#the shit we’re doing to sentinel... he deserves it (<- evil)

[mychlapci]

Single mommy-to-be Sentinel Prime accidentally conditioning himself into getting aroused at the thought of being a good housemecha. Deciding that even thought the pregnancy was a surprise he wasn’t going to be known as some kind of dead-beat failure of a parent, his own pride forcing him to actually study up. Maybe too proud to find a transfluid donor, so he has to take supplements. Of course, they’re administered by valve… and the applicator might as well be a false spike.

Pregnant, desperately horny Sentinel rocking on his new favorite toy as he watches his parenting tips and housekeeping vids, trying to keep from overloading as his hand teases his limp, useless spike absentmindedly. I imagine he’d still be too proud to touch his node, and by the time he’d be desperate enough to try he’d be too round with his bitlet to reach. Biting his lip and whining with need when his next vid ends, the friendly mech narrating assuring him that he’ll “do a great job, carrier!” It’s just more efficient to do both at the same time, learn what he needs to prove he’s the best while getting the necessary nutrients for the bitlet. Anything to get back to work faster, after all.

Those thoughts would fade as the pregnancy progressed, as he grew heavier and hormonal. A mech as strong and brilliant as Sentinel Prime would never be an absent parent after all, never mind the twitch of his valve when he thought about being a good, dedicated mommy. Of course he’d need to stay home until the bitlet weaned, at bare minimum. Breast is best, or so his vids keep telling him as his own pair swell with energon. And maybe in time he’d even realize what he’s done to himself, turned into a perfect, pretty single mommy, but it’d be too late to stop the arousal building behind his panels as the nesting phase kicks in and he starts cleaning the house top to bottom in preparation for the baby. Can’t stop the lubricant from drooling into his closed panel when mechanisms ask to touch his round, firm belly or complement him on his glow. Finally getting his overload as he takes his supplements while he picks out nursery furniture, riding the applicator like a dedicated single mommy should.

…and maybe the vids have some kind of underlying hypnotic qualities to help him along, meant to get him out of the way—whether by the Decepticons or the Autobots. But then again, maybe not.

you are so insane for this (affectionate). the wification of Sentinel continues… i love the word “conditioning” it brings up very exciting fantasies. 

hgrhhh Sentinel watching pregnancy care videos with the toy slowly pumping nutritious fluid into his gestation tank, valve wet and throbbing the entire time, but he doesn’t allow himself to ride the applicator because he’s far too proud to admit, even to himself, that being pregnant turns him on. But it just keeps getting harder and harder to not move the more the videos assure him he’s going to be a great mommy - the words just make him feel so weird and so good, it’s almost… suspicious. But he doesn’t have the time to think about that. Of course he’ll be a good mommy. Who'd be a better fit than him? Slowly, over time, he starts to grind against the applicator, ceiling node crackling with charge, his spike pressurized just enough to hang out of its sheath, but staying limp as his frame directs all attention to his valve. He starts cleaning around the house more, panels leaking a little as he begins to get off to the fantasy of being a good housewife. 

Sentinel using the applicator while thinking about all the people who’ve asked to touch his baby-bump since he’s started to show, imagining how jealous they must be of his pregnancy, how pathetic they are to invade his personal space just to get a piece of this. They must be able to tell he’s going to be a good mommy and are all envious. hgrhhh Sentinel casually browsing furniture for the nursery and riding the applicator like a pro, sinking his valve on it while holding the data-pad up to his face, valve squirting out fluids as he gets closer and closer to his overload. At this point he’s too horny to pretend his node doesn’t throb when he looks down and sees his pregnancy belly. He has to keep riding the applicator, he has to, he needs to get all those nutrients into his tank so that his baby is big and healthy. Maybe he overloads but the applicator is not done pumping, so he has to keep sitting on it while his array quivers, until all the fluids are drained and stored inside of his tank, fingers shaking as he keeps on picking out the nursery furniture. 

[criticalrolo]

Closest NPCS to the Fire starters? 👀👀

OH BOY NPC TIME @the-mint-man​ GET IN HERE

1. Naomi Zoros

Obviously I have to shout out my favorite NPC of all time, Thalia’s mom Naomi. Naomi is a fallen aasimar who has essentially thrown in her lot with Graazt, who is her “angelic” patron, but is essentially a Deeply Misguided character whose protective instincts have clashed pretty sharply with her messed up familial trauma, so she’s unintentionally projecting/inflicting a lot of the Bad Shit that she went through emotionally onto Thalia and making everyone’s lives DIFFICULT. that’s not gonna stop Thalia from breaking her out of jail however

2. Leolin

THATS OUR DAD THATS OUR EMO DROW DAD WHO DYES HIS HAIR BLACK FOR THE AESTHETIC HE PRETENDS IT’S FOR ADDED STEALTH BUT WE KNOW IT’S BECAUSE HE THINKS IT’S COOL. Has an actual wife and kids but we’ve all decided we’re adopting him as our Party’s Collective New Father

3. Lady Wendolyn

One of Cinderstone’s counselors, she and her brother Gideon were the ones who hired the Firestarters to investigate the Golden Shadow assassin after they brought in the halfling refugees following Dagar’s attack on their town. Turns out she WAS the Golden Shadow all along, and is the world’s coolest monk/wizard multiclasser who needed help uncovering the corruption in the city. Got captured by the Maze Makers with Thalia, helped to defeat Dagar, and is now a good friend of the party’s. She’s just the best and I love her

4. Jaal

Jaal is the Second Sentinel, basically the second in command at Vernheight (the fantasy Spy Network headquarters). He seemed nice and charismatic but there was Just Something Off About him and him appearing in the wrong places at the wrong time... until we connected the dots and realized he was the Ancient Silver Dragon that we’d spotted following us a few times :) 

5. Jerome and Emmeline

god the whole royal family is absolute Batshit Insane and I love them in all their Kardashian-flavored drama, but Jerome and Emmeline are my favorites. we DESERVE a cocaine fuelled bard and a rage filled Fashion barbarian to be leading the empire. this is just Good Vibes all around

6. Maron

There’s a theme of Sad Fallen Angels in this campaign -- Maron was running around with the Maze Makers after the Ruin of Angels destroyed his home on Endaelia. After he told a captured Thalia about that she did yell at him for being a fucking moron and an evil selfish son of a bitch, and he eventually switched sides to help out the Fire Starters against Dagar. Now he’s doing his best to Make Reparations by stopping all the maze maker splinter segments while undercover as the Raven, so he’s doing his best not to Be A Bastard anymore ;)

7. Dagar

Absolute BASTARD of a man, ran the Maze Makers, a group that pillaged towns, kidnapped people to use as slaves or sacrifices, killed our paladin’s parents, destroyed our artificer’s town and kidnapped HER parents, etc. Very satisfying to blow him up after all his spooky evil bullshit! Fantastic villain 

8. Mihr Onvi

sir Not-Yet-Appearing-In-This-Campaign but I Claire am fucking obsessed with him and his secret backstory as the badass Third Sentinel who killed demons and kicked ass before retiring to Endaelia, having a kid, and then getting kidnapped/thrown into Abyss Prison to theoretically hide from Grazzt

[electronicdelusionstarlight]

wait a minute. So I've read your bits on civil war 2008, and I have a question for you: all the characters in the civil war event, at least the major players(like stark, Cap, Spidey, FF), do you believe that they are acting OOC, or that the writers chose to bring out the character's worse qualities to create drama?

And do you think that if the writers had written them In Character, or at least written them to be more balanced, would it have improved the story? Actually, do you think that Civil War could have been... at least A not Bad Story under an intense rewrite? or that the whole concept should have been thrown away?

The OOC talk is tempting and also partially justified. There is a batch of previous stories scattered through the years with the Fantastic Four dealing with similar scenarios where Reed is pretty much anti-government.

1) In one Social Services sue the FF4 for endangering Reed and Sue Kids by keeping them in the Baxter Building despite it being blown up once every 2 weeks. They ask them to "register" them and put them in a safe government facility, so to spearhead a new law where they can get pre-teen superhumans "out of harm way" or some shit.

Keep in mind Franklin is still a Mutant in this story (And still is right now because FUCK YOU SLOTT). Anyway, Reed seemingly agrees,only to set up a dummy facility and "register" his kids there. He doesn't even announce it he literally only writes it in the Government's documentation and shit.

The facility is razed to the ground a couple hours later. Because yes the Baxter Building can explode at any time but AT LEAST they are there to protect the kids from the countless people.

2) In another story, Reed is asked by Congress to create a device that outs mutants and "abnormal" humans, so the government can better individuate them for "reasons." Reed agrees, and makes a device SO POWERFUL it detects every deviations from the supposed norm, so when he gives a demonstration in Congress, he reveals half of its members would qualify as "Mutants" if they kept that line of inquiry, which makes them hastily drop the whole thing. This was intentional, because who the fuck are they to decide who is or isn't not normal?

3) Compare and Contrast with Civil Ear Reed Richards, who is a McCarthy apologist who goes "Logically speaking, we need to listen to the government on this one otherwise we might get burned just like my (gay coded) artist uncle was by the McCarthy Trials in the 50s when he told the court to shove it and his life was ruined as a result. It's the rational way to do it."

4) (The three main proponents of the Registration Side being Rich, White, Heterosexual Men in positions of powers, with jobs in the science field that justify their decision with "Facts and Logic" was PROBABLY unintentional, but is also a great unintended allegory for this kind of shit. The ones who are hurt the most but these kind of laws are the ones who can't afford it after all, and who is ever going to go after the rich and powerful first? Especially if they come with little repercussions on their lives (Tony, Reed and Hank where all already outed as Superheroes after all))

5) Peter is OOC in OMD mind you, Civil War goes pretty much how you'd expect him to go (gets manipulated by authority figure into it, MJ and May are supportive of him because they see only half the facts, the SECOND Peter realizes that those people are monsters he drops them and gets the shit beaten out of him for it, unlike Reed or Tony who can AFFORD having their identities public Peter barely has the money to survive which ends with May getting shot for it). It's an incredibly poignant scenario that I wish was used to TELL A MESSAGE rather than just a backdrop to shoehorn OMD in.

6) Which is to say Civil War could indeed be written better under the same premise. If they want to keep the Patriot Act Allegory, they should be aware of what that would entail for the characters that support it.

We are currently seeing a similar scenario going on in Marvel in the Champions comics where the registration side is pretty much spearheaded by an unambiguous evil corporation and shit. In light of Civil War I existing the whole thing kinda loses its impact (Like that one joke scene where Tony goes "Maybe we should register them" with a smug look on his face as if he isn't responsible for so many deaths), but at least they are trying to shift the conversation? The villain is not the Government of course it's Evil Apple, but at least it's not a "Both Sides are equally ok" centrist bullshit take like they did in Civil War or in Skyrim.

Like, fuck, it's literally called CIVIL WAR to invoke the American Civil War in the context of the "brother kills brother" interpretation some bastards are so fond off, I wouldn't call THAT a "Both Sides are valid" scenario by a long fucking mile, yet here we are.

7) I think the best way to put it would be to set up the same scenario but make it realistic to the setting and shit.

Hank and Tony still support the Government because one is a Skrull Chaos Agent the other is misguided, Carol takes Reed's place in the Triad because Women can be War Criminals too (She was leading the equivalent of a child soldier program during Civil War so she is one already at least). Steve is also anti government because this is happening during the fucking BUSH ADMINISTRATION and he goes "When will Washington decide who the villains are?" Like he did in canon but in, like, a poignant moment.

Speaking of Reed he will keep his family neutral and go "I admit superheroing does need failsafes and some kind of oversight mind you, I just don't this this country's government has demonstrated their right to be that."

Let's not put the "Cap you are out of touch because you don't know what MySpace is" or "Luke every time I see a Sentinel that's like seeing a Burning Cross" rants in the story too because those were some raw shit.

Tony, again, lives in privilege, so it wouldn't exactly affect him, and is genuinely trying to do good, so we need to put him as the "Patsy" who gets duped by Skrull Hank Pym for it, the government is the one with the secret prison for Superheroes, Hank is the one recruiting Nazi Scientists and starting child soldier programs, clones Thor, sets up with the Government a Super Prison in the Ocean (can't use the negative zone without Reed), outside of US Jurisdiction so the government can ship then there with no trial and torture them. When Skrull Hank Pym is confronted for it, and the blame is attempted to be pinned on him and him alone, he goes "Are you earthlings daft or something? I did almost nothing, it was your government who did most of the work in their desire for security and safety, I just sped up the process for them, they would have done all of this with or without me."

Around the ending Tony finds out and is devastated and drops the whole thing."

When someone tries to comfort Tony over it because he didn't know any of this he goes "Oh, that's were you're wrong Peter. I knew. Deep down, I knew things weren't right, unjust, but I did nothing, because I could make things better from the inside, because it didn't affect me, because It would have been inconvenient to me to stop this. This is on me for passively accepting it as it is on the ones who enforced it." Which leads him to make amends, that way he is not as much of a awful character here.

The scene where The US kidnaps Ororo so they can strong arm Tchalla into getting registered happens but is treated as a international crisis as it deserves.

The Prison Break finale happens because Namor discovers the prison in HIS FUCKING DOMAIN and just goes ham on it with the help of the Anti Registration side, he drops a line like "I've seen shit like this before, I've seen what happens when man declares another man a criminal for things out of their control, for what they've been from birth, and I say NOT IN MY KINGDOM!" or some shit (He is a WWII veteran after all).

Since Steve isn't pummeling to the ground Tony in this scenario there isn't the dumb as fuck Everyday Heroes scene and he doesn't get shot by Sharon later on..

We have instead the scene from Secret Invasion where Skrull Hank Pym kills Steve (In SI it was Skrull Queen killing Janet Van Dyne) on national television, which leads to the anger of everyone involved who rush him, only for Tony to be the one who pull the trigger.

Tony is put in charge of SHIELD, which leads to Iron Reign (Dark Reign equivalent), and the story ends with him going "Let's see if things can reach change from the inside this time" as he actually reforms Shield from his position of power. The Registration Act becomes unpopular due to Steve's death and Alien Interferences, so that helps, and leads to actual protests in the streets after Namor reveals to the UN the war crimes the US is committing. It's a slow process, but is something.

OMD doesn't happen, The Peter storyline remains pretty much the same, but instead of Tony bragging about his private prisons for Superheroes in hell, it's the Punisher who shows up to him and reveals some troubling shit he discovered, Peter Confront Tony for it who dismisses it as fake news because he doesn't want to believe, Peter drops the registration side out of disgust, which then leads to the government sending villains after him rather than Tony. Tony is then seen strongly arguing with Maria Hill for this since Peter almost died from what he got from his suit readings (which he never hijacked or deactivated), but the Skrull Hank Pym shows up and supports Maria Hill for it, and Carol is busy with her child soldier program to comment.

May still gets shot and dies right as Peter and MJ discover MJ is pregnant with their second Daughter, which is ripe for lots of good stuff.

Maria Hill will therefore have to take even more of a role as a Government Plant and shit, but what's new.

Johnny Storm still gets hate crimed on but not by black people. Maybe confirm him as Bi while we're at it? You know, to get topical and all.

Ideally No More Mutants never happened so mutants are still a thing and most of them are vehemently anti registration. Emma Frost appears neutral at first glance, but ultimately she is playing the long game, secretly helping militant mutant groups and shielding the school from unwanted attention. She still has a restraining order filled for Tony Stark, she still points out to Carol how fucking dangerous a mutant life can be if outed via mind powers.

Can't think of much else for now, maybe Felicia helping MJ and May while they are in hiding? MJ is nauseous and all and she goes "must be the nerves" and Felicia agrees but May knows. This could lead to the polycule post May death since Felicia blames herself for it for not being fast enough, and MJ now is pregnant and scared and the Registration Act is getting repealed by the future is still glum and Peter is depressed so they all comfort each other and then 69 issues later we have a two parter maxi event where they face their fears and BANG we get the polycule.

Aunt May still poisons the Chameleon while he was posing as Peter. She actually actually poisons him rather then just drug him this time, because she knows of that one time he tried to force himself on MJ while posing as Peter which lead to MJ beating the shit out of him with a baseball bat, and May is a nice old lady but there are things she really can't stand you know?

Felicia and MJ help her hide the body. Peter never finds out.

And that's it?

[thecorteztwins]

(I wanted to write about Mindmeld coming back on Krakoa. It ended up having less of the personality I envision for her, and actually being more about Emma, to my surprise, even though Emma isn’t a character I consider myself capable of writing. But, tagging @badmusesdoitwell for Emma and @sammysdewysensitiveeyes @esteicy-blog since I know you guys like Mindmeld!)

Like all the others, Mindmeld’s resurrection took place in front of a crowd of Krakoans to witness her rebirth. But all she saw when she spilled out of her golden egg was Shinobi Shaw, her former employer and ex boyfriend, standing in front of her, bending his knees, smiling and reaching down. ”Mindmeld,” someone said, “How do we know it is you?” The words didn’t even reach her ears above her own scream of rage as she launched herself from the ground on to Shinobi, clawing and kicking. ”Whoa!” he exclaimed in shock. “You left me!” she yelled, not ceasing in her blows,  “You bastard!” “Whoa, hey, calm down,” Shinobi pleased, shifting to his super dense state so she couldn’t hurt him, though she was still trying. “You left me to die!” “Mindmeld, baby, you knew the risks---” “You betrayed me!” “You were paid t---aaah not the hair!”

Even his super-dense state couldn’t ward off a good hair pull, something he would have enjoyed under different circumstances. Among those watching, Emma and Sebastian where at the front of the crowd. or two people who hated each other, they often were in close proximity. Insert that old adage here about where to keep your enemies. “I suppose you’re just going to let this undignified display go on?” Emma asked. “You don’t find it terribly entertaining?” “I’m very sure Shinobi deserves it, but does the young lady?” “Well, do something, then, if you have a problem.” “He’s your son and this was your recommendation for resurrection--you do something.” Sebastian squinted at her. Why did she care about this ‘Mindmeld’ person that his son had asked to be pushed to the head of the revival queue? She had an angle, he just didn’t know what it was. He seldom did. She’d become so much more unpredictable since she joined the X-men. He really hated her for that. But this was admittedly getting out of hand. As amusing as it was, Shinobi being the Black Bishop meant that his follies---especially the very public ones---reflected on the Hellfire Club as a whole, and more importantly, on Blackstone, Sebastian’s segment of it. So he sighed, and, hoping he wasn’t literally walking into some scheme of Emmas, strode to where Mindmeld was still walloping the beejeesus out of his idiot offspring in front of the laughing crowd. “Excuse me, young lady?” Mindmeld downright snarled in reply, a back-off warning if there ever was one. “Not that I’m sure my son doesn’t deserve this,” Sebastian continued, and indeed he was just as sure in that was Emma was, “But were you aware, in your ire, that you are on display?” “Wh--” Mindmeld realized, really realized, at that moment, that she was in front of crowd. She looked out at the Krakoans, and she stopped her assault. She shrank in on herself, confused and embarrassed and all too aware of her exposing nudity, a state that was for more vulnerable and humiliating and unsafe for her even than most. There was a sudden weight on her bare-no-longer shoulders; Shaw had dropped his overcoat over them. “I’d suggest you get up and come with me, Miss Mindmeld. I think we’re all satisfied it’s really you. Shinobi, get up, you’ve embarrassed ALL of us enough for today.” Emma did not follow the trio as they departed the scene, but she was watching. Sebastian could feel her eyes boring into his back like diamond drills. Had she put this idea in his son’s head to begin with, perhaps? He decided he’d keep an eye on this ‘Mindmeld’. *** “DON’T FUCK MY DAD!” These were the words that echoed down the hall of Blackstone that Sebastian Shaw was presently passing through, shirt off and coffee cup in hand. Well. That was interesting. Seemed Shinobi and Mindmeld were getting along about the same as they had before. “Well I might!” Mindmeld’s voice came now from behind the same door that Shinobi’s had ejected from,  “You don’t own me! I will if I want!” “Come on, you can’t do that!” “I can’t?! I CAN’T?! I could do it even if we WERE still together, which we’re NOT! You threw ALL THIS away, Shinobi, and worse! I should fuck your dad, just to fuck YOU! And I’m gonna go do it RIGHT NOW!” “You wouldn’t!” “Watch me! Literally, watch me!” With that, the door opened, just as Sebastian was passing by it, and the silver-skinned mutant waked right out into him. She paled as she realized who it was. “You heard,” she said in a small, oh-shit voice. “I did,” he said, closing the door behind her. “I, uh, I was...I was just...I didn’t really.” “We can, you know,” he offered calmly, “Or not, and just say we did. If you’d like that.” “That...would be great, actually.” She grinned in relief...and then much more wickedly.

*** “MY DAD IS FUCKING MY GIRLFRIEND!” “That can’t possibly surprise you, Shinobi,” said Emma. She had no idea WHY Shaw’s son had come to HER to complain, but then, she supposed the poor boy had no one else. Well, Christian, maybe... “You know your father.” “Yeah but why would SHE fuck him? That’s what I wanna know!” “Well darling, there’s money, there’s power, there’s a hard cock, and there’s sticking it to you. All very attractive things.” “Listen, just I because might have betrayed her horribly ONE TIME does not warrant this kind of treatment!” “I agree,” said Emma, hiding her shock that she could actually find common ground with him on anything, “Vengeance is worth a lot of things  but not degrading oneself in terms of bedroom partners. The poor girl. I’ll set her up with someone far more suitable. Meaning, someone who isn’t either of you.” “Hey! That’s NOT what I’m asking for here!” “I hope you weren’t expecting HELP with this.” Emma said coldly, knowing that it’s EXACTLY what he was expecting. “Aw come on, how can I win her back, Emma, please?” “How would I know?” “You’re blonde, psychic, stylish, and mean! You’re practically the same person! You would know!” Ah. Now Emma understood. Shinobi hadn’t brought Mindmeld back out of love, nor for some sinister plot to use her against Emma or Sebastian or anyone else. He just wanted his own shiny-skinned psychic with a sharp tongue and fabulous fashion sense, and succeed where his father failed by actually keeping her on his side.  A feat he’d botched before he’d even began it, clearly. “Grovel,” said the White Queen flatly. “That’ll get her back?” “No, but you should do it anyway, you owe it to her from what I understand.” Emma didn’t know WHAT Shinobi had done to that woman, but she had no doubt it was something typical of how this family treated its allies---one could just ask Sage about that. *** “You’re Emma Frost,” Mindmeld said in awe. “I am. And you’re better than them.” Mindmeld immediately knew who she meant. “Is that supposed to be an accomplishment?” she asked with a sneer, directed not at Emma but at the pair they were discussing. “Oh good,” Emma grinned, “I like you, I was so hoping that I would. Now tell me darling---how is it someone with such good taste in shoes has such poor taste in men?” Mindmeld put up her beautifully-manicured hands, “If you’re trying to get me to back off one or both, consider it done. I’m not getting in your way. Just because I was technically born last week doesn’t make me an idiot.” Emma nearly laughed, “Oh darling, you misunderstand me terribly! And here you seemed so bright. I’m about as keen to have one of those two inside me as I am an enema-by-Sentinel-canon. “Oh,” Mindmeld paused, “So, what do you care then? You hate them, so you’re cockblocking?” “I get the feeling you’re not used to anyone doing you any favors, are you Mindmeld?” Emma asked, her tone slightly softer. Mindmeld’s suspicious face at this told her all she needed to know. Emma didn’t need to be a mind-reader to know that the moment Emma had made herself seem like she was doing this out of genuine concern and not some petty schoolgirl agenda, Mindmeld had doubted her. It wasn’t anything personal, she didn’t know Emma--did know OF her, admired the hell out of her, what a QUEEN, what an ICON, she was everything Mindmeld wanted to be---it was just that was what she thought of people. Emma was right, no one did her any favors, not without wanting something in return, and she didn’t expect Emma to be the first. She would have been less defensive if Emma had come in quid pro quo because she’d see Emma as being upfront in her intentions, instead of hiding them as she now did. Not unlike Sebastian himself, Emma noted. She supposed the only way Mindmeld would trust her is if she met the other woman where she was at, meaning she must appear to be coming from a place of spite instead of altruism. “Well, I’m not in the habit of doing favors,” she amended, putting some of the customary ice in her tone, “Not unless they get done for me in return.” Now Mindmeld looked interested again. “Go on.” Inwardly, Emma sighed. This felt oh-so-regressive. Here she was, trying to be a better person, and yet the only way she could help this mutant---whom she didn’t even know but had an automatic sense of empathy for--was by pretending to be the manipulative bitch everyone thought she was. But, that was how it always wasn’t it? That she had to be the bitch to get things done. “Alright, Mindmeld darling,” she continued in her very best evil-plotting voice, “Here’s what you’re going to do for me...” (I don’t know what Emma suggests Mindmeld do but it’s probably hilarious and nasty! Mindmeld did not sleep with Sebastian, she just told Shinobi that, as he suggested.)

[genderfreezone]

Do you like the Evil Within 2?

Yeah! Certainly not as much as the first one (i was not immune to being sad they left out fan favorites Jojo and Ruvik's Cube)

The rest of this post is me rambling about things i didnt like about the game, and then things i did like (most of my issues are how they treat the female characters tbh)

Its missing kind of the action-noir-gone-horrifically-wrong feel of the first game. The scare factor also suffers bc our player character has been through this before, hes a veteran at dealing with this crazy shit, it doesnt phase him anymore and by extension it doesnt phase the player. They really like tripled down on the Evil Corporation thing and both the intrigue and horror suffer for it.

This game did not drink its respect women juice (the first one didnt really either, case in point: Everything About Kidman) Sebastian is surrounded by 5+ female characters and only 2 of them survive (and one of them is his 7 year old daughter hes spent the whole game trying to rescue... and yet they never bothered to give her any kind of characterization or agency. A highly empathetic and supernaturally powerful little girl in a monster-infested hellscape?? HELLO???? Lily really had the potential to be the most interesting, sympathetic, and complex character--especially as she slowly lost her innocence--in the WHOLE GAME, but she was just sort of relegated to Plot Device McGuffin) The rest of the female supporting cast are killed off for Sebastian's Man Pain. In fact, THIS ENTIRE GAME IS CENTERED AROUND SEBASTIAN'S MAN PAIN. Torrez is a walking stereotype, shes literally just Vasquez from Aliens. Hoffman was the most likeable and believeable, except when it Turns Out She Was In Love With Liam Or Whatever (psst, guess what, i dont care. Also O'neal was kind of a dick anyway? I dont care x2)

And you know who i SUPER dont care about? Bland-White-Bread-And-Mayo-Sandwich Myra. Where's the no-nonsense firecracker of a police lieutenant Sebastian married? Not here, thats for sure. Her entire personality is "mother" and "worries about stressed-out husband". We got more characterization of Myra in seb's jornals from the first game, where she never even made a physical appearance! Horror media does this SO MUCH, women are either A. Sexy Lamp B. Hurts Men (Sexily) C. Mother or D. Innocent Virgin. It sucks. Do better.

The story lacked the "digging up old buried memories" and "theres more to this than meets the eye" of the first game. It felt too...... Straightforward. Everyone told Sebastian the truth. EVERYTHING WAS EXACTLY WHAT IT SEEMED. It all felt too simple, too easy, like there SHOULDVE been something else beneath the surface. And yet there wasnt. (I watched markipliers playthrough and i loved his theory that Kidman was actually Lily. It had such potential. Kidman's entire resume for the police station was fabricated, who's to say the rest of her past wasnt fabricated as well? It would retcon a lot of stuff and like 80% of her backstory from the DLC, but you know games like this arent above retconning important shit, and at least it wouldve been sacrificed for something with actual intrigue. Maybe it wouldnt even retcon anything! Consider: tiny Lily is taken by Evil Corporation and dropped off in a non-nurturing environment that would lead her to become the kind of person who would willingly join & work for an organization like Mobius. At least wouldve been a nice excuse for why Kidman and Lilys face models looked so similar... other than... yknow.... "WomEN ARe hArD tO DRaWwwwwee")

Okay okay ive been ranting for long enough. It probably makes it sound like i kinda hate this game, but i dont! It certainly doesnt hold the same place in my heart as the first one (which i still have very glaring issues with lmao Kidman deserved WAAAAAAY better), but i do like it! It brings back salty, grizzled, tsundere Sebastian Castinellos. It brings back spooky monsters that kill you dead. It brings back having a fun theatrical over-the-top villain who takes himself a litte too seriously.

I love Stefano. Probably not in the way some other fans do, but i love him as a ridiculous theatrical over-the-top villain. He sucks! And i love that he sucks! I love him BECAUSE he sucks! Hes terrible and exaggerated and completely up his own ass and ITS GREAT. He isnt as ACTUALLY THREATENING as Ruvik was (even in his bad assassin's creed cosplay. I could go on and on and on about why Ruvik is simultaneously a ridiculous AND frightening antagonist and how much i love it but uh..... maybe later) but hes such a FUN villain! Hes the kind of pretentious art snob shitheel i cannot STAND irl, but in this game i LOVE to HATE him. Hes just SO over-the-top you kinda wonder if he actually subscribes to the pretentiousness he spouts, or if hes just being Exceptionally Extra.

The other villains? Theodore was.... forgettable. His monsters were forgettable. (Its like how i completely forgot that Frank Manera was a character in Whistleblower for like... 5 years lmao i guess this game also kinda followed that "having multiple named/characterized antagonists in one game" thing that Outlast did) Myra, i just didnt care. Her final design was kinda cool, i liked the red clusters of insect eyes. Her monsters werent really gross enough to be memorable. The only reson theyre gross at all is bc they kinda look like theyre made of semen. (I checked the wiki and apparently Myra's white goo is "psychoplasm" and her monsters lost 99% of their gross factor. I just dont care.) The Administrator literally just looked like a 3D human model of Maxwell from dont starve, and i have to laugh every time i see him. Hes not terribly threatening, all he does is threaten characters to work faster and doesnt actually follow through on those threats. He doesnt even make fun threats like HABIT or anything. He thinks hes so powerful and ominous that his mere presence will frighten the player but hes just kinda all bark and no bite. Hes The Big Bad Company Man so you know hes gonna get whats coming to him, and you know Kidmans gonna be the one to do it to him, so hes not even that much of a threat. Hes whatever.

Stefano definitely got all of the coolest monsters. Many Arms Buzzsaw Lady was terrifying and i love her. And OBSCURA was just *Chef's Kiss* Anima was cool, she kinda looked like a mix of Laura and Samara. The Harbingers were neat, but really only bc ive got a thing for gas masks. The rest of the monsters werent really unique or weighty/threatening enough to be memorable. Now the first game is a fucking TREASURE TROVE of unique monsters *muah* you got Sadist, Sentinel, Keeper, Amalgam, Heresy, Laura, Shigyo, the Twins, Alter Egos, and im probably forgetting some!! But holy FUCK!!!!! And if we're includong the DLC?? MOTHER FUCKING SHADE. SPOTLIGHT LADY. LIGHT WOMAN.  SEXY LEGS.  Whatever you call her, i fucking love her. Her design is so simple. Helmet. Sheet. Legs. Her voice? Unnerving as hell. Love it. (Also i just personally love the diving helmet. Also like you know how a lot of games have a spotlight mechanic where you have to avoid the light and if it lands on you, you're fucked? LET'S MAKE AN ENTIRE MONSTER OUT OF THAT. She's PERFECT.) Oh and also those weird crawling exploding dudes. They made gross sounds and it was great. (Tbh Keepers still probably my favorite, if only for horny reasons)

TATIANA HOW HAVE I NOT FUCKING TALKED ABOUT TATIANA. Shes like the ONE female character that i fucking LOVE in the sequel. I love how they finally gave her a personality, and that personality is literally just "fuck you, Sebastian" Oh GOD its great shes SO FUNNY. I just.... god i love Tatiana lmao. I love how she makes you kinda uncomfortable too, like she knows something, but she wont tell you bc youre stupid. I didn't like the kind of "all-knowing guide" thing they did to try and make her creepy (like she's a "guide" but then also turns around and is like "no i wont tell you what you need to know bc you """have to discover it on your own""" or whatever") it serves no purpose since she never gave you any actual information, and it didn't succeed in making her creepier, all it did was frustrate me. She was at her creepiest when she IMPLIED she was doing something behind the scenes or knew something you didn't know and then didn't elaborate (not REFUSING to elaborate, just... stopping talking and leaving the statement to hang in the air, like the "getting her nails done" and "its been a long time, detective" and the "now what makes you say that" from the first game) and she was at her funniest when she was interacting with Sebastian from the sidelines, her snide little comments and sarcastic clapping cracked me the fuck up. Tatiana not treating Sebastian seriously was a fantastic touch for a game that otherwise would probably take itself so seriously it would double back around to being silly. Without Tatiana, it would've been just another male-centric gun-toting "survival horror" game, and for the most part, it was just that. She was definitely a much-needed source of slightly derisive comedy and a definite high-point for me, even if they didn't so a great job of making her creepy or fulfilling her "purpose."

Oh I also really love the COLORS in TEW2. The first game fell into the trap of having the colors be totally washed out that a lot of horror stuff does, but it also kind of worked for it. Especially with the color pallette of our main villain and how the whole thing was His World. The saturation of the colors in the second game is a breath of fresh air and gorgeous to look at, and you can even see the color motifs of the game change with each new villain: the game starts out with Stephano has lots of blues and purples and dark reds, when Theodore takes over we get bright orange and yellow contrasted with black and brown, and in the climax with Myra the game goes back to having washed out colors and white (and with her villain design? Let's face it: they were kinda just trying to do Ruvik again) We did get portions that were still kind of wahed out whites and greens and greys, but it wasnt the ENTIRE game, even the big blood-and-brains splatterhouse sections of the first game kinda had their colors weirdly muted for that "Horror Aethetic."

In conclusion, i do like the evil within 2, but i also had a lot of problems with it. And i complain about these problems because i like the game and know it couldve done better, tried harder, and been a LOT more than it was (the wasted character potential is my real overarching pet peeve, probably becuase i loved the characters in the first game, and character development is kind of my whole jam) . But all in all, it was still a fun monster-zombie romp with at least one entertaining villain and fun-to-look-at designs and environments. It wasn't character or horror or even REALLY story driven in the way I know it COULDVE been, but i still had a fun time and enjoyed myself.

[windforge]

Now time for the skincent roundup! This one was a bit tough, since a lot of festival entries would be considered skins using normal rules. So these are just from entries actually labeled as a skin.

Frigid Gale | Ravenhearst, Crystalline 2019

I feel like the feeling of the Ice holiday swings back and forth between really cheery and exceptionally dark (see: Frigid Fugitive Shackles). This one really plays up the dark bits a lot, which is what I want to see more of. Now, I personally hate winter and cold weather in general, so a gloomy skin feels extra fitting in my book, but also remember that Icewarden is...kind of evil?? Like, there’s a bunch of...things frozen in his horrible ice castle. Probably things that didn’t all deserve to be frozen. Yikes.

Magie de Cirque | Houseteeth, Trickmurk 2017

I’m not entirely just featuring this one because, in case y’all can’t tell, I really love Des. It’s also just nice to get a clown/jester skin that doesn’t immediately trigger my fight-or-flight response. Maybe because he has rad bowling alley carpet on his wings. It really bridges the gap between a lot of the different Shadow aesthetics we keep getting, at least apparel-wise. Plus it matches nicely with the OG, the Tricktrouper Crown and its swanky butt tattoos.

Spring Breeze | Zubliter, Mistral 2016

Wind! Squiggles! Brightest colors! Flapsneks! This skincent has it all! I know in my last list I said I really enjoy the darker side of Wind lore, but dang it, Wind is also party flight and this lad is decked out. Literally the only flaw I can find is that it’s named after spring when, in my mind, it has extremely strong summertime energy.

Alligator Snapper Turtle | Endivinity, Wavecrest 2018

This is possibly my most biased pick in all the lists. I prayed so desperately for it to win, because I had to own a copy, whatever the costs. Snapping turtles (especially alligator ones) were some of my absolute favorite animals as a kid. I dunno why, I just thought they were neat and Big Boys. So that combined with my general love for reptile accents made this one a no-contest.

Season | Desnik, Greenskeeper 2018

Here’s some piping hot tea: Desnik deserves even more wins than they already have. Their entries are always really creative and fit well with each flight. They’re someone else I’ve enjoyed watching their style develop over the last few years. It’s no surprise I like body-mod skins, but body-mod skins that come with shading? Hoo boy, that’s the Good Shit right there.

Sunbeam Sentinel | Piney, Brightshine 2015

This was one of my all-time favorite skincents while I was still in Light, it was just about perfect for my aesthetic. Because of some personal stuff, guardians + Light stuff = hardcore weird nostalgia?? Really just, lots of feelings?? This is definitely another skin that can be credited with “why I fell in love with lady guardians”

Thundervolt | Houseteeth, Thundercrack 2015

Yeah, I’m putting two of Des’s skins here because they deserve it! I’ve always loved how they do metal and other shiny things, and the really painterly style on the lightning is super unique. It’s also a bonus to see a slightly different palette than most of the cyborg dragon skins out there. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good copper/light blue, but bright gold and cyan? Now we’re cooking with tastey.

Earthforge Whisper | Endivinity, Flameforger’s 2018

Earthforge is kinda like Windforge right? I guess really the mirror universe Windforge, since Earth and Wind are pretty opposite lel. Anyways this one just completely ticks all my aesthetic boxes. Big teeths? Check. Bogsnoop? Of course. Pretty scales and fins? You betcha. Beautiful swirly smoke plumes of the highest aesthetic quality? Damn skippy.

Guardian of Ether | AppleDad, Starfall 2018

Tundras! Need! More! Accents! That’s just a general mood in the chat right now. But specifically I like this one so much not just because it’s pretty and glowy, but it’s so different from most of the Arcane entries we get. I mean, it could easily pass for a Trickmurk skin. Don’t get me wrong, there are lots of really good skins made every year with the normal purble/pank/magenta Spacedad palette, but variety is good! 

Vulture Culture | Hanmonster, Riot of Rot 2017

Now THIS is a Plague skin! So often I see the staff keep insisting that instead of blood and gore we do survival-themed entries, then they pick a bunch of disease-related stuff anyway. Plague is about not letting anything go to waste, but in a “wear the bones of your enemies for extra armor” kinda way. Plus, real life vulture culture is rad (referring to both people who collect and clean bones and other wildlife remains, and the culture that encourages vultures being awesome and helpful cause they totally are).

Ancient Soulwarden | Endivinity, Rockbreaker’s 2016

I’ll stop picking Endivinity’s skins when they stop producing such delightful content!!! I love that the stonework has an almost...I wanna say Southeast Asian feel to it? It reminds me of a garuda statue I have that my grandma brought back from her travels back in the day. And of course, the best teeth aesthetic is the big curly lion statue teeths. I don’t make the rules.

[goforwardgreenwriter-blog]

The Worm Reads: Empire of Storms, Ch 11 - 12

Luckily we’re not in the boring Elide/Lorcan subplot in this chapter, but back to Manon!

Everything had gone to shit. Everything.

Kinda like this series, huh?

In the end, she’d barely participated in Rifthold’s destruction, leaving it to the others. But she’d again donned her crowned helm, then ordered Abraxos to sail to the highest spire of the stone castle and roar his victory—and command. Even at the distant white walls of the city, ripping apart the guards and fleeing folk, the wyverns had paused at his order to stand down. Not one coven disobeyed.

Yesss I freakin’ love Manon so much. Can this book just be about her and Abraxos conquering evil kingdoms for their own?

Iskra had landed on the only space left: a lower bit of roofing below Manon. The positioning had been intentional. Iskra’s brown hair had come untangled from her tight braid, and her haughty face was splattered with human blood as she’d snarled at Manon, “This was my victory.”

I really like how Manon plans it all out, even down to the positioning so she’s looming over the other witches, reminding them of who is in charge. I propose a Manon fanclub, she deserves one.

Iskra trembled with rage. Not from the words. The wind had shifted, blowing toward Iskra. Blowing Manon’s scent at her. “Who?” Iskra seethed. “Who of mine did you butcher?”

Manon lies and said that the first witch had attacked Manon while she had been supposedly hunting Dorian, and also says that the other witches were killed by Rowan. Isarka all but announces that Manon is a liar and that she killed those witches, and now Manon has to deal with the consequences and face her grandmother.

Manon said to her Second and Third, “This will be messy.” Sorrel said quietly, “We’ll deal with it.” Manon clenched the helmet a bit harder. “If it goes poorly, you are to take the Thirteen and leave.”

Again, another character who is a much better leader than Aelin, looking out for her group’s safety. And Manon is a blood thirsty murdering witch.

So Manon goes in and all the witches have gathered.

“The Crone’s Sickle hangs above us,” Cresseida intoned. “Let it be the Mother’s blade of justice.” This was not a meeting. This was a trial. Iskra began smiling.

Oh my god, characters facing consequences for their decisions?? It isn’t just swept under the rug or dismissed?? In MY SJM novel??

“And, as the sentinel was a part of the Yellowlegs’ heir’s own coven, it is also a crime against Iskra.” Her grandmother’s face was tight with rage—not for what Manon had done, but for getting caught. “Through either your own neglect or ill-planning, the lives of four other coven members were ended. Their blood, too, stains your hands.” Her grandmother’s iron teeth shone in the candlelight. “Do you deny these charges?” Manon kept her back straight, looked each of them in the eye. “I do not deny that I killed Iskra’s sentinel when she tried to claim my rightful prize. I do not deny that the other four were slaughtered by the Fae Prince. But I do deny any wrongdoing on my part.”

I like how it balances each character’s viewpoint. To the witches, Manon has murdered five of her own kind, but to the reader, Manon did it to save a main character and hero, so you’re sympathetic towards Manon but the witches disowning her doesn’t seem like a contrivance.

Petrah, who Manon saved in one of the previous two books, asks Manon if she considers her an enemy or ally, and Manon says she sees her as a rival. Then Petrah asks Manon why she rescued her then while another wyvern killed hers.

Manon lifted her chin. “Because Keelie fought for you as she died. I would not allow her death to be wasted. I could offer a fellow warrior nothing less.” At the sound of her dead wyvern’s name, pain flickered across Petrah’s face. “You remember her name?”

Awww.... this is so heartwarming. It shows Manon isn’t entirely heartless and has a kind side, and it’s really good pay off for Manon’s earlier actions helping her now. Manon really is the best part of these books.

Because of Petrah speaking for Manon, her grandmother decides it’s not worth losing Manon just to fulfill the blood that has been lost.

“The blood shed must be equal,” her grandmother intoned. Her attention flicked over Manon’s shoulder. “So you, Granddaughter, will not die for this. But one of your Thirteen will.”

Oof, that’s super cold. Her grandmother addressing her so personally adds to the impact of the blow. Seriously SJM, you struck gold with the witches, why couldn’t the books be about them?

At this point Manon’s grandmother announces that Asterin will die the next day to pay the blood debt, and the chapter ends. I turned the page after that desperate for more, only to see that Chapter 12 is Aelin’s POV. Isn’t that just...great.

Without Evangeline slowing them down, Aelin, Aedion, and Lysandra traveled with little rest as they hauled ass for the coast.

“hauled ass” are you fucking kidding me... this is a fantasy novel and you’re gonna describe the characters as hauling ass....

Aelin tried not to dwell on it too much—on the threadbare estates, the abandoned farms, the gaunt-faced people whenever they ventured into town, cloaked and disguised, for desperately needed supplies. Though she had faced darkness and emerged full of light, a voice whispered in her head, You did this, you did this, you did this. That voice often sounded like Weylan Darrow’s icy tones.

Yeah, because it’s totally Darrow’s fault that you’re a spoiled snot who did nothing to help your kingdom for years.

The town of Ilium was as ancient as Terrasen itself, and would likely have already been forgotten by traders and history were it not for the crumbling temple at the northeastern edge of the city, drawing enough pilgrims to keep it thriving.

So they arrive at Ilium and Aelin wastes no time missing her fae prince’s dick. I understand she’s worried and all for his safety, but I know as soon as he’s back they’re gonna fuck like animals because they can’t stand to leave each other for two seconds and I’m not looking forward to it.

Some soldiers of Lord of Meah,one of the Lords in Adarlan, are camped in the port. Apparently after Dorian left after the witches attacked, all the Lords are starting to try to take over bits and pieces of land. Naturally this should upset Aelin, since Dorian is her friend and here are the people supposedly on his side claiming territory for themselves, right?

Aedion kept quiet as they rounded a corner, aiming for the small seaside inn Lysandra had also scouted that morning. On the other side of the city from the temple. The temple the soldiers had the nerve to use as their barracks. “Is this about sending a message to Adarlan, or to Darrow?” Aedion asked at last.

FUCKING FUCK OFF WITH THIS DARROW HATE I S2G!!!! Aedion has his nose buried so far up Aelin’s ass he can’t take even one tiny piece of criticism directed towards her!!! Darrow was right to not trust you assholes hoooooly shit

“It is about freeing my people, who have dealt with these Adarlanian pieces of shit for too long,” Aelin snapped, reining her mare in to a halt before the inn courtyard. Lysandra’s talons dug into her shoulder in silent agreement.

At least Aelin doesn’t agree. And whoa, Lysandra, are you trying to tear Aelin’s shoulder apart? Unless Aelin is wearing something over her shoulder to protect herself, those talons have gotta hurt!

Aedion mentions the Mycenians, and maybe it is just my short attention span, but who are they...? Man, SJM just keeps adding new people and groups and I honestly cannot remember who any of them are.

“And [the Mycenians] disbanded and vanished soon after that, never to be seen again,” Aedion countered. “What’s your point? You think liberating Ilium will summon them again? They’re long gone, Aelin, their sea dragons with them.”

OH SHIT SEA DRAGONS??? Sign me up. Gimmie bad ass warriors on ships commanding their sea dragon companions. Hell yeah.

[Aedion] double-checked that Rowan’s knife was securely buckled at his side before he said to Aelin and Lysandra, still by the window, “I know you two are of the opinion that we males are here to provide you with a pretty view and meals, but I am a general of Terrasen.

Aedion, I used to like you, but now SJM has ruined you.

“That temple is my birthright,” Aelin said. “I cannot allow that insult to go unchecked.” She rolled her shoulders. Revealing her plans, explaining herself … It would take some getting used to. But she’d promised she’d try to be more … open about her plotting. And for this matter, at least, she could be.

Yeah, we’ll see how long she sticks to that. Also, love how she’s implying she’s only mad they took the temple because it is hers. As in, if they stole one of Dorian’s temples she wouldn’t care.

So Aedion mentions this kingsflame flower that used to bloom in the kingdom. Darrow is in possession of the last one. I have the feeling this is leading up to a scene where the kingsflame flower will bloom when Aelin takes back her crown. I love symbolic shit like that, but I know SJM is gonna make it allll about what a great ruler Aelin is and we’ll have 300 pages of everyone gushing about her.

Aelin and the rest leave to eat, and the chapter ends.