#with background elements of Devil May Cry

[tenaciouskittynightmare]

Thank you so much!! Yeah Ahti is going to be an honorary grandpa to an OC of mine for the Heaven Knows saga (which is the name of the series of this massive crossover) I have been tooling with since 2017. And I’ll give you a spoiler her dad’s adopted dad Cor (yes that Cor from Final Fantasy XV) is very suspicious of Ahti as is her vati (dad in German). In fact her dad wonders if his daughter telling her family about Ahti’s visits was a wise idea. I’m still working on incorporating the Remedyverse into the lore of Heaven Knows so it’ll be a while till the meeting occurs.

I just read your fic It Will Happen Again and I couldn’t help but snicker at your comment of Ahti being the unknowing cool uncle in the comments section. It’s funny because I’m actually writing a big crossover fanfic which will contain elements from the Remedyverse and Ahti will appear in it. I’m a bit nervous of posting the entire saga online because I’m still working on it and I can get anxious about if my work is up to a high quality but I would like to be as well loved as your work is.

First of all, thanks for the wonderful compliment on my fanfic. ‘It Will Happen Again’, and by extension the TZE AU series of Zaneling fics, is something that’s fun for me to write, and I’ve got a doozy of a next entry coming up.

And it’s cool you’re writing your own fanfic and including Ahti. I am ALSO be doing an Ahti shipping fic with him and Director Ash Sr (don’t ask how or why, it’s becoming a rather bittersweet tale). I feel like Ahti is super under-appreciated in fanfics for how universally loved he is by fans, and I intend to fix that slowly but surely.

As for your nervousness, don’t be! My best advice is to not compare yourself to other stories. You just need to make something you feel is good enough, because fanfics are inherently super self indulgent, and if you try and go by metrics you will end up in a vicious loop (or a spiral, if you will XD). That being said, if you’re passionate about this project, people will find it. Passion finds passion on the internet, I find. And when that story comes out, please do let me know! I’d love to see what you’ve come up with

[ponett]

I have a bit of a crackpot conspiracy theory for SLARPG if you haven't gotten tired of talking about it yet. Basically, is Allison or her mom supposed to be a character action game protagonist? Allison has directional attacks that exploit specific enemy weakpoints based on their appearance, and the ability to affect the background music. Both of these mechanics can also be found in Devil May Cry and Sunset Overdrive. Her mom is the only character who can jump across gaps and blow up doors. Is Allison accidentally suppressing her true power by using an RPG combat system when she's supposed to be doing air combos?

allison's whole fighting style is very much influenced by other genres of game, yes. (and, by extension, i suppose amelia's is as well.) character action games are one element, but i would also point to fighting games and old school beat-em-ups. and also just, like, shounen battle anime

allison's directional attacks are actually a leftover from a combo system i wanted to implement early on using a script from yanfly, which would have made that influence even more obvious. you would be able to do a few different directional attacks and/or a sword slash in real time when allison's turn comes up, and if you did specific input sequences it would trigger special moves. (this is also sort of like sabin's blitz moves in ff6, except the individual inputs are all attacks in and of themselves.) i abandoned this almost immediately because it felt overwhelming in a game that otherwise had no active input mechanics during combat, and also because lisa uses the exact same script to some extent and i didn't want to be seen as riding their coattails. but i was able to turn the directional attacks into their own skills to retain some of that flavor

[gear-project]

I remember years ago that you speculated that the OutRage were all sentient elemental beings like youkai that Sol sealed into instroments(kinda like how Dante from Devil May Cry turns the souls of the Devils that he defeats into weapons). Do you still think that the theory is still credible with all of the new information since STRIVE came out?

Well, if you've been following my OutRage and GG Weapons tags, then you know there's a lot of pre-existing information and history on the Jinki as well as Youkai and War Relics.

For context though, I've written down the basic definition of an Instroment as a Magic-infused object.

In general, the Conclave (and even the P.W.A.B.) have been fearful of the OutRage ever since they recovered pieces of them, which is why few have ever seen the Jinki in action, since according to Sol many weapons and War Relics were kept in Harden Fortress, and even Asuka R. Kreutz is cautious when mentioning the OutRage or even the Saint Oratorio Lab Cannon.

But in case it wasn't obvious, two of the Jinki in particular have emitted some unique supernatural powers already.

Thundersealed Sword: ---Has been known to regenerate itself as well as emit powerful Time-seal Powers. ---When Ky performs "Rising Force" (his Instant Kill…) a Sylph-like being appears behind him (GGX sprite version)… it is very similar to Elves or Elvish beings with long ears in appearance and long hair. In the latter Xrd version, an Angelic being is superimposed on the background of Ky's attack.

Zessen Void Fans: ---Was used as a Barrier over the Japanese Dimensional Colony and early lore suggested it could only be activated by Japanese Bloodlines for their own protection. Aside from this, the fans have multiple forms and sizes when they shapeshift similar to Gears. ---When Anji performs ZETSU (his Instant Kill), a Wind Dragon appears underneath him which he rides atop until it hits his opponent.

Justice' Body Armor: ---While not entirely 'sentient' it transforms in accordance with her will, almost like a symbiote (in fact Eddie's Shadow Organism Body and Angra's Hair Curse are derived from lost Gear technology that can shapeshift in a similar manner). This property would later be inherited by most Valentines. ---While Dizzy does not bear Armor herself… the OutRage logo has appeared in her "Magic Crest" alongside her Gear Seal crest in early sprites of her design from GGX to GGXX. Dizzy also has uniquely shapeshifting abilities similar to this armor. Dizzy's clothing does transform as well to suit her needs.

Tyr: ---The young mysterious boy who fought alongside Kliff Undersn during the Crusades, while he doesn't have a clear-cut backstory… everything about him suggests he was transformed in to a Gear since fusing with the Dragon Fenrir. ---Aside from his dangerous powers which can transmute matter in to virtually anything, Tyr has been known to RESONATE with the existing OutRage Jinki… which suggests they were semi-aware or cautious of him. ---In his sealed state, he took the appearance of a Dragon Statue-like Deity which the Japanese people revered and respected… that is until Geena broke into the colony and woke him up with her Fire Magic… she lost her hand in the skirmish as a result!

Non-Jinki Weaponry of Note: ---While it is not a "Jinki" like the others, Nagoriyuki's sword appears to be possessed by a Gashadokuro "Hungry Skeleton Ghost" when he performs his Overdrive WASUREYUKI. Also the sword is known to "grow" in length in an almost symbiotic-like way to help Nagoriyuki feed when his Blood Lust increases. ---Ramlethal Valentine's RATTLE blades lift their seals to transform in to long Red Katanas during her ANIMO ESTINGI "Soul Extinguisher" Instant Kill, but aside from the swords… Ramlethal's CLOTHING is something akin to an ORGANIC MOUTH… in previous Xrd appearances, Ramlethal's Mouth-Coat could transform in to a chain-saw like blade during her throw attacks, but it can also shapeshift her entire body in to an energy BOMB. While the Coat had a more organic appearance in Xrd, it was somewhat altered in Strive, and has something similar to cybernetic teeth now, though the technology behind the coat is a bit of a mystery… suffice to say most of Ramlethal's and Elphelt's clothing was "formed" in the Backyard. I wouldn't be surprised if Elphelt's outfits were semi-organic as well. ---Flament Nagel is described as a "Magical Foci Beast" in some descriptions… though it's closer to a Youkai or "Treasured Heirloom" Tsukumogami (Similar to Roger, Bridget's Teddie Bear) that somehow became sentient… obviously he's been around since the Crusades and even fought Slayer… but he was stuck in an Armory for a number of years at Frasco until A.B.A. found him and started calling him Paracelsus after her creator. He prefers to be treated as the Blood Axe that he is… though how he came to be is still a mystery. ---Izuna's TRUE FORM is that of a Kanzashi… while it is NOT a weapon, it is a hair ornament, though even if that's the case, Izuna has his own "ornamental sword" which he can brandish in the name of justice if needed.

This all being said, it is no small feat to say that Sol Badguy's OutRage Mark 2 was responsible for killing a Demigod like I-No. It utilized the Firesealed Sword as its core, but in addition it utilized the Flashing Fang jinki (Senga) which Sol used to create the Junkyard Dog Mk. 3 during Xrd's events. The Firesealed Sword is already famous enough for being the weapon Sol used to defeat Justice (among many other Gears he has killed with it)... but well... a weapon that can surpass Infinity and Crush Zero speaks for itself...

Well, there's still plenty of mystery behind the Jinki...

The Dominator (Ekitoku "Increasing Fervor") suggests it is a weapon that gets stronger with every use... like the ultimate Amplifier (and Jinki are ALREADY known to amplify Magic as part of their basic nature).

The Baikal... code-named after the Deepest Freshwater Lake in the world... should also speak for itself... but it is called "Kojouhaku" (White on the Lake) in Japanese... suggesting it has control over Mist (not just Water)... we've known Johnny's Engetsu sword can generate powerful draws in the form of "Mist Finer", but his master Unchou apparently wields a spear that can strike even FASTER that this... while I cannot say for certain if the Baikal is related to Master Unchou Hirufumi, only time will tell if we learn more history about Johnny's past.

[blackrosebookstore]

Aiko Sparda

Name Aiko Sparda Race:: Demon/Deity Hybrid Gender Unlike my other version of Aiko, this version will almost always be in her female form. Yes, she can shapeshift and yes she may be able to change genders or modify her gender but she will mostly be all female.

Background and other Character Stuff 

Aiko is the daughter of Sparda by the ancient Greek goddess Gaea. In gratitude for all Sparda had done not just for the humans but in protecting her realm, Gaea gave herself to Sparda as his Consort. Aiko's conception came about because of this alliance. At her core, Aiko is perhaps a study in contrasts being not just the daughter of a goddess but showing all the signs of her demon blood as well. Her demon aspect is both Fury and Succubus and as such she is prone to great passion as well as great rage. As Gaea's child, she is more of a peaceful healer and guardian of the woods being the most like the nymphs. She has a tendency to bond to any plants that are in her vicinity for large portions of time as well as having a tree within her mother's garden that she is the dryad to. 

Aiko's childhood was longer than those of her brothers due to her divine blood. She was raised in her Mother's garden where time and realities gather together. Each part of the garden reflects a part of history or a reality and the health of the garden is a reflection of the worlds that Gaea is connected to. Aiko is and will always be the youngest child of Sparda because of this fact. She did have some contact with the modern time of course and has been exposed to her brothers regularly throughout her late childhood and her teen years. Aiko has just pretty much come into her own and is finally no longer treated like a baby by her father or her mother whom she loves very much.

Unlike her brothers, Aiko is primarily a mage. Her gifts are highly magickal and she is dedicated to Hecate [goddessgift.com] the Goddess of Magic as well as serving Freya [goddessgift.com]. She has some seer abilities as she is a Dreamer and walks the world of Dreams sometimes while she sleeps. She is then able to while in a trance draw the contents of those dreams out onto paper. As far as her powers go, her element is fire and she has a vast collection of nature magick as well. Her style of magick is more Wicca than anything else although it is also comparable to a sorcerer who shapes the energy of magic with their will alone. Aiko runs two businesses out of the building she occupies just down the street from Devil May Cry. The first is a pagan bookstore called The Devil's Rose which reflects her place in her father's life as well as a tribute to her heritage. The second aspect of her job is as a witch or magickal consultant. She does for a fee (although that can be waived in some cases) everything from protection spells and charms to locating lost magickal artifacts. In fact, her store room under the shop is quite amazing having just about anything she would ever need within it. She has a tendency to collect things that just might come in handy some day. The shop itself sells everything from mythology books and grimoires to herbs and ritual items. She has clients that come from many different realities perhaps knowing that she understands all to well about good quality ingredients for spells and the like. When she had come to this reality, she had been uncertain at first about starting up her bookstore but with her brothers' help and her father's help, she got the store up and going thus being able to continue her life without to many changes. She appreciated the help, she really did and she always pays her debts. The wards around the shop aren't just her doing but hold some of her Father's energy as well as a sort of back up for when she's ill or weak. The wards around The Devil's Rose are set so that when they are at full strength (High Alert) only those who bear Sparda's blood may get in since it assumed that none of her brothers or kin would want to endanger her life.

Aiko is allergic to holy water that was blessed by the Christian Deity because of her divine blood so must use water blessed by deities her mother is allied with. Otherwise, she has no actual allergies although she does have a much lower alcohol tolerance than Dante has unless using her demon blood to burn through it. She only has one tattoo and it usually only shows in her demon form. It is a demon sigil that depicts her lineage and standing in the demon realm. It is usually located on her ass but sometimes decides to move for reasons of its own.

To be at her best, Aiko requires one of two things. These are lots of nature energy around her or regular sex. Both of course would be great but she doesn't always get both. Regular sex is especially useful in keeping her healing ability at top strength since otherwise she will heal almost as slowly as a human. She is also more resistant to damages if she's been fucked recently.

Weapons

As stated before, Aiko is not a warrior but she does as a daughter of Sparda have weapons of her own. Aiko tends toward daggers and swords more than firearms.

From Sparda, she has a sword that was made long ago during the time when Sparda was a true demon. This sword is sentient and hungers for blood as well as for justice although usually a rougher sort of justice than what Sparda's later weapons would thirst for. In fact, the sword's name translates from the demon tongue roughly to 'Dark Justice' and is capable of passing judgement upon someone's soul. Of course this is only because it was re-forged after Sparda's ascension to godhood. Anyway, this sword can change it's form and currently is occupying the form of an old style rapier. Aiko is incapable unless in full demon form of lifting the sword's true form as it is a massive weapon. Aiko came into possession of the sword by touching it when she was little more than a toddler and bonding with the weapon almost instantly although against her Father's wishes. Sparda has done his best to help her learn to use and enforce her will upon the sword since she is much weaker physically than her brothers. In truth though, her sword has grown fond of her and wouldn't be parted from her even if she tried to get rid of it at this point. One of the forms it has been tending to take lately is this [cbswords.com].

Aiko also has an athame called Dragon Claw [kaswords.com] that she had a friend make for her when she was dedicated to Hecate. This weapon is primarily for use in magick and not as useful in actual battle although in an emergency can be wielded to do some damage.

Aiko also has a preference for tantos and short swords proving once again that she is not meant for combat in the same way as her brothers. Aiko is adept with throwing knives.

Powers, Abilities, etc (WIP)

Aiko because of her triple nature has different abilities that are related to each of her three aspects. She can of course use any of them at any time but it can on occasion shift her aspect primarily toward whichever aspect the ability is linked to.

General

Seer --- When Aiko dreams, she sometimes walks the world of dreams and sees things of importance. After she awakens, she draws what she sees out while in a trance.

Witch ---- Aiko is dedicated to Hecate and does act as a witch. Her style of magick is more Wiccan than anything else. She can sense magick in people and items as well as work spells.

Fire --- Aiko's primary element is Fire and she can control it if she wishes. She is not particularly adept at this gift yet as she has had no need to be. It is unlikely she will burn unless the fire is magickal in nature though.

Heightened Senses ---

Fury

As a Fury, Aiko can sense guilt as well as sometimes see what crimes a person has committed within the past 24 hours. She is especially enraged by those who harm women or children and takes special vengeance upon such. Like many Furies, Aiko can drive a guilty person mad although she must be pretty pissed to do so. She puts off a certain energy full of rage when she is acting as a Fury. She can also create and use a flame whip when she is in her Fury aspect.

Succubus

Feeding --- Aiko has to feed regularly either by an exchange of energy via a kiss or sexual activity. Also, feeding will heal wounds and help accelerate her healing abilities for illnesses. The only things that can't be healed through Feeding are soreness and colds. When well fed, Aiko is more resistant to taking damage but this is only a small bonus to her natural toughness. ((I'm still working out how often she needs to feed.))

Sensual Aura --- Aiko can be very distracting and can let off an aura of raw lust and passion when she lowers her barriers.

Sexual Diseases --- Aiko is immune to all 'mortal' STD's. She is not immune to magical STD's or STD's from the Demon realm.

Nymph

Herbal Potency--- Aiko can strengthen the potency of herbs for use in healing or potions. She could also with practice develop the ability to amplify the non healing uses of herbs as well. This works the best with fresh ingredients but she can also strengthen potions with herbs in them that are already made.

Poison Immunity --- Aiko is immune to all plant based poisons. 

[connorsmith47]

Music-Focused Games

How is music used ( background, gameplay element?)

What do you like about it?

How does the music add to the experience?

Guitar Hero-

Beatstar-

Brutal Legend-

Fuser-

Devil May Cry 5-

Doom 2016-

Rhythm Thief-

really simple as its designed for kids!!

[sxint]

BASIC INFORMATION.

Full name: Saint Matthieu Warden (insp). Nickname: Sainty, Satan Birthdate: 30th of May 1991 Age: 29 Zodiac: Gemini Sun | Gemini Moon | Gemini Rising  Gender: Cis male Pronouns: He/him Romantic orientation: Biromantic Sexual orientation: Bisexual Nationality: British/French Ethnicity: English/French Ranking: Virtue Affiliation: War

BACKGROUND.

Birthplace: Monte Carlo, Monaco Hometown: Worlingham, Suffolk/ London, UK Social Class: Upper Educational achievements: 1st class honours degree in Politics and Economics from Oxford University Father: Warlock Warden Mother: Gabrielle Warden Sibling(s): Remus Warden, Juno Warden

Pets:  Indiana (8 month old doberman) Previous relationships: A handful of fast burning relationships, a year and a half with Kitty Mallick Arrests: 8 official arrests (theft, vandalism, breaking and entering, possession of drugs, affray)   Prison time: Bailed out within hours of each arrest. Apart for the 6th time where Warlock made him stay in a cell over night to think about his actions, it didn’t help.

OCCUPATION & INCOME.

Current occupation: Head of global distribution at Bellum Nova/ Virtue of War Dream occupation: Horseman of War Past job(s): None Spending habits: Sporadic, cautious for the most part but can be easily tempted into spending. Especially when it comes to food In debt?: No

SKILLS & ABILITIES.

Physical strength: above average Speed: average Intelligence: above average Accuracy: average Agility: average Stamina: average Teamwork: He’s gotten better with it over time, although he prefers to work alone should it be an option. He finds it hard to trust others even with simple tasks and has a superiority complex where he thinks he will do said task better himself Talents: Persuasiveness, problem solving, warmongering, impersonations (particularly good at his Remus impersonation that sounds practically identical)  Shortcomings: Emotionally unavailable, competitive, vengeful, relatively fearless and has no impulse control   Languages spoken: French, English and Spanish Drive?: Yes Jump-start a car?: Yes Change a flat tyre?: Yes Ride a bicycle?: Yes   Swim?: Yes Play an instrument?: No Play chess?: No Braid hair?: Yes   Tie a tie?: Yes   Pick a lock?: Yes   Cook?: No

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE AND CHARACTERISTICS.

Faceclaim: Max Irons my beloved Eye colour: Green Hair colour: Dark blonde/light brunette Hair type: Slightly curly texture but kept short enough that it appears straight   Glasses/contacts?: Wears glasses to read and also has deuteranomaly colourblindness (has difficulty differentiating red and green) inherited from Warlock. Dominant hand: Right Height: 6″3 Weight: 86kg or 13.6 stone Build: Tall, muscular but carries slight weight around his middle because he loves carbs and knows how to have a good time Exercise habits: Regular jogging in the morning with Indi, gym throughout the week for weight training Skin tone: Type II Tattoos: Stick and poke tattoo of devil horns on the back of his calf given to him by Mitzi Zhang. The word ‘victorieux’ on his ribs in gothic script (insp). Doberman portrait (insp). Piercings: None Marks/scars: Lightly freckled, small birthmark at the back of his bicep on his left arm, dagger scar near his abdomen Clothing style: Monochromatic and sleek but likes wearing knitted jumpers and slogan tee shirts when he’s being more casual. Also lives in grey sweatpants when he’s at home. (Insp, insp, insp, insp). Jewellery: A 1950s manual wind Rolex with leather straps and a 18k yellow gold watch face. Given to him as a child and it belonged to his grandfather (insp). Allergies: Pollen Diet: Carb heavy, lives off bread and cheese, also has a real sweet tooth due to not being allowed to eat a lot of sugar as a kid.

PSYCHOLOGY.

MBTI type: INTJ, the architect (Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, and Judging) Enneagram type: The Challenger (Resilient, protective, vengeful, insensitive) Moral Alignment: Chaotic evil Temperament: Choleric Element: Air Emotional stability: Changeable and unmanaged. Saint would rather shut down than address his feelings, he gets embarrassed and shy about having them and see’s them as something that gets in the way. Introvert or Extrovert?: Introvert Phobias: Atychiphobia - Fear of failure Drug use: Recreational, favours cocaine and MDMA. Not so much since Remus’s issues with addiction   Alcohol use: Drinks a glass of red wine before bed every night Prone to violence?: Yes Prone to crying?: No Believe in love at first sight?: He used to, but not anymore

MANNERISMS.

Accent: Southern British, occasionally has an air of French when relaxed or tired. Also a slight lisp and deep and softly spoken. (insp). Hobbies: Shooting guns, walking/training his dog, depressively eating bread on the kitchen floor whilst listening to radiohead Habits: Smoking cigarettes, drinking wine Nervous ticks: Jaw clenching, fidgeting with his hands, smoking Drives/motivations: To exceed others expectations of himself Fears: Abandonment Sense of humour?: Dark and dad jokes Do they curse often?: Oui

FAVOURITES.

Animal: Dogs Beverage: Cabernet sauvignon Book: Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk Colour: Blue, being red-green colour blind it’s one of the more vibrant colours that he can see Food: Gratin dauphinois served with crusty bread. Marzipan filled croissants or cherry bakewell for dessert (he loves almonds) Flower: Roses Gem: Sapphire Mode of transportation: Aston Martin Vantage   Scent: Black Opium (kitty’s perfume)  Sport: Rugby   Weather: Thunderstorms Vacation destination: South France  

ATTITUDES.

Greatest dream: Becoming Horseman of War Greatest fear: Being eradicated and forgotten at his siblings’ hands   Most at ease when: Alone at home where he can be himself without the pressure of performing for other’s   Least as ease when: In groups with new people that he doesn’t know Biggest achievement: Being Gabrielle’s favourite child   Biggest regret: Falling in love and getting caught

[americangodstalk]

Cultural background for Czernobog

Here is what I wrote for Czernobog’s cultural background (note that I also added Bielobog in it, for reasons obvious to the novel reader)

Czernobog (or Chernobog, the “black god”) and Bielobog (or Belebog, the “white god”) were Slavic deities worshipped by the Polabian Slavs, and a representation of the fundamental duality of the Slavic mythologies (some even considered them Western Slavic nicknames for the dualistic gods Perun and Veles). While they are some of the most widespread and well-known Slavic gods in popular culture, their existence is heavily debated. Indeed, there is no absolute mythological proof of their existence, only late records by foreign Christian scholars and suggestions of their existence in Western Slavic language and culture. The most common theories are that they are an invention of Christian monks, a misunderstanding of the worship of Perun and Veles, or minor local deities given much more importance by the Christians writings during the Christianization of the Polabian territories.

According to foreign Christian sources, from the 12th to the 16th centuries, Bielobog was a benevolent god of good luck, light and the day, and Czernobog a negative god of misfortune, night and darkness. While Bielobog was honored so that he would bless humans with good things, Czernobog was honored so that he would not bring harm to humans. It was said that Czernobog was worshipped through human sacrifices, only human death and human blood being able to appease him. Christian priests taught that Bielobog was actually the Christian God, while Czernobog was the devil or Satan – to the point that some consider Bielobog and Czernobog to have originally been naturals gods of light and darkness that the Christianization of the Slavs turned into figures of good and evil (the same way the other dual gods of Slavic mythology, Perun and Veles, were compared to God and Satan by the Christians).

Outside of those written records, other elements possibly attest the existence of the two gods. Two mountains were named after them (Czorneboh and Bieleboh) because they presumably hosted their cults, though it is considered that these names are 18th-century inventions. The Arabian medieval historical account “The Meadows of Gold” mentions an idol at the top of the Black Mountain, depicting an old man surrounded by ants, ravens and black-skinned people: it has been considered to be Czernobog. Several towns and places in Russia, Ukraine and the Czech Republic might have been named after the two gods. Several expressions and sayings were also linked to the deities: “May the black god smite you!” (Ukrainian), “To not see a white god” (Serbian), “To cry out a white god” (Bulgarian) or “I have no white god from this man” (Bulgarian, means that someone lacks good will). Finally, the folklore of White Russia mentions a supernatural figure named Bieloun, an old man with white clothes and a white beard, appearing only during the day and helping all the unhappy people he meets, be it guiding lost travelers or sharing the peasants’ labor.

Chernobog’s name was heavily popularized thanks to Disney’s adaptation of “Night on Bald Mountain” in the musical movie “Fantasia”. Depicting the witches’ Sabbath according to old Russian legends, the devil leading the infernal reunion was called “Chernabog”, a reference to Chernobog, though Walt Disney and Deems Taylor both explained that Chernabog was the same as Satan.

[passionate-reply]

This week on Great Albums: how the heck have I gone this long without a deep dive on Ultravox?! I mean, I named “Passionate Reply” after one of their songs, for crying out loud! Find out what makes *Quartet* my very favourite of their albums. Transcript below the break!

Welcome to Passionate Reply, and welcome to Great Albums! Today, I’m finally getting around to talking about one of my all-time favourite bands: it’s Ultravox, and their 1982 album Quartet. Quartet was the sixth album to be released under the Ultravox name, and the third to feature their best-known lineup, fronted by Midge Ure. While the band’s classic lineup would never match the impact of 1980’s “Vienna,” they enjoyed fairly consistent mainstream success through the mid-80s. Their preceding LP, Rage In Eden, produced only two singles, but both were well-received.

Music: “The Thin Wall”

While none of the four classic lineup LPs are what I’d consider skippable, I do think Quartet is the strongest of them overall, as an album. Vienna has great highlights, but feels like a varied patchwork of different ideas. Quartet, though, is probably their most cohesive work, both musically and thematically--in addition to boasting some of the most iconic singles of their career, like “Hymn”:

Music: “Hymn”

The sweeping grandeur of “Hymn,” and the way Ure’s powerhouse vocals propel the insistent urgency of its pleading hook, make it a very easy track to fall in love with, and it’s easy to see why it was a hit. We can read its lyrics as an earnest request for a just reward from God, or the vain wish of a crass and selfish believer who wants what God is too good to give, or perhaps the struggle of someone who wants God to make the world right, but knows there is no God listening...or, more darkly, that the God listening isn’t benevolent enough to fix things. Given that “Hymn”’s music video portrays each member of the band making a deal with the devil and being consigned to Hell for it, at least some level of irony is probably intentional. It could be argued that Quartet is a concept album about music itself, and the choice of the very meta title of “Hymn” for this track makes it fit in nicely alongside tracks like “Serenade” and “The Song.”

Music: “The Song”

A memorable closing track if there ever was one, “The Song” is perhaps the clearest representation of the motif of music as a dangerous, but irresistibly beguiling force, that draws us in against our will and does with us whatever it wants. The emphasis on rhythm really sells that idea here, seeing as rhythm is far and away the element of music we are most likely to react to involuntarily--tapping our feet, swaying in time. Quartet is the Ultravox album where their percussionist, Warren Cann, really gets a chance to shine. While Cann had a background in playing traditional rock drums, he also fully embraced the potential of mechanical percussion, and the allure of hypnotically perfect rhythm. Rather than seeing it in opposition to his practice, Cann would go on to combine elements of both live drumming and electronic percussion on many Ultravox tracks. Cann also delivers some backing vocals, in his deep, Canadian-accented voice, on the track “We Came to Dance”:

Music: “We Came to Dance”

The dark and slinky “We Came to Dance” would prove to be a successful single for Ultravox, though the single version would omit Cann’s spoken part in that bridge. But lest you think every track on Quartet is entirely percussion-propelled, look no further than the single that preceded it, “Visions In Blue”:

Music: “Visions In Blue”

With its tinkling piano, tense moments of silence, and one of Midge Ure’s more dramatic and virtuosic performances on lead vocal, “Visions In Blue” is a slice of baroque pop that bears a strong resemblance to “Vienna,” Ultravox’s original smash hit. Overall, Quartet has a bit less rock and roll to it than much of Ultravox’s other work, and particularly when compared to the heavier guitar solos of their preceding album Rage In Eden. That said, there are still several tracks here that are more guitar-driven, such as “Mine For Life” and “When the Scream Subsides.”

Music: “When the Scream Subsides”

The cover art for Quartet was designed by the famed Peter Saville, who would work with Ultravox for several of their best-known releases. Saville was inspired by renderings of architecture, and the four traditional views or angles from which a building is shown on plans or blueprints. From left to right, the cover of Quartet presents an imaginary building from each of those angles.

Given the more overt riffs on Cubism and Surrealism found on some of the single sleeve designs from the same period, I’m tempted to think the ghostly, empty architecture portrayed in the “metaphysical paintings” of Giorgio de Chirico may have also been an inspiration here.

The title of Quartet also suits the fact that at this point in their career, Ultravox were, indeed, a four-person band. While somewhat prosaic in that sense, I like that it calls attention, once again, to that theme of “music about music” that I mentioned earlier. While a lot of rock bands are comprised of four players, the term “quartet” is more strongly associated with classical and jazz, and I think those connotations enliven the baroque touches of tracks like “Visions In Blue.”

After Quartet, Ultravox would release one last album with their classic lineup, 1984’s Lament. Like Quartet, Lament would stick to a more cohesive theme--as its title implies, it’s a fairly morose and despondent album, with more gothic themes than their prior work. Lament was also a hit for them, with the single “Dancing With Tears In My Eyes” becoming one of their best-known and best-loved tracks.

Music: “Dancing With Tears In My Eyes”

Lament was the last album to feature Warren Cann, who was dismissed over creative tensions during recording sessions for their 1986 follow-up, U-Vox, shattering the classic lineup that had brought them so much success. While Cann’s absence is far from the only thing wrong with U-Vox, I do think it played a significant part in the album’s poor reception, which would eventually lead to the abandonment of the Ultravox name altogether.

My favourite track from Quartet is “Cut & Run.” While I like it mainly for its thin synth blasts in the beginning and those delightfully 80s breath samples, it’s also one of the most sinister compositions anywhere in the Ultravox catalogue. “Cut & Run” basically glorifies suicide, in a pretty straightforward manner, portraying the act as “something spiteful and true.” To contemporary ears, it’s truly almost shockingly taboo, and I can’t imagine any artist getting away with it nowadays--especially not when placed alongside “Hymn,” and the demonic themes of its music video. Ultravox basically did substantially more than Judas Priest ever did to encourage devil worship and suicide, but I suppose their foppish synth band aesthetic let them off the hook? Listen for yourself, and see what you think. That’s all for today--thanks for listening.

Music: “Cut & Run”

[system-threat-detected]

Hello yes this is my gut reaction post to the new Horizon Forbidden West trailer. Ya know, besides the crying and dying. I will not be freaking out about the new machines here, that will be reserved for a different post, probably. Story elements and character stuff ONLY!

Anyways. Here we go.

HELLO miss Utaru woman, for some reason I thought you would be in the east and not the west, but I’m glad you’re here anyways. 

Looks like she is having some problems growing her crops because of this mysterious red plant. Who do we know is in charge of mysterious plants? That’s right! Our good friend DEMETER! I’m a little surprised we’re seeing such aggression from this flora-loving subfunction, especially since (I can only assume) it developed Corruption Glaze Root found ingame specifically to combat corruption poison. 

Speaking of subfunctions, who do we know is in charge of the weather? AETHER! It would seem we will be dealing with at LEAST two of the subfunctions we didn’t cover in Zero Dawn! I for one am excited to see how this is handled, since AETHER has always been a little nebulous to me. Maybe we’ll see some kind of airship base designed to help it monitor the atmosphere, or some tall mountain base. That landmass in the right of this screenshot looks suspiciously like it’s floating, but it could also simply be perched on top of something blocked by the scary red plant tendrils. 

Hello there. And who are YOU? Not enough blue to be Tenakth, too much armor to be Utaru, not enough red handprints to be a bandit, though it could be some kind of bandit superclan. Are those cannons on your arms? Whoever you are I love you. 

Are those palm fronds on your shaman friend in the background? I’m excited to meet you. 

Is that halfdome? Are we in northern California, Yosemite? This could be the new tribe’s territory, or possibly part of the Cut. 

But I think I’m going to have to go with a new tribe. Oseram do not dress like this, and they for SURE don’t know how to override machines. (yet)

The Bastard man Sylens has returned!!! And he’s watching something mysterious fall from the sky! What do we know that exploded on launch? That’s right kids! The spaceship Odyssey! In 2065, Elisabet Sobeck sent a message to the other Zero Dawn Alphas that Odyssey failed, presumably destroying everything on the ship, including the Alpha build of APOLLO *eyes emoji*. Could this be some debris from the ship, falling to earth from orbit?

Another theory is that AETHER has some kind of space station in the upper atmosphere, as that is its job. These could be energy bursts from it trying to cause some cool storms, like we saw earlier in the trailer harassing that poor Utaru woman. 

But back to Sylens. Looks like the Bastard Man himself is teaching this new tribe how to override machines. We saw in the end-credits scene that he recaptured HADES, and the red tendrils tell me that HADES is being forced to cooperate with Sylens’ plans, so now Sylens has an army, I guess. We know he’s only after knowledge, but will do anything to get it. So I’m interested to find out what he wants an army for. 

AND he took his lance back from the HORUS processor that HADES was occupying, and the Master Override with it. This scares me. Like a lot. Things are not looking good for the other subfunctions, or Aloy, who now has no way to purge them. Though I suppose since Sylens doesn’t have Alpha privileges, neither can he. 

Thanks buddy, I’m sure that won’t backfire on you or Aloy. My mans likes causing problems on purpose, apparently. 

Hello what’s this? Architecture like we’ve never seen before, or the arms of a Metal Devil. New dungeons to explore, or capital of the new tribe? 

The lightning and aspen trees suggests this is in Yosemite, so my best guess is this is an entrance to the new clan’s territory/their main city proper. I’m loving the painted(?) designs though. 

And of course, the underwater mechanic makes me think that we may run into POSEIDON, but the quick glance we were shown of swimming Aloy gave no insight as to where or what that subfunction might be doing.

In conclusion. I am very very very excited for this game. Sony take my money. 

[weatherman667]

The Beauty (and Failure) of Devil May Cry

Devil May Cry was originally conceived as an alternate control scheme for Resident Evil 4.  They found that it didn’t work with how they wanted to make Resident Evil, so they made it it’s own game.

Is that really it?  Yes.  For those who don’t know, Resident Evil was always conceived to be a B-movie.  You play through a B-movie.  It was never meant to be anything better.

Devil May Cry through together a bunch of cliché story elements, and half-dreamed up control scheme and made a game out of it.

For those who don’t know the history of either Devil May Cry or Resident Evil will probably be flabbergasted by this, (and also vexed confused by my use of flabbergasted and vexed).  How the hell did Devil May Cry become such a success?

Atmosphere:  The game is set on an island that feels like it’s slowly sliding into hell.  Which is great, because it is.  Mallet Island is slowly being turned into a portal to hell by a resurrected devil king.  The island is abandoned.  The first enemies you fight are marionettes, and when you first fight them they are literally marionettes in the background.  They are the first enemies you fight, because lesser devils need physical objects to possess.  As you travel through the island, it starts to make less and less sense while feeling more and more evil.  The whole time ominous organ music is being played.  The organ music makes sense at first, as there is a chapel near the start of the game, but it seems like the pipe organs were piped around the whole castle, because?  It honestly does the closed-circle, trapped-on-and-island, what the hell is going on, but done a hell of a lot better than anyone else.

Cinematic Appeal:  Since it was designed to be a B-movie, it was designed ot have high cinematic appeal.  There are very few games who understand their own cinematic nature and how to use it to make the experience better for the player.  Hideo Kojima is unquestionably the best at this, as he made a walking simulator incredibly engaging.  Unfortunately, one of the things sacrificed with DMC4′s more free-flowing camera is cinematic appeal.

Tight combat system:  It is not only entirely possible to beat every level without taking ANY damage whatsoever, it is recommended if you want to get good a good score.  They also invented the Heaven and Hell mode where you and most enemies both have 1 HP, but if you beat Hard, you can probably do it.  How does the game do this, despite not actually being able to see what’s going on, (because of said cinematic camera angles)? Easy, telegraphs.  Every move that can attack you off screen has an obvious telegraph that you can just roll out of the way of.  The combo system is both simple and versatile at the same time, and you can break out of the combo at any time.  A lot of games that followed are insisting on making longer and longer and more complex combos that you can’t break out of, but that makes them less scalable.  Devil May Cry (1) does more with a single combo button than most games do with two or three buttons and complex internations.  They also use the same button for Jump and Roll, and it works without any issue at all.  The roll effectively allows you to avoid every single attack if you use it properly.  Aerial combat is both simple, incredible versatile, and incredible useful, to the point I can’t really think of a game that did aerial combat better.

Each weapon is unique and useful, even if the main weapon is the most versatile.  And this is something you see in so many games nowadays, where the first weapon you get is the middle of the road weapon, and the other weapons are designed around it, (usually a sword or an assault rifle).  DMC is the one that started it.  DMC 1, 3, and 5 made each an every one of Dante’s Devil Arms unique and useful.  They also made it so that each one can be enhanced, and made even more useful.

Heart:  Devil May Cry might not have had the best written story, but it’s literally one that can make you cry.  This is not only considered the true defining characteristic of art and the artist, but is also a fundamental part of the game.  TEARS ARE A GIFT THAT ONLY HUMANS HAVE.  A homunculus / simulacrum of Dante’s mother being able to cry is one of the most important moments in the entire series.

Excitement:  This was what Stan Lee always wanted to add to comics.  DMC always changes what is going on to keep it exciting.  If it uses the same enemies it typically does so in different contexts.

All There in the Manual:  Every time you do something against an enemy, you actually get a write up in your note book.  This has sadly been forgotten in later games, but a lot of the time you manage to defeat and enemy and no idea who you did it.  Knowledge is power, and the game actively tries to make you knowledgeable about the game.  Seriously, Dante literally takes notes on all of the devils he defeats.

[jmsebastian]

Why I Hope The Future of Castlevania (if There is One) Remembers Lords of Shadow

Some time ago I wrote about the two DLC chapters for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow and why you probably don’t want to play them. Those chapters are extremely disappointing and not representative of the game as a whole. As such, I always meant to write about the main game, but found it difficult to focus on something specific. Straight out reviews can be fun, but this is a big budget popular game we’re talking about. There are tons of reviews out there for it already. Instead, I want to talk about why the first installment of the series is still monumentally important to the franchise as a whole and why there are more lessons to learn from it for any future installments than there are to be learned from any other game in the series.

For any who don’t know, Lords of Shadow acts as a complete series reset. Several little elements from the original canon, if you can call it that, make their way into the game, though often in very different form. As I don’t get hung up about continuity or canon, this was an obvious good choice. It allowed MercurySteam and the folks at Konami to incorporate the things they liked about Castlevania without having the constraints of finding space within a pre-existing history. And like so many reboots, the story they chose was an origin story, both of the Belmonts and the series constant antagonist, Dracula.

Essentially, Lords of Shadow chronicles the birth of Dracula by way of the game protagonist, Gabriel Belmont. Unable to overcome the grief from the death of his wife, Marie, whom he killed while under the influence of belated antagonist, Zobek, Gabriel acquires incredible power and defeats Satan. Even after declaring to believe in forgiveness and receiving the forgiveness he so desperately seeks from his wife, Gabriel still descends into despair. We learn at the very end of the game that he’s forsaken humanity and become Dracula.

As the Lords of Shadow series broke away from the previous Castlevania timeline, so should a new 3D Castlevania game break away from the Lords of Shadow timeline. The poor reception to Lords of Shadow 2 killed that series and there is no point trying to bring it back. I’m certainly not eager to see a new origin story, but there’s no reason to think a new game would need to start at the beginning. Just as the original NES Castlevania started centuries after the first Belmont took up arms against the vampire lord, so too could a new title start at any point along a new timeline.

As large a departure from the source material as Lords of Shadow’s story was, the way it plays departed even further. Granted, none of the 3D entries truly capture the spirit of the 2D entries simply due to the nature of moving in 3D space. Castlevania and Legacy of Darkness for the Nintendo 64 adhered the closest, while Lament of Innocence and Curse of Darkness for the PlayStation 2 ventured more into brawler territory.

Lords of Shadow is heavy on the platforming, but rather than trying to time a perfect leap over a pit and Medusa head, you instead shimmy across ledges and use your whip to swing across gaps and repel down walls. It’s much more akin to how platforming works in a game like Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time or the rebooted Tomb Raider series. This allowed the game to showcase its art direction very specifically. Since the game controls the camera at all times, they could position you exactly how they wanted to give you pause at majestic waterfalls in the background, or exaggerate the sense of scale against towering bosses.

While I prefer camera control to rest with the player, there is something to be said for the framing that a game controlled camera allows for.

While I love the more ridiculous and difficult platforming of the Nintendo 64 games, there is a steep learning curve to it. On top of that, the hallmark problems of 3D platforming (issues with camera position and depth of field) have never really been solved. The negative impact of the symptoms may have been lessened over the years, but the core issues remain. That means you have essentially have to choose where to focus your game. Do you put your effort into making your platforming as excellent as challenging as rewarding as possible, or do you focus on the action elements?

Lords of Shadow focused largely on the action. The game is most satisfying when you have small groups of weaker enemies to tear through with your favorite combat techniques, or more difficult single enemies where you have to learn their patterns so you can time your dodges and blocks effectively. The only real complaint about the combat system is that many of the techniques that you can learn feel frivolous. Upgrading a handful of the basic ones is more than enough to get you through and it’s quite difficult to remember the numerous button combinations needed for each new technique you learn. It’s easy enough to use two or three that you know well and ignore everything else.

The more interesting aspect of combat are the various relic powers. These add holy or demonic magic properties to your techniques depending on which type of magic you have activated. I prefer these types of upgrades because they don’t require you to memorize a new set of commands for a marginal benefit. They simply amplify the effectiveness of certain techniques, and push you toward using certain ones. Having more of these that you could select from would have been a nice way to round out the combat without further complicating it. This is something I’d prefer to be lifted from the game rather than the basic combat elements. After all, there are other action games like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta that serve as better combat templates than Lords of Shadow.

The outstanding question you may be asking is “why make a 3D Castlevania game at all?”. It’s a fair question. The games from the series that have really stood the test of time are those in 2D. The legacy of the classic NES titles and the Igavania titles is well-respected and lives on through an abundance of games that took inspiration for a reason. Igarashi himself managed to put together a spiritual successor to both Symphony of the Night and Dracula’s Curse, cementing that legacy for a long time to come. There is no such legacy for the 3D entries.

As much as I adore the quirks and charm of the 3D entries in the series, I’d be lying to myself if I said any of them were truly outstanding. Lords of Shadow may have come close, but its shortcomings are too numerous and the legacy of the series as a whole tarnishes even the brightest elements. Castlevania deserves a truly outstanding 3D game. The opportunity for it is there, so long as whoever makes it learns the lessons of how and why games like Lords of Shadow fall just short.

[solynaceawrites]

Wires [4]: Frustration

Rating: Mature Archive Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Major Character Death Categories: F/F, F/M Fandom: Devil May Cry Relationships: Dante/Original Female Character(s), Implied Nero/Kyrie, Implied Vergil/Original Female Character(s), Implied Lady/Trish, Dante/Lirael Thorne, Dante/Lir Characters: Dante, Morrison, Nero, Original Female Character(s), Lirael Thorne, Lir Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Detectives, Violence, Gore, Dark, Horror, Supernatural Elements, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Serial Killers, Angst, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut Summary: In Red Grave City, a serial killer stalks the streets. Lirael Thorne, recently transferred from Fortuna and looking for an escape from her past, winds up on his trail. Hunting him with her veteran partner, Dante Redgrave, they try to piece together the wires that bind the three of them together. In a race to catch him before he leaves more victims in his wake, the things thought buried will come to the surface, tearing lives and comfort apart.

»»————-　⚜　————-««

“Death and life are the same thing- like the two sides of my hand, the palm and the back. And still the palm and back are not the same . . . They can neither be separated, nor mixed.” —Ursula K. Le Guin

»»————-　⚜　————-««

Lir takes Simon Marson’s statement with a grain of salt. It’s not that she doesn’t trust him—she doesn’t trust lawyers as a whole, but nothing so far has given her a reason to believe he’d outright lie—just that she’s learned firsthand how memories get clouded and fuzzy, particularly about routines. Sure, their victim worked for him. And, yes, she probably did the exact same thing every day, going to her paid internship at her father’s office Monday through Saturday, taking Sunday off, and spending Friday night bar-hopping with her friends. Yet there’s simply too much Marson was unaware of. The questions of who her friends are, what she did when she wasn’t working, her hobbies, any potential lovers, hell even where she lived, are all ones he provided no answer to or understanding of. To him, Sophie truly existed only in the hours between 8:00 am and 6:30 pm. Which isn’t exactly unusual, but it makes her job of following those leads harder, and she ends their interview feeling more irritated than she had when she started.

Dante, too, must be frustrated, because he says nothing at all to her when he leaves the observation room to join her at their desks, merely clacking angrily on his keyboard as he types his report. Lir does the same, transcribing the interview with Marson and her notes to send to Morrison later. A stiff drink is what she needs, maybe a call to Joan for a bit of relaxation, but she settles for chewing aspirin and drinking the bitter coffee unique to precincts. By the time she’s done recounting the events of the last thirty-six hours, her fingers are stiff and the throbbing in her temples has turned into a fierce clawing that makes her eyes water, and she’s keenly aware of the fact that they’re fast closing in on the forty-eight hour mark and how much more difficult this investigation is going to be beyond it.

“You eaten?” Dante asks. Lir shakes her head, and he picks up his phone, dialing quickly. “Me neither. ‘Bout to keel over, if I’m honest. You good with pizza?”

“Sure. Whatever toppings are fine.”

He flashes her a grin before speaking into the receiver, and Lir uses the time to read back over Trish’s findings. They aren’t pretty. While there were no ligature marks, showing that Sophie was neither restrained nor strangled, there were heavy levels of Rohypnol in her blood, meaning she would have been unable to do anything at all. In fact, Trish notes that the dose probably would have been fatal, given the fact that Sophie was well over the legal limit for intoxication, clocking a BA of 0.16%, putting her at the threshold for alcohol poisoning. Did she normally drink so much? Lir runs her fingers over the paper, frowning slightly as she thinks. Joan hadn’t said much more about Sophie’s habits other than her cocktail of choice, and they hadn’t asked for a receipt, a stupid oversight that needs to be corrected. Because if that much liquor was’t common for Sophie, it means either she was drinking a lot more, which could lead them to recent stresses.

Or that the killer was feeding her margaritas all night to make sure she was too weak to fight him.

“There was no phone recovered from the alley, right?” she asks. Dante gives a grunt as he hangs up the phone, and she leans back, stretching to relieve the tension in her shoulders. “We’ve got to find her friends, talk to them.”

“What about the mother?”

“Gone. Parents divorced when Sophie was . . .” Lir checks her notes. “Six. The original custody agreement was for the mom to have supervised visitation, but she went no contact when Sophie was twelve. The last Marson heard from her, she was living with her new husband in Portland.”

Dante whistles. “No contact? Think Marson was abusing her?”

“Maybe. But why would Sophie hang around, if that was the case? You watch your dad beat on your mom for six years and wind up working for him?”

He grunts and leans back, crossing his arms over his chest and staring thoughtfully at a spot just over her right shoulder. “Abuse doesn’t always make it to the kids,” he says after a moment. “Sure, maybe pops was an asshole, but he was probably smart enough to keep it behind closed doors. Or maybe there wasn’t anything goin’ on other than two people who didn’t want to be together anymore.” He pauses to take a sip of coffee. “Could have been mom, too.”

“Right.” Lir massages her temples, and the pressure there subsides enough that she no longer feels like her eyes are going to burst. A migraine is the last thing she needs right now, but that’s exactly where she’s headed if she doesn’t get some sort of rest soon. “So, we have a victim whose father knows nothing about her personal life, a killer who was smart enough to make sure we couldn’t trace her beyond the bar, and, after nearly forty hours, no real answers.”

“Sounds about right.” Dante’s grin is bitter.

“Fuck.” She drums her fingers on her desk. “Crime scene still roped off?”

“As far as I know. You plannin’ a visit?”

“Yeah. I need to get some air, and I want to take it in now that it’s quiet.” Lir grabs her coat from the back of her chair as she stands, sliding it on before leaning to open her desk and grab her gun and badge. Fastening them to her belt, she mutters, “Maybe something got missed.”

Dante gets up, stretching with a loud yawn. “Alright. I’ll go with you.”

“I don’t need—”

“I’m not babysittin’ you, Lir.” His eyes are somehow both grave and mocking, and she’s not sure which irritates her more. “There’s a killer. None of us should be goin’ out alone, especially with the statistics about who else might show up there to get their jollies.”

That gives her pause. “Right. Okay. You driving?”

He dangles his keys. Lips twitching, she turns and heads down the stairs and out to the lot, listening to the quiet thumping of Dante’s shoes as he follows her. For someone so big, he doesn’t make a lot of noise when he moves, and she wonders idly if it’s a force of habit or just how he is as she slides into the passenger seat of his car and fastens her seatbelt. Like always, he flicks on the radio and finds a classic rock station before starting the drive, and he ignores her popping two aspirin into her mouth and chewing them dry. 

The ride back to the alley passes in the silence between them. Lir looks out of her window, the rain sliding along the glass turning the world outside to a muted painting of blurred shapes and bright flashes of color on an otherwise dreary background, and thinks. Sophie Marsons had gone to the bar, as was her usual weekend habit, and ordered her preferred drink. Had she gone with friends? Had they danced, and laughed, until a stranger stole into their group, with eyes only for Sophie, eyes full of murder that she might have mistaken for desire? Despite what she had said to Dante about their victim being chosen randomly, Lir has little doubt that she knew her killer. Statistics point to it, the inevitable need for the comfort brought by familiarity that a new killer needs to do his work. Statistics, the voice of her old academy instructor rasps in her mind, are statistically incorrect.

If Sophie wasn’t the first, then there’s another victim out there.

Cold, bitter rain lashes her as soon as she steps out of the car. Huffing, watching her breath condense and twist in the air, Lir pulls her hood up around her face and tucks her hands into her pockets, wishing she had a slicker even if the garish yellow color of it would make her stick out like a sore thumb. Dante joins her, grimacing as he sets a black trilby on his head, water dripping from the brim steadily. “Good thing we already got forensics,” he mutters.

“Mm.” Making a non-committal noise in her throat, she ducks under the crime scene tape and walks into the alley, where she stands and takes it in. Without pedestrian and vehicular traffic on the street, it’s unnervingly quiet; is this how it was at four in the morning? Nothing but silence as the dull oppressiveness of the city while Sophie was carved open like livestock? 

Lir is moving towards the dumpster when something rustles behind it. Pausing, she stares at it, her brow pinched and her hand moving slowly to her gun, waiting. Cat, she thinks, or rat. Something digging for scraps now that humanity has gone away. But the silhouette she can just make out on the other side is too large, and, as she watches, a tanned hand grips the edge before a rain-soaked head pokes cautiously around, the eyes that she sees wide enough that the whites are like spotlights. Behind her, she hears Dante hiss, the faint splash of water as he slowly comes up beside her. Looks like he was right. Someone else had shown up, and now all that’s left to do is figure out whether or not they’re the murderer.

“Police,” Dante barks. “Don’t move!”

The man jumps to his feet and takes off, and Lir lets out a string of curses as she darts after him. They always fucking run, guilty or innocent, because seeing a cop always makes them feel like they’ve done something wrong. Bearers of bad news, thugs with guns, she’s heard it all, and she wonders how this guy thinks of the police even as she chases him down the winding alleys of a city she’s already growing to hate. “Thorne!” Dante shouts, his voice dwindling as the distance between them grows. “Goddamnit, Thorne!”

Up ahead, the black coat swirls as the man rushes through the maze. Sometimes all she has is a glimpse of fabric as he turns a corner, others, on the straight, narrow stretches, she can make out more of him, and her mind catalogues these snapshots. Slender build. Dark jeans. Heavy boots. The glint of a ring. A pair of wild eyes peering over his shoulder. Despite knowing she should draw it, Lir leaves her gun holstered. Don’t you ever, her instructor had said gravely, take that thing out unless you intend to shoot, and she’s got no desire to fire a bullet that would at best embed itself harmlessly into a wall and at worst ricochet and cause more damage.

Her hood falls back, rain plastering her hair to face and neck. In her chest, her heart is a drum, and her blood roars in her ears, equaled only by the low whistle of her breathing as she tries to control it to fight off fatigue. Keep moving, she tells her legs, don’t fucking stop until you know who he is.

At her hip, her radio crackles, only to be ignored. Right now, it is only her and her prey, locked in the chase until one of them is forced to stop. Guilty people run, sure. So do frightened ones. Which is he? Killer or morbid onlooker, dangerous or afraid? 

Lir never gets the chance to find out. They burst into a side-street, the cars around them blaring horns of fear and anger at this sudden intrusion, and a hand clamps onto her shoulder and yanks her back as a truck passes through the space she’d been about to step into. By the time it and its trailer clear out, the man is gone, and a scream bubbles in her throat that she fights to swallow. She knows who grabbed her—the scent of Dante’s cologne, muted by the rain, wafts into her nose, accompanied by the spiced, salty blend of sweat and deodorant—and she allows him to lead her back to the sidewalk, where she doubles over with her hands on her thighs and struggles to slow her breathing from the harsh, jagged pants to something close to normal. At this angle, she can make out the way water has turned the leather of his shoes a dull brown. Never gonna look nice again, she thinks, and closes her eyes against the swell of nausea that comes from exertion on an empty stomach.

“What the fuck were you thinking?” Dante growls, his voice rasping and hoarse from chasing her. “You ever stop to think for a damned second that we’d need backup? Or that chasing that idiot could have gotten you killed?”

The scolding makes her angry all over again. “I’m sorry,” she snaps, straightening to glare at him. “Should I have let our only lead so far go?”

“If it meant surviving? Yeah, you should’ve. Or were you hoping to wind up like Marsons?” His eyes are cold with fury, his cheeks flushed with it. “I told you, I fucking told you—”

Lir’s phone rings, cutting off whatever tirade he’d been heading towards. Scowling, she answers it. “Thorne.”

“You with Redgrave?” Morrison asks, crackling with static. 

“Yeah.” Dante makes an impatient motion with his hand, and she holds up a finger in the standard request for a minute of silence.

“Get your asses over to Tellula Park. He’ll know where it is.”

There’s something so foreboding about Morrison’s tone that Lir knows the answer to her question before she even asks it. “What’s there?”

Morrison sighs. “Another body. Looks like our killer didn’t want to wait for us to catch him.”

“We’ll be there.” She hangs up, then looks at Dante, frustration and defeat welling within her to make her voice curiously flat. “There’s another victim in Tellula Park.”

Dante curses. “Our guy?”

“Morrison said it was,” she replies.

He glances around, studying the street sign at the intersection. “C’mon. Car’s about two blocks away. We’ll have to book it if we don’t want Morrison to rip us new assholes for taking our sweet time.”

Lir nods. Dante turns and starts down the sidewalk, and she follows, craving a drink and a good night’s rest and maybe a bit of company, angry to have wasted time on some idiot onlooker when the killer was busy leaving them another corpse, another family to notify, another twisted web. I didn’t know, she thinks, and that just makes her feel worse. Tunnel vision, that’s what she had fallen into, too focused on what was in front of her nose to take a second to really contemplate if a killer who took such care not to be noticed would have been so stupid as to come back to the scene of his crime in the middle of the day with cops still around. 

They’re sweating and miserably damp by the time they reach the car. Dante pulls towels from the backseat for them to sit on—something her father had done, to keep water from damaging the seats—and turns on the heater to fight some of the chill. It’s only once they’re on their way to the new scene that he says anything at all. “It wasn’t your fault.”

Lir’s head snaps towards him at both the words and the sympathy within them. Not that it’s unusual for cops to know how their partner feels, but usually that takes years of working together, not days, so either he’s particularly good and reading the people around him or he’s projecting. “What?”

“The new victim,” he explains. “Wasn’t anything you could have done. We had and have nothing to go on, and you chasin’ that guy didn’t get this one killed. Or,” his mouth twitches, “do you think you’re better than every other cop on the force?”

“Of course not,” she protests hotly. “I just . . .”

Dante cracks the window and lights a cigarette that he pulls from the pack in his door. “Look,” he says, exhaling smoke, “I get it. You’re new, gotta prove yourself, and this guy is a pain in the ass. But you ain’t got any control over him, or what he does. Only thing you can do is learn, be better, so you can catch him.”

It’s spoken in the same tone he might have used to console a weeping toddler, and she bristles. “You don’t know me.”

“No, but I read your file.” He glances at her as he tosses the cigarette, still half-lit, out of the window. “You know what was top and center on the behavior section? Empathetic. You feel things, Thorne, feel ‘em deep, maybe, and that’s great for gettin’ inside the head of whoever’s doin’ this, but it means he can get inside your head, too, if you let him.”

She sinks into her seat, thinking of her dream, and gooseflesh breaks out across her arms despite the warm air blowing from the vents. “So what’s your drive, then? Fame? Promotions?”

Dante snorts. “Nah. Just don’t like bastards who hurt women, that’s all.” He pauses, then exhales slowly. “Look. I’m not gonna rat you out to Morrison. You made a decision that anyone else would’ve made. Doesn’t mean it wasn’t a fucking stupid decision, but . . . It stays between us. Right?”

There’s a rush of gratitude that she hates feeling. “Yeah. Okay.”

“Okay,” he agrees amicably.

[ironclark]

Keyblade Cards - Devil May Cry Set 1

REDGRAVE SPECIAL

A Keyblade modeled after Sparda from the first Devil May Cry game! The Keyblade is designed to have reach and high damage, but lacks good defense! The majority of the Keyblade is designed after the Devil Arm Sparda, with the teeth being formed from the Axe/Spear transformation of Sparda. The bottom of the hilt is designed after the horns of Legendary Sparda's Devil Trigger. The Keychain and Token are designed after Dante's Amulet.

The World Logo is Mallet Island, where the first game takes place. The design is based on the concept art for the island, with the logo being based on the Mission Start font! The name is a reference to Ebony and Ivory being specially made guns for "Tony Redgrave".

CRYING DEVILS

A Keyblade modeled after Dante and Lucia from Devil May Cry 2! The Keyblade is designed to have several strike abilities! The shaft and teeth of the blade are designed after Dante's unique and more human-like Devil Trigger, with a Red Orb at the center. The center of the hilt has the Amulet accessory that is unique to DMC2. The hilt and handle of the blade is designed after Lucia's angellic Devil Trigger. The Token is designed after the two-sided coin Dante uses.   The World Logo is Dumary Island, where the second game takes place. The design is based on Ouroboros Tower, with the Hellgate generated in the center. The text is based on the Mission Start font as well! The name comes from that "Devils Never Cry" term coined by Lucia. 

JACKPOT

A Keyblade modeled after the Rebellion from Devil May Cry 3! The Keyblade is designed to increase the drops by enemies! The shaft and handle of the blade is designed after the awakened Rebellion wielded by Dante. The teeth of the blade come from Dante's Devil Trigger in the game making a very vague backwards 3. The guard is based on the combo wheel featured in the game. The Keychain is designed to be once again after Dante's Amulet.

The World Logo is Temen-Ni-Gru, the Demon Tower where the third game takes place. The design is the Rebellion and Yamato crossing infront of the Tower with their Amulets. The name is designed after the Mission Start logo. The name is based on Dante's catchphrase! JACKPOT!

HELLION

A Keyblade designed after elements from Devil May Cry 4! This Keyblade is designed to help juggle enemies easily! The shaft of the blade is design after Nero's Red Queen. The Teeth of the blade is formed from the crack of the Nero's Devil Bringer, fusing with the Yamato Devil Trigger claw.  The center of the guard is the skull from the Rebellion. The handle of the blade is based on the Yamato, bringing the Sparda weapons to a circle. The hilt of the blade is designed after the Savior's halo. The Token is the necklace Nero bought for Kyrie. The World Logo is Fortuna, where the 4th game takes place. The design has one of the towers of Fortuna, with the Savior's halo framing it. The font and background is based on the menu screen from DMC4. The name comes from the fact that Nero, and Dante as well, are Hellions. 

FAMILY TIES

A Keyblade mainly designed after the new Devil Arm Dante from Devil May Cry 5! This Keyblade is designed to have increase in all combat capabilities! The shaft and handle of the blade is designed after Dante's new Devil Arm...Dante. The teeth of the blade are based on the Super/New Devil Trigger form of Nero. The hilt of the blade is designed to have the Qliphoth vines and tendrils.  The Keychain is based on the neon lines formed from the Devil Breakers, and the Token is that of the Qliphoth fruit that Urizen is creating. The World Logo is Redgrave City, part of where the 5th game takes place. The design is the Qliphoth tower destroying Redgrave City. The font is inspired by the menu screens from the game! The name comes from the heavy family centered plot. 

NO REDEMPTION

A Keyblade designed after the Nephilim elements of DmC: Devil May Cry! This Keyblade is designed to have increase in both Lightness and Darkness strength! The shaft and handle of the blade is designed after the rebooted version of Rebellion and its shapeshifting properties. The teeth of the blade is based on the Angel form of Ophion. The hilt of the blade is formed from the Arbiter's demonic teeth. The keychain and Token are based on the new Amulet design for Dante. The World Logo is Limbo City, the main setting of the game. The design is based on Mundus' building, with the effects of Limbo creating two wings, and the camera eyes of Mundus on the center. The font is slightly based on the logo itself. The name comes from the Combichrist sound track released for the game. 

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[ghostflowerdreams]

List of Free Horror Games (2019)

This is an updated list of free horror games. The other list is old because some of the links on it are broken or the games are no longer free. This time I’ve included a description with each one. Some of these games you can even play right in your browsers (just make sure you’ve updated your Abode Flash). 

1916 - Der Unbekannte Krieg

Nestled deep inside the deluged trenches of the German frontline, you play as a soldier desperately looking for a way out. Hidden somewhere in the sunken maze of passageways is a ladder, and finding it almost certainly spells freedom. The only thing that stands between you and safety is a pack of dinosaurs.

3 AM

The city has been evacuated, something sinister haunts it at night, only a single path is safe, but to find it you have to lose your soul. A game inspired by H.P. Lovecraft. Specifically the dogs of Tindalos.

5 Days A Stranger

Trilby, a cat burglar, breaks into an supposedly vacated manor of the aristocratic DeFoe family. He quickly finds that things are not that simple. Together with a group of strangers, he finds himself imprisoned by some invisible intelligence. A force prepared to do anything to keep them all there forever.

7Days

It's a psychological horror game done in first person perspective. The game has very little plot or background. All you know is that you are a person who wakes up in a bed in a house. Your goal is to to get out of the house, but of course things aren't that simple.

Alice Mare

The game follows an amnesiac young boy named Allen who was placed under the care of a man called Teacher who looks after four other children. One night, Allen investigates the rumor of a mysterious voice on the second floor and when he returns to his room, he finds a strange black cat who leads him into his closet.

Animal Village

It’s a short survival horror game with light dating sim elements made for the Pixel Horror Jam 2016. The game is about exploring the pit in the middle of Animal Village, a quaint little settlement inhabited by talking animals. Don't talk to the bird-headed man, don't acknowledge him and don't trust him.

Ao Oni (青鬼, lit. 'Blue Demon')

The player assumes the role of Hiroshi, a young teenager who enters a haunted mansion with his friends, Takuro, Takeshi, and Mika (Along with Kazuya and Ryota in the original). Shortly after entering the mansion, the doors lock behind them. Hiroshi doubts that the mansion is haunted, but soon finds himself being pursued by an enigmatic blue Oni. Hiroshi must now find a way to save as many of his friends as possible and escape the mansion alive.

Ascension

It’s a psychological horror game in which you play as Atticus, a groundskeeper who has brought his sick daughter to work on the day of a horrible accident in his building. Separated from his daughter, Atty must survive the hordes of monsters stalking him and make it back to her before something else reaches her first.

Baby Blues

You play as Tommy, a toddler that wakes up to a strange noise in the middle of the night with a bright light shining in his eyes. Realizing his beloved teddies are missing; he climbs down out of bed and start to look for them.

Backstage

Tom Keller is lost. He has gone astray, and become trapped in a nightmare world that is a twisted mirror image of our own, tormented by horrific aberrations, haunted by shattered memories. He is alone behind the world, and to escape, he must come to terms with all of his sins.

Bad Dream: Series

It’s a series of short point-and-click games. It takes place in a creepy, dark and sad land of dream. Some of games will be a cruel and painful as nightmare, and some will be disturbing and illogical. Gameplay will always look the same, but the dreams will be different.

Project Entities: Blame (originally simply titled Blame)

This is a horror survival game. You have to dig into the game, however, to piece it together. You might also have to uncover a lot of the hidden and secret material. Epileptics, as well as those who are sensitive to light play at their own discretion.

Bunny Man - Lost Souls

It’s a game made in Slender-style where you go around and save people's souls from an urban legend creature called Bunny Man. Your goal is to save as many souls as you can before he catches you.

Candles

It’s a 3D game where you have to light up your house, which has been invaded by dangerous imps. 

Corpse Party Zero

It’s a survival horror adventure fan-made game by Noraenu created using RPG Tkool XP. It’s a prequel which stars two sisters mentioned only in passing in Corpse Party, Kaori Hasegawa and Shiho Hasegawa, who try to escape from the cursed school.

Corpse Party -Rebuilt-

It’s the remake of the original survival horror adventure game in the Corpse Party series made by an anonymous member of a Japanese message board with permission from Team GrisGris. A group of friends unknowingly perform an occult ritual that traps them in an otherworldly elementary school. Here, the vengeful spirits of young children threaten their lives and their sanity, and the only hope of survival is to uncover the chilling details behind the murders of those trapped before them...

The Crooked Man

David Hoover decides to move into a new apartment during a rough time in his life. After some odd occurrences, he decides to ask about the room's former owner, but learns little. So he sets off in search of him, strangely compelled to know more about this man...

Cry of Fear

It’s a psychological single-player and co-op horror game set in a deserted town filled with horrific creatures and nightmarish delusions. You play as a young man desperately searching for answers in the cold Scandinavian night, finding his way through the city as he slowly descends into madness.

Daily Chthonicle

You take on the role of a Supernatural Newspaper Agency boss and editor. The world it takes place in is a dark and haunted one, with ghosts, zombies, monsters and even shapeshifting murderers, pretending to be human after they have stolen their victims' bodies or infiltrated the humanity. It was inspired heavily by the works of H.P. Lovecraft and it builds on the atmosphere of uncertainty and noir of the 1940s.

Dark Deception

It’s a story-driven first-person horror maze game. There's nowhere to hide and nowhere to catch your breath. Run or die -- it's your choice. Trapped in a realm of nightmarish mazes with a mysterious woman, your only hope of survival is to find a way to escape the darkness.

Dark Dread

A missing teenager. An abandoned hospital. You are a detective who has to find out what happened to Helena Greenwood.If you don't go insane while doing so...

Deep Sleep, Deeper Sleep & The Deepest Sleep

You are stuck inside a nightmare dream. Something lurks in the darkness... Something in the depths of your own mind wants to pull you even deeper. Someone will escape this dream for sure. The question is -- who is that going to be?

The Designer's Curse

The first chapter of an unforgettable survival horror experience. Solve puzzles and work your way through this terrifying place. You may be more familiar with it than you initially think.

The Devil Haunts Me

Survive, explore and discover the secrets of the woods. But be careful, there's something else in these woods...

Devil's Tuning Fork

It’s a first-person exploration/puzzle game in which the player must navigate an unknown world using visual sound waves. Inspired by M.C. Escher’s classic optical illusion and the echolocation of dolphins.

Dissolving

Her ex-boyfriend became a shut-in. The girl goes to visit him... then things start to go wrong. They always do, right? Experience two stories about digital gods and loss. And remember -- believe in the net.

Disturbed

Play as a farmer who struggles to manage a failing farm. You come to a point where there is no more hope, and you must do something.

Doorways: Old Prototype

It’s an immersive and twisted adventure created before the official development of the Doorways saga.

Doki Doki Literature Club

The Literature Club is full of cute girls! Will you write the way into their heart? This game is not suitable for children or those who are easily disturbed.

Don't Escape

I woke up in a room... It is not locked and I remember everything. I'm a werewolf. Tonight I will turn and people will die... unless I find a way to prevent myself from escaping this place.

Don’t Look Now

Don’t look at them. They will drain you of your last sanity if they catch you. Direct your consciousness and reach your happy place.

Erie

Erie begins in October 1966, when the Fermi 1 Nuclear Power Generator suffers a partial meltdown, and locals begin disappearing from a sleepy Michigan town. Oliver Victor is a Red Cross Investigator sent to find missing locals, but quickly finds himself trapped underground and being hunted by a product of forced-mutation experiments.

Eyes

If you like Slender, you'll like this too. You’re to search an old, abandoned house and collect any valuables but be careful -- there are rumors of a ghost haunting the building.

Exmortis & Exmortis 2

You wake up in the woods with no memory of how you got there. Nightmares of blood and screams still echo through your mind. It's late and it's cold - unless you can find shelter fast, you won't last the night. You spot a house in a clearing up ahead and left with no choice - you decide to shelter there for the night. Soon after you begin to realize that death is a welcome choice compared to what lies waiting for you inside...

Fausts Alptraum

It’s an single player, puzzle game created by LabORat Studio, an indie game team from Taiwan. The story is based on Goethe's Faust. Players will play as a troubled girl wandering around in a crayon-drawn world.

Forget Me Not Annie

It’s a first person psychological horror game. You play as a 15 year old girl Annie who is trapped within her own mind and has to use her telekinetic powers with the help of Howard who you are able to summon at any moment to surpass puzzles.

From Next Door

It’s a short mystery-horror game developed for the 2016 Pixel Horror Jam. It draws inspiration from the works of Junji Ito and games like Silent Hill, with the story focused on the eerie and the bizarre. It tells the story of a young woman who moves into a new house, only to experience weird occurrences from the seemingly empty house next door. Depending on your choices the outcome will change and could even grant her safety or not.

The Groundskeeper

After a horrific accident, you find yourself trapped in an unfamiliar place where no one can hear you scream. There's a dark presence... A dark secret that this place holds. Is there any way out? Is HE watching?

Hello? Hell…o?

It’s a Japanese RPG horror game by Ryuuichi Tachibana created with RPG Maker VX Ace. You play as a boy named Kazuki that is going through strain in a relationship with his girlfriend, Akari. It takes place in a strange room where you have to accomplish certain things in order to complete all the endings.

Hide

Play hide and seek with someone who hides in the mist. All you have is your ears.

The House & The House 2

It’s a point-and-click flash horror game. Built in 1970, and deserted some time after that, no one has entered the house since the entire family committed suicide due to reasons unknown. Your goal is to search through the house to unfold the mystery of what really happened to that fateful fictitious family.

Human

It’s a short psychological horror game which examines inherent, earthly, and otherworldly evils, and the forces which drive them. As you make your way through an Alaskan auroral research facility in search of employees it quickly becomes very clear that something has become alerted to your presence.

I Can’t Escape

You have fallen into a vast underground maze. Can you find your way out, or will you end up trapped in darkness forever?

I See You

You play as an unnamed protagonist waking up in an empty hospital. However, it soon turns out the hospital is not quite so empty...

Ib

A young girl named Ib visits an art gallery with her parents. While observing the many exhibits, she suddenly realizes she is alone. And in her search for others, she finds things awry in the gallery...

Ildefonse

In 1935, Mr. Ildefonse was betrayed by his wife who then fled with their children, Mr. Ildefonse lost his head and unleashed a massacre at his home involving employees, then he committed suicide. The rest of the story is completed with letters from tenants who lived in the building, which was later converted into flats but haunted by the things that happened in the past.

In the game, the year 1977, the player is a lawyer hired to collect the testament papers in the house, requested by a family member.

Imscared: A Pixelated Nightmare

The player must find keys, open doors and search for the exit to this nightmare.

Lamia Nox

It’s an indie horror game made with RPG Maker VX Ace. Laura, an 14-year-old who is pretty much a normal young girl. But her life is changed for the worse when she wakes up one day to find that her home is completely different. 

The Last Door: Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3 & Episode 4

Free episodic horror game, with original pixel-art visuals and a gorgeous orchestral music score. Surrounded by a thrilling sound atmosphere, player's will experience a really immersive environment thought the stimulation of their imagination, just like classic horror writers like Poe and Lovecraft used to.

Leave

The game begins with the protagonist waking up in her bedroom, but it's up to the player to search her house for the backstory.

Lucie

Lucie, a girl who, after waking up in a strange room realizes that she is stuck in a lucid dream. She encounters evil beings and traps while searching for her body.

Lurking

It’s a sound-based survival thriller gae, where sound is the only way you see, and they hear your fears.

Mad Father

Aya Drevis is a young girl living in an isolated mansion in northern Germany. Since her mother's passing, she's felt lonely living with just her father and his assistant Maria. What's more, she knows her father's secret...

Mermaid Swamp

Rin Yamazaki and her college friends have their car break down in the mountains on a trip. Fortunately, a kindly old man offers to let them stay at his house. But there's a legend about the swamp outside the mansion...

Misao

It's been three months since the mysterious disappearance of Misao. No one has any idea where she could have gone, but many believe she's dead by now. And when paranormal events crop up around the school, rumors spread that she's out for revenge...

Miserere

In Miserere you explore the dreams of a lonely space station occupant. The unnamed occupant have been on this station for years, all alone. Needless to say, this has taken its toll on our poor protagonists mind. This occasionally shows in the dreams. But there are still glimmers of hope.

Nightmare of the Snow

It’s a RPG Adventure Horror game developed in late 2013. The game centers on Yuuki Shinozaki, a shy middle schooler who is attending a farewell party, but before that, she is taken mysteriously to a lost dimension where a mansion that was supposed to had disappeared for many years exists. 

Ningyo Heart

It’s about a man’s journey through a nightmare, in search for his beloved and finding his true self. The main theme in this horror game is friendship, romance and horror. Game play will focus on puzzle solving & survival horror (run and chase event).

Nyctophobia

You have a job. That job is to be a security guard during the night shift at a local office complex. You and Marley do it every night. Get decent pay for it too. Enough to keep you going. But Marley's just called in sick, so you gotta do the shift alone. Shouldn't be bad, right? Well, the power's just gone off, and I don't think you're alone anymore...

OFF

It’s an 2003 RPGmaker created game. You take control of a mysterious person called “The Batter”, who is described to be on an important mission. The Batter, and yourself as his controller, are dropped off in zone 0, the first of 4 zones in a perplexing, unknown world about which you slowly find out more and more in the process of the game.

One Late Night

It’s a short immersive horror-game experience, starring an unnamed graphic designer employee, working late one night at the office, until strange things start to happen.

Pact With a Demon - Episode 1 & Pack With a Demon - Episode 2

You must survive on an island after a car accident and find a way out, while several demonic creatures try to attack you.

Palette

One night, the psychiatrist Sianos B. Sian is requested to counsel a girl called B.D., who has lost her eyesight and memory in an accident. Through conversations with her over the phone, the past that hides in her memories comes to light...

Phantasmal: Survival Horror Roguelike

Experience Terror that is Never the Same Twice with Phantasmal, a Lovecraftian survival horror that evolves every time you play!

Pocket Mirror

It’s a horror game created in RPGMaker VX ACE. You play as a nameless girl in the journey to find her purpose and memories within a mysterious world.

Port of Call

Imagine waking up on a small dock with no recollection of who you are or how you got there. The first person you find is a grumpy, old man who enlists you to work on his ferry boat which seems to have materialized behind you.

[REC] Shutter

It’s a horror game that you must progress through levels while avoiding the paranormal and solving puzzles. You take the role of a reporter named Connor, who will be investigating Pennyhill, a dark hunted asylum.

Re:Kinder

Third-grader Shunsuke goes to stay over at his grandmother's house. Upon his return home, he finds not his familiar hometown, but a ruined town of death. He meets his surviving friends and some other children their age, but a crueler reality awaits them...

Schuld

It’s a surreal, psychological horror game. This is an translated version of the German game. Schuld (Guilty) is about a man who finds himself in a dying world, without knowing how he got there and why he is there.

SCP - Containment Breach

It’s a survival horror game based on the works of the SCP Foundation community.

September 1999

Its a free, VHS styled, first-person found footage horror game, which runs exactly for 5 minutes and 30 seconds.

Serena

It’s a point-and-click adventure horror game. How long has it been? A man sits in a distant getaway cabin waiting for his wife Serena. Where is she? Things in the cabin evoke memories, and the husband comes to a disturbing realization... 

Shutter

You are woken up by a sudden loud noise in the middle of the night in your recently moved into apartment. Moving boxes are scattered all over the place, still things left to unpack. All the lights in the house are turned on, but you're sure you turned them off. You leave your room to investigate, your trusty camera in hand.

Silent Hill: Room 304

It’s a point-and-click horror game based on the popular video game series, Silent Hill by Konami Digital Entertainment.

Silent Santiago

It’s inspired by the popular Silent Hill survival horror series from Konami. This horror game is developed by students of a Chilean university. The streets in this game are inspired by the reality of the Santiago city, in Chile, going so far as to recreating the plazas and the narrow alleys. The atmosphere, however, is incredibly eerie and similar to the Silent Hill games, with a thick fog covering the entire city. The goal of the game is to navigate the maze-like streets of the city of Santiago and to reach the exit.

Slender: The Eight Pages

The game centers around an unknown character being chased by the Slender Man in the woods while seeking eight pages scattered about various landmarks.

Spooky’s Jump Scare Mansion

Can you survive 1000 rooms of cute terror? Or will you break once the cuteness starts to fade off and you're running for your life from the unspeakable hideous beings that shake and writhe in bowels of this house? They wait for you, they wait and hunger for meeting you.

The Night That Speaks

You don't remember how you got to the graveyard, but you know you've been meaning to visit.

The Static Speaks My Name

A dark, sad, weird, and funny first-person exploration game. You play a man on his last night alive as he obsesses over a mysterious painting.

Try to Fall Asleep

John Herrin survived a horrible accident and as a result, he damaged his brain and lost his memory. Only Dr. Rick Norberg and the friendly robot "AB" can help John to recover from his brain damage and restore his broken memory. 

By falling asleep and rediscovering the past in his dreams, John can restore his memory and remember what caused the unfortunate catastrophe in one of the most secretive laboratories of the "Revivel" company. But due to John's brain damage, falling asleep won't be as easy as it seems at first... 

Vanish

Thrown into a Labyrinth for reasons unknown, you must roam through the darkness to find your escape. Do you have what it takes to get out alive? Or will you be another feast for the walls that seem to live?

Which

It’s a short game in which you look for a way to open the door out of the small house.

The White Chamber

It’s a point-and-click horror adventure game. You play as a trapped young woman from 3rd person perspective as she solves puzzles and overcomes the twisted obstacles in her path.

The Witch’s House

The young Viola visits a mysterious house in the woods. She soon discovers its dangerous nature and must find a way out. But the house is ever-changing, and death could be lurking anywhere...

Within Deep Sorrows

A demon haunts you throughout your nightmares, as it gradually makes its way into the real world. The only way to prevent this from happening is for you, Johnston Barker to destroy your diary, which is hidden within your third dream. Each descending dream makes it harder to avoid the demon, allowing it to become stronger, and more aggressive. The time period is set in the 1990's, though when dreaming, it is set back in the 1950's. You are not alone however, as your conscious speaks to you during the process, giving you guidance as you deeply wonder within your nightmares.

Yume Nikki (ゆめにっき, lit. Dream Diary)

It’s a 32-Bit game created by KIKIYAMA, a mysterious Japanese game designer. It was made using RPG Maker 2003. The players explore the dreams of a hikikomori named Madotsuki, where they encounter a number of surrealistic horror creatures and locations.

[avaantares]

FFVII:REMAKE - A Review

So I beat the game two weeks ago and started writing down my thoughts while they were fresh in my mind, but I didn’t post anything then because my one IRL friend who is also playing it hadn’t finished it yet and I didn’t want to risk posting anything spoiler-y. But the extra time has allowed me to play through the game again on Hard difficulty, which has allowed me to reconsider and elaborate on some of my thoughts. And frankly at this point I just need to dump my Very Big Opinions somewhere, so... here ya go.

I discuss visuals, gameplay, character and story below. I’ve tried to keep spoilers minimal up front, though obviously if you want to go into the game totally cold, don’t read this. All major spoilers are clearly tagged. All of it is below a cut to spare your dash.

Also, there are pretty pictures, because why not?

First, my background with this franchise: I played through the original FFVII multiple times; I’ve watched and rewatched Advent Children and Last Order, played Crisis Core, gave up on Dirge of Cerberus despite my deep love for Vincent Valentine (sorry, VV, but your game was just a mess), and lamented that Before Crisis wasn’t available in my country. I even played (and own!) Ehrgeiz, the obscure fighting game that featured the main cast. (Still bitter that they didn’t keep Miki Shinichirou as the voice of Sephiroth. He’s one of my faves.)

^ Ehrgeiz, a mediocre fighting game that forever endeared itself to me by including Turks!Vincent Valentine as a playable character. 💖

In short, I’ve been waiting for this game for DECADES.

So. Here we go. My thoughts on Final Fantasy VII: REMAKE.

The good:

The character models are very pretty. With individual pores, threads and scuffs visible, they’re so detailed that it’s almost impossible to reconcile them with the mouthless sprites from the original game – even more so than Advent Children (and dear goodness, that was over a decade ago now, wasn’t it?). Still, they’ve kept the costume details and absurd proportions largely intact (Barret’s fists are literally larger than Tifa’s entire head, yet somehow it works visually), so it’s not too much of a departure from the familiar.

They’ve kept the aesthetic. I was afraid the game would try to update the iconic world of Midgar, but by and large, it’s full of visually-arresting designs that preserve the gritty-industrial look and feel of the original.

Japanese version is included. BLESS YOU, Square Enix, for including the Japanese voices and character animations. Not only is it impossible for me to hear Cloud in anything other than Sakurai Takahiro’s voice, but the Japanese script is a bit nicer to the characters. I’m not really keen on the English dub… but more on that below.

They fixed the spelling of Aerith’s name. This may seem like a minor point, but considering it’s been 20 years and I’m still bitter that Devil May Cry still hasn’t corrected “Nelo Angelo,” it’s a small victory.

Improved combat. Admittedly, I wasn’t sold on the new combat system at first, but after playing through the game twice, I’ve come to really like it. It has a few rough edges and can get chaotic in some battles, but it does a decent job of blending the feel of an action game with turn-based strategy. The fact that you can switch to a more traditional turn-based system if you prefer is also nice. (I haven’t tried Classic mode yet, though.)

Weapon customization. The Skill Points system allows you to upgrade your loadout instead of acquiring new gear. The tutorial was somewhat lacking (I didn’t quite figure out the multiple-core-unlock thing right away), but I appreciated the ability to add materia slots or stat buffs rather than just cycling through a dozen swords that Cloud apparently keeps in his back pocket.

Background dialogue management. On the whole, the conversations as you run through town enhance the story without slogging down the gameplay; you don’t have to stop and talk to every single resident, because snatches of their conversation reach you (and your on-screen chatlog) as you pass. You can stop and listen for more detail if you want, or you can just keep moving. The extra worldbuilding is really nice.

The music. The orchestrated versions of the original themes are excellent (and some of those music cues gave me goosebumps… Did I spend way too many hours immersed in the original game? Probably). I can take or leave some of the collectible jukebox tunes, but the background music in general is good. (But did I earn that Disc Jockey trophy? Yes, yes I did.)

Supporting character development. Jessie, Biggs and Wedge actually have characters! And personalities! Clichéd ones, admittedly, but it’s an improvement over the original game killing them all off within the first few minutes. The game also does justice to the Turks, and actually surprised me with how much depth of character it gave Reno and Rude in particular (perhaps setting them up for a mini redemption arc so players forgive them for dropping a plate on tens of thousands of slum residents?). Their moments of concern for each other and (brief) crises of conscience made them more than the stock villains they were in the original game, more in line with their temporarily good-aligned characters in Advent Children. Tseng, likewise, was on point. However, I do have to qualify all this with one irate question: Where the heck is Elena?! Seems like the female characters are always getting left out… /sigh/

Improved plot devices. REMAKE cleans up some of the more questionable and outdated content from the original. As you likely already know from the demo, the new game somewhat exonerates the protagonists by having Shinra blow up their own mako reactor to turn public opinion against AVALANCHE (possibly because someone finally realized that it’s hard to sympathize with characters who are willing to melt down an entire reactor and kill a bunch of innocent civilians). AVALANCHE are still eco-terrorists, but they’re… terrorists with a conscience? I dunno, at least they feel bad when people die now… Likewise, the weird and uncomfortable Honey Bee Inn segment of the original game has been reborn as an amazing dance extravaganza. Less voyeurism/prostitution, more Vegas floor show (complete with minigame choreography) and makeover. The whole Don Corneo scenario is still hella creepy, but frankly, there’s nothing that can fix that.

Series references. Fans of the original will appreciate all the inside jokes and direct references to the original game and other franchise entries: One-off comments about Chocobo racing; a broken console in Wall Market that shoots at you; a framed picture of the original 32-bit Seventh Heaven; ads for Banora apple juice; side mentions of characters and plot devices from spinoff games; PHS communication… The game definitely pays tribute to its history. They even recreate the original loading screen and several of Cloud’s iconic poses/animations throughout the game:

The neutral:

Recycled gags. Look, I know Advent Children was the ultimate evolution of FFVII for a while, and admittedly, it did some things very well. The running gag with Rude’s sunglasses and the victory fanfare being used as a ringtone are some of the best moments in the film, in part because they were so unexpected. But as much as I enjoyed the repeated nods to AC in this game, they felt a little desperate, like there were no new jokes to insert so they had to double down on the ones they’d used the last time this franchise had a renaissance. (See Rude’s broken sunglasses, below.) And fitting into the series as a whole, it feels a little weird. Why is Rude’s ringtone the same as the clones’ from Advent Children? Does Barret really need to sing the victory fanfare over and over when he defeats an enemy? Is there supposed to be some history behind that song that was left out of the worldbuilding? It just feels too meta.

Arbitrary localization of names. I don’t really grasp why it was necessary to rename so many items and characters for the English market. Some changes make sense for localization (e.g. Whack-a-Box certainly works better for an American audience than Crash Box), but others seem arbitrary, like changing Aniyan Kunyan to Andrea Rhodea or Mugi to Oates (a play on the meaning of his name in Japanese, but... does it matter?). And then… well, I don’t want to spoil A Major Plot Element, but there’s another thing that changes names from one English word (in the Japanese track) to a different English word. Why? No idea. It doesn’t affect gameplay, and it’s not really a problem, but listening to the Japanese track, I found it jarring to have the subtitles contradict what I was hearing.

Underutilized characters. While the whole gamut of original FFVII characters make appearances, several of them aren’t used to full effect, or aren’t used at all to advance the story. Rufus Shinra’s bossfight is a decent challenge, but while his character was vital to both the original FFVII and Advent Children, his presence in this game is little more than a cameo. His fight could be cut or swapped out with any other boss, and it would have zero effect on the plot. Similarly, while Hojo is a key player in the full story (which this game doesn’t cover, since it’s only a fraction of the original timeline), he’s largely wasted here, except as a means of extending play time by making you wander through corridors and fight a bunch of monsters for “research.” (I have no idea what his motivation is; you’d think he’d be more interested in recapturing Aerith or Cloud, but instead he just... opens an elevator and lets them leave? after they beat up some midbosses.) Reeve Tuesti actually has a solid presence in this game, but since he’s ONLY ever active as himself, there’s no explanation for the random Cait Sith cameo in one scene (players new to the franchise probably have no idea why a random cartoon cat showed up for a few seconds and was never mentioned again). Obviously the plot arcs have to change when the game is covering only a few days’ time in a much longer story, and the major players need to be introduced at some point if they’re going to feature in later games in the series, but from a narrative standpoint, there are an awful lot of superfluous characters doing things for no reason in this installment.

The bad:

THE PADDING. Dear goodness, there is so much padding to make this a standalone game instead of just the first chapter of a longer adventure. I got really, really sick of running literally from one end of the map to the other on side quests – and that’s me, an avowed trophy hunter who spends hours scouring dark corners for collectible items in other games, saying that. So much of this game felt like time fill that didn’t really advance the story. It’s also full of unnecessary new characters with improbable Squeenix hair, like Roche the super-annoying motorcycle SOLDIER (below), or Leslie, Don Corneo’s doorman who somehow merits his own backstory and side quest. (Though in fairness, every FFVII sequel has added superfluous characters, with Crisis Core possibly being the worst offender.) But it just felt really drawn-out and bloated for a game of this generation. If this game had been as compact and tightly-written as the other games I typically play, it probably only would have taken me 15 hours to beat instead of 50. (I don’t actually know how many hours I spent on it the first time through, as I didn’t check the play clock before restarting on Hard difficulty. I do know it took me over 110 hours total to complete the game on both modes, though much of the second run was spent dying repeatedly on a handful of nasty fights. Hard mode removes items and MP replenishment, and if you run out of MP at any point during a chapter, you’re going to die. A lot.)

The pacing. Related to the above... the Midgar portion of the original game was just the setup for a larger story. It wasn’t meant to have its own complete dramatic arc so much as to introduce you to the world and the major players. Consequently, there are some really odd beats in this story, as well as a total lack of urgency in your mission. There are no natural places to slot in the side quests and minigames, so they’re shoehorned awkwardly between plot sequences. “Quick, our friend is in mortal peril and needs our help!” "Okay, cool, we’ll go rescue her after we spend ten hours running around town doing random errands for townspeople and playing games with the local kids.” Uh... what?

The graphics just aren’t as good as they should be. While the character models are gorgeous, there are a lot of low-res background textures and weird polygons that don’t quite match up with other components. Most egregious are the Shinra logos, which frequently get close-ups as part of the fixed camera work and, frankly, look like lossy JPEGs. (See image below, screencapped from a PS4 Pro. Those jagged edges on the logo are present throughout the entire game.) There are weird clipping errors and artifacted images and reflective surfaces that don’t reflect, making the game look more like something from the PS3 era than a 4K late-gen PS4 game. (And it’s not that we don’t have the technology: Uncharted 4 was released back in 2016, and the rendering of its vast world was twice as pretty. Devil May Cry 5, released in early 2019, has far more realistic textures and object interaction. Granted, those are different types of games with fewer NPCs to render, but I feel like there’s no excuse for a game this big to look this mediocre.)

The HUD could be better. The lower-corners concept is okay, though it took me a while to train my eyes to travel between both sides of the screen and track the fight action. But for a long time, I didn’t even notice the commands in the upper left corner of the screen, and after playing through the game twice I still have no idea what they say because I couldn’t focus on the tiny text long enough to read them while trying not to die in combat. (I just looked it up; apparently they’re combat control shortcuts? Huh, that would have been useful to know.) It wasn’t until my second time through that I realized there even WERE separate controls on screen during the motorcycle minigames; I had resorted to panicked button mashing to figure it out the first time through because there was no tutorial (you’re just dropped into the action) and, having ignored the small text for the previous hundred combats, I had no reason to look for on-screen instructions there. Not that it would have helped, since on many backgrounds the text in the upper left is really difficult to read (see below). It’s worth noting that I have better than 20/20 vision and played this game on a large TV screen and still had trouble reading some things; on a smaller TV, or for someone with less acute vision (like my sister, who is blind in one eye), I think even the basic menu controls would be difficult to see. While you can resize the font for subtitles, my cursory glance through the menu did not uncover an option to increase the size of the HUD. 

Inter-fight menu mechanics. Specifically, the inability to save (or save loadout settings) between fights in a multi-part sequence. There are several back-to-back fights in which it is necessary to switch characters or change gear between bosses. The game treats them as one continuous fight, though it does allows you to access the equipment menu by holding square during key cutscenes. Which is good, if you only have one of a particular materia or accessory that you need to switch between characters, and in most cases when you die the game lets you restart just before your current fight instead of restarting the whole sequence -- also good, since some multi-stage bosses can easily take 20-30 minutes to beat, and if several of those are strung together in sequence, you’re in for a long play session to get past them. But since it’s treated as one fight, you can’t save between bosses (more than once, I had to leave my PS4 running in Rest Mode overnight and just hoped we didn’t have a power glitch), and if you happen to get killed and need to restart the fight, your loadouts reset. Which means if you’re, say, fighting the end boss on Hard difficulty and get killed in the first two minutes -- which happened to me a lot -- by the time you restart the fight, sit through the unskippable cutscene, access the menu and rearrange all the materia and accessories you need, you’re spending five or six minutes gearing up for two minutes of play, and then doing that over and over again every time you die. It gets really old.

The English dub script. *deep breath* Okay, look, I know I can be a bit elitist about translations, but I really do not like the English adaptation of this game. It makes Cloud come across as less socially-awkward and far more of a deliberate jerk, Aerith is mouthy and even swears (which is not accurate to her original character), and it downplays some of the symbolism that’s more obvious in the Japanese script. One quick example: When Aerith gives Cloud a flower, she says (in Japanese), “In the language of flowers, this means ‘reunion.’” It’s subbed/dubbed in English, “Lovers used to give these when they were reunited.” That’s a subtle difference, but since the concept of “reunion” is a freakin’ huge part of the FFVII plot, and since Sephiroth was on screen literally seconds before that line is delivered, my brain automatically went, “OMG REUNION!!!” while I’m guessing people listening in English only picked up on the romantic subtext. It’s a pretty minor thing, and of course translation is always a complex balancing act between literal meaning and local market understanding, but the English version just seemed to me to have a different vibe overall. (Unfortunately, the English subtitles are the same as the dub, so unless you can understand the Japanese audio you’re kind of stuck with that dialogue.)

-

-

[WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW THIS POINT]

-

- …And my #1 complaint about Final Fantasy VII: REMAKE is…

…it’s not actually a remake.

Sure, the game starts out the same way and covers a lot of the same events, but fundamentally, it’s a sequel, not a retelling. It’s evident from Cloud’s future-oriented visions throughout the game that something else is going on, and the ending MAKES NO SENSE if you don’t already know the story. Heck, even the rest of the game doesn’t really make sense if you don’t know the story -- Sephiroth’s presence is never explained; Zack isn’t even introduced, just shows up randomly at the end; Cloud’s flashbacks of Tifa and her dead father in Nibelheim are left as a complete mystery (and since she evidently remembers the burning of her town, judging by her dialogue outside Aerith’s house, why doesn’t she even react when Sephiroth shows up?).

The core elements of the plot – the Feelers (Whispers) preserving a specific fate; the three entities from the future (whose weapon types just happen to correspond to certain named characters) defending their timeline; the return of post-Advent Children Sephiroth (the only time we’ve seen him in human form with one black wing), who has inhabited the Lifestream since his death and promised that he would never truly disappear, who in the end appeals to Cloud directly for an alliance rather than attempting to control him, because he knows now that Cloud is strong enough to defy the Reunion instinct; the change in the outcome of story events in which Biggs (and, unconfirmed as to which timeline he’s actually in, but quite possibly Zack) now survives his intended death -- all point toward Sephiroth trying to manipulate destiny into an alternate outcome in which he is victorious, and using this naive version of Cloud to facilitate it. That means this game is taking place in an alternate or splinter universe, created at some point after the events of the original Final Fantasy VII, and possibly even after the events of Advent Children.

All of that is fine from an overall continuing-story perspective – it opens up a lot of interesting possibilities, like the fact that Aerith might survive now that Cloud has seen prescient flashes of her death (among other events), and there are opportunities for more story twists and changes from what players might expect. But touting this as a remake of the original game has the potential to confuse players who are new to the franchise. FFVII was groundbreaking back in 1997, and it defined JRPGs for an entire generation of Western gamers. But that was more than two decades ago, and a lot of current gamers weren’t even born then, so while they’ve probably heard of the classic game, they aren’t necessarily steeped in its lore. FFVII:R relies heavily on prior knowledge of the series to carry its twist ending, so it largely fails as a standalone game.

Also, speaking as a longtime fan of the franchise… I honestly found the ending rather lackluster. It was a twist, of sorts, but not the sort of shocking, mind-bending revelation that made the first game so iconic. Granted, it’s hard to follow an act like revealing that your protagonist’s entire identity is a lie, not to mention killing off one of your main characters a third of the way into the story! But when the surprise ending is just, Surprise! We’re going to change things up a bit this time around so you aren’t entirely sure what’s coming! Also, here’s a gratuitous Sephiroth fight because everyone expects that, even though it doesn’t serve the main story at all nor resolve any conflicts previously established within this game! it smacks of Different for the sake of Being Different, not for the sake of a really amazing storyline they’re hiding up their sleeve. It’s a bit of a let-down, and I find that I... just... don’t really care that much. Which, for someone who’s been a fan of the series for nearly a quarter of a century, means there’s a Big Freaking Problem somewhere. If you’re not keeping the attention of your die-hard fans, how do you hope to build a fanbase of players new to the franchise?

Given the pacing and story issues inherent in this game, I’m not convinced that the following game(s) in the franchise are going to be structured any better. Considering the amount of pure side-quest padding they did in Midgar, I have no idea how they’ll maintain that same tone on something the scale of the World Map portion of the original game, unless they just completely eliminate things like Fort Condor and the submarine and the spaceship side quests. I have a feeling the Gold Saucer is going to be reduced to a Jessie flashback, a Chocobo race (probably to win a key item), and a battle arena run like the coliseum in Wall Market in this game. If they include all the story elements and side characters from the original, this series is going to be a dozen games long.

Still, on the whole this game was enjoyable, and I’m glad I played it. It wasn’t as good as I’d hoped, but they haven’t completely killed off my interest, so I’ll probably continue with the series whenever the next game comes out. Though I’m not really sure if the higher-priced edition I pre-ordered was worth the extra money, so I may wait and see how the next game is shaping up before deciding which version to get...

But if they don’t give me a really pretty (playable) Vincent Valentine in the next installment, I may riot. I do have priorities.

[religioused]

Bigger God, Bigger Religion

Bigger God, Bigger Religion

by Gary Simpson

Isaiah 42:1-9 (KJV)

Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.

2 He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.

5 Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.

8 I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.

Acts 10:34-43 (KJV)

Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:) That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached;

38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree:

40 Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly; Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead.

42 And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead. To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.

Matthew 3:13-17 (KJV)

Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?

15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.

16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

I recently purchased the prayer book Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals. Given this church’s rich heritage of social justice, I think that I might need a prayerbook for extraordinary radicals. Common Prayer has a liturgy for every day of the year. January 12’s liturgy reminds us of an important event that took place on January 12. On this day in 1948, Gandhi began to fast to achieve peace in the Indian subcontinent.

Gandhi was influenced by Christianity. He often read the Sermon on the Mount. Ghandi decided to live out Jesus’ teachings in an effort to bring peace to the region.(1) On a day that we reflect on Jesus going into the wilderness to be baptized and to bring peace to humanity, we also reflect on Gandhi’s life. When Ghandi was in the wilderness of conflict, he strove to bring peace to an important region of the world.

To put the Gospel reading in context, I am going to refer to the passage in Isaiah that is part of our lectionary reading. Isaiah Chapter 42 is considered by many people to be a Messianic passage, a prophetic passage about Jesus, the gentle Messiah, who will not “break off a bent reed or put out a dying flame.”(2) This gentle Messiah is predicted to bring justice to the world.(3) The gentle Messiah is important, because Jesus is considered to be the ultimate revelation of God to humanity. Some people might picture the passage in Isaiah as saying that God will bring justice without yelling at people on street corners and without breaking a bent read or putting out a weak flame.

There are times when we need to back up and place a Gospel reading in context of the lectionary schedule. Christmas Day, the lectionary reading covered Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus. In St. Luke’s narrative, shepherds are invited to the stable to see Jesus in the manger. Shepherds were “despised” by good people of the time. There is no way the ancient shepherds could keep the ceremonial laws, such as hand-washing.(4) William Manson wrote the commentary on the Gospel of Luke for The Moffatt New Testament Commentary set. Manson notes that the shepherds are the “centre-piece” in Luke Chapter 2. The inclusion of shepherds is significant for those living in the “Judean home of Christianity.”(5) Luke refers to Jesus as the savior, which shows that Jesus is going to make an “appeal to sick and suffering humanity.”(6) Luke is very inclusive, including Samaritans, Gentiles, and the impoverished, disreputable, outcasts, and sinners.(7) Luke pictures God as having a universal embrace.(8) Commentator and Greek scholar William Barclay refers to the Gospel of Luke as the “universal gospel.”(9) There is also a universal element in the Gospel of Matthew. Alejandro Duarte, a Catholic theologian who worked in Beunos Aires, says that Jesus is the Messiah who is “geared toward those who are not considered important.” He supports his position by citing examples of Jesus healing ‘outsiders,’ lepers, blind, and Gentiles.(10) The life, ministry and passion of Jesus needs to be seen within the context of the universal gospel. We can see the theme of the universal gospel in Jesus’ baptism.

Matthew Chapter 2 contains Matthew’s Christmas story. In Matthew’s narrative, wisemen, Magi, arrive in the Palestine region. They tell Herod that they have been following a star and that they have come to worship the new King of the Jews. The wisemen ask Herod where the new king can be found. Herod summons Jewish scholars about where the Messiah will be born and they tell him that the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem. Herod asks the wisemen to search for the child and to come back and tell him where the child is. A star then leads the wisemen to Jesus. After they see Jesus and worship Him, angels warn them to not tell Herod where they found Jesus. The wisemen return home by a different route, so they would not encounter Herod. Angels warn Joseph to leave and go to Egypt where Jesus will be safe. Herod is so threatened that he gives the order that all children under two years of age in Bethlehem be killed. And Jesus becomes a political refugee. Jesus’ family lives in Egypt until Herod dies.

When I was a student at Pacific School of Religion, I had the privilege of taking a course with Jim Mitulski. When searching for ideas for this sermon, I found a sermon that Jim Mitulski gave a Cathedral of Hope, a megachurch in Dallas, Texas. He was preaching on the Gospel passage.

Christianity traditionally holds that Jesus is God incarnate, God in human form. Mitulski makes the point that the God incarnate in Jesus was not just for Jewish people. The God of the chosen people is available to all people, regardless of religion, culture or background.(11) In Matthew’s birth narrative, Magi came to the stable, to the manger to worship Jesus. Jim Mitulski observes, that the Magi came, saw, worshipped, were transformed, and moved on. The Bible does not tell us that they converted to Judaism. While they appreciated Judaism and saw something of value, they did not need to co-opt it, corrupt it, domesticate or own it; they enjoyed it and experienced it, and “It opened their minds, their bodies and their spirits to see the world differently.”(12)

Who witnessed Jesus‘ baptism? Who was His audience? This is a question that we need to ask ourselves over and over again as we read the Gospels. The high priest and the Caesar were not at the river waiting to be baptized. The Gospel of Mark’s account tells us that John was preaching for a baptism of the repentance of sins.(13) The leading religious figures are not likely to have considered themselves sinners and the thought of publicly acknowledging that they needed to repent from sins was a no go. Those getting baptized were more likely to be the religiously marginalized, a class of people that the priests looked down on. Jesus told parables, because they “resonated with the lives of the poor, the tax collectors, the prostitutes . . . the marginalized.”(14) As we read Bible, we need to be open to reading the Bible from the perspective of those who are marginalized. There is power when we understand the Word from the perspective of the margins of society. The Gospels had to resonate with the common person or Christianity would not have rapidly spread across the Roman Empire.

Mitulski notes, “Experiences of divinity are meant to open us up to see wider, to see broader, to experience more. If our religion results in a smaller world, then we have missed the point. Religion is meant to expand, enlarge, inspire our imaginations, our spirits, our bodies, how we live.”(15) As we reflect on a story where we are presented with an encounter with the Divine, as the Spirit descends and speaks, the baptism experience calls us to expand our view of God and of religion.

There are far too many merchants of fear in religious circles. Some of those merchants of fear may claim that people who made serious mistakes or who are spiritually marginalized are not people of faith even though they are baptized. This is not true. Experiences with God cannot be taken away by people. Mitulski makes the point emphatically when he says, “Baptism can never be taken from you. I want to renounce as heresy any notion that a promise made to you by God and symbolized by water can ever be broken by human error . . . If you were baptized and were later told that you did not somehow belong in a faith community, that person committed a grave error, because you cannot take what is God’s to give.” He goes on to observe, "The devil did not give it and the devil cannot take it away . . . God gives us grace . . . no human can take it from us. When they try to, it says something about them, not about God, not about us.” (16)

Our task is not to over analyze the story. Our job is to focus more on how to apply the Biblical narratives to our lives, to improving society. Miguel De La Torre, a professor at Illif School of Theology, appears to believe that the task for the church of God is more to spend time learning how the our communities takes possession of the Bible texts than it is to spend hours trying to determine the exact words Jesus spoke. (17)

And there are those who may question your faith. I am not sure if you have ever wondered how to respond when a person asks you if you have a personal relationship with Jesus. Miguel De La Torre has an interesting response for his students who ask if he has a personal relationship with Jesus. He responds, “No, I have a public relationship with Jesus Christ.”(18) In the waters of baptism, Jesus showed He had a public relationship with us and that is the kind of relationship that we are challenged to have with God and with people.

Arsenius was known as Arsenius the Great and Saint Arsenius. He lived from about the 350s to the 440s of the Common Era. According to Wikipedia, Arsenius was a tutor for an Emperor’s sons. Later, he entered more religious work. Arsenius’ teachings influenced the development of the contemplative life.(19) An old story about Arsenius is that he “consulted an old Egyptian monk about his own thoughts.” Someone who knew this happened, asked Arsenius why Arsenius, a man who knew Greek and Latin asked a “peasant” about his thoughts. Arsenius is reported to have replied, “‘I have indeed been taught Latin and Greek, but I do not know even the alphabet of this peasant.’“(20)

Living out the spirit of Christ’s baptism can be as easy as taking the time to learn the alphabet of those around us, of having a public relationship with marginalized members of society.

Notes

(1) Shane Clairborne, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove and Enumu Okoro. Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2010), 102.

(2) Isaiah 42:3 Contemporary English Version.

(3) Isaiah 42:1.

(4) William Barclay. “William Barclay's Daily Study Bible: Luke 2.” n.d., 17 Oct 2019. Study Light. <https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/dsb/luke-2.html>.

(5) William Manson. The Moffatt New Testament Commentary: The Gospel of Luke. Kindle ed. (Seattle: Source Digital Pub., 2018. Originally published in New York by Harper and Brothers Pub., 1930), ebook.

(6) Manson. (2018, originally published 1930), ebook.

(7) William Barclay. The New Testament: A Translation. Vol. 1. (London: Collins, 1968), 123.

(8) Barclay. (1968), 124.

(9) Barclay. (1968), 123.

(10) Daniel Patte, et al., eds. Global Bible Commentary. (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2004), 353.

(11) Jim Mitulski. “‘Matthew 3:13-17’ - Gospel Lesson.” Cathedral of Hope. YouTube. 13 January 2014, 26 December 2019. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT_cjZIVYgI>.

(12) Mitulski. (2014). <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT_cjZIVYgI>.

(13) Mark 1:4.

(14) Miguel A. De La Torre. Reading the Bible from the Margins. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 2019), 31.

(15) Mitulski. (2014). <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT_cjZIVYgI>.

(16) Mitulski. (2014). <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT_cjZIVYgI>.

(17) De La Torre. (2019), 136.

(18) De La Torre. (2019), 136.

(19) “Arsenius the Great.” Wikipedia. 02 Jan 2020, 05 Jan 2020. <https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsenius_the_Great>.

(20) Clairborne, Wilson-Hartgrove and Okoro. (2010), 95.