 150 was just speaking simlish.

i really want jon to overcome his urge to forcefully take statements because i want to be able to root for him still

british podcasts really have a leg up over american podcasts, at least among american audiences, purely based on their interesting and varied accents

i can't say the gravedigger's envy doesn't make me myself feel like going to sleep in the cold dirt forever. but bad depression lately is also a factor, so

jonathan having to settle for reading already archived statements instead of harvesting fresh ones is exactly like a vampire (not the kind detailed in this series) who has to choose between hunting people to suck their blood or drinking bags of donated blood from a (near-endless) stockpile. there's an ethical choice with a clear right answer, but the urge is also understandable

jon following up gertrude's tape with just "fuck" was really good. now he's like "ok martin. let's run away together"

spent all day at work thinking about how i can't fuckin believe the first thing jon did when he heard how to escape the institute was to go tell martin like "there will be a great cost, but... we can elope now"

also if tim was still around jon would tell him the way out and he would do it right then and there, i'm 100% sure. like before jon was finished explaining tim would be like "the eyes? (grabs scissors) got it. (does the deed)"

earlier today i was just thinking that we would almost certainly hear gertrude's death on tape, especially given that we now understand tape recorders are wont to turn on autonomously whenever something important is happening. anyway then i came home and heard gertrude's death on tape

peter, as an avatar of the lonely, is easy to play like a cheap whistle because as someone who clearly hates spending time around other people, he is not keen to the symptoms of being played.

elias is like "you'll have to go into the lonely to get him" and jon's probably thinking "but then at least we'll be in the lonely... ~*~*~together~*~*~"

i think martin's whole thing for most of the series has been that he sounds a little doofy, for lack of a better word, and people constantly underestimate his intelligence. and now he has played peter lukas like a cheap whistle and forced me to realize that by taking for granted that he was being successfully manipulated by peter lukas, i too was underestimating martin... and his pure love for jon <:3c no but seriously i even remember explicitly making a mental note to remember that martin is smartin but it fell by the wayside as my emotions (of sadness that jon and martin seemed to be growing further apart) took precedent

i work a non-verbal job just doing mundane tasks and that gives me all the time in the world to think about things like "if they were to have jon and martin reunite in a tearful embrace, how would you convey the physical contact in an audio format? like, whap? soft thud?"

jon enters the lonely and voiceover peter comes in to try and factcheck the ship

i guess it makes sense that peter would try to do the ritual for the lonely all by himself

did he kill peter by asking him to death? or did peter just self-destruct rather than be forced to answer?

the way jon snapped martin out of the loneliness just by making him look at his face... that's powerful. as a lonely person, i know that the most cry-making thing you can realize when you feel alone is that another person is, in fact, there with you

martin went for a walk and now it's thunderstorming. i wonder if he came back as soon as it started raining and now he's standing nearby invisibly as jon reads the intimidating magnus statement. ...I GUESS NOT

i plan to read through the transcripts of all the episodes (as it’s faster than re-listening, though i might selectively re-listen) so that i may better understand some things and answer some questions in this post that i didn’t ultimately resolve. i can’t say i was paying 101% attention all the way through. also april is very far away

#the magnus archives

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carrollstreetstation · 5 years ago

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wolfenstein 3D: a level-by-level breakdown

(note: due to the extreme simplicity of wolfenstein’s design ethos, i will be forgoing screenshots, with a few exceptions. you’ve seen one wolf3d screenshot, you’ve seen them all. if you would like to see the game in action, i recommend this LP.)

EPISODE ONE: ESCAPE FROM WOLFENSTEIN

the iconic shareware episode, and the only one available for free -- thus often the only one many people played. like many others, i'd only ever played the shareware episode, but it's still just as captivating as it once was all those years ago. in terms of design aesthetic, wolfenstein 3D may be somewhat primitive and abstract by today's standards, though it's worth mentioning that there are occasional attempts at realistic touches such as the dog kennel in E1L1. the basic premise is identical to that of the original classic: you've been taken captive in the dungeons of the nazi-occupied castle wolfenstein, and it's up to you to get out.

E1L1 the classic first level. we begin in medias res, with you already having been captured and now attempting your escape. there's a dead guard in front of you, and you're armed with a knife, and the guard's luger, 8 rounds in the magazine, and a pumping soundtrack to get you primed for nazi murder. a somewhat linear affair save for a quick side trip into the kennels. savvy players who know their secrets can find the elevator to the secret level behind not one, but two secrets at the very end of the map.

E1 SECRET if you're brave enough to try this secret level, the difficulty takes a major leap upwards as MP40-toting SS guards join the regular grunts in defending this huge maze, which seems like an underground cave system, perhaps beneath the bottom levels of the castle proper. creepy music serenades you as you navigate the tunnels, and it seems like every corridor has at least one secret to be found. cool fakeout ambush if you choose the wrong exit door at the end.

E1L2 whether or not you did the secret level, SS goons are here as well. not the biggest maze in the world, but a huge chunk of it is entirely optional. aside from a big kitchen area, kennels and a prison there's a pair of big torture chambers too, full of the skeletons adrian carmack drew to get a rise out of the suits at formgen who were nervous about the violence.

E1L3 another maze of torture rooms, prison cells and officer's quarters. an optional series of boxy rooms is largely featureless but if you know where to look you can find a secret treasure vault.

E1L4 while mostly still a fairly featureless series of rooms, this does feature a few points of interest, for example the wood-carved swastika that dominates a room on the southern end of the map, as well as one of the rare secrets that actually gives itself away by the puddle of water before it, suggesting a leak of some kind.

E1L5 the heat turns up quite a bit for this one, with enemies around every corner, especially on higher difficulties. you'll have more than one chance to just unload with the chaingun until everyone's dead. it also features an enormous secret area -- probably the biggest in the episode -- that's full of treasure, ammo -- and guards.

E1L6 not the longest or most complex level, but there's plenty of nazis to murder in this nearly entirely red-brick complex of mostly straight hallways and round rooms. you'll have to go one way for the key, then another for the exit. a cute little barracks with plenty of treasure is the standout landmark here. watch out for the SS ambush right by the exit.

E1L7 one of the few levels in this episode we can conclusively attribute to one of the designers, tom hall in this case, thanks to a comment he'd made that was published in the hint manual. in it he describes the central landmark of the map, a long hallway lined with gaps in the walls, the gaps filled with impassable columns. behind them are large rooms filled with guards, and traversing the hallway is basically a gauntlet as a small army of troops fire upon you from behind the columns. reaching them is a matter of following the hallways around to the rooms they're in, but once they're alert they'll start spreading out, making tracking them down difficult. it's a cool idea and an early example of the kind of creative level design that we would later see in doom.

E1L8 another all-brick affair, save for a little bit of wood paneling and a grey stone barracks area in the northwest corner. a very short level all told, surprisingly light on resistance for so late in the episode. features the first appearance of what i've in recent years taken to calling the "trash eagle."

E1L9 the end of the episode is just as iconic as its beginning, a massive entrance hall devoid of enemies... save one. hans grosse, an enormous teutonic bastard in full body armor, greets you with a cursory "GUTEN TAG" before unloading on you with two chainguns. dealing with him requires ducking for cover when he's firing and dumping your ammo on him when he's not. after what seems like almost all of your ammo he'll go down like a sack of hammers, giving you the key to the exit, and the iconic escape cutscene. if you need ammo or health, there's a secret along the western wall full of both.

final thoughts:

an iconic episode, right up there with "knee deep in the dead" or "dimension of the doomed" in terms of its recognizability. sure, the texture usage is rather limited and the level design, cute attempts at imitating real-world spaces aside, is as abstract as any in those days, but for a lot of people, the first level alone could probably be done in their sleep. while there's only three kinds of enemies through the entire episode, they're often cleverly placed to keep you on your toes. this is just a taste of what's to come.

EPISODE TWO: OPERATION EISENFAUST

after the limited offering of the shareware episode, the full game promises a bigger experience, with more textures, more enemies, more music, more of everything that made wolf3D so great. the level design gets more complex as now you'll often have to find two keys instead of just one. now that you're free from wolfenstein, it's time to resume your mission, infiltrating castle hollehammer where the evil dr. schabbs' laboratory is supposed to be, and find out what he's been doing in there. episode two thus starts off by introducing you to the mutant, a reanimated soldier carrying cleavers in both hands and a gun in his chest. absolutely silent, he's an inhumanly fast shot and if you're not careful he'll get the drop on you, ending your mission prematurely.

E2L1 the origins of the horror theme that has been a part of the franchise all these years starts here with another level by tom hall, as you infiltrate the castle via some kind of sewer entrance. the first few rooms are empty, and you think maybe you've gotten in unnoticed... but open the wrong door and say hello to your first mutant. how well you do in this level depends on whether you find the MP40 and ammo cache across from the entrance -- or the hidden chaingun. nice touch with the starry background on the wall behind you at the start -- it gives a sense that this isn't just another bunch of random abstract hallways, but a real place with a real outside world. it's not fooling anyone, obviously, but it's a good touch of realism in a time when "realism" consisted of a square room with a table sprite in the middle.

E2 SECRET a very tiny level with a few mutants... or is it? push in the right place and the level opens up significantly, with a boatload of treasure to be found. the mutants didn't bother waiting for you and have killed some of their nazi handlers, as the corpses on the floor indicate.

E2L2 after a brief portion in the sewers, you find the exit -- marked by warning signs, presumably to keep people out of the sewers where the mutants'll get 'em. it's sealed off too, requiring you to push a wall to get out. the rest of the level is a fairly bog-standard level with three quarters of a swastika being the only distinguishing feature. i think tom hall did this one as he comments on being able to see out a window early on.

E2L3 it's not the sewers, but you wouldn't know it for all the slimy wall textures. the opening section is simple enough, but the level likes to play around with secrets. an entire secret area is visible beyond rows of columns, but to get there you have to take the long way around. there's more secret areas within the first one, each one getting better and better, until finally culminating in a mess of SS. and if that's not bad enough, the silver key is guarded by mutants, lying in wait. tom, you're an asshole.

E2L4 not a complex level from tom here, split mostly into two sections with a third, circular room in the middle. a lot of doors open immediately into dead ends; others have mutants behind them. a holding area for mutants quickly turns into a shitshow when killing the lone guard alerts the monsters hiding in their cells and they come out for blood.

E2L5 well, it's a nazi castle, i suppose it makes sense to have a level shaped like a swastika. each "arm" of the swastika is done up in a different theme, from the slimy rock walls we've seen a lot of this episode, to a red brick stronghold of sorts, to blue stone dungeon, to wood-paneling. you can basically skip most of this episode by going to three rooms max, but you miss out on a lot of nazi murder and items to find.

E2L6 opening up in a cave-like area very similar to the secret level from the first episode, only this one is full of mutants. the big maze in the southeast can be navigated by following the bloodstains -- a neat touch that seems like something tom hall would do. the elevator doors at the end present an interesting dillemma -- which one is the exit, and which one is the mutant ambush?

E2L7 an odd level. it's just a few rooms and the exit elevator... unless you find the secret that opens up the entire rest of the map. it's still not the biggest map you'll ever play, but it's a respectable 5 minutes or so of nazi slaughter... until you get to the mutant cave in the southwest corner, where the nazis have already been slaughtered.

E2L8 another odd level, this one is infamous for being half made up of a large maze of 2x2 rooms and pushwalls. push your way through and you can find 1-ups, hans grosse clones (or maybe they're his brothers), treasure, or a sign saying CALL APOGEE, SAY AARDWOLF. this sign was part of a contest, if you did what it instructed you would win a prize. however, thanks to cheat and mapping programs the sign was found almost immediately, and the contest was canceled. in some later versions, the sign is replaced by a 1-up and some garbage. the rest of the map isn't as memorable, though it does have a nice little barracks in the southeast.

E2L9 another boss arena, the laboratory of the evil dr. schabbs. metal walls and warning signs tell you this is a high-tech place (well, for the 1940s anyway) and every room is quite large. other than schabbs, mutants are the only other occupants, coming at you in a wave before the mad doctor himself attacks, throwing hypodermic needles full of his monster serum at you. if you die to schabb's flying needles, instead of the usual beat-up face, BJ's skin turns white, just like one of the mutants. killing schabbs triggers an instant replay of his death animation, which is funny.

final thoughts: the second episode turns up the heat significantly. the mutants prove themselves to be a serious threat, their silence and frightening firing speed making them incredibly dangerous. the horror theme is pretty strong at multiple points in the episode, which is impressive given how primitive the game is compared to even doom. clever use of enemy corpse sprites and blood-spattered textures offer some interesting environmental storytelling. schabbs himself embodies the worst aspects of the nazi regime, that of mad science and human experimentation -- so of course taking him down is satisfying, despite how easy he is. (letting his mutants do the work for him -- so typical!)

EPISODE THREE: DIE, FUHRER, DIE!

the third episode, and technically the final one of the early version of the game until the nocturnal missions were added. as the name suggests, your mission is to kill hitler. who doesn't wanna kill hitler? well, nazis probably. but fuck 'em. anyway rather than crumbling old castles, dank dungeons and evil labs, episode three is set in a massive bunker beneath the reichstag, akin to the plot of "beyond castle wolfenstein." don't expect adolf to calmly let you bomb his conference room this time, though...

E3L1 the entrance to hitler's bunker is a small set of rooms that offers light resistance -- a few guards and SS, plus the very first officer in the game, who moves fast and fires faster. he's not as much of a threat as the mutant, but he's still quick on the draw. poke around a bit and you'll find the secret dungeon complete with machine gun for the taking. the music is a bit of fun, a very simple tune that has a morse code message playing in the background:

TO BIG BAD WOLF DE LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD ELIMINATE HITLER IMPERATIVE COMPLETE MISSION WITHIN 24 HOURS OUT

E3L2 this is the first level that we can be pretty sure is john romero's if his commentary in the hint guide is anything to go by. it's a relatively tiny level, split off into two parts, with the exit very close to the start position but locked off. the key is in the southern area of the map, but the northern portion doesn't offer much and is completely optional -- a deliberate fakeout on romero's part.

E3L3 another short map by romero, this one opens with three doors to choose from. two eventually lead to the same place, while the third takes you to one of the keys you'll need. the other key is guarded in the northern part of the map. similar to romero's tendency to stick an enemy in the exit room in doom, an officer greets you on your way to the elevator.

E3L4 romero's short-form maps continue here (i wonder if these maps were made early in the game's development?) it also continues the trend of most of the episode 3 maps being largely white stone walls with the occasional brick, dungeon or wood to break up the monotony. finding the key isn't enough -- the door opens to a wall that turns out to be pushable.

E3L5 another short-and-sweet level, this one centering the action mostly around a red brick complex inside a large grey stone room. though this one does feature a long, twisty passage that ends in little more than a medkit and an SS goon.

E3L6 tom hall brings his personal brand of weirdness to episode three with this level that opens with a locked door immediately to your left. going forward is a repeat of his old favorite trick of putting enemies and items behind barriers where they can shoot you but you can't reach them, not without a little secret-searching anyway. there's also the enormous maze of reinforced steel to the north which offers little in the way of resistance but is incredibly confusing without a map. there's also another key that can be gotten on the sly by going around and entering the closet it's in via a pushwall in back.

E3L7 jesus christ, tom. "abstract" is the theme for this level, a mess of curving hallways, rooms in the shape of tom hall and john romero's initials, a secret that's easy to break before you even find it, a ludicrously large, featureless secret maze, and *another* secret at the end of said maze. the final secret is worth it though, as it takes you to the secret level...

E3 SECRET it's pacman. in first person. with some nazis thrown in. that is literally the entirety of the level. avoid the ghosts, get the treasure, find the exit. it's honestly an adorable tribute to such a classic game from a game that has since become nearly as much of a classic itself.

E3L8 the final level before hitler, and the nazis throw everything they've got to stop you. tom hall starts this level by putting you in an empty room; only pushing the right wall will take you into a large, swastika-shaped corridor. SS and officers are everywhere; side rooms will have enemies coming at you from all sides, and they've put up barricades that you'll have to work your way around. and just when you think you've cracked it, and you're at the end, you open the elevator door and there's an officer right there waiting for you -- which doesn't happen often.

E3L9 this is it: the final battle with hitler! aesthetically it's not terribly different from the rest of the episode, but it does introduce us to one of the best fakeouts in a video game. all that buildup and when we finally do meet hitler, he's dressed in robes and shooting fireballs at you -- could it be that the old monster is a magician? well, he's playing a trick on you alright: it's a mannequin with a flamethrower, and when shot down you can hear hitler's evil laugh in the distance. hitler himself is a fairly straightforward boss fight, first in a war mech, and then when that's destroyed he comes after you himself with a pair of chainguns. his death animation is even better than the one at the end of bionic commando.

final thoughts: for the third episode of the original trilogy, design-wise it's a bit disappointing. the texture use is quite monotonous, the levels are pretty short and simple. alone or in small groups, the officer isn't nearly as menacing an enemy as the mutant, which is absent from this episode. the pac-man secret level is an amusing diversion at least. the real value in this episode is the battle against hitler -- that death animation is a treat.

EPISODE FOUR: A DARK SECRET

after the initial success of wolfenstein 3D, apogee software founder scott miller convinced id software to make another trilogy of episodes after finding out that a new level could be cranked out at a rate of one per day. smirkingly titled "the nocturnal missions," this prequel trilogy involves a plot to wage chemical warfare on the allies, and so episode four opens with BJ infiltrating a chemical weapons research facility. we can expect the usual castley goodness as envisioned mostly by tom hall, which promises a slightly more visually interesting experience than hitler's bunker.

E4L1 tom's crafted a cute little castle entrance with a big foyer and dining hall, and a little cavern of sorts in the southwest corner leading to the exit. not the most heartpounding of levels, but at this early stage you'll be ill-equipped to deal with the amount of SS and officers thrown at you, especially on higher difficulties. thus it's an early hint as to the focus on increased difficulty for the nocturnal missions.

E4L2 another tom hall joint, this one has a strong castle design, being ringed on all sides by a single long hallway with a number of rooms in the center. popping off a firearm here will alert enemies on the other side of the map, making exploration dangerous as you're likely to be snuck up on.

E4L3 the level starts off with a huge offering of health and ammo. normally when seeing a smorgasboard like this, it raises one's hackles as it signifies the arrival of a boss enemy. however, none is to be found -- but there *are* a big gaggle of enemies further down the corridor, up to 23 at once. it's quite the impressive ambush.

E4 SECRET sure, you *could* try to fight your way through the whopping seventy-five officers (on all difficulties!) who staff this level. the secret ammo stash at the start is the only thing that would make it even possible. but it's clear stealth was in mind when this puzzle map was designed, the idea being going behind the officers' backs. the official hint guide says that if you follow the path it designated you won't be seen, but this is unfortunately untrue as three will spot you either way, forcing you to hurry.

E4L4 tom gives us a relatively small level that, aside from a cave maze on the eastern side, also features an "art gallery" full of admiring officers. it's like the secret level in miniature, much more manageable with up to 14 officers waiting to run in front of your chaingun. there's also the choice between a secret room full of health, or a secret room full of ammo, and which one you get is dependant on which way you push a wall.

E4L5 tom hall has crafted a large cavern system that seems to be filled with officers. there's also a moment where a horde of guard dogs come at you en masse, and if you're not careful they can catch you in a pincer movement. there's multiple elevators as well, but all but one are inaccessible.

E4L6 tom hall's predilection for mimicking real-world spaces in doom (as in episode two of that game as well as parts of doom 2) can be seen in wolfenstein 3D as well. this level's example of that is the multiple elevators from the previous stage can be seen here too. but perhaps the standout feature of this level is the strange series of thin hallways behind a long row of doors, most of them containing officers and items. it's a good example of the abstract weirdness that has long been a staple of early FPS level design.

E4L7 fairly standard level. a long central hallway divides the east and west sides; it's filled with enemies, and tom hall has exploited the enemy behavior of being able to open locked doors to create an opportunity for players to get through without needing the key -- though if it closes behind them, there's no turning back.

E4L8 another tom hall joint, this one has a lot of tricky encounters that make the standard guards actually dangerous for once. it's the same trick as the dogs in E4L6 -- a big winding maze that makes it easy for the enemy to get behind you. there's a similar area full of officers where it's possible to sneak past some of them -- or bypass them entirely, if you find the right secret.

E4L9 the boss level is a cruel twist on the usual method. all the health and ammo are behind locked doors in the boss room; the keys are guarded by a single grunt who will alert a small army of SS and officers in the next room. however, the final boss, otto giftmacher, is not a threat at all, firing a slow-moving missile that's easily dodged. if you came in already loaded for bear you don't even need to deal with his goons.

final thoughts: episode four is a good display of tom hall's somewhat mean-spirited level design, and i say that in a good way. it's clear he took the opportunity to up the difficulty for the expansion, and that includes throwing in officers by the boatload. in general, though, the level design has started to become increasingly abstract. otherwise, a good start for the nocturnal missions.

EPISODE FIVE: TRAIL OF THE MADMAN

the fifth episode introduces us to castle erlagen (though the hint guide seems to think that was the site of episode four -- maybe both are true) as we hunt for the plans to the nazis' chemical warfare campaign. most of these levels are from romero, who has a somewhat tighter, more abstract design ethos to tom hall's more freewheeling, quasi-realistic style -- something that would be evident later in doom as well.

E5L1 the dungeons of castle erlagen start you off light, mostly guards and a few SS. john romero has crafted a relatively short level, the majority of the action being in a series of rooms off a long hallway that separates the bottom half of the map from a few large rooms connected by narrow tunnels. the final room is a very romero-esque ambush.

E5L2 romero has a penchant for a very sectional level design and we can see an example of it here, where you're dropped in the middle of the map and it's split across four areas in four directions, forcing you to explore until you find the key and the exit. he's also put in a devious deathtrap to the west -- a gauntlet of SS guards for a handful of treasure that honestly is not worth it, which may be the point.

E5L3 another short and sweet romero level -- but heavily guarded. the exit is right behind the entrance, and a number of goons stand watch. if you're low on ammo, you may be running into problems -- but romero has thoughtfully made the secrets extremely obvious, and both will give you everything you could ever want.

E5L4 similar to E5L2, only incredibly symmetrical, this is a wheel-and-spoke design that plops you in the center and it's up to you to clear out a series of nine rooms connected by hallways. as is becoming a pattern, the path is filled with enemies, so it's up to you to be quick on the draw to mow them down the moment the door opens.

E5L5 romero's hub-style design again, only a bit more freewheeling. notable encounters include the "art gallery" in the southeast corner full of dogs, and a similar mini-maze in the northwest occupied by SS and officers. romero has a talent for making maps that seem larger than they really are. the secret exit, however, is well-hidden.

E5 SECRET more hub-style design, though with an evil twist. other than a few central rooms the entirety of the map is made up of long narrow corridors with nazis on patrol. this leads to a tense few minutes as you navigate these tunnels always knowing that if an enemy comes around the corner, you won't have any cover.

E5L6 a rare attempt from romero to make something that feels like a real-world space, the core of this map is a complex of rooms surrounded by a large cavern that encircles three-quarters of the map. the complex itself isn't particularly unusual or, well, complex, though interestingly one of the three doors leading to the room that itself leads to the exit is of a different lock from the others. you still need the silver key, though.

E5L7 back to the hub design. the enemy count is climbing ever higher, romero throws goons at you every step of the way. a major encounter is in the northwestern room where a row of doors all lead to the same room, with a swarm of officers and SS goons hiding just behind to come at you in a wave. the final room is an ornate hallway lined with SS guards, giving a sense that we're getting ever closer to our goal.

E5L8 the penultimate level of episode five is a quick-and-dirty map that splits off into three zones. the biggest heat of the level is probably in the southwest, a maze of corridors full of bad guys that can and will wind up wandering behind you unless you're careful. and when you get through that mess, there's an ambush in the key room. interestingly, you can see the exit door at the very beginning -- but it's behind a barricade, requiring you to find the key to get to the other side.

E5L9 the boss arena is pretty straightforward -- a huge room divided in three by rows of walls. gretel grosse, sister of hans, is your target for this mission, and she behaves exactly the same as hans. taking her out is a snap, but you'd better stock up before opening the door she guards, as the command room that's your final goal is filled with nazi goons. cute re-use of the "yeah!" animation.

final thoughts: episode five is romero at his best. it's a fast-paced little jaunt that offers plenty of nazis to mow down by the boatload, giving a hint of what doom would be like. though he overuses the hub-style level design, it at least gives a little bit of structure to an otherwise freewheeling, abstract mapping style.

EPISODE SIX: CONFRONTATION

the final episode of the game is a bit of a hodgepodge, featuring work from john romero, tom hall, and, surprisingly, robert prince, the man behind the music for most of apogee and id's output between 1991 and 1996, including, but not limited to: wolfenstein 3D (duh), rise of the triad, duke nukem II and 3D, and of course doom. the story goes, now that the allies know where the general behind the upcoming chemical warfare campaign is located, they send BJ into castle heidenheim. with three mappers contributing to this level we can expect a mixture of styles, and given that this is the very last episode of the game, resistance is likely to be fierce.

E6L1 jesus christ, tom. 95% of this map is extremely long hallways, lined with niches in which officers hide. it takes forever to advance and you're constantly getting caught on architecture. you start the episode with the exit right in front of you, and you have to make an insanely long detour just to get to it. awful map.

E6L2 robert prince makes his level design debut with this weird outing. it starts off similar to the previous level's endless hallways, but at least in this case gunfire will make most of the hiding enemies come after you. after that is a series of hallways that spiral in on themselves, at the center of which is the exit. it's like this episode was designed to annoy me.

E6L3 jesus christ, robert. it's a maze of swastikas. every room is a fucking swastika, and they interlink with each other. it's just... fucking madness. it blows my mind. this is what i'm talking about when it comes to how old FPS games seemed to just get by on pure abstraction. in that regard, duke nukem 3D should be considered a fucking revelation. this map is a pain to navigate too, though not as bad as the first two.

E6 SECRET romero and hall both did this level. it's a very romero-style level at its core -- a central hub with four separate areas, each with a different theme. tackling more than one is optional, because at the end of each one is another grosse brother holding a key to the exit in the central room. to the east is a nightmare zone of a vine-choked maze -- visibility is borderline zero and it's full of mutants(!) and officers. a better bet would be the more straightforward boss arena to the west, though the mazes to the north and south aren't too bad. though, work your way too deep into the pushwall maze and you'll run into a familiar ghost, because this map wasn't gimmicky enough.

E6L4 though the hint guide doesn't say one way or another save for tom hall making a completely random e. e. cummings reference, this has hall's style all over it. It's mostly a series of random rooms connected via one hallway or tunnel or another. Compared to the rest of the episode so far, this level's banality is honestly a blessing.

E6L5 i'm pretty sure tom hall did this one as well. the big setpiece is a long, wide hallway with enemies hidden in the niches in the wall -- something i was tired of before the end of the first level. there's also a couple of nearly-identical shootouts in big rooms for possession of the keys. pretty basic level all told.

E6L6 yeah, i can tell this is a romero map, even without the hint guide telling me. it's got two of his most defining features in his nocturnal missions level design: absolute fucking chaos, and a tight level design with a core conceit. on its surface it resembles the spiral maze from robert prince's first level, but this is much bigger, and *much* more packed with enemies, all of whom come after you from the first shot fired. actually quite fun.

E6L7 tom and his fucking mazes strike again. after a rough initiation (more of the hallway/hidden enemies business) and a big central chamber with officers shooting at you from side rooms, you're treated to a nightmare world of endless mazes. if you're brave enough, you can even venture into a secret vine maze, which, while not as dangerous as the one in the secret level, is still plenty annoying and not really worth the hassle.

E6L8 it's hard to say whose level this is, but i'm going to guess it's romero's. it's two underground complexes split by a single long cave tunnel that curls around and between them in a backwards S fashion, which would suggest tom hall, but the abundance of enemies and the relatively compact room arrangement says john romero. whoever did it, this is a pretty linear affair -- first you clear out the northern complex, room by room, then grab the key. then you take out the southern complex and reach the exit. simple.

E6L9 the final boss of the nocturnal missions, and the nazis throw everything they've got at you. i'm reasonably certain this is a romero level, because the evil general is guarded by a baying horde of fascists who come at you from all directions. it's as if they looked at how sparsely populated the previous boss levels were and decided this deserved a bit more of a finale. it makes for some cool carnage, but you'll likely run into trouble unless you're secret-savvy.

final thoughts: "mixed bag" is an understatement. this episode feels like where the dregs of the design team's ideas went. guest designer robert prince should have stuck to music. there are a few cool bits, but in general the sixth episode is a low note, and a bit of a disappointment after the ludicrously fun fifth episode.

#Wolfenstein 3D #classic fps

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ambergrief · 5 years ago

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tagged by @6v7a4m8p5i8r3i8s1m0 thank u im so bored

1. Your favourite season and why.

autumn and early winter for sure. most of the leaves stay green here and it definitely doesnt get very cold and sometimes gets really HOT in october it rains sometimes and the winds pick up.. and the air feels and smells a certain way that i like. and even though i wear long black clothes and sweaters the rest of the year regardless its a little more comfortable for me for the most part. just a nice time for hot drinks and like. thick stews and soups LOL. i like all the pumpkins and fresh apples and pomegranates and oranges too. lots of nice produce in season and of course all the halloween cartoon specials and movies n shit i kinda just love it all

2. You get the chance to meet a celebrity. Who would he/she be? And what would you do together?

no one i dont really like celebrities. also im extremely shy and i dont think its a good idea to meet people u idolize

3. What’s your dream job, if you have one?

i dont have a dream job like itd be nice to be paid to make lousy artwork or design characters or something. lighthouse wickie or like. crab fisherman in alaska. museum security guard. grocery store cart pusher but ONLY push carts. any kind of nocturnal job that gives me special access to creepy underground tunnels or abandoned buildings. id like to be a singer probably

4. Do you have any regrets?

so many but mostly i regret all the dancing and singing classes i did from 2 years old all the way up to my senior year. i kind of want to cry thinking of all the money my parents spent on them thinking i was gonna go into show business and be successful and happy and now im depressed and fat in community college with no motivation. idk i kind of wish i spent that time studying art and filling a portfolio so i couldve gotten into the art school i was rejected by. or like learned an instrument so i could actually have a chance at making music. shit like that

5. Who’s your favourite artist?

idk i dont have one. i guess im really liking kelly ficarra rn her stuff is very cute

6. If you could live in another place which one would you choose?

canada like maybe toronto or something. second choice would be rural japan

7. Your favourite school subject and what you like the most about it.

art because i have a hard time finishing work outside of school. i like being given art assignments with certain parameters and deadlines. im also liking art history rn i like learning about old art movements and how religion influenced art and music n shit its cool

8. Do you have a hobby?

i collect stickers

9. How are you spending these days?

sleeping for hours and hours and hours. doing puzzles with my mom. playing ac obviously

10. Are you happy?

no :( but like also who is.. what kind of questions is that

11. A random fact for @6v7a4m8p5i8r3i8s1m0

i just found the pixels poster my boss gave me she cleaned out the projection room and it was the oldest poster they had and for some reason i have it now i dont even have a place to hang it

I tag everyone <3

#long

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criticalroleland · 5 years ago

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Wilds of Exandria

Hello, sorry it’s been such a long time since my last post. I’ve been busy with a lot of things like moving and being out of town, and I honestly just haven’t kept up with this as much as I wanted to, but I have still been working, and I’ve got the next close up here, this time on the Wilds of Exandria section. This post will have mild spoilers for Campaign 1 episodes 44, 45, and 48, and Campaign 2 episodes 6+7, 28, and 39.

This area takes inspiration from a lot of the forests, mountains, and other more verdant areas that Vox Machina and the Mighty Nein have explored. I conceived of it as a contrast to the more city-like areas that make up most of the rest of the park, being highly forested and full of little vignettes to stumble upon. While there are a few main attractions, the land is made of mostly trees and other plants, with sections devoted to quieter areas like the Obelisk of Kamaljiori and The Blooming Grove. Visitors in this area should be able to feel a sense of exploration and adventure, being rewarded by discovering things that not everyone might notice. It might even be a good candidate for some kind of interactive scavenger hunt game. Among the attractions there is a roller coaster, a flume ride, a kuka-arm thrill ride, and a show.

Although not in the center, the obvious landmark for the Wilds is the towering mountain Gatshadow among the Cliffkeep mountains. The mountain range is a backdrop that prevents views outside the park as well as containing the ride devoted to Umbrasyl: the Hope Devourer. This would be a kuka-arm ride similar to Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, although the speed of the track would be faster and the arm motion less turbulent. Guests would load into some kind of vehicle, possibly a covered wagon, to attempt to capture Umbrasyl, and then have themselves picked up and carried by the dragon to his lair, witnessing his vicious battle with Vox Machina and narrowly avoiding the attacks from both sides. This mountain is also host to a restaurant, Old Magic, which lets diners observe the inside of the dragons lair while being served unique dishes.

The actual centerpiece of the land is a series of hills playing host to the Runaway Gnoll Mine Train, a wooden coaster that zips around the hillside, through tunnels, and underground where the manticore makes its deadly lair. This is a slightly less intense coaster, allowing for children to ride and enjoy it as well. Above this is a small section replicating Urukaxl and the Temple of the False Serpent. Inside the temple is a log flume ride through the lakes and riverways within the temple, an encounter with the hydra contained underneath, and culminating in the boat being propelled upwards and out the side of the building as the seal is broken. If you look at my original plans you’ll see I had here a flume ride of the “goldfish moment” from Campaign 1, but after watching this episode I felt it would make for a really cool ride experience. It also helps to blend this land into the Cities of Exandria section, as there are a few more buildings around the temple.

The last attraction is a show, a round theater holding the Fletchling Moondrop Carnival of Curiosities. The show would play out mostly how Matt described it in the first episode, although there could be room for updates or even a rotating set of offerings including tales of the calamity and divergence, stories from across the mountains in Xhorhas, even Taliesin’s original “Terrible Tinker of Tal'dorei”.

There’s one other main restaurant here, Scanlan’s Magnificent Mansion. The building is camouflaged within a dense forest, with only the door and faint shimmers of the outlines where the mansions walls and windows would be. Once guests enter through the door, they find themselves in a warm interior where they can choose among many options, all of them chicken. The empty spaces of this land have some small clusters of buildings from Allfield, Trostenwald, or Berleben, but for the most part are just natural areas for guests to explore. My hope is that this land could act as a sort of respite from the wide, crowded streets of the other lands, as well as bring to life some of the more interesting places in the open wilderness of Exandria.

As always I welcome questions or comments on anything, especially ideas for things I might have missed or names for things. Right now I’m mostly just calling things what they are, but I feel like “gnoll mine train” isn’t super interesting. I hope you enjoy, and I’m going to try much harder to get the next update out sooner. Thanks!

#critical role #critical role land #crland #concept #theme park design #Wilds of Exandria #fanart

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voltron-s7-8-rewrite · 6 years ago

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The Last Stand, Part 2

This is part of my Voltron Season 7 & 8 re-write. If you are interested start HERE

(Just as a warning, this is not beta’d)

Sendak’s force invade Earth, attacking all major military bases, including the Garrison. Sanda orders their fighter pilots to engage, but Sam wants to send out the MFEs. However Sanda, in all conscience, can’t send out the Garrison’s only Altean-based fighters with young officers that haven’t been in a real battle before.

The Garrison defense force, led by Adam, engages Sendak’s fighters. They put up a valiant effort, and try to keep the Galra away from Plaht City as it evacuates for as long as they can, but eventually they are all killed.

Sendak sends a message to the world, either they give him the Lions of Voltron, or he will destroy Earth once city at a time. The officers ask Sanda if they should respond, but she says no. If they reveal that they don’t know the whereabouts of Voltron, what’s to stop Sendak from destroying Earth right away? They need to play this right and buy time for the Rebel’s aid.

~+~

As more and more military bases are taken down across the world, Sendak picks up on the Garrison’s Altean defenses. He orders his forces to focus on taking them down.

With no other options available, Sanda gives the go ahead to launch the MFEs. Led by Griffin, the MFE’s are actually able to do some damage to Sendak's ships, and with the aid of the Garrison’s new Fusion cannon, they take one of his cruisers down.

Figuring out that the MFE’s can’t go far, Sendak decides to retreat from the Garrison and focus on attacking the general populations. He wants to break the Garrison’s spirit by forcing them to sit and watch as he conquers everyone around them.

Unable to follow and fight, the Garrison watches in horror as Sendak slowly takes over Earth.

~+~

After Sendak’s first campaign, Sanda and the remain Leadership go over the base’s status with Sam and the others. They realize their supplies are limited, and need both food for their people, and building materials to finish the Atlas. Veronica points to a nearby abandoned supply depot that they can reach through old war train tunnels.

The MFE Pilots are sent to the depot to gather what they can, with Veronica joining them as a guide. They are able to make it there, and find an old train that they get working, loading it with supplies. As they are preparing to leave, Galra sentries find them and a fight breaks out.

Veronica stays behind as the train takes off in order to keep the sentries off their tail. Griffin wants to go back, but an explosion brings the tunnel down, preventing any sort of rescue. The MFE pilots are deeply affected by Veronica’s sacrifice, and vow to continue fighting for her.

~+~

Having figured Voltron is not on Earth, Sendak orders the destruction of Earth’s communication system, hoping that silence from their planet will bring the Paladin’s to him.

Meanwhile, he starts having the human survivors rounded up and put into work camps in order to start building his own defenses on Earth.

~+~

Overtime, the Garrison once again runs low on the building materials for the Atlas. Having seen the world conquered around them, survivors enslaved, and contact with the rest of humanity cut off, morale is low as there’s no sign of the Rebels’ aid.

Just as the Garrison is feeling it’s lowest, an underground human resistance arrives, bringing families and loved ones together, and restoring hope.

Veronica is within the resistance, after having fought off the sentries, she met the other survivors and found the surviving members of her family.

She informs the Garrison what she knows about the imprisoned survivors, and Sanda and the Leadership decide they can’t sit and wait for help any longer; they have to do something.

~+~

In an attempt to bring hope to the world and get a message out to anyone who could help, the Garrison launches a missile into space. Sendak's forces destroy it, which is exactly what the Garrison wanted them to do. With its destruction, millions of micro-transmitters are unleashed, sending their message out to anyone listening.

~+~

As the Garrison prepares for their final stand, Voltron heads to Earth.

.::+::.

Another episode where not a whole lot is changed. Mostly just more fixing Sanda’s attitude/reasoning/decisions. Making her and the other Garrison leaders less idiotic.

I know they did their best to make Sanda look unreasonable with not sending out the MFE’s when Sendak first attacks, but was that really unreasonable? I mean, what if they sent the MFE’s out and the ships failed in battle? Those were the only working Altean-based airships they had. With Sendak attacking, and the Garrison’s focus being on finishing the Atlas, it’s unlikely they could have spared materials to make more.

That said, Sanda’s choice of contacting Sendak and telling him they don’t have, or know where the Lions are was just so unbelievably stupid. Like, seriously!? Sure, just lay all your cards out, let him know you don’t have what he wants. Why don’t you give him the codes for opening the particle barrier while you’re at it!? It’s a really good thing he wanted to use Earth as a hostage, and didn’t decide to just blow it up right then and there.

And I know people might be upset, but I kept Adam’s death in. I know it’s very a controversial element, but when originally watching the season, while it was a surprise to see, it worked to me; as shortly after his death, Veronica had appeared to have been killed. I figured that all the Paladins were going to lose someone.

And though it’s sad, I liked that idea. After all Pidge, Keith, and Allura already lost loved ones and were deeply and personally affected by the war. So, it made sense to me that now Lance, Hunk, and Shiro would also have to deal with that.

...But then Veronica turned out to be fine, and on top of that found her entire family alive and in perfect health, and then Hunk’s parents turn out fine. So, in the end only Adam died. Cool, cool, totally cool.

It’s not cool.

So, I decided if Shiro has to lose a loved one, Everyone has to lose a loved one! While I want Veronica to live, I killed Lance’s brother Marco, and his dad. Hence the line, “Veronica found the surviving members of her family ”.

I’m also offing people in Hunk’s family, but you’ll have to wait to see how that plays out later.

Pidge’s family may not lose any members, but two were enslaved by the Galra and they all lost years of their lives together, so they weren’t untouched by the war. Plus Pidge lost Rayner and many of her Olkari friends, so it’s not like she didn’t not lose people.

#james griffin #ina leifsdottir #nadia rizavi #ryan kincade #voltron #MyVoltronSeasonSummary #mywritings

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onwesterlywinds · 6 years ago

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Passages

Ashe had tried to engage Lyse in what she had hoped would be a private stroll through the Ala Mhigan palace, only there were Resistance soldiers everywhere. Some worked at disassembling what remained of the magitek barriers littering the walls and floor; others adhered to sweeping patrols; one or two looked to be skulking about or otherwise off-duty but snapped into salutes as she and Lyse strode past.

Briefly, Ashe thought of Meffrid Noward - what he might have thought of these ragged young recruits, their force bearing the name of all those who had borne Ala Mhigo to its present freedom.

For all their earnestness, she did not trust one of them not to eavesdrop if given a chance.

It was a greater trial than it was worth to disrupt her conversation with the turn of each corner, too pressing a matter to delegate her speech to whispers; and so Ashe escorted the commander down a tight passage lying in wait behind a shadowed enclave. Lyse's gape widened as they slipped through the unlocked door at the end, emerging into what had once been the office of the Dangerous Criminal Task Force - the old Riskbreakers.

Just as Ashe opened her mouth to apologize for all of the secrecy, Lyse said, "I'm amazed at how much you remember of all this." She gestured around at the interior of the room, long since emptied of any valuables and lit only by a thin skylight. "Did you visit the palace often as a girl?"

"No," Ashe admitted. "Not very often."

Before the liberation, she had been to the palace only once, when she was too young to remember: her mother had been sick and her father had needed to stop into this very office, even while on leave, to pick up some paperwork. Outside of that, her father had told her recently, he had encouraged a separation of his personal life from Riskbreaker business - particularly as the shadow of Theodoric's madness grew ever larger throughout the palace.

Still, Ashelia Riot patrolled the halls with the memory of one who had walked them for years - so long as she concentrated on her connection to her father through the Echo. Once, she had closed herself off while in the middle of what had once been a servants' tunnel and had struggled to find her way back to familiar territory. The connection worked at its best when she did not have to contemplate it at all - when she treated it as muscle memory. Yet accessing the knowledge had had its benefits. Already she had overheard conversations she otherwise would not have: guards discussing Fordola rem Lupis in captivity, guesses at Raubahn Aldynn's political future, relatives returning and dead, even a plan to destroy Zenos' gravesite.

And since she had offered to inform Lyse of anything that might be of use in shoring up the city's defenses, the Grand Steward had become nothing less than invaluable to the interim government.

"It seems as if you know all sorts of things about this place that I never could," Lyse mused. "I wish I remembered Ala Gannha half as well as you know Ala Mhigo."

But it did not feel right to divulge her secrets here of all places - here, where so many horrific plans had lain undisturbed, so many misdeeds plotted for the means of preserving a mad monarch's rule. She had taken up the office's name, and its double-edged legacy, and the weight of its past still discomfited her at times such as these.

And so she continued onward, through yet another door and into a thin stairwell, cool but humid. She did not turn back for Lyse but could hear the woman's footsteps fall in line with her own upon the damp stone. Dark and desolate as it was, even for a span of no more than several seconds, she might have imagined them both in the underground passages where she and Edge had spent so much time as children. At the top of the stairs, she pushed upon the barren wall and emerged at the far end of the palace's empty throne room.

As Lyse stared around in wonder at the change to their surroundings, Ashe said, "I think it's time for me to be entirely honest with you, Lyse."

Lyse opened her mouth as though to reply, then closed it abruptly. Her brow furrowed in an expression of confusion that reminded Ashe a little of Ahtynwyb. "What do you mean?"

She took in a deep breath. Now or never. "Before I begin, this is a topic that is rarely, if ever, spoken of freely. Can I trust you to ensure my words remain between us?"

"Of course."

Even as her father's warnings rang through her head - fractured and contentious and bloodthirsty - a far greater urgency for her people's future drove her on.

"If you are to lead Ala Mhigo, or even to help implement its new government, there's something you first need to know. About Ala Mhigo, and about me." She sighed. "To that end... it's time I told you of the Undercity."

"The... the what?"

"The Undercity. More or less, it's precisely what it sounds like: an entire society far beneath our feet, connected by a sprawling network of underground tunnels. It exists separately from the city above and comprises thousands of souls, each with their own motives and allegiances. Some shun the topside at all costs. Others participate in it where and when they can. Others have a foot in each world." Like me, perhaps. "But the Undercity has been privy to some of Ala Mhigo's deepest secrets. It's where my father honed his skills before joining the Riskbreakers - and it was the city's final line of defense when the Garleans invaded."

Lyse pursed her lips, laying a single hand to rest against the side of her face in a contemplative gesture. "But I don't understand. If this 'Undercity' exists-" Ashe whirled around to check again for any listeners-in, and Lyse seemed to take the hint as she lowered her voice. "If that many people make their living beneath Ala Mhigo - how is none of this common knowledge?"

"Mostly because the people of the Undercity prefer it that way," she replied. "Though to be fair, plenty do know of the Undercity, even if not by name. They know of the beggars, and the highwaymen, and the orphaned children; they simply don't know where those people go once they're gone from the public eye. I believe that by advocating for these people, we will be better served to defend the city as a whole."

"And you're telling me you're... from the Undercity."

"Not precisely; I merely spent much of my youth there. As did Edge."

"Is there any way I could see it?"

"I believe you already have. You and the Scions first entered Ala Mhigo through an underground well system, didn't you?"

The young commander nodded as understanding dawned upon her face. "Well, I trust you. If you say that this Undercity can help keep Ala Mhigo safe, then I have no problem with you devoting time and resources to-"

"Not only me, Lyse. I'm honored that you're considering me for the proposed council of leaders. Yet I ask that you admit me not only as Grand Steward of the Riskbreakers, but also as a representative for the myriad factions within the Undercity." She breathed a deep sigh. "If we could work in tandem with the rest of Ala Mhigo's leaders to offer aid to those who need and want it while minimizing the crime coming out of the Undercity... such a plan could change an entire generation."

"It's all a little strange to me," Lyse admitted after a second. "But I don't see why not. Regardless, you'll be at the council meeting?"

"I certainly will."

"We can talk more about it then. In the meantime, I'll ask that you do what all the other leaders are doing: gather some of your constituents' opinions on the reconstruction efforts. Ask if there's anything they need, or what we can do to help them."

Ashe nodded. "Thank you, Lyse."

"Don't thank me yet." The young woman made to approach the double doors, then thought better of exiting into the hall beyond; instead, she retraced her steps toward the hidden tunnel so etched into the Riskbreakers' previous histories. "This leadership thing is proving to be a much bigger ordeal than I'd ever imagined."

#Ashelia Riot #Understory

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jake-richmond · 6 years ago

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Thoughts on the Anthem demo:

Since I had to take a day off anyway I decided to try out Anthem. Its a 3rd person adventure shooter by Bioware. I had gotten excited about it last year because it looks a lot like both The Division (game play wise) and Destiny (world design wise), both of which I loved. I spent the day playing the demo with my brother Nick and our friend Gabe (who I also played The Division and Monster Hunter World with). They both seemed to like it quite a bit, but I had very mixed feelings...

Good: Anthem takes place in what appears to be a very large open world. Its interesting looking, with lots of space to explore. I love exploring science fiction spaces, and flying around checking out caves and weird alien architecture was fun.

Bad: There's not a ton of stuff in the world. Its hard to tell since this is just a demo, but Anthem's neat world seems to be mostly empty. Theres not a lot of reason to stop and look around. Even the neat features like the ruins of small communities, giant alien structures, huge waterfalls, etc, are mostly just decorative. There doesn't seem to be much to do. There are a scattering of enemies, but not much reason to stop and shoot them.

- Good: Anthem has a setting kind of similar to Destiny, as far as I can tell. You're the last humans in the last human stronghold, trying to protect your way of life and keep your society and technology alive in a very hostile world. Thats not super original, but destiny had a visual style that I liked a lot,and Anthem's visual style, especially for its hub city and its NPC inhabitants seems to be a direct copy. Which is just fine with me!

- Bad: There's no character creation,and you never see your character. The game asks you to select a masculine or feminine voice, and then starts you off in the hub city with no other customization. Anthem is a multiplayer game, but like Monster Hunter World and The Division your hub is an instanced area available just to you, so no other players will ever see you there. While in the hub you're stuck in first person mode, so you never get to see what you look like. This is incredibly frustrating to me.It immediately killed my immersion. Instead of feeling like i was an inhabitant of this interesting world I felt like I was just me playing a video game. In Destiny, monster Hunter World and The Division I felt like I was directly involved in those worlds through my character. Here it felt more like i was going on a theme park ride. Weirdly, as soon as you put on your futuristic Iron Man style armor suit and leave the hub city the rest of the game is played in 3rd person. So you can see your armor, and so can everyone else. And while you can customize your armor a fair amount, this feels less like having a unique character and more like having a fancy cell phone case.

Good: You can fly. Anthem is a big place, and the main way you get around is by flying in your Iron Man style armor. And the terrain of the game really encourages that. You'll fly through underground tunnels, over vast waterfalls, in and out of ravines. Theres a lot of chaotic vertical terrain to explore by flying. Bad: Unfortunately flying sucks. once you're actually in the air the flying controls are okay. They're a little clunky,a nd don't feel super responsive, but they're okay. Unfortunately, getting in the air is awkward. You can't just take off like superman. you need to actually be in the air before you can activate your jets, which means jumping up and taking off, or falling off something and taking off. Its the "taking off" action thats the problem. Hitting the button sends you into a kind of twist animation that sends your thrusting forward toward wherever your camera is pointing. The action can be disorienting, especially since your character isn't always facing the direction your camera is pointing. As a result, you often start your flight going slightly the wrong way, or even crashing into a wall or object (which can send you falling back down to the ground, sometimes hundreds of feet). The move gets easier to do with practice, but after hours it still felt awkward to me.

The bigger problem is that you can only fly for about 10 seconds at a time. Flying is both the main way you get around the game and one of the game's main mechanics. You're meant to be flying and hovering in battle often. But flying has a resource gauge (a heat gauge) and it only takes about 10 seconds to overheat. Which means flights tend to be short and stressful, and using flying to explore the world, or even just enjoying flying for its own sake, is really limited. You can extend your fly time by cooling down your engines by flying through waterfalls or skimming rivers, but that mostly requires hugging the ground, and that kind of defeats the point?

Good: Missions are fun. Missions in Destiny and The Division tended to be short and mostly revolved around going to a place and killing a guy or flipping a switch.The 3 missions in Anthem are all more involved than that, and while none of them are super complicated all involve multiple locations, lots of different enemies and a boss fight. For this type of game they're satisfying. The game also has some public events in its freeplay exploration mode which seem fun. In one I was blowing up supply tents in an enemy camp while waves of enemies tried to take me down. In another i was collection alien tech while a giant monster chased me through a swamp. I wouldn't say these were more compelling than Destiny or The Divvisin's public events (and nowhere near as fun as coming across a random monster in Monster Hunter World), but they were enjoyable and I can see myself stopping to participate in them over and over. The demo's one Strike/Dungeon was also pretty enjoyable.

Bad: Missions do a very bad job of actually telling you the mission mechanics. Each of the three missions and dungeon had a puzzle mechanic, but I missed the explanation for all of them. Partially this was because the game just says "collect the thing", but doesn't tell you what the thing looks like or where it is. It took me forever to figure out the tiny glowing ball (hidden amidst the explosions, power effects, glowing plants, acid baths, strobe lights, exploding insects, grenade blasts, etc) was the item we were supposed to collect.In another puzzle I totally missed that there was a puzzle at all, and thought the game had just glitched and wasn't opening a door. My second time through the dungeon, after having nick explain the puzzle mechanic to me, I watched the poor random 4th player who had joined our party run around the puzzle room in confusion looking for the item, because he didnt realize that the very unobtrusive and hard to notice pouch that had appeared on his character WAS the item. unfortunately all we could do was watch, since he didn't have a microphone connected.

Good: In addition to being able to equip 2 guns, each of the 4 types of armored suits has a selection of built in options hat allow you to attack, defend or support other players. These can be swapped out or upgraded too, which gives you some fun choices. I started out with two different throwing weapon attacks, but eventually upgraded to a mine launcher and an acid spray. There seems to be lots of options. Lots of guns too.

Bad: However, gun play sucks. Maybe its just because I've played Destiny for so long, but gun play in Anthem is stiff ad unresponsive. The guns are also just not very fun to use. Theres several types of guns, but they all kind of feel the same and none of them seem very effective. Thankfully you don't have to rely on just your guns, since the suit abilities are much more powerful. But shooting is a BIG part of the game, an the guns and gun play are just lackluster. The guns themselves may get more interesting as the game goes on, but I'm not sure gun play will at all.

So I'm undecided on the game. This is just a demo, and the game itself could end up being a lot better. But I was pretty excited about this game, and now a lot of my enthusiasm has died. In fact, more than anything its just made me want to go back to playing Monster Hunter World. I'll wait for the game to be released and see what people have to say before I decide for sure.

#Anthem demo #anthem #anthem review

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wildbeautifuldreamer · 6 years ago

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Witchlands Theories

Okay major major spoilers for anyone who isn’t caught up.

I don’t know if it clicked with anyone else or if I was the only one waaaay behind on this,

“On the right stood Lady Baile, patron saint of change, seasons, and crossroads. Noden’s right hand they called her, and the lamp’s fire shimmered across golden wheat in her left hand, a silver trout in right. Her skin was painted like a night sky, black with pinpricks of white, while the fox-shaped mask across her face shone blue.” - Windwitch p. 38

“Bastien said as we went around the table with our various updates. For once, he had removed the mask he always wore... the Six took their leave. All except Lady Baile....She glanced toward the door, where I noticed a masked figure waited in the tunnel outside. ‘Sometimes we fall in love with those who have been beside us all along.’ Ah. So my suspicions regarding those two Paladins were true.” - Sightwitch pp. 128 - 130

“The patron saint of justice, of vengeance, of rage. The Fury.... Bald, scarred, and hulking, the saint of all things broken bore only the name of his true nature. His one calling. He brought justice to the wronged and punishment to the wicked, while Lady Baile was as beautiful as life itself, the Fury was more grotesque than even the Hagfishes...” - Windwitch pp. 38 & 39

Okay great, so now if everyone realized it, cool. But can I just fangirl the heck out right now? Lady Baile the Saint and Lady Baile the Paladin are the same person.

She who is Noden’s right hand, and her lover, Bastien is the left. To prove that I give you this:

“Back when I had a different name. Back before I became the saint you call the Fury.”... Kullen smiled. A heartbreaking familiar smile. “Hello, old friend,” he said. “Have you missed me?” - Windwitch pp. 296 &297

Kullen laughed. “Yet only in death, could they understand life. And only in life, will they change the world.” He tapped his head, that unnatural grin spreading all the wider. A smile that didn’t reach his dead, dead eyes. “The Fury’s memories were always here, Merik. I just had to die to unlock them.”...”I made this city, and so I will destroy it too.”....”Your sister might think she has won, but I will simply break the dam on my own. This city will be returned to its rightful ruler one way or another.” - Windwitch pp.336 & 337

I am SCREECHING. Okay. Now that I’ve got that out of the way. What in the blooming piss-pies. So Kullen was Bastien as a Paladin in his past life. At least that’s what I’m getting.

I’ve been going rounds and rounds in my head. Was it the Rook King that betrayed them? That was what I was betting on. It seemed like it when Lisbet was trying to convince them to go into the cave:

The Rook King--the one to whom I had given the Paladin-blade for safekeeping--was nowhere in sight....”We can hide in the tomb, but once this battle is over, we will leave.” “But it won’t end. He’s betrayed them all, don’t you see?... Tell her, Da...” ...”I cannot abandon my king.” “Yet you can abandon me? And the girls?” His eyes averted. “No. I...” Then he wilted into me, his forehead resting against mine. “We cannot walk away from this, Dysi. Someone betrayed us.” - Sightwitch pp. 217 -219

So that’s what I thought made it clear that the Rook King betrayed everyone--Side note, did he turn into The Rook? It would make sense why he wanted so badly to save Kullen than. Anyway, that’s my side theory that the Paladins are tied to the origin wells and the animals. However this is going to be another post-- or was it another Paladin? Then the whole thing with Bastien/Kullen. This doesn’t make things any easier. What role does Bastien play in this? At least we know why he’s depicted as, erm, haunting as he is.

“The Six were losing... while fire engulfed Bastien. Baile was pined by swords to the wall...” - Sightwitch p. 218

Did he somehow survive the ravaging long enough that he then went out to unleash his fury on the world? On the other Paladins?

“Six turned on six and made themselves kings, One turned on five, and stole everything.” - Sightwitch p. 165

“The Paladins we locked away will one day walk among us. Vengeance will be theirs, in a fury unchecked, for their power was never ours to claim. Yet only in death, could they understand life. And only in life, will they change the world.” - Sightwitch p. 211

Well Kullen/Bastien certainly has a fury unchecked as he runs around talking about the city that he built and how it’s his to control. Which then makes me question which six turned on six? Who were the Exalted ones? I was so sure that it was Bastien who Kullen is, but it almost makes me wonder that if the two Wind Paladins are tied together somehow. Or I’m overthinking things like normal. I know we haven’t gotten to hear more about the other Paladins, Rhian, Midne, Saria. I’m mostly intrigued by Baile, Bastien, and the Rook King (also why in the blazes doesn’t he get his own name? Especially when his name is King...) yet again which six turned on six? Which one stole everything? I know in one of the drawings Ryber is wondering if Kullen was the Paladin to turn on everyone (Sightwtich, p. 227).

However, I’m wondering if we were looking at this wrong. What if the Rook King had always been playing two sides to confuse the Exalted Ones, and he was supposed to betray the Six who were making the underground cities, and he did, but he also betrayed those who were supposed to kill the Paladins forever by taking the sword away, hence “stole everything?” So instead they trapped those Paladins in the mountain of Simraya

Going back to the Paladins of the same element might be tied, why to the Nubrevnans is Lady Baile whom everyone loves and adores the same woman who Baile’s Slaughter is sacrificed to?

“Three rules has she,” Kahinga sang, shuffling her cards, “Our Lady of the Seas. No whistlings when a storm’s in sight. Six-fingered cats will ward off mice. And always, always stay the night for Baile’s Slaughter Ring.” - Windwitch, p. 220

ALSO are the other rules important? I feel like they might be. Just like how each Sightwitch Sister rule was important in a way that we weren’t expecting.

Anyways it’s late here. I’ve spent far too much time on this post. Remind me that I need to do another on Magic/the Paladins/Cleaving next.

I’d love to hear thoughts, view points, etc.

@whydoyoucareaboutmyusername @youlovemeade @write-the-stars

And as always this world and all the quotes belong to @stdennard who makes my creative brain think, go into overdrive, and shut down.

#Witchlanders #witchlands #threadwitch #sightwitch #truthwitch #witchlands theories #head thoughts #Baile #Kullen #the Paladins #Bastien #Eridysi #Yes I should be doing homework #Yes I have work tomorrow and it's almost bed time #Yes I told myself that I'd only take like half an hour off between my evening class and starting homework #No I don't have that paper done for tomorrow #Why did I decide that grad school and work were good ideas? Obviously I just want to write fan theories anyway #Anyone want to finish my lectures for Health Policy tomorrow? I'll keep writing theories and making witchlands aesthetics if you do

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juniorformulamotorsport · 6 years ago

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Monday, 17th September 2018 – Day 1, Kiev

Finding myself in Kiev for a 2-workshop and meeting session with the rest of the 12-strong team I am part of, the London contingent (two of us) were on the ground and in our hotel about 3 hours ahead of everyone else, so with the dispensation of our lovely manager, we didn’t have anything to do until the others showed up. With that in mind, and arriving on a gloriously sunny afternoon, I persuaded my colleague that we really, really needed to go out and do some sightseeing. It was too good an opportunity to waste. Based in the Park Inn hotel, right next to the Olympic stadium which is now home to Dynamo Kiev, we were well situated to walk to the main attractions of the city centre.

Armed with the Lonely Planet guidebook to Ukraine, and a free Kiev map from reception, I now knew where we should aim for, and so cameras in hand, we walked up towards Taras Shevchenko Park initially, along Velyka Vasylkivska Street and over to Lva Tolstoho Street, admiring the variety of architectural styles which ranged from Stalinist flats to turn of the 19th/20th Century blocks with fabulous decorative features, some of them more “foreign” looking than others.

We also encountered the first of many, many terraces which seem to be attached to every restaurant no matter how basic or how grand. Later some of us would come to think these might not be such a good idea, for a variety of reasons, not least the prevalence of both cigarette smokers, and for that matter, shisha pipe users, mostly young women, who seemed not to care how far and wide the awful perfumed fumes spread from the damn things!

We also found the first of many, many murals, usually beautifully done, and covering the entire end walls of numerous buildings around the city. These apparently sprang up everywhere after the 2014 revolution and the plan is to have at least 200 of these instances of street art. There’s even a map of all of them.

This was also roughly the time we realised that crossing the road can be something of an adventure in Kiev. The traffic is heavy, and despite the crossing lights counting down how long you have to cross, and making it very clear that you are allowed to cross, car drivers still try and come round the corners and carry on regardless. You have to adopt a very determined demeanour and trust you’ll survive! Fortunately for the viability of the local population the really big road junctions have underpasses, complete with doors which I assume are especially necessary in the winter to stop the tunnels filling up with snow. The result is a number of underground spaces, full of ad hoc shops, selling all sorts of stuff you never wanted, or in fact never knew existed.

We survived the crossing to the park, and found quite a few things to amuse us. Temperatures were in the high 20s, so pretty much anyone with nothing better to do was perched on the benches in the cool shade of the trees. And the thing is, the benches themselves came in all manner of shapes that can only be described as playful, with no one bench the same as its neighbour. There were fountains, and flowerbeds full of marigolds, and statues of course, including this rather splendid – if rather gloomy – one of Mr. Shevchenko, the multi-talented national poet himself (which probably beats Austrian nymphs on plinths into a cocked hat).

It’s a very busy place, with all sorts going on, and with cafes and coffee shops and pretty much the entire student body of the university across the road sitting talking, dancing, playing music and generally living life outside. Even late in the evening it remained busy (as we discovered later in the week). We continued up Volodymyrska Street, passing the rather fabulous Taras Shevchenko Ukrainian National Opera House on the way.

The Golden Gates of Kyiv (Золоті ворота) were the main gates of the 11th century fortifications of Kyiv, the capital of Kievan Rus’, and were built between 1017 and 1024 (6545 in the Byzantine calendar) at the same time as The Cathedral of Saint Sophia, which was where I was keen to get us, was built. The whole thing was demolished in the middle ages, and was completely rebuilt by the Soviets in 1982, presumably entirely from their imaginations, because there are no images of the original gates available. The whole rebuilding was extremely controversial, and I did wonder why people were visiting it apart from out of curiosity. Hopefully, they don’t think they’re seeing an historical structure.

It was shortly after this that things started to get weird. Across the square from the gates we found this.

It’s part of the same initiative as the murals. It’s all part of the “ArtUnitedUs” iniative, which is the biggest urban street art project in the world. The hedgehog is a monument to a cartoon, “Hedgehog in Fog”, which was produced in 1975, and it’s the work of the Kyiv Landscape Initiative. The claim is that in 2003 a survey of 140 cinema critics and animators declared it the best cartoon in the history of animation. How true this is, I have no idea, but it seems reasonable. And it certainly wasn’t the only odd art work we encountered. There was a cat made out of white plastic forks (by Constantin Skretutsky)…

And also, in the grounds of Saint Sophia’s cathedral, a squishy piece of work (by Beata Korn) that has a sign asking visitors not to cuddle it. You can see why because it’s oddly irresistible. This is part of the art-project “3D.Public Art” and if you can read Ukrainian, then you’ll know a lot more about it than I do!

We had enough time to investigate the cathedral, but not the rest of the “territory”, so handing over a very small sum of money, we went in. I wasn’t allowed to take photos, which was a shame, but understandable. To give you a taste, I’ve found this on the Wikipedia page for the cathedral.

The building work started somewhere around 1011, and it was founded by the Grand Prince of Kievan Rus’, Vladimir the Great, and building has 5 naves, 5 apses, and 13 cupolas, which is not normal for Byzantine churches. it has two levels of balconies on three sides and it’s full of the most stunning 11th century mosaics and frescoes. I can only imagine what it must have looked like when the mosaics were new, with gold everywhere, and paintings on pretty much every surface. The Kievan rulers were buried here, and the grave of Yaroslav I the Wise is still there.

It has suffered substantial damage more than once, and the hands of Andrei Bogolyubsky of Vladimir-Suzdal in 1169, then the Mongolian Tatars in 1240. By the time that Poland and Ukraine were trying to unite the Catholic and orthodox churches it had pretty much fallen into ruin. Repair work was finally undertaken in 1633 by the Italian architect Octaviano Mancini in what is known as Ukrainian Baroque, at least on the outside, while still preserving the interior art.

Its fate was in the balance again in the 1920s, when the Soviet government wanted to destroy the building (a fate that did befall St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery on the other side of the massive square from Saint Sophia’s). It ended up being re-classified as an architectural and historical museum, a function that it still fulfills now. In a side area there is currently a display of some of the art that was saved from Saint Michael’s prior to its demolition. There was also an interesting work made out of thousands of Ukrainian pysanky eggs, highly decorated Easter eggs. The work, a depiction of the Virgin Mary in the cathedral, is by Oksana Mas, and is made out of something in the region of 15,000 eggs, all different. It’s really impressive, and it takes the eye a moment or two to realise that it is actually made of individually painted eggs.

Back outside we admired the bell tower, which, like those we saw in Finland, stands separate from the main body of the church. It’s beautiful, and apparently affords some fine views over Kiev. We didn’t think we had time, though. I took a few photographs, and bought a guidebook before we left to head back to the hotel to meet up with our colleagues.

The park was still buzzing, and the roads were as lethal as ever. I did spot another of the rather fine murals as we were walking along, and if/when we get back (there’s a suggestion of a repeat visit in Spring) I want to see how many of the 200 works I can find.

We were back at the hotel by 18:00, after a couple of hours of nosing around, and I know my impression of the city was pretty positive already, though I was slightly startled by the presence of a bagpiper outside the Metro station opposite the hotel. It wasn’t that he was playing an instrument most people assume to be Scottish, because I know enough to know that it’s a very common instrument worldwide (after all, it’s really just a bag with hollow pipes), it’s just that I’ve tended to regard the playing of bagpipes as an act of war! The Ukrainian version is called a volynka, and originates in the Carpathians.

It remained to be seen what else we might find, as we were due to be taken on a short tour by our Ukrainian colleagues at 18:30. Sadly, the Danes had fallen victim to a taxi driver who had misunderstood his instructions, and they were now on a misguided tour of the city as he tried to find his way through the rush hour gridlock back to the Park Inn from the Holiday Inn. By the time they finally made it in the door, it was dark outside, and the place we were headed for was close to closing. At least the two of us had seen something of the city.

Travel 2018 – Day 1, Kiev Monday, 17th September 2018 - Day 1, Kiev Finding myself in Kiev for a 2-workshop and meeting session with the rest of the 12-strong team I am part of, the London contingent (two of us) were on the ground and in our hotel about 3 hours ahead of everyone else, so with the dispensation of our lovely manager, we didn't have anything to do until the others showed up.

#2018 #Arts #Cathedral of Saint Michael #Cathedral of Saint Sophia #Cathedrals #Churches #Europe #History #Kiev #Museums #Sightseeing #Taras Schevchenko #Taras Schevchenko Park #Travel #Ukraine

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silverglyph · 7 years ago

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FRAME BY FRAME - All References in the MIC DROP Fan Video by Kiera and Arwen (with pictures and links)

youtube

First of all, go follow @seiyoko and @salukiart, they are amazing artists, animators, and creators!

If I missed any references, please message me and I will add them in!

The opening line of Dope - 0:13

At 0:08 in the video, all member’s names are graffiti’d on the walls.

A line from the song Come Back Home

From about 0:25 to 0:29, Steve Aoki’s eyes watch over the boys from the Mic Drop remix. Also, the TV says ARMY <3

Also at 0:29, there are posters lining the walls from BTS’s past comebacks. If you look closely, you can also see their logo on the controllers (this is much more easily visible later on in the video). The room MIGHT also be modeled to look like a room in their current dorm but I’m not sure.

At 0:30, the first screen of the game finally shows up, and it lasts for about 10 seconds. In that time, we can see:

The stage is modeled from their first music video, No More Dream

J-Hope (who’s character name is written as JHS in the game-- short for Jung Hoseok, his real name) is firing a Supreme gun that shoots fake money (lol).

The little mascot in the Info section is Van, a mascot from the BT21 series created by BTS and Line. Each mascot was made by/represents one member of BTS, except for Van, who represents ARMYs.

“Today, your dream begins! A new path has been opened, don’t hesitate!” I am pretty sure these are lyrics from one of their songs since, throughout the video, Van pretty much mostly speaks in lyrics. I haven’t been able to find this one though.

At 0:41, the stage changes to reflect their We Are Bullet Proof Pt. 2 music video.

Van’s quote “It’s like a desert here, there’s nothing but rocks” is a reference to the hidden song on the LYH album, Sea.

ALSO, a some of the monsters designs are based on lyrics and references from BTS’s music. I’m sure all of them are but I just can’t make the connection. Maybe the rock monster is also a reference to Sea?

Edit: Apparently most of the enemy designs are based off of album covers! This is according to Kiera’s twitter.

At 0:46, Suga joins the party as MYG (short for Min Yoongi, his real name).

J-Hope’s special attack at 0:48 is a reference to the short movie he stars in during the Wings era called MAMA (also the name of his solo song in the Wings album).

I’m not sure I even have to put this, but the great transition at 0:51 is a dead ringer for the iconic MIC MIC BUNGEE move that Suga and J-Hope do in the Mic Drop remix MV.

So now Suga is in the frontlines, attacking. His method of attack is the lighter he’s seen with throughout the entire HYYH series. It first made it’s appearance in the I NEED U music video (seen clearly at 0:29).

The stage has changed to reflect their music video N.O. The red and white color palettes of the monsters in this area are supposed to reflect the red and white album.

And at 1:05 (we’re only A MINUTE INTO THIS VIDEO WOW), they’re in the classroom setting from Boy In Luv. I have no idea what the monster is supposed to be. Is it balancing on a candle? Chalk? Does it represent the red string of fate???

Whoa hey, it’s 1:07 and we’re in the Just One Day music video! I’m fairly sure that paper airplane monster refers to the paper airplane J-Hope had in Spring Day? (At 3:20.) I don’t recall paper airplanes in their other MVs unless there was one in Just One Day that I missed?

Also, it looks like V has shown up! (As KTH, or Kim Taehyung.)

Suga’s special attack starts at about 1:09 and lasts until 1:14. In it, he throws a rock at the monster, an alarm goes off, and a piano falls on the monster’s head. This is a reference to the short film FIRST LOVE, released during the Wings era. In it, Suga throws a rock into a music store, where a piano sits, and an alarm goes off.

Back in the real world at 1:15, we can see more detailed posters from different eras. I just know the Dope era one on the right.

At 1:18, we’re in the underground subway setting for Danger. (If it wasn’t obvious, the stage appearances correspond to the order the actual music videos were released in.) V unleashes his attack, unfurling black wings and firing feathers. In the MV for Blood, Sweat, and Tears, as well as other subsequent material during this era, V was seen and associated with black wings. I think he’s fighting the Gucci snake? Because V loves Gucci in real life?

Also, Van is back! “It’s already your second year, time flows fast...” references their song Second Grade/So 4 More (which is an underrated BANGER btw).

Also, easter egg time: There’s graffiti reading “What Am I to You?” which is the title of one of their intro songs.

New player! Jin (aka KSJ, aka Kim Seokjin) appears at 1:24 and fights by blowing kisses :). Blowing kisses at ARMYs is pretty much his thing lol. Also, blowing kisses sends out hearts that hurt the enemy, and while that’s a common visualization for blowing kisses, I pray that its also a reference to Jin’s heart events.

They’re at the storefront present in the War of Hormone MV. The enemy he’s fighting is, I think, one of the black-clothed goons from Not Today and the Mic Drop remix MV. (It also appeared in Kiera’s last full-length fan animation of Cypher Pt. 3. That video is itself chock-full of references! Incidentally, I believe Van’s quote here is also referencing that song.)

Two seconds later at 1:26, Jimin (aka PJM, aka Park Jimin) makes his appearance. This time, they’re at the bonfire scene from I NEED U (also appears in their prologue MV I think). Their fighting a flower monster that I don’t know the significance of.

Jimin attacks with an umbrella. I think the umbrella is from the Love Yourself short films but I’m not entirely sure.

At 1:37, we get our first look at the achievement system in this game.

It’s all the awards they’ve won up until this point! Really awesome touch.

Two new players appear this time: Jungkook (JJK, Jeon Jungkook) and RM (KNJ, Kim Namjoon). I have no idea what Jungkook’s attack is: he pulls some string from his wrist and it transforms into a spear? Jungkook’s attack may be referencing the move from DNA. Strands of DNA come oout of his arm and form a spear. (Thank you @bangpdofficial!)

The stage is a scene from their Dope MV. Van’s quote, “so this is Bangtan style,” references the same song.

I am almost certain that the lion enemy has a mane modeled after the lily flower that appears frequently in the Bangtan Cinematic Universe. It’s even got six petals.

At 1:46, Jimin unleashes his special attack. The attack involves him eating an apple and then teleport-kicking the enemies. I think this is a reference to his short film, LIE.

The stage is from the For You MV, a song/MV exclusively released in Japan. I am not sure what the enemies are supposed to be.

Jimin’s kick transitions into the next scene, where the stage is modeled after the tunnel scene from the RUN MV. I am pretty sure the enemy is a reference to Baepsae/Crow-tit, and this bird represents the wealthy older generation.

A wild BTS lightstick appears at 1:53! (Also, we got some new scenes of their room with some new posters.) 9:18 might refer to the date the Love Yourself album was released (thank you anon!)

A new stage shows up at 1:55. I don’t quite recognize it but it might be the Japanese version of I NEED U? We can also get a clearer look at the bird from Baepsae.

At 1:57 we come to yet another new stage modeled after the Japanese Run MV. It’s filled with graffiti of the names of a ton of their songs.

V activates his special attack. A single lightbulb hangs from the ceiling and a table appears, which he kicks towards the baepsae. I believe it’s a reference to his interrogation scene in his short film, STIGMA.

Also, in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, V’s attack animation ends with him giving a peace sign and his adorable puppy Yeontan popping out of his pocket.

Two minutes into the video and we get a new stage (modeled after the Fire MV) and we finally see RM’s attack. He pulls out a giant lollipop and smacks enemies with it. He’s frequently seen with a yellow lollipop in the Bangtan Cinematic Universe.

And now they’re in a stage modeled after the Save Me MV.

Again, the stage changes into one based on Young Forever. I don’t know what that enemy’s supposed to be, but he’s pretty cool looking. And an animation for downed party members has never been so cute. (But what is that in Jin’s arms?)

At 2:08, RM provides an assist move that revives V and Jin. It takes the appearance of his BT21 mascot, Koya.

We get another look at the achievements screen at 2:10. It’s coming along nicely!

And a level selection screen a couple of seconds later! Not only does it show the title of the MV, but the description includes the album the song came from. The level code is also the date of the comeback (thank you @bangpdofficial)

2:18 shows a stage based on the Blood, Sweat, and Tears MV, as well as my favorite enemy design in the whole video: a dear featuring the circle designs from the Wings album cover.

For his special attack, RM unleashes a phone booth to crush the enemies, referencing his short film REFLECTION.

More awards!

Also, seems like the boys have started taking notes. You can see a DNA strand drawn on the bottom one (blocked a little by the YouTube bar--sorry about that).

New stage at 2:30! It’s the train from Spring Day. Van’s line about forgetting shoes also references the lone pair of shoes featured many times in that video.

Jin summons his pet sugar gliders to restore the HP of the rest of the party (to the bewilderment of Van).

Jin uses his special attack in the Not Today stage at 2:45. He takes a photo with the polaroid camera seen many times in the Bangtan Cinematic Universe, and it turns the enemy to stone. It crumbles away under his touch. This might relate to the way Jin crumbled as though he were stone in the Blood Sweat and Tears MV.

At 2:50, we’re taken to a new stage. I think it’s based on the Japanese MV of Blood Sweat and Tears. Van’s quote is another reference to the song Sea.

A closer look at the controller at 2:55.

Even more awards! Too many that I can’t even count ‘em.

And at 3:03, we see a DNA-based stage. Van’s quote is once again from Sea.

Jungkook’s special attack has all the other members in BTS appear behind him in succession before he delivers a punch to the enemy. It’s safe to say that this references the song (not the short film) BEGIN, which is something of an ode to the hyungs of Bangtan. <3 (song) (film)

3:20. Hey look it’s pretty much a direct replica of that one scene from DNA (at 3:49).

At 3:25 we get our first look at the game over screen. Among a bunch of other “you have failed” messages, there’s this one (”don’t be such a try-hard”) that further references Baepsae.

Looks like they keep getting knocked out in the Mic Drop stage. That weird rainbow ball from DNA is tough.

Van’s words of encouragement are nearly a direct quote from the best-known line in Sea. “Where there’s hope, there’s trials.”

Last but not least, BTS’s achevements have earned them a spot on the world’s scoreboard, their debut on Billboard’s Hot 100 as number 28. <3

This fan animation was absolutely stellar and the attention to detail was mind-blowing. Even the tiniest details like how each member’s idle animation would work had so much thought put into it. Again, mad props to @seiyoko, @salukiart and @yowgurt for their incredible work!

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for-a-flower · 7 years ago

Text

Time Passes

Asgore did get better, though he was sick for a very rough couple of days. Chara didn't mention that day very often during the next couple years. She only brought it up once, which happened to be just after Asriel had pulled a joke on her with the camera. She had wanted to ask him something about those flowers and told him to turn off the camera. However, her chance was cut short when Toriel came into their room to see what they were up to.

Life continued on. The monster kingdom was happier than ever. Toriel made decisions for those in the underground and kept track of events that took place. That was her role as a queen. She would also make reports on recent activities every month, to update all the monsters with any important changes. As the king, Asgore had the final say on everything, though he usually went along with Toriel's suggestions. The kingdom needed both of them equally. As young teens, Ariel and Chara made up some new games to play. Once in a while they still played some of the first ones they enjoyed. The game of monsters and humans they had tried long ago became a running joke between the family though the two children never tried to play it again.

During the last several years, Chara had made Asgore a funny pink sweater that said Mr. Dad Guy. She had given it to him for being a good dad to her. He wore it out quickly, as he ended up taking it with him most everywhere. Asriel had given Chara a red ribbon for being an amazing sibling. Weeks later, she had lost the ribbon in the Ruins during a game of hide and seek. The Dreemurrs had finally painted Chara and Asriel’s room red as well, which turned out to be quite an event. Asriel had managed to get some red paint in the fur on his right ear. It took about a week to get it all out.

Generally, things were good. However, Chara was growing crueler with some of her actions. Asgore and Toriel were mostly oblivious to the changes. Since Asriel spent the most time with her, he definitely knew something was wrong. He had tried to get some information from her a few times. But each time, she had either made it really hard for him understand what she was saying or avoided the subject all together.

Chara grumbled to herself as she waded through a pool of dirty water following Asriel's lead. He had tiny, pointed horns beginning to grow on his head now that he had reached the age of fourteen. While the two of them had been going through Waterfall, Asriel had suggested they look for anything interesting. They waded deep into a dead-end tunnel, passing several streams that flowed down the walls into the pool around them. Asriel slowed his pace, leading Chara into an area with several piles of trash. Chara waved a hand in front of her at the awful smell that filled the air around them.

"We're here," said Asriel. He stepped up onto a strip of dry land to look back at her with a smile.

Chara climbed up to join him. "Why did we come here again?" she said. "I don't like it here. I want to go back home."

Asriel frowned. "Aw, I know it smells bad, but hang on. Monsters have found lots of neat things down here. Maybe we'll find something nice."

Chara was intrigued. "What kind of things?"

"Oh, all sorts." Asriel stepped up to a nearby pile and began tossing some of the junk aside. "Like . . . newspapers, pictures, and gadgets. There’s a lot of neat junk in here."

Chara moved up beside Asriel to watch him search a few moments. "Really."

"Yeah . . . I found that toy knife you had in this stuff." Asriel stopped tossing aside pieces of trash to face the young human teen.

Chara smiled. "Guess it wouldn’t hurt to see what we can find." She walked over to another pile and began searching for anything that caught her eye. Several minutes passed before Asriel suddenly gasped. Chara now stood among a mess of trash all around her. She was mostly wet but didn't care. She looked toward the monster with his floppy, white ears. He had found a sealed box and was sitting on the ground, trying to open it with his little claws.

"Chara, do you have anything sharp?" he called. "I can't seem to get into this wrapping."

“What’s wrong with using your claws?” said Chara.

Asriel tried scraping at the wrapping. “Haha, they aren’t quite long enough yet.” Chara sighed then glanced over the trash near her. Her red eyes caught sight of a sharp, relatively new looking dagger. She snatched it and approached Asriel, who was still trying to pull open the tight plastic wrap. The human joined him and lifted the knife. Asriel looked up with a smile. "That's perfect! Here." He held out the box. Chara carefully stuck the blade into the top seem of the box and cut across the wrapping with a quick slash. Asriel put the box on his lap again to continue pulling it open. "That's a pretty neat thing you found. What do you think it's for?" he asked.

Chara was about to drop the knife but paused to examine its sharp blade. "It's a kind of knife or dagger," she said. "It looks like it would be good for gardening . . . like cutting weeds or something."

Asriel, still sitting on the moist dirt, had almost got the box open the rest of the way. Though his attention was focused on it, he replied. "Cool! You should bring it back and show it to mom and dad." Chara put the knife in her pocket just as Asriel opened the box. She moved closer to look in with curiosity. Inside was a bunch of thin, rectangular shapes also wrapped in plastic. Asriel was confused. He took one out to look at it. "What are these?"

Chara smiled. "Chocolate?" She picked up one as well. "I can't believe it." The human girl opened its wrapper and tasted the dark brown chocolate bar. "It's still good too. It's been so long since I’ve had any."

Asriel looked up. "Chocolate?" His head was tilted a little in confusion, while still holding a bar in his hand.

Chara took a large bite out of the chocolate and replied with her mouth full. "It is a human candy, Asriel. Kids love this stuff. Remember? Mom had some at that first party when I was adopted."

"Oh! Cool." Asriel opened the wrapper of his and licked the chocolate.

"Do you like it?"

Asriel took a bite and savored the taste a few seconds. "Hm, it's sweet but uh . . . not my favorite."

"I think chocolate is fantastic." Chara took another bite and giggled. "I don't know how I lasted so long without it."

"Should we bring it back too?"

Chara nodded. "Yes, we definitely should."

"Alright." Asriel stood up, holding the box securely. "Let's go. This will keep us busy for a while." He started back through the water, taking the lead. "See? Told you this would be fun."

Chara took another bite of her chocolate bar as she followed him. “Yeah. This was a good idea,” she said.

Full Chapter List

#undertale #fan fiction #chara #asriel #dreemurrs #waterfall #dump #lookie asriel has teeny horns now #time passes #part one #only takes one

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