#so you have to re-learn how to function as a player along with him

[noknowshame]

In my imagination there's a Black Sails video game where Silver is the player character and as you get further into it there start to be glitches where you click a dialogue/action option and he does something else, and at the very end after the final boss at Skeleton Island your last choice is what to do with Flint and when you decide the game suddenly crashes and self-deletes every single file except for one .txt that just says 'you know of me all I can bear to be known.'

#at the point in the game that he loses his leg all of the controls switch places #so you have to re-learn how to function as a player along with him #Nassau is full of all sorts of side-quests and minigames #you actually have to memorize the schedule and its timed #you can walk up to the fruit-fruit tits-tits paintings and play 'find the differences' for points #you can buy hints from max for in-game money #anything involving cooking is disproportionately much more difficult and complicated than the entire rest of the game #the stories Silver tells to improve the charisma stat are based on items and events you come across in-game #god someone give me millions of dollars to make this #black sails #john silver

[karaloza]

I have a confession to make to the LoZ fandom...

I kind of hate the premise of Age of Calamity.

Nintendo crafted an exquisite tragedy to serve as the backstory for Breath of the Wild--and that's a tragedy in the Greek sense, where the terrible outcome is inevitable because of the human flaws of the people involved (mostly Rhoam, but also slightly Zelda). The game needed a tragic backstory in order to be what it was--a game about moving on from loss, learning to appreciate and make the most of and protect what remains, and finding the beauty in stillness and emptiness.

And by and large, players adore it. We love exploring this desolate Hyrule, discovering ruined structures--some ancient, some a mere century old--and memories, and gradually piecing together the horror of the Calamity that left the world in this state. We love what hasn't been destroyed--the NPCs who have slowly been rebuilding civilization in Link's absence, the unspoiled wilderness reclaiming what was once settled and filling it with natural resources and beauty. We love Link as a microcosm of his world, battered and scarred to near destruction but barely pulled back from that precipice and now functionally reborn, shorn of the weight of his former role along with his memories. As he gets to start over, to recover himself without the extraneous baggage that once oppressed him, so too does Hyrule re-emerge from the ashes and even attain new growth, as with the Tarrey Town sidequest. We find meaning in the aftermath of the tragedy, in what it decimated, what it merely brushed against, and what it seemed not to touch at all.

And then along comes AoC to say nope, actually, the thing to do if possible is prevent the Calamity...and since we're the game devs at Nintendo, it IS possible! The true ending is the one where the tragedy is averted...and hence BotW never happens.

It just feels...idk, kinda cheap, like Nintendo is backpedalling away from the sad story they told us...after thousands and thousands of us found deep meaning in it. And in the process, that meaning is denied.

And I kind of hate it.

They could have done so much better. Imagine a version of AoC that instead leans in to the tragedy, letting us play as Link and Zelda and the Champions as they barrel toward a horrible foregone conclusion, seeing what little they can save along the way. Imagine missions such as rescuing a family cowering in their home as Guardians tear it apart, or escorting a group of evacuating soldiers and citizens, or being a Champion mowing down hordes of monsters on the way to your Divine Beast, only to be faced with the Blight Ganon and unable to win, but scoring based on how long you hold out.

I mean, jeez.

And at the very least, if they wanted the option to avert the Calamity, the pitch should have been "On this day 100 years ago, the kingdom of Hyrule fell...because YOU [the player] weren't there! This is your opportunity to change history!" But instead we got "What if secret time-traveling robot?" It's unsatisfying.

Okay, rant over.

#the legend of zelda #tloz #legend of zelda #loz #breath of the wild #botw #age of calamity #aoc

[iwa1zumis]

“i love you and i like you”: passion and burnout in Haikyuu!! 

tw: discussions of self harm, anxiety, burnout and breakdowns. 

spoilers for the whole manga!! 

okay this is probably gnna be jflkafjdklfj all over the place, but i’ve been thinking a lot lately about the difference between loving and liking something, and how haikyuu emphasises the importance of both those feelings being present when pursuing a passion. 

a quick look at google (and i KNOW my college professors are cringing away in horror victor frankenstein-style @ my use of google definitions but jflajfsdk bear with me!!) demonstrates how often the concepts of love and like are conflated, with love her being framed as a sort of deeper or more intense like: “to like or enjoy very much” to be specific. but personally i’ve always thought there’s something a bit misleading about that kind of definition, since its absolutely possible to love something or someone without necessarily liking them. to take a personal example: i love debate. i debated through middle and high school, made captain of the debate team, and was constantly travelling to and fro for different tournaments. even before i started to debate formally i’d jump at the chance to do mini-debates in class, argue with and rebut parents and friends over meals and causal conversation.... you get the idea. i loved debate, and still love it dearly, but i honestly don’t think i particularly liked it much. tournaments would always fill me with the most INSANE kind of stress, i’d barely eat or sleep in the days leading up to a meet, and i’ve had more muffled bathroom breakdowns in between rebuttals than i can count. after my final year of high school, i decided against joining the debate at university. i knew that if i were to retain ANY love for the activity going into the future, i had to force myself to take a break. 

so what does this solipsistic tangent have to do with haikyuu, you ask? well i have no doubt that a vast majority of the players in the series love volleyball. they’re dedicated and passionate about it. they hunger for the chance to be put on the court. but do they like to play? 

1. oikawa: “i forgot that volleyball can be fun” 

ofc i wouldn’t be an oikawa stan worth my salt if i didn’t start this off with the (grand) king himself!! imo one of the reasons why oikawa is such a popular and well-loved character is his constant determination to keep moving forward and playing, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable opponents and adversities (”never forget my worthless pride”, anyone?). inevitably, all the hard work and practise he put into his craft has left him with a very carefully constructed, put together playstyle-- he’s the kind of player who knows how to bring the best out of each and every teammate on the court because of the amount of time he spends observing them and playing with them. it’s an outlook and playstyle best encapsulated in his now iconic line during the second karasuno v seijoh match: 

“Talent is something you make bloom, instinct is something you polish!” 

in my opinion the word “polish” it super significant here-- it explicitly singles out the years and years of hard work that set a foundation for his talent and instinct to shine. 

but what happens when they don’t shine? there’s no denying that oikawa is an incredibly skilled and intuitive player (something that hinata’s acknowledgment of him as the “great king” to kageyama’s “king” immediately sets out) but oikawa himself is acutely aware of the fact that he can never quite measure up to his long-time rival ushijima or his immensely talented protege kageyama. oikawa’s self described strategy to deal with opponents is to: 

“Hit it until it breaks” 

but what happens when hitting something again and again with your carefully honed, “polished” skills yields no results? imo there’s a very clear binary mentality drawn here-- either you hit it and it breaks, asserting your superiority; or you hit it and it doesn’t break, enforcing your inferiority. with each perceived loss against ushijima and kageyama, oikawa’s internalized logic holds his own weakness up to his own face, shaking his faith in himself as a player. if you’ll pardon the on-the-nose-metaphor: the whole “hitting it till it breaks” strategy is a two-way street, and oikawa has been hitting himself, metaphorically speaking, for a very long time. i have no doubt that he loved volleyball, passionately, through middle and high school. but with his inferiority complex growing in the face of constantly refuted results, i think he slowly began to like it less and less. 

so how does oikawa get his groove back? to answer that, we’ll have to turn to the post-timeskip chapters, particularly the two chapters that deal with oikawa and hinata’s unexpected meeting in Rio (372 and 373 for anyone curious!). while reminiscing with hinata over dinner, oikawa finally reveals the event that made him want to play volleyball (as a setter, to be exact)-- as a child, he watched veteran setter jose blanco step into a game and

“... inconspicuously help[ed] the ace get his bearings again... and then simply left the court.” 

oikawa’s reaction to blanco’s playstyle might just be one of my favourite panels in the chapter for how it conveys so much with such little space: 

the stammer of “i-i--”, which suggests a sense of resolve and determination forming in real time, finally coalesces into the determined declaration of “i wanna be a setter too!” what i took from this is that oikawa’s admiration for-- and liking of-- blanco expresses itself in the agency with which he makes his choice, in this case, actively deciding to be a setter so that he can support players on the court like blanco did. the liking that oikawa has here is therefore inherently linked to the agency and freedom he feels here-- freedom to choose his position, and how he wants his volleyball career to develop. 

this recollection of his childhood memories, and the subsequent game of beach volleyball that oikawa and hinata play afterwards, essentially push oikawa back into the mental and physical space of a child or beginner, as the manga demonstrates with panels of oikawa being forced to ditch his usual carefully developed, polished playstyle to learn the ropes of beach volleyball: 

ultimately concluding with the beautiful panel transition of oikawa, as a child AND adult, celebrating after a successful play: 

“It reminds me that-- I forgot that-- volleyball is fun.”

in a different country, playing a familiar game by slightly different rules and led back into the mentality and freedom of a novice after years of careful development, oikawa rediscovers his liking for the game. 

2. kageyama: “when you get strong, someone stronger will rise to meet you” 

moving on to the king of the court himself!! i’d argue that kageyama’s childhood memories and experiences of volleyball function almost oppositely to oikawa’s-- while oikawa has to re-access the sensation of being a beginner again to like the game along with loving it, kageyama’s process of coming to like and love volleyball come from moving away from his early experiences and into a new phase of playing-- specifically, his partnership with hinata. 

one of kageyama’s defining features is his individualism-- he’s both skilled and solitary enough to prefer to, as he puts it, “play every single position on the court”. notably, he wants to become a setter because: 

“[it’s] the one that touches the ball the most.”

in fact, i’d argue that kageyama’s “king of the court” attitude that he was known for in middle school is an extension of this individualistic mindset: he holds himself to extremely high standards, and expects his team-mates (as extensions of himself) to meet those very same standards. the similarities between his internal monologue and his commands to kindaichi in these two panels, for example, are strikingly, visibly similar: 

there’s that near-identical intonation of “move faster, jump higher!” that implies that the way he treats his teammates is just an extension of how he treats himself-- a deeply self-critical, miserable way, as it turns out. it’s telling that for the first few chapters of a manga in which characters’ eyes literally light up when they’re happy, passionate or excited, kageyama’s eyes are drawn as pitch black, even while he’s playing. 

imo the reason why hinata’s appearance, and their later partnership, is so significant for kageyama’s personal development is because he can’t treat hinata like an extension of himself. hinata challenges him and his preconcieved notions of the sport at every turn: first with his lightning-fast reflexes and raw intuition, and then with his determination to hit kageyama’s toss no matter what. in fact, the first time that kageyama’s eyes light up in the manga is, you guessed it, when he and hinata first pull off a successful “freak quick”: 

during the post-timeskip chapters we’re introduced to kageyama’s backstory in much greater detail: the way in which his grandfather fostered his passion for volleyball and the timing with which his grandfather’s illness and later death left kageyama increasingly alienated, thus further enforcing his individualist mentality. but what the chapter also gave us was an explicit confirmation of a theme that had been built up from the very beginning of the story, when kageyama’s grandfather tells him: 

“when you get really strong, i promise someone stronger will rise to meet you”

i’ve seen translations of the line that use both “meet” and “challenge”, and personally i’d have to say that i prefer “challenge” for what it implies-- even before hinata got strong enough to actually meet kageyama halfway he challenged him to move away from his pre-established mindset of doing everything himself, and into one where he actually comes to enjoy-- and like-- volleyball. 

3. hirugami: “maybe you’ve just had your fill”

hirugami’s case is kind of a strange one-- unlike oikawa and kageyama he’s not a major character, and his relationship with volleyball only gets a single backstory chapter as opposed to a series-long arc. but i personally ADORE his mini-arc for the things it has to say about burnout, passion and moving on. 

hirugami is introduced as the youngest member of a volleyball family-- his parents, older brother and older sister all play the sport. when explaining how he began to play himself, hirugami says: 

“... naturally, i started to play too. because i was good at it, and it was fun.” 

imo there are a lot of really interesting things to pick apart with this phrasing: the “naturally” implies a foregone conclusion but also a degree of passivity, like he himself recognises that he was swept up in his family’s influence. the “it was fun” coming AFTER “because i was good for it” also implies a degree of correlation, as though if he didn’t have the aptitude, he wouldn’t enjoy the game (a mindset markedly different to both oikawa and kageyama). as hirugami gets older, this correlation of being good ----> having fun ----> being able to play begins to reverse, and therefore manifest in increasingly self destructive ways: 

the main impetus for hirugami has now become not wanting to lose, which therefore requires a degree of heightened practise and self discipline in order to achieve. notably, having fun has been reduced to an afterthought, a state that might be achieved if he wins. 

the correlation of “winning” and “being good” is a slipperly slope to go down, though, something that becomes especially apparent after hirugami’s team lose a game. the frustration of being unable to reach his goal of winning manifests itself as not being “good enough”-- acting on this, hirugami seeks to punish himself for “messing up”: 

the close up panel of hirugami’s “confession” after hoshiumi confronts him hits particularly hard because it taps into a feeling that i’m sure almost all of us have felt at one point or another-- the realisation that something you once both loved AND liked is now only bringing you misery: 

ironically, it’s actually this acknowledgement of “not really liking volleyball that much” that acts as a catalyst for hirugami’s recovery from burnout. hoshiumi’s acknowledgement of, and reply to, hirugami’s state is seemingly simple but deeply freeing: 

and honestly, why not just quit? there’s nothing tethering hirugami to volleyball, certainly nothing as serious as life or death. personally my favourite part of this panel is hoshiumi’s description of volleyball as food from which hoshiumi has “eaten his fill”-- a lovely metaphor that re-contextualizes what could be seen as “time wasted” into something productive and indeed nourishing. 

when we check up on hirugami post time-skip, we find out that he has indeed quit playing volleyball in favour of going to veterinary school, but he’s seen watching the game between the jackals and adlers on his phone with an eager, fond smile on his face, implying that it was the act of moving away from the table (so to speak) after eating his fill that let him still hold on to a love and passion for the game, even though he is now interacting with it as a spectator instead of a player. and indeed that might just be why i love hirugami’s arc so much-- with it, haikyuu tells us that sometimes passion’s don’t need to be re-ignited in the same way. while oikawa and kageyama rediscover their love for, and liking of, the game through a return to childhood and the arrival of a new partner respectively, hirugami’s journey away from burnout comes from recognizing that he can step away from the volleyball court, and that the love and like will still remain. 

#ari.txt #meta #hq!! meta #haikyuu meta #hq!! #haikyuu #haikyuu!! #oikawa tooru #kageyama tobio #hirugami sachirou #me pointing @ myself: it's her officer! she's the one using her english lit degree to write 3k word long metas on sports anime!! #anyways jflafjsdlk this was an absolute blast to write!! and i'd LOVE to know what you guys think about it: do you agree? disagree? #please do let me know!! :> #long post

[proudlylost]

My 6+1 favorite SPN fics: AU

After the SPN finale I kinda got sucked back into the fandom. The excessive amount of fanfiction reading ensued (I re-read all of my SPN fic favorites and then some) and I realised I have actually read quite a lot of them. So I thought I could share them, to highlight all the talented authors there is and also to gather all of my favorites into the one place. This post contain my favorite AU fics, the SPN universe edition of this fic rec can be found here.

Ninety One Whiskey by komodobits

“In the spring of 1944, the 104th Medical Battalion of the United States Army is disbanded, and its men reassigned to various infantry companies in preparation for their invasion of occupied France. For First Lieutenant Novak, this is less than helpful, as he has so far met his platoon’s designated medic a grand total of twice, and has both times found Sergeant Winchester to be the optimum combination of reckless, arrogant, and downright insufferable so as to make cohesive platoon function near impossible. When the time comes to move out, however, Castiel has to reconcile himself to the fact that men are going to go down and trust that Dean Winchester may well be the only person who can put them back together again. WW2 ETO infantry AU. “ 

READ! THIS! Well, there is some really disturbing war related and time period related stuff, but if you can stomach that, read it! Along with the Angel’s Wild, this is my favorite fanfiction. This fic is heart wrenching and so, so good.The characterization is on point. Historical accuracy is on point. Slow burn is on point. Everything is just perfect. However, as I said, this fic is heavy stuff. There is some serious angst (I cried. I almost never cry when reading) and trauma. But there is glimmers of hope, even if sometimes it feels hopeless. Expected recovery time: at least two weeks. Word Count:  401,183. Explicit

Angel’s wild by LimonadeGaby and riseofthefallenone

“But that’s the whole reason he’s here, isn’t it? He’s not out here hunting Humans. He’s not even hunting deer, or bears, or anything else that featured in Bambi. He’s out here, freezing his nuts off every night, because he’s hunting Angels.

Sometimes Dean wishes that Angels were like how they’re described in the Bible. How people from time too old for him to care much about thought Angels were messengers and warriors of God, protectors of Humans. He knows that how they’re really described in the Bible is actually pretty terrifying, but at least they were told by God that they’re supposed to love Humans, right?

That’s a thousand times better than what Angels really turned out to be.”

This was first longer fic that I read from Supernatural fandom and I fell in love. So this is “the fic that got me into the fandom” but I have read it multiple times since and it is still very, very good. I love everything about this fic. It is very original and the lore is amazing. I love how Dean and Cas are both quite young (in Cas’s case, relatively speaking) and how their love develops (slow burn! <3) I love how Cas is described and I love how he communicates (unintentionally) with flowers. You can also read this without having any knowledge of supernatural series (like I did) which is always impressive for a fic. Wor count:  389, 271. Explicit

For All You Young Hockey Players Out There, Pay Attention by thursdaysfallenangel

“Dean Winchester knows two things about hockey, two things his dad made sure he knew. One, hockey is a guy’s sport, and two, hockey is family. Hockey meant Sam and Bobby and Benny and Victor and Gabriel and hell, his entire team. So when Victor gets traded, Russian-star-turned-new-teammate Castiel Krushnic becomes a threat. As much as Dean hates him for that, the longer he sticks around, the more he begins to threaten that first rule too. Dean’s been taught his whole life that those who play hockey should not be captivated by deep accented voices and the way a guy handles his stick, so how the hell is he supposed to justify what he’s starting to think about Cas? All Dean wanted at the beginning of the season was to win, and now all he wants to do is figure out how he feels about Cas and how to deal with it without ruining his career and tearing his family apart. “

Ah, three of my absolute favourite things smashed into the same fic: sports, slow burn and enemies to lovers. This fic has lots of cameos from supernatural characters, because hockey teams require lots of players. So it is easy to spot your favorite character in this fic. This fic is probably one of may favorites, because of the sport environment (Outside the fandom, I have been super into sports. Like so much I have several national championships medals from my sport. Anyway, not a point here): also the sexual tension between Dean and Cas is so good, especially when they are pumped with the adrenaline. You don’t really need to understand sports to enjoy this fic, though. Word count:  143,592. Explicit

Formula Won by cardinalwrites

“Of all the places Castiel Novak thought he would take in his career, an internship as a Formula One Paddock Correspondent (or journalist, for short) was most definitely not one of them for a few reasons. One: He had no clue what the hell Formula One was. Two: He knew nothing about sports in general. And Three: He should not fall in love with the people he’s supposed to be asking hard-hitting questions to, least of all the head driver of one of the oldest and most well-renowned teams in the sport’s history.

This is a love story told around the world through the eyes of the person that knows the least about where he has found himself in. Come follow a 20-race season finding love in the lost, learning the truth, and figuring out what the hell Formula One is along the way.”

Another sports fic with a slow burn. This is probably not everyone’s cup of tea, because there is quite a lot information about formula one, and the reading experience is more enjoyable if already know about formulas/do your research. Don’t let it stop you though, because this fic is very good. The friendship between Dean and Cas is very natural, and later the romance as well. The plot is very engaging and the drama inside the formula one organization is so good. This fic is also not so “heavy” as the other ones in my list (of course, there are problems along the way, but even the fic’s tags say there will be fluff). The rating is T, which is kinda surprising, because I did not notice it until I already had read the whole fic. Word count: 123,777. Teen

Have Love, Will Travel by squeemonster

Castiel Novak is a reclusive writer with a childhood so tragic it's left him terrified to leave his home—until his overbearing brother, Gabriel, drags him out for a night on the town full of booze and strip clubs, and he encounters Dean Winchester, a mesmerizing and mysterious stripper with secrets of his own. Both men find themselves inexplicably drawn to each other, and soon Dean's private dances for Castiel become much more, as both men confess their troubles and find solace in each other's company. But neither can seem to find the courage to take their relationship further than the intimacy of the club's VIP Room—and just when Dean's own brother gives him the excuse he needs to finally admit his feelings, Dean discovers something that brings it all crumbling down. Will they find a way past their demons and their trust issues, and back to each other?

This is one of the fandom classics and quite rightfully so. Both Dean and Cas have issues, in other words: what’s new? The sexual chemistry between them was so good and well written, but there is also angst and mental health issues (mostly Cas). Sam is quite young in this fic, but manages to be very much a little brother. I honestly loved this fic when I was a bit younger, but I think it is still very good and deserves its place in this list. Word count  94,054. Explicit

Pick It All Up by thepinupchemist

Army veteran Castiel Novak is a wreck after his tour in Afghanistan, brought home to his brother's apartment in Lawrence, Kansas with scars both mental and physical. He copes poorly, and during one night of bad decision making, meets somebody just as much of a disaster as he is -- a prostitute named Dean Winchester. And suddenly, two damaged men might not be as irreparable as they believed.

Ah, it seems that I’m incapable of picking nice, fluffy, happy fanfics. This certainly is not one of them. There is full warnings in the tags, because there is some triggering stuff: PTSD, mentions of past abuse, alcoholism etc. But, this is also very healing story in its own way (It has happy ending. I guess I can spoil that because it reads in the tags) . I avoided this fic for a long time, because the prostitute!Dean tag scared me away, but this was so worth of reading (as I said, happy ending)! Gabriel is super supportive and sweet brother and Dean and Cas are dysfunctional but they work so well despite all the trauma they have endured. Word count:  126,611. Explicit

Bonus: Twist and Shout by gabriel and standbyme

What begins as a transforming love between Dean Winchester and Castiel Novak in the summer of 1965 quickly derails into something far more tumultuous when Dean is drafted in the Vietnam War. Though the two both voice their relationship is one where saying goodbye is never a real truth, their story becomes fraught with the tragedy of circumstance. In an era where homosexuality was especially vulnerable, Twist and Shout is the story of the love transcending time, returning over and over in its many forms, as faithful as the sea.

Well, I don’t think this fic needs any introductions. This is the fic, the most popular in SPN fandom and one of the most popular ones in the whole ao3. I thought that I could read this, because I don’t generally have many triggers, despite all the warnings. I was a wreck during reading. And I have managed to read it once and I can’t make myself read it again. But it is good and amazingly written. This fic plucks every emotion out of you and does anything it pleases with them. You have been warned. Word count:  97,556. Explicit

(When I wrote this fic rec I also realised I have a serious problem with long fics. Like, most of my favorites are at least 100,000 words. At this point I think I don’t even consider a fic to be slow burn, unless it takes several days to complete the fic. Oops)

#supernatural fic rec #destiel fic rec #supernatural fanfiction #destiel fanfiction #destiel slow burn #supernatural #destiel

[sixth-light]

Chekhov’s Garden Shed

For the last four or five years, the RoL fandom has had a masterpost of Chekhov’s guns/unanswered questions from the series – the last version, with links to the original, can be found here. Past contributors include @deviantaccumulation, @the-high-meggas, @maple-clef, @uncommonsockeater​, and @flannelgiraffe, as well as others who I have doubtless forgotten. [If that’s you or someone you know, please speak up!]

Ben Aaronovitch has indicated that he views the various open questions of the series as less of a set of ‘guns on the mantelpiece’ (which must be taken down and fired before the series is finished) and more a ‘garden shed’ of things he thinks might be useful one day but could also end up rusting in the back after getting buried under other things. The fun is finding out which is which. (Thanks to @ilikesallydonovan for originally reporting this and chasing down the link!)

So, without further ado, here is the renamed Chekhov’s Garden Shed Of Stuff That Might Come Back Later. It’s separated into Answered Questions, Partially-Answered Questions, and Things Still Buried At The Back Of The Shed. I enthusiastically welcome comments, corrections, and missing items. Contains spoilers for all published RoL-related material including the novellas, comics, online snippets, and interviews with the author. A mirror of this version can be found at Dreamwidth – I will try and keep it updated as I update this one.

ANSWERED QUESTIONS:

·        What the fox said to Abigail in WuG It was warning her about Chorley’s involvement with/interest in Skygarden. 

·        Peter’s father needs a few thousand for dental work; his mum is very keen to get the money so that he might re-launch his career. They’ve already done a gig (beaucoup money) for Ty. Will this be a vulnerability for Peter at some point? Apparently not; his dad’s band do regular gigs for the demi-monde, his dad has his new teeth, and Ty doesn’t seem to have been involved at all. Peter just has to live with his parents being better-informed about his work and new world than he might like! 

·        Will we see Awa Shambir again? Her of the suspiciously expensive hijab to be cleaning the offices (of a front organisation for an evil wizard) in… Goodbye Awa Shambir the Somali cleaning lady, hello Lady Caroline Elizabeth Louise Linden-Limmer, surreptitiously aerial scion of nobility. 

·        What was Molly doing in the tech cave? Is she on facebook/twitter/tumblr/a cooking forum? Looking up recipes? Has she discovered online shopping? Molly is active on Twitter gossiping and swapping recipes; it’s not a secret from either Peter or Nightingale, they just pretend not to know. 

·        Is that watch Nightingale gave Peter going to have any future relevance? Peter and Caroline had a watch-off in The Hanging Tree which Peter won, and the practitioner habit of wearing mechanical (and hideously expensive) watches enabled Peter to identify Chorley as the Faceless Man. 

·        Who is Mr. Nolfi’s mother? Where did she learn magic? and Have any other Newtonian wizards continued to practice in secret and/or trained apprentices in other parts of the country, without telling Nightingale? (Broader: was Nightingale mostly wrong about being the last wizard in Britain or really, totally, 100% wrong?) and What about the “female affiliates” of the Little Crocodiles? and How many wizards did Wheatcroft actually train and where are they now? Most of an answer to all of these: there’s a long-standing tradition of women practicing and teaching each other Newtonian magic dating back to before the founding of the official Folly. Mr Nolfi’s mother and the ‘female affiliates’ of the Little Crocodiles could well have come from this tradition. And Nightingale was totally utterly wrong about being the last wizard in Britain. Practitioners exist trained by ‘hedge’ wizards and witches, trained by Little Crocodiles, immigrated and bringing other traditions with them…that cat is not only out of the bag, it was never even in it. C.f. Patrick Gale and co. in Detective Stories and Lies Sleeping. However, many Little Crocodiles never really learned magic at all, or managed to brush it off after university as unimportant – unfortunately for them, Martin Chorley targeted them as tools and bait.

PARTIALLY-ANSWERED QUESTIONS:

·        What happened at Ettersberg that caused magic to disappear? Answered in various interviews: magic didn’t disappear at Ettersberg as an objective thing, but a lot of practitioners were wiped out by the war and the Nazis, as well as a lot of genii locorum and other fae and magical people. Nightingale over-indexed on this because he was depressed and traumatised, and the magic ‘coming back’ is a combination of a new generation of gods, fae, and practitioners growing up, and Nightingale noticing the ones who were there all along.

·        Where are the notes Peter was promised? Peter has a deal with Nightingale about getting questions answered in return for magical progress; we haven’t seen him look at any old wizard’s notes specifically but he doesn’t seem to be waiting on them. 

·        What was Nightingale doing in the 70s that he managed to miss the original FM’s adventure in Soho? Working with the Met, apparently - he was called in when Woodville-Gentle got his at Lady Helena’s hands, but too late to determine whether it was magic. Seems like he just wasn’t paying enough attention to what was going on around him!

·        What was Peter doing after he left school and while he was a PCSO? Why did he have problems during his A levels? Why did he join the police? Peter flatted and worked retail for a while after he left school (possibly while he was at school, too). We still don’t know what happened with his A-levels or what led him to join the police. 

·        Outwith the Met, does the Folly answer to the Home Office (or higher)? There are hints at that (cf. Walid in RoL), but nothing more and Who is Nightingale’s boss/who does Postmartin send his files to?  No direct answer to who they answer to beyond what we already knew, but we learn in THT that they have their own source of funding and aren’t an official part of the Met. Nightingale does not appear to have any direct supervisor beyond the Commissioner (or presumably they would have been informed/called when he was kidnapped in Night Witch). 

·        How do “Hedge Witches” practise magic; how does it differ from formal Newtonian magic and will we get to meet any? Are “Hedge Wizards” simply rusticated Newtonian wizards, or do they also have informally-developed skillz? Per the one we meet in Black Mould: hedge witches and wizards have informally-developed skills rather than just being rusticated Folly wizards, but how close their magic is to the style Peter is learning, it’s hard to say (because it was a comic.) Others are probably from the female tradition, ex-Newtonian wizards, etc – it’s a mixed group.

·        How old is Postmartin, exactly (Peter thinks he looks older and frailer than his Dad, who’s in his 70s, but that’s just his guess)? How did he get that job, and is he ‘just’ a civilian affiliate, like Walid, or something else? Who does he answer to, and what happens if/when he needs replacing? What’s his twitter handle?! Postmartin served during the Korean War, so must have been born between 1928 and 1936 (per @sparrow-wings) - he’s currently in his 80s, as it’s late 2015 in current book time. His Twitter handle might be “dyingforafag” (who Molly is chatting to in Body Work). 

·        What sort of experiments were the Nazis doing with vampires? (Do we want to know? Proooooooooooobably not.) and Can the Rivers be killed, if they’re badly injured enough far enough away from their river? What happens then? We found out in Lies Sleeping you can use ‘tinned vampires’ to kill and hurt genii locorum and discomfit practitioners, so that’s…you know…fine. Rivers can definitely be killed in general, c.f. the former Lugg whom the Methodists got to. It’s only functional immortality.

·        What’s the deal with Mr. Punch when Peter’s leaving London at the beginning of Foxglove Summer? Is he coming back? Is it only Peter who senses him? If so, why? and How are Lesley and Punch connected? And What powers does Lesley have now aside from face-changing, if any? Martin Chorley was trying to murder Punch, who was a god of chaos and vengeance, in order to 1) gain magical power 2) ????? 3) glorious white supremacy. Lesley agreed to help Chorley to get back at Punch, but may still have some connection to him, having survived possession by him; she certainly has magical powers of her own now, being able to change her face at will. They wanted Punch powered up so he’d be a better source of magic when taken down. Punch was still pinned to London Bridge, but was freed by Peter. He can be talked down by his daughter Walbrook, but for better or worse, he’s out and a player in London’s magical ecosystem. Let’s hope Peter’s right and he plays an important role in it.  

·        How and why did Isis become immortal, since just marrying a River doesn’t appear to do the trick? Kelly tells Tobi Winter in The October Man that sometimes the partners/spouses/better halves of Rivers do just pick up immortality, although even she as an elder River doesn’t know exactly how or why that happens. Probably it’s what happened to Isis. Why it hasn’t happened to George McAlister is an open question.

·        What does it mean that Michael Cheung is ‘the new guy in Chinatown’? and Is there something going on with Guleed (PLEASE NO) or is she just picking up things about the demi-monde via her friendship with Bev (…and others)? Michael Cheung is the latest of a long line of people who have responsibility for any magical shenanigans in London’s Chinatown, so 1) the Folly/Nightingale don’t have to worry about it and 2) Chinatown doesn’t have to be offended by their attempts to worry about it. He’s dating Guleed and teaching her cool martial arts magic. Whether she has other demi-monde contacts is not yet clear.

·        Who is Chorley’s mole within the Met?  Probably not Seawoll, Stephanopoulos, Richard Folsom, Guleed, or Carey, due to the security practices put in place during Operation Jennifer. But if not any of them….then who?

·        How/why the fox knows about [Skygarden and Chorley], (and why it would tell Abigail) According to Abigail, the talking foxes view themselves as secret agents, and someone like Chorley would naturally draw their attention. Why they do so and who they think they should be reporting to is still unclear (but may be elucidated in the Abigail novella).

STILL BURIED IN THE SHED SOMEWHERE:

·        What about the paintings of Molly and a blue-eyed elderly man who looks like Nightingale that Peter found in the coach house?

·        Are there really werewolves or just creepy magic trackers called werewolves? (I’m waiting for them to turn up.)

·        Why does Fleet have a captain of dogs? What do her dogs do? (Is this related to the werewolves? Were-dogs?)

·        What’s the actual connection between Wheatcroft, FM1 (Woodville-Gentle, if that’s him) and FM2? Did he train them both, or did W-G train FM2? NB: Unlikely to be directly answered now Chorley is dead.

·        What’s up with Abigail’s apparently useless protection charm?

·        Is there a special reason that Nightingale is called The Nightingale? (+ is he strong/good at magic because of hard work or something else.)

·        People I’d like to know more about: Nightingale’s uncle, David Mellenby, Nightingale’s family.

·        How much do senior officers in the Met really know about the Folly/Nightingale/magic? Is it well-known that Nightingale has been running the Folly since the 1940s?

·        How did Nightingale learn the language Father Thames speaks?

·        How much does Nightingale and/or Walid know/suspect about the deaging thing? How much of this aren’t he/they telling Peter?

·        How did Walid and Nightingale meet?

·        Are there aliens?

·        Was the 1911 decrease of odd magical activity in Herefordshire linked to Molly?

·        Why does Seawoll dislike Nightingale so viscerally?

·        Did Peter really drop architecture because of his draughtsmanship or was it something else? Is it related to why his chemistry teacher wrote that letter to the newspaper?

·        How active is the ex-wizard grapevine, really? Is the FM connected to it at all?

·        What was the Faceless Man actually planning on doing with his Crossrail lair? Why build it so close to the Folly?

·        What happens if one river tries to userp, unseat or in any way properly fight another? Are the results ‘mythic’?

·        Was Emma Wall really a waste of space? As a character she is a bit of a smoking gun - red herring, or something else? She was living next door to our two, and *in* one of the flats where… stuff was being put. Any happily waltzed out on d-day. Peter never really got a chance to speak to her - but Lesley did, and was the one to dismiss her from suspicion. Which is suspicious (to me)!

·        Although we found out after that he’s been around for much longer, Nightingale said that Father Thames was definitely the same person in 1914. So presumably they met then… In what circumstances?

·        Are fae genetically different to other humans? Are they human? What about changelings (like Zoe in FS) - and will she get in contact with Dr Walid? NB: Dr Vaughan is getting some genomes sequenced, so answers to this question may be forthcoming....

·        What did Lesley say to her family about what happened to her face? Do they know about magic?

·        Just how much of an age gap is there between Peter’s parents?

·        Why did the Virtuous Men blame the British for Ettersberg? What was the agreement between them that Nightingale was referring to?

·        Postmartin made a show of wanting to get Peter alone to have a ”big” talk with him. Yet, the discussion we, the readers have witnessed was relatively small. Nightingale only arrived to The Eagle and the Child an hour later. What was said between Postmartin and Peter in the meantime?

·        Peter’s narration at certain points (like Chapter 14 in Moon Over Soho) waivers between past and present tense, and he is occasionally referring to events in (presumably) later books. Just what point in the future is Peter actually narrating these books?

·        When Nightingale got an infection in MoS, how did Walid know? Did Molly phone him and do her Nightingale’s being an idiot silence, or was he just visiting anyway?

·        What does Molly do on her days off?

·        When Nightingale doesn’t go to Peter’s parents’ for Christmas, did his not wanting to leave Molly excuse have any truth to it, or did he just say that so Peter didn’t realise that Nightingale planned to work (and so Peter didn’t feel he should be missing his own Christmas to help)/ he had a reasonable excuse to not go to Peter’s family’s Christmas celebrations?

·        (tongue-in-cheek) What would have happened if Peter and Lesley had given Molly a Heston Blumenthal cookbook?

·        What’s the deal with Lady Helena (and Caroline) - are they connected to Chorley and/or Lesley’s face being healed?

·        What does Caroline want to escape from? What was she doing posing as a cleaning lady at the County Gard offices? 

·        What do the Virginian Gentlemen want, and how connected are they with the American government?

·        What’s their specific definition of a ‘shade’? 

·        When and how did MI5 learn about magic, and do they have any practitioners of their own?

·        Was Christina Chorley a practitioner, possessed, or something else? 

·        Who sold and bought Molly, Foxglove, 'Charlotte' (the Pale Nanny), and 'Alice' (the Pale Lady)? Where were Foxglove, Charlotte, and Alice before they were put in the oubliette and rescued by Woodville-Gentle and then Chorley? Where is the fifth girl who was with them before they were split up?

·        Is it important that Walbrook is also Isis of London? Are there any other Isis-figures in the UK and Europe (aside from Isis who is married to Oxley, and is probably an Isis of Oxford?)

·        Are there any other non-Mama-Thames tidal Rivers? What exactly is Lea’s relationship with Mama Thames, as they see it?

·        What WAS Chorley's master plan, aside from ‘become Merlin, Profit!’?

·        How is the Difference Engine linked to magic, and why? NB: May be answered in ‘False Value’, which is about computing to some degree

·        Who or what is killing talking foxes (as Peter discovers in The Furthest Station)? Why?

#rivers of london #ben aaronovitch #meta #word of god #chekov's garden shed

[theateared]

It’s Fine.  I Can Wait. ❜

Summary:  Certain things make Moxie a little less angry.

    “You’re being moody again.”

    Since Edgar had returned from hunting, Moxie hadn’t spared him a word.  His place behind the bar was begrudging, back remaining to him as he scrubbed the surface with more force than necessary.  Edgar briefly considered telling him to watch for scratch marks but promptly decided that it didn’t matter.  To hell with it.  People are drunk here anyway.  They’re not going to notice an imperfection that small.

    Still no response, he thought to himself as he watched his packmate busy himself with meaningless tasks.  He flitted around the counter like a fly, cleaning already-washed surfaces, moving things slightly to the side, skirting around tables as if he’d kick up enough dust to warrant wiping them down for a second time.  The Alpha barely held back a chuckle of amusement, tall form hunched over the counter as his cheek nestled into his palm.

    “Moxie.  I know you’re upset,”   he tried again, voice light, almost sing-song, as if it was being carried by a breeze.   “Are you going to speak on your own terms or should I pry until you snap?  Because you will snap.  Like an itty-bitty twig.  Tck!  Just like that.”

    Briefly, his friend’s shoulders squared, though his back remained to him.  Edgar smirked, head tilting against his palm.

    “It’s fine.  I can wait.”

    All at once, the hunter whipped around and flung his rag in the Alpha’s direction. Edgar watched with an aloof smile as the material gathered air, fluttering to the ground some distance away from the counter.  His eyes shifted from the spot it had fallen to Moxie’s face as his hands slammed against the solid oak that formed the bar-top.

    “I’m PISSED OFF, Edgar--”

    “Mhm.”

    “-- this fuckin’ bullshit, livin’ here in Huron--  even if it’s only temporary, I feel like a goddamn CIRCUS ACT!”   Although he was angry, he had the sense not to bare his teeth at the other lye.  The last thing he needed was to provoke his leader.  Quickly, he reared back, before he could make a mistake that he wouldn’t be able to rectify.   “Don’t you feel STUPID?  We’re dancin’ round these motherfuckers like fuckin’--  ballerinas, or some shit!  It’s really gettin’ on my NERVES!”   His arms extended high above his head as if he was about to scream, though all he did was stare at the ceiling for a few seconds before continuing on, leaning close.  His voice dropped to a low, raspy rumble.   “Do you know how many fights I’ve had to not have just to stay doin’ this shitty job that nobody wants to fuckin’ do?  This shit’s embarrassin’, Edgar.  Y’hear me?  Embarrassin’.  We’re fuckin’.  Lyes.  There’s no reason we should be pussy-footin’ like this.”

    “Hm.”   Though he hated to admit it, he harboured some similar frustration.  However, the one thing he had above most of his kind was his brain.  In general, lyes were an aggressive specie; they would rather fight to the death for something than work out an arrangement.  Naturally, a lot of weight fell on an Alpha’s ability to defend their creed members from harm.  The way Edgar saw it, it was better to minimise threats than it was to craft plans to combat them. With less enemies to deal with, the creed’s safety naturally increased.

    Slowly, Edgar stood up straight, turning around and locating an all-too-familiar bottle of whiskey.  He may as well have renamed it at this point -  Moxie’s Kryptonite.

    “Tell me something,”   he said levelly as he began to pour his frustrated friend a drink. Despite the serving regulations, Edgar filled the glass until the liquid sat just shy of the brim. Putting it down gracefully, he turned back around to look at him.   “How long have we been friends now?”

    Moxie huffed, a hand wrapping unceremoniously around his drink, bringing it close to his lips.   “Too fuckin’ long...”   he muttered before downing the contents of his glass.  Only when it was empty did he continue:   “I don’t know.  Centuries, probably.”

    “And in all that time, how many times have I done something that has put my creed in jeopardy?”

    “...”   Whether one liked him or not, Edgar was a respectable leader.  In fact, Moxie would hazard a guess and say that he was the best he could have wound up with.  In his previous creed, his Alpha had been a flight risk.  Though his strength was impressive-- he had once killed a band of six rival hunters single-handedly-- he’d been nothing short of a moron.  His foolhardy ways had cost a lot of his own their lives.  It didn’t help that his means of compensation was mating with those that remained in exchange for their silence.  Edgar, on the other hand, was different.  Not only did he possess a great deal of power, the way his mind worked was unheard of in their community.  To him, he resembled a renowned chess player - a renowned chess player with a body count.   “...’s not like I can say...”   he finished lamely.

    “Yes.  I suspected as much,”   Edgar replied, re-filling his glass.   “And so with that in mind, I would implore you to have a little more faith in me.”   His hand wrapped around the stool tucked beneath the counter, drawing it close enough to sit on.  Slightly more comfortably, he once again leaned on his elbow, head cocked slightly to the side as he stared at the other.  In a patient tone:   “Rest assured, there is a reason for every decision I make.  It pays to be  CLEVER  in this day and age, not a barbarian.  This truce with Huron serves a practical function.  While it continues to do so, these people are not our enemy.”

    Less enemies, less trouble.  That was the way the wild worked.  He doubted many understood that, though he suspected he was only privy to such a thought because he had existed in a different way before this.  Had the No-Mans been all he knew, he likely would have striven for brute strength and nothing more.

    Moxie sighed softly.   “I dunno, boss.  What happened to all the fun we used to have? Tearin’ out throats, takin’ names later?”

    “Don’t talk about the glory days as if they’ve long passed, friend,”   Edgar tutted, reaching forward to pat his arm.   “We’ll have our fun, just in the proper way, at the proper time.  Like gentlemen.  Understand?”

    Sullenly, Moxie nodded his head.

    “Do cheer up,”   the Alpha continued, rising from his seat.   “I have a surprise for you.”

    He watched the other lye’s head incline, normally squinted eyes round with curiosity.  After a moment of silence:   “You know I hate surprises.  What is it?”

    “Ah-ah-ahh!”   Edgar all but sang, ever-present smile splitting into a fully-fledged grin.  He whipped around the bar like a falcon, taloned fingers resting atop Moxie’s shoulders and pulling him up to his feet.   “This was the reason I came looking for you.  It would be senseless to give it away just like that.  Put on your dancing shoes.”

    “My what?”

    He didn’t get the chance to ask anything else as Edgar pushed him along.

                                                                     _____

    “... the fuck am I lookin’ at?”   Moxie asked, eyes squinting hard at the foreign object.  It was tall, and he wondered briefly how he had missed it.  Edgar must have had it moved to the tavern that day while he’d been out hunting for food.  It stood in the corner, arched shape casting an ominous shadow onto the ground.  Pronounced decals lined its edges, a peculiar blend of red, yellow and green, and when Edgar shifted forwards to press one of the many buttons, it made a noise.  Moxie’s ears stood straight up, as if startled.

    “This, my friend, is a jukebox,”   Edgar said, gesturing for the hunter to come closer.  He did so hesitantly, eyes moving across the new object with distrustful fascination.   “It plays music.”   Gently, he pressed another button, the screen lighting up.  The song selection jumped straight to titles that began with L in accordance to what Edgar had selected.   “I figured we could use some ambience for this place.  Nothing livens a scene up quite like music.”

    Moxie watched with a hint of interest.  Edgar knows which buttons to press already…  I have to learn too.   “So what, y’thought a bunch’a noise would help soothe my headaches?”

    “Oh, come.  Don’t be so sour!  I know you love music!”

    It was a strange truth, but a truth nonetheless.  Lyes didn’t often have access to things like that.  There was no such thing as ‘art’ when you came from the wild.  The closest thing you could get to that was a fresh corpse.  Nevertheless, he had heard guitars in the woods before. Ambitious campers or Edgar’s weird friend, he wasn’t sure,  but the point was that he enjoyed the sound.  Though he hadn’t been vocal about it, he knew that his Alpha was likely to notice. He often did, for reasons that escaped him.

    What do you care?  You’re the one with the power.

    “Choose a song!  Any song?  Let’s dance the night away!”

    “I ain’t dancin’.  Especially not with you,”   Moxie huffed, though a hand had already stuck out to toggle with the arrow keys.  He recognised none of the titles, selecting one at random, seeming to jump slightly when the device began to make noise.  Despite being told what it did, it still surprised him to be so close to something so loud.   “Woah.”

    “Grand, isn’t it?”   Edgar exclaimed, spinning in a circle as if inviting him into his personal space.  The hunter scoffed, moving away, though his tail began to sway without his say-so. While he couldn’t see him, Edgar gave him a puzzled kind of smile;  the sort that expressed a deep confusion despite its contentment.  Truthfully, he didn’t understand why Moxie was so standoffish.  He likely had his reasons, but he had no clue what they were.  He felt as if there was a tragic sort of distance between them, one filled with a daunting vacancy that lingered long after a stale goodbye.

    Why do you refuse to have a good time?  Why do you only let pleasure visit you in small, controlled doses?  Why are your claws drawn around somebody who has sworn to protect you?

    He watched as Moxie trudged back behind the bar, half expecting him to begin working again. However, all he did was slump against it, tail swinging from side to side like a macabre metronome;  jagged point catching the lamp-light, glinting like an age-old dagger.  This was as calm as he could get.

    “... decent investment,”   he allowed, hard stare fixed on the wall.  The last thing he wanted to do was feed an Alpha’s ego.  In his experience, the more you did that, the harder you fell when it inevitably shot to their head.  They abused their power almost as easily as they fucked  -  without reason, without warning, and wholly in their best interests.   “It’ll drown out these lousy drunkards’ voices a little.”

    “That it will, my friend!”   He was already busy flipping through tracks on his own accord, grin now eager, genuinely invested.  If there was one thing he would always have room for, it was music.  From the moment he’d decided that a tavern was the establishment that worked most in favour with his desires, he’d known at some point that he would invest in a player of some sort.  Failing that, he would have talked to his talented musician friend about playing live on certain nights.

    Perhaps I should still do that.  Murr would probably be over the moon about it anyway.  It would give him another distraction  -  and me a source of pleasure.  Everybody wins.

    So focused with the jukebox, he missed the slacken of Moxie’s jaw;  the way he nuzzled his cheek into his palm, ears bent in the direction of the sound as his Alpha flitted through song previews, tail swish-swish-swishing like a reed behind his head.  A rare tranquillity had befallen him, one that only visited people in their dreams.

    You’re a weird Alpha, he thought to himself, watching Edgar’s face light up as he found a ragtime track that seemed to resonate with him.  It’s almost as if you care about us.

#🞮 — if i could i'd trade my heart for a second brain. ❜ ( edgar. ) #🞮 — i get lost in the nothingness inside of me. ❜ ( moxie. ) #☆ — i never promised you your dream boy. ❜ ( main. ) #☆ — i'm just here to destroy. ❜ ( ic. ) #drabble * #/ idk dude i wanted to write about them #i need to do more dev stuff with both of them explaining how their bond changed from just packmates to friends #but for now you get this tiny thing #it's small and i'm not entirely happy with it but i don't think i can shape it up any more

[semicolonthefifth]

CROSS Ch4 - You Rascal You

A couple hours had passed since then. The music-player had been cycling through several songs and had eventually settled on “Run’ Em Off” by Lefty Frizzel - a moderately cheery Old Earth Western tune. Charlie recalled hearing Jason groan quite audibly when it played.

Charlie had never seen a man drink seven full, large glasses at a bar in one sitting - especially not without losing control of their higher brain functions.

Yet there he was - the man he’d come to know as Jason Cross. Gunslinger; bounty hunter; one of a two man team, part of a famed group that would take down raiders through skill and knowledge of the land. He was a man he only knew as a wondrous tale of wasteland justice; and there he was, chugging alcohol as if he was competing for the world’s biggest drunkard. Yet at his 8th glass in the man stood. At least that was something worth admiring.

Frankie, meanwhile, was all too busy admiring the book - his nose deep into the pages cataloging the history of Aurora. He gazed with sheer joy in detail of every photo, sometimes turning back a page just to re-admire it some more. He let Charlie and Jason be, all while he was content with catching up on the knowhow of the world.

Charlie coughed a bit before asking politely through some discomfort, “Um, Mr. Cross?”

Jason held a finger up, silencing Charlie while he finishes his latest order. After a few large gulps does he finish, letting out a long and heavy sigh. A quietness comes after, with Jason staring off into space. Charlie almost gets a word in before Jason then speaks up.

“Fuckin’ genetics, I swear to God.” He softly complains. “I should be dead now, or at least hammered. Why am I always drawing the worst luck?”

“Yeah… was about to ask about that.” Charlie wonders aloud with a worried tone. “How are you still talking, or in fact… standing?”

“Call it a curse.” Coldly replies Jason. “Let’s just say my body ain’t built like most others if my height ain’t a strong hint by now. Don’t want to get into it though… way too personal.”

“And what I just learned WASN’T personal already?”

Jason groaned more, head brought down with a thumb squeezing at his temple. His injured hand was deep into a plate of ice, half already melted at this point - all while his free hand tends to the headache. His brain was ringing a bit, but it wasn’t the alcohol that was running deep in his body. Repressed memories kept clawing out, and trying to bury them further was hurting his head more than it was worth. With a strong flavorful exhale, he picks his head back up and looks at Charlie.

“Alright, what do you want to know?”

“Y-... You serious?” Charlie asks, a bit concerned for his own safety as he was for Jason’s.

“More than I’m not.” Jason states, with hints of a tired slurring in his speech. “I’m half thinking of running out of here, but considering how shit my luck has been I don’t want to run the risk of something worse happening out there. So… ask away. Might as well ride this newfound awfulness till it ends.”

“Ok, ok…” Charlie collects himself, doing a couple of deep breaths before taking a professional, presentable angle to speak with Jason. “You are Jason Cross. Brother to Frederick Cross. Member of the Crimson Crosses, one of the most famous militia groups on the Black Road, here on on Aurora. Aaaaaand you’ve druken enough ale in one sitting to knock out a man.”

“Yup, unfortunately yes, absolutely no, and not even close.” Answers Jason with a tired look. “Fred and I haven’t been brothers for about… 5 years now. Not a word said to each other since, that I’m certain of. I’ve also not been a member of that damn group for the same amount of time - all entirely my choice. As for the drinking, I’m not close… not a little. I think I can handle some more.”

“But why?” Charlie asked, genuinely concerned - the wideness of his eyes like a boy hearing that his childhood hero was fake all along. “You two were fantastic. I’ve gotten so many stories collected about you guys. All the adventures you’ve taken, and the good you’ve done.”

He quickly snatches his collection book from Frankie, turning a large chunk of pages to a chapter highlighting the many achievements of the Crimson Crosses. There were stylized posters and photographs, all of them singing praise upon the Crosses and their exploits. Charlie began listing them off, all with a sense of innocent pride in his voice. “Here - this one’s about you guys facing off against a crook known as the Silver Stallion. And look here! ‘The Cross Brothers, and the Attack of the Screaming Mimmies!’, a widely-seen classic. Then there’s this one where you fended off a swarm of Kodvacs from ravaging some farms. You guys were heroes!”

Jason takes a glance at the photos, the memories coming back again. With it comes that tremble behind his eyes, a sharp pinch he tries to ignore before stating coldly, “Yeah, but that was long, long ago. Told you: Fred and I ain’t brothers no more. Those adventures don’t mean anything, not when things are so fucked right now. The Crimson Crosses weren’t meant to last with how they operated.”

“Why’s that?”

With a harsh cough, Jason continues. “All Frederick was concerned about was tradition, that’s it. He wanted to keep everything like it was in the old west days. How we lives; how we operated; how we even talked - if, again, you hadn’t noticed. Meanwhile, I wanted to have us improve and modernize; he thought I was ‘ruining things’, and said I had no respect. Eventually I said ‘fuck it’ and left. Left him and that group to rot.”

“That’s it?” Charlie asked softly, yet still curious. “Couldn’t talk it out?”

“Nope, and I don’t care anymore to ever return to it. I got my own thing, and he’s got his. Out here I’ve been handling myself fine these past years. Sure, there've been some… rough parts.” Jason pauses, out of the alcohol in his system or his own emotions is unclear. “Still, I can survive. Can’t say the same thing about the Crimson Crosses, but that don’t matter.”

“That’s unfortunate to hear…” Charlie said softly, looking rather devastated. Jason noticed, but he didn’t much care for it. Suddenly then, Charlie thought of something and proceeded to ask, “Well, it wouldn’t be so bad to talk to him again, right? Maybe catch up on some things? Make amends?”

“Oh to hell with that noise!” Jason shoots back. “I got better things to do.”

Frankie slides the book back to his reach, getting back into his reading as he chimes in with, “Yeah, Jason’s his own man now. Riding around, bounty hunting for the government. Last I heard he got a lead on some guy for a high price - Sid was it?” He shoots a toothy smile at Jason, exclaiming, “Ain’t that right, Jason?”

His smile suddenly weakens once he’s face to face with the sheer, utter misery emanating from Jason’s sour expression. Frankie moves away, chuckling nervously, “I uh… take it that the job didn’t go so nicely?”

Then, a THUD!

Jason’s head slumps onto the table - his face directed down, all the while he admits to his company, “Nothing’s been going nicely. Killed the bastard, but didn’t mean - then I just embarrass myself and get my fingers fucked over when I turn in the bounty. I didn’t even get a single cred for all that trouble. Seems like my luck has just about run out. Everywhere I turn to, everywhere I go… something goes wrong. Sometimes it feels like the universe is just making me out to be a joke. Sometimes… I just wish I weren’t me.”

“Now, come on Jason.” Frankie softly replies, lending a comforting hand upon Jason’s shoulder. “You ain’t unlucky. It's just some bad circumstances. You’ll pull through in no time, I’m sure of it.”

Jason tries to feel a little better, though by now it was a feat that felt harder to get over than any mountain along this cursed world. The reassurance does not last though, as a couple new guests come in through the back of the bar to join in for the night.

The two men were broad in shape, and both quite physically intimidating. One man was quite fat, with a big bushy, coal-black beard alongside a long length of hair from his pinkish head, and a slew of tattooed flames along his muscular arms. The other was far more fit and tall in appearance - white skinned and clean shaven, with dark blonde hair shortened to a buzz cut. His lower jaw jutted outward, often times showing a small row of yellowed teeth. Despite their differences, they dressed very similarly: black leather jackets; dark-red colored shirts with white horizontal stripes; brown, dirtied pants that tucked into their black boots. Each man had a knife prominently sheathed at their belts on one side, but the fatter one has a sawed-off shotgun in his hand.

Jason’s company immediately took notice of them, with Charlie quickly collecting his book back into the backpack while Frankie remains mostly still in his seat. Meanwhile, Jason was too mentally exhausted to even see them; he kept one hand one the ice and the other on the table, all the while groaning every now and then.

The Bartender also saw them - doing a table-take before moving himself away. As the two men slowly made their way to the trio, he observed carefully from where he stood.

Once the two men reached the others, the fit one of the pair looked over them with a brutish scowl - all the while his fatter friend circled over in a slow pace so as to flank the group. Frankie, nervous though smiling, tries being civil, “Hey there uh… friends. You needin’ something?”

Charlie wrapped his arms tight around his back, sticking extremely close to Frankie. The fit-bodied brute unclenches his jaw, cracking it as he adjusts it before speaking in a thick drawl, “Name’s Jessup, ‘friend’... and he’s Burk” He adds, nodding to his partner. “We here juss’ to be lookin’. No issue in’at, yeah? Juss’ a couple guys coming in for a drink is all.”

He leans close from where he stands, while his hands are kept to his side - very close to to his knife where it’s plainly seen. His mouth hangs crooked at times,with lips dipping down obnoxiously. Jessup continues, “Have been runnin’ down the road and back all nigh’ long. Going down the ways and makin’ our mark cross the dunes. We juss’ abou’ looking fer’ someone who’s causing us some problems up on ‘dere road. Wen’ in and murdered a friend of ours… and ‘den carried him off.”

A nervous chuckle escapes from Frankie’s lips, which he fails to contain as the goon Burk completes his slow round. The man gets closer to Jason, examining as best he could. Meanwhile Frankie insists, “Hadn’t seen anyone like that, sir. How do you even know your friend was killed anyhow? Maybe he ran off somewhere?”

Jessup doesn’t flinch or change his expression, instead adding, “Oh, we know he killed him. Supposed to come meet us back, and gave us some warning ‘case any problem were to come his way. ‘Course he never came back, so we checked on a bar he said he were goin’ for. ‘Course we found his body by ‘dere road - put away by his killer. Followed on over ‘tword’s dat bars he mentioned, and then soon enuff one of ‘dem squealed about who done it.”

He slowly rises back, cracking his neck and jaw as he towers over everyone. The knife by his belt tapped by his muscular hands, tense and ready. “Roughed up the owner pretty good - probably hurt his friends just as fierce, I reckon. ‘Ventually he gave a name and some general idea on where he gone on and fled. About put us through a good couple’a hours, but we got the run on the man. Man were described as a blonde, big fella - red bandanna ‘round his head, and got a vest ‘longside some goggles. Name were…. Jason Cross. That soundin’ familiar?”

Charlie was fiercely shaking in his seat, while Frankie had lost all the color and optimism in his face. The corners of Jessup’s lips curled up a bit upon seeing their reactions before he slowly turns his gaze right towards Jason. He asks with a soft intimidation, “Him, eh? Am I gettin’ right?”

Before either could answer, Jessup starts moving over. Frankie attempts to stop him by getting in front, but is quickly stopped when Jessup snatches his arms and slams the man against the table. Pinned, Frankie struggles as Jessup steals the man’s sidearm, keeping it away while his friend Burk makes his move. The Bartender can’t do anything to help, as Jessup aims the stolen gun right at the owner.

“Don’t be gettin’ any bright ideas, fella.” Jessup growls through gritted teeth. “We only wantin’ one dead man today, so don’t push us to make room for four. Keep yo’self out of our business if you know what’s good for ya’.”

All the while Burk holds up his shotgun, tapping Jason on the shoulder with a free hand while the gun was aimed. Jason stirs, looking lazily at the two as his mind starts to catch up on things. When he finally puts two and two together, he winces and groans, letting out a slow, tired, “Oh, damn it. It’s me, right? Of-fucking-course it’s me… it always got to be me.”

“Get up!” Shouts Burk, striking the butt of his shotgun at Jason’s back. Jason barely reacts, not even out of pain. His head is giving him all sorts of ringings and fog. It’s like an ongoing fireworks event is bouncing around in his head, and it ain’t letting up anytime soon. There’s enough awareness to get him to hold his hands up slowly, though he still groans in doing so.

“I’m coming, I’m coming… just give me a second ok?” Jason slurs in his remark. “My head’s a bit fuzzy.” He lightly shakes his head, not so much to push the intruders into making the problem any worse than it should. Afterwards, he suggests, “Mind we take this outside? I’d rather not die in a bar, personally speaking. I think that’s not gonna do me any favors for me after I’m dead.”

“No chance there, friend.” Jessup chimes in. “Boss wantin’ you dead. Right here, so nobody be goin’ and messin’ with us again.”

“Yeah!” Adds Burk, “So pipe down! Else, we make this a slow one.”

Jason blinked, his expression a mix of confusion, intoxication, and grumpiness. Some of it brought by the situation, part of it by the music. Just as his whole world was turning upside down; just when it seemed he was about to be done in at the worst possible way - the universe throws another wrench at the burning tractor that was Jason’s life.

Blaring from the radio like an insane bastard was about the worst song that could play at that moment: “Paraylized” by the Legendary Stardust Cowboy. It screeched with a mix of unintelligible lyrics screamed aloud, alongside a set of banging drums and cymbals. All that noise turned the fireworks in Jason’s head into a lineup of air horns playing simultaneously. It woke Jason’s sense quick, but at the cost of knowing that this song would be what followed him into the afterlife. If disappointment could kill, it would’ve done him away three times by now.

He held a finger up as he stared back between the music-player and the two goons. Then he begged, meaning it when he says, “Listen… if I’m dying, can I make one last request?”

Jessup pursed his lips, sighing gravely, “Yeah?”

“Please.” Jason pleaded aggressively, “Can I please change the song? I’ll die, alright, but it shouldn’t be to this. It can’t be to this. Anything but that piece of crap.”

All of them glanced towards the music player, to which even Jessup and his partner looked troubled at. Eye-twitching, it almost seemed heartless to make THAT the last thing for someone to hear before they die. After a moment he stepped aside, nodding to Burk to let Jason move ahead - though to keep his gun aimed still.

Slowly, on the death mark, Jason Cross makes his way to the player. He twitched and frowned at every incomprehensible shout from the singer, but prayed and gave thanks to the universe that - at the very least - he could change it before he died. For a moment he thought how easy it would be to run out through the hallway at this point, then out the back - but he knows that was his fear talking; were he to leave, it would only put his friends in danger in his stead. After a long, slow walk he made it to the music-player, studying it for a moment.

It was a neat little invention, inspired by the more modern techs made in the 21st century of the Old Earth. The player was a small rectangular box with a screen monitor that, when touched, would respond to the users action. It had a series of wires going into the walls, likely into the several speakers hidden throughout the saloon. The box was a brown color, to better match the area, but also dusted with age. The screen lit up past the dust, a sign that few ever come to change the music themselves. When Jason scrolled through the selection, he found it to be near infinite, thanks in part to the incredible storage this little box held. As he scrolled, he cycled through what music was available - as he couldn’t afford the time to be picky.

There were all sorts of songs, most of which had a country feel. There were variations of grunge, rock, and easy listening throughout the pre-selected library. Jason recognized some names: Eddie Arnold, the Larks, Dick Dale, along with some Van Morrison. He felt the clock ticking - he had to find something, anything.

If Jason Cross were to die today, he ought to die to something different.

He hovered his fingers to the monitor, closed his eyes, and picked a song at random.

Then, silence.

Nothing.

Soon, a screech - Jason’s ears perk and he cringes.

A guitar strums. The drums follow. There’s a beat that hits hard.

Jason’s eyes slowly open, and then his body eases. He turns away from the music player, and right there simply lets the music hit him. The lyrics come, sung by a dry voice that speaks of a rascal to be made dead. The song hits Jason in the way he needed, as if it woke him up - and pointed him on a path right back to those men.

For the first time in a long while, though he cannot say how, Jason felt good. A sensation crawls up his spine, and a light breathless chuckle erupts out softly.

The two men look confused, but Jessup is quick to shout in a pissed off tone, “Alright ‘den! Get on back ‘ere, Cross! It’s about time you died!”

Jason looks at them, and after a look around he slowly makes his way back. Being careful, he grabs something off the hallway wall and keeps it right close.

He moves further towards the two, stopping just right before them. Jason’s friends are unable to do much at this time, and the Bartender is just as stuck. His attention is immediately drawn to Jessup, whose lip twists into a grin - his bottom lip still sagging, enough to show his browned gums. Burk’s shotgun is aimed at the ready, and Jessup asks,

“Any final words?”

Jason doesn’t nod or shift for that moment, instead staring intensely right back at Jessup as he answers back, “Yeah…”

“...Draw.”

Quick as a flash! Jason flips his hands and produces a revolver, aimed right at Jessup’s throat. Both men were taken by surprise - the gun was too quick to register before it had already pinned close to his jugular. Jessup chokes a bit out of reflex, but he keeps his cool. He looks at Jason, right into his eyes - through the goggles he can see pure anger daggered right back with an odd greenish spark.

Rob is left surprised, holding the shotgun as he tries to get what had just happened. For a moment his eyes concentrate on the gun Jason’s holding.

“You be goin’ and making a big mistake.” Jessup scowls, spitting at his t’s and k’s.

Jason doesn’t give. He returns in kind, fierly. “I’ll be the fucking judge of that.”

Rob looks closer at the gun. He squints, and thinks aloud, “Is that a--”

SMASH! Shards of white porcelain and half-melted ice fall everywhere. Frankie is risen off his seat, holding a broken plate while all the other pieces are spread about or wedges into Burk’s head. The fat brute recoils in pain; the shotgun is lowered before it’s finally dropped.

Jason takes the opportunity, smacking the revolver upside the brutes head. Hard. Jessup falls to the side, also dropping the gun he’d stolen from Frankie before it slides far away.

Angry, Burk gets up and charges at Jason - he tackles him against the bar table and begins to lay down a series of heavy strikes against Jason’s face and body. Pinned down, Jason tries to fight back against the blows, by kicking against his fatter opponent. All the while the Bartender finally gets the chance to join in and tries to push Burk off Jason - as well, Frankie and Charlie try their best to smack at the man.

Not content with just punching, Burk ignored everything before pulling his knife from off his belt and goes for the stab.

The blade swings wildly, causing everybody around the two to step back to dodge. Burk’s hand raises high for the moment and he strikes down, landing a deep stab into the table - near Jason’s neck.

Jason keeps moving, but the man pulls and goes again for the kill - close enough to nick him on the cheek.

After a couple more swings, and a hefty shove to push everyone away, Burk slams the knife down. A hard scream is heard! Blood shoots up as the knife pierces Jason’s left shoulder!

It twists, and suddenly Jason’s adrenaline hikes up enough for him to launch the man away with a fierce kick - pushing him off and onto the floor.

Jason gets up, breathing harshly as his pained growls start to sound like a pained beast. He doesn’t have time to register the knife stuck on him, but instead his attention is immediately directed at the goon that put it there. Through the tinted goggles, all Jason could see was red.

Before Burk could even move an inch or utter a word, he’s quickly overcome by Jason - who starts to beat him with the gun he picked off the wall. Fierce blow after blow is unleashed upon the man, fueled by pure, unadulterated anger.

The others are frozen in terror. Jason goes mad with his beatings. With Burk on his ass and against the wall, there was nowhere to turn to to escape Jason’s pummeling. He’s beaten down by the gun; slammed in the face by Jason’s knee; his head kicked in by a downward stomp. In between the pain he could only catch a glimpse of how bull mad Jason was, and nothing more. Even when Jason loses his grip of the gun through the blood, he still keeps at it with his fist.

Blood splatters, against walls, tables, and chairs. The bar echoes with violent thuds and hectic breathing. Frankie, Charlie, and the Bartender watch Jason beat the man down - too shocked to get in the way. It’s hard, at this point, to even recognize the intruder’s face… or to know if he was even still alive at this point.

Meanwhile, as Jason keeps hitting, Jessup recovers and wakes from his blow. He spits some blood and a couple teeth onto the floor, before noticing the bloodied revolver that Jason struck him with - on the floor and within his reach. Struggling, he makes the grab and picks it up before aiming it right at Jason.

Jason finally notices, as does everyone else who all stare down at the grinning Jessup. Breathing hotly, and with his arms exhausted and blood-stained, Jason doesn’t do much, nor does he react strongly. All he does is look down at the injured brute aiming the gun.

Jessup lets out a pained laugh, with blood dripping off his lip. “All ya’ll are so dead. Every las’ fucking one of ya! Ain’t gonna be a soul alive once Boss Lars is done with you.”

He cackles and bleeds before pulling the trigger!

Nothing.

Not even a click.

His expression instantly sours into utter shock as he then turns the revolver - it is a replica. A fake.

Then he hears something getting picked off the floor. Looking up, he sees Jason holding Rob’s shotgun with one hand - aimed right at Jessup’s face.

Jason glares down at him, then, with barely restrained rage, states, 

“I’d like to see you try.”

Click.

BANG! Ca-click, BANG!

The bar is showered by a large mist of blood. From where Jessup’s head once was, there is now only a mess of gore splattered all over the floor. Two walls are covered in blood and brain matter, and much of the bar table is colored in similar red. Trickles of it hit everyone, but not as much as it hits Jason.

Frankie, after a long pause of shock, lays against the table as he pants and wipes the blood off his face. He tries to look for his gun, but mentally puts that off for later.

Charlie stares on like a deer in headlights. He stands completely straight, as he looks on. Frightened, shocked… amazed, though he doesn’t say.

The Bartender is the least emotional or reactionary of them all. He takes a deep breath before slowly making his way to the back closet at the end of the bar.

Then there was Jason, standing there. A shotgun in one hand, and a knife wedged deep into his shoulder. He stands tough, breathing heavily as he finally has time to register all the wounds inflicted upon his face and body. It hurts, and it’s going to hurt even more.

As if on auto-pilot, Jason starts walking out of the saloon’s front door and doesn’t say a word. His friends take notice and start moving after him.

Right outside, the people of Blondie gather around the bar. They’ve since been woken up from the commotion in the saloon, and everyone from the craftsman, the traders, the local priest, the carers and the watchmen come to see what had happened. Even the Mayor has come out, dressed in his nightly finest, as he stands front and center along his people - men and women, young and elderly alike.

They had just come once the gunfire caught their attention, and were debating amongst themselves on who would be first to enter before they see Jason exit out from the building. They stand, shocked in seeing the bloodied Jason Cross walk out from the saloon - sporting a shotgun in one hand, and a knife jutting out his shoulder. Then, coming right after him was Frankie and Charlie, who both start to stare with uncertainty in what to do now. Frankie’s first instinct is to calm everyone, but he isn’t able to get a word in… not before Jason.

Crazed thoughts run through Jason’s mind alongside a constant ringing - a ringing that felt like it never left him, and he can’t remember a time where it wasn’t following alongside him to begin with. The pain is too strong, it’s catching up to his brain now. The drinking has finally come to the station, and it’s not kind to let the pain have its way on his senses. There’s nothing but noise, and through it Jason can only think sparse thoughts.

‘Can’t say my name.’

‘All I get is trouble.’

‘All my name brings is trouble.’

‘Have to say something.’

‘Have to say something now.’

‘Sometimes… I just wish I weren’t me.’

Jason drops the shotgun, and with that he then holds both his arms up as best he could. Then, with a crooked grin, he announces aloud, “People of Blondie. My name… is Frederick Cross… and I just saved the day.”

The crowd murmurs, and some look outright shocked. Shocked… and excited. The Mayor looks outright pleased.

Jason grins some more and chuckles, all before proceeding to fall backwards onto the unforgiving ground.

The last thing he sees before blacking out are the crowd of people coming to his body. As well, the concerned looks on both Frankie and Charlie’s faces.

The people of Blondie never stopped talking that night: of the man who saved their town from a couple of gun-toting hooligans, and the very name he bore.

Frederick Cross.

#CROSS #my writing #eyeofsemicolon #the5thsemicolon #semicolonthefifth #KRONOS #western #science fiction #sci fi

[lucymontero]

Memories of the Alhambra: WTF

So not everyone is a fan of open-ended finales and that’s fine. But I do think there is a logical explanation there, if you already bought into the show in the first place.

Here’s what I think the show was implying from the ending, based on what they had asked us to accept already about Memories of the Alhambra (henceforth to be referred to as “The Game”).

What we know about The Game in ‘normal mode’:

You have to wear the lenses to play. 

You must be logged in to play. 

The server has to be running for you to play. 

You can interact with other users and NPCs and your body registers these interactions as physical sensation without haptic suit- so somehow Se Ju managed to map the human cortex via the eye.

That is a huge leap that you have to accept to get past Episode 1 and Jin Woo interacting with the guard on the plinth. That the game, as it is intended to work, literally tricks your brain into thinking your are feeling blows and holding objects that aren’t there. This is basically magic already, but the sensations are mild and, most important, don’t actually have any lasting effects, besides perhaps fatigue from your actual physical exertion of swinging your arms or running around. You get logged out when you ‘die’, your physical body doesn’t actually shut off.

What we know about The Game in ‘bugged” mode:

You can be logged in against your will, and without the lenses in your eyes. When the server is up- that means you are vulnerable to NPCs, when the server isn’t up you can still be stalked by the dead bug.

So already the game is somehow mapped into your brain in a way that forces you to interact with it directly, without the lens. 

The sensations that you feel are more intense than those in the normal game, the pain is more intense, and injuries have the potential to cause physical damage that, while not visible to anyone not playing the game, is potentially fatal. The symptoms on the corpses can look like shock, or, even weirder, blood loss? Without any open wounds. 

That’s what you have to accept to buy into Hung- Seok’s death in episode 3. That injuries your body perceives from game NPCs or other users can be so powerful they can short circuit your brain and drive into shock and death. 

In the same way, and in an inconsistent and less clear manner, is the ability of the game to trick your brain into NOT feeling pain. Jin Woo has a limp from a real injury. We see him leveling up in the abandoned school, still fighting with his cane in his hand. But as he increases in levels, it is revealed that he doesn’t limp when he’s logged in? So whatever is mapping the game into his vision and other senses somehow fools his body into changing his gait. It is unclear when this happens in some cases, because the show uses an unreliable narrator, so sometimes we are seeing events where Jin Woo is fighting and what we are seeing on screen is how Jin Woo perceives the situation, and he isn’t limping. But then we see that same series of events through another character watching a security feed of Jin Woo fighting that reveals he was limping all along, presumably made unaware of it. 

The game has the potential to remap actual reality, the physical status or ability of non-users to perceive users.

Later in the show, and after he has leveled up to master status, and is on the run from NPCs and the police, Jin Woo’s limp also disappears from his actual physical gait, as people remark “Didn’t Jin Woo limp? Because he’s running really fast!”. This isn’t a permanent re-write, it only lasts as long as the servers are up. When Jin Woo isn’t logged in, the limp reappears. So it is possible that the rules of the game adjust as player experience is gained, not just in regards to weapons and regular game features, but as regards to the power of the game’s bugged out murderous/healing glitches. Which is why, perhaps, the most powerful reality re-writing ability of all is reserved for masters, but more on that later.

Importantly, these phenomena that happen in bugged mode are not apparent to all users, which is why Jin Woo can’t get anyone to believe him. Under the bugged version a very specific series of events has to happen to you.

So, a heck of a lot of magical thinking is required to get past the events of the first couple episodes, but the show is pretty consistent about the rules. Which leads us to the results of buggy game play, “Bugs”.

The “bugs” themselves seemed to originate in a malfunction of the game during an act of physical violence in front of Emma, who seems to be more than an ordinary NPC, more than an homage to a beloved sisters, but some kind of HAL-like representation of the game, so when Marco stabs Se Ju physically in the cafe, the game at that moment “learns” to actually harm people. (It reminds me a bit of the “nanogenes” in Doctor Who) When people are killed as a result of game-induced injuries, they leave a physical corpse, but their image remains in the game and they return as ghost users, in the likeness of how they died, and with all the abilities they had, perceptible only to the person involved in the death.  

DEAD BUGS

Marco is a bug, killed by the game via Se Ju . 

Hyung-Seok is a bug, killed by the game via Jin Woo. 

Seo Jung-Hoon is a bug, killed by the game.

Dr. Cha is a bug, killed by the game.

LIVING BUGS

Jin Woo is also perceived by the game as a bug. We see “Emma is deleting the bug” as Emma stabs him with the Key of Heaven the first time. But Jin Woo isn’t a zombie ghost killed by the game, he’s a “living bug.” How did that happen?

I thought his error status was related to  either a) his involvement in Hyung-Seok’s game-related death that flagged him as “wrong” because a user should not be able to kill another user, or b) because in the same way the game erroneously killed people and makes them bugs, it has erroneously “healed” him, which is not something it is supposed to do. 

The first explanation raises the logical question, does that mean Se Ju is/was a living bug too? Se Ju killed Marco in the same way Jin Woo killed Hyung-Seok. And Marco stalks Se Ju the same way that Jin Woo, and only Jin Woo, is stalked by Hyung-Seok. So if Se Ju is a bug, why isn’t Se Ju affected by the reset events in the finale, when all the bugs are deleted? 

Either a) he was never a bug because bug status only happens when the game tries to physically rewrite you- either to kill or heal you, and the game never physically messed with him in a way it wasn’t designed to, 

or b) Se Ju was a bug, because anyone who was involved in a “wrong” game event like a game-death becomes a bug but he is fine at the end because Jin Woo completed the quest and became “the new master” and gave Emma the Key to Heaven- which tore down the walls and allowed Se Ju to be released from the instance dungeon- and when Se Ju re-emerges into the world he isn’t recognized by the game at all or at least not as a bug.  Which is why he is able to walk around Granada looking for his family and encountering the nicest waiter I have ever met without being attacked by Marco or Hasid warriors. He’s essentially re-written. 

Perhaps B is actually the simpler rule. After all, one of the most horror-movie like aspects of The Game in ‘bugged’ mode is the inability to escape the ghosts, even when taking out the lenses. But that horror is reserved for only certain people, and is not experienced by every user that was created before the reset. Only Se Ju and Jin Woo are haunted  against their will. And since that starts happening to Jin Woo before he even acquires the limp that the game later erases, that suggests you  become a “living” bug by being involved in a game death. Then, if a living bug takes an ally, the ally user also becomes a living bug, and is plagued by the same inability to leave the game and the more powerful game injuries and potential death.  We know the ally feature has problems, because Jin Woo tries frantically to break the alliance as soon as he realizes that becoming allies with Sung Joon resulted Sung Joon both seeing Hyung-Seok and experiencing the pain of an actual bullet wound when he gets shot (as opposed to the lesser sensation that the game would normally allow a user hit by a bullet to feel). But the game won’t let them break it. The dire consequences of alliances is also why Jin Woo is so reluctant to use this method of “proof”.  Dr. Cha  becomes locked into the game as soon as he allies with Jin Woo, making him vulnerable to both Jin Woo’s enemy users and the NPCs in any area that the server reaches.

Also, and perhaps most magical, shutting down the servers doesn’t stop bug enemies from appearing. Appearing from where? The user’s own mind? Except allies can see them? Hive mind? They come from some magical ghost server in the sky. Apparently when Emma remapped the game in reality she somehow accidentally gave the bugs the ability of manifest in front of their enemies wherever they were. Jin Woo sees Hyung Seok even when the servers are off. Even when he’s out of range of a server. But “normal” game functions, like NPCs, items, and leveling up, require the server to be on, even for living bugs. Which is why Jin Woo’s approach to not going batshit insane is to get the server running at the abandoned school, so he can have access to NPCs to kill, to gain experience, to level up, to access weapons, so he isn’t running from Hyung-Seok’s sword anymore.

So what the fuck is an “instance dungeon”?

Speaking of places that are both dependent on the server, and immune to server shut down. Se Ju’s “explanation” - a year later and once he’s slightly less traumatized- for where he was the whole year was that he had designed a place just for himself in the game, where he was “invisible” to NPCs, and refers to it as an instance dungeon, something the other game people seem to understand. I am not a gamer but so we know what he is referencing in regular game play:

The problem can be stated as follows: every player wants to be "The Hero", slay "The Monster", rescue "The Princess", and obtain "The Magic Sword". When there are thousands of players all playing the same game, clearly not everyone can be the hero. The problem of everyone wanting to kill the same monster and gain the best treasure became obvious in the game EverQuest, where several groups of players would compete and sometimes harass each other in the same dungeon, in order to get to the monsters dropping valuable items. The creation of instances largely solves this set of problems, leaving only travelling to and from the dungeon as a potential risk in player versus player environments.

Events that go on in an instance dungeon are only known to those people inside it. One you step inside, only those with you experience the same set of circumstances, your actions aren’t perceptible to those outside the dungeon until you emerge. They can run multiple instances at the same time, all fighting the same monsters, invisible to each other, in little bubble universes of the same quest.

So, to hide from Marco, Se Ju hid in what would have been a pocket universe in the game- where Marco and NPCs would not be aware of his presence. Now, when you combine that regular function, where this would ONLY apply to game features and users, with the game’s ability to map reality, what the show implies is that when Se Ju hid from the game, his design for an instance dungeon worked a little too well, and he was also masked from the real world. This finally explains what they showed us in an earlier scene, with a shot of Jin Woo walking right past a fetal Se Ju on the train platform, with Jin Woo’s musing in voice over about how maybe Se Ju was, in fact, on the platform that day, and nobody saw. Because Se Ju was in the instance dungeon, neither the game nor the real world could see him. He was physically there, but no one, not game users, not real people, could physically see him.

Of course this is magical magical but by this point you’ve been nodding along as server-less ghosts kill people so it’s a stretch, a big one, but not actually inconsistent with the magical game powers we’ve seen so far. Just a much more powerful manifestation of them.

Se Ju didn’t pop back into existence when the servers were shut off, so the instance dungeon is a place outside the main game, similar magic to how the dead bugs appear when the server is off. However getting OUT of the dungeon and back to the main game and main world seem to require the servers to be on to open the door. Important.

It also raises the question of what is it like to BE in an instance dungeon. Was Se Ju sitting somewhere eating churros ,sliding into convenience stores and invisibly grabbing food? What parts of the real world were perceptible to him? I dunno, if he’d been living such a normal but invisible existence, wouldn’t he be a little less wrecked? Wouldn’t he be aware of what was going on in the world? He seemed shocked his family moved, what was going on with the development of the game, things publicly known. If the writers wanted us to believe he was chilling invisibly in an abandoned apartment until someone got rid of Marco, why was he (as his sister notes) wearing the same clothes and his hair was the same length as the day he went in. He seemed bewildered at how distraught his family was.  He was still terrified of storms and Marco, as if he’d been terrorizing him just the day before and not a year ago. So, maybe he was in some sort stasis- the game kind of froze him or paused him- if it can kill people or heal their limps is it really that much more of a stretch? He seemed like he’d woken up from a really long disoriented state. Maybe the game maintained him just as he was when he went into the dungeon, but he doesn’t have a memory of the dungeon, and we don’t see where he came back out. Could have been the train station. He got released just as he went in.

So, what happened to Jin Woo? 

When a living bug is deleted, what happens? We never see it, since every other bug Jin Woo deleted was of someone who already left a corpse elsewhere. But every other time the game has killed a person, there has been a body left behind. Marco, Hyung-Seok, Jung Hoon, Dr. Cha, their bodies don’t disappear when they died. If Emma had killed Jin Woo, there should be a very pretty corpse nearby. 

So OK, he didn’t die, but his buggy part was deleted. Which also means that’s not a ghost Jin Woo ally we are seeing haunting Seoul and saving newbies in the final scene, because that is a bug function and all the bugs are gone. (I also assume that Emma deleted Marco. Jin Woo obviously couldn’t because bugs only appear to their associated living bugs and their allies. I mean,  Emma presumably would have used the Key of Heaven to delete all the bugs without needing Jin Woo’s dramatic stabbing help if Jin Woo weren’t so stubborn about not wanting to die himself. Drama queen. jk i heart jin woo). Deleting a living bug seems very painful for it, but if the game were to kill Jin Woo, that would also be in itself a bug- that’s not a real game function. Emma has to remove the corruption, but it is not clear that that requires physical death and since we never saw a corpse, I’m gonna go with, painful, but not lethal. Although we can understand why Jin Woo would think he was going to die and in the end he gives Emma the key clearly expecting to die to set everything right and we get it please stop panning to the crucifix already. 

So, the only place for Jin Woo to be, since he isn’t dead, is in the instance dungeon. Since they never show this we have to imagine how that might have happened, but given that Jin Woo is the highest level of user ever in the game (higher than Se Ju), has completed the Master Quest and obtained the Key to Heaven that allows opening of gates and rewriting of game functions, it is possible that he somehow managed to pop himself into the little pocket instance dungeon that only masters can access. This would mask him both from the physical world and the game world, but also protect him from dying from any Emma-related shock or injuries. It is unclear if you need to Key to Heaven to get out of the dungeon, it may have dropped back into his inventory when Emma was done (his guns seem to have remained) or he may have the ability to open the dungeon without the key as level 100. So Jin Woo presumably has the means to extract himself from the instance dungeon without having to send some stranger on a quest in Spain, but all evidence points to the servers needing to be ON to reconnect from the isolated instance dungeon to the main game and main world. So he can’t get out, once the servers are shut off.

Fast forward a year and the server starts up again with the game launch and maybe that is the impetus for a Jin Woo to somehow find his way out of the instance dungeon. He hasn’t been hiding invisibly watching all this go on, he’s been somewhere else, probably unaware of the passage of time. The game launch resurrects him,  hence all the Hee Ju praying montages that weren’t that necessary or subtle. It is unclear what is required to get out-how much time, are there obstacles- but the servers get switched off and on during the day to keep Seoul sane, and only operate in certain areas, so this may complicate things and explain why he didn’t pop up instantly when they started testing or once launched. Also if Jin Woo’s mental state is anything like Se Ju’s was when he got out, he’d be disoriented, and revert to the survival mode he was in for so long, maybe coming out only to kill a few NPCs and then revert to the dungeon. Until Hee Joo finds him and he knows he’s safe, which is about to happen as the show ends.

So I think he’s alive, he was sort of saved/trapped in the instance dungeon, and when the game restarted he made his way out and Hee Ju is about to find him. The end.

#memories of the alhambra #spoilers #its not that long #hey some people write 100 chapter fanfic to sort out their thoughts this is way shorter

[kerbaldevteam]

KSP Loading... Our New Dev Diary!

Welcome to the first edition of our official newsletter, KSP Loading… !  Do you want to get the latest news about everything KSP? Then here is the place to be. In KSP Loading… we will share all current developments of KSP intermittently between each update and more, so without further ado, let’s begin!

Update 1.6

As you probably know by now, we are currently working on update 1.6 as part of our plan to deliver quarterly updates. These quarterly updates will keep offering exciting new content that will enhance our players’ game experience, as well as overall improvements to performance and bug fixes. A key aspect of our work in recent months has been in limiting the impact on mods.  As many of you have noticed, the majority of mods that worked on 1.4 did so for 1.5 as well. That’s not to say there won’t be any issues with existing mods when there are updates, but we will continue with this effort as we know that mods are an essential part of KSP and of what makes it great.

Part Catalogue Revamps

Fuel Tank Adapters

For the last couple of weeks we have been teasing throughout our social media channels bits and pieces of what we are preparing for update 1.6 and, as you have seen, we are continuing the revamping effort of the part catalogue; focusing particularly on giving life to older parts that aren’t optimized or simply look outdated. One of such parts is the Kerbodyne ADTP-2-3 Adapter. The purpose of this adapter was to accommodate the Rockomax and the Kerbodyne S3 fuel tank series, but it never really matched with the designs of either tank series. With a total remaking of the adapter’s diffuse, normal, and specular texture maps, as well as with the introduction of a brand new variant, this adapter will now seamlessly blend between these two tank series and its variants. We are looking into the possibility of giving the ADTP-2-3 Adapter fuel carrying capabilities as it has been suggested by the community.

Click here for the high-res images

Other adapters that received the good ol’ makeover treatment are all three TVR Stack Couplers. After the introduction of new variants for the the FL-T tank series in update 1.4, these adapters no longer match the tanks they were supposed to fit. Therefore, we needed to revise the TVR series and create brand new diffuse, normal, and specular texture maps for them to combine with all of the different versions of the FL-T tank series.

Click here for the high-res images

Similarly, both the FL-A5 and the FL-A10 Adapters got a well-deserved makeover. Designed for connecting 1.25m parts to 0.625m parts, these adapters got their UV maps optimized and received new diffuse, normal and specular texture maps. Additionally, a new variant that will match with the orange FL-T tank series was included.

Click here for the high-res images

As part of this adapter renovation effort, the team also gave both the Rockomax Brand Adapters a well-deserved face-lift. Both parts got their UV maps optimize, brand new texture maps and a new variant to combine with the orange FL-T tank series. The geometry of the large Rockomax Brand Adapter was also updated to give it a smoother shape.

Click here to see more and high-res images

The new Spark

The team also gave the iconic 48-7S “Spark” Liquid Fuel Engine a full-fledged aesthetic makeover. We wanted to enhance this engine’s versatile nature by including 3 very different variants that will also increase the customizability of your creations. The geometry was completely redone and the detail of the tubing of the engine was carefully crafted. New textures were also created for this part and a new emissive texture for the throttle animation was added.

Click here to see the high-res images

The Mk2 Lander Can

We also took the opportunity to give Sean’s Cannery Mk2 Lander Can a brand new face-lift. We wanted this command module to be more in-line with comparable parts, so we reduced its mass and added a second top hatch. In an attempt to broaden the creation possibilities with this part we also added a third attach node to the back of the module and included a slimmed down ‘butter stick’ variant ideal for manned rovers. The default variant, on the other hand, will have a pair of built in service bays. The IVA view of this command module is also being worked on to match with its new look.

Click here for the high-res images

New Features

Activate Navigation to a Launch Site

Visual enhancements aren’t the only thing that have been on our agenda. In fact, there is a quality of life feature coming to update 1.6 that will help any stray pilots find their way back to any Launch Site or Runway. From the Map View players will now be able to activate the navigation system towards the KSC, the Woomerang Launch Site, the Island Runway, Dessert Launch Site or any mobile Launch Site set by a mission creator. Activate Navigation to a Launch Site will target the chosen location and add a navigation mark in the NavBall.

Click here to see an animated gif showcasing this feature.

The Bug Hunt

Additionally, we have spent some time in the bugtracker identifying bugs that needed to be mercilessly squashed. For starters, in order to have more consistency between modes, the team made an adjustment to the SAS functionality on probes in Sandbox and Science game modes. Some of these probes had full SAS functionality in these modes, even though their description said otherwise, and these adjustments correct this. However, the SAS functionality on probes will be togglable from the game settings, with the old behavior being the default setting. The dV calculator in the burn time indicator included in update 1.5 had some bugs, and the team went straight ahead to figure out what the problems actually were, and of course fixed them. This included fixing the handling of docking ports and multiple nuclear or ion engines within the new Burn Indicator functionality. The flashing of the Burn Indicator and the display of dV before the launch of a vessel was also a problem that we fixed in the past weeks. Moreover, the Vernor Engines now use Liquid Fuel and Oxidizer correctly on the Engineering report, and we also fixed an issue that drained the fuel from tanks when the fuel availability icon was double-clicked. These are only a few examples.

KSP Enhanced Edition

In other news, we want to let console players know that  KSP Enhanced Edition is getting a substantial update that among other things includes many improvements and an update to Unity 2017, which will improve performance. We will be sharing the process with you and revealing the content of this update in the upcoming months.

A new Website is coming!

We are also working hard on giving our website a new, sleeker look. Soon, you’ll be able to see the results for yourself; we are eager to see what you think.

Meet the team

We also want to take this opportunity to introduce you to our new Lead Artist, Rafael “Stylushead” Gonzalez. You have already seen his work these past weeks, including the new Key Art, the Halloween images and many things included in update 1.5. Here are a few words from him:

I was born and raised in Mexico City. I worked in the animated movies industry for nine years, most of that time as an art director, supervising from concept art to final product, illustration is my expertise, always mixing different techniques from 2D and 3D and sometimes traditional.

I love video games and movies and everything involved in their development. Also I work from time to time in webcomics as a colorist. I joined the Kerbal team as lead artist during the KSP 1.5 release and since then I have been producing, learning and enjoying a lot!

Ghouls in Jool Halloween Challenge - The best short stories!

Even though Halloween is behind us, we want to share with all of you some of the best short stories we were delighted to receive in the Ghouls in Jool Halloween Challenge. The challenge consisted of submitting spooky short stories based in the Kerbal universe and...oh boy… did we get some chills… Unfortunately, we couldn’t fit all stories here, but if you’re in the mood to read what our fantastic community came up with, click here.

Here are what we thought were the top three stories. Enjoy!

1.- “The Heart of Jool” by Ultimate Steve

Falling. Deeper and deeper, away from everything I have ever known. Falling through the flashes of lighting. Will I be struck, or crushed? Kerbin. So far away now. I am the first witness of Alien Thunder. Will I be the last? The only? And how long until I meet death? Gravity. I can feel it everywhere. Jool, pulling me closer still. The helmet creaks. The others would never hear. The ones who died along the way - The helmetless pilot. The crushed engineer. The scientist locked outside. Whoosh. And the world drew Golem Thirteen to its ultimate fate. Noises, growing louder ever still. But always, nothing But the menacing fog around the Heart of Jool. Until a voice, Menacing, kind, Evil and holy, speaks out from the void above. Hello. No - it couldn't be! The ancient legend was true! Have I met Evil? Tell me, child, what do you know of me, the Deep Space Kraken? The devourer of ships, destroyer of worlds, the embodiment of Death. Yours truly - but have none considered a force stronger than I? Which? Regret. CRACK! Long ago I destroyed ships, devoured worlds, killed mercilessly. My helmet gives way, great Kraken! In moments I shall meet Death! I met Death long ago, banished by the Universe to the Heart of Jool. And tell me, great Kraken of Deep Space, what do you mean by this? Child, With power comes destruction. At the top I ruled dust. I fell. From everything, wishing I could go back to mend it. Wishing the dust would absolve my crimes. In you I see me. And unlike me, I can save you. Pop. The visor gave way to the intense aether, crushing instantly. The last I would see, before my final toxic breath, would be The haunting yet noble face of the Kraken of Deep Space Against the backdrop of the cruel, unrelenting Heart of Jool. HOLD! T Minus Five. The launch pad. But how? The crew, all still alive. Golem Thirteen would stay on the ground. And then was a sound. Indeed, it was The Kraken of Deep Space. Gone in a blink, he said Goodbye and nothing more, with a smile that shook me to the core. But I am now certain I will remember that great regretful ghoul. The one who saved me from the void in the Heart of Jool.

2.- “Clank” by Blasty McBlastblast

Clank!

Startled, research forgotten, the two scientists looked up. They had both definitely heard it this time. This time it was undeniable.

“Okay, maybe you weren’t dreaming earlier” apologised Jedfen, but neither of them seemed pleased by this prospect.

Jedfen and Hencott were familiar with all the regular noises of Outpost V., but this noise was not one of them. They knew the steady whirring of the solar arrays as they tracked the sun, the hum-thud of antennae realigning, and the wet slap of sloshing fuel. Clanking was something new, and it was coming from outside!

Clank!

The two locked eyes, panic growing at the realisation they were not alone. Something was knocking against the outside of their laboratory!

“Should we call mission control?” suggested Hencott

“We can’t” replied Jedfen, wondering if Hencott’s stupidity might be higher than indicated, “Did you forget that it’s night here for two more days? We need to be facing sunward to get a signal to Kerbin”

“Maybe the supply ship came back?” Hencott proposed weakly, but that ship had launched weeks ago, the kerbonauts were alone.

Clank!

“WE HAVE TO STAY CALM!!” shrieked Jedfen, momentarily losing his cool “What would Jeb do?”

“We need more information” said Hencott, taking deep breaths, “We need to know what is making the noise, one of us will have to go outside…”

Silently both Kerbals stood to face each other, and proceeded to play rock-paper-scissors…

Clank!

“That noise came from near the north window” Jedfen said into the handheld radio.

“Copy. Approaching now. I think I see someth…” but the staticky reply was cut short by a yelp! Then laughter! Then ominous silence…

Minutes passed, but the radio only hissed. Amidst rising dread Jedfen moved to the suit rack, compelled to go help, but he was too late! The airlock began to cycle, something was coming in! Armed with a jumbo-sized snack bar Jedfen prepared himself to defend the outpost.

Through dramatic billowing gasses Jedfen saw him step from the airlock, grinning, and holding something that was attempting to wriggle free. Looking closer, he saw cradled firmly in Hencott’s arms an adorable tiny rover!

“Where did that come from?!” he asked, tension dissolving into curiosity.

“Some earlier mission?” laughed Hencott, “I think it was trying to charge power by the window light! Can we keep it?”

“Control can’t say no if they can’t contact us!”

3.- “Fright Night at KSC” by StrandedonEarth

Every year during the three hundred and thirty-third night, mysterious things start to happen at the KSC. None of the KSC staff want to stay that night, as weird noises abound around the Center. The only exception is Mortimer Kerman, who gleefully volunteers to be the caretaker for that night, from his usual haunt in the Admin building. In the deserted Astronaut Complex, ghostly footsteps and flushing toilets are heard. The great radio dishes of the Tracking Station creak and squeal as they turn,  but only during that night. Pale apparitions are seen streaking down the runway, rising briefly before vanishing below the waves, while the big display screens at Mission Control fill with static.  Even though the VAB is shut down for that night, the cranes and other machinery start moving with nobody at the controls. Fire and smoke bloom on and around the empty launch pad as a muted roar is heard, and hundreds of tiny glowing krakens scurry around the Research and Development center. A steady tap-tap-tapping punctuated with whirring fills the Spaceplane Hangar, without a soul in sight. They call it "Sotreum ed Aid"

When day finally breaks on that seemingly endless night, everything grows quiet again, and Mortimer starts to look sad. The tiny glowing kraken all vanish without a trace. But when the brave kerbonauts start arriving at the Astronaut Complex, they are shocked to find all the kerbals that had been KIA during the last four hundred days sitting around, drinking koffee...

Honorable mentions: “Eyes in the deep” by Joshua Stubbles, “A few KSP super-short stories that are guaranteed to make grown kerbals hide under their beds and cry for mommy” by Swjr-swis, “Untitled” by KSK, and “Untitled” by qzgy.

Finally we want to remind you that you can share and download missions on Curse, KerbalX, the KSP Forum and the KSP Steam Workshop.

That’s it for this edition. Be sure to join us on our official forums, and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Stay tuned for more exciting and upcoming news and development updates!

Happy launchings!

[sangriatimes]

Nintendo Switch saves Valentines Day

Can you believe that we are almost half-way done with January? Maybe it’s just me and the countless hours I put into reviewing the latest titles for the Nintendo Switch...which is our focus point that can change the tide if you hit a hard spot this V-Day. Maybe you don’t have enough money for that dinner, movie and gift. Maybe you thought that restaurant you made a reservation at is more expensive than you though. Maybe you just started a new relationship but you still have some awkward silences that seem to kill the mood. Whatever the situation may be a Nintendo Switch can get you to second base and home plate...trust me.

So let’s look at some of the titles for switch that are great to play with that special someone. (Games are listed in no particular order; games are not based on “)sales”; Games are mainly hidden gems)

1. Monopoly | 9.5 out of 10

Hear me out. I was one that grew up playing the original board game with my family and the overall appeal of the game was astounding, but I lost interest when I got older and noticed how long it takes to make everyone go bankrupt. ...but this is something...otherworldly. The first awesome thing you will notice when you pick up this title is the use of the Joy-Con controllers to shake the dice and throw them. Though this is still the same mechanic in spirit as its predecessor but with the newly animated boards populated by Mii’s and watching a living city grow as you play and add properties adds an entirely new respect for Money Bags. Our team lost track of time having so much fun with this one and before we knew it, we had seen 5 hours pass. (No one wants to play Monopoly for that long.) 

2. Uno | 8.5 out of 10

Uno is another one of those games I grew up playing with family. When I purchased the game, I was expecting some sort of controller mechanic similar to Monopoly’s dice...but with cards instead...but I was let down. None the less, going into this, I didn’t even know that there were so many ways to play Uno besides the normal rules. Once again, I was amazed at how much more fun this was than the physical cards themselves. Rules like “Stacking. Where Player 1 can play a “Blue Draw 2″ card and Player 2 can counter play a “Draw 2″ card as well. ...but if Player 3 doesn’t possess a “Draw 2″ card, Player 3 then has to pick all 4 cards from the previous turns” was so exciting to try and there are many other ways to customize rules and play styles. 

3. Super Smash Bros | 9.0 out of 10

I really don’t need to go into detail about this one. My only issue with the Smash series is I would really enjoy a multiplayer adventure mode or campaign. I was quite pleased with the full roster of characters though. Disclaimer: Make sure your partner isn’t a sore loser. We all know about SSB’s steep learning curve for beginners. “Don’t be a butt...”

4. Diablo 3 | 9.0 out of 10

I remember having this title on my old PS4 and being able to enjoy it on my PS Vita while I was in a relationship with someone who liked the game as much as I and we would both take our Vita’s to the restroom with us so we could keep the experience going. This title can definitely be used to understand the mindset your partner has by the way they customize their character and the actions they take in response to events. It’s a top-down action-adventure-role-playing-hack-n-slash (inhale.) It is a port of it’s original released on PS3 & 360...the price tag is still $59.99. That’s a deal breaker in my book.

5. NES Emulator | 7.5 out of 10

I honestly chose this one because of how many gamers I know and how 89% of them are males. This is something for those who don’t game to get their feet wet. The emulator is free on the eShop for a 7-day trial but comes with a subscription cost after. Pretty inexpensive for the titles they have. Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Bros, Metroid, and many more. It even comes with special versions of some of the games which gives the player the experience of playing with Game Genie cheats.

6. 99 Vidas | 7.0 out of 10

Your probably thinking, “ Why is this even listed?” Well, just in case that partner your with doesn’t dig the 8-bit look or the low-res adventures of the NES Emulator and desires a little more action and has a fetish for Streets of Rage and Beat ‘em Up’s. Simply. The available characters are cool enough to get players to find a favorite out of them. ...so...that’s good!

7. Oh Sir...The Hollywood Roast | 8.3 out of 10

After seeing the Samuel Jackson clone named “Bad MotherHugger” who’s personality is totally canon, I had to dig deeper. If you didn’t play the prequel, you don’t need to. I honestly only used the first title to learn how to play. In this installment, you and a co-star face off on a movie set where your scenario is to insult the other the worst. It plays like a fighting game, complete with health bars, special insults, tag team insults and so much more. For the price it is, I was expecting something way less entertaining. Oh, and one point or another you will joke against a Deadpool copy...a less funnier Deadpool but funny enough.

Consider this the American version of The Office.

8. Oh Sir...The Insult Simulator | 7.8 out of 10

Obviously, this is the European version of The Office. I won’t say this is better than the sequel and I can’t say it’s worse either but I will say “I am an American...” What this game does is teach you how to layer your jokes and how lay the foundation for repetition in your topics to create combo’ s. I like to let the opponent bombard me with little weak jokes and build a super mean and super long insult that grants victory for only one joke. I call it, “The Kamehameha Effect!”

9. No More Heroes: Travis Strikes Back

The third installment to the series hits the eShop and retailers in a few days and I am super excited to get my copy. If you aren’t familiar with the series, let me fill you in:

Travis Touchdown is the protagonist of all three games. In NMH1 we find Travis at his lowest moment in life. Jobless, hopeless and drunk, he runs into a mysterious woman who offers him employment with a sketchy syndicate group he knows nothing about. Luckily he had lost all his money by winning a bid at an online auction for a Beam Katana,  his main choice of weaponry. Not long after, you find out you were hired as an assassin in a shady game by her higher-ups. Travis takes the job after being promised some passionate TLC if he can take out all 10 of the already top ranking assassins all over the world. Travis is a pretty simple guy. He likes mecha anime, luchador wrestling, old school video games, porn, sex, and sleeping on the toilet.

In NMH2, Travis finds out that after becoming the #1 ranking assassin in Santa Cruise, he finds out that he actually has hundreds of more assassins in a new ranking system where Travis is the lowest ranking.

This time around, Travis is joined by the father of one the assassins he killed in NMH1, and the co-op option is something that would have been outstanding to have in NMH2 but none the less the developers always deliver great content in their titles and this one will not disappoint. Couples will enjoy the kinky nature of the series for sure. It has been proven many times.

10. Broforce | 9.5 out of 10

Every wanted to play Super Mario Bros on NES but with guns? Ever want to change Mario for, let’s say...any huge action movie star from the 80′s, 90′s, 00′s? Ever wanted it to be a co-op experience with up to 4 players with local and online co-op? As a mercenary for the USA, you are sent to 3rd world contries to liberate them from the evil control of Satan and his hell spawn. Before that, you will have to fight through waves of kamikaze soldiers, war dogs, giant helicoptors, aliens (...from the movie “Aliens”) and much more. Along the way, you will recruit an entire cast of badasses. From Rambo to Robocop, you will find Chuck Norris, Neo, Blade, Bruce Willis, Terminator, Preditor, Machette, Michelle Rodrigez, The Bride (Kill Bill) & so many more including Mortal Kombats Raiden.

Very easy to pick up, very hard to put down.

11. Nidhogg 2 | 8.0 out of 10

2D-Side Scrolling Fighter. You start of with a sword. When you die, you respawn with a dagger. When you die, you respawn with a bow and arrow. Die again and respawn with an ax. Die again and respawn with your fist. This cycle will continue until you our your opponent makes it to the opposing end of the map. Maps are relatively small and consist of about 2 to 3 different frames. Sounds easy on paper right? 

Tons of laughs to be had!

12. Tales Of Vesperia

If your looking for an in-depth RPG you both can play while she sits between your legs and you both focus on the Switch screen laying in front of you: this is for you two. The co-op system usually only functions when you enter battle. Player 1 will always be the one running around the world map but this is still fine if you keep an open-mind and communicate on decisions that impact the story and more. (Keep track of your own money.)

side-note: All Tales games are co-op in this sense, even the Super Nintendo picks.

13. Harvest Moon: Light of Hope

I’ve been a Harvest Moon fan since Super Nintendo and got my first copy on the N64. I know a lot of people see this game and hate the thought of a farming simulator but unlike it’s counterpart with the same name-sake; Harvest Moon is so much more. This can easily tame the craving for an adventure-rpg-dating sim with a very rich story and characters that actually grow on you. I have not had the chance to play this particular version yet, but I saw it was multiplayer and that sold me. If you want to try a good yet cheaper version, Harvest Moon: Back to Nature is by far, one of the best, next to Harvest Moon 64.

So there you have it, our picks of love for your love to love with their love! Honestly...I don’ t celebrate Valentines Day (poly-gang), but I love exposing partners to new things that they can enjoy together.

OUT!

#cyt magazine.tv #sangria times #sangria times publication #dreadsperado #cytmagazine.tv #@cytmagazine.tv #deangilo willis #cel-man iller #Nintendo switch #monopoly #uno #super smash bros #super Mario party #diablo 3 #nes emulator #99 vidas #oh sir #insult simulator #Hollywood roast #no more heroes #no more heroes 3 #travis strikes back #travis touchdown #goichi suda #suda51 #grasshopper manufacture #broforce #bro force #nidhogg #nidhogg 2

[sentom]

About Me

I guess the best way to start an introduction is by actually introducing myself. So, hello, my name is Mark/Sentom, I’m 25 at the time of writing this, and I’m an INFP.

I started my journey in MBTI around 8 years ago, at the age of 17 or 18. I was by that time a very big fan of Carl Jung, having discovered his work after reading an article explaining the end of a certain movie. To say his work changed my life would be an understatement, I was very in love with Jung and his theories. And although be it I had a very superficial understanding of his concepts, I did go and buy his book “Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious” and devoured it in probably 2 or 3 days. I only say this because once I realized that MBTI was based on his work, I was quite impressed.

So, I was browsing the web one day, bored, and decided to look up “personality test” on Google, for fun, so it led me to the MBTI test on 16personalities and I got INFP on the first try. I read the description for INFP and felt quite identified with it, I was very sure I was an INFP. Of course, I do remember going on their website to read other personality types and getting overwhelmed really fast, Thinking “what is really the difference between this type and this type?”. I would read the description for ISFP and think, “hey that sounds a lot like me!” even more so than INFP because I was a guitar player at the time and spent pretty much all my time dedicated to creating art. And then whenever I decided to read the dichotomies between two letters (I’m talking between N and S not even the functions) I didn’t ever quite understand it. I only understood the difference between I and E (shy vs talkative), F vs T (Feeling vs logic preference/orientation), and P vs J (flexible or organized), yet I clearly remember never even learning what N and S meant. And even then, I didn’t pay much attention to it, I took the general descriptions of a personality as the leading factor to understanding them.

Anyways, I did try to browse some forums at the time since I had an urging grow to talk to other people about it, specially to meet other INFPs (the forum was Personality Café). And that was my first glimpse at cognitive functions. I saw people talking about them, but whenever I tried to understand them, I was incredibly confused. Keep in mind there was nowhere that called them “cognitive functions” so I had to go on google and type “Fi” or “Ne”, and when I did manage to get any results, they were always super confusing, and I wasn’t that interested. So I showed the test to some friends and they got different results, I was like “oh cool” but really had no idea what they meant. I only thought “oh yes they are an E type that was so obvious” cause in my mind everyone but me was an E type.

It was then after talking about it 2 or 3 times with my friends I dropped the subject completely for many years. Until around 2 years ago when I started studying a new career in vocational training. So, I was going to class with around 20 other people, and one day, I was bored with one of them and told them to take the test. She took the test and got ESFJ (which she is). After a couple of days, I realized people in the class were taking the test (she must have told someone), and sure thing, in about a week everyone had taken the test. I was quite amazed at the Willingness of everyone to take the test, since whenever our teacher told us to take the “color test” or “Big 5” they all seemed quite annoyed that they had to do it. But now they were actually Willing to do another test… I guess its just an aversion to taking orders sort of thing.

So anyways, people started asking me “what does this mean?” or “what does that mean?”, to which I always tried to answer and after more questions my final answer would always be “I really have no idea”. I had an ENTP in class which I got along with very well and he always put in question everything I told him (it might sound annoying but this is exactly the mentality I use in life, question everything, this is why we get along so well, and why I get along with ENTPs so well in general). So, in response to that, I decided to learn the letter dichotomies (I vs E, N vs S…) better, but it didn’t help much. I dropped the subject for a while, until the second year (it is a 2-year course) where I started reading each personality individually and comparing it to the people in class. I started looking up YouTube videos about those types and it seemed to coincide pretty well with the way they acted.

So, after a while, and with the ENTP questioning me, I decided to give a go at the cognitive functions. By this time, I was quite aware of Reddit, and knew how to use it. So, I went on the MBTI subreddit to get some resources. And its all downhill from there. I started watching Harry from Cognitive Personality Theory on YouTube. I remember my first ever video on cognitive functions was his video, where he re-visioned the functions for people who already understood them. I was quite lost in this new sea of information, having to build both the puzzle behind me and in front of me. I was quite frustrated because the method I use to understand something is by having clear what the actual word means. So, when there is no clear definition for cognitive function, and much less for the actual cognitive functions specifically, it was quite frustrating always wanting to learn more, but nobody ever truly said anything meaningful. This is when my mind unconsciously decided to take matters into its own hands and started developing a web (don’t take this too seriously second-time readers) of information. Writing a book in my mind from beginning to end, every contradiction I ever found made me start the book from the beginning, until I could go from beginning to end without finding any contradictions.

So here I am, many months later, and my mind can finally go from beginning to end without finding any contradictions in my definitions for the cognitive functions, their inner workings, and their inter-relations. And I am now comfortable sitting down, and writing down my findings, for everyone out there who is as frustrated as I was before. I am, in a way, writing this text for my past self. For an inner anger towards the MBTI system and the unspecified nature of Jung’s work.

I will finish this chapter with an analogy. As Jung walked over the beach sand, with a metal detector, it beeped, giving sign of deep hidden buried treasure. Jung then dug a while until he found the treasure chest, but thought that the chest itself was the treasure, that it wasn’t worthy of deeper exploration. Many have tried finding the key to open it, they have tried to open it with a crowbar, and while their findings have only been superficial, as relating to the sound the contents made when they shook the chest. I am quite sure I have managed to open it. Don’t take this too seriously either, for since I think I have managed to open it, I have yet to explore the concepts that are hidden inside. I am only here to say I have finally found the key, and that the investigation that went on in my head for the past months only lead to finding the tip of the iceberg, to opening a chest with no bottom. I hope you are ready to quench your curiosity, I hope I don’t disappoint.

[oliverpdaniel]

Advent of Code 2020: A (very timely and not late at all) Reflection on Days 15-25

...Um. Oops?

Honestly, everything has been happening so much lately, I'm not super frustrated that it's been a clean month between finishing these puzzles and commenting on them. During these weeks, along with finally finishing my first-ever Advent of Code (as did my roommate! Well done, buddy.), I also wrapped up my second semester in quarantine, including a few brutal final projects and exams. After a nail-biting few weeks of awaiting grades, I finally had the confidence to withdraw for the second semester, and to begin hunting for work. (If you're reading this and I'm not hired yet, hire me!)

Anyway, the obvious downside to the sheer magnitude of the delay is that most of these puzzles aren't super fresh in my head, and thus my commentaries may not be as detailed as I would like. Hey - if I ever get such a massive executive-dysfunction-killing buzz as I did over the winter break to finally clean and redecorate my room, maybe I'll revisit these too.

Day 15: Now we're seeing some REAL slowness! The primary data structure for both parts here was the dictionary, mapping "seen" (spoken) numbers to the last turn on which they were spoken. That being said, I don't know what I was thinking in Part 1, with code like this:

Code ``` for k in seen.keys(): seen[k] += 1 ```

As soon as I saw the spicy thirty million in Part 2, I knew my naive solution wouldn't even touch it. [1] I had to do my least favourite thing - off-by-one debugging, but I ultimately came up with a relatively clever insight:

Spoilers Storing not just the last turn on which a number was spoken, but the last *two* numbers (if they exist). Doing this allows for a three-case scenario, for some current number `curr`: 1. `seen[curr]` is empty or doesn't exist. This is the base case of a new number; output 0, as stated in the problem. 2. `seen[curr]` has 1 value. It's only been seen once, so we can calculate the number of turns since it was last seen. 3. `seen[curr]` has 2 values. This number has been seen twice, so we can simply subtract the first- and second-most recent turn numbers to get the gap between them!

This problem took a bit of fiddling, but runs okay. Python really shows its ugly side here, as even a fairly efficient solution like this one, using efficient data structures, takes quite a while on Part 2.

Day 16: Boy oh boy. I spent far too long on this one, and perhaps if there are any to revisit for a future post, it's this one. My solution for this one features no less than:

regex;

closure functions;

constraint satisfaction;

functions that return tuples of variable length; and

walrus operators.

I consider this problem a 'sweat' for future years; I learned a lot about what makes constraint-satisfaction engines tick, and how it's important to assign constraints to the smallest possible element of a search space (here a column, rather than an entire permutation of columns). I think there's a much more concise and semantic way of outlining this problem, that lets the solver do much more of the work than I did.

Day 17: Not much to say here; it's a cellular automaton with extra for loops. I'll share two cute things that I'm proud of:

Spoilers 1. I experimented with various thresholds for the size of the 'infinite' space, making specifically sure not to to index checks, so that I could have the smallest possible subspace to check over. I ended up settling on a value of `20` units in each direction from: 2. the origin I specified, which is simply `LIMIT // 2 - H // 2` (where `H` is just the dimension of the input grid).

My roommate complained that it took him a long time to parse and understand the problem; I'll confess that I barely read it. I guess that's the advantage of experience, in that I saw "Conway" and "space" and knew immediately what needed to be done.

I didn't do anything special for Part 2; it's just my Part 1 code, copied and pasted, with an extra for loop here and a variable there. sum(sum(sum(sum())))s for everyone!

Day 18: I think that, out of all 49 unique problems in this year's Advent of Code, I'm most proud of my solution to this one. It's (relatively) fast; the code is pretty easy to read and works for both parts (and more! [2]); and I came up with a solution before knowing the name for what I had built. (Update: it's a shift-reduce parser. Hooray for stacks!) One especially cute thing, that incidentally ended up defining my approach to a lot of the later problems, was

Spoilers creating a lookup table between a certain input symbol, here math operators, and an internal function, here the builtin `int` math functors. This allowed for a dead-simple evaluator function, for when the top of the stack was ready to be converted from an expression to a workable number. Also, I had the bright idea to recursively evaluate bracketed expressions, in such a way that an expression like `(((1 + 2)))` would quickly reduce down to `1 + 2` before the rest of the parser got to it.

Day 19: Aaaaaaaaargh! Herein begin the Two Days of Terror - the two hardest problems. Lucky I had returned from my partner's by now, as I think they would have been quite upset with how much I was ignoring them to code. After solving Part 1 in the morning I finally finished Part 2 at around 7pm, having forgotten to otherwise eat or attack my household responsibilities, and only after my roommate sat down with me and pair-programmed for a while. This one stung the most, because... I'm a linguist, for crying out loud! No generative grammar problem, especially ones over a finite search space like this, should be causing me such grief.

Day 20: I am still emotionally recovering from this problem. My roommate somehow managed to get both parts to run instantly, using the most cursed CSP setup I've ever seen. I still need to study his code better to understand just how he did it. Also, his usage of scientific Python packages finally shows its rewards, as convolution over a matrix is a friggin' builtin function. Grr.

Day 21: I consider this day an apology for the previous Days of Terror. Some fun, but not terribly difficult, set-fu. My relative inexperience with set theory shows its stripes here; I'm sure there are much more semantically sound ways of accomplishing what I tried to do here (e.g., manually removing an allergen from each ingredient's list of hypotheses once it was confirmed to go with a certain ingredient).

Day 22: Spicy spicy numbers! It would have served me much better to read the instructions before starting, as then I would have known that

Spoilers in Part 2, players don't take their entire deck with them. Since, y'know, that would just cause an infinite race to the bottom.

Day 23: Even spicier numbers! If you're going to be cute like me and establish 9 as a constant, make sure that you don't use it in Part 2 when constructing the initial circle, or you'll wonder why 9,999,990 of the cups aren't attached to anything.

Day 24: I couldn't sleep, so I solved this problem at 3 in the morning. Not going to lie, a little disappointing for a penultimate problem, especially Part 2. Part 1 required at least a modicum of cleverness to develop a meaningful coordinate system, but then Part 2 just felt like a relative rehash of the Conway Cubes problem. 3 cellular automaton problems out of 25 is a little bit much, considering how formulaic they can be.

Day 25: As true evidence of how much I learned over this Advent of Code, I was able to finish Day 25 on the couch without even bothering my partner. Utilizing what I had learned about pow made defining the transform (i.e., repeated multiplication and mod) incredibly easy. Though, I did get a little bit lucky, due to a small oversight in problem setting...

Spoilers Rather than having to generate and test a whole bunch of different pairs of loop sizes for the card and the door, it turns out that if you `zip` together two streams of all such valid loop sizes for the card and door, respectively, the correct size for both (i.e, the solution) appears at the same time; for me, just the second such pair of sizes.

Day 25 Part 2, as always, was a delight and a pleasure. If you've never clicked that final button before, crack open a text editor and start solving challenges until you can. It's deeply satisfying.

I cannot sufficiently express my gratitude to the entire AoC team, setters, testers, and maintainers alike, for all that they do. A daily stream of bite-sized (or, sometimes, sea-monster-sized) challenges is just what I need to keep me going, and my skills sharp, over the dreary holiday season. Especially in a year like this, it was just what I needed to keep me moving, motivated, and thinking about code. I can't wait for next year's challenges and, hopefully, I'll convince the roomies to do it with me again.

Sorry about the little delay, and the relative lack of detail. But, the enemy of perfect is good enough. If you're reading these at some point in the distal future, I hope you've enjoyed watching my journey through these problems, and maybe learned a little bit about what it means to think like a programmer. Thanks for tuning in!

[1]: I tried it anyway; it obviously didn't work. And, once my roommate turned me onto tqdm, I was able to see just how long before the Heat Death of the Universe for it to run. It was about 3 days. Lol.

[2]: The way I constructed the code, it would be extremely easy to add in the remaining integer operations.

[bloodthirstymoonstone]

Walter in FE Heroes

So I’ve been toying around with the idea of making a mock-up of how Walter would function in Heroes, since that’s the verse most of his interactions happen in. For comparison’s sake, let’s take a look at Valter’s max stats.

Hp: 42

Atk: 32 (50 with Cursed Lance equipped)

Spd: 31 (33 with Cursed Lance equipped)

Def: 34

Res: 19

This adds up to the pretty average BST total of 158 with his weapon unequipped.

As for Walter, his stats would be...

Hp: 33

Atk: 17

Spd: 22

Def: 7

Res: 45

This would add up to the paltry BST of 124 -- the lowest, by far, in the entire game. He also has the lowest attack stat in the game, beating Azama who has 21 atk, and he has the lowest def in the game, beating Delthea and Lucius, who both have 13. However, he would have the highest Res stat by far in the game, handily beating Halloween Henry and Winter Tharja, who have 36. 

Would that be enough to make him viable? Probably not.

His weapon would be a legendary, non inheritable tome called “Worn Fire Tome”. It would have 3 Mt (which is actually a point less than the regular fire spell you could go back and equip him with), and the weapon description would be “+1 cooldown charge. 33% chance 0 damage will be done to opponent”. 

Like Halloween Henry and Winter Tharja, he will be an armored magic user, which might make him slightly more useful since he won’t be limited to special summons. If someone equipped the highest spell available to him -- Bolganone (which has 9 Mt), it would bump his attack up to 26. And with hone armor, he could get up to 32 Atk. Still not a lot, but enough to chip the paint off of some low res units, which might be handy for armor emblem.

The skills available to him right off the bat would be:

Support: Ardent Sacrifice

A: Close Def 3 

B: Watersweep 3 (learnable at 4 stars)

Watersweep seems like a pretty good skill for him to have, but since you have to be faster than your target for it to kick in, it would probably only be useful against Winter Tharja, Sophia, and maybe -Spd variations of normal Henry, normal Leo, Reinhardt, and adult Tiki. That’s literally it. 

And with Def as bad as his, Close Def 3 would only maybe be useful against dragons. Bumping 7 def up to 13 would be basically useless, not to mention most units also outspeed him. Chances are, he’d just get foddered for his skills, seeing as they’re both somewhat rare and he can learn Watersweep 3 at such a low rarity.

So I’m sure most of you are probably asking, “Munstone, WYD??? Why would you literally make a character that’s this useless, that’s basically only usable as a fodder unit?” Well, the answer is that it’s basically the point of his entire character. He’s frail, he’s slow, and he’s bad at basically everything, but he tries his hardest. For those who have the patience of a saint, they can actually help him achieve pretty impressive heights!

His Res is beastly -- so high, that even blue tome users and dragons would probably struggle against him unless they’re packing some significant heat (Odin would be practically worthless against him, despite the weapon triangle advantage, outspeeding him and having access to Moonbow). If you gave him Glacies, he’d do a whopping 36 damage with the bonus alone, which would give him incredible nuking potential. He could easily kill most frail mages with that special, and even some of the less chucky physical units like Kagero, Summer Tiki and Gaius, and Innes. Assuming he doesn’t die to them first.

And then you get to the weapon refinery. Amazingly, “Worn Fire Tome” isn’t just a joke weapon designed to just troll players. If there’s someone out there patient enough to send him through hundreds of battles, for 1,200 SP (three times the normal amount), 200 Divine Dew, and 500 Arena Medals, you can refine it into the weapon “Shining Bolganone”.

It would have 14 Mt, just like other legendary tomes, and its weapon description would be, “+1 cooldown charge. If user’s health is 100%, attack, speed, and defense are doubled. Does not include weapon might or buffs. Unit takes 4 damage after combat.”

So, just to reiterate, that means his stats would increase to

Hp: 33

Atk: 34

Speed: 44

Def: 14 (still pathetic)

Res: 45

This would put his BST at 170, which puts him just under Amelia, overall. Which is terrifying.

But wait! There’s more. Shining Bolganone prevents the weapon’s might or any field buffs from getting doubled, BUT THAT’S NOT THE CASE FOR SKILLS. Yes. You could slap Life or Death on this guy, which would bump his base attack to 44 and his speed to 54, at the cost of lowering his Def to 4 and Res 40 (which is still plenty). 

If you gave him Bold Fighter along with it, he would raze entire countries. And that’s not even factoring in IVs. So a +Atk LoD Walter could get to 50 BASE atk. A +Spd LoD Walter could get to 60 BASE speed. Alternatively, you could give a +Def Walter Fortress Defense, which would lower his base attack to 28, but would raise his defense to a chunky 30 for one turn! 

Also, yes, seals also get doubled.

(Decided to get rid of the “Skills get doubled as well” thing because I kind of forgot to take into account that merges will probably be easy to come by for a 3 star unit. There’s no way even I’m insane enough to put a unit with like 80 base possible speed in the game. Slight exaggeration, but you get me--)

(Merges will count towards the multiplication factor since they ARE technically a part of the BST. But skills and seals will NOT be. The doubled effect will be calculated before any of those get taken in effect.)

Yes, this makes Walter ridiculously broken, but only for one turn. The player would have to ensure he stays healthy and be sure to shuffle him out of danger zones since there would be no way for him to net a kill after the first phase of combat. And even then, it would be up to the player to get him to that point, anyway. They would have to endure the dull slog of leveling him up past a 3 or 4 star unit and have to endure relentless grinding to even get the weapon upgrade, and even more grinding to get him to the point where skills could come into play. So I think it’s fair.

I think the beauty of him would be the fact that he’s simultaneously the most broken and the most useless units in the game. That’s how I try to play him. He’s bad at everything not because he doesn’t have potential, but because his life has beaten him down to the point where he doesn’t think there’s anything worth saving. If he was around people that were encouraging and allowed him to grow on his own terms, he’d grow almost exponentially. 

Comparing that to Valter, who’s definitely not a bad unit by any means, but who is more of a well rounded, jack-of-all-trades, Walter would be a heavily specialized unit that can only do one job, but who can do it exceptionally well. That’s because he’d be taking subjects that actually interest him. But that’s a story for another day.

#fe heroes #fire emblem heroes #some of my math might be off #but i think i did okay with it #mega meta #walter meta #walter post #meta post