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coffee-n-bagels-comic-universe · 2 years

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Superheroes with Secrets: Yuletide Excitement (Fic Part 174. Set in 2001)

Around 2000 Words. 18+ in places. Please inform me if you wish to be tagged/untagged from posts.

Tags: @tantamount-treason @piratewithvigor @thedollmaker16

Reference Posts: ‘Giantess’/‘Blacklight Bandit’ Kirby Roussimoff x Shane ’Hurricane’ Helms (Circa 2001)

"Did you take a mold of me for this?" He chuckles, pulling it out.

"Nope, just got very lucky they had different sizes and shapes, Delilah actually got slightly annoyed because she couldn't find one to match Jeff, although there were a lot of rainbow ones."

"Should've been close enough."

"I don't know, I've never seen what's in Jeff's pants."

"Lucky. The locker room is a heinous place."

"Why do you think I ask for a private dressing room everywhere we go?"

"Good point."

"The less time spent telling Lita and Trish that 'yes, your tits do look big in that top' the better."

"Can't blame them much. A lot of the women's roster depends on their looks to keep their job."

"Okay, I don't depend on my looks, I depend on skill, and my skill to hold my tongue and not say 'I have two melons strapped to my chest on a daily basis and I don't give a fuck what people think about them unless it's my husband' is lacking at the moment."

"And right now, your husband is gonna play with them."

"Wanna give them a squeeze, mon ouragan d'amour?"

"Goddamn right I do."

"Squeeze as much as you want, Shaney baby." Kirby whispers, guiding his hands to her chest.

He begins practically kneading them, mouthing over the skin and nipples with fervour. Kirby moans in ecstasy, holding onto hips for support.

"They're so perfect…"

"Really? You think so?"

"I know so."

"Oh my love, you are so good to me."

"You're just as good to me."

"Well, I would hope so, I am pregnant with your child, I may as well try my best to keep you in my arms."

"You succeed, you goddess."

"Goddess, hmm?"

"Absolutely."

"Shane, I want you to ravage me, mon sauvage." Kirby purrs.

"Whatever you want, Princess. Lie down for me."

Kirby lies on the bed next to Shannon, kissing his neck and making Shannon squirm and glare at her. Helms gives Shannon's cock a quick squeeze before sliding into Kirby. Helms picks up his pace slowly, but it isn't long before he's fucking Kirby fast and rough.

"Oh that feels like heaven, oh putain, oh mon dieu."

He's kissing along her neck and collarbone, leaving little bite marks and hickies.

"Oh God, yes, Shane, more."

"Love hearing you beg like that."

"You like hearing me beg, then I'll always want more, mon amour."

"Just the way I like it."

"I love you, Shaney daddy, I want you to fill me up until there's no room left in my pussy."

"Planning on it."

"Shane, you remember when I edged you the first time, how much did you enjoy that?"

"Well… it made the orgasm at the end all the harder."

"You remember how you tried to get me to give in and let you cum in me, what if we did that to Shannon?" Kirby smirks.

"Let him cum in you or make him beg?"

"Make him beg and then let him cum in me. Maybe you two can share me, ya know, take turns cumming in me, make a day out of trying to have sex as much as possible?"

"Mm, that does sound nice."

"Ooh, we could keep a tally on our skin of how many times we've had sex, like sharpie a tally on our stomach or thighs?"

"Mm, I like that."

"I could go get the other toys if you want, Shaney baby, like you could plug me up if you wanted to."

"It's playtime for Shane," he grins excitedly, "I'll whip out the toys as I see fit."

"I love it when you excited about making love."

"Am I not always excited?"

"Not this excited, but yes."

"Fair point."

"I love you, my little sugar cube, you are the most handsome man in the world."

Helms can't help but be a little smug towards Shannon, who rolls his eyes.

"Don't make mon petit jouet feel annoyed, he might end up deciding not to fuck one of us if you do that." Kirby murmurs.

"You're right. Maybe I should make it up to him a little bit." He chuckles, licking a long line up Shannon's cock.

Shannon moans against the gag, his hips bucking up in an attempt to slam his dick into Helms' mouth.

"I know your tricks, Moore. Y'ain't pulling that old one on me."

"Shannon, the only way you would have succeeded is if you held his head there, and you currently can't use your hands." Kirby notes, making Shannon give her the look of 'no shit, Sherlock'.

"He succeeded once. It turned into a hell of hell of a scuffle and my ass being sore for a week."

"Oh my poor little sweetheart." Kirby whispers, stroking Shane's hair gently.

"I got him back. You remember that, Shannon?" He smirks, making Shannon go a little red.

"What did you do?"

"Found a remote-controlled vibrator, stuck it inside him and made him go through the whole school day with it in."

"Oh, mon mari, you torturous beast." Kirby gives him a quick slap on the arm.

He grins playfully as he shrugs, "He earned it. And when I took it out, he almost blacked out from the strength of cumming."

"Oh you poor baby, mon petit jouet."

"Long story short, him and I are even."

"You are both poor little sweet things, I love you both, but I love Shane more, because he's the one who gets to impregnate me."

"I should think being your husband also gives me bonus points, but whatever." He laughs.

"I wouldn't let someone I wasn't married to get me pregnant." Kirby whispers, pulling Helms into a heated kiss.

He kisses her back intensely, "Fair enough."

Kirby moans against his lips, cumming against his dick and covering him with her juices.

"That's my good girl."

"I love you so much." She whispers breathlessly.

"I love you too."

Kirby rests her head against his shoulder, softly humming to herself as she gets her breath back.

"Feel okay?"

"I need a drink of some sort, my vision is all fuzzy." Kirby murmurs.

"You wait right here. I'll go get us some Gatorades."

Kirby snuggles up against Shannon and waits for Helms to return. He comes back not long later with three bottles and hands one to Kirby as he undoes Shannon's gag.

"Why is your wife so adorable for such a big girl?" Shannon asks gently.

"Because she's her." Helms smiles proudly.

"Thank you." Kirby murmurs sleepily.

"You need a nap, love?"

Kirby nods, barely managing to keep her eyes open.

"Get some rest. You give your blessing for me to help Shannon cum? I might kiss him a little, but will mostly fuck him."

"Yeah, you can fuck him, but can I have a kiss before I fall asleep."

"Of course." He smiles, kissing her gently.

Kirby kisses back softly before snuggling into the bed and falling asleep.

"You think you can be quiet so my wife can rest, or do you need the gag again?" Helms purrs.

"I can be quiet, I can be very quiet." Shannon nods eagerly.

"Good boy."

Shannon smirks, staying as quiet as possible. Helms pushes into him softly, groaning as he does. Shannon moans, biting his bottom lip to stifle his moans. Helms is much slower with Shannon, trying to bring his heart rate down a little. Shannon tries to stay as quiet as he can, but moans in pleasure slightly louder and makes Kirby stir a little. Helms kisses him softly to muffle his moans. Shannon melts into the kiss, moaning against Helms' lips. He's being so tender with Shannon more so making love to him like they did as teens.

"Shane, you haven't been like this since we dated." Shannon jokes softly.

"I just got the ab workout of a lifetime pounding her like I did… and maybe I wanted a chance to be soft with you."

"Yeah, I noticed that you're getting really muscular after you met her, you were skin and bones for so long and now you're fit and muscular."

"She wants me to be able to carry her throughout her whole pregnancy. And I want to too. So I work out hard every night for hours."

"Ah, so it's a case of being a strong daddy for your wife and baby daughter." Shannon teases jokingly.

"Well, that's part of it. Other part is that I'm finally eating properly again and it's paying off."

"Not just eating properly, but eating what your sexy French maiden of a wife makes."

"Exactly. God, she's good."

"Imagine that, Kirby in a French maid dress, and no underwear, God, that would be sexy."

"Think we'd have to beg to get that to happen."

"Or we could do what she did, leave it in a box with a note saying to wear only what's in the box." Shannon suggests.

"That's not a half bad idea."

"Oooh, Shane, we can put a ribbon that's just big enough to cover her nips in a box and just that, she's a good girl, she knows to take orders."

"Oh that's perfect."

"Wrap her up in a black ribbon, deny her a little and make her beg before you fuck her senseless."

"Only a little. She hates being edged."

"Not edging her exactly, more denying her before you actually put your dick in her, like when she comes up to you and wants to fuck, you deny her once or twice before you give in and fuck her."

"So more like teasing."

"Yeah, tease her and only fuck her when she gets really needy."

"Now that sounds like fun."

"You get to have some more control over her, but you also have to control your urge to give in before you fuck her."

"You know me, the control freak."

Kirby's phone goes off, not one of the recognizable ringtones.

"You know whose phone that is?" Shannon asks.

"Kirby's, but I can't tell who's calling."

"Maybe you should answer it, she is your wife, you can see if they actually need to talk to her."

He groans softly as he reaches over to pick it up, "Hello?"

"Hey, is Kirby there?" A Hawaiian accent asks.

"She's asleep right now. Need me to wake her up?"

"No, it's okay, uhm… just wanted to see if I could ask her out on a date, haven't spoken since high school."

"Can I ask who this is?"

"I'm Ikaika Pachis, why?"

"Just wanted to tell her you called?"

"I don't even know if she remembers me but Kealani gave me her number last Christmas and it's taken me a year to build up the confidence to reach out."

"Have you spoken to Kealani in a while?"

"Nope, haven't spoken to her since February."

"Well, then I don't have to get frustrated with her." He chuckles.

"This is her number right, Kealani didn't completely screw me over?"

"Yeah, this is her number."

"Are you one of her co-workers or something?"

"Well, yes, but more importantly, I'm her husband."

"Oh fuck, shit, sorry, bye." Ikaika squeaks as he hangs up."

Kirby stirs awake slowly, "what's wrong, hon?"

"You got a call from an old friend from high school."

"Which high school and what 'friend'?"

"Didn't say and Ikaika."

"Oh fuck him, he isn't a friend, he fucking bullied me, probably used a fake story to get you to hand me the phone."

"He said Kealani gave him your number a year ago and he just now got the courage to call you up. Hung up real quick when I said I was your husband."

"Don't doubt Kealani gave him my number, she's always a little too helpful to everyone, but he fucking bullied me and was the guy who kicked the shit out of me at fifteen."

"Wish I could have given him an earful."

"You can always call his number back and leave a message." Kirby murmurs.

"Halfway tempted."

"If you do, I'll make you some more pancakes and some chocolate mousse, hell, I'll even let you eat if off my tits."

#superheroes with secrets #shane hurricane helms #kirby roussimoff #blacklight bandit #orange and green - the perfect team #shannon brian moore #sws #kirby andrea roussimoff #delilah keshet rosenbaum #gregory shane helms #jeffrey nero hardy #matthew moore hardy #lita hardy

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straycatstalking · 3 years

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SOME LINKS/MANUFACTURERS TO IDW/MTMTE FIGURES:

Note: This list is for self reference and I am not endorsed by any of these companies. It’s also for shits and giggles because many of the manufacturers are Third Party (aka not officially licensed) and as I mentioned in my previous post…. I love the terrible names the figures get in a bid to escape trademark infringement. My brief descriptions probably doesn’t do the manufacturers/companies justice, so if you come across this post in search of figures, please check them out!

It’s a very long post, so I’m going to be cutting this post past the first manufacturer.

A small disclaimer that I am also kind of a newbie to Transformers and my research may be limited, so do forgive any factual inaccuracies and such. This is also an IDW/MTMTE specific list and THERE MAY BE SPOILERS. Additionally, I’m exclusively using promotional images from the companies (aside from my own pictures).

FLAME TOYS

http://www.flametoy.com/index.php?route=information/information&information_id=22

https://www.facebook.com/flametoyshk/

Their products can be viewed on TFSource and BigBadToyStore too among a few other sites! They’re also officially licensed by Hasbro.

They carry a wide range of figures including a few really nice model kits that are based off the IDW designs. From what I understand, they have two (?) prominent types of toys for Transformers, the first being Kuro Kara Kuri (High-end, Preassembled figures, usually on the pricier end) and Furai Model (Model Kits which you have to assemble yourself).

They’ve released IDW figures such as (and not limited to):

Kuro Kara Kuri Tarn (I really love this one, it’s REALLY pretty)

Furai Model Megatrons (Both the Decepticon and Autobot versions)

Here’s my Autobot version Model kit that I lined! It was my first kit so I’m very happy with it :^) Feat. McDonald’s Cyberverse Starscream

Kuro Kara Kuri Megatron

Furai Model Drifts (ClassicTM Drift doesn’t seem to be sold anymore, but they’re recently released a Shattered Glass Drift!)

Furai Model Coptimus

Furai Model Ultra Magnus (I’m very confused about this one, and I’m not even sure if it’s because I haven’t finished the entirety of the IDW comics. Magnus, why do you look like that…? Nonetheless, it specifies that it’s an IDW ver. figure. It’s this guy below. WHO ARE YOU??)

Furai Model Starscream (It’s not explicitly stated to be IDW and I could be wrong, but his proportions suggest IDW rather than G1? Many of his features seems in line with his IDW self compare to his other continuity counterparts, so I’m putting him here just in case. I don’t think he is officially sold anymore as he and Drift are older figures)

They also have some very exciting IDW stuff announced (There’s a Furai Model Rodimus Kit that is supposed to be released in July 2021 and I’m writing this at the end of July haha… so I don’t know when it’ll be out. I’m very hyped for him and he’ll probably be shipped out sometime this year probably-):

Kuro Kara Kuri Cyclonus (The concept art is ✨gorgeous✨, no sculpt released yet though)

Kuro Kara Kuri Rodimus (They are spoiling IDW Rodimus fans, he is also✨ gorgeous✨)

MASTERMIND CREATIONS

https://www.mastermind-creations.com/collection.html

https://www.facebook.com/CreationsMastermind/

Their products can be viewed on TFSource and BigBadToyStore too among a few other sites, and I’d recommend it as it seems hard to see their whole collection on mobile. They’re a third party manufacturer.

✨Here’s where the fun begins!✨

They have a surprisingly huge (and niche..?) range of IDW figures and they all have wAcKy names.

Some of their IDW stuff includes:

THE WHOLE DECEPTION JUSTICE DIVISION?? (Yes, even Nickel and Dominus Freaking Ambus/The Pet. This whole concept is so wild to me and I’m still staring in awe that Kaon (Dubbed Anarchus, by the way) turns into his chair alt-mode. How cool is that?! I’ve mentioned it in my last post, but Tarn is called “Kultur” and I wheeze at his stupid name)

LOOK AT IT!!! Anyway, back to the list (including their knockoff names)

Chromedome and Rewind (Mnemo and Motif)

Three Rodimus Figures, Classic, Lost Light and Shattered Glass with a Moustache (Calidus, Calidus Asterisk Mode and Calidus Shadow Ghost. Amen.)

Wing (Aero Alpha)

Getaway (Exitus. I will never get over his name.)

Megatron (Tyrantron)

Drift (Stray)/Deadlock (Ater Beta)

Thunderclash (Collisus)

Ravage (Jaguar) (Completely unrelated but I should mention that they sell a cage specifically for Ravage)

LET HIM OUT

Impactor (Spartan)

Mentis (Rung)

Rung appears to an upcoming release and I’ve rebooted the promotional pictures from another blog awhile ago (it probably contributed to this downward spiral into looking at third party figures) but here’s one that I found! Everything about it seems wonderful. LOOK AT THE SCOOTER!! HE IS ROLLING

And these are just the people I recognise off the bat! They have many other transformers figures too and it’s a gold mine of pretty figures that are quite accurate to the source material (I really like their face sculpt for Rodimus). The names to make fun of are really just an added plus.

GCREATIONS

https://www.facebook.com/gcreationchina/

I didn’t link their “official” page mentioned on Facebook as it’s a link to Weibo (Chinese social media site) and it leads to a staff members account rather than an official company account cataloging their products. Feel free to take a look at it though! I’m not sure if they’re still active as their last post on Facebook is from years ago. Their products can be viewed on TFSource and BigBadToyStore too among a few other sites, and once again they’re a third party site.

Their range of toys are pretty small for IDW but I thought they were absolutely worth a mention because the figures are great.

The two IDW figures (along with their pseudo names) they have are:

Prowl (Rebel)

I’m inserting a picture of him because man I love this figure. He looks like an asshole. I want it.

Drift (Ronin)

I don’t have much to say other than that their fake names are well done and so are their figures. I mainly know about this company as I was looking for an IDW Prowl figure and they delivered so excellently. Let me simp in peace.

MAKE TOYS

http://www.maketoys.jp

https://www.facebook.com/Maketoys/

The link to their official page seems to be broken for me, but I put it here in case. Their products can be viewed on TFSource, third party site, you know the drill.

They have a small range of IDW/MTMTE Toys but boy are they absolute madlads in naming their figures.

Here’s the line up:

Swerve (TRASH-TALK. HIS NAME IS ACTUALLY TRASH-TALK HAHAHDJWJSHS)

He doesn’t come with it, but they’ve got a My First Blaster TM add-on for him and that’s pretty neat.

Tailgate and Cyclonus (Rear End and Hurricane. How does one top REAR END?)

It comes with a cute panicking expression too úwù I’m actually tempted now. The reviews on TFSource also decided to use their fake names to refer to them and I can’t get through reading them with a straight face.

AND SO WE’VE COME TO THE END OF THE LIST. PHEW. If you made it to the end, thanks for reading!! I had a blast making it despite it taking so long to compile and research and I hope it was enjoyable despite the chaos of it all :^)

ONCE AGAIN THANK YOU FOR READING

TILL ALL ARE ONE!

#transformers #transformers idw #mtmte #transformers mtmte #Perhaps there may be a part two someday as I haven’t covered the MTMTE/IDW Hasbro toys since they sounded like a pain in the ass to find-#I don’t even know what to call this anymore because this seems to be too much effort for a shitpost #then again I think I have the wrong idea about what shitposts are #I should end off all my posts with till all are one for the fun of it #real talk though: the creativity of these people astound me #Tyrantron is a little on the nose however #haha rear end and trash talk #where is the rodimus Model kit I want answers #leave it to me to make gigantic posts about something I like #my brain goes brrrr

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irregularjohnnywiggins · 3 years

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Kay, so I found this old story idea I had a while back but never really did anything with, and I figured hey, I've got 300+ prisoners beloved followers who for some reason put up with my garbage, so might as well inflict this upon them.

That being said, welcome to what I call The Department for the Colonisation of Childhood Whimsey.

So our story starts with a little girl called Dee.

Dee lives in the UK, in a council estate. When she was a kid, there wasn't all that much space to play or do the things richer middle-class kids got to do. Her parents house didn't have a garden, the local streets were too dangerous for a child to go out and play in, and the house itself was cramped and crowded.

Despite this, Dee had what could charitably be called an overactive imagination, an imagination she channelled into two things: a plastic triceratops toy she called Sarah, and a book - a blank book of A4 paper that had coffee stains on it and papers falling out when she got it - that she claimed had a magical power: anything written in the book would come true.

Cut to a few years later. Dee is in high school, and like a typical teenager she's moved on from her childish dreams. That is, until one day when Sarah the triceratops approaches her after school and tells her she's in danger.

So, yeah, pretty basic beginning, you've probably seen fifty books that start out like this, and that's all I wrote back when I was actually trying to make this a thing. However, one thing I always do vis-a-vis my writing style is worldbuild, and it's the worldbuilding that I'm really keen on with this idea. So, let's talk about that:

The actual premise of the story is simple: at some point in the 1960s, the British government came to the conclusion that the British Empire was more or less doomed. Not only was the post-war economy not capable of sustaining an empire, not only was the Cold War between the Americans and the Russians ravaging them, but an increased awareness of the plight of one's fellow man was inspiring many people - not just in the colonies but in England too - to demand independence. No matter how hard they tried, Parliament could not forsee a solution that the people would accept where the British Empire continued.

So, a solution was posed. For the past hundred years or so, the government had been made aware of the existence of pockets of space-time created by people with active enough imaginations. From Neverland to Oz, from the Hundred Acre Wood to Wonderland, these places had resources beyond any place on Earth - magic, especially. If the public would not countenance colonisation where they could see it, then perhaps the solution would be to colonise somewhere they could not see?

Thus, the British Empire never really died. It simply... moved.

Cut to the present day, and the Department for the Colonisation of Childhood Whimsey is still going strong. Almost every parallel world is under their control, and the profits of these regions are beyond belief. However, rather naturally for stories like this there is a resistance movement, that seeks to free the imaginary lands from the Department. Although they are small and weak, they have had several worthwhile victories over the Department in the past few months, and the higher-ups in the Department, including the shadowy and little-seen Director, want all such resistance movements stamped out.

This, rather naturally, is where Dee steps in.

Every generation, one in a million people have the ability to shape the forces of Imagination itself, and the stories these people tell, and others tell after them, become reality in the Imaginarium. These people become known as Imagineers, and Dee is one such person. However, the lack of much real output for this power has led to most of it being placed inside The Book, which has led to a fascinating feedback loop - Dee's Book not only influences the Imaginarium, it influences physical reality itself to a certain extent. Thus, the Department need simply write in the book that the resistance movement does not exist, and it will be so. The resistance, naturally enough, are not down with this, and have sent Dee's childhood friend to bring her and the book back to them, to keep them safe.

There's also a ton of other small worldbuilding touches I came up with, chief among them being the thing the Department sends to collect Dee - a Stalker, the amalgamation of that seemingly universal childhood experience of that thing that followed your car on long journeys. But a couple of words on the characters:

The leader of the resistance is Peter Pan, because of course he is, why wouldn't he be? He's much more of the capricious, vaguely fae Pan of the book, not exactly evil but very much ammoral and childish. He's mainly invested in reclaiming Neverland, the Lost Boys, and Tinkerbell, although there is the subtext of him using the Department as an example of the inevitable consequences of growing up - although he's completely forgotten Hook, like he does in the book, he's still looking for that antagonistic relationship with a grown-up.

Peter's second-in-command and the one really running the resistance is Princess Ozma, who's much more... agreeable than Pan. Oz has been colonised too, but Ozma is still in nominal control of it, and she supplies the resistance with all the resources she can, although she can't openly work against the Department because the CIA branch of it has Dorothy imprisoned and are basically pulling a 'we have your wife' scenario on her.

The third key player in the resistance is Alice Liddel, who provides the resistance with shelter and safe passage - the Department has been having little success applying the logic of supply chains and regimented exterminations to a place as willfully chaotic as Wonderland.

The rest of the resistance are mainly heroic characters from other public domain stories, although some of the heroes are working for the Department, either willingly or because they're coerced, but one of the other main characters - and Dee's eventual love interest - is a character called many things, but most commonly Insert.

Insert is... complicated. Like the Stalker, they're an amalgamation of a certain new-fangled trend - namely, they're every self-insert character that's ever been written. Naturally, they have a habit of... changing, at random intervals. On any given day, they're any gender, of any ethnicity, of any sexual orientation, and with backstories ranging from an officer on a starship in the far future to a student at a school of magic in Scotland. Given literally everything about them is eternally mutable - including their allegiance to the resistance or the Department - the resistance members treat them with some distrust, a distrust that Dee generally doesn't share. Their relationship is pretty rocky at first - Dee thinks Insert is only interested in her because she can use The Book to give them a concrete identity, Insert is angrt when she reveals this because the constant shifting is just who they are, they don't want to be bound down, and later on there is a genuine dilemma of whether or not Insert is interested in Dee by their own choice or because she's clearly the protagonist and a key part of their identity in a lot of their lives is to be shipped with the protagonist. Also, obvious joke but at several points Insert turns into Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way, because of course they do.

The Department's side isn't that interesting - it's a whole load of villains, some of the more... problematique heroes, and a few hundred grunts. The most interesting character is The Director. He's never seen, even by the highest ranking members of the Department, and no-one knows anything about him other than his gender. Everyone in the resistance has a different theory of who he is - Pan has a suspicion he may have faced him before, Ozma thinks its the Nome King, Alice the Jabberwocky, and Insert fluctuates, as is their nature, although the top two choices are Voldemort or Dumbledore.

It's Dee, however, who figures out the truth, when captured by the Department. The others couldn't possibly know him, but Dee's heard his voice before, in her history classes.

The Director of the Department is Winston Churchill, made immortal by the collective consensus of him as The War-Time Leader. Unfortunately for the whitewashers of history, the immortal they created isn't the brave fighter of tyranny, but the actual Churchill, warts and all, the man who starved over two million Indians out of spite and neglectfulness. Dee being a descendant of Indian immigrants, this meeting isn't perhaps the best one.

There are side effects to the Director's immortality, however. Since the perception of Churchill is tied so deeply to his speeches, to the voice on the radio, that's all he is now. He wants The Book to give him back a body again, and the Department is basically a means to that end.

That's about all I'd concretely plotted out, otherwise I just had random ideas for sequels:

The America Book, where the resistance goes to rescue Dorothy from the CIA version of the Department, which is located under a theme park that is as close to Disneyland as it is possible to be. Naturally, the head of the American Department is Walt Disney's cryogenically frozen head.

The India Book, because a book about British colonialism has got to touch on India at some point. I haven't gotten far in this one, but one idea was that there would be an ongoing war between the native myths and legends - Hindu mythology, the Mahabharata and such - and what is derisively referred to as the 'imports' - namely, the Jungle Book. Again, no idea how this resolves itself, and frankly as a Brit myself I am in no way equipped to tell a story about India, but food for thought.

That's basically it. This isn't a 'here's something to hype up this series' thing - this is an idea I had, I did some thinking about it, but other things happened and I'm kinda splurging this so anyone else who wants to do this idea can pick it up. If you write something like this, feel free to tell me and I'd love to hear about it.

#i write things #technically the point of this is I DON'T write things #but you get the point #peter pan #land of oz #alice in wonderland

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tyrantisterror · 5 years

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REVENGE OF THE A.T.O.M. CREATE A KAIJU CONTEST!

Eons ago, when the earth was young, I held the first A.T.O.M. Create a Kaiju Contest, and creators like YOU populated my activity page with a legion of giant monsters! Now, years later, in celebration of publishing the first volume of The Atomic Time of Monsters, the contest calls to us once again, and it’s only grown bigger and spikier with age. If you wish to once more ravage the world with atomic titans of your own design, then please, read on after the cut to discover the rules of this thrilling kaiju role call!

Ok, for clarity’s sake I’ll drop the goofy melodramatic tone.

Like the first A.T.O.M. Create a Kaiju Contest, the aim of this contest is to create kaiju that would fit within the setting of my big kaiju story series, The Atomic Time of Monsters. Think of it as me letting you into my sandbox to play with my toys for a bit, or like you’re being put in the director’s chair of a new ATOM-verse kaiju movie. That means your entry does have to fit into ATOM’s world, which in turn means that yes, there are limitations to your creativity here. But limitations can be good sometimes - they can make us explore options we wouldn’t consider when given completely free rein to do what we want!

THE RULES:

1. This time around, you are limited to one entry per person. Last time we produced 60+ kaiju, which was awesome, but this time around I want to narrow the scope a little bit - especially if I end up doing something crazy and end up drawing them all like last time, since my carpal tunnel syndrome afflicted hand just can’t do what it did those years ago. Work hard and make your entry count!

2. Your kaiju must have some sort of description of its physical appearance and its personality - you can submit a drawing or a written description (or both!) for the physical appearance depending on what you’re most comfortable with. Using the ATOM kaiju file template isn’t required, but it was cool when people did it in the last contest, so feel free to do so this time too!

3. The kaiju you create must specifically be created for this contest - no repurposing characters you made for other, wildly different stories.

4. The kaiju must fit the setting and aesthetics of ATOM. I’ll explain this in more detail down below.

5. The kaiju should add something meaningful to the world of ATOM. What would be the point of having another fire-breathing t.rex monster? The more unique and interesting your kaiju is, the more likely you will win the contest.

6. The kaiju must be independent of the main plot of ATOM - not “Tyrantis’s long lost evil brother who’s the strongest kaiju in the world.” These should be to Tyrantis’s story what War of the Gargantuas is to Godzilla’s movies – heroes (well, monsters) of another story in the same world.

THE REWARDS:

I will make pencil sketches of the top 5 entries in the contest.

I will then make fully rendered illustrations (lineart, colors, & shading) of the top three entries.

The winning entry will be made into a model ala the ones I’ve been making for ATOM’s core 50 monsters, which can then be shipped to the person who created it (should they be able to cover the shipping costs). That’s right, your kaiju could be brought to life in THREE GLORIOUS TECHNICOLOR DIMENSIONS!

THE DEADLINE: All entries must be submitted by August 9th, 2019. You can submit it here on tumblr, via the horror flora e-mail, or any other channel you know how to reach me through. I’m in a lot of places.

THE GUIDELINES (TO HELP YOUR ENTRY FIT THE RULES AND WIN)

The smartest thing you could do if you want to win this contest is familiarize yourself with the world of ATOM by, y’know, reading all the material I’ve published on the subject. In addition to the many kaiju files that are free to read on horrorflora.com, the first actual, factual novel in the series was published very recently (and, y’know, is the reason I’m holding this contest), which you can get from amazon in both paperback and/or kindle editions (I’d recommend the former over the latter since I lack the technology to make a really nice ebook, but if money is an object, the kindle version is only $1).

However, since I know reading a bunch of stuff is, y’know, not something everyone is inclined to do, I’ll jot some good bullet points for you in an attempt to outline how ATOM works in a brief, easily digested way:

ATOM is an homage to the monster fiction of the 1950’s and 60’s (i.e. the Atomic Age), and is set in those two decades, albeit an alternate universe version of them where, y’know, monsters and space aliens exist. If you aren’t familiar with the monster fiction I’m referring to, there will be some reference material provided at the end of this post along with some recommendations for further research.

Kaiju/giant monsters in ATOM work under very specific rules. There’s a full description of those rules at this link, but here’s the jist:

ATOM Kaiju are created created by the radiation of a mineral called Yamaneon, which naturally converts harmful radiation into its own unique energy. In natural circumstances, it takes hundreds of years of exposure to Yamaneon radiation for a creature to become fully transform into a kaiju (luckily, Yamaneon radiation slows the aging process while speeding up the healing process). However, an explosive burst of energy - such as the geothermal and kinetic energy released by an earthquake, or the blast of a nuclear weapon - can speed up the process, turning a normal animal into a kaiju within a matter of seconds.

All ATOM kaiju can heal grievous wounds within minutes or even seconds, are supernaturally strong and durable, and can convert harmful radiation to harmless energy that they then feed off of. Kaiju do not have an equivalent of old age, and can theoretically live forever (though their violent lifestyle means that few do).

ATOM Kaiju generally don’t need to eat unless they are severely injured, getting most of the energy they need from solar or geothermal radiation - but many still have instincts that drive them to seek out food from time to time.

Most ATOM kaiju stand roughly 100 feet tall (depending on their body shape), i.e. smaller than the original 1954 Godzilla. There are exceptions to this rule - younger kaiju can be smaller, while exceedingly old kaiju can be significantly larger, but these are rare.

In general, ATOM kaiju are significantly more intelligent and emotionally complex than people expect animals to be, though most are incapable of speech or complex tool use. There’s a reason ATOM Kaiju Files have a “personality” section.

Most ATOM Kaiju are tooth and claw fighters - ranged weapons are a rarity in this setting.

While the terrestrial monsters in ATOM look strange, they are intended to fit within the taxonomy of animals in reality - reptiles, mammals, fish, arthropods, molluscs, etc.

ATOM’s mesozoic era was dominated by a fictional clade of crocodile-relatives called retrosaurs, which are based on the outdated paleoart that one would find in the 1950’s/60’s fiction - i.e. when dinosaurs were viewed as trail dragging lizards instead of strange birds. You can learn more about retrosaurs here.

Kaiju appear on every continent in ATOM, but certain areas tend to be dominated by different types.

North America is mainly besieged by retrosaur kaiju and giant arthropods.

East Asia is technically also mainly plagued by retrosaurs and big arthropods, though they tend to look more fantastical and mythic - and, often, oddly well suited to being portrayed by a person wearing a monster suit.

Russia is beset by prehistoric monsters that seem to come from the Cenozoic, particularly the Ice Age.

Western Europe is plagued by creatures that vaguely resemble creatures from myth, if they were also prehistoric. Dragon-y lizards, fiery birds, etc.

Towards the mid-way point of ATOM’s timeline, earth is invaded by a coalition of aliens from different solar systems called the Beyonder Alliance, and as a result a bunch of alien monsters can be found on earth.

Mars and Venus both host (or hosted in Mars’s case) animal life. The surviving Martians colonized Venus, and sent some of their kaiju guardians to earth to help us fend off the Beyonders (who are responsible for the destruction of Mars’s ecosystem). Martian and Venusian kaiju have specific anatomical quirks, which you can see by looking at these kaiju files:

Venusians:

https://horrorflora.com/2017/01/03/atom-kaiju-file-29-karamtor/

Martians:

https://horrorflora.com/2017/01/17/atom-kaiju-file-39-kemlasulla/

https://horrorflora.com/2017/01/17/atom-kaiju-file-40-podritak/

https://horrorflora.com/2017/01/17/atom-kaiju-file-41-sombarvot/

https://horrorflora.com/2017/01/17/atom-kaiju-file-38-ullawdra/

Giant robots exist in ATOM, but are big, bulky, and incredibly expensive. Fancy beam weapons also exist, but are similarly clunky - there are no sleek, elegant machines in ATOM.

Since the fiction ATOM takes inspiration from was made at a time when interplanetary travel was only just beginning to be possible, its scope is significantly smaller than modern sci-fi. Alternate universes/dimensions were pretty uncommon because the idea of alien planets still held a lot of wonder to it. So, as a general rule, don’t try to go farther than the one galaxy.

ATOM is a setting for stories that are focused on humanity learning to co-exist with monsters, rather than humanity destroying them. A certain level of sympathy is put into almost every creature of its canon, even the ones that are meant to be villains.

REFERENCE MATERIAL

Here is a playlist of 1950′s monster movie trailers.

Here is some reference material from various monster comics of the 50′s and 60′s.

Video of retrosaurs in action.

Good movies to track down to understand ATOM’s inspiration and tone include Ghidorah the 3 Headed Monster, Son of Godzilla, Destroy All Monsters, Them!, The Black Scorpion, 20 Million Miles to Earth, Gamera, The Giant Claw, and The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra.

Finally, here’s the page for the original ATOM Create a Kaiju Contest, which has even more reference material for you to peruse.

#Revenge of the ATOM Kaiju Contest #The Atomic Time of Monsters #kaiju

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thomasroach · 5 years

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Sekiro Review: Shinobis Die Many Times

The post Sekiro Review: Shinobis Die Many Times appeared first on Fextralife.

In this Sekiro Shadows Die Twice Review I’ll explore FromSoftware’s new Action game and answer some burning questions you have such as: Is Sekiro like Souls? Is Sekiro worth buying? and Is Sekiro a good game?. Please be mindful that this review contains mild gameplay spoilers of mechanics and an early game area.

Important: To understand our score, read the Fextralife Review Guidelines. Sekiro falls between “Great” and “Brilliant”. Every reviewer has their own “compass” for what numbers mean, so for reference I gave Dark Souls Remastered an 8.8, Nier: Automata an 8.7, and Bloodborne a 9 and I love them all.

Sekiro Review: Shinobis Die Many Times

Genre: Action-Adventure Developed by: FromSoftware Published by: Activision (Int) FromSoftware (JP) Release date: March 22th, 2019 Platforms: PS4 (review platform PS4 Pro), Xbox One, PC. Review code provided by Activision. Price at the time of the review: $59.99

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Sekiro Story & Setting

Sekiro takes us to a fantastic version of Sengoku Japan. Sengoku is a famous period of Japanese history, during which war ravaged the entire country for over 150 years. The strife and unrest was fueled by political cues, led to the extermination of prominent Japanese families, and completely reshaped the power structure of Japan.

Given the enormous scale of the battles, Sengoku is a popular time for both historians and fiction writers, which usually focuses on the Battle of Sekigahara and the surrounding main actors.

Sekiro does not follow this path, instead creating a fictional version of Japan and the Sengoku period, and adding mythical elements such as an ancient Dragon Bloodline to fuel the plot. This is likely a good choice, as the gaming world is saturated with Nobunaga and Tokugawa references by now.

Unlike previous works, Sekiro delivers the story in a more straight-forward manner. With a set and even voiced protagonist, the world moves in a much more coherent story than Souls games might have done for others. Everything is explained quite clearly and dialogue options can be revisited as many times as possible. This does not mean that Lore hunters won’t have anything to do, as there is plenty of folklore and FromSoftware’s own interpretation of Yokai to find and talk about. It is just a lot easier to access for the average player that might skip reading item descriptions.

So how is the story, then?

The protagonist is a well realized character, and it is clear from the get-go that you will find story twists that challenge the initial world view. This does not detract from the plot and the decisions the player must make, and you will find yourself intrigued by the many characters you meet and want to see their tale through. I very much enjoyed talking to NPCs as I explored the landscape, and the concept of revisiting memories and advancing the story through trips to the past was well executed. All in all, FromSoftware has successfully made their storytelling more accessible, and whilst I miss some of the quirkiness of the old ways, many will appreciate this new approach.

The Wolf is a dedicated Shinobi, following the “Iron Code”, but what twists and surprises await will test the limits of your devotion

Sekiro Gameplay

Action games live and die by gameplay, and Sekiro has delivered a fine-tuned and glorious realization of a Shinobi fantasy. That said, and before I go any further, I must disclaim that we just came out of playing DMC5, and that has the best gameplay possible for an action title, so Sekiro is against some really tough competition in this regard.

Gameplay focuses on the optimization of the skills of your main katana, the Kusabimaru. You will also gain access to special Prosthetic Tools that allow you to grapple onto ledges and enemies, as well as throw Shurikens, Firecrackers, a flame thrower of sorts, and much more. This sounds really enticing but players soon discover that, like many action games, you aren’t going to get your toys for a while. This is an understood concept, however I personally felt that the initial progression (say the first 5 hours of the game) dragged on in specifically keeping my toys away from me.

This was likely done to encourage you to learn how to use your katana properly, which will challenge players with its complex deflect, counter and posture systems. However it had the strange effect of making me ignore the prosthetic completely, as its effects on enemies were sub-par, and instead focus on stealth to get by, with an overly-cautious approach. Why did this happen? Well because:

Death is truly horrifying

With Souls, I learned to not care about souls. If I died and lost all my souls, I would go co-op a boss I knew and make them back, or simply focus on upgrading my weapons instead. Sekiro’s death penalty is extremely punishing when you start the game, taking away 50% of your experience and gold each time you respawn. This is mitigated by something called Unseen Aid, which negates the loss but has a measly 30% chance of triggering and then goes down from there. You can keep Skillpoints you have earned (meaning you filled a bar and it turned into a 1), but anything after that is going to slowly disappear as you attempt a hard section. Further, since you have no easy access to merchants, your gold will most likely be gone too if you don’t have the mechanics down.

But wait, there’s more! If you die a lot, you will also spread Dragonrot, which sickens NPCs and actively blocks their questlines. A completionist like me is thus extremely alarmed right from the get go: I don’t want to miss out! So the game’s start saw me being overly-cautious and wasting time with stealth because I didn’t want to risk my lack of familiarity with the controls deleting half a bar of experience gained and ruin NPC quests.

But why do you care about XP?

The game’s main attraction comes in the form of Skills and Skill Trees, that players can unlock to improve Sekiro’s arsenal of moves. Some of these skills are passive and make a large difference in the core mechanics, whilst others are active and perform extraordinary feats. But they all cost Skillpoints, and if you’re dying a lot you’re unlikely to fill up that bar. So you’re stuck in this strange place where you really don’t want to die because there’s no chance to regain your losses, which means you might want to go farm to fill the XP bar and spend all your gold before running into any boss room.

Git Gud!

The essence of any souls game is to overcome a challenge, and people will say “Just Git Gud“. Elitism aside, this is valid commentary, and it is extremely important for veteran souls players to truly discard their previous muscle memory when approaching this game. Players who struggle with quick reactions will also want to fully explore the Stealth mechanic and focus on gathering those skillpoints to unlock important perks. But most of all, you’ll want to be specific about progressing the game in an optimal order, as the Prosthetic Tools you find can be key to success in certain fights.

So, is the gameplay good?

Sekiro’s gameplay is the most refined FromSoftware work to date, taking it a step further than Bloodborne went. The split-second execution of amazing maneuvers and counters is flashy and satisfying, and the many skills and prosthetic tool upgrades available complement the light RPG “Stats” upgrades the player can pursue. All in all, players might be disheartened during the first few hours by the extremely punishing adjustment period, but there’s a specific wall that “lifts” if you progress in the right order, and after that you will get in the “gud” zone of “git gud” and flow through the game with great enjoyment.

Gameplay includes fan-favorite Builds, as you have limited points without farming and could create great combinations.

Sekiro Audio & Visual

Fromsoftware began conceptualization of Sekiro in 2015, and this unfortunately shows. The game’s graphics are good, but they are nothing amazing and the PS4 pro visuals are not necessarily outstanding. The rendering of backgrounds and locations is quite scenic, however, and the level design and enemy concepts are fantastic and very enjoyable.

That said, when you go into the “Action” line you start to compete with games like God of War, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Devil May Cry, and FromSoftware is not at the top of that game (yet). We are quite looking forward to their next engine and the visual upgrades that will come with it, but for now Sekiro sits at a very comfortable “Good graphics” veredict. They are scenic and set the mood, they won’t blow your mind away.

*Note for PC players: You will likely see better graphics than console users, this is a score for PS4 users.

Performance is of course an important factor, and we found that the game’s performance is stable, and have experienced no crashes or glitches. The framerate is not locked so it will fluctuate wildly, but we have not encountered any Blighttown-esque slideshows so you can go forth and slay with precision.

Level Design is a strongsuit of FromSoftware and they successfully delivered an intriguing and interconnected world with plenty of hidden areas to explore. The sheer size of some areas, like Ashina Outskirts, is rather daunting for any completionist. The world building truly delivers in this area, and brings up the overall score.

The music score for Sekiro was rather underwhelming to me, but it might be more impactful to those unfamiliar with Japanese tunes. There’s a definitive tempo to the combat sequences and each area has their own idle and action scores that ramp up the intensity of your play. In this regard, FromSoftware is competing with itself and has a difficult task in attempting to match or surpass the fantastic work of their previous titles. Since none of the songs stuck in my head after playing for hours and hours, I would say they have fallen just short of the task, but still delivered a great score.

Finding all the hidden corners of the world is really fun, and exploration is very much a thing.

Sekiro Replayability

This is the biggest question on the internet, and one that is extremely difficult to answer: What’s Sekiro’s Replayability? The honest answer is: we don’t know because it all depends. The game is extremely challenging to start, which will add a lot of hours to your playthrough if you aren’t a skilled player, but even beyond that there are many nook and crannies to explore if you want to obtain all the upgrade materials, special tools and rare quick items. This means that a skilled player with little interest in exploration is likely looking at 20 hours of gameplay for one playthrough, whilst a less skilled player or completionist will instead get at least 40.

But what next? Why keep playing?

Sekiro has intriguing NPC questlines as well as several endings: that alone would likely encourage most to go onto NG+. But there’s more, in NG+ you will get to face enemies with a fuller arsenal of skills, and since there are so many trees and you can only (without farming) fill up about 2 of them in one go, you will probably want to revisit and become even more flashy.

The motivation to go to NG+, to me, was always about getting more things, or facing a boss again. With Sekiro, you can do both of these things and I feel FromSoftware has done a good job in this department, so that you are happy to continue your adventure because you want to make your Wolf even more amazing.

Character Progression provides plenty of reason to keep looking around for things

Sekiro Pricepoint

As with all our reviews, Pricepoint covers the contextualization of a game, to see if you should buy it now or wait for a bargain, or skip it altogether! In Sekiro’s case, clocking in 20-40 hours minimum, it is rather comparable to other action games in the market such as Last of Us or God of War.

What Sekiro lacks in graphics, it makes up in replayability as you continue into New Game Plus to unlock more skills and try different endings, which would net a good 20 hours added to both skilled and unskilled players.

Relative to the market, there are not many releases this Spring, besides DMC5 which you really should have bought already, so Sekiro is a good investment for your gaming dollar as it will certainly entertain you for a considerable amount of time. The game has no microtransactions or announced DLC, meaning that at the time of writing you’re getting a full experience for your money, so this is a big plus to the score.

The lack of multiplayer is certainly to the detriment of both Pricepoint and Replayability, but I feel that Fromsoftware’s unique touch and approach shines through the game and makes it a day one buy for any Souls fan ready to let go of RPG and get fully into Action.

The Price is Right!

Sekiro Review Final Thoughts

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice has been a roller coaster for Souls fans, who were initially thrilled, then disappointed at no multiplayer or customization, then reassured by a skill tree and upgrades, then concerned at possible ease from resurrection, to now horrified of actually dying.

This emotional rollercoaster matches the game’s story and setting well, and should fuel your thirst for deathblows, as you annihilate everyone that stands in your path. The Wolf is a surprisingly well-realized character, following a convincing story path, with challenging gameplay that rewards the bold.

Sekiro is not souls, and might not surpass souls, but it is an excellent side-step and a worthy journey for FromSoftware followers as they wait for their favorite developer to deliver more RPG content, hopefully incorporating some of the outstanding action of Shadows Die Twice.

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