#and also like... a dozen ideas for other abilities and upgrades and so on. i do think he'd have basic spear up until the upgrades rolled in | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

thevindicativevordan · 3 years

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My Take on a Superman Video Game

I've seen other people give their takes on how to approach this, and given Superman and video games are two major topics of interest for me, I thought I'd give my pitch.

So first off, I’m giving him a health bar. Yes I know some people will b**** and no I don’t care. I don’t care what people who get their Superman knowledge from YouTube or Instagram “fact” pages think about the character, and all the other attempts such as the city health bar in the Returns game didn’t satisfy me. So right off the bat he’s getting a health bar. Second: it’s time to start showing casuals areas of Superman lore they either don’t know about or aren’t very familiar with. The reason for that is people think they “know” Superman so we need to immediately show something they DON’T know about or HAVEN’T seen already to get them to not immediately dismiss Superman out of hand based on memes or whatever. Which leads into my third creative point. Third: I’m not setting the first game in Metropolis. The Arkham games didn’t immediately throw you into an open world Gotham, they built up to it. The Spider-Man PS4 game started off with an open world because they were able to build upon dozens of Spider-Man games that laid the ground work for them. The first Superman game in decades needs to avoid biting off more than it can chew, and throwing Superman into an open world feels like a bad idea. So where can it be? Well there are options. There’s Warworld. There’s Apokolips. But I think the best location is one that’s intrinsically tied to Superman and his Kryptonian background, and serves as a nice counterpart to Batman starting out in Arkham Asylum: The Phantom Zone

The Asylum was a great starting point for Batman for a couple reason: 1. It’s the iconic prison where Batman leaves his Rogues, 2. It’s gothic and horror esque vibe crafts the perfect atmosphere, and 3. it’s place as a center for examining the mind makes it great for exploring Batman’s mental state. For similar reason the PZ is the perfect place to start off Superman: 1. It likewise is an iconic prison for Superman Rogues 2. It’s science fiction and horror mixed together which crafts the perfect atmosphere for Superman to kick ass or be introspective, and 3. It lets Kal come face to face with his Kryptonian heritage in the nastiest way possible as he’s dumped into a place filled with prisoners his father helped exile as well as all the other monsters and criminals other races have dumped there. So he’s going to the Zone but how does he get there and what’s the story? It would be boring if he just walked in. Here’s the pitch: It’s Year 2 of Superman’s career. He’s already established himself as a hero in Metropolis and worldwide. The public knows he claims to mean them no harm and that he only seems to do good deeds, but they know very little about his origins and are divided as to his true intentions. The problem is Clark himself doesn’t really know his origins either beyond knowing he’s an alien from another planet. His only relics from his home planet are the rocket, a tablet written in a language he can’t read, and a curious device that doesn’t seem to have any use. As a show of goodwill, and because he hasn’t made any progress understanding them himself, Clark turns the tablet and the device over to STAR Labs for study. One day as he’s beating down some Intergang thugs, reality twists, and suddenly Clark finds himself in a place that is definitely not Metropolis. The “earth” is chalk white, the sky is a purple, green lightning flashes around as far as he can see, and where the sun should be there’s instead a black hole. Somehow Clark and the terrified Intergang thugs have ended up in the Phantom Zone with no idea of how they got there and how to get back.

The thugs accuse Clark of transporting them there and attack him, with Clark suddenly realizing his powers are fading in this place with no sunlight. Luckily a stranger arrives and aids Clark in dispatching the thugs. Clark thanks him for his aid and then asks who he is. The stranger pauses and tells Clark: “My name is Dru-Zod, a general of Krypton”. He raises a hand for Clark to shake. “I was a friend of your father, Kal-El”. Zod tells Kal about the place he’s in, and his history with it. He tells him that other humans have been brought here as well besides the Intergang thugs, including many of Clark’s foes. Zod informs Clark that the likely culprit for their arrival to the PZ is the very first prisoner Jor-El ever banished to the Phantom Zone: Xa-Du the Phantom King, who has spent so long imprisoned that he seems to have obtained a degree of control over the Zone that gives him strange powers. Kal is told that if he does not collect the scattered humans and escape the Zone soon, he and the humans will become trapped there, as anyone who spends too long in the Zone eventually becomes unable to leave without special equipment on the other side to bring them back, thanks to the way the Zone warps the inhabitants. Kal’s mission is clear: Collect the scattered humans, defeat and pacify his foes trapped there with him so they can be brought back as well, and defeat the Phantom King before he tears a hole between the Zone and the real world that could cause catastrophe for Earth. That’s the basic story pitch, next I’ll go into gameplay mechanics and what Rogues I’d use.

Clark starts the game having been de powered back to “Golden Age” power levels due to there being no sun in the PZ. Zod teaches him about Sunstones that grow naturally in the PZ, which will allow him to slowly re-empower himself. The Sunstones ward off the PZ’s influence and basically act as perk points for Clark to unlock and upgrade his powers. At the start he can’t fly, he can only run and leap. Zod acts as Kal’s mentor throughout the game, teaching him about Kryptonian history and how to read the language. He also tutors him in the dangers of the Phantom Zone as well as training him to hone his powers. Kal gets the feeling there’s more to Zod than he’s letting on though, and some of his comments raise Kal’s suspicions. The base of the game is the Fortress of Solitude.

It’s backstory is that when Jor-El first discovered the PZ, he built the FoS as a research outpost to study the place. It’s packed full of Kryptonian tech and it has the ability to shift back into the natural world. Zod couldn’t use it because it’s caretaker Kelex only responds to House El members. However it won’t shift back until it judges its user “sterilized” in order to avoid contaminating the natural world with the Zone’s influence. Because Kal was brought over so suddenly and without the proper tech, he has to use Sunstones to purge the Zone from his body before the Fortress will respond to his commands. This is a nice way of tying the gameplay and story together. Kal needs the stones to save the civilians and to go home, which helps explain why he might do side quests rather than stick with just the main questline. Civilians Superman has to rescue in the Zone: Lois Lane, Perry White, Jimmy Olsen, Dr. Veritas, Ron Troupe, Dr. John Henry Irons, Dr. Hamilton, Bibbo, Dr. Hank Henshaw and his family, Commissioner Henderson, Captain Maggie Sawyer, Detective Turpin, members of the Newskids Legion, Morgan Edge, and other OCs or nameless civilians. Kal also meets Krypto, who was transported into the Zone by Jor-El in order to watch over the Fortress as its guard, in order to keep it safe so that Kal might one day reclaim it. Rogues: Some of Superman’s Rogues have been teleported to the PZ as well, and unfortunately they have their own plans for escaping the Zone, even if it means they have to kill Superman to do it.

Metallo: John Corbyn is a cyborg soldier that served in the US Army under Sam Lane and was created as the government’s Anti-Superman deterrent. After a fight with Superman in his early career left him crippled, he was bonded to a nanosuit that equips him with various weaponry capable of killing Superman. He believes Superman transported everyone there as part of a first strike against humanity. Parasite: A Lexcorp lab experiment gone horribly wrong, Rudy Jones is a science fiction vampire who needs to kill to sustain himself. He absorbs the memories and skills of whoever he kills, and he is able to transform his body into various weapons (think Alex Mercer from [PROTOTYPE] to know what I mean). He’s hunting the civilians to feed on and has his eye on Superman as well. Livewire: Leslie was a vlogger with a far looser code of ethics than Clark. Her “reporting” eventually angered the wrong people who attempted to have her assassinated. Instead Leslie ended up with powers over electromagnetism, and a grudge against Morgan Edge who she believes was behind the Intergang hit on her. Edge is her target but she doesn’t mind stepping over Superman’s corpse if she has to. The Terran (Terra-Man): Krypton wasn’t the only planet to discover the Phantom Zone. One alien race banished the immortal hunter known as the Terran, whose human name was Tobias before he was abducted by aliens who were interested in the potential of the human meta gene and wanted to experiment on him. Their experiment was a success and Tobias broke free, using their own weaponry to hunt them down and carve a bloody path across the stars. Eventually he was transported to the PZ and is now desperate to escape. Mr. Mxy: Who is this creature? Neither a human nor seemingly an alien prisoner of the PZ, Mxy engages Clark in a series of puzzles that reveal secrets about the PZ... and foretell of threats to come. Red Cloud: An enforcer for the Invisible Mafia, her only loyalty is to her boss Leone. Her identity is a secret from Clark for now and she intends for it to remain that way. Silver Banshee: Not every human teleported to the PZ was unchanged. Some reacted much more strongly to the Zone’s influence. One former human has now been twisted into the sinister Silver Banshee, driven insane by the whispers in the Zone and the alterations to her body. She poses a formidable threat to Clark in her current state. Xa-Du: The Phantom King and first prisoner of the Phantom Zone sent from Krypton. Zod claims he was insane even before he was sent here but his incarceration has done nothing to improve his health if so. Gleefully plotting his return to the real world, Xa’s only desire is to raise an army of super zombies with himself as their Necrogod ruler. His time in the Zone has given him control over the degraded Phantoms, and he can channel the energies permeating the Zone into a variety of attacks (basically he’s a space necromancer). His aim is to corrupt Kal-El and the Fortress and use both to travel to Earth and he will never stop hunting Kal. Non boss mooks for Clark to fight: Phantoms - Some of the inhabitants of the Zone have degenerated into the ghostly Phantoms, their only desire to spread their suffering to others. They have been so warped by the Zone they’ve become a part of it and are thus incapable of permanently dying. Shades - Much more powerful Phantoms, Shades retain some memory of their former lives and posses some of their former skills. They serve as the elite of Xa-DU’s forces. Shadowbreed - Native creatures of the PZ, these beings feed on the light of the SunStones and thus see Clark as a meal as well. They possess various animals of the PZ to attack and feed on him. Eradicators - Once these machines served House El in their study of this place acting as defenders. But time has eroded their programming and they now seek to destroy even the Last Son of their old House.

That's the basic of my pitch, I think it's a fairly manageable one that addresses a lot of the arguments you get from people about why a game "wouldn't work" or whatever.

#superman #the phantom zone #supermangame #krypto the superdog #fortress of solitude

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solitvdcs · 3 years

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* kathryn newton, cis female + she/her | you know zoey simon-archer, right? they’re twenty-three, and they’ve lived in irving for, like, eight years? well, their spotify wrapped says they listened to a little wicked by valerie broussard like, a million times this year, which makes sense ‘cause they’ve got that whole black clothes and black coffee, dark under eye circles barely covered with concealer, might put a hex on you thing going on. i just checked and their birthday is august 10, so they’re a leo, which is unsurprising, all things considered.

TRIGGER WARNING: CHILD ABANDONMENT

basic info

full name: zoey tallulah simon-archer

birth date: august 10, 1997

pronouns: she/her

hometown: boston, massachusetts

sexuality: bisexual

height: 5’1”

eye color: blue

hair color: blonde

build: slim

tattoos: one of her younger siblings doodled on her arm and she said ok i see u and made it permanent

piercings: basically every piercing you can get on your ears split between both (no piercing is in the same spot except maybe the earlobes, she thrives on the chaos), septum

style: if it’s black and shapeless then yes

favorite color: black

favorite food: whatever she can find in the house while scavenging at 3am

zodiac: leo sun, scorpio moon, capricorn rising

mbti: istp

hogwarts house: ravenclaw

enneagram: type 4 wing 5

temperament: choleric/sanguine

alignment: chaotic neutral

bio bullet points

CHILD ABANDONEMENT TW it’s unclear how zoey came into this world, but what we do know is that she was dropped off on the doorstep of a fire station before her birth mom disappeared into the night. no note, no keepsakes, just two week old zoey wrapped in a nondescript blanket that was probably the one the hospital wrapped her in. the rest of her childhood was a blur of failed adoptions and shitty foster homes across the country (east coast especially), leaving her with no ability to fully connect with anyone and, okay, maybe a mild anger problem. rage blackouts weren’t uncommon, but in one foster home they had an old nintendo 64 and she learned to channel her anger through video games instead END TW

along came the archers, a lesbian couple that already had twelve other children. zoey was fifteen already and had fully expected to age out of the system and end up another statistic. for a good year after the adoption was finalized, zoey still didn’t trust that they wouldn’t send her back, so she acted out. she wanted to give them an excuse and get it over with, but her tactics went unnoticed in a cheaper by the dozen-esque household. her new moms couldn’t give her the attention she craved with so many bodies, but her older siblings stepped up and tried to make her comfortable. it sort of worked, but being smack dab in the middle of so many kids meant she faded into the background more often than not

at school, she thrived without trying, a natural aptitude for math and science and mechanics landing her a place on the robotics team, but because her many siblings had already made names for themselves, the archer name was almost like a curse for her. she didn’t want to be known as another archer adoptee, so she went by the name she’d carried with her from birth: simon. zoey simon could be her own person, whoever the fuck that was

one day, the robotics coach brought in their old computer for anyone who wanted to tinker around with it, and wanting an excuse to stay out as long as possible, zoey jumped on the opportunity. over the course of the semester (with the coach’s guidance) she took apart and put it back together again, upgrading it with some donated parts from a local electronics store. the best part? coach let her keep the computer after she was done

obligatory at some point she cheated on frankie with both sutter and ziggy ✌️😗

anyway we’re onto college, where she got hella scholarships and grants for being a girlboss and ended up at university of michigan, studying mechanical engineering. money was still tight, though, so she spent her first year trying to balance studies and a part time job at the local superstore, but her mental health and grades started suffering to the point that she almost lost her scholarships for her second semester. Between semesters, over a night of video games with her roommate, she offhandedly suggested zoey start live streaming her playthroughs. it may not make all that much, but a few viewers and subs would be better than nothing

but oh boy did she do better than a few viewers and subs

using a digital rendering of a random avatar and a voice modulator, psychozomatic was born, and they blew up. popular streamers started inviting her to their servers, and she made enough to cover all of her extra costs and then some — she graduated summa cum laude because of streaming, but she couldn’t stop after graduation; she was doing something she loved and getting paid for it. that’s what people always hoped for in a job, right? so after graduation, she fabricated a job to her friends and family to explain the income, moved into her own apartment with a soundproofed second bedroom (that she kept under lock and key for whenever anyone came over) and kept up the facade. it’s been five years and nobody even knows she’s a girl — female streamers get so much shit, she’s not sure she ever wants to do a face reveal. she’s perfectly content for the time being having everyone think “zo” stands for “lorenzo” or “vincenzo” or whatever, and being a faceless streamer means she gets the weird blend of notoriety and anonymity that she craved her whole life

personality wise, zoey is a mash-up of deadpan humor and snark. she’s never been good at face-to-face communication, which is why streaming works so well for her. she’s never known how to flirt and has been known to tie someone’s shoelaces together in an attempt to get their attention, which has obviously not worked out for her. once showed a person she thought was cute the computer she built and well...they were impressed but nothing came out of it. she’s probably a lost cause, but she can just play a dating simulator if she’s that lonely

is big on first person shooter games — the main reason she keeps her identity hidden, because people get nasty in those lobbies. also absolutely loves horror games, currently doing a playthrough of resident evil village on her stream

wanted connections

fans of her stream !!! obviously they wouldn’t know it’s her but it’ll still give her a lil smile and maybe even a blush if she hears someone talking about “zo”

other gamers she’s played with ???

people she met in the foster system

someone who has a crush on her and she has no idea bc she can’t read people (and vice versa)

friends of her siblings that had no idea she was one of them (i’m mean to her bt i think it wld be funny)

i’ve been working on this intro for like a week this is all i got pls take it and run <3

#irvingintro #u would think for how long i've been working on this it wld be longer but no <3 #anyway enjoy xoxoxoxo

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somuchfuckingsalt · 4 years

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Why Bucky Staying Frozen for Years at a Time Doesn’t Make Sense

First and foremost, this was triggered by me reading that someone thinks Bucky should be low on the best MCU fighters list in terms of technical skill because he was only pulled out of cryo a couple dozen times over fifty years and he would have as much training or experience as other fighters. While I am not and will not ever get into a fight over whose the best fighter, the statement also made me think about a number of things about Bucky’s skillset and time as the Winter Soldier that either doesn’t make sense or is glossed over in the MCU.

The first thing I want to point out is that while Natasha says he’s only credited for a couple dozen kills, she also (in that same breath) says that most of the intelligence community doesn’t think he exists, so the majority of his kills wouldn’t be tied to him. Plus, as we saw with the Starks, he is capable of making deaths look like accidents to the point where until Natasha’s info dump absolutely everyone not-Hydra thought the Starks died in a car accident.

Right. Now.

Hydra would have regularly taken Bucky out of cryo for training otherwise he wouldn’t be able to do half the shit he does.

For fighting, as time went on standards for military and law enforcement training got higher and higher, which would mean Hydra - in order to keep Bucky has the best of the best - would have had to make sure Bucky had incredibly intense knowledge in multiple martial arts. And I can guarantee they wouldn’t have been cool with their master assassin knowing one type of martial art so they would have pulled him out more than once to diversify his skillset.

Do you know how long it takes to master a martial art? Even where he’s learning for sixteen hours a day it would still take a few months. Why? Because fighting is like 80% muscle memory.

Which brings me to my next point; they would not have been able to leave Bucky in a freezer for years a time, defrost him, immediately send him out on a mission, and have him be a top fighting ability.

The reason why my taekwon do instructor had me practice the different types of kicks by repeatedly kicking the air in a slow and controlled manner when I was first learning was so that when I had to do it fast and hard the movement would be so ingrained in my head I could do it properly without thinking about it.

The reason why field agents with the FBI and whatever need to spar on the regular is because when you don’t spar for a while your body starts to forget and you get worse at it.

So yeah. Hydra either would have had to unfrost Bucky regularly for training and practice or they just straight up should have kept him out of cryo.

Another reason why they wouldn’t have been able to keep him under for long periods of time is because assassins aren’t all fighting, they need various other skills as well. Mostly, they would need tech knowledge.

We clearly see in TWS and CW that Bucky has piloting skills and learning to become a pilot in the military takes a few months for basic training, let alone the level of mastery that Hydra probably required Bucky to have. He would have had to be out for a while to learn to be a pilot and then every time there was a technological upgrade they would have had to pull him out again in order to teach it to him.

Same goes for weapons. They would want him to know how to be deadly with literally anything and every time someone came up with a new type of weapon or an upgrade he’d have to learn to do it.

Other small things Bucky would have to know in order to be a good assassin:

Get past security systems

Going off of that, probably some basic computer hacking skills. You’re telling me they never once decided to kill two birds with one stone and have him steal info and kill someone.

Speak multiple languages

Drive various types of vehicles and probably the basics to fix them as well

How to fix his own arm and how to fight without it when he can’t fix it

Various ways of electronic and radio communication

Poisons and their antidotes (for accidents)

(Many of these are based on the idea that Hydra wouldn’t have always been able to send him out with a team)

What would be an extremely hilarious fic concept is Bucky knowing how to hack through intense computer security systems and yet having no fucking clue how to use a microwave.

Anyway, this is long and winded but my point is that keeping Bucky frozen for extended periods of time makes no sense and that Bucky should be acknowledged as being terrifyingly good at fighting.

#bucky barnes #mcu #steve rogers #the winter soldier

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m39 · 3 years

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History of the Creed - Part 4.5: The Tyranny of King Washington

The Tyranny of King Washington is an interesting case of an expansion (yes, I call all three episodes combined an expansion). While there were mission packs in two previous games, this one might be the first one on such a scale. I might be over-exaggerating what I’ve said but still, there are over 20 main memories in all of the episodes combined.

Okay, I think that’s enough of rambling. Let’s get to the review.

THE TYRANNY OF KING WASHINGTON (The original PC release in Europe: February 20th (Infamy), March 20th (Betrayal), and April 23rd (Redemption), 2013)

The version I played was, again, the remastered version released on March 29th, 2019.

STORY

Sometime after the events of the main game, Connor suddenly wakes up in the alternative timeline, where George Washington found the Apple of Eden, which made him go mad with power and take the title of King Washington. So now it’s up to Connor, now having the powers of spirit animals, to stop the Mad King himself.

So the story is more bonkers than the main game, and that says a lot since we are talking about Assassin’s Creed. Overall I enjoyed it. It’s probably slightly better than the base game’s plot. I like how the expansion is a Mohawk powerhouse experience in the nutshell.

CHARACTERS

I think Connor is also slightly better here than in the base game. Not only does he have to experience the trauma of losing everything he loves again but it’s also implied that with each sky journey he takes, he becomes more hungry for power, showing that he’s closer to the grey area than what we saw in the base game.

As for the secondary characters, it’s mostly positive. Giving Ben Franklin a bigger role than in the base was definitely a good idea. Thomas Jefferson finally shows up – sure, he only appears in the last episode and he doesn’t exactly show much of a character but still, it’s good that he finally appears. The cameos of some of the Homestead community was cute. On the other hand, some of the characters are here just to die like these two native guys in episode 1.

Since George Washington is now our main bad guy, the question is: Does he do a good job at it? Well… it looks like he is. He nicely changes his moods from ravaging dog, to calm, even though he mostly stays in the former mood type. Also, having Israel Putman on the side of the bad guys was a very good choice due to his voice actor.

GAMEPLAY

I said earlier about how Connor has new powers based on the spirit animals. Throughout all of the episodes, you earn 4 new powers to tremendously help you. In episode 1, you get the Wolf Cloak and Wolf Pack. The former one makes you invisible, while the latter one summons three wolves that one-hit-kill their targets. The second episode has the Eagle Flight, allowing you to quickly move through the terrain. The last episode gives you the Bear Might, a powerful shockwave that can kill everyone close to Connor.

All of these abilities are very good but I was mostly using three first of them (especially Eagle Flight). The Bear Might has a chance to also kill civilians and that’s the reason why it’s not as much used by me like the rest.

ACTIVITIES

In this expansion, there are three side activities to do. The first one is helping the civilians – giving them food, freeing them from convoys, etc. This can be kinda’ annoying since you will eventually have to run around like a madman if you want to complete them all.

Chests are back and there are two types of them: Small ones that have ammo in them, and the big, locked ones, that while they function the same as the small ones, they can have an upgrade to your arsenal or a new weapon. If you want to, big chests are only worth your time. Open the small ones only if you lack ammunition, and even then, I think it would be faster to just loot the guards’ bodies.

The last type of side activities is finding the Lucid Memory Fragments. There are three of these per episode and the best way to find them is to go after the bigger chests. Once you collected them, there is an award for you somewhere on the map. I’m not going to tell you what it is, but let me tell you – it’s really worth it.

STABILITY

In the case of bugs, I was lucky to not bump into the game-breaking ones. There were although two that were noticeable for me. The first one was when I was trying to open the cages from the convoy but I couldn’t because the place where you are supposed to open them moved away dozens of meters from it. It happened twice to me. The second bug was when a bunch of wild hares came in unison to the Bostonian fort while I was trying to steal the captain’s horse.

There was however one really nasty bug that I’ve heard about. In episode 1, if you do any side activity, or even activate it, you will make the last mission of this episode unbeatable, and the only way to fix it is to start the entire episode again or, in a worse case, reinstall the entire game. Because of this reason, I didn’t go after anything in episode 1 and I want you to do the main missions only run if it’s the first time you are playing it.

SUMMARY

The Tyranny of King Washington is a very good expansion to Assassin’s Creed 3. It extends the character of Connor while giving him animal powers and fighting Washington himself. Honestly, I won’t be surprised if you will find this more enjoyable than the base game.

I could have said more about this but the rest of the stuff is basically the same as it was in the base game. Same combat, same parkour mechanics, same graphics, same sound effects, etc.

However, before we will move on to Black Flag, there is one game in the series that I haven’t played, that was only on PS Vita before.

See you next time.

Bye!

#review #Assassin's Creed #assassin's creed 3 #the tyranny of king washington #history of the creed

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cheshiresense · 5 years

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Oooh! Um... How about Kisuke/Yoruichi/Ichigo? Shadowrun AU (Fantasy AU if you don't know Shadowrun)

Lol I have no idea what Shadowrun is, did a quick google and it’s something like magic + cyberpunk + vaguely futuristic post-apocalyptic setting + virtual reality?? Omg it’s too complicated to write just from reading the wiki lmao, I’ll just give you a cyberpunk fantasy AU.

Edit: This got away from me a bit whoops.

1. Kisuke is your average humble toymaker in the Slums who may or may not supply the underground Robin Hood-esque rebel faction Visored with not-so-average weapons and prosthetics and various repairs and upgrades. The Visored are pretty much wanted in every kingdom in existence, partly because half of them used to be nobles themselves and were part of the minority who hated the way they treated their citizens, mostly because they keep fucking with the other nobles, but no one except said nobles actually wants them to stop because everybody who isn’t nobility pretty much hates those who are. Mostly, it’s the three neighbouring kingdoms - Seireitei, Silbern, and Las Noches - sitting cozy up in their walled off flourishing cities up high, constantly at war with each other but with plenty to eat and plenty of money to fund their large-scale chess games, and paying almost zero attention to the poor and homeless outside their walls. That doesn’t stop them from forcibly conscripting the lower class as cannon fodder or using the Slums as their personal dumping grounds or imprisoning or executing anyone they decide is breaking one law or another. Kisuke’s stayed under the radar so far, so nobody knows he’s the man even more wanted than the Visored, if only for his prodigal skills with cybertech. He’s the one who built their equipment and vehicles, who repaired Hiyori’s spine after she’d been left unable to walk from an ambush and produced a new arm for Hachi after it was cut off in a skirmish, both of which work just as well as the original parts. Most of the nobles either want to kill him or “hire” him. But a toymaker in the Slums who cobbles together tiny cats and dragons and chickens and pixies out of scrap metal for children to play with isn’t anything to look twice at.

2. Here is a secret only a handful of people know - Shihouin Yoruichi was born a cripple. She couldn’t walk, at all, and even the best prosthetics money could buy from the various cybertech companies were clunky and awkward and only allowed her to limp a certain distance. Her family, one of the great noble houses of Seireitei that specialized in seduction and assassination, hid her away out of shame, right up until a rebellious teenaged Yoruichi had had enough and snuck out one night on nothing but her wobbly fake legs and a crutch. She’d spent enough time on her own for the majority of her childhood to know just about every passageway and secret door that snaked through the length and width of Seireitei. She didn’t stop until she appeared in the Slums, and she fainted from exhaustion and hunger only a few days later, but she never looked back. Kisuke found her, took her in, and then made her legs on a whim, upgrading them every time he figured out something new and better that he could add to them. In exchange, Yoruichi used her newfound mobility to retrieve better materials for Kisuke, robbing delivery trucks en route to Seireitei’s cybertech companies or outright stealing from her own family’s weapons storage. Anything they could buy, Kisuke could reverse-engineer and make better. Ten years after she left her old life behind, her legs are a work of art, connected to her nerves to give her complete control over them but granting her superhuman speed and jumping ability, and she’d practiced enough with them over the years that her mind had no problems keeping up with both. The prosthetics are lightweight but strong enough to withstand the swing of a blade or the impact of a bullet, and she would give a lot to see her family’s faces if they ever realize just who has been ransacking their vaults.

3. Most people carry some kind of weapon these days, but the best - for those who can afford them, or can call Kisuke a friend - can take the form of a companion when not in combat. Shinji’s is in the shape of a sphinx, all sleek lines and feline flexibility, but one that shifts into a sword in a silent whir of pulsing blue lines and polished metal at his command. Mashiro’s is a pixie, not unlike the toys commonly seen in Kisuke’s part of the Slums, except hers includes translucent wings threaded with pale green wiring. It’s perpetually perched on her shoulder, but in a fight, the pixie fuses with her hands and legs, the wings melting and sliding over her skin like liquid mercury to form gloves and boots that increase the power of her kicks and punches.

Yoruichi’s is a black cat but nobody actually knows what kind of weapon it can turn into. More often than not, Yoruichi sends it off as a spy because the thing is so realistic nobody can actually tell it’s not a real animal unless they get close enough to see the delicate wiring in its yellow eyes.

Nobody’s ever seen Kisuke’s either, weapon or otherwise, until a spy from a cybertech company snoops too closely around his shop. Then the other occupants get front-row seats to the bright red threads that extend from his hands - hands that light up with the many, many upgrades inside, a complicated maze of crimson circuits swirling beneath his flesh - and attach themselves to their target like strings on a puppet. At least he takes it out back before he literally rips the spy apart.

4. Once upon a time, before Yoruichi was even born, there were five noble houses instead of four. But the fall of the Shiba Clan is never talked about, and most don’t even remember the details anymore, only that most were put to the sword and the rest were scattered. One of the runners in Kisuke’s employ - the many who scrounge through the Slums’s trash heaps for parts Kisuke might find useful - is a boy on the cusp of twenty who looks uncannily like the last Shiba clan head before the family’s collapse. He goes by Ichigo and doesn’t seem aware of his lineage, and if he notices the way Shinji almost always makes an appearance when he comes in with his haul, and his payment always ends up including several extra portions of food and some high-grade medical supplies and even a new change of clothes now and then, he never says anything. After they find out he has two little sisters to feed, a handful of toys get bundled in as well, free of charge.

Kisuke wouldn’t know a Shiba from a Shihouin, and Yoruichi’s family never bothered teaching her all the things an heir or even just an average noble-born child would’ve needed to know, so neither of them treats Ichigo differently because of his blood or background. They do treat him differently because none of Kisuke’s runners have lasted as long as Ichigo. Sooner or later, they disappear, arrested by guards or killed in a back alley scuffle. Ichigo slinks into the shop at fifteen and still comes around every week like clockwork five years later. He always shows up with a decent haul too, and once, Yoruichi follows him, just to see where he’s getting his loot because surely most of the trash pits in the area have been picked clean over the years? There’s always more added to them, but not at the rate Ichigo is scrounging materials. So Yoruichi follows him one day when he leaves and that’s how they find out about his sisters and the makeshift hole in the wall they live in, shabby-looking on the outside but clean and cozy on the inside and insulated well from the cold. That’s also how they find out about all the enhancements Ichigo has, because Yoruichi makes the mistake of underestimating him and almost gets beheaded when he disappears and almost shivs her from behind with a hand-turned-blade, teeth bared like an animal as his eyes burn with golden circuitry.

(The Shiba Clan had been widely feared, once upon a time, for their genius in the more explosive weaponry and their talent with artificial intelligence and robotics and other biological cybertech enhancements. It was why they’d been so swiftly sentenced to death when they’d come down on the side of the poorfolk. Even one Shiba would’ve been equivalent to having a small army in one’s arsenal.)

Ichigo moved faster, jumped higher, hit harder, than anything Yoruichi had ever come up against. The crack of his heel coming down against the ground shattered rock and cement everywhere, and the only thing that saved her life that day was her dodging ability and a quickly shouted explanation for why she’d followed him in the first place. Ichigo wasn’t unreasonable, even if he wasn’t entirely human. His enhancements explained how he could move further through the Slums for loot and still put down roots in the area. It took some coaxing and several dozen more months of coming and going from the shop, but eventually, he’d also admitted that he didn’t know where his enhancements had come from, he couldn’t remember anything from before waking up the Slums with two regular human toddlers who called him brother depending on him. The only thing imprinted in his memory were the directives: 1) Take Care of Your Sisters, and 2) Survive.

But he was the most powerful thing around for miles, and Kisuke was fascinated because the work done on Ichigo was only vaguely like his own, and far more advanced than anything the nobility churned out these days. Yoruichi didn’t care as much, but she liked having a new sparring partner, not to mention Ichigo was very easy on the eyes, and a few more years on him meant Yoruichi could appreciate the sight without feeling like she was preying on a child.

Ichigo kept coming back, and eventually Kisuke managed to wheedle Ichigo into getting a checkup and upgrades, especially when he started outgrowing a few of his joint ports. Yoruichi watched the two of them make moon eyes at each other, listened to Kisuke ramble about something Ichigo told him the day before, noted the way Ichigo’s eyes sometimes strayed to Kisuke when the man wandered outside without a shirt and his pants on backwards after too many hours in his lab, and she was almost tempted to lock them in a closet together.

(She doesn’t notice the way Kisuke smiles indulgently at her when she comes home from a trip into Seireitei with an icebox of fresh strawberries from the Kuchikis infamous gardens because they’re Ichigo’s favourite, nor does she see Ichigo blink and cock his head in new understanding sometimes when he observes the way she drapes herself over Kisuke, comfortable and relaxed, but never does it with anyone else.)

In the world they live in though, trust is more important than love. Yoruichi has trusted Kisuke since she met him, and Kisuke’s trusted her since she was down two legs and still flung herself between him and a thief with a knife who thought the shop easy pickings. And the day Ichigo brings his sisters over and lets them run around out of his sight is the day they know he trusts them. It’s only natural to offer him and his little family a room of their own at the shop.

5. The day Yoruichi comes back with news of the Silbern Kingdom’s royal family and Las Noches’ royal family both being overthrown by several of their own noble families - the Ishidas and the Kurosakis, and the Coyotes, the Tu Odelschwancks, the Cifers, and the Jaegerjaquezs respectively - is the same day Shinji comes to them and tells them about the revolution movement that’s been in the works for a while now, about the remains of the Shiba Clan currently helping the Ishidas and Kurosakis take over Silbern, and about Ichigo’s own past - memory wiped for his own good because rumours of a Shiba child successfully integrated with his clan’s still experimental but groundbreaking technology had leaked, and if they’d gotten their hands on him, they would’ve turned him into their weapon. Better to hide him in the Slums, along with his two sisters who wouldn’t be of any use in a war for several more years, until they need him again, which they do now, because as soon as Silbern and Las Noches are theirs, they’ll be moving on to Seireitei post haste, and a two-pronged attack while the Gotei is still scrambling to defend themselves would hit them hardest, because for all that the kingdoms have been at war with each other for years, it had never been so direct, nor had their goals ever moved beyond poaching each other’s technologies. But for the revolution movement to succeed, they need Ichigo on their side, and it wouldn’t hurt for Kisuke and Yoruichi to join them too, technically Kisuke’s been their weapons-backer for years, and Yoruichi’s been their ear to the ground in Seireitei for just as long, and they’ll need all hands on deck. The kids can be left with Tessai.

Ichigo storms out. Yoruichi demands to know why they were never told before. And Kisuke surveys a tense-looking Shinji (who explains that it was supposed to be for their safety too - because Yoruichi was their only successful spy in Seireitei, and very, very few could match Kisuke’s genius, and it was just better to keep them out of the way) from beneath his hat before smiling blandly and promptly catching the man with a flick of his hand and five threads, unceremoniously tossing him out the window before he and Yoruichi both go to find Ichigo. It doesn’t take a genius to guess he’d returned to the hole-in-the-wall home he’d made for his sisters, and they join him after Ichigo acknowledges them with a jerk of his shoulders. They don’t speak right away, Ichigo sitting in stony silence, Yoruichi curled on one side of him still seething, Kisuke on his other, absently flexing one red-tinted hand in that way he only does when he’s contemplating murder.

They’ll help, all three of them. They don’t even need to discuss that. It’s high time for the upper-class to get their lives shaken up, the Slums are a disgrace, and if they have the chance to change that, they’ll take it, even if it means working beside people who have been using them for their own ends without giving them so much as a heads-up. Or in Ichigo’s case, will be using him since it’s pretty apparent he might not be the Gotei’s weapon but he is still very much the Shibas’ weapon, reserved for emergencies.

“Regimes come and go every day,” Kisuke remarks first, right hand fanning open, then closing, then opening again, crimson circuits shimmering along the vein lines of his palm.

“What a shame,” Yoruichi agrees with a grin that’s two-parts teeth and all-parts spite.

“…Three of us against three kingdoms that’ve just taken a beating?” Ichigo muses, but his eyes flare gold, and he’s smiling too. “Sounds like fun.”

#headcanon meme: answered #bleach #uraichiyoru #urahara kisuke #shihouin yoruichi #kurosaki ichigo #cyberpunk au #fantasy au #aniseandspearmint #headcanon

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shinyobjectreviews · 3 years

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An In-Depth Analysis of my Observations Playing CROSSBOW: Bloodnight

CROSSBOW: Bloodnight looks like shovelware, and I don’t blame anyone for thinking that. There’s a lot missing from the game. There’s a typo in the launch announcement. However, the lack of standard triple A bloat means it’s rather easy to dissect the game. So I’m going to break apart some of what happened to me as I was playing and started to question the quality of the game only to determine it was my own skill lessening my experience.

Devil Daggers

Credit where it’s due, a lot of stuff in the game is a blatant ripoff of Devil Daggers. It will occasionally come up. If I say DD know I’m referring to Devil Daggers. The developers have said publicly the game is intended for fans of DD, so they’re not trying to hide it, and though the games are extremely similar, it’s still worth analyzing CB:Bn to see what they decided to keep, lose, or change. Originality is nice to have, but it’s not everything.

The Crossbow

Let’s start at the beginning. The crossbow is amazing. When sustaining fire the triple-chambered crossbow fires each chamber individually. When firing like a shotgun, they all fire at once. When firing the rocket, the center chamber pulls back further, and the prongs bend back considerably to emphasize the weight of the projectile. The appearance starts to resemble a modern-day compound crossbow, as though it is focusing the strength from other prongs into one. Your character also slows down: thematically this shows again the strain of this massive projectile, but practically it also helps you line up your shot better, since the rocket has more pinpoint accuracy and higher damage than the standard projectile and can therefore be used to fire at long distances. Something taken from DD is that the projectiles have a rather significant spread and a slow velocity, meaning that you can deal more consistent damage faster by being closer to your target, a dangerous but rewarding and skillful strategy. The crossbow also changes color as it upgrades, which you won’t miss due to the camera slow and bright glow, but it’s nice to see it on the crossbow itself as you’re playing. It’s an easy signifier, but it also just looks nice and feels cool.

The Introduction

The first half minute of the game is slow. A single zombie (The Restless One) spawns, then a couple more. You then get the big tentacle monsters (The Tainted Ones) that spawn the bats (The Hungry Ones). Of the few comments I’ve seen in the game, one was a complaint about this intro being slow and uninteresting after the first few runs. After all, while it does a great job at slowly introducing elements to new players, you learn pretty quick, but it can’t just be removed from the game because it would interfere with the time-attack scoring. I also disliked this part after my first few runs. However, I have come to love this part of the game. The end of a run can often feel dissatisfying, and most players will immediately want to try again. While most just want to rush to where they were at, the game forces you to wait, calm down, and get reacclimated. You also get to blow off some steam by obliterating the weak early enemies at almost no risk. I’ve also used this time to practice: learning exactly how long after the spawn animation takes until a demon is vulnerable, how close to the eye I have to shoot, rehearsing projectile timing, anything that I feel could use work.

The Spawning

This was one of the first issues I had with the game. I often died to demons spawning in behind me, or werewolves (The Feral Ones) using their long range dash to hit me from the other side of the map when I hadn’t even seen them appear. Even with the big red circles that appear before they spawn, However, there were two things I learned in short order. The first is that each enemy has its own unique spawn sound, each one roughly as loud as its importance (I wouldn’t even think the zombies had any if I didn’t hear it isolated during the introduction). The howl of the werewolves is especially notable, which is good because their dash has incredible range. The second thing I came to realize is that the game was pushing me to look where I was going. Shooters are all about circle strafing and firing while walking backwards, but not CROSSBOW: Bloodnight. In this game, you have to fire forward. Where you’re looking. It is safer to run towards one of the stationary Tainted Ones to try and kill them while letting the zombies and bats chase you from behind. The Feral Ones will dash at you, but you can pay attention to the noises they make to try and dodge them, or just turn and look if you dare. Once again, the game offers you a choice: run away from enemies while shooting behind you and risk bumping into guys in front of you, or charge at foes head on (remember the primary fire is better at close ranges) and try and thin out the herd later.

The Dash

If you check out the reviews on Steam, the primary difference between CB:Bn and DD is that the former has a dash. Once again, It didn’t really think of this while playing, and didn’t really start using it until after my first dozen runs. I actually started using it almost jokingly in the introduction as a way to get from the first spawning zombie to the second. I started learning the exact distance of the dash and it’s timing. Eventually, I started using it in game. It has the same issue as above, where dashing into a crowd of enemies is just as common as dashing away from them, but if timed well and planned well it can be a literal lifesaver. If you can properly perform it, you can also dash into the Tainted One and fire off a one-shot kill into the eye with the shotgun.

The Special

The game has an ability it grants you once every 60 seconds roughly where , if you press Q, it will slow down time a bit and show you a giant line the width of a house directly in front of you. Your crossbow is also aimed up and glows with radiant light. If you pull the trigger, every enemy in the highlighted area will be skewered with a holy lance and get one-shot. Like the dash, I was unsure of how best to implement it, but I have three theories. The first use is as a emergency clear. If you’re panicked and want to just get rid of some enemies, you can hit this to get a little space. It’s a nice way to bring the tension down if you’re starting to not enjoy it. The second option is as a time-saver. If you have multiple enemies you want dead, especially Tainted Ones whose weak points you can’t reach, you can line them up to hit at least two and maybe more. This is a use of skill and lets you try and optimize your runs. Lastly you can just show off with it. Use it for some dumb reason because you feel like it. Whatever the reason, the fact that it’s on a cooldown encourages you to use it aggressively rather than save it for a powerful attack, since the sooner you use it the sooner you can start charging up the next one.

The Enemies

I’m solidly impressed at the enemy variety. The Restless ones are bolt fodder, keeping you aware of your surroundings, but never dealing enough to kill you without you knowing it. The Tainted Ones are stationary to give you fixed goals, and they spawn bats to harass you but only until you give them a little attention. The werewolves are the first big threat: they do not exist to be killed, they exist to kill you. You must know where all of them are to stay safe. The Troubled Ones shoot shockwaves, and are the first true long-range foes. They force you to jump at the right time, forcing you to stay aware of your jumping, and punishing those relying too hard on bunny-hopping. Those are all of the enemies I’ve encountered for now, but they all come together in such exciting ways. Even the Tainted Ones themselves have neat interactions. Nearly all of them spawn at the edge of the map, making it harder to kill them form the other side and forcing you to get up close, but I also encountered one in the center of the map, whose positioning forced me into an awkward spot in order to get to its weak point.

The Map

I’ll be honest, I don’t have much to say about the map. It is donut shaped: big circle with a spot in the center no-one can get through. I much prefer it to DD because it has some landmarks around it that help orient you, allowing you to more easily remember where enemies spawn and where you are in the moment. The hole in the center also give you just enough of a safe space that your circle strafing doesn’t get weird with demons just sitting in the center getting constantly kited. I also expect a boss to spawn there at some point, making for a nice focal point.

The Setting

On a thematic level, the map is heavy with gothic arches and pointy spires. While I assumed this was an anachronistic stylistic choice, I did my research, and it turns out gothic architecture did in fact originate in the early 12th century, where the game is set. The opening text tells us that the game takes place close to 1193 AD, a time when the church outlawed the use of Crossbows against Christians. The game recontextualizes this as declaring the Crossbow as “ungodly” and “demonic,” which is a clever way of getting an excuse to use Crossbows against Demons. The crossbow in question, is mildly inaccurate not in terms of time but location. A triple-chambered repeating-crossbow seems far-fetched, but China had been using repeating crossbows (Cho ku nu) and triple-bed mounted naval crossbows for hundreds of years by this point in time. Firing multiple bolts simultaneously at the cost of reduced range and accuracy was actually a real tactic used at the time as well. The idea of either being hand-held requires some suspension of disbelief, as does the ammo storage, but that’s well deserved for an arena shooter like this.

The Story

There isn’t much of a story here, but it’s there if you look. As mentioned, the game declares the Crossbow ungodly, and implies that it is used in some form of demonic ritual. However, the glowing light implies otherwise. Each enemy is named after some form of torment: hungry, restless, troubled, tainted, etc., and with exception of the Restless Ones, each one releases a soul when slain that the player can “collect.” This implies that these demons may be corrupted forms of humans that are being slain to release their tormented souls from some form of punishment and collecting them for some unknown reason. The fact that the zombies and the bats don’t leave souls follows this logic, since the zombies seem more like animated lifeless corpses than living creatures, and the bats are, well, bats. They also spawn from the Tainted Ones, so they are kind of just extensions of that. The game also has achievements that I have yet to understand, and seem to imply I am either evil or not evil based on a statistic I have not found. It intrigues me, but I will have to keep playing I guess to find out what it means.

Minor things

I’m ashamed to admit I didn’t have anywhere else to put these so here’s some other stuff I just want to throw in there.

The first upgrade you get is from killing a werewolf, after which another werewolf immediately spawns, letting you directly compare how long it took to kill the last one and how long it took to kill this one.

You can actually see the werewolves jumping in from outside the map before they spawn.

When you’re hit, the screen goes bloody like any other game, but there’s already blood everywhere, so the game give you a scary tone that plays until you heal back up.

Conclusion

And that’s all I can really say about the game. I’m not here to convince you to buy CROSSBOW: Bloodnight, I’m not here to convince you it’s good, I’m not even trying to convince you to play it. I just wanted to talk about this. I’m not even sure if it’s my favorite game of the year, if only because Hades is about the toughest competition it could have faces. So if it’s not my favorite, not the best, and arguably not worth your time, then what is CROSSBOW: Bloodnight?

My best answer? It’s mine. This is a game I want to exist. This is a game practically built for me. I bought it, played it, I loved it, and I feel like I’m the only one who has, and that makes me feel special. So maybe don’t look too much into this review. Perhaps I’m overblowing it because I feel personally attached to this game in a way I never have before. But hey, if you’ve gotten all the way to the end, maybe you care about what I have to say. So here’s the summary.

CROSSBOW: Bloodnight is a really cool video game, and I really like it.

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writingonjorvik · 4 years

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Can We Discuss Skill Collections?

So one of the things I think we’d all like to see in the game is getting actual skills we can use. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned so far about good storytelling in games, it’s that even game mechanics need stories behind them. So, what would it look like if we had to earn skills in SSO?

One of the things I really like in GW2 about some of their prestige mount collections and about the story in Bofuri (which is an adorable anime), is the idea of gaining abilities based on progression in story. And I don’t just mean unlocking skills by default in the story. I mean going out of your way to acquire something extra and helpful.

So, what I’d propose is something similar in SSO. While some basic skills we’d unlock as we progress the story, gaining extra and unique abilities would require completing special quests hidden around the map.

For example, let’s say you learn Soul Strike in the story, but Soul Strike can gain a couple variants in how it’s used. Like one is that it will chain between nearby targets and the other is that it’ll shoot two bolts instead of one. But to get either of those, after you get Soul Strike, you go and hunt down the quest to upgrade it.

This adds a story behind how you build your character, instead of simply collecting the skill. None of them should be hard, and much like my opinions on classes, either you should be able to reset them or have alternate accounts to build a different play style, but this little bit of flavor adds a lot more narrative into the story without it being necessary. It gives the option to build a character outside of the limitations of the main story without breaking it either by adding different ways to play.

This also gives you something to work on at end game content. Instead of just waiting between updates, there could be dozens of little quests to hunt down to develop out your character in cool and interesting ways. Not to mention how this could layer on any kind of class system. It also gives a lot more value to gaining these skills, because it was something you had to go out of your way to achieve.

I think it would also add a lot of variety to magic that we haven’t seen yet. Like, we’ve got four fields of magic, but we’ve really only seen one ability in those fields outside of the Moon Circle. You got hitting, healing, teleporting, and scrying. But the fields of magic are described as being wider than that. Adding this kind of system would allow the worldbuilding to expand into even more interesting ways magic can be used in the setting outside of singular uses.

#sso #star stable #starstable #star stable online #starstableonline #woj analysis

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softyoongiionly · 5 years

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Fear and Dumplings: Chapter Twelve

Confronting your fears for a final grade sounds unappealing but, with Yoongi as your partner, things might not be so bad.

Summary: You’re in your final semester at University when your Abnormal Psychology professor assigns you a partnered project surrounding your greatest fears. Lucky for you, your partner just so happens to be a cute boy named Min Yoongi.

Pairing: Min Yoongi x Reader

Genre: Underground Rapper! Yoongi, Soft!!! Yoongi, Fluff!!!, some moderate angst (later), smut (later later), slow-ish? burn.

Word Count: 7.1k

A/N: Friends...this was ALOT. I didn’t edit it too much cause I was so excited to get it out to you so, please forgive any typos. I hope you like it!

Warnings for this Chapter: language, smut, mentions of anxiety/ insecurity, DID I MENTION THERE WAS SMUT OH MY GOD IM ON FIRE

Warnings for the Fic: mentions characters confronting their fears, characters in uncomfortable situations, emotional moments between characters, mentions of bad parenting, explicit language throughout the fic, moderate angst, and very explicit smut later in the story.

Chapter 12: Pain and Pillow Talk

“Did you talk to him?”

Yoongi shifts on the lawn chair, gnawing on his bottom lip. He looks nervous.

“Uh…yeah I did. I hope that’s ok, I know it wasn’t really my place, I just…”

Your brows furrow as you place a hand on his thigh, the arm rests from your chairs touching one another.

“Whatever you guys talked about, must have worked. I walked by the bedroom after I went pee and, I heard noises that I could have lived the rest of my life without hearing.” You laugh and, Yoongi’s posture softens, chuckling along with you. His hand moves to rest on top of yours, nimble fingers curling under your own.

Yoongi cat eyes flit to yours, a nervous smile pulling at the corner of his mouth, “Jungkook and I, share the same…uh situation.”

“Do you have a crush on Jimin too? Cause seriously, if you do, I won’t be mad, just know that half of this city has a crush on him so, the competition might be a little rough.”

You smirk, eyes holding his, biting your lip in an attempt to reign in your laughter. Yoongi snorts, relaxing further as he shakes his head.

“No, I’m a little preoccupied with another crush I’ve been dealing with, thank you very much,” He answers quickly, eyes narrowed and accusing as they point directly at you. His answer makes you want to kiss him. Although, most things he does make you want to kiss him. “But uh…Jungkook and I both like…everyone, regardless of, gender or…anything like that…”

You throw your teasing smile out of the window, eyes softening as you squeeze his hand gently. It touched you that Yoongi felt comfortable enough with you to discuss his sexuality and, you wanted to ensure that you handled the information with respect.

“I’m really happy you decided to share this with me, it means a lot. Thank you.” You lean over to kiss his cheek and, the soft skin quickly heats up at the brush of your lips.

Yoongi looks slightly confused, his eyes narrowing again as he regards you carefully.

“What?” You giggle under his gaze, your fingers interlacing with his, shaking his hand lightly.

“You don’t think it’s like…weird or anything?”

“Weird? Of course not. First of all, your sexuality is 100% valid, 100% of the time and, there is nothing to be weirded out by. Second of all, my two childhood best friends are currently having sex upstairs so; my ability to be shocked is kind of lost to me right now.”

Yoongi smiles then, a chuckle breaking past his lips as he nods, “That’s fair. Well…thank you, for being cool about it. I’ve usually had to do more explaining in the past or, sometimes, people aren’t as uh…cool about it.”

There is some pain in his eyes as he finishes his sentence but, you refrain from pointing it out, choosing instead to squeeze his hand again.

“You can talk to me about it as much as you want but, only if you want to. I’m always here either way…” You assure him and, Yoongi leans in suddenly, pressing a soft kiss to your lips. You smile into it, leaning against him before he pulls away, his eyes containing a renewed softness.

“Thank you…seriously.”

You’re still sort of smiling as he pulls away, nodding your head in acknowledgement, “You’re welcome.”

He smirks, looking at you for a moment before his hand comes up to scratch behind his neck. He directs his gaze towards the rest of the party that had yet to settle down.

Your phone vibrates in your pocket and, you move quickly to retrieve it from your pocket, hoping to receive some sort of update from your friends.

BROS FOR LYFE (JIMIN): Kookie and I are gonna stay at my place tonight, is that ok with you guys?

A smirk is on your lips as you see the text come through.

Guess the time they had in the bedroom wasn’t enough.

BROS FOR LYFE: It’s ok as long as you guys aren’t driving.

BROS FOR LYFE (Jungkook): We’ll get an Uber, Mom, don’t worry.

BROS FOR LYFE: then, you’re good. Have fun ;)

BROS FOR LYFE: wait, where’s Tae? Aren’t you guys supposed to be driving back in the morning?

BROS FOR LYFE (JIMIN): We saw him on the way out of the room; he was heading into another room with some girl.

BROS FOR LYFE (Jungkook): They were making out, it was really gross.

Shaking your head, you respond, your brows rising

BROS FOR LYFE: I’ll call an Uber too

BROS FOR LYFE (JIMIN): Noooo Y/N just come with us, it’s ok, we can have them stop at your place first, or you can stay at mine

BROS FOR LYFE (Jungkook): Or you can stay at yours…

You giggle at that, knowing damn well that staying under Jimin’s roof would be a bad idea.

BROS FOR LYFE: It’s ok guys, I’m still hanging out with Yoongi and, I don’t know when he’s planning on leaving. Also, I can take a hint Kook, I’ll find my own way tonight but, like, you two have fun. Just try and remember that Jimin’s neighbor is a sweet old woman named Helen who would probably have a heart attack if she heard what I heard earlier.

BROS FOR LYFE (Jungkook): lmao get rekt Helen

BROS FOR LYFE (JIMIN): Helen is a freak Y/N, she’s hit on me ever since I moved in.

“Everything ok?” Yoongi’s looking at you curiously, smirking as he notices you giggling to yourself.

You bring your attention to his; still laughing lightly as you nod to your phone, “My friends are abandoning me…”

“Wait why?” Yoongi chuckles, eyes darting to the upstairs bedroom momentarily. “Did they not…finish up yet?”

“Apparently not. Tae was our DD but, he’s upstairs too…doing god knows what.”

Yoongi shakes his head, smirking in disbelief before he brings his gaze back to yours, a slight hint of nervousness appearing in his chocolate eyes. “I can take you home, or you can…stay at mine, we live really close. It’s up to you…”

A smile finds your lips, giddiness swirling in your chest as you cock your head, trying to play it cool.

“Do you want me to stay the night Yoongi?” Your tone shifts lower to tease him, your knee nudging against his causing him to roll his eyes. Pink cheeks always give him away though and, you bite your lip, enjoying the affect you have on one another.

Pursing his lips, he smirks, trying to contain a much bigger smile. He’s still trying to play it cool too, even after everything that’s happened between the two of you.

“You can, if you want to.” He insists, almost defiantly, nudging your knee back.

“Do you have to wait till your friends leave?”

He shakes his head, eyes wandering over the rest of the backyard, which was still displaying dozens of party goers, “No, Namjoon and Hoseok drove separate, we followed each other here, cause I couldn’t remember where this place was…”

“Alright, you ready to go then? Or did you want to stay and hang out for a bit?”

Yoongi stomach does somersaults as he looks toward the door eagerly, his head shaking, “No, I’m ready….are you, staying with me? Or am I taking you home?”

You smile, starting to stand up, brushing your hands on your jeans before turning towards him, offering a hand to him, “I’ll stay with you,”

Yoongi’s stomach could have joined the Olympics at this point but, ever the cool guy, he tried his best to refrain from literally jumping for joy.

He smiles ( :] ) taking your hand, interlacing your fingers with his as he lets you lead him out of the party.

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

“You came on a good night,” Yoongi explains, as he’s unlocking his front door, smirking slightly as he turns back to you, the door cracking open. “Normally, this place is a disaster but, Hoseok had a girl over the other night and, actually decided to clean up for once.”

You giggle, nodding in understanding as Yoongi leads the two of you inside, “Is he the messy one?”

Yoongi snorts, nodding, “Yes, in more ways than one…”

You snicker, stepping through the threshold, your eyes scanning your surroundings. The house was pretty nice. The walls were painted white and littered with various photos full of the three men who lived in the house and, what you assumed was their families. As the two of you walk passed the front hall, you enter the living room which displayed a giant flat screen and, a black U-shaped couch that essentially took up most of the room. To your left, Yoongi pointed out the kitchen, complete with modern appliances and barstools at the front of the island. You wondered how they ended up in such a nice house but, you decided it wasn’t really your place to ask but, it was certainly an upgrade from your tiny apartment.

“My room is over here but, you’re uh…welcome to sleep out here too if you feel more comfortable, it’s up to you.”

Yoongi sounded nervous, far more nervous than you’ve heard from him in a while. You turn towards him, smiling softly, taking his hand in yours, “As comfortable as the couch looks, I think I’d rather sleep in your room, with you, if that’s ok…”

He relaxes slightly but, only slightly, his furrowed brow smoothing out as he returns your smile, his fingers lacing with yours once again.

“It’s right down the hall here,” Yoongi gestures to a hallway that extends from the living room, still holding your hand as he leads the way. He’s eager as all hell but, to you, he seems relatively relaxed.

The thing is, Yoongi had never had anyone he liked in his room before. This was mainly due to the fact that the last real crush he had was in high school and, Yoongi was far too terrified to talk to him. So, as far as romance goes, Yoongi is like brand new in this department, he doesn’t know what he’s doing and, he’s really afraid he’s going to mess things up. The last person who slept in his bed was Hoseok and, even then, Yoongi never really developed feelings. For the longest time, Yoongi assumed he would end up alone. He was fine with that. Then, you came along and, quite frankly fucked him all the way up, both figuratively and literally (lmao). He’s really trying to take things slow but, it’s difficult when you keep doing and saying all the right things. Yoongi feels comfortable messing around and, pretending like everything is SUPER CHILL but, deep down, he’s desperately trying to suppress the fact that he’s falling for you. Hard.

He opens the door to his bedroom, ushering you inside, hoping to god that you can’t hear how fast his heart his beating. You smile as soon as he turns the light on, revealing the room to you. The first thing you notice is the smell, clean laundry, you weren’t sure if his detergent was just potent or if he had an air freshener somewhere but, either way, his room smelled amazing. He steps in behind you closing his door softly, biting his lip as he watches you scan the room. Yoongi’s room is tidy, everything in it’s place. Black shelving adorns his walls, holding various photos and, sports memorabilia, his bed is covered in a fluffy black duvet that looked ridiculously inviting at the moment. A desk sits in the corner of the room, holding a big monitor and several synth pads and speakers. In front of the desk sits a computer chair that has a jersey hanging on the back, Agust D stitched into the material.

You turn back to Yoongi smiling, feeling his nervous energy, “Do you make music in here too?”

He nods, shifting in his stance slightly as he moves toward you, his eyes flitting to his desk, “Sometimes yeah, I can’t always afford studio time but, I have everything I need right here. It’s just better to work at the studio; they have all the equipment I prefer working with…”

You shuffle over to his desk, careful not to touch anything cause like, this is his passion and, if you broke something you would be mortified. Fondness is practically screaming in your chest as you notice a few characters on Yoongi’s desk: some from cartoon shows, some from basketball teams.

“Did you make the beat that you rapped to?”

He nods again, moving to sit sort of awkwardly on the corner of his bed.

“Yeah it was a beat I had for a long time but, I kept toying with it until I finally got something I liked…”

Turning away from Yoongi’s desk, you move to set your purse on one of his nightstands.

“I really hope you keep at it, you’re so talented it’s insane. I’m surprised you haven’t put your stuff out there…”

He blushes, shying away from your compliment as he picks at the skin around his fingertips.

“Stop,” He chuckles, looking over at you, “…it’s just a stupid beat I made.”

Your eyes widen incredulously, “Yoongi…nothing about your music is stupid like, honestly you were so good. You’re definitely in the right field…you had me swooning over you and shit, it was embarrassing.” You giggle and, Yoongi’s brows raise, a smirk on his lips as he cocks his head.

“You were just checking me out the whole time? How do you know the music was even good then?” He teases, his heart swelling 2000 times bigger at your praise.

You chuck a pillow at him, giggling, “First of all, I check you out all the time so, that wouldn’t have affected my judgement, second of all, if you released a mixtape, I would be the first person to buy it and, that’s not just because I like you, it’s because, your song was that good.”

Yoongi chuckles, looking away from you for a moment, his eyes shifting around, trying to figure out his response, he sighs and then looks back you, a renewed sense of softness in his gaze,

“Thank you, that’s uh…that’s really kind of you to say.”

“You’re welcome…Agust D…” You break the slightest bit of tension, a smile on your face as you move to the button of your jeans, undoing them before starting to shimmy out of them. Yoongi snorts at your comment but, honestly, your praise renewed something in him that he hadn’t felt in a long time.

Maybe he would release his mixtape….

“I hate wearing jeans…” You mutter, brow furrowed as you struggle to tug them down your legs.

Yoongi feels another sensation stirring in his pants as he sees the lace of your underwear. Images of the last time the two of you were together playing on a loop in his head as he he looks away from you again, frustrated at how easily you could fluster him.

You managed to get your jeans off before slipping your bra out of your Team Jungkook t-shirt. The clothes were folded and set on the floor before you turn your attention back to Yoongi.

“Are you ok?” You prod gently, confused at why he was avoiding your gaze.

He sighs, nodding as he turns back to you, averting his gaze from your underwear, “I’m good I…I uh normally sleep in just my boxers, if that’s cool with you...”

“Yeah, of course…” You trail off, not convinced by his answer.

He’s nervous. You could feel it in the air of his bedroom, his tension radiating off of his body.

“Let me…uh,” He starts, trying to speak over the lump in his throat as he stands, pulling his jacket off before his finger pinch the neck of his t-shirt and pull it over his head. You’ve obviously seen Yoongi without his shirt on before but, there was something about it that really got you. He had a bit of a tummy and, you honestly had to resist the urge to pinch it. You busy yourself with pulling his duvet back, stealing a glance or too towards him in the process. He pulls down his jeans, bending down momentarily to collect his clothes off of the floor to throw them into his laundry basket.

“The remote is on the nightstand if you want to turn the TV on, I have Netflix…” He murmurs, padding over to his dresser to take his jewelry off.

Why is that attractive? Why are you still staring at him?

Turn the damn TV on…

“Should we finish the dragon documentary? That should put us right to sleep…” You joke, your thumb pressing on the power button of the remote.

Yoongi chuckles, turning towards you momentarily, “No.”

You laugh in return, his smile lingering on his mouth as he turns back around to finish what he’s doing.

“Your loss, dragons are the #1 sleeptime aid in the world…”

“Shut up.” He chuckles again, finally feeling himself relax as he turns back towards you.

Yoongi is going to die.

That’s it, that’s the final straw.

When he spots you, cozied up, underneath HIS duvet, on HIS bed, in HIS room, he literally feels his heart being assaulted in his chest. Your eyes are narrowed in concentration as you browse Netflix, not noticing Yoongi’s minor breakdown in the corner of the room. Subconsciously, you use your free hand to push back the duvet, inviting Yoongi to the spot next to you. He sighs, heart choking in his chest as he makes his way over to the bed, he pauses near the light switch, hesitating slightly, looking over at you.

“Is it ok if I turn the lights off? Or do you need them on?”

Yoongi sleeps in absolute darkness and, knows very well that, if he has to leave the lights on, he will probably have some serious trouble falling and staying asleep. However, he knew of one of your greatest fears and, he would rather deal with a sleepless night, than deal with you feeling afraid.

“Oh yeah, go ahead, I don’t sleep with the lights on, I just have some source of light, like my laptop or my TV or something….” You smile mid-sentence, your gaze moving to his, “Thank you though…”

Yoongi nods, returning your smile before flicking off the lights and, approaching the bed. There’s a stirring in your chest as he slides in beside you, heat radiating off of his body as he does. Yoongi feels his anxiety rising once again, unsure of how to deal with all of the feelings inside of him. He wants to hold you, of course he does but, he’s not sure how you feel about him. The two of you were having sex quite a bit, sex that was so good that it left an impression on him.

He knows you like him but, how much? What if you were just having fun?

What if you didn’t feel the same? What if he was just a good time to you? Were you like that? What if-oh…

You move towards him during his internal crisis, your body, soft and sweet smelling, tucks into his. He feels goosebumps form on his arms as your hair touches his bare chest, the annoying organ under his sternum asserting itself once again.

The increase in Yoongi’s heartrate didn’t go unnoticed. You felt it against your cheek as you snuggled into him, a soft smile on your lips. It was hard for you to understand why you affected Yoongi this way; he always seemed so calm and collected. You knew differently however, you knew he was always feeling more than he let on.

“Comfy?” You murmur to him, as your hand rubs gently against his ribs, attempting to reign in his nerves.

Yoongi is annoyed with himself, he doesn’t understand why he reacts so wildly to your touch.

“I…no…I’m sorry, I’m not…” He stutters, cursing himself for making this otherwise sweet moment, incredibly awkward.

Your heart sinks slightly and, you pull away from him, sitting cross legged in the center of the bed, eyes widened in surprise.

“Shit…I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed you wanted…I’m sorry I made you uncomfortable…” You amend, feeling your cheeks heating up in embarrassment.

Yoongi joins you in sitting up, his face twisted in discomfort, he reaches for you then, placing his hand on yours as he shakes his head.

“No…no, it’s not you, you didn’t do anything wrong, I’m just…fuck, I’m sorry…” He wipes a hand over his face and, his cheeks are on fire at this point. “You did nothing wrong, it’s my fault…I’m the one being awkward.”

You accept his hand, your head tilting curiously but, you stay silent, knowing he had more to say.

“I’m not normally like this…I,” He sighs, his free handing wiping over his face, “Everytime I’m around you, I feel like…this feeling about you and, I don’t know how to convey it or…ask for…I don’t know what do…shit, I’m sorry I can just take you home if you want, I understand if you don’t want to stay…”

Your brow furrows then, confusion evident on your features, “Yoongi, I don’t want to leave…just talk to me yeah? What’s going on?”

A breath comes out of his nose then, his chest flushing to match his cheeks, he’s fully embarrassed, he doesn’t even know what the fuck he is trying to say, let alone, how to say it.

“I’m not used to wanting to…do stuff… I guess, I’m sorry…I know its… “He cringes at his confession, regretting every single moment that has recently passed, wishing desperately that he was more casual, like Hoseok, or articulate, like Namjoon. But he wasn’t. He was Yoongi and, Yoongi had spent many years denying his own feelings thus, denying his own desires.

You smile then, everything becoming apparent, a relieved giggle passing your lips. The sound brings Yoongi’s gaze back to yours, his heart stalling momentarily.

“I would hope you still wanted to have sex with me, we’ve only been at it for the past week…” You attempt to joke with him, trying to lighten his mood and lessen his embarrassment.

“You don’t understand though, it’s every time we’re alone, my mind, sometimes, just goes straight to sex and, it feels wrong sometimes...like it’s inappropriate and, when you leave or, when I leave, all I can think about is you and…what we do together and, I’m turned on all the time, I feel like I’m in highs school again...it’s really distracting and, I feel like I’m being…gross” He agonizes, trying to understand why you’re so relaxed.

“Yoongi,” You’re giggling again, scooting closer to him, “there’s nothing gross about wanting someone…I feel the same way about you.”

His expression relaxes slightly, his eyes shifting around, “You do?”

“Yes,” You scoot closer then, your knees touching his as your thumb soothes over his knuckles.

“…I mean, every time we’ve done anything, it’s been because I came onto you so…”

Yoongi’s face turns up then, his body relaxing further as he nods, “I guess you’re right about that but, it’s only because, I don’t know how to…ask for it? Or come onto you? Fuck…I sound ridiculous…”

“Ok that’s it…” You mutter, pushing his hands to the side before nudging him back against his headboard and settling into his lap, your panties against his boxers. He gulps, biting his lip as you do, a smirk sort of playing on his mouth. “You are not ridiculous, or gross, or weird, or anything like that…I like you…”

You kiss his lips then, so soft and sweet, “I want you…I think about you…” You place a kiss on his mouth between each dose of reassurance, your fingers lacing with his. “You don’t have to feel ashamed…”

Yoongi’s breath is picking up slightly, his lips responding against yours, “I don’t want to feel ashamed…I just have so much going on inside my head sometimes…I don’t know what to do with it.”

You nod, understanding very well what that’s like. Moving from his lips, you sit back on his lap, admiring the way he looks illuminated by the light of the TV.

“With me…” You smile at him, your expression softening as the two of you regard one another, he can’t help but return your smile as he feels his anxiety slowly leaving him. “I want you to feel like you can talk to me ok? I know it isn’t easy and, shit gets complicated but, I really want to make you comfortable, this is all new to me too, I’m not expecting anything from you, I just like being with you...”

Your words melt the remainder of Yoongi’s frigid fear, his heart singing in his chest as he pulls you closer against him, “I like being with you too...”

Settling against the warmth of Yoongi’s bare skin, you wrap your hands behind his neck, leaning in to nudge your nose against his, “Cool, so we’re on the same page...”

“I guess...” He mutters stubbornly but, his nervous energy is clearly diminishing as he leans into your lips, a renewed sense of playfulness in his eyes.

“Kiss me you fool...” The dramatic flair in your voice would normally warrant an eye roll from Yoongi but, this time, he just shakes his head, a low chuckle rumbling between the two of you as he presses his lips against yours.

He takes his time, kissing you slowly, his hands still on your hips, squeezing gently as he does. This time, kissing him felt different, you could feel how relaxed he was under your touch, his breath leaving his nose gently as you slide your hands up in his hair. Your nails scratch gently at his scalp whilst Yoongi slowly introduces his tongue to the kiss. You accept him graciously, letting yours play against his. The kiss is dirty, filthy even but, neither of you are rushed to further things along.

Yoongi’s hands explore the skin over your hips, his fingertips admiring the softness, rubbing against your hips. You nudge his nose, nibbling on his bottom lip for a moment before, reconnecting once again. Yoongi’s hardening against you, his boxers stretching over him as he presses himself against your panties. You smirk into his lips knowingly but, say nothing, choosing instead to begin kissing into Yoongi’s neck.

Nuzzling against his neck, you place a few whispery kisses against his skin, taking time to find the spot that makes him shiver the most. His breath hitches slightly as your lips reach the apex of his neck, near the beginning of his collar bone.

“I...” He stutters out the syllable, an inquiry heavy on his tongue, his dick plumping further in his boxers. “Can you...bite me?”

His voice is low, shaky but, certain, the rasp in his tone going straight to your clit. You nod, dragging your teeth gently against his neck, causing another shiver to run through him, his heart picking up in his chest.

Testing the waters, you bite down on him gently, your lips suctioning against his skin. You feel his hips rise up slightly at your motions, his head lulling back against his headboard, providing you better access.

“Harder...” He doesn’t ask this time, his dick fully erect against your panties, mouth agape.

You smirk to yourself before giving him what he wants and, sinking your teeth into his skin. Not hard enough to draw blood but, pretty damn close. You suckle his sensitive skin into your mouth, laving against it with your tongue, knowing full well that your motions will leave a mark.

“shit...wait...I…oh fuck...” Yoongi’s breathy voice, desperate and wanton, claws its way out of his chest, his hips stuttering beneath you, his hands clutching yours. His boxers were sticky against the inner parts of your thighs, the sensation causing you to pull back, alarmed. Yoongi lets out another breath, his head thrown back in pleasure, his cheeks dusty pink with embarrassment.

You bite your lip, watching him in disbelief, wrapping your brain around the fact that he had just cum from you biting his neck.

“Shit, shit…I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I didn’t…” His breathless, his chocolate eyes widened in shock as he comes down from a pretty powerful orgasm. Yoongi is mortified and, quite sure that if you didn’t want to leave before, you would definitely want to leave now.

“Shhh…” You whisper, moving in towards his mouth, capturing his lips. Shaky breath escapes his nose as he cautiously kisses you back, his whole body feeling rather sensitive.

“I’m…I’m sorry, I’m really sorry…I don’t know what happened, I just felt your teeth and…” He’s stuttering at this point, his words swallowed against your kisses until you finally break away from him, giggling as you do. Your eyes hold all the fondness in the world as you bring your hands up to hold his cheeks.

“Why are you apologizing for cumming?”

“I…I don’t know, you didn’t finish or, we didn’t fu…” He trails off, narrowing his eyes at you, “See? You’re laughing at me, oh my god, I’m so fucking lame, please just leave me here to wither away and die…”

Your giggles grow in volume then as you try to resist the urge to pinch his cheeks that are now squish between your palms, “I’m not laughing at you... listen to me…”

Yoongi is full on pouting between your hands, his own hands bracing themselves against your hips, feeling slightly uncomfortable in his now, sticky boxers.

“You aren’t lame…” You assure him, a smile lingering on your lips, “you’re fucking hot and all we need to do is get you hard again but, we can’t do that if you wither away and die can we?”

Yoongi snorts his eyes shifting from side to side before finding yours again. He can feel himself plumping up at the mention of you getting him hard and, although he’s thoroughly embarrassed, he doesn’t doubt your ability to do so.

“No, we can’t…” He agrees, cat eyes peering deep into yours as he lets out another breath.

“I don’t want to hear you criticizing yourself anymore, understand?” The tone you use is firmer than normal and, Yoongi perks up at the sound of it, nodding eagerly in response. You smirk, your suspicions slowly being confirmed one by one. “Say it aloud…”

“I..I understand…” He breaths, eyes completely locked onto yours

“Good boy…” You whisper against his lips before pressing a gentle kiss to them

Yoongi feels his heart skip a beat at the nickname, his dick continuing to swell in his boxers.

He’s never recovered from an orgasm so fast but, the way you’re talking to him, the way you’re ordering him around, it’s doing something to him.

A smirk finds its way onto your lips, “You like that don’t you?”

He nods again, rendered speechless, he’s captivated, his embarrassment diminishing once again.

“Do you want to be my good boy Yoongi?” Still smirking, you take his lip between your teeth, the movement causing him to let out another, sharper breath, his body turning to puddy beneath you.

“Yes…” His voice is muffled by your teeth, his nipples hardening at the sound of your voice. It was still you but, something had shifted, you sounded so powerful, so sure, and so fucking sexy.

“I’ve had my suspicions about you…” You release his lip, hands releasing his face and moving to his hands that we’re now clutching on your hips. Lacing your hands with his, you bring them above his head, pinning them against his head board, pressing his skin into the wooden bars. Yoongi feels a whimper at the back of his throat, his neck stretching to watch the movement of your hands, gritting his teeth lightly.

“The night I dyed your hair, you whimpered when I tugged on it, when we fucked in your car, you gave yourself to me so willingly, the other night, you came so hard when I scratched you…” You’re listing out the bits of evidence and, Yoongi’s eyes close, overwhelmed by you, shaky breath escaping his nose. When he opens them, they’re black with desire, wide with submission, his gaze goes straight to your pussy. “…and now, you came just from me biting your neck…”

“I like pain…” He blurts out, his voice trembling but assured, dark eyes still staring into yours. There’s no shame in his explanation, his inhibition slowly shredding with each passing moment. “I know you do…” A giggle passes your lips as you press his wrists harder into the wooden bars.

“It makes me really hard…when I jack off, I dig my nails into my thigh, sometimes I choke myself too…bet you didn’t fucking know that did you?”

His challenging you, he knows it. He wants to rile you up, he wants to let go for once…

He wants to get fucked up.

For the moment, you’re speechless, not expecting Yoongi to be so forward. He was usually quiet, subdued, even shy when the two of you went at it. You had never seen the wild look currently in his eyes, you want more of it.

“ Doesn’t surprise me…” You counter glancing behind you, toward his closet, trying to figure out your next move. “ Do you have a tie or something?”

Yoongi smirks, knowing full well what you were thinking, “Are you planning on tying me up Y/N?”

The sound of your name sounds sinful on his plushy mouth and before you can answer, Yoongi speaks up again,

“The only way I’m letting you tie me up is if you use those panties you’re wearing, which I’m pretty sure are soaking wet by now…”

His request throws you for a moment and, your mouth falls agape momentarily, a detail that doesn’t go unnoticed by him and, this time his smirk grows, his head cocking to the side, eyes still taunting yours.

“Ask me nicely then and, you might get what you want…” Your breathing is growing slightly uneven. Yes, you were very comfortable fucking Yoongi into next week but, this, the way he was talking, was new territory for you.

He wasn’t wrong though, your panties were soaked…

“Y/N?” His eyes go wide with innocence now but, his tone is still taunting, “Will you please tie me up with your panties?”

Biting your lip, you snap, releasing his wrists before moving off of his lap, slipping off of your panties and, straddling his waist yet again.

“Wrists up…” You order and, he obliges, still smirking and, as you hold your panties on your fingers you return his smirk, leaning down momentarily, brushing your lips against his, “By the time I’m finished with you, you’re gonna be so fucked out that you won’t remember anything but, the way my pussy feels around you…”

Yoongi gulps, his smirk faltering as he opens his mouth, leaning up against your lips but, you don’t respond, choosing instead to pull away. He sighs at the loss of contact, obsidian eyes shooting up to where his wrists are, watching intently as you use your panties to tie him to his headboard.

You sit back on him, admiring the way his body looks, stretched out and vulnerable to you, his cheeks and chest flushed, his nipples hardened, his stomach trembling as you run your nails over his hips.

“You said you liked pain right?” You whisper, eyes sultry as they hold his, your fingers moving delicately over his skin.

He nods, hips rising slightly against your touch, his dick painfully hard in his boxers, “Yes…”

“How does this feel then?” You dig your nails into his pale skin, scratching hard over his hips, leaving aggravated ruby marks with your movements.

Yoongi throws his head back, a gasp leaving his lips, his eyes shutting tightly as he nods again, “Good…do it again please…”

You want to admonish him for demanding you but, you don’t want to discourage his newly found confidence so, instead, you oblige. Dragging your nails over his ribs this time, you press harder, scratching him all the way down to the band of his boxers. Yoongi shivers, his face turning up in a mix of agony and pure pleasure, a smile appearing on his lips.

“Holy…fucking shit…” He chuckles, his vision going hazy as he tries to focus on you, the sensations in his body overwhelming him. His lips are wet, his dark gaze flitting between your hands and your face, “I’m so hard right now…”

“I can feel that, you’re twitching around underneath me…” You quip, fingertips brushing over his clothed length, the motion causing him to jump slightly.

“I don’t think I can wait anymore…I feel like I’m gonna cum again and, I want to last for you…” He sounds slightly panicky, his breath picking up as you start to grind against his dick, your bare pussy pressing into his boxers. “Please…please fuck me…”

You bite your lip, smiling down at him, rolling your hips against him once again, a low whimper breaking past his swollen lips as you do.

“Do you think you’ve earned that Yoongi? Do you think you’ve earned my pussy?” You whisper, grinding against him again and, you can only imagine how raw his wrists must be from how hard he’s been fighting against his ties.

He shakes his head vigorously, his expression growing smaller, staring up at you, adoration creeping into his gaze, “I could never do enough to earn your pussy jagi…”

The words hit you like a ton of bricks, your stomach dropping as you lean down to his lips, kissing him suddenly. He responds, his lips eager as he moans into your mouth, his arms burning from how much his straining but, he couldn’t give less of a fuck.

“That was a good answer…” You giggle and he returns the sentiment, chuckling into your mouth.

“I meant it…”

You tug his boxers down his legs, resisting the urge to take his swollen length into your mouth. His dick is pulsing with arousal, some of it still covered in his previous orgasm. Yoongi couldn’t recall a time where he had been so hard in his life, his brain filled with nothing but, you

“Don’t cum until I say…” You assert, stroking him in your palm before lining him up at your entrance, your pussy aching to be filled by him.

Through his whimpering, he nods, his hips raising against yours, completely desperate for you, “I’ll be good for you jagi, I swear…just please, I can’t wait any longer.”

So, you oblige, slowly sinking down onto him, taking every bit of him that you can, the feeling sending a sinking feeling into your stomach.

“Shit…” He gasps, sweat forming on his forehead, his gaze zeroing in on where the two of you are joined, the sight alone making him drool.

Your nipples harden under your t-shirt and, you take the opportunity to pull it off, exposing the rest of you to Yoongi’s hungry gaze. The sight of you fucks him up everytime, his gaze being pulled from your cunt to the rest of you, his eyes looking up at you in awe.

The pace on his dick quickens, causing both of you to be short of breath, his length curving up in just the right place, white hot pleasure wickedly coursing throughout your body.

“You’re so fucking pretty...” Yoongi’s shaky voice makes your clit throb, your hands coming down to brace against his injured hips as you start riding him faster.

He’s staring at your face now, not even glancing toward the rest of your body, his tone certain and unyielding, “You know that right? You know how pretty I think you are right?”

Yoongi will admit, he’s not thinking clearly, his logic is out to lunch, everything about you turning his brain to mush.

“You should look in a mirror sometime…” You quip, meeting his intense gaze. The resolve within you as breaking as it usually does and, you already feel yourself nearing the edge.

“I can’t believe it…I can’t believe I have someone so pretty…riding my dick so fucking good, I must have been a good boy huh? To get so lucky?” Yoongi is blabbering at this point, his eyes going in out of focus, the corners of them collecting moisture and, he feels like he’s gonna cry if he doesn’t cum soon. Then again, he feels like he’d cry regardless…

“You’re the best boy Yoongi…you deserve to feel this good all the time, I want to make you feel good all the time…will you let me? Can I keep fucking you this good?”

Hips are frantic now, your clit begging for attention, throbbing and buzzing between your legs and, you finally give in, the pads of your fingers rubbing against it, the motion causing you to tighten around Yoongi’s length.

His eyes bug out then, your words and the tightness of your cunt becoming too much, “Y/n please, please can I cum, please, I can’t…I…”

“Cum for me baby…” You whimper, your resolve breaking completely as you feel yourself tip over the edge, your head falling back on your shoulders as your pace picks up fully, the sound of skin smacking on skin echoing throughout the room.

“Thank you jagi...fuck thank you so much…”

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Roughly fifteen minutes later, the two of you are curled up under the duvet, your fingers gently applying cream to Yoongi’s shaky hands. His expression is one of pure bliss as he lets you tend to him, his heart melting as you press a kiss to each of his wrists.

“Thank you. “ You murmur, as you finish rubbing the cream into Yoongi’s raw skin, biting your lip as carefully tend to the more sensitive spots.

Yoongi watches you fondly, admiring the way you look, face flushed, glowing under the light of his TV. His brow furrows, voice still not 100%, “For what?”

“For tonight, for sharing more of yourself, I really appreciate everything you told me…everything…” You smirk, catches his glance for a moment before giggling, returning to what you’re doing.

“I don’t think I’ve ever felt this comfortable before so, you should be thanking yourself…” He insists, returning your smirk before leaning in and, kissing you, his lips taking you off guard.

“I’m happy you feel so comfortable then…” You amend, giggling against his lips as he pecks you over and over, your hands coming up to hold his cheeks.

“Stay in the morning yeah? I want to make breakfast…” He insists, smiling softly as he pulls you closer to him.

“Can I have it in bed?”

He smirks, leaning towards your lips, mischief in his eyes, “I’ve made it pretty clear that you can have whatever you want in bed…”

You giggle again, kissing him, pushing his disheveled blonde hair to the side, “ I’m holding you to that…”

“Good.”

Good: the biggest understatement of all time.

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avaantares · 4 years

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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.

#final fantasy vii #final fantasy vii: remake #ff7:r #final fantasy 7: remake #ff7 remake #video games #long post #review

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furornocturna · 5 years

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More Werecat AU

Because I have no restraint, and here I am sharing more of this. Now this is for the context of the story I plan to write for this idea. It still stands that anyone else who wants to use it and take their own creative liberties for the mythos is still free to do so. Feel free to also use my ideas below if you wish so long as you credit me. ANYWAYS

There are indeed other supernatural entities that exist out in the world. The focus will be on Werecats and their rivals, the more well known Werewolves, for the story

Werewolves = most powerful and most primal under full moons, weaker but most lucid under new moons

Werecats = strongest and most controlled under new moons, most primal and destructive under full moons; there is no abject “weakness” under any moon or night conditions as cats in this world are a bit more in-tuned with night activity than wolves are, but with the drawback of werecats being a greater disadvantage during the day than werewolves if the members can voluntarily control their transformations

The most sacred lunar phenomenon to Werecats is the Lunar Eclipse, also known as Harvest or Blood Moons from the crimson coloring. It is the one time a full moon grants a Werecat more power than a new moon, and it not only “supercharges” their abilities under its light for the duration but will also grant an overall “upgrade” going forth if the ritual is performed right. Conversely, solar eclipses have a similar supercharging effect on werewolves to no benefit of Werecats, which greatly detriment it instead (lunar eclipses have no beneficial effect on werewolves as well as greatly detriment their power), but no solid ability upgrade ritual is known as solar eclipses are rarer phenomenon to perform such

Werecat abilities include powerful fangs, heightened strength, speed, stamina, durability, dexterity, senses; in addition they also have heightened agility/flexibility, hunting skills, smell/sight/night vision/hearing, sharper claws, and longevity superior to that of werewolves; both have a partial accelerated healing factor, which is augmented by their saliva, and as werecats constantly groom themselves with their tongues, the saliva layers on their coats provide additional shielding/boosted healing effects

Werewolves vulnerable to wolfsbane, silver, the usual; Werecats can be mortally injured by gold (burning them akin to how silver is to werewolves) and electricity (which is why Joxter is wary of Hattifatteners and is both horrified and impressed by hearing about Snufkin’s encounters with them); while catnip is not fatal, it is an egregiously potent drug that causes intense highs, and if used recreationally, is to be done so in a safe, controlled environment and for at least one (capable) party to be sober to reign in any unruliness – valerian leaves/roots, silver vine/matatabi, and Tatarian honeysuckle wood will also produce such effects (Joxter can at times be very loose with this ‘rule’ on his own, but is very firm about safety when letting Snufkin try them because they can be addicting and while it would take an absurd amount, Werecats can still die from overdoses, especially young ones); mountain-ashes/Rowan trees are harmful/deadly to werewolves, but is symbolic and sacred to werecats, who as vagabonds in nature can utilize the “wayfarer/traveler’s tree” in a multitude of ways; Werecats are also particularly vulnerable to supernatural poisons/venoms, like the poisoned claws of Fennoscandian werewolves or basilisk venom

Full-fledged and fledgling Werecats by default have two additional feline transformations apart from their “humanoid” forms (in Joxter and Snufkin’s cases, they’re referred to as “mumrik forms”); these transformations are a domestic-sized cat and the “hulking ass cat beast”. Joxter’s forms have a rich, deep pure black coloring and icy blue eyes, his cat form the size of a small nightstand while his beast form is at least ten feet tall. As a fledgling, Snufkin’s are both considerably smaller. In fact, until he becomes a full-adult at 100, his cat form will be a spotted brown kitten and his beast form, while still much larger is still kitten-sized that is dwarfed by his father’s with slightly darker shades. Also while transformed, Snufkin’s brown eyes become a striking gold.

With magic and lunar eclipse rituals, Werecats can obtain other additional transformations that are separate or enhance the qualities of their default transformations. For example, being able to switch fur patterns/colorings or coat thickness, height, muscle and bone bulk for greater brute strength or speed, or have another transformed disguise if another is too recognizable/is being searched for. Joxter has obtained at least a dozen over the course of his lifetime.

Joxter is old. Like, pretty damn old. Like several centuries to maybe a millennium or two old (he sorta lost count after 600). Where Joxter is in his life, there isn’t much else that would invoke a transformation without him willing it outside of full moons, high emotional/adrenal responses, and a third-party magical influence (but even with that last one, Joxter’s developed a decent willpower resistance towards the majority of what he would encounter at his present stage) that his total experience hasn’t allowed him to overcome

Snufkin on the other hand, as a new fledgling, has a LOT more involuntary transformation triggers than he won’t have the control to prevent yet for some time. Alongside the aforementioned of what will cause forced full transformations in Joxter, Snufkin will be vulnerable to them via most nights were the moon is visible during any phase, and even during new moons when Werecat forms/powers are the most stable will not be able to avoid full-transformations at first. In addition, uncontrollable partial transformations are an issue both day and night during the waxing lunar cycles (though to a lesser extent, also waning if he’s emotionally high-strung during it), and whenever he slips deeply into more feline instinctive behaviors, which also are more prominent and hard to curb as a fledgling. Think how adolescents start producing a hella lot of hormones as they go through puberty.

Around the time of the fic, Snufkin over the course of a month leading up to his actual birthday (he doesn’t remember the real date and Moomin insisted on picking out a day for them to celebrate it, which turns out to only be a few days earlier than the correct date) starts having the partial transformations and heightened feline mannerisms (for the latter, he’s showcased those traits all his life, but they’ve been more subtle and inhibited prior to this point minus his “newborn kitten years” [age birth-6yo] that he doesn’t remember until after reuniting with Joxter). This latest birthday is when Snufkin becomes “of age” in Werecat terms (between his early to mid twenties), where his kittenhood ends and enters the fledgling or “adolescence” stage begins, starting with his Werecat transformations first emerge. So yeah, Snufkin ends up going through two puberties more or less.

Werecat ‘coming of age’ early adolescence is MESSY and DANGEROUS for anyone who doesn’t know how to train the new fledglings to use their newfound abilities. Joxter may not know much about how Snufkin has changed over the years, but by the scents young kiddo gives off around other people, Joxter can at least tell he has friendly relations with a lot of the valley denizens, and takes Snufkin because if he doesn’t isolate them from the others, there will be carnage and someone will get hurt. Joxter does not want his son to hurt those he cares about in his uncontrollable primal states or live with the guilt of learning he hurt someone when he was in unsound mind after regaining awareness. So he more or less ends up kidnapping him the eve of Snufkin’s birthday after discovering him while Joxter’s travels brought him to Moominvalley…and struggles to keep said-son-who-doesn’t-know-he’s-my-son quarantined somewhere secluded until the worst of the adjusting is over and Snufkin learns control

So yeah, that’s what I have so far. Hope you like!

#werecat joxter #werecat au #joxter #cat dad #snufkin #more ramblings

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tinycartridge · 5 years

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Approaching Infinity ⊟

[Guest writer Caroline Delbert brings us a fully unexpected article that manages to be both philosophical exploration and interview-based journalism, at the same time. I couldn’t be happier to share this piece! Find more from Caroline at her Twitter and Medium. -jc]

We live in a golden age of computing power. Our games are filled with giant procgen worlds and RNGs and thousands of ticking background variables. The math is surpassing human ability far faster than we can grasp, and we’ve, I think correctly, put it to work making the grass in Stardew Valley so fun to swoosh through with a sword. But the idea of infinity horrifies people more than almost anything else and remains as confusing and terrifying as ever. As our games get closer to endlessly detailed, I chose four designers who’ve worked on four of my favorite games of the last few years, all with totally different ways of using space, time, and more to give the feeling of an infinite playspace. I’ve also been spelunking the idea of infinity itself and why it makes us feel so uncomfortable and intrigued.

We Contain Multitudes

What is infinity? We aren’t born with an understanding of the idea of something that never ends. Psychology researcher Ruma Falk put together existing studies about infinity. “[C]hildren of ages 8-9 and on seem to understand that numbers do not end, but it takes quite a few more years to fully conceive, not only the infinity of numbers, but also the infinite difference between the set of numbers and any finite set.” You could spend your entire life counting out loud and get to 2 billion. But in calculus, which is all about approaching infinity, a billion is rounded down to zero. An average 2019 computer could count to a billion in about two seconds, depending on the code you wrote. That’s how tiny a billion still is. Falk calls the distance between our human billions and the idea of infinity an “abyssal gap.”

When I talked with Immortal Rogue developer Kyle Barrett about this project, he mentioned Jorge Luis Borges’s famous short story “The Library of Babel.” Borges imagined an infinite-seeming library of books filled with random combinations of letters and punctuation. He sets out 25 total characters and 410 pages. I averaged a few lines from David Foster Wallace’s primer on infinity, Everything and More, which had 57.5 characters per line. For just two lines of, say, 50 characters each, there are over six googol possible versions: that’s a 6 with 100 zeroes after it, for just two lines of a book of 410 pages. The largest math Excel let me do was for about four lines total, which became 3 with 300 zeroes after it.

Philosopher Daniel Dennett has spent decades writing about how humans think about problems and ideas. His 2013 book Intuition Pumps is filled with helpful analogies, including a spin on the Library of Babel. “Since it is estimated that there are only 10040 particles in the region of the universe we can observe, the Library of Babel is not remotely a physically possible object,” Dennett explained. But despite containing far more books than the possible volume of our entire region of space, that number of books is still a real number, not infinite! The takeaway from all this, and then I swear I’ll stop talking about math, is that nothing we can measure in real life is truly infinite. Infinity is a pure concept reserved for mathematicians and philosophers.

Playing with Time: Immortal Rogue

In Kyle Barrett’s 2019 mobile game Immortal Rogue, you begin in prehistory and fight your way through progressive eras in chunks of 100 years. But time is a flat circle, and eventually your progress is bombed back into preagricultural oblivion. The mechanics of Barrett’s game are fun and satisfying and I can’t recommend Immortal Rogue strongly enough, but the framework of endless time is what got my attention.

“It’s not really infinite,” Barrett explained. “It’s a matrix that loops every time you reach the end of it. There’s an x-axis that’s based on time, basically—it goes from agricultural to pre-industrial to the industrial era to the computational era and space age, so time based on human technological development, and if you get too far into the space era you’re gonna destroy the world and go back to the preagricultural era. Then there’s a y-axis that is based on authoritarian control in the world, so at the bottom you have anarchy, at the top you have fascism, and if you go too far into fascism you’ll get anarchy because people will rebel.”

I said I wouldn’t talk about math again, but Barrett brought it up this time. A matrix is just a grid. The Matrix is something else, but if you’ve ever done a “Sally has a blue hat and wasn’t born in March”-style logic puzzle, you’ve used a matrix. There’s also a proper math definition of a matrix and a whole field of operations we do to those matrices, collectively called abstract algebra.

Barrett’s matrix of time and authority determines the overall feel of the levels, but each one is procedurally generated after that. His day job is in mainstream game development, and he originally shopped the idea for Immortal Rogue as the system to power an AAA game. “You can imagine any AAA game with that kind of variety in environment would cost just too much money to make,” Barrett says. “It was a game concept that I had pitched to studios earlier as a sort of introduction piece—not necessarily to make the game, because I know that doesn’t happen, but as far as getting into the industry.”

The way Barrett combined his basic variables means Immortal Rogue does feel endless. My longest life so far is 800 years, and Barrett says a complete cycle in which you beat the game can take anywhere from 1,000 to 4,000 years. I’d love to tell you I believe I’ll beat the game at some point and see that full cycle. I’ll keep trying, at least.

Immortality and Endless Time

Would you want to live forever? This is one of the major philosophical questions that underpins western thought and especially the Christian form of the afterlife. Heaven and hell are each presented as an eternity, but again we run into Dr. Ruma Falk’s findings about how humans conceive of an infinite period of time. “One does not get closer to infinity by advancing the counting sequence because there is no way to approach infinity. Nowhere does the very big merge into the infinite.” If the lifetime of the planet Earth were condensed to one year, humans have lived for less than 30 minutes. We balk at the length of lives of record-setting elders who were born just a few years after the 19th century: imagine living that entire time and then living it again and again for literally forever. Our earthly understanding of time, and how our earthly brains process information, just isn’t compatible with thinking about living forever.

For many people, God or another higher power is the only way that infinity can make sense. In turn, a much longer afterlife helps to also make sense of how tiny and fleeting our earthly lives can feel. In the potentially infinite scale of time, our lives are the meager billions. They round down to zero, and it definitely feels that way sometimes. Falk cites 17th century mathematician Blaise Pascal, himself a late-in-life convert to Christianity and the trope namer of Pascal’s Wager. During Pascal’s lifetime, infinity was still a scandalous idea and a wedge issue for mathematicians and theologians. “When I consider the short duration of my life, swallowed up in an eternity before and after, the little space I fill engulfed in the infinite immensity of spaces whereof I know nothing, and which know nothing of me, I am terrified,” Pascal wrote. “The eternal silence of these infinite spaces frightens me.”

In her memoir Living with a Wild God, journalist Barbara Ehrenreich describes grappling with the same problems as an isolated teenager in the 1950s. “I didn’t think much about the future when I was a child—who does?” she writes. “But to the extent that I did imagine a future, it held an ever-widening range for my explorations—more hills and valleys, shorelines and dunes. […] The idea that there might be a limit to my explorations, a natural cutoff in the form of death, was slow to dawn on me.”

Randomizing Infinity: Alphabear & Alphabear 2

Game designer Pat Kemp worked on both 2015’s Alphabear and 2018’s Alphabear 2 at Spry Fox. Both have the same core word game, a fresh take on the classic Bookworm where you have to spell words from rapidly deteriorating letter tiles. Unlike in Scrabble and its knockoffs, rare letters don’t have higher point values. And into the mix you throw dozens of different collectible bears, each with a total score multiplier and a specific boost like a bonus for 5-letter words or preventing all Xs and Zs. Both games are free to play with in-app purchases. In Alphabear 2, Spry Fox took the mechanic of the first game and added a linear story, multiple difficulty levels, and a host of other features. Playing the game feels like getting an upgrade at the rental-car place and realizing you have heated side mirrors. I didn’t ask for them, but I love them and now I need them. But why did the second Alphabear get so much bigger?

“I hope this answer isn’t disappointing to you, but the first Alphabear, although it’s a lovely game we’re very proud of and was critically well received and we got lots of features and good reviews, wasn’t much of a financial success for us,” Kemp told me. So Spry Fox went into development of Alphabear 2 with goals to convert more users into purchasers and more purchasers into multiple-purchasers. “The decision-making around making it into a world, and a linear campaign, and building out all the different features […] was creating this rich, interwoven progression system that players can feel invested in and value. Basically how you monetize a free-to-play game is, people play your game for weeks and months and come to really value things in the game.”

In the first Alphabear, each chapter had a set of collectible bears that quickly eclipsed the power of the previous chapter’s bears. “And you would almost never go back and use bears from earlier chapters, just because of the way it was set up,” Kemp says. “So you had this weird ‘disposable’ feel to bears. It was cool when you unlocked them, but the game was telling you, ‘You’re done with that bear, here’s some new bears.’” Now, the bears accumulate over time as one big group, and you can continue to level them up as high as you want, but your progress is paced by how quickly you regenerate in-game energy in the form of honey.

After a certain chapter in the Normal campaign, players can begin again on Hard mode, and then after a later chapter, they can begin Master mode. I don’t know the full length of the basic campaign, but I’m probably 100 levels in and somewhere in chapter 9 on Normal mode. The scope of the whole thing including all three difficulties is staggering, and the game had been out for just seven months when I talked with Kemp. “Have people finished the amount of content you’ve made so far?” I asked. “We know of at least one person who’s completed the master-level campaign,” he said. When I said I was surprised, Kemp said, “Every game developer I know has this experience where they’re surprised by some small portion of their fanbase that is just so into it that it defies all expectations.”

In this case, the fastest player ended up lapping the development team. “It was so far off that we had planned to build whatever happened when you did that later on,” Kemp said. “They sent us a picture of their screen of the campaign board, and all it was was just a black screen, because it was trying to load the next campaign board, which doesn’t exist. We were like, ‘Oh my god, we didn’t even put anything in there, and it looks kinda like you’re in purgatory or something.’” Spry Fox plans to replace the Sopranos non-ending.

Purgatory or Something

Earlier this year, I talked with my friend Tristan about his existential dread. He’s pretty fresh out of college and still figuring it all out. “I was going to write about games,” he said, “and as I entered my last year or so, I was going to write about movies. I don’t know if I’m still going to do that, so that’s a large part of the dread. Not knowing what I was actually doing.” Humans can’t conceive of infinity using numbers, but we can use our pessimistic imaginations. Our set of plausible options is no match for what we dream or panic about.

Christian existentialist Søren Kierkegaard wrote about dread and fear of the unknown in his 1844 book The Concept of Anxiety, where the Danish word angest could be translated as “anxiety” or “dread”. Using the story of Adam and Eve, Kierkegaard posits that anxiety dates back to a fraction of a second after original sin. “The terror here is simply anxiety,” Kierkegaard writes, “since Adam has not understood what was said.” In other words, like a pet in trouble, Adam didn’t know what was being told to him, but he understood it was bad from the tone of voice.

“Anxiety can be compared with dizziness,” Kierkegaard goes on. “He whose eye happens to look into the yawning abyss becomes dizzy. But what is the reason? It is just as much his own eye as the abyss, for suppose he had not looked down.” Those who think about Dr. Ruma Falk’s “abyssal gap” between the finite and infinity may be dizzy forever with the uncertainty of what they’re pondering. “A persistent pursuit of the infinite may bring the individual to a blind alley, both emotionally and intellectually,” Falk writes. His analogy isn’t an accident. A blind alley is like another famous philosophical idea, Schrodinger’s cat: without shining a light, we can never know if the alley is empty or full, terrible or fine. And we can never shine that light.

Infinite Reality: Telling Lies & Her Story

At 2018’s E3 conference, Sam Barlow appeared on a panel about the future of narrative. “People will write to me and say, ‘I haven’t played a game in twenty years, and I played Her Story,’” Barlow said. “Or ‘My daughter installed it on my iPhone for me.’” It makes sense: Her Story’s core mechanic is as simple as a YouTube search, and the game is set in 1994, with a Windows 3.1 aesthetic to match. The game also fits with Barlow’s career arc. His 1999 XYZZY-winning interactive fiction Aisle gives players just one chance to type any command before reaching one of the game’s dozens of endings, placing players in a finite setting that even feels claustrophobic, but setting before them seemingly limitless possibilities. He was a natural fit to lead two Silent Hill games after that, and he views Her Story as the surprisingly successful “one chance” he had to make a successful indie game.

“This is something I’ve pitched so many times to publishers, with the rationale that in every other medium, crime fiction, police procedurals, murder mysteries, detective stories—if you have a TV channel and a film company, you’re gonna have a few stories in that world because it consistently works,” Barlow told me. “Games publishers were never into the idea. They felt like the things that sold in video games were power fantasies and superhero stories.” Barlow chose to home in on the interrogation room both as a convenient single setting and the place where his interest in crime stories was naturally drawn. “I wasn’t trying to do the police chases and locations and all those elements which would be expensive, but also, I was zooming in on the dialogue and the interactions and the human side of it,” he said, citing the groundbreaking ‘90s show Homicide: Life on the Street and its Emmy-winning bottle episode “Three Men and Adena.”

“I did a ton of research, reading the interrogation manuals for detectives, academic studies and pieces about the psychology of the interview room, a ton of crime books, movies with notable interrogation scenes and police interviews. This was slightly ahead of the true crime wave that we’ve had since, so I was discovering there’s so much footage online of real-life interviews and interrogations that has been released or leaked,” Barlow told me. “One day, as these things do, I woke up and went for a walk, and my subconscious—which is far cleverer than I am—put all the pieces and all the research I’d been doing together. [T]he detective’s sat at a computer, and there’s always the twist where they stay up all night sat at the computer and then they find that one little bit of information or the one piece of evidence that will break the case.”

Her Story is made of hundreds of discrete video clips, divided into main character Hannah Smith’s answers to an unseen detective’s questions. For his upcoming game Telling Lies, Barlow brought the setting forward into the Skype era and is introducing new mechanical twists to match. “To some extent Her Story was about giving you the writer’s perspective into a story, and here it’s giving you some of that editing room insight, where you spend so much time with the footage, choosing whether to cut out on this frame or that frame,” Barlow said. Instead of separate clips, Telling Lies gives you long, uncut videos that show both sides of a Skype call that you can scrub through—meaning drag the progress bar searching for highlights. “Not only are you coming at these stories in a nonlinear way, but also within a given scene you might end up watching it backwards.”

The text side of searching has also evolved. Because the videos aren’t separated into clips, searching for a specific word drops you into a video at that exact place. “Those conversations are split into two parts, so you can only see one side of a conversation at a time. You have the full seven minutes in front of you and you get dropped in to the point where someone says the word [or] phrase you've searched for,” Barlow said. “So early on, if you search for the word ‘love,’ you get dropped into a moment when Kerry [Bishé’s] character says, ‘Love you!’ and hangs up.”

Including Her Story and now Telling Lies in a group of very big-feeling games runs into a funny obstacle, because they’re both made of a very finite number of minutes of video. Her Story even has Steam achievements linked with what percentage of the total clips you’ve discovered and watched. “Something like 20% of people 100%-ed it. For most games you’re lucky if 20% of people finish the game. It had a display that showed you all the clips you hadn’t seen—that was an incentive and somewhat maddening if you could see there were clips you hadn’t seen. My approach with Telling Lies was to make it so big and huge and messy and colorful that it would feel less like something you could 100%, because I really wanted people to lose themselves in just the joy of exploring these characters’ lives.”

Just Out of Reach

Even with the incentive to find all the clips, in Her Story I found myself revisiting clips I’d already seen as I tried to find new keywords or listen for clues, and I maxed out just past the 75% achievement. The rest eluded me. With Telling Lies, this one kind of mystery will be removed, and that’s a blow against infinitude. In the perfect world of pure mathematics, having one more item just out of reach is one of the fundamental ways we can make proofs of infinite ideas. This structured approach also helps us turn the overwhelming idea of infinity into, at least right now, the one step in front of us. It’s infinity in the form of a child asking a parent for just five more minutes of sleep, then asking for five more, for eternity.

In Daniel Dennett’s book Intuition Pumps he uses this idea as an illustration for why infinity just can’t exist in real life. If every animal evolved from another animal, then there are infinity animals stretching back into infinity long ago, always with one preceding. We know that’s just not true. On the other hand, a study of how children process infinity showed that knowing the names of some large numbers made children think those were the largest numbers. Learning named ideas pushed out the very idea of having unnamed ideas, which makes sense given how large and robust our language brains are. Being strong, clear communicators has shaped our brains and the societies we form as humans. If we all became existentially troubled abstraction peddlers, I don’t think that would necessarily be a step forward.

To consider infinity with a finite mind is a paradox, and as Dr. Ruma Falk explains, “Mathematicians and philosophers are often no less addicted to resolving these paradoxes than some adolescents are to experiencing the limits of existence.” Like the Library of Babel, an infinite world is made mostly of incoherent and random nonsense, compared with a human mind that can only remember its own history in cohesive story form. My friend Martin has a rich life and a beautiful family, and he told me, “My personal greatest fear is probably losing my mind. The idea of being unable to make sense of the world is horrifying.” In fact, studies show that we’re more able to tune out conversations we can overhear both sides of than those where we can hear just one side—this is how deep our need for clear narratives runs, and it’s why we’re not made for an infinite world.

Infinite Liminal: Sunless Sea & Cultist Simulator

In February of 2019, Alexis Kennedy addressed something that had grown beyond his reach, and his post was the catalyst for what eventually became this essay. On the Weather Factory blog, where the developer typically shares updates to 2018’s Cultist Simulator, Kennedy described an alternate reality game (ARG) called Enigma that he’s built into his work—not just Cultist Simulator but 2015’s Sunless Sea and even 2009’s Fallen London. In the Enigma post, he sums up the appeal this mystery seems to have to fans: “If you’re working through things and looking for meaning in your life, then all the hidden meanings in this project may look like they add up to something more important than they actually do.”

I love Kennedy’s work—if we’re friends, you’ve probably heard me talk about it—and while I’ve never mistaken him for a guru, his games have affected and stayed with me more than anything else I’ve ever played. He’s gifted with language, stuffing his work with plausible and evocative neologisms or uncommon historical terms. But his more powerful gift lies in what he chooses to reveal and how long you must wait for it. I’ve thought often of something my friend Diana said nearly twenty years ago, about traveling with other people and seeing their luggage: “They wonder what I’m taking, but I wonder what they’re leaving behind.” I constantly wonder what Alexis Kennedy is leaving behind.

“Gamers tend to be—to borrow a phrase of Mike Laidlaw's—more like dogs than cats in the way they consume content. If the core loop is even moderately compelling, they'll gorge on content and rush through it,” Kennedy told me via email. “As soon as players are doing that, they'll skim text, and if they're going to skim text, text had better not be your A feature. I constantly skim quest text in games, and I'm a narrative junkie. So pacing is a way of saying: hold on, appreciate this, take your time with it.” In both Fallen London and Sunless Sea, one variable shuffles what day it is, so you receive different flavor text or events even when you’re repeating actions or storylines. “I don't think I ever quite recovered from the initial terror, back in 2009, of seeing players consume Fallen London content literally ten times as fast as I expected,” Kennedy says.

Like Sam Barlow, Kennedy reached for inspiration outside of what’s traditionally in the purview of a video game. I asked how he chooses end goals in games with such wide-open mechanics—Cultist Simulator is even more open than Sunless Sea in some ways. “I come at those stopping points from two directions. One is 'what sort of emotions and experiences are we aiming for?' The other is 'what sort of activities would a character in a novel, not just in a game, do in this setting?' So in Sunless Sea, we want people to be thinking about loneliness and survival and discovery, and we also want people to be aiming for the kind of things they'd aim for in Moby-Dick or Voyage of the Dawn Treader or HMS Surprise.” The only ending I’ve reached in Sunless Sea is the most basic one, where you amass some money and retire. In Cultist Simulator, I’ve managed to live a normal working life and then retire, which is considered a minor victory. And still, the game wonders what I’m taking, while I wonder what it’s leaving behind.

Pure Abstraction

“The study of infinity stretches human abstract thinking to some of its loftiest possibilities,” Dr. Ruma Falk writes. “By definition, it calls for modes of reasoning that transcend concrete representation.” What I’ve found most interesting as I researched this piece and talked with these gifted game designers is how thoughtfully they’d constructed gameplay loops that continue to feel fresh and challenging. The games themselves couldn’t be more different in terms of genre or lack thereof, revenue models, or mechanics, but all feel large and immersive inside to an extent that I instinctively ignored whatever seams I might end up seeing.

I asked each designer to share a game that felt infinite to them as players. Sam Barlow answered the question before I even asked it, though. He described wanting Telling Lies to feel like a huge place to explore. “My only go-to reference, which is somewhat ambitious, is the way I felt when I was playing Zelda: Breath of the Wild and the way that Nintendo made me feel, where I could just go off and explore in any direction and I could let my curiosity guide me and I would always enjoy myself. I would always find something interesting.” He called this kind of freedom a form of magic. “To some extent, Her Story was me trying to get some of the magic and—again, this wasn’t a conscious thing—some of the magic of the old text parser games.”

Pat Kemp also chose Breath of the Wild. “The world feels huge and dense in a kind of unusual way even amongst all the other open-world AAA experiences that are out there. There’s this big mountain and you climb up it, and on the way up you encounter two or three little unique-feeling things, and you make your way down and encounter a bunch of other little things, and they’re all handmade little surprises. It feels like the world is just brimming with delightful little nuggets of story or interesting challenges or encounters. It’s really a remarkable achievement and it’s also one of those things where, as a game developer, I can recognize what a monumental task it must have been to create that world,” Kemp said. “Every inch of it feels handcrafted by someone who cares about that itch, which is just incredibly daunting. It must have been so expensive to do.”

Alexis Kennedy chose Elite: Dangerous, and I enjoyed how his answer mirrored how I feel about his games, where some amount of suggestion makes it easy and fun to project the rest with your imagination. “I put a hundred-plus hours into Elite: Dangerous because I so enjoyed the sense of jumping through galactic-size simulated space. I knew perfectly well that the procgen systems were largely identical in all meaningful ways, I knew the space between star systems isn't simulated and you're just jumping between skyboxed instances, but I've spent 47 years learning how space works IRL and I still carry over those assumptions if the sense of resource cost lets me. I need to feel like I'm working to cross the space and have something that will run out or need balancing.”

Kyle Barrett pointed out that, infamously now, No Man’s Sky sold itself as an infinite game. “The game definitely feels infinite. It also has the effect of what infinity would feel like, which is empty after a while. It teaches people that lesson,” Barrett says. It brought back to mind something he told me before about deciding how much to procedurally generate within Immortal Rogue: “If it’s pure random, I think it normally fails. That’s something designers find pretty quick. So it’s like, what’s the right amount of random and what’s the skeleton that can make the random meaningful?” He mentioned Dwarf Fortress as a game with infinite-feeling possibilities, and Minecraft as something that marries the two. “It feels infinite in scope and the amount of possibility feels infinite, which is why it’s probably one of the best games ever,” he said.

“Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom,” Kierkegaard wrote. “Freedom now looks down into its own possibility and then grabs hold of finiteness to support itself.” The games we love might feel infinite, but we only hang around in them long enough to realize this because of the hard work of building structures and feedback loops that make games fun to play. We study infinite math from the security of offices with comfortable temperatures and lighting. As Alexis Kennedy put it, “So it is a design choice, but there's a reason I made that one design choice rather than a million others.”

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#caroline delbert #original #infinity #sunless sea #her story #telling lies #cultist simulator #sam barlow #alexis kennedy #immortal rogue

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iveonlyeverseenliketwoanimes · 5 years

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Manga Spoilers ahead :)

So when the new chapters came out I, like many others, was a little annoyed at this whole concept of Deku magically having a bunch of new quirks. I understand that it's been established from the beginning that One For All works as this whole ‘passing on of power’ - but I always understood it as more of an energy than actual individual quirks (and the content given thus far seemed to support this). That said now that is turning out to be the latter, it isn’t something that's caught me off-guard and it very much does make sense and I don’t think it’s ‘Lazy writing’ on Hori’s part, it just hasn’t been explained up until now and if we had learnt how One For All worked all in one single episode at the start of the series I think it wouldn't be as fun of a journey.

One of my main concerns with what's happening is this whole idea of Deku becoming some all-powerful God that no-one can beat, because, lets face it, as powerful as characters like Bakugou and Todoroki are, i don’t think even they would be able to compare to a guy that has a combined total of like 7 quirks, all of which have been cultivated into one massive super-quick that has been held by the former number 1 Pro Hero, so is clearly very powerful.

So that got me thinking. Why would this happen? Why would a show, that up until now, has been very good with balancing the power levels of its quirks suddenly do a full 180 and just be like ‘Oh yes lil broccoli boi and his rabbit costume can now become God and just breathe in the general direction of his opponents in order to win’?

So, I have a couple points I’d just like to discuss. Feel free to add on anything or challenge my views, im just doing this because im bored and trying to rationalise the decisions in a show made for teenage boys.

So first of i think some people are being a lil bit dramatic about this current arc, sure it’s not perfect and I too wish that some things had played out differently, but at the end of the day it’s not my show/manga and tbh if the guy who made me fall in love with this show to begin with decides he wants to take it in a new direction then let him, he has every right to do what he wants regardless of what i, or anyone else, think and i put my trust in his hands and hope that he can pull this off. Furthermore, are we forgetting that Todoroki exists? The guy has not one, but 2, of the most powerful quirks i think i person could get. His dad is the current number 1 hero and HALF of Todorki’s power is the same as his (sure his maybe works a lil different but my statement stands). Now Ice and Fire, in my opinion, are two very powerful quirks, i mean at like 15/16 the kid took down a dozen or so villans and nearly stopped Nomu (With half his power and with no real training from UA). We compare that to what Deku has and i still think Todoroki has a fighting chance in a match against Deku because these quirks Deku is getting aint all that to be honest, some people are acting like Deku now has; super strength, super speed, telekinesis, can see into the future, mind control, laser eyes, the ability to fully heal on the spot etc. spoiler: He doesn’t. He’s getting some pretty average quirks that will still probably make him top of the class, but not unbeatable. I think some of you are a lil dramatic, and hey i get it, i said at the start i was too, so i feel ya. So, i guess my first point is that some of us need to calm down and maybe just wait until we get more details on the whole situation before we get out our pitchforks and start burning down the fandom over a couple chapters that haven't been fully explored yet.

My second point that actually has more to do with the plot and less about fandom drama is going back to Bakugou and Todoroki, so my initial thought when everything was happening was “ Bakugou and Todoroki are the other strong members of the class and Deku is now way more powerful than them, how will they ever beat him?” but now actually thinking about it, what does that have to do with anything? Like sure the show is centred around the whole school system and the magical friendships we’re making along the way, but like, Deku’s end goal here isn't to send Todoroki and Bakugou to their graves, they’re just class rivals, and while they do fight, it’ s not to actually kill each other - its to train. Now i’m just going to make a big ol’ assumption here based on basic human nature, but when you train with someone vs when you are actually fighting a villain in a life and death scenario, i don't think you’re going to be fighting at the same effort level. Todoroki vs Deku and Bakugou vs Todoroki were great fights (or at least they were in my opinion) but you compare them to the UA kids vs Stain and you have two very different circumstances and the fights we’re very different for obvious reasons. One was to win a silly little medal and bragging rights. One was to save a friend from literally being murdered by some Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle lookin’ dude with no nose. I don’t really think Deku’s new powers will affect the class stuff too much, it’s been established that both Todoroki and Bakugo are more powerful and Deku already and the three of them will never go all out vs each other anyway. So basically my point here is that Bakugou and Todoroki aren’t Deku’s endgame - they’re Deku’s rivals and they’ll be around the whole time, but they’re not Deku’s Villian. So this idea that Deku is now the Number 1 is the clas, while true, really doesn’t matter because Deku is still... Deku and he wants to save people more than he wants to kill them or prove he is the best.

Now children, who is Deku’s Villian? any guesses? Oh yeah, it’s my boy Shiggy (AKA Tomura Shigaraki, AKA Tenko Shimura, AKA Crusty, AKA Get this man some lip balm). Now then. So we have our lil Deku, a young boy of just 16 who has been blessed with 300 new magical quirks (well it's more like 6/7 but that's beside the point here). But who else do we know that probably does actually maybe, kinda, definitely, literally, but also i don't really know, but i think, DOES HAVE 300 QUIRKS?!? It’s none other than Shigaraki’s Master, Mr suit, tie and no face, All For One. Now in one of the recent episodes of the Anime, All Might questions why All For One wants/needs a successor, to which he gives a lil giggle, chats some shit and basic says he wants someone to pass on his legacy to, in the same way that All Might has with Deku. Now I couldn’ t find this exact conversation in the Manga so it might be that the Anime went a lil off script here for drama and whatnot, but when i heard this i was convinced that this meant All For One is going to somehow transfer his quirk into Shigaraki (or maybe take over Shigarakis body or some other nasty stuff - in this world anything is possible), this is also kinda supported by All For One giving a lil giggle to the concept of him being ‘ locked up for the rest of his days’ - the guy clearly thinks he is going to get out and i highly doubt that his current state will allow for him the fight Deku, i certainly do not want to see the lil green troll doll fight a crippled elderly man, but i would like to see him fight a handsome, young, slightly anti-social, gamer nerd.

So we make it to the end of my lil tale, Deku needs to have all these quirks because his Endgame is Shigaraki and Shigaraki might also be getting a power upgrade in the future and it makes sense, as i don't think some green lightning sparks will defeat some grand-evil mastermind with the powers of all that's evil in this world.... but some black beams that can wrap around stuff might...?

Anyways, i wrote this over the span of two hours, its midnight and i did minimal research into this theory... BUt HEY ITS JUST A THEORY! A GAME ANIME THEORY! And im probably wrong about all of it and also im so sorry for all the sarcastic comments throughout this, i couldn’t contain myself. Im now going to sleep for the next 10 hours because this stressed me out :)

If you’d like to see more of my rambles then heres one on Hori’s female characters

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vagabondanon · 5 years

Text

For posterity; Grand Summoners X KLK Collaboration Limited Time Side Story

Spoilers ahead for Kill La Kill itself, the Side story in GS, and shockingly Kill La Kill: If. An overview of a story only available for a limited time.

It may be surprising to many, if not practically all fans of the show, that Kill la Kill: if was not the first video game story to star a certain pair of scissor crossed sisters (that I might care too much about and will continue to obsess over any and all content for, which led me to downloading a gacha game and grinding for days to level them and their equipment for no other reason than it was them.), and a handful of their closest compatriots/equipment options. Kill La Kill was featured in a (relatively) short crossover story in Good Smile’s mobile game “Grand Summoners”. In it you could (eventually when the event was rerun and all content was put out on the NA version) spend Gems/”alchemy stones” to “summon” Ryuko, Satsuki, and Mako as units. Senketsu, Junketsu, Guts, Mako’s two star fight club uniform, Mako’s brass knuckle, Ryuko’s scissor blade, Bakuzan, Mako’s fight club baseball bat, and the completed Rending Scissors (titled “The Snippity Snips” for some as yet unknown, but probably awful, reasons) as support “Equips” that can be carried by any unit with compatible sized/typed slots. Sukuyo Mankanshoku’s croquettes also featured as a consumable item that dropped as mission loot for minor stat buffs if consumed by your four unit squad before any mission. (Equipment refresh 2% faster, base skill refresh 2% faster).

While the stats themselves are interesting as they provide direct numerical valuation of everything listed above in terms of what they can do Offensively, Defensively, etc the story itself is the focus of this post. Because it turns out that out of everybody that knew about it nobody else cared enough to preserve it in whole. (And as I have learned from experience, if you like something save it. Before you wake up one morning and find 1/3 of it has been deleted off the face of the earth) And it could only be accessed for a limited time before it was removed, and again basically nobody seems to either know or care that it actually had more than just pixelated cameos at all. (KLK game marketing tho, for real. Twice now.)

So I present a record for the Library, Grand summoners X KLK, a “too long, I can’t read it anymore anyway, so tell me what happened”; I got you.

(”Stickers” were given for log in streaks that you can post as the only form of communication in multiplayer modes/lobbys.)

The story opens with two of the GS main characters, Rayas and his possible love interest(?, that is at times vague) Mira, out hunting a monster that purportedly had a vitality so high it was unkillable. Upon finally finding the thing the monster hunters as a group had corralled into a forest they are interrupted by a flash of white light. That drops Ryuko, Satsuki, and Mako in full combat readiness between them and the monster.

(Lower right stickers are Rayas and Mira. Our characters on this wild ride.)

Confusion ensues all around.

The monster runs off to escape, but not before Senketsu (and Satsuki somehow) could "feel” the monster was empowered by Life Fibers. Ryuko blames Satsuki and becomes suspicious of her involvement because of their presence there. (Ryuko constantly tries to pick up the fight they, per Mako, had been having before they got dragged in. What fight? No idea. Fight club Mako is there, but the post fight club Ryuko and Satsuki are not. Except Ryuko can be upgraded to full Kisaragi. How? No idea.) Satsuki refutes being responsible. She also talks down to everyone. (For reasons somewhat unknown.) In KLK fashion the conversations that follow dip into the absurd. Satsuki's text font is so large at times her lines broke the speech box (though this seems to have been fixed in the cutscenes that can be downloaded today as record provided for beating it while the event was on), before going off in search of answers/on the hunt. Ryuko insults the kinda gary-stu mc by calling him “a geezer” (He claims to only be 25 in shocked response), demands he not gawk at her by minding his own business, and ran off after Satsuki. Mako follows Ryuko to keep from being left behind.

Leaving the GS MCs to give confused ellipses laden speech not sure what just happened, and this continues throughout the story.

(Interesting line from them though, the girls officially have 0 magic in full Kamui. So life fibers confirmed as entirely nature/science/organic based/origin? If this story has any weight.)

Also apparently Satsuki is so in tune with/knowledgeable of Fibers she can sense them. Or maybe Junketsu could. It isn’t specified how Satsuki is picking up what Senketsu is without being able to hear him. The “Life Fiber resonance” as it is called guides them either way. The chase leads deep into a forest/jungle full of dense vegetation (which in the missions slows them down leading to loads of fights against mobs of fiber altered orcs, monsters, and human bandits that get stronger the further they go. All controlled by life fibers.)

Ryuko doesn't know what the word vegetation means.

Mako took a nap as they waited for the GS MCs to catch up so they could get some answers as to where they were, and what they could be facing, after Satsuki points out they are not on Earth.

Between remarks during the missions themselves and in the cutscenes the cast attempts to figure what the Fibers are doing when they link up again. They figure life fibers can't break space or time (when weak, or not an OLF, as we learn in KLK: if) so no teleporting or time travel without magic at that time. So chase is deemed possible, but “so long as a single cell of a randomly infused organism exists the whole can regenerate” leading to more grueling fights the deeper they go toward the “source”. Over the same missions Ryuko butts heads with Mira, pointing to a dislike of tsunderes, as she hates when people are not upfront with her. Cast notes that they have similar voices as they argue eventually, but over time they find common ground to drop hostilities after the discussion.

When they reach the big monster again the GS MCs offer to fight it first, they are obliged. Ryuko actually wants to fight Kaiju though to the point she is actively looking forward to fighting giant monsters. Mako from the beginning thinks “Monster Land” is a theme park as she roots everyone on (she is a support character with buffs/healing equipment). Satsuki wishes to see how “magic” works, and if its effective. During the missions leading up to and including the boss fight Ryuko is confronted on if she would do “what it takes” as things ramp up in seriousness, to which she confirms that she has no issues killing targets to win if necessary. As you go through missions which involve mowing humanoids down by the dozen.

(Did not expect that, but given her life it's reasonable to expect that no Kiryuins have truly clean hands. I don’t suspect she has actually killed anyone before. Though that might not be for lack of trying, or simply lack of caring for opponents after any particularly nasty beat downs that may or may not have been shown to us when she reached high school in flashback.)

The first main boss (of two) is a giant quadrupedal demon like monster (”Betelgeuse” model in game colored differently) with spines on its body, altered seemingly loosely based on Senketsu. They share Yellow Orange “eyes”, some shapes, majority body coloration, and it possesses red clawed feet/hands/spines. Guarded by three dire wolves. (battle oddly enough took place in a desert canyon map, not forest as the cutscenes show they should have been in. Probably just a copy paste of the boss's regular arena.)

Once it is weakened/dropped Ryuko uses Sen'i Sōshitsu, but Senketsu fails to absorb the life fibers in it. The cast notes they see strings beyond the edge of the screen (which we can’t) and corpse though, which (likely) led from it to the true final boss that appears from there shortly afterword.

The final boss was a giant green bipedal monster with a vertical mouth that splits its face, which is based on a bright red boss in the main story (Beta-3), which was artificially created by one of the in game story factions through magi-tech. So one of those surviving living war machines likely got picked by Life fibers as a host in this new world they found themselves. It was powered by “Magically enhanced Life fibers” of some sort. (The battle itself was particularly difficult because the character's “top” ability, “Arts”, are powered by a substance called “Battle Ether” that is generated while in combat by using base moves. In this battle there was a substantial decrees in Battle ether production, likely trying to mimic the monster absorbing all free energy around it. Both Bio, or magically.)

This was also another boss fight that took place in an arena that shouldn't be there as it was inside a lab like structure full of green circuit looking lines over all the surfaces. Again likely because that was the “original” boss's arena. Once it is defeated it drops to the forest floor and reverts into a pile of fibers like the OLF in the show when its core got cut, just red instead of orange.

Mira and Ryuko have a moment ribbing “Ms. President”. Rayas just wants to know what is going on. (He won’t really understand it all.)

Satsuki can somehow read/anticipate people's wills, and life fibers exhibit a will through “vibrations in their strings” (Banshi vibrate? Wut.). She reads the vibrations by stabbing her sword down into the mass and holding the hilt.

Satsuki proclaims the life fibers were made to “fix seams” and somehow activates the monster's magic-infused life-fiber corpse to repair a hole in space and time itself. The monster was figured to be what likely dragged them all there in the first place through that hole to provide fibers from their Kamui it wanted. The hole in reality is propped open until they all passed through back to their own world where it is fixed permanently. After which the GS characters proclaim them immensely brave for literally running into a hole in reality without any hesitation.

Thus ended the Side Story.

Not sure who who wrote the script so its hard to tell how much of their given words are “true to cannon”. But it was credited as involving Nakashima who was directly on hand to make the first long explanation promo video on the JP YT channel. Who honestly knows at this point. But time wise it must have been made during production of KLK: if, which leads back to some very interesting consistent points.

Per KLK if: Life Fibers can in fact fuck with space, time, and reality itself. Though this is a power Satsuki was unaware of, (consistent with GS side story) even if she was the catalyst for initiating it in IF’s case through Junketsu's link to the OLF. Junketsu being Ragyo’s original “final” Kamui this was likely a function Ragyo prepared for her life after Earth. It would explain why she was so willing to give up the planet and everyone on it instead of seeking to rule it at least, she could literally just create her own reality and be its true god. Per how KLK: if ends by dumping “existences/minds” back to true reality at different times through the flashes of white light, with only the faintest of memories in the strongest of minds involved, they also very likely explained how this GS story can both feature fight club Mako and not change official “canon”. Or at least I thought it couldn't, before If once again set down that Life Fibers are the most powerful force in existence basically making up the “fabric of reality” itself on a whim.

Is the GS story retroactively canon if IF is canon?

Did Nakashima use the GS story as a test bed for KLK:IF ideas he had in the works?

Will we see more reality hopping for even more spin off stories?

Can these two finally have a happy reality as a couple?

:Shrug:

If you want to see all almost 30 minutes of prerendered cutscenes that remains for yourself in all their limited animation, and honestly somewhat questionably translated/proofread, glory I recorded them and threw that here: https://youtu.be/s3FneXNL8eQ

(Apologies for any sounds on top of the game’s already exceptionally loud music. I have never recorded from android before, I have no idea how to mute mics in the Google games app thing, and it picked up some air con being funky near the middle for a sec.)

#kill la kill #grand summoners #kill la kill Materials archiving #Nobody played this nobody cares why write it up #Because I can #For the lore

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