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#and that's like very frustrating in a puzzle game but it's like gen good I just couldn't think of a Good Guilty Pleasure title to put there

leonbastralle · 2 months

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GAMES I PLAYED IN 2023 - FIRST HALF-ISH

i've been seeing a lot of this in gif form but i do not have the energy or video material and also i'm late but i rly wanted to make a post where i say a lil bit abt all the games i played and how i liked them!

pokemon platinum, soulsilver, white, white 2, y, sun, alpha sapphire & shield: i started a big mainline pokemon marathon in 2022 but most of it fell on 2023. it was a lovely time tbh and i miss it! platinum was a bit too grindy (but we love cynthia) and soulsilver traumatised me for glitch reasons. my favorites out of this lineup were definitely gen 5 in terms of storyline and pokemon selection, the later ones were a bit too handholdy and slow for my taste, and alpha sapphire could not compete w the og emerald which is my favorite pokemon game of all time. i did rly love shield though but that's bc i'm a) a football girl and b) i played it on my wife's sofa askfjhkasjf. anyway music is bangers all around and i do love The Concept of pokemon so i didn't hate any of them.

lonely people potion shop: this was an absolute surprise indie gem that i found on my wife's itch.io in 2022 but i replayed it for her in 2023 so it counts. this game is a rly short very fruity visual novel where you make potions for people and chat with them. it's one of the most heartwarming and gentle games i've played, every character is so lovely and caring towards each other and also to you the player! 100% would recommend i cried a bit several times.

validate: i really wanted to love this game because a dating sim/visual novel/narrative fiction type game w a super diverse cast (in terms of backgrounds, body types, gender, sexuality, and mental health struggles) and such a lovely art style? sounds perfect! and it would be if the characters weren't so...unlikeable sjfhaksjfa. it eventually got so difficult for me to root for them and also kind of frustrating bc the routes overlap in a way that even if you get good outcomes in one route, you can still mess up the relationship in a different route (because you have routes for each of the characters) so i ended up not finishing it.

neo cab: another one i never finished but was rly intrigued by! another visual novel but choices matter type deal where you play as a taxi driver in a dystopian world where you're being replaced by self driving taxis. the mechanics and cast are really cool and if the storyline didn't stress me out so much i would've finished it by now but i definitely will one day!

coffee talk 1/2: barista simulator meets visual novel in an urban fantasy setting where you also kinda save the world one drink at a time! i loved the first one so so much and finally played it last year in preparation for the second one coming out that i'd been anxiously awaiting, it's so vibey and the characters and their storylines are so interesting and i loved seeing their heartfelt interactions! also the first game was giving such strong queer vibes but they kinda dropped the ball w that in the second game trying to backtrack on that. ruined the experience for me a little bit but still a very solid game w cool additions to the already great cast of the first game!

skyrim: not much to say about that one. my favorite classic walking simulator that i keep coming back to, still very much playable and so pretty even on the switch! unfortunately also incredibly broken so i can't finish the solstheim questlines kjsfhkajsfas fuck you todd howard

calico: wonky little game where you explore the world and also bake and own a café that you can fill with all sorts of animals from cats to snow foxes to capybaras because why the fuck not! absolutely delightful, 10/10

later alligator: lovely little puzzle game w great old timey detective vibes and a banger soundtrack where everyone is alligators. these characters are such great fun, i loved the writing and i loved learning about all of them and doing tasks for them! the minigames got a bit frustrating at times bc i was lacking the coordination skills or just general strategy and there are some completionist things i could never do because of that and the main character (the main guy you're doing things for, not the player character) can get on your nerves pretty quickly but otherwise a lovely game w a great twist in my opinion

strange horticulture: this one made it into my all time favorites too. you play as the owner of a supernatural plant shop in a place where A Lot of strange things are going on. it has a bunch of really cool mechanics like plant identification and a lot of map related puzzles to find new plants, secrets etc. the overarching story that gets revealed bit by bit from an unknown person's pov outside of the gameplay while related events are also happening in real time was so interesting, and there are a lot of cool choices you can make that lead to various more or less unsettling outcomes. the spooky vibe is SO good but at the same time it has a very calming homey feel AND YOU CAN PET THE CAT 10000/10

penko park: another absolute indie banger. probably something like a pokemon snap but the beasties look fucking stupid and kinda creepy and the lore is cursed as hell. throughout the game you explore the remains of a park that was built upon the abuse of all sorts of cute little creatures (and big creatures) and while you mostly try to take pictures of every weird looking fella in their different emotional states that you bring upon them in various ways, maybe there's something you can do to right the wrongs of the park founders! who knows! (also special shoutout because these are german devs and as a german, i am especially demanding when it comes to german games and this one knocked it out of the park) (haha the park get it)

#my games #gaming year in review #idk how tf to tag this so im just gonna slap some random ones that ill hopefully be reusing eventually #theres a second part some other time bc i played too many games skjdhfksdf #it was the unemployment

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klm-zoflorr · 1 year

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q.5 and 57 for the writing ask game? :-)

5. How many wips do you have? What fandoms/pairings are they for?

Too many to count!! If i had to give a figure, I'd say like. Phhhhfffeeeew. Fifty? Probably less than a hundred? I have like five of them I'm working on right now, the rest are mostly vague ideas i wrote down a while back. But my brain just keeping coming with this stuff! That's frustrating, I don't have enough motivation to write before the next idea hits 😭

For the fandoms, there's some Star wars, AtLA obviously, surprisingly no attack on titan, some x men stuff, a lot of Lucifer stuff especially recently, some game of thrones, even some My hero Academia and Yandere Simulator (aaaand i just checked. There is in fact two-no wait three- fics for aot. Oops. ALSO DSMP and third life! How could I forget about that! Lmaoo. Also theres a random Jim Pickens fanfic i wrote a fair bit off already. Damn, i need to watch the episodes in question back). It's mostly gen stuff, but there's a few pairings here and there!

57. How conscious are you about including symbolism or foreshadowing in your fics?

Very conscious! Like, it's not at the forefront of my mind constantly and i don't just write for that (i'm not a technical writer if you will. I just want to tell story, skill helps with that), but I do so love putting in little elements of foreshadowing or future themes in my fics. It's so fun! It's like a puzzle piece that only you can see and that you hope will allow the reader to see what the puzzle is about eventually. It's like an easter egg chase. And then when they reread they can see all the clues they missed and go like "Mei, you are a GENIUS!". But like, I didn't take writing classes, I don't have that technical approach to a fic. I just write my ideas and if it sounds good i'll keep it. Some of those ideas might be about symbolism. Yknow.

Pick a question here and send it to me!

#writing #fanfiction #asks #ao3 #anonymous #klm-zoflorr

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clotpolesonly · 3 years

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Love Is Blind And So Is Stiles

some semi-crackish fluff for @sterekvalentineweek’s day 3 prompt: secret crush

(also on AO3)

Stiles is an idiot. Derek is in love with an idiot.

It’s not like he didn’t already know this. He’s spent too many years watching Stiles walk head first into glass doors because he’s too busy texting to look where he’s going to not be aware of how much of a moron this otherwise very intelligent person can be. But he would’ve liked to think that Stiles wasn’t completely blind.

He would’ve been wrong.

The first time wasn’t so bad. Derek had just been testing the waters, having only recently acknowledged his burgeoning feelings for Stiles and, admittedly, a little nervous about airing them. He’d thought some light flirting would help him get a feel for Stiles’ interest in him in return.

Apparently, jokes were the wrong way to go about it. Stiles had thrown his head back and laughed until his stomach hurt, yes, but he’d also socked Derek in the shoulder, called him “bro”, and loudly declared that he needed to up his own pun game if Derek was coming for his crown. Derek had made a mental note that witty wordplay won’t cut it. Stiles appreciates humor and being clever too much to realize that there might actually be intent behind it.

So if funny was off the table, Derek figured he should give sincerity a try. Flattery is the way to every man’s heart, isn’t it? And it’s not like Stiles doesn’t have plenty worth flattering. He’s a little bit brilliant, brain always going, solving puzzles and categorizing facts and putting clues together. He’s brave and loyal to a fault and will do anything for the people he cares about. He’s broad-shouldered and weirdly graceful for someone so clumsy. His eyes are fucking beautiful and sparkle in the sunlight in ways that make Derek think of warmth and hot chocolate and the forest he loves so much.

Derek, for one, thought all of that was pretty unambiguous. But when he’d said as much, Stiles had just blinked at him for a minute and then remarked upon how nice it was that toxic masculinity had taken a backseat so that dudes could lift each other up like that without it being weird. He’d slapped Derek on the back, thanked him for being such a good friend, and blithely taken his leave, leaving behind a bemused Derek and a Scott who was nearly smothering himself to keep from laughing out loud.

“Don’t worry,” Scott said, once he’d gotten a hold of himself. “I think your eyes are super sparkly too. ‘Cause I’m a pal like that, and pals lift each other up.”

Derek shoved him out of the loft and locked the door behind him.

Sincerity clearly wasn’t going to get him anywhere. Next up on the list was innuendo, but Stiles was such a shameless (and aimless) flirt himself that it never seemed to occur to him that Derek might mean it. Stiles was already in the habit of waggling his eyebrows at Isaac, and complimenting Scott’s ass, and propositioning Danny, and trading increasingly explicit and weirdly sexual threats with Erica. The first three times Derek implied that he would like to have sex with Stiles, he laughed just like he usually did with Erica and Danny. The one time Derek said outright to his face “I want to have sex with you”, he laughed even harder and told Isaac he needed to work on his poker face and get on Derek’s level.

Erica had tutted and patted him on the back.

Derek threw her out of the loft too.

Now, with practically every avenue of flirting explored and Stiles still frustratingly unaware, Derek doesn’t know what else to try. At this point, he’s beginning to doubt that anything would get through Stiles’ thick skull. If he were smart, he would give Stiles up as a lost cause and go find someone less frustrating to attempt to date. But, sadly, Stiles doesn’t have a monopoly on idiocy.

One more try, he resolves. Just one more.

Derek shows up at Stiles’ apartment on Valentine’s Day, dressed to the nines, with a bouquet of flowers and a box of chocolates in the shape of a heart. He can’t possibly be any more obvious with his intentions. Surely, not even Stiles can misinterpret this.

And yet, Stiles answers the door, whistles appreciatively, and says, “Damn, you’re looking good! Who are you all dressed up for?”

Biting down on a groan of utter exasperation, Derek thrusts the box of chocolates into Stiles’ hands. Mildly confused, Stiles examines them.

“Ooh, these are good ones,” he says. “Nougat! My favorite, thanks, man. Did you get the caramel ones for Scott?”

Derek considers whacking Stiles in the face with the bouquet, but resists. “No, Stiles. I did not get caramel ones for Scott.”

“Shame,” Stiles says, picking a chocolate out of the box and popping it in his mouth. “They’re his favorite. That’s okay, he’s not picky. Who are the flowers for? You know Lydia’s allergic to those blue ones, right?”

“Stiles,” Derek growls. “Am I at Lydia’s house? Or Scott’s?”

Stiles glances up at him, confusion growing. “No. Obviously not.”

“Whose house am I at?”

Stiles raises both eyebrows, looking very much like he’s questioning Derek’s sanity. “…Mine.”

“What day is it?” Derek asks him.

“Valentine’s Day. Dude, what are you—”

“What did I bring with me?”

“Flowers,” Stiles says. “And candy.” He waves the box around. “Why? What does that—?”

“And who am I giving the flowers and candy to?”

“To—”

Stiles cuts off when the bouquet gets shoved unceremoniously into his arms. He struggles for a moment to get a grip on it without dropping the chocolates. Once he’s got them both secured, he just stares at them for a moment, glancing back and forth between one and the other. Then his eyes flick up to Derek’s face, down to Derek’s tie—yes, he put on a fucking tie for this, and, yes, it’s Stiles’ favorite color—back to the gifts. Derek can practically see the gears grinding ever so slowly into motion.

Finally, after a geological epoch, Stiles’ eyes go wide.

“Derek, do you…do you have a secret crush on me?”

“Oh my god.” Derek throws his arms in the air, honestly at a loss. “It’s not a secret! It’s never been a secret, Stiles. You’re just an idiot. Literally everyone knows except for you.”

For a second, Stiles looks like he might take offense to being called an idiot, as if it’s not a vast understatement. Then the rest of Derek’s statement catches up to him.

“Wait, everyo— No, that’s not— ”

The chocolates almost hit the ground as Stiles juggles them into the crook of his other arm to free up one hand. He’s got his phone out a second later, hitting Scott’s speed dial. Scott picks up on the second ring, but Stiles cuts him off before he can even get a full greeting out.

“Does Derek have a crush on me?”

Even from a distance, Derek can hear the thunk of something (or someone) hitting the floor on Scott’s end of the line. There’s fabric rustling and running footsteps and a muffled, “Isaac! Isaac, it’s happening!” before Scott’s back, out of breath.

“Did you figure it out or did he tell you?” he demands. “Please tell me you figured it out, I’ve got fifty bucks riding on this!”

Stiles hangs up on him. His face goes through a complicated series of expressions very quickly. Derek doesn’t bother trying to parse them. He just cocks an eyebrow and waits. Eventually, Stiles settles on a smile that vaguely resembles the one he uses to flirt with Danny and Erica, only his cheeks are bright pink and his heart is trying to beat through his chest.

“So,” he says gamely. “Wanna go out sometime?”

Derek spares three seconds to marvel at the audacity. Then he grabs Stiles by the front of his t-shirt, hauls him in close, and kisses him. The chocolates do hit the ground this time, and the flowers too, but neither of them give a damn about that. Stiles is too busy making little surprised noises into Derek’s mouth and Derek is too busy lamenting how much time they wasted dicking around.

“God, you’re such a moron,” Derek mutters against Stiles’ lips.

“Yeah,” Stiles pants back agreeably. “Such a moron. Sorry ‘bout it.”

“After all the shit you put me through, you better put out.”

Stiles whines, tugging on Derek’s tie. “I will absolutely put out,” he says. “I will put out for you so hard. Right now, if you wanna, I’m not classy!”

Derek laughs at that. “As tempting as that is, we’ve got reservations.”

“Reservations?”

“Yes, Stiles, reservations,” Derek repeats. “At a restaurant. Which were hell for me to get, by the way, considering the date. So unless you want to go out in public wearing that…”

He nods at Stiles’ dingy t-shirt and holey sweatpants. Stiles glances down at his clothes like he’s entirely forgotten he was wearing them. His face goes red again, and Derek’s really growing fond of making Stiles blush. He thinks he should make a habit of it.

“Right,” Stiles says. “Yes! Okay, clothes. Nice clothes. For our date, the date we’re going on, the Valentine’s date between me and you that’s happening right now, because you like me—like, for real, right?”

“Stiles.”

“Okay, going!”

Stiles takes off down the hallway, socked feet slipping on the hardwood floors. Before he makes it to the end, he turns on a dime and skids back down the hall to give Derek one more hurried kiss. When he finally disappears out of sight, muttering the whole way about ties and laundry, he leaves Derek smiling and shaking his head behind him.

Yeah, Derek’s in love with an idiot. But that’s okay. The idiot might love him back.

#sterekvalentineweek2021 #Sterek #Derek Hale #Stiles Stilinski #Teen Wolf #fics by me

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v-thinks-on · 3 years

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Wanna Know a Writer

Thank you very much to @sparrow-ink for the tag - I love doing these when I get the chance! Incidentally, this is also my 1001st post on Tumblr!

How many works do you have on AO3?

It looks like I have 116 right now, but it will be 117 tomorrow (with a short Batman/Superman fic)

What’s your total AO3 word count?

716,792 apparently... I’ve been writing like crazy lately and I still swear that can’t be right, but there you go

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

It looks like I’ve posted fic for 30 (including crossovers and fusions) and there may be more I haven’t posted, so not listing all of them. You can see the whole list here

Following @sparrow-ink‘s example, I’ll let my filesystem speak for itself:

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The Language of Chess has been the undisputed champion for a while (Kirk and Spock flirt using the Vulcan language of chess)

The Old Family Farm is a more recent fic that came up from behind while I wasn’t looking (Clark Kent takes Bruce Wayne to meet his parents)

The Gift Giving Game was my K/S secret santa gift for Herenya_writes (Kirk and Spock stir up rumors as professors at Starfleet Academy)

A Hidden, Personal Thing (Spock offers to mind meld with Kirk)

Human, Vulcan, and Everything in Between (Spock is ace, Kirk is polyamorous, and it works well for them)

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I try to respond to every comment because there’s nothing I like more than talking with people about my writing and the stories that inspire it! I’m more than happy to answer questions on here too, if anyone has any!

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

So, these days I’m generally a firm believer in happy endings, but in the pre-AO3 days, I used to mostly write death!fic and a few highlights actually made it onto AO3:

The Death of Spock - Spock dies during the original five-year mission and Kirk is left to pick up the pieces

Only a Fool - Watson dies at Reichenbach and Holmes is left to pick up the pieces

Honorable mention: Devoted - the inevitable tragedy of Mary Watson (nee Morstan)

Do you write crossovers? If so what’s the craziest one you’ve written?

As it turns out, the other thing I used to write is crazy crossovers, many of which were never finished, let alone saw the light of day. I’ve dialed back on it (a little), but here are some highlights:

Spock in Wonderland

Millennium Death Note - currently in progress! (What if Light Yagami solved the Millennium Puzzle?)

The Mysterious Mr. Jeeves - Jeeves and Wooster x Everything, but I think the most outlandish one in there would have to be The Phantom of the Opera

Honorable mention: my old BBC Sherlock x Harry Potter - the writing isn’t great and the plot is a bit of a mess, but it will likely always be my most viewed fic

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Only a little bit and mostly just on FanFiction.net - there was one person offended that my big Star Trek TOS x TNG crossover was “secretly” Kirk/Spock. More often I get people who like most of my fics, but then get annoyed about Kirk being polyamorous or Spock being ace or don’t like how I decided to end something, which isn’t terribly helpful, but could be worse.

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Nope, don’t read it, don’t write it, just not for me.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge, thankfully.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! I’m honored that people want to translate my stories into other languages (and make podfic of them)!

The first three chapters of Devoted (the tragedy of Mary Watson) are available in Chinese

Enough to Drive a Man to Madness (Mycroft puts up with Sherlock Holmes angsting about Dr. Watson) is available in Russian

Once Upon a Dream (Holmes and Watson dance) is available in Russian

The Appearance of Dorian Gray (Bertie Wooster meets Dorian Gray) has a podfic

And I think someone did a podfic of a scene from A Crazy Little Thing Called Love (the progression of Kirk and Spock’s relationship over The Original Series), but I can’t seem to find it right now

What’s your all time favorite ship?

My first and dearest will always be Holmes/Watson from the original Sherlock Holmes stories

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I’ve gotten to be pretty good at finishing things I want to write, but there’s this huge Disney crossover I started writing with a friend that is glorious and complicated and almost 1/3 of the way done despite being over 90k already. Whenever I think about it, I always think that, yes, I will finish it some day, even though my co-author has lost interest, but the truth is probably not... But who knows, maybe I’ll turn around and have it done for next year’s @wipbigbang!

What are your writing strengths?

I’ve discovered a secret talent for finishing what I start, which is nice - a combination of planning and just keeping at it, slow and steady.

I think I do a good job of capturing characters’ voices, whether in dialogue or narration, and it serves me particularly well when I’m trying to imitate a style - I’m especially proud of some of my Jeeves and Wooster. I can also do some nice flowery prose if put my mind to it.

What are your writing weaknesses?

For all of my love of pretty prose, it’s easy for me to forget to describe things, so my writing can end up fairly sparse. I also feel like I could get better at integrating romance and plot - the romance often ends up getting drowned out by everything else going on, which is especially frustrating because I’m usually writing it because of the romance.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

That’s a good question. Probably Death Note (my friends and I used to ship L/Light) - that’s the oldest fic I have on my computer, at least, but I used to write on paper, so there may be something even older there. The first fandom I posted anything for is Harry Potter (a next-gen OC fic about the daughter of Bellatrix Lestrange - it’s best not to ask). I also posted my first Holmes/Watson fic at about the same time (it’s pretty bad, but I tried).

What’s your favorite fic that you’ve written?

I’m actually really happy with a couple of my somewhat recent longer fics:

Generations - my Kirk/Spock Star Trek: Generations fix-it

Bertie Solves a Mystery - Jeeves and Wooster get embroiled in a murder mystery and meet Hercule Poirot and Hastings (also Jeeves has a mysterious backstory)

tagging: I’m going to second @plaudiusplants and tag @the-z-part and @marlinspirkhall if you’d like to do it, along with anyone else who wants to go for it!

#v writes #v was tagged #Star Trek: The Original Series #Spirk #ACD Sherlock Holmes #H/W #Jeeves and Wooster #SuperBat #Yugioh #Death Note #Harry Potter #Alice in Wonderland #The Phantom of the Opera #Hercule Poirot #Dorian Gray #Star Trek: The Next Generation

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chibinekochan · 3 years

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Angel in Hell Season 2 part 1

Angel in hell season one -

Previously on Angel in Hell:

Satan destroyed half a building.

You are an angel and came to hell as an exchange student. You had to stay in Human Mc's old room. Human Mc died in a tragic accident.

All the demon boys are being very weird.

Somehow you have a pact with the brothers?

Ultimately it's revealed that you were the human Mc before you became an angel.

On top of that, Simeon is your mentor/friend and Lucifer proclaimed that you have to stay no matter what. Lucifer is basically ready to declare war just for you.

Now you will have to decide what to do.

Will you go back to heaven? Will you remember your past life and risk becoming a demon yourself? Who are you even? Is Lucifer serious about his threat? What are the other brothers going to do now?

There also might be a romance here somewhere.

Gen. reader insert.

Words 2k

Taglist:

@gothjuulpod ; @purgatoryhall ; @sibit360 ; @a-personnamed-ace

___________________________________________________________

You wake up. For a brief moment, you feel almost normal.

Until the memories from yesterday start to flood your mind.

It still feels very raw. “I was human…” You whisper to yourself.

You shake your head. It's no use staying in bed and pondering over this.

The overwhelming urge of just being normal again rushes over you.

You stand up and take your usual shower; the hot water feels pleasant on your skin. It feels like it washes all of your pain away.

You dress, somehow it feels strange to have your usual angel clothes on your body.

You sigh and keep your hand on the doorknob. How will you face everyone today?

No! You have to eat at least, even when it's going to be awkward.

You open the door, only to almost fall over a tray. It's filled with food. You see a note on top of it. Undoubtedly written by the brothers.

Hey, we hope you are okay.

Text us when you are done eating!

We just want to know if you are okay.

You got the whole week off, so please rest.

Text us if you need anything. I will bring some books later.

I bring some mangas or games or umm well whatever you want.

You're not alone, no matter what.

P.S.: Lucifer is stupid.

This note makes you smile, you can tell that they all fought about what to write and that some of them just added some stuff.

You take the food inside. They really are good people.

Despite everything, they still did their best for you. Maybe it was only because of your past with them? This thought hurts.

You start eating but can only finish about half of it. Despite it being all of your favorite foods.

It makes you feel pretty guilty.

Then you hear the notification sound from your phone.

It's a message from Luke. You can only see half of it. He is asking if you are okay.

You feel tempted to answer no, but just put the phone away.

Next, you lay on your bed for a while. Thoughts start to swirl endlessly in your head.

So many things at the same time cross your mind. You yell out from frustration. This won't bring anything.

You get up from your bed and decide to go for a walk.

You just quickly text the brothers a thank you and Luke a brief message informing him that you need some space.

Then you leave the building.

It feels good somehow. You don't have a clear goal in mind and just wander into town.

All this noise helps a bit, the random things in the windows distract you.

This almost feels normal, even if a bit lonely.

You are engrossed in an outfit when someone addresses you.

"It's lovely, isn't it? I bet it would look lovely on you." You know this voice very well. It's Asmo.

"Hey, Asmo…" You have talked often before, but right now it's kind of awkward.

"I know there are a ton of things that we all need to talk about, but you know what. I just really want to go shopping and forget about everything right now. So how about we just pretend all of this stuff didn't happen and have some fun?" Asmo seems to have a lot on his mind as well.

He must be equally hit by everything. He looks like he didn't get a wink of sleep. You don't mention that.

"You know what. You are right. I was feeling a bit lonely anyway." Somehow it feels good to run into Asmo like this. His offer just seems like what you need right now.

“In that case, it's a shopping date!” Asmo is suddenly very giddy.

Seeing this makes you smile a little.

You both head into so many stores and Asmo finds so much that he wants you to try on. It's very exhausting, but in the end, you both find something.

“We should go to that new coffee shop before heading back home.” Asmo seems to just want to rest a bit.

“I'm pretty beat and having something sweet sounds great.” The image of fresh cake pops into your head.

Asmo offers you a cheerful nod.

You go to the coffee shop, and your table is in a secluded corner.

After you get your coffee, Asmo is suddenly very gloomy. “I know I said I just want to forget about everything, but I just have to say it: I'm very ashamed of what I did. I brought you to the club and caused this whole mess since I didn't watch over you. I'm truly sorry.” Asmo is guilt written. This must truly weigh on his mind.

“I don't blame you for what happened. I'm not a small child anymore, and while that demon was a creep, you can't constantly watch me.” You feel glum, but you know Asmo did nothing wrong.

“I was also a big butt when Satan rightfully called me out. It only made it worse. I also feel extremely bad about lying to you. Not only that, but I mean you were back. That was all that was important to me.” Asmo groans and sways his head. He must feel very remorseful.

“I'm not back, though…” At least not as far as you are concerned.

Asmo smiles ruefully at you. “You're right. They have lost their life…but you are still so similar… That makes this even harder.” It seems hard for Asmo to admit this. “At the start, I was just so happy to have my friend back. It wasn't important to me that you had lost your memories or that you are an angel now. That just meant I could persuade you with my charm and that we could just make new memories together…” Asmo takes another deep breath, deep sadness reflects in his eyes. “I now realize I was mistaken. It was unfair to you and o your former self. I was a terrible friend, and I can only hope you will forgive me and trust me that I will do better from now on.” Asmo looks like he is about to cry.

It hurts to see him like this.

You take a sip of your coffee, letting his words sink in for a moment. “I can't even imagine what you have been through. Seeing a loved one that died… I don't know what I would do in a situation like that. I like spending time with you, and could use some support.” You know there are many difficult decisions that you will have to make.

Asmo gently puts a hand on top of yours. You look puzzled.

“I will always support you no matter what.” He smiles at you. This seems to be the first time he undoubtedly looks at you.

“Thank you Asmo.” You smile back at him, feeling like a weight has been lifted from you.

Then you both talk about various topics and finish your cake and head back to the dorm.

You feel much better.

“Yo…umm…are you doing alright?” You run right into Mammon in front of the gate.

He seems extremely uncomfortable.

“Not really but I'm working on it. Asmo helped me to feel a bit better.” You give him a slight smile.

Mammon glares at Asmo.

“We ran into each other in the city.” Asmo lifts his hand in defense.

“Is that right?” Mammon seems a bit doubtful.

“Yeah, I was just kinda walking to clear my head, and that's when we met.” You aren't certain what the issue is.

“Ah…well, umm, do you have some time now?” Mammon shifts awkwardly around.

“Aren't you just being cute Mammon? Asmo giggles.

“Come on, I just have to talk about some important stuff.” Mammon huffs.

"Alright, I will give my big brother some space. Have fun you two." Asmo waves to you and walks to the dorm.

Mammon mumbles something.

"Anyway… Do you have some time?" Mammon asks again.

"Sure." You can tell it's urgent to him.

Mammon looks relieved. "Great, let's go to my room."

When you arrive at his room, you can see it's a big mess. Mammon just realizes this with slight panic.

"Aghhh… I-I should've cleaned." Mammon seems frustrated.

"It's alright." You don't care right now.

Mammon just makes some space for you two." Well…okay just come sit here."

You sit down on the sofa beside him.

"First I want to ask how you are… Though I kinda can imagine you must be upset and feeling all kinds of things. This whole mess really shouldn't have happened. We should have been honest. I mean I know we couldn't, but we are demons, there is no need for us to follow the rules, right?" Mammon gets pretty worked up and takes a deep breath. "No, never mind that." He shakes his head. "I just want to make sure you know that I want you to be happy. I know it's a lot to ask for right now.” Mammon takes a deep breath. “It's all messy and I don't even know how to feel either. I just want to wake up and feel normal again. Ever since you… they…died everything is just a huge mess.” Mammon pauses for a moment. “We were never a normal family, and we lost Lilith before. That messed us all up. Then when we lost the one thing that was important to all of us, and we never recovered from that.” Mammon shakes his head. “I never recovered at least. It was like I got punched and gutted every day.” Mammon's hands are trembling. “Seeing you was just like that too, but kinda worse. It was nice to see your face, but you are a different person now but not really. It's just… I-I can't understand it… I'm sorry it's just so confusing." Mammon just puts his face in his hands. He starts crying, which really surprises you.

Mammon is filled with grief, confusion.

You place your hand on his trembling back.

"I'm sorry you have to see this…" It sounds like Mammon wasn't expecting all of his emotions to just break out like this.

“It's alright Mammon. Thank you for telling me this.” Seeing him this distraught hurts you. You feel like crying too, you gently caress his back, to console him. There are no words that you two can even share.

It's almost like Mammon is finally truly weeping for what he lost.

You can only be there and watch over him.

You don't know for how long Mammon is crying, and it doesn't really matter.

Then a knock on the door makes you both almost jump up.

“I'm busy!” Mammon yells, trying to mask his hoarse voice.

“I need the book you stole.” Much to your surprise, it's Satan's voice.

“I know nothing about some books.” Mammon looks caught.

Satan opens the door, seemingly done with this. “I'm done playing games Mammon…”

His eyes meet yours, silently sitting on the couch, next to the red-eyed Mammon.

“What in the devildom are you doing?” Satan narrows his eyes.

“We were just talking.” You don't want any more misunderstandings.

“Yeah, none of your business anyway.” Mammon is pouting.

“I thought we agreed to leave them space and why are your eyes red?” Satan isn't sure what happened, but it bothers him.

"I tried this new deodorant and got it in his eyes. I was just helping him." You can tell Mammon is uncomfortable about crying.

Mammon just nods and goes along with it. "Yeah exactly, what are you even thinking? Accusing me of crying? Get a grip…and I got no books at all." Mammon is huffing.

Satan only makes a fed up motion with his hand and grabs a book right from the floor. "Whatever. You should come with me. I have a few things we should discuss." Satan pays little attention to Mammon and looks at you.

"Sure." You assume that Satan had some thoughts about yesterday.

"I am done here anyway." Mammon is slightly pouting, but he also seems to be extremely tired.

You think he will need space to come to terms with everything.

Satan is not even looking at Mammon. You wonder if they fought.

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

All these lovely comments finally got me to write this.

I hope this will be a great ride.

Also, if anyone wants to be added/removed from my taglist, please contact me.

#obey me #obey me fanfic #obey me angel au #angel in hell #season 2 #obey me!#obey me shall we date #omswd #obey me fanfiction

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dl-oblivion · 4 years

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Headcanons of the s boys of types of coversation a s/o or friend would have with them (what topics would they talk about)

This is what they talk about excluding blood sucking, and being prey.

Shu:

- Talks about music, and how the classical age was the best of all time. (He’s one of those people). If you enjoy classical music, or can play an instrument, holding up a conversation with the vampire is not a problem. Bonus points if you can play the violin, or piano.

- Shu is very knowledgeable when it comes to European history, and has an excellent memory. If he wanted to, the vampire could easily tell you the entire life story of any European composer, or military leader.

- He finds a lot of joy in talking dirty to his lover, and friends. You best believe he’ll try getting in your pants, he’s into the thought of friends with benefits. If you’re not interested, or have a lover already, he’ll still speak about lewd topics, and tease you.

Reiji:

- Reiji loves speaking on chemistry, mathematics, and the experiments he’s trying to figure out. He will definitely ask his friend to be his test subject, or make them one against their will.

- If he’s close enough with his s/o or friend, he starts unintentionally complaining about his brothers, and their stupidity. Especially Shu, Reiji can go on a whole rant about how irresponsible he is.

- The vampire can go on about Victorian fashion, etiquette, and lifestyle. He’s knowledgeable on all time periods in history, but that era really stands out to him. He loves everything about it, if you do too, that’s great.

Ayato:

- I’d venture to say that 50% of the conversations he has with you, are about himself, or belittling people he thinks are inferior. His ego is huge, so he tends to be cruel with teasing, and is overall kind of a negative person.

- The vampire can talk about basketball for hours. It’s not like he even keeps up with the NBA, or college basketball, it’s mostly about his season. He’ll also force you to come to his games.

- Unlike his older brothers, Ayato tries to keep up with pop culture, and trends. Having a friend show him how to do viral dances, and challenges is fun. He’s still old though, so it can be frustrating at times. It’s hard for him to understand Gen Z humor.

Laito:

- Laitos interests are kind of all over the place, but anything sexual peaks his interest. If you’re his friend, and need advice on how to go down on someone, he’s more than happy to help. He’s pretty cheeky, so he’ll ask you to practice with him. If you’re his lover, that’s a whole other ball park.

- Interestingly enough, he’s very into talking about music, and the feeling it brings. He plays the piano, and his favorite genre is Jazz. Laito is also open to listening to new music, unlike Shu.

- The vampire is quite intelligent when it comes to language. He can speak French fluently, and does crossword puzzles in his free time. Need help understanding olden text? He’s more than willing to help, If you pay the price with your body.

Kanato:

- Kanato is only interested in talking about childish, and superficial things. Looks are important to him, so he’s judgmental about your appearance, and others. Speaking on Lolita fashion, and whether someone would make a good doll or not, is frequent.

- More often than not, you’ll catch him talking about pretty alarming things. He can go from discussing sweets with you, to something completely sadistic. No matter if you’re his lover, or friend, it always feels as though you’re walking on eggshells.

- He vents about his feelings, and frustrations a lot. Something as small as, Ayato eating his sweets, can turn into a whole fiasco. You just have to bear through it, and try comforting him. This is a reoccurring one sided type conversation he would have with his lover, or friend.

Subaru:

- At first, most of the conversations he has with people trying to get close with him, are warnings. Subaru will warn the person that he’s a monster, and that they’ll die if they stick around. If that doesn’t work, he’ll attempt to scare/intimidate them. Getting past that hurdle is difficult.

- Once he gets comfortable, and you ask him about his interests, he will talk your ear off. Asking him about his coffin, or the mobile game he plays, is good for getting him relaxed, but can also be pretty annoying to hear about. (I can totally see him playing first person shooters if persuaded well enough).

- His friend/partner lowkey becomes his therapist. Subaru has never been open with anyone, so allowing him to finally vent his frustrations through words, instead of destruction, is monumental. If he needs advice, he knows he can come to you.

#diabolik lovers #ayato sakamaki #shu sakamaki #laito sakamaki #subaru sakamaki #reiji sakamaki #kanato sakamaki #headcanon #sakamaki family

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acecroft · 3 years

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hej! i was thinking about purchasing a tomb raider game. the only tomb raider game i know is very old (i used to watch my brother play it on my dad's pc, no idea which one it was tbh, but i'm talking 15-20 years ago) and there's a loootttt tomb raider on steam and idk where to start really. and i figured maybe you could help ♥ if you want to, no pressure

i truly LOVE all of them!! so i’ll try to describe them from a gamer point of view (and more like technical), so given this info you’ll be able to deiced for yourself :)

Tomb Raider I, Tomb Raider II, Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft, Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, Tomb Raider: Chronicles - classic tomb raider, old school, great puzzles, lots of backtracking and shooting. if you are not prejudice against old graphics and ok with tank controls, those games are iconic. note: there might be problems with launching those games, for me it works (in steam), although the music is bugged

Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness - the darkest chapter of lara’s adventures. also exists in a classic timeline, but first next-gen TR game. not only that changed, on one of levels we’re given second playable character. also lara talks with NPCs (scripted but still), kinda tank controls but not really. bugs and glitches all over the place, this all might be very frustrating. interesting story and good puzzles, lara has some new moves like simple hand-to-hand combat and stealth attack. you either hate this game or love it with all your heart (at least that’s how it’s in the fandom). i love it

Tomb Raider Legend, Tomb Raider Anniversary, Tomb Raider Underworld - legend timeline, first reboot of the franchise, next-gen games, no more tank controls, good puzzles, lots of shooting, beautiful music. and although Anniversary is a remake of Tomb Raider I, it is remade considering this timeline story, and in this story Anniversary is a prequel to Legend and Underworld. lara has some new moves like adrenaline dodge and also QTE

Tomb Raider 2013, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Shadow of the Tomb Raider - survivor timeline, second reboot of the franchise, origin story of young lara and how she became the tomb raider. lots of surviving (collecting stuff for upgrades of lara and her arsenal), shooting and action, some areas you can go stealth, others game forcing you to blast through (perfect balance of action/stealth in SOTTR imo). in TR2013 tombs are extremely simple, in ROTTR they are a lot better and a little more elaborate (in physics, scale and visually). and in SOTTR there’re the best imo, bigger, more difficult and there’s such a variety of them. unlike in all of previous games, in reboot games tombs are not necessary for the progress of story. in SOTTR in some areas lara’s best friend jonah accompanies her. note: if you don’t have a strong PC, SOTTR might not run on it, this game technically requires quite a lot

Lara Croft GO - legend timeline, turn-based platform/puzzle game, really fun and simple, great puzzles with a good soundtrack on a background

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris - legend timeline, action platformers with puzzles and looots of running and shooting. those games were designed as cooperative games, but there’s also a single player mode

hope it helps!

#tomb raider #i do love them all very dearly #but like favs of favs: TR2 Legend & Underworld and SOTTR #ask #endstation-sehnsucht

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protagonistheavy · 3 years

Text

Got a new computer so I can play DBD again after a two week break. So, I'm new to both Pinhead and the new mmr system.

Wow. Both these things just suck shit. : \

The survivor experience is just terrible. I played upwards of ten games and each one just felt way worse than usual. The only good game I had ended with the killer disconnecting, so that's a great sign. Every other game was deeply unfun for at least one reason or another. The worst was a Doctor that had to tunnel, camp, and noed his way to a 3k + disconnect... Jesus Christ. I spent like eight minutes NOT playing a video game because I spent the entire time getting camped, then slugged (because he wanted to wait out the DS I didn't even have lololololol love these mechanics), then rehooked, shaking off tier 3 madness, and then getting mori'd. What a god awful experience. And no other game was significantly better -- except for one Pig game, but that doesn't count because, yep, they were just throwing and looking for boops.

It's bad out there man and it's personally depressing because I was sooo looking forward to coming back to DBD. : ( I guess I can still give killer a try, but I can't BELIEVE how much joy got sucked out of the survivor experience for me -- incredible, considering how unfun survivor could already be. But now I just really do feel like I'm making the game worse for myself if I'm not running the meta perks, there's NO space for even a little error.

At first I heard complaints about the new mmr system, and I heard counter-arguments to them saying "you don't have to care about winning so much, just enjoy the game." yeah well. except. you can't really enjoy a game when shit like this is happening lol. Like how am I supposed to enjoy the game... if part of my enjoyment is being able to at least SOMETIMES escape a killer? What if I LIKE to run some non-meta perks? Like I'm not saying "wahhh I wanna win every game" but I AM saying that I'd like to not feel PUNISHED for not playing hyper optimal. Seriously, this matchmaking just feels terrible! I'm literal bottom rank and I'm going against some of the best killers I've EVER gotten... At what point should my mmr be low enough that I'm getting killers I can fairly go against???? It feels like I'm constantly the dead weight being added into the lobby to counterbalance better survivors, it's so frustrating.

And god. Pinhead. This, is just bad. I seriously just groan when I hear that fucking box noise at the start of a game. This is, by far, the LEAST fun killer to go against I think. I guess maybe Hag could be worse, but jesus christ, 90% of this guy's power is just automatic. The fucking box is WAY too strong. Can anyone explain to me what the optimal approach to this shit is??? You see the box, you know SOMEONE has to go get it, but without comms, you don't know who is and who isn't going for it, which makes the whole team super inefficient. You'd think to go get the box immediately, but isn't it smarter to wait it out until the timer is almost up? If you want to stay efficient doing other things for as long as possible, it's better to IGNORE this thing until it starts becoming a problem basically. If no one gets the box in time, then everyone just starts getting slowed down and pulled off gens constantly without any way to stop it! How fun!!!!!!!! Sucks for you if you're in the middle of getting chased, because now on top of his fucking guided missile chains that he controls, there's just MORE chains coming after you nonstop. Oh you grabbed the box, like you're supposed to? Cool! Let's drop your item tee-hee-hee : ) and make you solve this puzzle box for like 10 fucking seconds w/ skill checks! Oh and all the while, a chain hunt is on you uwu!! So you keep getting ripped away from the very thing youre trying to solve! Oh and you never get a chance to ACTUALLY solve the box, lol no you fucking moron, because Pinhead can just IMMOBOILIZE YOU MID-SOLVING AND TELEPORT TO YOU FOR FREE. Are you a shitty killer player that can't find survivors? Then come play Pinhead, who just reveals survivors for free and gets to warp right to some of them! Nope, not because of any ACTIVE ABILITY he actually CONTROLS or EXPRESSES SKILL FROM, no you fucking troglodyte, it's entirely because his passive box shit just forces you to play a whole different game that's EXTREMELY frustrating to trudge through. Oh and guess what happens when Pinhead knocks down the survivor that had the box? Oh well instead of doing a weapon wipe animation, he picks up the box and solves it : ) which triggers a chain hunt to immediately begin! Wow! I'm having so much fun that for the sake of my health I need to go make myself more depressed to balance it out.

This is so absurd and not even getting into his add-ons that just make him even LESS fun; the chains that can injure you, and the one that makes the box almost impossible to see until the chain hunt starts? I'm sorry but what the FUCK? I'm genuinely getting the point where I sincerely wish we could just hard block certain killers lol I can very well see myself just DCing as soon as I hear it's Pinhead. This isn't fun, sorry Behaviour, but you wildly fucked up with this one. I think the most offensive part is the fact you have to drop your fucking item to solve this shitty box. That's just so cruel. Why does it have to be like this? Just let us keep our item bro! It's so unfair that in order to face a killer's base mechanic -- which they don't even manually control!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! -- and have to, HAVE TO, MANDATORY, you have to drop your item, KNOWING you're never going to see it again since Pinhead is going to teleport and chase you away! Jesus Christ, can we at least balance this out? Can we make it so you can't solve Jigsaw Boxes if youre holding an item? Can we make it so Legion's Frenzy attacks make you drop your item? I fucking HATED this mechanic with Nemesis, and that's LEAGUES more tame than Pinhead's stupid shit. At least when I set my item down, I'm not expecting Nemesis to outright TELEPORT to me because I used the fucking item he makes me have to use.

And hey something else that just pisses me off as a Pig main. Why doesn't Pig get ANY vision or advantage against someone who removes their bear trap? Hmm? Nemesis gets a killer instinct when someone uses a vaccine, Pinhead gets to see their location AND ALSO choose to teleport DIRECTLY TO THEM, so why can't Pig get SOMETHING?????? Oh would she become OVERPOWERED if she got a killer instinct on someone who removed a hat? Mind blowing how fucked up their killer design has gotten. Imagine what Pig would look like if she was released in 2021 -- absolutely she'd have some way more bullshit mechanics going on. She'd get aura vision on anyone solving a box; anyone she knocks down for the first time automatically gets a hat placed on them rather than her going through a weapon wipe animation; that timer would just start instantly, no fucking waiting for a gen to pop; no slow down at all while stealthing, in fact she just stealths passively after a few seconds of not attacking; if you fail a Jigsaw skill check you get injured. I'm not even exaggerating much when I say this is what Pig would be like if made today.

Yeah I think this mmr shit needs a rework, and Pinhead, wow, I dont even know what to say. Maybe Pinhead would be better if he got toned WAAAAAY the fuck down. Chain Hunts are way too fucking oppressive, the chains that appear need to be like 50% less frequent. And instead of making the box an item, it should just be an interactable object that you go up to, progress a bar, and solve. Remove the fucking chain hunt on the box holder, take away Pinhead's teleport, just let Pinhead get killer instinct on whoever solved it.

I really hope he gets reworked to something more fun. This really just sucks to go against and doesnt feel like any other killer. Please, man.

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jaybug-jabbers · 3 years

Text

Pokemon Prism Review

Well I’m currently finishing up the post-game content of Pokemon Prism.

Dang.

What a fun game.

(what follows is an informal review of the game. it got a little long, lol. it has some spoilers for the game, of course.)

My background

To give you a quick idea on my perspective on Pokemon, I grew up with Pokemon Red on the big grey brick Gameboy. After Red, I pretty much stopped playing for many years. My little brother had a Gameboy Color and had Silver, but I never got one myself. Wasn’t ‘til years and years later I found some emulators and played through several generations of Pokemon at once. So, Gen 2 really isn’t nostalgic for me. It’s close enough to Gen 1 to hit some nostalgia buttons, though. I am admittedly somebody who feels Gen 1 is the best gen of pokemon. I don’t care of people laugh or say I’m a genwunner for believing that. Gen 1, I feel, had the raw creativity and charm of the original idea, and it simply sets my imagination alight far more than any other gen does. Those simple pixel designs for those little virtual creatures just opened up a world in my mind. THAT SAID, I did play and very much enjoyed all the other gens of pokemon. I do not shun things just because they are new, and I am not one of those people who says the new designs of pokemon are stupid. I adore plenty of modern pokes.

Blend of Old and New

Anyway! Pokemon Prism, for those unaware, is a ROM hack of Pokemon Crystal. It essentially delivers a brand-new Pokemon adventure for the Generation 2 games. It’s a really neat blend of classic gameplay and modern features. You’ll find species from modern games all the way from Gen 3 (such as Breloom) to Gen 6 (such as Sylveon) but their sprites perfectly integrate them organically into the Gen 2 environment. You’ll get many modern pokemon moves and conviences but also plenty of throwbacks to older experiences. Miss crafting pokeballs from Apricorns? It’s there. Enjoy a simplier time when there weren’t any Natures? Well, there ya go. Really want to call Joey and talk to him about his Rattata? Well, err, no, you can’t do that, but let’s face it, the telephone feature was probably one of the most hated features in Gen 2. :P

But Prism isn’t simply about updating Gen 2 with some modern pokemon, moves and game features. Not in the slightest. It’s full of original mechanics and gameplay concepts, and has tons of original areas and an original storyline. Pokemon is known for experimenting with new gameplay ideas, so it’s really fitting and enjoyable to see these take shape as you play the game. Mining and crafting is introduced in the game, for example, and there are a couple new pokemon types. There’s even a few sections where you can play as your pokemon, Mystery-Dungeon style. Do all of these experiments with new concepts work? Probably not ALL of them– when you try something new, not all of them will work out as amazing as you’d hope. But a lot of them are welcome and fun additions. And the game is bristling with these new ideas! It’s a joy to see so much creativity and novelty.

Sprites

It should be noted the spritework for these games is A+ and utterly fantastic. There is perhaps 3 or 4 out of dozens and dozens of new sprites that I thought were a tad off? Seriously, they look AMAZING and their animations are perfect and they fit in with the style so well I found myself briefly getting confused as to which were originally from Gen 2 and which weren’t. Saying these sprites are good is no small thing, because they are such a vital part of the game. The backsprites were not shafted, either– something even Gamefreak often shortchanged on back then.

Music

It should also be noted the music in this game is really damn good and has a huge variety. There are tons of classic songs, classic remakes of modern pokemon songs, remixes, and original tunes. There were like one or two tunes I was a bit iffy on, but considering that’s only a few out of so many, that’s impressive. The new bike music and Surfing music are probably my favorites, and they are SO GOOD, and those are especially important ones to sound good, because you typically hear those a lot.

Writing

The writing in this game is fairly solid. Not A+, but still not bad. It suffers occasionally from slightly rough and confusing grammar, and the climax of the story is definitely anti-climactic and very weak. In addition, the post-game story basically does not exist, but that can be excused since most likely more story was planned but they ran out of time. (C&D)

I also felt that at times, the story felt out-of-place within the world of Pokemon and went “too far” in the darker direction. The entire prison sequence, especially, and the frequent mention of inmates being mistreated, pokemon being abused, etc., just felt a bit much. Because this game was largely concerned with replicating the feeling of a true Pokemon game (some hacks intentionally focus on making a story that would never take place in the Pokemon world, like zombie survival horror stories or whatnot), I find it relevant to mention that. All of that said, though, its darker departures were at least not *too* extreme. We don’t get the very jarring and frequent problem of some ROM hacks where it’s full of cussing all the time or intense violence. Compared to those it’s still relatively subtle. And while the NPCs in this game I felt were rude a little too often, (holy crap, it felt like 95% of Naljo and Rijon were crankyass people) I do appreciate the attempts at making people a little more “real” and not quite so freaking happy and idealized all the time like Nintendo tends to do. The dialogue often made me chuckle. It did go a tad overboard with that “realness” (because, hey, a variety of people exist in the world, you know, both rude and polite, optimistic and bitter) but oh well.

So yes, the writing had its drawbacks. But overall, it felt like it was progressing a pokemon-style narrative with some interesting ideas, and wasn’t simply a dreary rehash of the same basic tropes Pokemon has been regurgitating for ages now. I just think if the writing were cleaned up a bit– the grammar cleaned up in a few sections, the plot threads clarified a bit more, and the climax reworked– it could take a “decent story” and make it a great one. There’s definitely some neat ideas there, it just needs polish.

Maps

As to the different towns and locations in this game to explore, there are many. This game is ambitious AF. As I said, it’s FULL of new ideas, features, things to do, and places to explore. Naljo is the region you explore in the main game, but post-game you can wander a whole new region of Rijon (the featured location of an older ROM hack, Pokemon Brown) and beat all the gyms there. In addition, there’s a few towns in Kanto and Johto you can visit (I believe they originally planned to open up all of those regions eventually), AND one town in ANOTHER new region, Tunod. The game’s ambitiousness occasionally outpaces what it delivers, but that’s quite acceptable in my mind, since updates with additions to the game were originally planned. So, yes, there isn’t much to do post-game, but that’s largely because a lot of stuff was going to be added.

Back to the locations, though! It’s an important aspect of ROM hacks. Not everyone is good at designing a good town, with logical building placement, intuitive layouts, aesthetically pleasing locations, and interesting things to explore so it doesn’t feel totally plain and lacks character. I’m pleased to say this game does a great job of it, though. I should point out I have a terrible sense of direction and bad spatial memory. Despite that fact, I found myself remembering important features and where they were located– oh, the Move Deleter house is in Phacelia on the left, the bullet train is in Torenia– and that’s a good sign. Physical travel was not a sloggy chore, and it wasn’t bogged down in a confusing layout. Towns were memorable and fun to explore.

Pacing/Level Curve

Another thing ROM hacks can screw up, because it’s a tricky thing to do, is the challenge pacing. How many trainers? What teams do they have? What levels? Are the Gyms challenging without being insane? I actually Nuzlocked the main part of the game. In my opinion it was well-paced. There’s probably fewer trainers overall in this game than a standard Pokemon game. But it did not take me much extra grinding in the grass– and I was only doing that to play it safe for the Nuzlocke. And that’s GOOD. You shouldn’t have to do tons of grinding in the grass all the time just to have a reasonable shot at the gyms. Pokemon Uranium, sadly, seems to suffer from that issue. So, yeah, the pacing was very reasonable to me, good balance of fair and challenging.

… with one important note. Once you reach the League? Well, we could have used higher-levelled wild pokemon in the cave that served as the victory road. The highest in that cave was level 34 or so, and you were facing trainers with teams ~level 55. That’s a huge gap. Not everyone has the same play style. Some people like to do extra grinding before the Elites. Some people are Nuzlocking and may do extra grinding as a safety buffer. Some people might want to adjust their team & add a new pokemon to their team and need to grind them up from a lower level. For those cases, you NEED decently-levelled wild pokemon to grind on. So, yeah, I really do think the Seneca Caves wild pokemon need a level buff. It would also help with the level gap for the post-game. Trainers in Rijon are suddenly at levels 70ish and higher, and for some folks playing, that’s a bit much and they’d like to do a little grinding first.

Puzzles

This game has puzzles. You have been warned, lol. Apparently a lot of people found the number of puzzles a bit frustrating, or felt that some of them were excessively tricky or annoying. I find it very funny, because usually puzzles are my least favorite part of a pokemon game. But I really enjoyed the puzzles in Prism and didn’t find it annoying or offputting at all. I was sick with a cold through most of my play of Prism, and yet even in my dumb brainaddled state, I didn’t find the puzzles too difficult. I solved them all at a pretty average length of time, even the ones some people traditionally found a little unclear or confusing. (the Ruins puzzle often confuses folks, apparently, but I really didn’t have a problem with it at all.) I was briefly confused on one of the switch puzzles (and it contained an element of bad puzzle design imo– there’s a gap that you can leap down into when normally a gap of that size just gives the ‘run into wall’ sound and is not passable) but not for too long. Even the ice slide puzzles, which I traditionally hate with a passion, were not bad!

All except for one thing. The Magikarp Puzzle. Anyone who has played Prism knows what I mean. Haha, fuck that puzzle man. Even the creator of the ROM hack himself has acknowledged the puzzle was not great, heh. To be honest, I find it kind of hilarious, in a way, though. I mean, obviously it’s a nightmarishly difficult and frustrating puzzle and is intensely exhausting to look at, let alone try to solve. But it’s also kinda glorious in its demonicness. I didn’t spend too much time on it before just looking up a solution to it. It’s tedious and not fun at all, and hey, that’s OK, because even the creator realized that.

pls nerf magikarp

But seriously, outside of the magikarp puzzle, I didn’t just enjoy the puzzles in this game– I felt like they were an important part of what gave this game its character.

Fakemon

There are even a few fakemon in this game! Which I was excited to learn because I thought there weren’t! All of the fakemon are Legenderies. Unfortunately, I don’t care for most of their designs. Like, at all. I think Varaneous and Libabeel’s sprites look really, really shitty. They’re ugly and don’t match the style of Pokemon at all. This feels weird to say, since I love so much about this game, but man, there’s just no way around it, I hate ‘em. Everyone has their own tastes, of course. There’s a couple fakemon I have yet to capture– I’m finishing that up now and the very very last of the post-game. But one fakemon I did capture and ADORE LIKE NO OTHER is Phancero.

I happen to know about Phancero’s designer, because I saw their design years ago. They apparently were approached by the team and were asked permission for the use of the design, which is awesome. I won’t rant again about Phancero here because I already ranted about it before, and literally could keep ranting for pages. :P But yeah, it’s a totally creative and awesome pokemon both in idea and execution, and by FAR my favorite fakemon ever created.

Conclusion

This is the best ROM hack I have played in years and probably ever. I haven’t played hundreds of ROM hacks, but I have probably played dozens over the years. I think they are a creative and wonderful expression of the pokemon community, but let’s be honest. There’s a lot of really bad ROM hacks out there. There’s even more ROM hacks that have a lot of potential but are never finished or anywhere near completion. (And that’s perfectly understandable. People run out of time, they have real life get in the way, etc.) The fact that not only did a ROM hack of this caliber get made, but was 95-99% completed? Is fantastic. It was an intensely massive project and I cannot begin to imagine how much work it must have been. Pokemon games are normally developed by an entire team at a company, and folks are paid to do it. The comparatively small team of devs who made this game in their spare time and implemented these amazing things had to do it all on their own. It’s no wonder it took as long as it did for them to finish it; and the amount of effort SHOWS. There is so much loving attention to detail and polish to Prism. (I mean, yes, there’s still some bugs and the occasional unfinished bits, but of course there are, those were going to be finished, but then the C&D hit)

Most ROM hacks are just strong in a few areas, because it’s one or two people who have strengths or interests in a few things. So, you’ll play a hack with a really good story but terrible fakemon and mapping, or you’ll play a hack with fantastic designs of new areas, but no new story, etc. Prism kinda has everything, though. It really did feel like playing a new Gen 2 game.

(It’s now almost 11pm and oh god where did the time go. I have a problem with being concise. :P This was far longer than I intended but thank you if you’ve read this far!)

This is a repost on a new blog. The original post was on Jan 17, 2017.

#pokemon #pokemon prism #pokemon fan games #pokemon rom hacks #mycontent #spoilers #pokemon reviews

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vikingpoteto · 4 years

Text

Red Robin under the spotlight

Read on AO3

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Relationships: GEN. Tim Drake & Jason Todd, Stephanie Brown & Tim Drake

Summary: Red Robin and Red hood are basically urban legends, no one is sure they're real. That is, until there is a picture of the two of them grinning at each other on Gotham Gazette's front page.

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Tim Drake is having… a day.

Stuck in his office for the afternoon, he is praying for nightime to come soon so he can put on his suit and vent his frustration by beating up some unsuspecting criminal. He’d known being a CEO wasn’t particularly fun, but he didn’t expect the board of directors to be babies for so long.

He skims his proposal for what feels like the hundredth time unsure of how to make it clearer that that is the best course of action for their investments. The fact that he is only 18 should not trump his very solid, data-based arguments.

So he’s already in a bad mood and praying for a distraction when his office door swings open and Tam Fox storms in.

“Timothy!” she shouts.

He feels like he's about to learn he should be careful with what he wishes.

“Hey, Tam, I missed you too?” He tries.

Behind her, his secretary makes a helpless gesture as if trying to communicate she tried to stop Tam. Tim gives the woman a tired smile and makes a dismissive gesture.

Ignoring that, Tam slams the door closed and repeats for emphasis: “Timothy.” She pushes an iPad into Tim’s chest. “What is the meaning of this?”

Raising an eyebrow, he takes the iPad and looks at the screen, noticing he’s staring at a Gotham Gazette article and… Tim’s heart stops.

The headline screaming at his face says RED DYNAMIC DUO? by Vicki Vale and beneath it…

“Oh god,” Tim whimpers.

Beneath the headline there’s a picture of him and the Red Hood.

Or, well, Red Robin and Red Hood. They’re sitting on the fire escape of one of the abandoned buildings in Jason’s territory and both are seemingly at ease. Too at ease. There are two BatBurger bags at their side and their fingers are intertwined. Red Robin is staring at their joined hands with a wide smile. Fucking hell. Tim always makes a point of never smiling in front of anyone when he’s in his suit, he has a reputation to protect. He doesn’t know if it’s better or worse that Red Hood isn’t wearing his helmet, because it emans his open grin is visible as well - and thank god Jason has the habit of wearing a domino under his helmet.

Who the hell took that picture? How the hell did they go unnoticed by both Tim and Jason?

He then starts reading the article, every word feeling like a punch to the gut.

Gotham City has seen its share of vigilantes over the years and, unlike public figures such as Superman, they prefer to keep to themselves, making many people wonder whether they’re even human. As a shot captured by an amateur photographer that chose to remain anonymous, we find out at least a pair of the many Gotham “heroes” are closer to us than we thought.

The vigilante known as Red Robin Gotham's patheon of heroes a couple of months ago and little is known about him. He’s been seen working with the likes of Batman, Robin and even Batgirl, making us all think he’s one of the good guys. It seems like Red Robin’s circle of friendships doesn’t include only Justice League members, though.

The Red Hood, the man so tenderly smiling at Red Robin, is a notorious mob boss whose territory's size, GCPD especulates, rivals Black Mask’s. Red Hood wanders between both criminal activities and a violent brand of justice and, while he's been seen working side-by-side with heroes like Nightwing, a hero that since has only been seen in Bludhaven, no one can claim to have seen the Red Hood so comfortable around one of the bats of Gotham

The two young men were pictured in a tender moment. Could this mean that Red Robin is straying towards villany? Is the Red Hood is considering changing his ways? Or, perhaps, are we facing a pair of starcrossed lovers, separated by different set of morals, but still unable to stay away from one another?

Tim makes an inhumane sound. The words star crossed lovers jump from the screen, burning his eyes and making him wish he was going over a dumb business proposal still.

“Well?” Tam demands. “What is that, Tim?”

“I don’t know, Tam,” he answers, his voice weak. “What on earth- How the hell… Oh, god .”

“Why were you hanging out with the Red Hood?”

“Stakeout,” Tim says simply.

“Why were you on a stakeout with the freaking Red Hood?”

At that, Tim recovers enough to feel a bit miffed. That’s the same tone she had last year when Tim was working with assassins and he gets offended on his brother’s behalf. Even if, you know, said brother had also been somewhat related to the assassins in question. In the past.

“Hey, Hood is not as bad as the news make him look. Sure, he’s not exactly clean, but he’s a valuable undercover agent and…”

Tam makes sounds of a woman whose white Valentino bag had liquid lipstick spilled in. “Does that mean you are dating the Red Hood?”

“What? NO!”

Tim pinches the bridge of his nose. God, what a mess.

“He’s my brother,” he says.

Tam looks like she goes through the 7 stages of grief in a very short time and, honestly, Tim feels for her. He likes Tam a lot. She is smart and strong and the poor girl has had to deal with so much since she and Tim became friends.

“Are you telling me… that Dick Grayson…”

“No, Dick’s not the Red Hood.”

She stares at the picture again and then at him. “This isn’t Duke or Damian, Tim.”

“You’re right. It’s a long story. I can’t tell you, though. I trust you but Hood’s identity isn’t my secret to share.”

Tam closes her eyes and breathes in and out slowly. After all the crap she had to deal as one of Red Robin’s friends, a stranged brother that happened to be a crime lord (an anti-hero, really) wasn’t that far fetched. She didn’t know much about the Drakes because Tim didn’t talked about them, so, for all she knows, Red Hood could be Jack’s or Janet’s bastard child. Although Tim can figure her theories, he doesn’t try to explain anything. Whatever she works out is better than letting her know Red Hood is Bruce Wayne’s son brought back from the dead.

“Fine. You’re not dating a criminal. You’re a criminal’s brother.”

“I mean… if you think about it, I’m a criminal too.” He smiles sheepishly under her glare. “Being a vigilante isn’t exactly something I can put on my resume.”

Shaking her head, Tam checks the picture again. “What were you even doing? Because it looks like you’re holding hands and finding it hilarious.”

“We… hm. We were thumb wrestling.”

She stares at him, her expression empty of any emotion. Tim cringes.

“Look, not everything is death traps and high risks, alright? Sometimes stakeouts get boring!”

“You were laughing your head off because you were having a thumb war with the Red Hood,” Tam deadpans.

“Hm. Actually the thumb war wasn't that funny, that was him cheating. I was winning so he kept talking shit about Dick’s past to make me laugh and lose focus.”

Tam finally sits down and she looks at ceiling as if she’s considering all the life decisions that lead her to this moment. At this point, Tim knows she’s just being dramatic, because knowing Red Hood cheats at thumb war for certain isn’t more shocking than the time she met Tim.

“The thumb was isn’t important now, though,” Tim says. “ This is a huge problem. Hood’s gonna be in hot water if people think he’s friends with a hero.”

He refuses to use the word lovers, because ew. Sure they’re not related by blood, but… ew. Tim sees him as a brother, damn it.

“Well, I’m afraid there’s not a lot we can do now,” Tam says apologetically. “The article’s been up since this morning. Even if we have them take it down, it’s already out there. #RedDynamicDuo is trending on Twitter.”

Oof. That’s… oof.

Tim intertwines his fingers and glares at the tablet in front of him as if waiting for the puzzle to solve itself. He knows it won’t, so it’s up to him to fix this. His burnt out brain suggests calling Bart and asking him to run back in time and stop that cursed thumb war. His practical brain has half a mind to call Oracle and see how much online evidence she can get rid of. He has to contact Gotham Gazette and threaten them into not putting vigilante’s identities at risk by posting such pictures, although he doesn’t hold high hopes for that course of action. What he needs now is a bigger scandal, although he fails to think of something more dramatic than Red Robin and Red Hood being buddies…

Right as he’s starting to feel a bit forlorn, his phone buzzes on the table. A picture of Dick smiling flashes on the screen and Tim allows himself to perk up for a moment. Dick for sure will be able to help him.

“Dick!” He picks up, full of hope.

Tim is greeted with cackling. Dick’s cackling.

He groans. “Richard.”

“AHAHAHAHA O-oh god, you… aha... b-baby bird, you… HAHAHAHA--”

Tim isn’t paid enough for this. He hangs up.

“Can you help me with this?” He asks.

“Don’t I always?” Tam quirks an eyebrow.

Smiling tiredly, he stands. “I’m taking the rest of the afternoon off. Can you take care of… you know… day job stuff?”

“I guess. Good luck with your… your family thing.”

THE BIRDNEST

spoiler alert: *insert game of thrones joke here*

In the hood: Go fuck yourself, Stephanie

spoiler alert: not judging u bro he hella cute

WonderWing: steph please

cassandra cain-wayne: ?

send me a Signal: they’re talking about that picture of Hood and Red holding hands cass

yumm: were NOT holding hands

cassandra cain-wayne: I print that picture.

In the hood: W H Y ! ?

cassandra cain-wayne: cute :)

spoiler alert: she right and she should say it

In the hood: Steph, turn on your location. I just want to talk.

yumm: stephanie I hv pics of u sleep drooling on me from that that 1 patrol dnt test me

spoiler alert: shut up red dynamic duo

Tim hates the internet.

Barbara is kindly trying her best to muffle the online reaction, but there is only so much she can do without outright deleting people’s tweets. Tim knows for a fact that that would only cause a bigger uproar, so he asks her to settle for burying mentions of them under a fake algorithm.

He has yet to think of gossip hot enough to top the rumors, but he doesn’t think even his fake engagement to Tam last year received so much attention. A glimpse into Gotham’s elusive heroes’ personal lives was too exciting to let go quickly.

When he walks into his apartment, he wants nothing but to take a hot shower and a nap. He knows he can’t, though.

As well as he knows he isn’t alone.

He plays it cool, walking in as though he doesn’t notice the person in the shadows. He drops his keys and phone on the nearest table as he would normally and turns around too abruptly to allow a reaction, his fist connecting to… someone’s palm.

“Nice reflexes, Baby Bird,” Jason says, quirking an eyebrow as though mildly impressed.

Tim groans. “Would it kill you to use the door?”

“It might, better not risk it.”

“It shaves five years of my life span every time I come home and you’re waiting in the shadows. Of all of Bruce’s habits to pick up…”

Jason simply shrugs. “So… what’s up, honey? ”

“Ew, don’t say that,” Tim groans.

Keeping his nonchalant facade, Jason lets himself fall into Tim’s couch as though he belongs there. Tim heads to his room to change into more humane clothes.

“I’m assuming Dickie shared the news already,” Jason says.

“He couldn’t stop laughing long enough to say anything,” Tim replies from his closet. “Tam was kind enough to show me, though.”

“Tam… is that your ex-fiancée? Hmm… The news sure keep shipping you with everyone, speaking of which.”

Grumbling the whole time, Tim puts on a purple hoodie he might or might not have stolen from Stephanie and that he wears whenever he’s stressed. He wears that hoodie a lot. Heading back to the living room barefoot and feeling slightly more prepared to deal with the situation, he says:

“I’m assuming you aren’t here just to hang out.”

Jason gives him an unimpressed look. “I’ll give you three guesses.”

Tim blinks once. Twice. No, it can’t be that… “ Everyone thinks you’re a rat.”

“Bingo.”

And this situation keeps getting better and better. Red Hood is feared enough that he can get away with hanging out with the goody two shoes every now and again and keep his rep. Being caught eating burgers and giggling with a hero was a whole new animal.

They have to assume Hood’s safe houses were compromised as well. The point of having many hideouts is that you’re never left with nowhere to go, but even Jason wasn’t prepared to have everyone in his territory turn on him. That and they all had been raised and trained to be paranoid. It was too big of a risk to assume he’d be safe in a known place.

“Crap,” Tim mutters.

“I considered ditching Gotham and spending some time with Roy instead…”

“But that would be as good as a confession. You’d never gain their respect again,” Tim completes for him.

Jason nods.

The only silver-lining about this situation is that this is Jason. Granted he isn’t too angry to think, Jason is practical and willing to do what’s needed, even if it’s annoying or if it makes him uncomfortable. Tim likes working with him because of that.

“You know where the extra blankets are,” Tim says.

Because, of course, if Jason can’t be at his own place and he can’t be with Roy and Kory, he’d crash Tim’s place. The manor isn’t really an option for him and Tim doesn’t blame him for that.

“The plan of action?”

“I’ll let you know as soon as I figure out.”

Jason sighs. “I’m going to punch something in your Red Robin cave.”

“Be my guest.”

Damage control is necessary, of course, especially for Red Hood’s safety, but there is something bothering Tim more. He opens the news and studies the picture. It’s a damn good shot, almost looks like it was staged. He closes his eyes and tries to remember that night. In order to take that picture, the photographer would have to be in of of the buildings across the street and they’d have to be good enough to go unnoticed not by one, but by two highly trained vigilantes, one of which had his senses enhanced by the Lazarus pit.

He messages Babs quickly for more info on whoever sent those pictures to the news, but not even Oracle had managed to track them yet. It sounds like the photographer walked into Vicki Vale on the street and handed her the picture, because there was no digital footprint of such interaction.

Without any more ideas, he puts on his suit and heads out, glad that is patrol night. Perhaps punching criminals will give him some clarity.

Tim is nowhere near closing any of his cases and Gotham is unusually quiet because of course the criminals would choose tonight of all nights to be chill. The night Tim needs a crime. That’s why he’s more than a little thankful when a crackling sound in his comm lets him know someone’s trying to send him a message.

“Hey, hot stuff,” a familiar voice calls, “I have an underground gambling den to dismantle tonight, you want in?”

Red Robin smiles. “Is that a date?”

“I don’t know, is it? I don’t want Red Hood coming after me.”

“Batgirl.”

She laughs shamelessly. He hopes Barbara isn’t listening. Although the alternative would be Wendy listening, and he doesn’t know which one would be worse. Steph’s sense of humor isn’t for everyone and while, Tim doesn’t mind their inside jokes and got used to her eternal flirting, he feels as though those should remain between the two of them only.

“I’m serious, though,” Steph continues. “I don’t think backup is needed per se, but I miss fighting criminals with you. Plus I figured you could use a punching bag or two.”

He grins. He just really loves Steph.

“Send me the details. I’ll meet you there.”

Turns out it’s a pretty standard burst for them. Gambling den covering a massive drug operation, because this is Gotham. Why wouldn’t they use an illegal thing to cover another more illegal thing? That sounded like a great idea.

He finds Batgirl waiting for him on top of a building. She simply smiles and points at the shady alley down the street.

“Gentlemen first?” she offers.

“It’s your case.”

With a nod, she dives towards the ground and Red Robin follows her closely, frowning in confusion when she doesn’t dropkicks any windows. Instead, she casually strolls towards the back of the alley where a suspicious metal door that could easily go unnoticed if it didn’t scream CRIMINAL ACTIVITY HERE. Batgirl knocks at the door and gestures at Red Robin to stay away.

A slit on the door slides open and a confused crook tries unsuccessfully to see who’s there. With both vigilantes’ out of his line of sight, the poor bastard has no option other than opening the door to check. Batgirl swiftly pulls him into a headlock as soon as he walks into view and Red Robin’s grinning face is the last thing the man sees before the pressured applied makes him pass out.

Red Robin doesn’t figure what Steph’s plan is until she cuffs the unconscious bouncer and stands straight, offering her arm.

“You’re so dramatic.” He rolls his eyes, even as he takes it.

“Shush, you think I’m awesome.”

That he does. Especially when the two of them climb down into the basement turned illegal cassino with their arms locked as if they’re a couple. It’s cartoonishly comic how long it takes everyone to realize Red Robin and Batgirl are standing on the entrance, looking around at the 50 different illegal activities happening at once.

Not as comic as when Batgirl shouts over the music: “Please, don’t stop on our account!”

The gamblers sober enough to freeze in horror.

“Before we start, anyone wants to just give themselves in?” Red Robin offers.

That’s when guns start firing and all hell breaks loose.

The night ends, as it would, with Batgirl and Red Robin walking home a trio of strippers. The women weren’t to blame that their work environment was less than ideal and they certainly didn’t need to be left tied up waiting for the GCPD like the mobsters Steph and Tim beat up tonight.

Red Robin wanted to just watch them from the top ot the buildings and make sure they got home safe, but Batgirl insisted they walked alongside the women. Their costumes don’t look completely out of place near them and Red Robin doesn’t know what to think of that.

For a second, he thinks he hears someone behind them. Everytime he turns around, he finds nothing but an empty alley, so he shrugs if off as him getting hit tooo many times.

While Batgirl excitedly chats with two of the women about their future employment - one of them is in this line of work just to get by, the other genuinely enjoys sensual dancing as a form of art but wishes she could work somewhere better - when the third of them discreetly detaches herself from the group to walk closer to Red Robin.

She still looks tense and guarded, her arms tightly wrapped around herself and Tim wishes he had a jacket to offer her. The way she sideeyes him says she wants to say something, but is too nervous to start. Not wanting to betray his persona, he simply waits, trying to appear as non threatening as possible.

“Thanks a lot for savin’ us, Red Robin,” the woman says finally. “I can’t believe I’m meetin’ ya.”

He gives her a small smile. “I’m just glad you’re safe, ma’am, there’s no need to thank me.”

“I just wanted ta say… I get ya.”

Red Robin tilts his head to the side. “Ma’am?”

“The thing with your man. Must ta’ be hard dating the Red Hood. I know how it is.”

He was… He was getting sympathy from a stripper with bad taste in men.

“There’s nothing gross between Hood and I!” He lets out before he can help himself, his voice a little louder than intended.

The other women startle at his outburst and turn to him, wary. One of them reaches for what is clearly a pocket knife that she thinks is cleverly hidden in her bra.

He sighs. “I’m sorry, ma’am, just… Batgirl, I believe you’ve got things from here. I’m taking off.”

She gives him a concerned look, but ultimately nods. Under Batgirl’s and the three strippers perplexed glares, Red Robin grapples his way out of there.

Tim wakes up around noon feeling as though he was hit by a truck, as he does when he sleeps longer than three hours a night. He slowly sits up and looks around his messy room, wondering how come he’s feeling so miserable. The smell of food stirs him into some sort of alertness.

Right. He’s not home alone today.

Yawning and scratching his belly, he forces himself to get out of bed. He know that the longer he stays the more likely he is to slip into a coma, his body demanding compensation for years of sleep deprivation. Tim drags his feet towards his kitchen where he finds one of Gotham’s most dangerous vigilantes humming to himself as he makes breakfast. Or Lunch. Brunch. Whatever.

“And here I thought I was the family’s zombie,” Jason says in lieu of good morning.

Tim grumbles something about his brother being too comfortable in Tim’s kitchen, but he doesn’t dare complain. Jason is probably the only person that uses Tim’s stove and one of the perks of having him over is that he does cook. A lot.

The one disadvantage about having Jason over is…

A knife lodges itself on the counter in front of Tim when he tries to reach for the coffee pot. Tim didn’t even see him throwing it. He glares at his brother.

“Food first. Coffee after,” Jason says.

“I’m too nauseous to eat, I just woke up.”

Again without breaking eye contact with the pot he’s stirring, Jason blindly reaches for a package of crackers casually left on the counter and hands it to Tim.

Tim makes sure to give him his best rebellious teenager glare before grabbing the stupid crackers and sitting down to eat them. Stupid Jason with his stupid boredom. Tim had forgotten Jason goes into full mom mode when he has nothing else to do and that he’s particularly obnoxious about Tim’s eating habits.

“I consume the necessary calories,” Tim mumbles over his cracker.

“Okay, Damian.”

Tim throws a cracker at him. Jason easily dodges without looking, which is kind of annoying.

After that, the two brothers fall into comfortable silence. Tim knows Jason wants to talk about their plan of action, but he knows Tim is nowhere near awake enough to hold a conversation. Besides, Jason doesn’t like being bothered while he’s cooking anyway.

By the time the food is ready, the crackers worked their magic and Tim no longer feels as though his stomach is ready to puke out its emptiness. He grabs dishes he hadn’t used in quite a while and sets the table for the two of them. The brothers start eating in silence, Tim slowly recovering his sense of self - no wonder he goes for so long without sleeping, he takes too long to reboot when he does - and Jason mindlessly scrolling through his phone.

Then something on the small screen makes Jason choke on his food.

Tim quirks an eyebrow. “You okay?”

“Hm… Timmy, you may wanna take a look at this.”

“What?” Tim takes Jason’s phone. “Oh, for fuck’s sake !”

It’s another news article. The picture is fortunately less detailed, just a red and black silhouette against Gotham’s sky that may or may not be Red Robin standing over one of the many gargoyles. The text, however.

RED ROBIN MAKES HOMOPHOBIC REMARK AND SHOCKS ADMIRER

Gotham’s newest vigilante busted an underground gambling den last night. Despite his heroic deed, his words after the fact were less than commendable. When questioned about his relationship with the Red Hood by one of the women he rescued, the hero allegedly said that there’s “Nothing gross between him and Hood.”

“Personally, I was shocked,” said the woman in question, Krystal Math, 25 years old. “Red Robin became my favorite hero when I heard he also has a dead-beat boyfriend. I was starting to finally see myself in one of those bats, you know? I couldn’t believe when he said being gay is gross. Never meet your heroes, I guess.”

THE BIRDNEST

WonderWing sent a screenshot.

WonderWing: red robin is cancelled for homophobia, pass it on

Robin: Good. It’s about time we rid ourselves of him.

Cassandra Cain: Little brother does not approve gay rights? :(

yumm: im literally bisexual

spoiler alert: he avoiding the question

in the hood: #redrobinisoverparty

yumm: I hate this fucking family

Tim hasn’t stopped pacing around the room since he read the most recent article. Those were his exact words by the letter, meaning someone had been listening. He doubts Krystal, bless her heart, was the one going to the news with his “homophobic remark”.

Having basically given up on getting Tim to calm down, Jason is the one to get the porch door open for Steph. Because apparently she’s been learning from Jason and acquired his hatred for front doors. Steph knows how Tim gets, so she promptly ignores him and gets comfortable on the reading chair to check the article fully.

“This is nuts,” Steph says. “We were being careful. I made sure of it.”

Tim believes her. Batman and Robin are basically public figures at this point, even if they don’t interact with civilians if they can help it. Red Robin and the Signal were heard of and spotted around the city, but not a lot of people really know of them. Red Hood was basically a urban legend until recently and Black Bat sill is. Batgirl, however, is known for being a people hero.

She was, back in Barbara’s time, stopped for a bit with Cass, but Steph embraced the old tradition whole heartedly. She would walk people home late at night to make sure they were safe, wave at little girls in the bus, talk to kidnapping victims until they were under heavy blankets handed by the police. Steph was extroverted and charming and she used that fully as Batgirl like she never could as Spoiler. That being said, she and Barbara always made a point to avoid pictures, security cameras and whatnot. If there was a hero good at hanging with civilians while unnoticed by the media, that hero was Stephanie Brown.

Tim’s phone is buzzing. He ignores it in favor of stomping around some more.

“Well, something must have slipped your watchful eye,” Jason says, shrugging.

Steph glares at him. “Mine, perhaps, but are you implying someone went unnoticed by Oracle?”

“Well, someone obviously did,” Tim snaps, tossing his phone at the couch in frustration. “What happened after I left, Steph?”

“Nothing,” she says honestly. “I walked the ladies home. Krystal was a bit miffed but she didn’t say anything, so I thought she was just a shipper upset that her OTP wasn’t canon.”

“You think she went to the news after?” Jason suggests.

Steph frowns. “Why would she? She didn’t look like she had media connections exactly.”

Tim’s phone, that bounced off the couch and fell with a soft thud on the carpet, continues to explode with texts. He sighs and stops to pick it up and finally answer them.

“Appearances can be deceiving,” Jason argues. Then turns to Tim: “You should look into her. I’m gonna check other possible sources.”

“Hm-hum, just a second,” Tim mumbles, typing furiously. “Damian is being a nightmare and asking for help on a case.”

“Wack. Are you telling him to solve his own cases instead of using your intell to impress Bruce?”

Tim glares at Jason.

“Really? C’mon, Timmy, we’ve been over this.”

Stephanie gives them a puzzled look. “You’ve been over… Dami being a nightmare?”

“Jason says that whenever someone is mean to me I should reply by attacking them where hurts the most,” Tim explains.

“He knows all of our weaknesses and he has the quickest thinking,” Jason says, frustrated. “The least he should do is stand up for himself with that knowledge!”

"Kinda rich coming from the guy that tried to kill him," Steph says, quirking an eyebrow.

"Steph," Tim scowls. "He didn't know me then and the pit rage--"

"Timmy," Jason cuts him off.

Tim sighs. "Besides now I could off him in 20 different ways if he tried any of that shit again. There. Happy, Jason?"

"That's my baby brother."

Steph smiles at him. “You know what? You’re onto something, Jaybird.”

Tim interrupts his walk of worry again to smile a bit. Something about Stephanie and Jason agreeing on something is immensely satisfying.

Still, on the matter at hand, Tim says, “If I go off on Damian, Dick’s gonna get mad…”

“Then go off on Dick as well,” Steph promptly suggests.

Jason high-fives her. “Atta girl. Besides if Dick doesn’t want us to tell Damian to fuck off he has to work harder on teaching him not to be a little shit. Everyone here has a tragic backstory here and we all know Damian goes too far sometimes.”

Tim shakes his head again. “Regardless, Damian’s case will have to wait. We’re gonna go with your plan, Jay. And Steph…”

“Wow, no way, José. I’m just here as an eyewitness. I don’t want to get involved with homophobes and end up shipped with Jason or some shit.”

Tim glares at her. “I was going to offer you some of our leftovers, but since you’re not interested, that’s fine.”

While Jason laughs and Steph protests, he proceeds to look for his laptop, hoping this isn’t going to be a dead end.

“This is a dead end,” Tim declares.

From what he can find, Krystal wasn’t even paid for her impromptu interview. Apparently Vicki Vale showed up at her place to confirm the veracity of a story that she heard God knows where.

Dick is in Bludhaven, but he insisted on facetiming them when he realized his brothers were struggling, even if he mostly just made worried faces from Tim’s phone as Tim, Jason and Steph exchanged notes. As a rule of thumb, Tim doesn’t involve his siblings in his cases since he became Red Robin, but this is definitely an all hands on deck situation. Tim isn’t desperate enough to get Bruce involved, but he’s getting there. Especially when Dick says:

“Babs couldn’t find anything in Vicki’s email or phone. She’s double checking all of Vicki's sources, but so far it’s been no good.”

“We could always get Vale and hang her by the ankles on top of some building until she talks,” Jason suggests. "Let's go old school on her."

Everyone ignores Jason. Tim stands for another mug of coffee. Dick lets out a frustrated sigh. Steph keeps watching all of them from the couch, where she’s been lying down and tossing gummy bears into her mouth for the past half-hour.

When no one acknowledges him, Jason sighs and stands. “Alright, this’ been fun. I’m going to patrol.”

Dick frowns. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“He can’t vanish,” Steph says. “One thing is crashing Tim’s place to make sure he won’t get ambushed in his down time. If Red Hood goes AWOL he might as well admit he’s working with the Batclan.”

Jason nods. “If I don’t do my job, next thing I know Black Mask takes over my stuff.”

“Can’t have Black Mask taking over his stuff,” Steph agrees.

Dick glances at Tim as though expecting him to disagree with the plan. Tim lets out a defeated sigh. “He’s right. Just… make sure to find a safe place to change into your gear so no one sees you. If there are any safe places, that is…”

Jason rolls his eyes. Tim knows he’s going full Robbie Downer mode, as Jason likes to call it, but he can’t help it. It’s not often that he finds himself without any ideas. He should have been able to solve this already. Since nothing comes to mind, he starts imagining unrealistic scenarios in hopes that they’ll give him some insight outside of the box. AU in which I was never shipped with my brother by some nosey reporter. AU in which I went out Damian instead of Jason that night.

Tim groans in frustration. “Why did it have to be Jason? We could get away with me having a thumb war with literally anyone. If it was Batman out there, this wouldn’t be that much of a problem.”

“Maybe if you hung out with all your brothers and not just Jason there wouldn’t be as many rumors about you and Red Hood,” Dick mumbles.

Tim glares at the phone.

“Really? You wanna go there? You wanna talk favoritism, Richard? Because you’ve been favoring Damian for-freaking-ever.”

“Drag him!” Jason cheers.

“Tim,” Dick says, looking genuinely upset, “I love all-”

“Save it,” Steph cuts in. “We all have favorites Dick, there is no use denying it.”

Because Dick’s eyebrows are knitted in confusion, Tim clarifies: “Bruce’s favorite is Cass, yours is Damian, Jason’s is… I don’t know, his guns. Steph is my favorite, unfortunately. Steph’s favorite is Cass, Cass’ favorite is Duke, Duke doesn’t have favorites, he’s the only good person in this family, and Damian’s is also you.”

Steph nods. “You did it! You broke the Bat Family dynamics to its bare essentials!”

“And that is why Tim is my favorite. After my guns,” Jason adds.

“Jason, we do not rate our siblings.”

“That’s why you’re in last place, Dick.”

Ignoring Dick’s enraged noises, Tim sets his mug aside. “I’m going patrolling, even if today isn't my turn. Solo this time. Hopefully Red Hood and Red Robin being separate out there will help the rumors die down a bit.”

No one has a better idea - Tim’s least favorite sentence - so that’s what they do.

It’s another infuriatingly quiet night.

Red Robin stops a couple of muggings, scares the crap out of some drug dealers. At some point, he considers contacting Poison Ivy and asking if she has any corrupt CEO she wants help with. He could, you know. It’d stop Ivy from killing someone and on his last run with Harley Quinn she did let slip that Tim was Ivy’s favorite Robin.

He almost falls mid swing at the memory, thinking he might be onto something, but then he remembers Harley hadn’t particularly recognized Red Robin as the third Robin. She was just ranting about how the new tiny Robin had no sense of humor and Ivy missed the last one. Besides of course Harley Quinn wasn’t feeding Vicki Vale some BatFanfic. Tim’s brain must be really burnt out if that’s the best hot take it can come up with.

It’s almost 3am and he’s taking a pair of muggers that can’t be much older than Tim to the police. He’s about ready to call if a night when someone shouts:

“Red Robin!”

He looks on instinct and his stomach drops when he sees Vicki Vale running towards him. Crap.

“Red Robin, can I get a statement?”

He keeps walking. He’s just one dirty alley away from GCPD, otherwise he’d just tie the stupid muggers to his back and would use his grappling hook to get out of the situation, grapple safety be damned. The muggers gingerly attempt to hide their faces as the reporter runs to them swinging a digital recorder. Vicki acts as though she can’t see them.

“Red Robin, what do you have to say about the rumors of your relationship with the Red Hood?”

The rumors you created? Red Robin quickens his pace and the muggers trip over themselves. He stares straight ahead, pretending he doesn’t notice the woman basically running in heels to keep up with him.

“Are you ashamed of it? Is it because he’s a criminal or because he’s a man?”

Red Robin wonders if the muggers would walk the rest of the way and turn themselves in if he asked nicely.

“Don’t bother, lady,” one of the muggers says. “He’s a nasty bigot.”

The other mugger nods and the two of them are wearing matching pouty expressions. Now Tim just feels bad. He didn’t become a hero for the recognition and he’s not in the business of doing PSAs like Superman, but he doesn’t want the strange socially woke criminal youth of Gotham to think they’re being arrested by a homophobe.

“I have no problem with two men in a relationship, I’m bisexual,” he tells the muggers. “Still, I’m not dating Red Hood. Just because I’m bi it doesn’t mean I’m dating every male vigilante I run into.”

At that, the two crooks look mildly surprised and suddenly they seem to feel a bit better about being arrested. Would you look at that.

Red Robin delivers them to the police, painfully aware that Vicki Vale is nowhere to be found anymore. He feels like he’s going to pay dearly for being too prideful to let himself be mistaken for a heterosexual person.

Lo and behold, Twitter, on that very same morning.

@Gotham_Gazette:

Red Robin hints that he might be bisexual. “No, I’m not dating the Red Hood, just because I’m bi it doesn’t mean I’m dating every male vigilante,” said the hero on the rumors about his relationship.

@dgraysonman hints??? he literally said he’s bi smh

@stephssss wow only the male vigilantes? biphobic. let red robin date batgirl too

@babsgeez be gay do crime, be bi serve justice

@thomascommaduke no cops at pride, only Red Robin using a bi flag as cape.

“Timmy…” Jason starts.

“Don’t. Just leave me alone to die.”

“That’s fair, have a nice day.”

At this point, Tim is surprised Bruce hasn’t intervened. As unaware of social media as Bruce can be, he’s always on the look for anything that might compromise their secret identities. Tim pulls two all-nighters in a row doing detective work and still makes no progress on his search for the person that sent Vicki that picture and overheard his conversation with Krystal. He fully expects Batman to jump him on his next patrol and give him a lecture.

When he comments that to Jason, he gets a confused look in response.

“You didn’t get a lecture? Bruce was the one that told me first. I had to hear about being careless for 20 minutes before I got home and could take off my comm.”

Tim frowns in confusion. Bruce had talked to him once or twice after the news got out and he didn’t comment anything on it.

“That’s Batman’s psychological profiling,” someone suggests.

Tim almost jumps out of his skin when Steph casually walks into the living room with a bowl of chips.

“What are you doing here? And are those my clothes?”

Steph shrugs in the sweater that clearly doesn’t belong to her. “Jason and I are doing movie night.”

“Movie night,” Jason mocks. “She’s been here for the past two days. Did you seriously not notice, Tim?”

Tim’s jaw drops.

Steph sighs and her expression turns guilty. “Fine. My mom is out of town for the week and Jason is a better cook than I am. Is it a crime to bum off your ex-boyfriend and his bizarrely talented in the kitchen brother?”

Before Tim can say anything, Jason interrupts: “What were you saying about Batman, Steph?”

She heads to the couch and starts looking for the remote, her feet propped on the coffee table. “B knows Jay will just shrug it off and deal with the consequences, hence the need of a lecture. If he annoys Jason, he’ll stop and reflect on it, even if out of rage. He knows Tim’s already overthinking and working his butt off to fix it, so he doesn’t want to add any pressure.”

Both Jason and Tim stand in dumbfounded silence. Since when does Steph know Bruce so well?

She raises her gaze when the quietness stretches and quirks an eyebrow at them. “What? Am I wrong?”

“Hm. No. That’s pretty much what we’ve been doing,” Jason admits, if a big begrudgingly. “That’s annoying though.”

Steph simply makes a dismissive gesture and pats the sit beside her. “Tim, you need a break. Wanna join us?”

Tim hesitates. On one hand, the fact that Bruce trusts him that much is a tad touching… and knowing it makes him feel he has to solve this as soon as possible. On another… it’s kind of annoying that Bruce knows him so well and yet doesn’t think about offering any assistance. Tim is not stubborn enough to refuse a helping hand when he’s on a pinch.

“You’re not going to solve anything if you’re hallucinating from sleep deprivation, Timbers,” Jason points. “Besides we’re watching Avatar.”

“Fine,” Tim says.

If for nothing else, just to prove to Bruce that he’s not an overworker and he can slack off in the absence of a parental figure.

Tim falls asleep in the middle of the second episode. Steph and Jason vow to take him to bed once they’re sure he’s completely out, but they only last until the end of the first season. The three sleep soundly on the couch for good eight hours and regret dearly when they wake up with necks too sore to fight crime for at least a day.

Consequences. They always come.

Almost a week goes by in which the rumors are but an annoyance to Jason and a source of stress to Tim - but almost anything can stress Tim if he tries hard enough, so that’s not saying anything. Jason is still staying at Tim’s, but he’s considering going back to his own place when they go for three days with no new article and nothing unusual has happened.

Until it does.

It’ a rainy night Tim is going over reports for the next WE meeting when he hears a noise coming from the balcony. His stomach gives a familiar twist when he recognizes Batgirl hunched over the weight of one Red Hood.

He rushes to her aid, already feeling nauseous. There’s no blood in sight but whatever happened must be serious if Jason is willing to let Batgirl give him a piggyback ride. Tim lets them drip water all over the floor and, in his panic, has half a mind to appreciate that Batgirl’s boots have enough traction that she doesn’t slip.

“What on Earth…”

“The most ridiculous thing,” Steph bables as she and Tim drag a very dizzy Jason to the couch. She then starts ranting so fast Bart Allen would be proud. “He was doing his thing as usual, but some of his people turned on him and there was an ambush and so many flipping people against one poor Hood and good god that guy shot his helmet at point-blank which, damn , that was so stupid, of course the freaking helmet is bullet proof, it just ricocheted and…”

“Steph, calm down,” Tim interrupts. “Jason, can you report?”

When he gingerly attempts to take off his helmet, Steph takes over and undoes the safety measures before carefully removing it. There is a dent on the back part where he had been presumably shot.

“Hm,” Jason grunts, squinting even behind his domino mask. “Ambush. Shot. Concussion. Very concussion. Ankle hurts? Prolly not broken, tho. Also stabbed?”

Tim nods. “Steph, get the medical supplies. Where’s the stab wound, Jay?”

Jason points to his thigh and there is an improvised bandage keeping him from losing too much blood. Considering how well done it is, Tim figures it’s Steph’s work. He nods and starts checking his brother’s vitals and making sure there aren’t other serious wounds.

When she comes back with the supplies Tim needs, Steph has her cowl down and a somber expression. She turns off the lights for Jason’s sake, the only source of light left on being the lamp near where Tim is already ripping off a piece of Jason’s pants to have better access to his wound. Steph sits by Jason’s side and grabs his hand, much to Tim’s surprise. He’s too busy taking care of the stab wound to ask, but he doesn’t have to. Steph breaks the silence:

“I’m so sorry, Jason.”

Jason gives her a confused look. “You saved my ass?”

“Yes, but…” Steph sighs and turns to Tim. “Babs is with the Birds of Prey tonight, so I was on my own. I was messing around with my comm frequency when I accidentally got into Jason’s. I heard the mess and it sounded like he was in trouble so I panicked. I went to get him and… Well, if there was any doubt that he’s working with the Bats, there isn’t now. It was too obvious that I was protecting him.”

Jason squeezes her hand. “Hm. Pigs.”

“Right. Then the police arrived and instead of leaving right away I stopped to make sure Jason wasn’t bleeding to death. More than a few cops saw me patching him up.”

Tim sighs. Well, shit.

“It’s not your fault, Steph,” Tim says. “I mean… he literally wears a bat on his chest. People were bound to find out it isn’t just to stick it to Batman.”

“Is too,” Jason mumbles.

Tim ignores him. “The situation isn’t ideal, but we all prefer people knowing Red Hood is associated with the Bats than him being dead.”

“I died before.”

“We know, Jay.”

“Do not recommend.”

“We know, Jay.”

Steph fidgets a bit, still looking guilty, but ultimately nods. Tim is about to start stitching Jason’s wound closed when she says: “There’s more. You, hm, you know Renee Montoya?”

“The one valid pig,” Jason says. “I like her.”

“She was there. She helped a ton keep the other cops away from us before we could escape,” Steph says. “I think she wanted to check on Jason and…”

Tim stops moving. He knows Montoya, worked with her before and she’s a nice woman. That being said, she doesn’t have any connections to Hood. Why would she… Oh. The gay rumors. Damn wlw/mlm solidarity.

“What happened?” Tim asks, already fearing the worst.

“Hmmm, we’ll tell you, but I’m concussed, so you have to promise you won’t be mad.”

“Jason.”

Jason sighs. “Well. She asked about our relationship and… Hm. I might have told her we’re brothers.”

Tim stares at them. Steph is cringing and Jason is too out of it to care. At this point… Tim starts laughing, making the other two - even the concussed one - frown in worry.

“Aw, man,” Tim says between chuckles. “What the fuck, am I right? I’m too old for this. Who cares? Not me! Fuck it. Fuckety fuck fucky-fuck.”

“I think we broke him,” Steph whispers even as Tim resumes stitching his brother.

They went from not-sure-if-real to a freaking cop knowing about their family in the span of a week. Tomorrow #TimDrakeIsRedRobin could be trending on Twitter and Tim wouldn’t care. Not anymore. Let them come.Literally everyone in his friend circle is a vigilante, a hero or a criminal at this point, he doesn’t even care about endangering anyone.

It takes actually two days for it to hit the news. He’s alone in his office when Tam texts him a link to Gotham Gazette online. Judging by the lack of other words, Tim figures she’s cutting ties with him again.

The newest article has no actual pictures, but a sketch of Red Hood standing with his guns pointed at the viewer and Red Robin standing behind him, his face only partially turned. The thing looks more like superhero fanart than an official sketch, but that never stopped Vicki Vale before.

VIGILANTE FAMILY? by Vicki Vale

Red Robin, one of Gotham’s many masked vigilantes, was cause of intrigue recently. Many people noticed the hero doing his work around Red Hood’s territory, something not even Batman dares on the regular. Speculation turned into a craze of theories when both red-themed vigilantes were caught sitting on a roof sharing a meal from Batburger and many thought perhaps there was more than your regular vigilante team up.

Turns out the hero and the mob boss aren’t lovers, against popular belief. When questioned about the nature of their relationship, Red Hood snapped and confirmed one of the less popular theories: the two men are, in fact, related. “Red is right and he should say it,” said Red Hood to a bewildered policewoman. “Of course he’d say it’s [REDACTED] gross, he’s my little brother.” When asked about the conversation overheard by our reporter, the policewoman in question refused to give any more details and requested to remain anonymous.

It’s hard to be sure how such development came to be. The Red Hood has been active in Gotham for years as a mob boss and, more recently, a vigilante and ally to Gotham’s bats. While Red Robin is a newer vigilante, could it be that he was trained by the Red Hood? And how do the two brothers fit with Gotham’s oldest vigilantes? Unlike his older counterpart, Red Robin has been often spotted working side-by-side with the likes of Batgirl and Robin, making some question whether Red Robin is distancing himself from his criminal brother. However, sources spotted Hood being aided by Batgirl more recently. Could it be that his former sidekick is bringing Red Hood closer to the side of justice? More on the Red Twins as the story develops.

THE BIRDNEST

spoiler alert: RED TWINS

WonderWing: R E D T W I N S

send me a Signal: ~ * R E D T W I N S * ~

in the hood: uhhhh my bad?

yumm: dis is great

yumm: now im hoods stranged sidekick

yumm: i fucking hate u jason.

in the hood: hey, if you didn't want to be my sidekick you should've picked another color

yumm: screw u u dont own the color red

in the hood: I was born first

yumm: u died first 2

WonderWing: Tim!

spoiler alert: oof

send me a Signal: wow Tim that was too far

in the hood: I’ve never been prouder to be your brother I taught you so well Timmy

send me a Signal: … I stand corrected. I sometimes forget everyone in this family is clinically insane

“Hey Tim. There is discourse about you and Jason now.”

Tim lets out a whimper.

“So apparently some people still ship you two. But those people are being cancelled because shipping incest is problematic.”

“Steph, are you planning on going home? I noticed you took one of my drawers.”

“There’s fanart of you two.”

“I don’t want to see it. That'll scar me for life."

“I’m DMing it to you. By the way there is civilian Red Robin fanart and for some reason they made you blonde.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, I guess it’s more fun to ship people with different hair colors. Should we dye your hair?”

“Why.”

“That way when you finally hook up with Co-”

“Finish that sentence and I kick you out of this apartment for good.”

With the cat out of the bag, they start doing different damage control.

Red Hood is now openly working with the Bats, so Steph and Cass dismantle Hood’s former safehouses around Gotham which mostly means getting Jason’s books and bringing them to Tim’s place. Jason suggests the places should be converted into something useful for the neighborhood, such as libraries or a community center of sorts, so Tim starts working on what needs to be done by WE to make that reality. Tim also makes sure Bruce pretends not to know Jason is using a lot of money illegally acquired to getting himself new hideouts.

They dance around the topic a lot and nothing is really said until Steph brings it up. Steph, whose mother returned days ago. Steph, that definitely doesn’t want Jason to leave, because apparently she suddenly has a new favorite ex-Robin. Steph, that is currently eating homemade waffles in Tim’s kitchen, even though Tim is 83% sure she didn’t sleep over last night.

“Why doesn’t Jason just moves in?” she asks.

When neither boy replies immediately, she continues:

“I mean, it’s more practical, isn’t it? Tim’s place is already secure, he has a hero hideout downstairs and you two already work together all the damn time. Tim’s office can be converted into a room for Jason, because, let’s face it, I spend most of my free time here and Tim never uses it. I once saw him take his laptop with him to the bathroom and then return to the kitchen table instead of using the office. We wouldn’t even have to take the shelves, because Jason would fill them.”

They exchange a look.

“You know, she’s right,” Tim says. He shrugs like it’s no big deal, really.

He isn’t nervous at all while Jason stands there, his expression unreadable. It’s not like he enjoys way too much having his brother around and got way too comfortable with having a roommate and a half (if you count Steph) on the past weeks. Tim doesn’t care, he’s cool like that.

“I mean. I guess having you as a roommate beats living alone,” Jason finally says.

Tim fails to hide his grin. “We can start working in turning the office into a room this weekend.”

Jason smiles back and messes his hair.

Tim’s first theory is that Steph wants Jason off the couch so she has an official place to sleep, because apparently Jason’s cooking is that good.

His second theory is that she noticed how happy Tim is to finally share a house with family. The Wayne Manor had been home for a while, sure, but despite Alfred’s best efforts the place wasn’t the coziest. It wasn’t the same as sharing an apartment with a brother, bickering about sharing chores and openly discussing their night jobs before shifting the conversation to a video game they want to buy. Sharing actual meals and making sure one another wouldn’t end up dead in a ditch.

Tim decides to stick with his first theory, after all it’s easier for Steph to make Red Twins jokes if Jason and Tim are under the same roof.

Even without new gossip, the idea of vigilante brothers is too interesting for the general public to let go. Tim and Jason start acting mostly in the shadows and having no interaction with civilians at all and they’re still the topic of Gotham’s variety shows and online discussions from time to time.

Because they don’t slip again, Bruce has yet to bring up the subject with Tim, but the mystery remains. Who listened to all those conversations and how? Tim keeps expecting the other shoe to drop, to get a message demanding ransom for their secret identities, something, anything , but nothing happens. Nothing freaking happens and he’s never been this frustrated.

That is, until, it happens. The ultimate betrayal.

Dick’s next visit coincides with the time Cass is over for the week. Because Bruce is secretly a sap in the wrongest way, he suggests they all go patrolling together. Such great family time.

Despite their initial protests, they must all be the same kind of freak, because they all agree. They split up soon to cover more ground, but keep their comms on so it still feels they’re all in a big menacing group.

Red Robin is somewhere near the crime alley when Nightwing announces he noticed some of Two Face’s goons getting into a building. He checks his wrist pad for their locations and notices Nightwing isn’t that far from where he is. The next closest person is Red Hood.

“I’ll take care of it,” Nightwing says over the comms.

“Negative. Two Face himself might be there,” Batman intervenes. “Wait for backup. The Red Twins--” And he stops himself as though realizing what he’s saying.

“Batman!?” Red Robin gasps in a betrayed voice.

Nightwing is already having a laughter fit over the comms almost drowning the sound of Bruce’s disappointed sigh.

“I’m sorry, Red,” his father says and he even forgets to use Batman’s scary voice. “Nightwing and Batgirl have been saying it so much that-”

“Save it,” Hood groans. “And stop laughing, Jerkwing!”

The worst part is knowing that, even if he solves the mystery, the Red Twins thing is probably going to follow him to his untimely death.

Tim all but lost hope when he gets an email from Barbara. “To my favorite Red Twin” says the subject. He groans, but opens the email, because one does not simply ignore a message from Oracle. Then he almost drops his phone.

Attached there is a grainy picture of a young woman talking to Vicki Vale. The image had certainly been enhanced digitally as it’s probably from a shitty security camera, but you can still see the woman’s face clear as day. She looks like she’s handing Vicki something, her shoulders tense and her expression wary. The body of the message is, most likely, the woman’s personal info. Her name is Lisa Harris. She is 27 years old. She lives somewhat close to Jason’s territory. And, most importantly, Babs added to the end of the message:

The picture is from the night before the Red Twins article ;) Vicki didn’t talk to anyone other than her coworkers and our pal Lisa on that night.

Jason comes out of his room when Tim trips on the coffee table in his hurry to stand. “What’s up?”

Tim hands him the phone. Jason’s eyes grow wide. “I don’t care about subtlety. We’re both going after this chick.”

“Agreed.”

“Should we wait for Steph? She’s gonna be mad that we went when she’s in class.”

“Jason, Steph doesn’t live here.”

“Doesn’t she, though?”

“We’re not waiting for Steph. She’s not involved.”

“Aight, but when she’s bitching I’m gonna say I remembered her and you said no.”

They leave their bikes behind first for stealth sake, but mostly because the place they’re going isn’t that far from their place. Tim shivers at the thought of someone so dangerous living near him. He wonders what kind of information Lisa might have gathered and for how long she’d been watching them. Is she a new enemy? Perhaps a member of the league?

The shitty building she lives in doesn’t suggest that. It’s just another grimy Gotham apartment complex that didn’t age well. The place they’re looking for doesn’t have a balcony, only a useless fire escape so rusty it would probably crumble under any sign of flames. It’s a perfect hiding spot, because nothing suggests a villain lives there. It’s just a building, home to many underpaid bachelors, nothing too suspicious about it.

Red Robin reminds Hood of that before they nod to each other and split. Jason goes into the building with a ton of confidence, for such a big guy trying to go unnoticed. Tim uses his grapple to reach the right window, not trusting that fire escape for even a second.

The window is open and he finds himself looking at a place not that different from the one Jason lived before moving in with Tim. Mismatched furniture of the living suggests whoever lives there didn’t have money for fancy decor or that they don’t mind how the place looks. However, something about the place looks… well, lived in. It doesn’t look like a criminal temporary hideout, but rather someone’s place.

As he hesitates, a woman walks in. The woman of the picture, Lisa Harris. Her long blonde hair had been tied in a knot on top of her head and she’s getting ready for bed, if her oversized T-shirt and pajama pants say anything. She’s holding a bowl of cereal.

She reminds him of Steph and that causes him to hesitate for a second. What if this girl is innocent? Their evidence is circumstantial. Maybe she just happened to talk to Vicki Vale at the wrong time.

That hesitation costs him dearly. The woman appears to feel his eyes burning the back of her head. She glances at the window and their gazes meet.

Crap.

Lisa inhales sharply and drops her cereal bowl. Before he can reassure her of anything, she’s bolting for the door. He pats himself in the back for his backup plan, because just as she opens the door she runs right into Red Hood’s chest. Lisa stumbles backwards, her expression horrified.

“Knock knock?” Hood quips.

She lets out a squeak and guilt makes Tim wince. Once again he opens his mouth to tell her they’re not here to hurt her when she… vanishes.

She simply disappears right in front of their eyes.

“Shit, she’s a meta,” Hood hisses.

Red Robin’s thoughts fly a thousand miles per hour, finally making the conexions he stupidly missed for so long. Of freaking course. He was so used to dealing with a bunch of idiots in colorful costumes and assassins and whatnot he hadn’t taken in consideration that ninjas aren’t the only exceptional enemies they face. And if his theory is correct.

“She’s still here,” he says. “If I’m right, she can turn invisible. That’s how she’s been listening to private conversations.”

A soft gasp follows his statement and Hood is moving almost as fast as Red Robin’s insights. An invisible woman is still solid and her clumsy footsteps are still audible, so on the moment that follows Jason seems to embrace air.

“No!” She cries out, flashing in and out of sight for a few seconds.

“Careful,” Red Robin warns.

Hood is wearing his helmet, but Tim knows him well enough to know his brother is glaring at him as if saying duh?

Lisa tries to stomp on Hood’s feet, she squirms and grunts, but he doesn't budge. Apparently invisibility is her only power and she looks terrified.

“It’s okay!” Red Robin hurries to say. “We’re not going to hurt you!”

She turns her frantic gaze to him. Her brown eyes suddenly become watery.

Shit.

“Hood, let her go,” Red Robin says.

“Seriously?”

“Yes. You’re not going to try to escape again, are you, Lisa? We just want to ask a few questions.”

He wishes they had waited for Steph.

Lisa hesitates, paralysed, but slowly nods. Her eyes never leave Red Robin once their gazes met, not even to check whether Hood is going to let her go or not.

“Hood,” he calls again.

Groaning something about being too trusting, Jason lets her go. He is gentle about it, too, making sure to let her feet touch the floor carefully instead of simply dropping her. Regardless, as soon as she’s left to stand on her own legs, her knees give in and she drops on the floor. At that, Tim can tell even Jason is hiding guilt behind his helmet.

He shakes his head to regain focus and crouches in front of the woman. If at this point they just apologize and leave, they’ll have traumatizes this poor woman for nothing.

“Lisa Harris,” he starts. “That’s your name, right?”

She trembles when he says her name and that should have been the first red flag. He blames it on the stressful situation and moves on.

“I’m sorry for startling you,” he says. He keeps his expression empty, even if he again can tell Jason is cringing at the understatement. “No one here is going to hurt you. We just want some answers. Is that alright?”

Her hands are balled tightly on her lap as though she’s making a lot of effort not to move them - perhaps to punch them, defend herself? But again she doesn’t look prone to start a fight.

“You’re him,” she whispers, her voice heavy with… something. It almost sounds like affection. “You’re really the Red Robin. In my room.”

That red flag is harder to ignore. He is about to check for other shock symptoms when Hood calls.

“Hmm… Red? Are you seeing that?”

He follows his brother’s gaze… and his chin drops. On the wall opposite to the door hangs a giant corkboard. On the corkboard, held by black and red tacks there are dozens of Red Robin pictures. Some blurry, some taken from so far that you can barely be sure it’s really Red Robin or not, the infamous picture of the thumb war (demon horns had been disturbingly scribbled on Jason on that one) and… He doesn’t have words.

“You’re my hero!” Lisa claims.

“Is he? I couldn’t tell,” Hood says.

Red Robin punches his knee, which is all he can reach from where he is, and turns his attention to the woman in front of him.

“Lisa, for how long have you been following me?”

“Since you saved me,” she says. “Well… Hm. You didn’t save me. But you stopped a heist at the Central Bank a couple of months ago and I was there. I could've died without you.”

Aw, crap on a stick.

“Do you… do you know who I am?”

“You’re Red Robin,” she repeats.

“He’s asking about his identity behind the mask.”

The way she glares at Jason doesn’t suggest she had been shaking in fear moments ago. “He’s Red Robin,” she insists. “I don’t need anything else.”

“If you don’t know… how do you have so many…” Hood gestures vaguely at her creepy corkboard.

“I did detective work,” she says and glances at Red Robin as if expecting a pat on the back. “I noticed you always go on patrol on mondays, wednesdays, fridays and saturdays. Then if I wandered around long enough… It was just a matter of hard work and bit of luck, really.”

Damn. Now that Tim thinks about it, the one time he went on patrol spontaneously was also the night Vicki Vale found him by coincidence rather than magically knowing what happened.

“Fuuuuck,” Hood groans. “I told B patrol schedule was a dumb idea!” Then, in a deep growly voice, “ It’s a matter of efficiency Hood, don’t be paranoid. Who’s paranoid now, Batloser?”

“Not the time, Hood.”

“Right. Proceed.”

Red Robin sighs. “Why did you sell my pictures to Vicki Vale?”

At that, Lisa looks suddenly ashamed. “I.. I’m sorry. I thought… I thought you were involved with him and I panicked. I thought… I thought seeing what it would do to your reputation would make you see that he’s not good enough for you.”

“Rude.”

“Hood.”

“What? She is.”

“I was trying to learn more about him, you know? I was. When I found out he was your brother, I realized you had no option, right? Family is family. I even told the news again to clean your record.”

So he had a stalker. A stalker concerned about his love life, no less, that’s… great. Just great. Of all the scenarios he considered they’d have to face, this is not one of them. Before he decides what to do, however, Lisa speaks up again.

“You sound so… nice.”

Tim stares at her in confusion, unsure whether to thank her or not. Regardless, she didn’t sound like she was complimenting him.

“I mean… aren’t I supposed to be?”

“No! I mean… you’re… you’re dark and brooding and serious and you don’t waste time with civilians unless forced…” She frowns and Tim figures she’s thinking about the night with the strippers. “You’re… the night.”

Jason snorts. Tim punches his knee again. “Lisa, I’m pretty sure you’re thinking of Batman, not me.”

Her expression twists in such fury both vigilantes prepare to restrain her, but instead of directing her anger at them, Lisa scoffs.

“Don’t get me started on Batman! All that crap about being mysterious and working alone? Then he joins the freaking Justice League? Just… Batman, in the middle of a bunch of rainbow wearing clowns. And then… all those freaking kids. Why does he have so many kids?”

“Lady, we ask ourselves that everyday,” Tim admits.

Lisa is wearing the same expression Krystal had when Red Robin denied his relationship with Hood.

“I’m sorry, Lisa, I’m grateful that you admire me, but you can’t keep following me like this.”

Her eyes teary again, Lisa swallows dry. “Clearly, if you’re sorry about it.”

They can’t exactly take her to Arkham for taking pictures. Tim feels less bad about the whole thing when the woman stands and starts telling them in a very loud voice to get the hell out of her house.

“Fine,” Jason says, heading to the corkboard. “But I’m taking this.”

“Take it,” she shouts. “I don’t need it anymore. You’re just like Batman!”

And that’s how Red Hood and Red Robin find themselves standing in the middle of a dusty hallway, Hood with a conspiracy board under his arm.

Well, that happened.

In the end, Steph was furious about them going to the stalker’s house by themselves, but there was not a lot she could do except doodle on every picture of the stalker board.

There must be something very wrong with their sense of humor, because their text group becomes a mess of jokes about the stalker Robin being stalked. At that Tim has no problem exercising Jason’s lessons in holding grudges and refuses to help them with any of their cases unless they stop it. The thing is that all of them find the whole thing hilarious.

All of them except Duke.

“Give it a while,” Tim tells him. “You’re the most recent acquisition to the family. In due time your idea of funny will be just as warped as ours.”

“Hm. When was the last time you slept, Timmy?” Duke asks.

“Tuesday.”

“Today is Tuesday.”

“Hahahaha yeah.”

“... Jaaaaasooon! Come over here! Tim is going into The Ring territory! Do something about it!”

Bruce doesn’t find it funny either. He isn’t happy that there’s a deranged meta he didn’t know about, but Tim thinks that was the least surprising part of the whole ordeal. He reckons a lot of metas doesn’t want to be a hero or a villain, they’re just regular people that live regular lives and happened to win in the metagene lottery.

Or… well. In Lisa’s case, not so regular.

And that’s why upon hearing the story for the first time, Bruce completely freaks out. He starts considering possibilities from scaring the woman as Batman - “That’s a terrible idea, dad, you heard she likes that shit,” says Dick over facetime - or having her arrested - “Father, having bad taste in men is hardly a crime. She has yet to do anything to harm Timothy” Damian helpfully reminds him - and finally to fill out a restraining order - “For who, Karen?” Jason snaps. “Red Robin? Or you want to walk into that nut job and tell her she’s not allowed near Tim Drake-Wayne?”

Long story short, it’s chaos. Tim has had enough of a crazy night, so he sits back near the training area of the cave and sips the tea Alfred made him. Bruce is doing Tim’s stressed out circuit, pacing back and forth around the cave while his children follow him - Damian is holding the phone higher than his head so Dick can talk to Bruce at eye level - and they try to talk him out of doing anything stupid.

Most of them, anyway. It looks like Duke is definitely looking into the possibility of a restraining order.

Cass detaches herself from the mess and heads towards Tim. She looks calm, as Cass always does, and some of that calm transfers to him. When she takes a seat by his side, he smiles at her.

“Okay?” she asks.

Tim shrugs. “Weirded out, mostly. I’ll be fine.”

She points at her then signs Tim’s house as a question. She’s asking him if he wants her to come over.

While Cass is one hell of a bodyguard, Tim thinks of Steph, who’s most definitely playing with his video games back at home, and of Jason, whose schedule mostly matches Tim’s, hence he is, more often than not, at one shout of distance. Tim can’t think of any place that feels safer than his home right now.

“I’m fine. Jay and Steph are taking care of me. I’ll just have to be twice as careful during patrol,” he says.

Cass nods, satisfied. She gives him a forehead kiss and leans against his side. The two of them watch their family yell at each other for the next ten minutes, matching serene smiles on their faces.

Bruce settles for keeping Lisa under occasional watch.

Barbara stalks her online and finds that Lisa has left a Red Robin fanclub (Tim did not know those existed) and closed all of her threads on the Red Robin subreddit (Tim knew about those, but kept his distance), making it seem that learning that Red Robin is just a polite-ish kid really killed her love.

Bruce says he’ll keep tabs on her because he know she’s a meta, it’s not like he’s being overprotective, he totally knows Tim can take care of himself, really.

Other than that, Bruce is way too happy about Jason’s new living arrangement. He even almost smiles.

Tim… is fine. The whole thing is creepy, for sure, but he finds out that his siblings making so many jokes about it makes it easier to handle. Yay for their unhealthy coping mechanisms.

He doesn’t think he will ever be okay with media, though. It’s annoying enough that he has to deal with reporters as Tim Drake-Wayne, he definitely doesn’t need the attention as Red Robin.

Luckily for him, his siblings help him with that too. One time he’s wrapping a gang bust with Nightwing when a reporter comes running towards them, begging for a few answers. Red Robin cringes inwardly realizing there are no close buildings to use his grapple, but before he can say anything, Nightwing squeezes his shoulder.

“Go, Timmy. I’ve got this.”

Tim smile. “Thanks, Dick.”

And he leaves the silent and swift way only a Bat can do.

Things are great. As great as they can be in Gotham, at least. Tim wakes up at 9am - an early time for a vigilante, but he got at least 5 hours of sleep, so that’s something - and heads to the kitchen. He finds Steph (who still swears she doesn’t live with them) and Jason bickering over pancakes they’re making. Smiling to himself, Tim mumbles a good morning and starts washing the dirty dishes from last night.

The peaceful morning is interrupted by Steph’s phone buzzing. She use a paper towel to clean her hands before checking it and…

“Uh… Timbers?” she calls.

He freezes, the pan he’s washing suddenly forgotten. “What now?”

Steph is trembling with contained laughter when she hands him the phone. Duke just sent her a link to a news article. Tim clicks and finds himself staring at the headline RIVALRY BETWEEN HEROES? followed by a clear picture of Nightwing and a blurry shot of Red Robin.

The article follows:

After dealing with an infamous gang of contrabandists that operated near Gotham’s harbor, Nightwing and Red Robin went their separate ways without much courtesy. Despite the short collab, it appears that Red Robin didn’t appreciate Nighwing’s help, his farewell words being a sarcastic “thanks” followed by calling Bludhaven’s hero a “dick”.

Tim raises his eyes to the other two. Steph is hiding her face into the crook of Jason’s neck, her shoulders still trembling a bit. Having read the article over Steph’s shoulder, Jason is biting his lip.

Tim deadpans: “This is the funniest shit that ever happened to me.”

The three of them explode in laughter and they cackle for a good minute, until the three of them are breathless and their cheeks hurt.

“I-I want to print that and frame it,” Steph manages between giggles. “Let’s hang it on the living room.”

“Good… ahaha… Good work, Timbers,” Jason says, smiling wide. “For that, you can have extra pancakes.”

Tim is still grinning when he goes back to his dish duty. Maybe being under the media attention isn't so bad after all.

#batfam #red robin #tim drake #jason todd #red hood #stephanie brown #red bros #poteto writing #lmao here take this

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fuse2dx · 3 years

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December ‘20

Bugsnax

Bugsnax is an odd little title, landing somewhere between Pokémon Snap and Ape Escape. There’s a bit less of a frantic pace though, instead telling a tale of a remote island where the titular part-animal, part-snack race roam about, with a series of characters each having their own relationship to them that... typically involves eating them. The disappearance of one key villager has been the catalyst to everything heading into a state of confusion though, and as the new person in town, it becomes your job to pull everything back together, all while trying to piece together a better understanding of just what Bugsnax are in the first place.

The game’s main cast are loud, colourful, and full of personality, with some decent queer representation going on too. It’s regularly quite charming, but the story runs parallel to a pretty simple gameplay loop of going out to a new area, meeting an estranged villager, getting a new tool that allows you to catch some new ‘snax in service of a given task for said villager, that inevitably fuels their return to the village. While catching a good chunk of the 100-strong Bugsnax portfolio follows a fairly repeatable mould of trap-setting and capture, some require some slightly more creative thinking, and final smattering lean more on good fortune as you try and juggle a few different elements in a way that sets up the perfect snaring.

I’ve seen some talk of folks who found the last sections of the game a little out of character, but having gone through all of the side missions before heading for the finish line, nothing came as too much of a surprise for myself. As a PS5 launch game it might lack the flair and experimentation that one might expect, but in better handling one’s expectations and seeing ‘just’ a game with extraordinary timing, it’s a pleasant and sufficiently entertaining romp - just nothing particularly out of the ordinary.

Demon’s Souls

I was in two minds coming into this. I’ve played the opening few hours of Demon’s Souls about 5 times now, with each attempt before this one stalling at different points for a variety of petty and frustrating reasons. So this, a fresh chance to try again, newly polished and smoothed out, with active servers, and a revitalised community? Excellent! Yet on the other hand, how much of the magic is Bluepoint likely to have been able to recreate? Even as a shot-for-shot remake, what if they had diluted the experience?

While I can’t speak with any particular authority here, very little seems to have changed outside of the visual overhaul. Some areas might be a bit easier to navigate owing to their new lick of paint, but enemies still pose the same threat, and everything is still where it should be, as are the obtuse, woefully under-discussed karmic swings that underpin its tendency system. Let’s not pull punches; it’s most notably a mean platform to build a game upon that makes suffering players suffer more, and is likely not one that you’ll even be aware of it before near irreversible damage is already done. From have undoubtably done similar concepts much better since, and while I might bemoan it, there’s also something to be said for allowing it to still exist just as it did at the series’ outset. It’s likely a wise choice on Bluepoint’s part to have left it untouched, albeit a slightly cruel one.

While the lack of a single, interconnected world was not yet on the cards for this particular Souls outing, there’s still plenty of great level design, with each of the game’s archstones providing a theme that’s adhered to brilliantly. A few exceptions aside, boss battles are typically less about flexing combat chops too, proving more of a challenge in solving how to approach them in the first place. In doing so, it creates some truly memorable moments alongside those that are purely frantic and rewarding thereafter. The same can be said for the game at large too; while its punishment of new players might be its most infamous quality, it does do a remarkable job in having you learn its every inch, and how best to deal with everything it cares to throw at you. While the chase of 1:1 replication might mean some of its jankiness remains, its visual overhaul and silky smooth frame rate certainly do a good job in helping you overlook it all and in embracing the still best-in-class world building. One of the years’ best, and by far the most compelling reason to date for next-gen ownership.

Grindstone

Grindstone was front and centre right as the doors opened on Apple Arcade, and it’s a pretty easy to see why it’d be pegged for such honours. It’s bright, colourful, charming, and very easy to pick up. Some of Capy’s other noteworthy titles might fall more into the realm of the arthouse, but this is them at full power, exhibiting that ultimate strength of knowing just how to capture any given audience. Most of the game is spent planning out your turn, and it looks great even in this calm stillness - but as you unleash the mighty Jorj on each of his rampages, there is a satisfying spring into action that gives the same kind of satisfactory twang you might get from an elastic band, or a coiled slinky about to bound down a flight of stairs.

Within a few short stages almost all of the base mechanics are laid bare, with each turn asking you to plot a course through colour-matched enemies, and landing you far enough away from any enraged enemies that’d seek to do you harm. Chain for long enough and you’ll spawn a grindstone that’ll let you switch colours mid-combo, and building up enough hits can then allow you to expend that strength on monsters with higher health pools. The range of enemy types grows as you progress, as does the array of new tools you can build that allow you new ways of dealing with them all, but ultimately the balance that needs addressing is knowing just when to walk away. There’s typically three goals to each level - opening the exit being just the first of these - and while in some cases you might have a handle on things when the exit does open up, it’s often not the case, and hanging around too long carries the risk of losing all of your progress on the stage if you lose a clear path to your escape.

Some of its later mechanics and the level arrangements can be quite taxing, and while never completely unfair, it can definitely... grind... on your patience. For something that could easily be taken as a casual little puzzle game, it’s quite lengthy too - the path unbroken leads you through a whopping 180 stages, but without extensive draining of resources from each of these, you’ll likely need to try some of the side dungeons to help make your way to the end too. Very likely more than your bargained for then, and yet still plenty compelling to boot.

Necrobarista

Some neatly constructed character models and a snappy trailer might attempt to tell you otherwise, but let us be clear with one another that Necrobarista is very much a visual novel. A shock to the system this may be, but anyone reading this likely knows by now this is far from a bad thing around these parts, so let us look a little closer.

It’s quite a melancholic thing, set in a less than conventional, somewhat Purgatorial coffee shop, where the newly departed stop in for a brief spell and a brew before taking the next step into the great unknown. While there’s a setup here for lots of stories to be told, it really draws in on a small cast of characters who look after the shop, and how a few key visitors change the world built up around them. Between each of the game’s chapters there’s the opportunity to unlock new side stories dependent on which of the phrases you chose to identify with from the chapter just gone, and although short, these do some good work fleshing out some characters and breaking up the main tale. As the title would suggest, the particulars of coffee do come up as a point of conversation, but there’s no drink-making side shows here - just a lot of talking, scheming about how to cheat death, and the more chin-scratching topic of a more accepting approach to this great inevitability.

It’s fairly short - comfortably under 10 hours - but crucially gets plenty of character development from each of its cast given the tight focus. Rather than the still portraits that you might come to expect of the genre, characters are given a real depth with 3D models that convey just as much as their words, which also helps this effort. Perhaps most crucially, and whether it’s in spite of all of the death, or instead because of it, there’s plenty of quite thoughtful and heartfelt sentiment hidden inside it. Comes recommended.

Tangle Tower

I picked this up for Switch based on a recommendation, not knowing that I’d unknowingly be closing out an Apple Arcade hat trick for the month. So yes, it’s another more story-driven game, not too heavy on the input requirements, but instead good for getting you thinking.

It’s immediately very easy on the eye, with each and every character drawn in large format and animated with buckets of quirk and charm that runneth over. Every single one is brilliantly voiced too, with varying degrees of charisma, bluster, dry wit, and numerous other characteristics that shine through in brilliant harmony with the art. It’s a murder mystery, see, and while you’re putting together what everyone says has happened, looking out for who’s fancying who and the like, you’re also doing so with the critical expectation that at least one person is likely spinning you some tall tales. Luckily you’ll find clues that help you get closer to the truth and help deconstruct some of these falsehoods, whether they’re in plain sight or hidden behind one of many puzzles. These are exemplary in just how well-pitched they come, each being self-contained and just tricky enough to have you pause to really think about them, but without ever being too irksome or troubling to stop you enjoying yourself. Once you do start to get to the point of unmasking some secrets, there’s also a neat little interface the game rolls out for you to drop in and then verify these revelations; pairing numerous characters, items and statements to help demonstrate to it that you’re keeping up with it all, and things are clear enough to move on. There’s subtle little prods in the right direction just when they seem to be needed, further cementing the game’s solid grasp of when it’s best to say something, and when it can let you just stumble about and get on with it.

It’s a fantastic little game. I lost a day or so to this, and had a wonderful time doing so. I hope that it’s not too far away that I forget all of the details, so that I might do it all over again.

#bugsnax #demons souls #grindstone #necrobarista #tangle tower

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alexiskddt808 · 3 years

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From Around the Web: 20 Fabulous Infographics About Gta Online Name Generator

He will do the like the others however prices much less money. To unlock Packie as a break-in crew member, you have to finish his random occasion where he is robbing a store near Franklin's house and needs a getaway motorist. This random event takes place at the Buck Tablets Drug Store in Strawberry. BothRed Dead Online andGTA Online have plenty to commemorate throughout the Xmas period. The former just released as a standalone game, with sufficient material to satisfy in the meantime.

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Gta V Online Money Glitch: Unlimited Cash Money Offered To Those.

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My Time At Portia Is Todays Free Game For The Legendary Video Games Store Holiday Free Gift.

Grand Theft Car Online gamers that are logging in for money as well as loot are locating themselves with absolutely nothing to their online names. While there's nothing incorrect with some gamers mistakenly receiving more money than was planned the records of players not obtaining the bonus offer whatsoever is a lot more frustrating. Other individuals likewise reported having actually gotten the message upon visiting greater than when, yet not obtaining any extra money. Grand Burglary AutoOnline is familiar with pests as well as glitches, yet the good news is most of them have actually often tended to be less major than the two-headed skeletal systems which showed up inGTA Online's equivalent, Red Dead Online. This most recent problem, nevertheless, is far more lucrative, at the very least for some gamers. GTA Online has actually been giving out free money simply for finalizing in, yet instead of it just occurring as soon as some players are obtaining numerous bonus offers. All the latest gaming information, game evaluations and also trailers The best source for comics as well as superhero film fans.

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There's a spectacular selection of stuff to do in modern GTA Online so you would certainly be forgiven by having no concept where to start-- as well as what to focus on to draw out one of the most pay early. One of the very best tips for newbies is to stay in touch with what's taking place in-game with the Superstar Social Club or the convenient promo dash screens that appear while the games lots. They'll let you understand what's new to the game and, much more notably, what activities or occasions Superstar is prioritising, including which of them will certainly compensate double Online reputation and cash. However large break-ins like that aren't much excellent when you're just beginning in GTA Online, since you'll require some sources to take them on. The exact same goes for several of the other systems, which can call for a first investment of GTA$ 1.2 million prior to you can really start.

If you're really feeling stuck with your development inGTA, then it may be a great time to attempt a few of these glitches bent on give your pc gaming job that additional push. Last month, any type of gamer that logged intoGrand Burglary AutoOnlinehad a free GTA$ 500,000 deposited straight into their Puzzle Checking account.

For a game that is currently more than 7 years old, Rockstar remains to strive on GTA 5, patching and also taking care of troubles extremely quickly. Although it was a lot of fun for players who have the vehicle and also found out the glitch, it was a problem for gamers that encountered one and really did not have their own. GTA 5 will certainly make the jump to next-gen when the new consoles are launched following month. That will certainly suggest the game, which has actually currently gone on to come to be the third finest selling game of perpetuity, will have extended three generations of console. The rollout of online elements shows no indication of slowing down either, with Rockstar adding a lot of brand-new solutions and also spots today. The Center Break-in Glitch helps you to fool the GTA system into believing that you are purchasing both the preparations as well as the setups of a heist, despite the fact that you are just spending for the preparations.

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metalgearkong · 4 years

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Final Fantasy VII Remake - Review (PS4)

4/30/20

Developed by Square-Enix, released April 2020

Final Fantasy VII was the very first 3D polygonal entry in the Final Fantasy series released back in 1997. To this day, Final Fantasy VII is arguably the most influential and beloved JRPG of all time. When I was growing up I wasn’t a big fan of JRPGs yet. However my best friend(s)s for many year(s) were, and I experienced a lot of Final Fantasy (and other JRPGs) via osmosis. I played and completed the original Final Fantasy VII about 5 years ago, finally seeing what all the hype was about. The Final Fantasy VII remake was one of those highly anticipated titles that we thought would be a miracle if it saw the light of day, let alone being as good as it turned out. Finally, 5 years after the world got a taste of the teaser trailer we finally have the “final” product.

The reason I say “final” is because this is only part 1 of what I’m guessing will be 3 parts, extending and fleshing out everything about the original game in full current-gen presentation. Part 1 only covers the events of Midgar, about 5-6 hours of the original game (out of at least 40) and I finished the remake at about 34 hours. The developers at Square-Enix did a fantastic job making this remake feel like it still had a beginning, middle, and end, despite it covering such little territory from the original. Almost everything that extends the time, including dungeons, character development, side quests, and extra bosses was mostly executed very well. Only a handful of times did I feel like some of the mini-games and side quests were annoying or a waste of time (don’t even get me started on the giant robotic hand crane puzzle).

I had a tumultuous relationship with this remake to say the least, and my largest contention with the remake is the combat. I seem to be almost alone on this opinion, but hear me out. The combat could best be compared to Kingdom Hearts, only here, you can switch to different party members, controlling them directly. Also when using the in-game mini menu during a fight, the game will pause the combat allowing you to decide what to do with barely any frames passing by. Despite this remake’s tactical nature, whenever I had to fight more than 3 or so enemies at a time, battles would often turn into a frustrating muddle of a brawl. For example, locking-on has to be done manually, and then done manually again once that enemy is destroyed. Sometimes opponents can remove the lock-on by going invisible, digging below the ground, etc, and having to find a new enemy and manually lock-on again was annoying.

Tips I Wish I Knew...

Use Cloud’s “Punisher” mode whenever facing opponents with physical close-range attacks and counter often

Customize shortcuts for each party member in the Main Menu and make item usage, spell usage, and special ability usage uniform between all characters

Immediately click the right stick to lock-on to ANY enemy so at least you can start working on them

Take control of a healing or long-distance ally when facing multiple or difficult foes in order to see the battlefield better

Only attack a bit at a time so you have the best chance to stop, dodge, or block if an enemy begins their attack

Use the Multiply Materia (I forgot what it’s called) on a supportive spell such as shields or healing

The camera added to the frustration as well. Instead of phasing through physical objects allowing you to fully see the battle, the camera gets caught up on walls and objects. This leads the camera to “zooming in” and me losing sight of my character and the enemies. Any fight in an arena smaller than a gymnasium has this problem. By far the largest frustration I had with the combat was the cheapness of it. For example, if you begin a combo of normal attacks, there’s no way to interrupt your own animations in order to do something different, such as blocking or dodging. It seemed like the enemies were much quicker at attacking, and would smack you with a high damage attack with no way to avoid it. The game strives for a semi-hack ‘n' slash genre of combat, but the mechanics are far and away not responsive enough for the player to actually react to what they need to react to.

Casting a spell, using an item, or executing a special ability have long durations as well, meaning you can easily be cancelled by an enemy attack or at the very least take damage while an animation is playing out. I get that this is a strategic live-combat JRPG, but it lead me to so much frustration and rage I had to move the difficulty down to Easy because Normal just seemed to cheap. It’s a shame because the entire rest of the game is so damned good, I don’t know how the ball was dropped so hard on the combat system. Again, this seems to be my opinion alone because I haven’t heard this criticism anywhere else, which adds to the feeling of frustration for me because it makes me feel “not good enough” despite being a lifelong and daily gamer.

Not enough can be said about the character development and everything having to do with the narrative. Cloud, Tifa, and Barret have been iconic leads for over two decades, but compared to the ramke, they may as well have been cardboard cutouts. Every single cinematic is filled with amazing animation and cinematography, the likes I never expected to see. Characters look fantastic, sure, but the way they work off each other’s personalities and motives breathes new life into what was already considered a terrific game in terms of story. I like how Tifa has her reasons to hate Shinra, but is the most apprehensive about Avalanche’s terrorist actions. Barret comes off as a big meat head, but over time you see that he believes in every word he says. The music is also astounding as we not only hear familiar tracks, but many of the songs get several different remixes. Aerith’s theme in particular gets the most use and its variations make the biggest impacts, transforming what is normally background music into well defined leitmotifs used at all the right moments during the story.

Final Fantasy VII remake (part 1) is a dazzling, emotional, hugely impressive product. This is the the remake fans have only been dreaming about for many many years and I think it mostly pays off well. Virtually every aspect of this adaptation, including characters, music, locations, tone, enemies, and certain mechanics have been painstakingly recreated and reinvigorated to a successful degree that makes it all worth the wait. However, I am not a fan of the combat system and its such a strange thing to get wrong compared to how much of the game is so masterfully created. The additions to the story and lore (few that there are) also lead to unnecessary sections of the game, especially near the end, and has rightfully gotten a mixed reaction from fans of the original. I am desperately curious how the developers will sparse out the rest of the story in these remakes, beings there’s so much left to see and tell, but hope the combat system receives some polish and alterations before the end.

7/10

#ff7 #final fantasy vii #final fantasy 7 #square enix #cloud #cloud strife #tifa #remake #2020 #barrett #aerith #final fantasy #review #game review #ps4 #incredibleexceptforcombat

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i3utterflyeffect · 4 years

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Paper Mario & The Origami King: Shortcomings

Okay. So. Here’s the thing: This is my first Paper Mario game. I’ve seen playthroughs, yeah, but that’s about it.

I’ve seen a lot of people gripe about how Color Splash or whatever it’s called changed a lot of mechanics of Paper Mario, but I’m not going to be talking about that. So... yeah. No ‘first Gen was better’ sort of stuff.

Also, this is completely my opinion. I am in no way trying to bash you if you do enjoy this game, because you know what? Good for you! It makes you happy; don’t let me, some random internet person, stop you! These are just flaws that I’ve noticed and wanted to point out.

So with that out of the way, these are my four big gripes with the Origami King.

1: Character Design

The character design for the Legion Of Stationery is... extremely, extremely underwhelming. Like, look at this.

I can appreciate the fights, they’re pretty fun, but like... come on... It’s... it’s just a stapler. It’s just colored pencils.

Almost all of them are like this.

Tape? Just tape. Hole punch? Just a hole punch. SCISSORS? THEY’RE SCISSORS!

THEY DIDN’T EVEN BOTHER PUTTING EYES ON THEM. OR GIVING THEM PUNNY NAMES.

Now. I will make one exception: Rubber Band.

Look! This is creative! This is fun! I like this; It’s a little rubber-band doll, and not just one big rubber band! I mean... Once you beat it and strip it to the bare bones, it’s just one big rubber band; but the design itself is more than that.

I understand focusing most of your design power onto the Vellumentals, Olly, and Olivia, if they didn’t quite have enough time or manpower for that. But if they had gotten that, I feel that the Legion of Stationery could have been... a lot less boring.

2: The Hammer

Okay. This is a tiny thing but it pisses me off so bad.

The hammer. You don’t press it as soon as the the meter turns red. If you do that, you only get a Great.

You press it just before the red goes away, and you know you’ve timed it right when you see the blue again for like, a millisecond.

I have one question

WHY?

I don’t get it! Why would you time it like that? It should absolutely be as soon as the red appears! Do I have an unusually fast reaction time? I don’t think I do?

...I swear Olivia said at the beginning it’s ‘as soon as the meter turns red’. I really, really hope I’m not imagining that, because it’s been driving me nuts the whole game.

It’s not to say it’s impossible to time it right; you just... can’t rely on the supposed cue. Which is really, really weird.

2.5: Gameplay Review Which May Be Unreliable and/or Biased

Listen. I’m going to be upfront about 2 things:

I don’t have the best coordination out there.

I am terrible at puzzle games, and have the memory of a goldfish.

The gameplay was... usually fun. Usually.

Every now and then, though, it became super, super frustrating, for one reason or another.

It took me a while to figure out that sometimes, you have to hit things to get a Magic Circle. In Whispering Woods, I was running around like a headless chicken trying to figure out how to bust open the party popper and get to the Soul Seed.

I also really didn’t want to hit the trees because I felt bad; so until I (finally) searched up a guide, I was just completely lost.

To be fair: they did give me Olivia, and probably expected me to use her.

ALTHOUGH, there was Breezy Tunnel as well; it was pretty obvious to me how to cheer up Olivia; but it wasn’t obvious that I had to backtrack and... be contacted by Bobby’s ghost apparently.

And the final of my gameplay gripes: Shy Guys Finish Last.

Dear god, I hated that. I passed it, yes, but I really hated it. Maybe I just got unlucky with the minigame roulette and got a bad first impression, but honestly, I never want to go back there again.

...why were they even there? Do I want to know? Probably not.

3: The Ending

The ending... Oh, the ending.

Listen.

The gameplay was okay. It was occasionally frustrating, sure. But I’m probably not reliable with that part.

But the story beats... oh, the story beats. They could have been done so much better and it breaks my heart.

It felt so much like the writers panicked and crammed everything they could into the end, and if they’d just taken a little more time, I feel like it could have been so much better.

And...

Let me break down the 2 parts that bother me the most.

Olly’s Last-Minute 360

The motivation doesn’t actually bother me. I know it might seem ridiculous to some other people, but let me tell you: Some people are just like that.

My issue is with him suddenly going ‘oh, what I did was wrong’. It felt... Rushed. Sudden. Kind of hollow.

If he’d died angry, it would have felt much more impactful; to see what had been written on the paper all this time, to realize that Olly had been doing this in pointless, selfish anger, when the note had been something so kind.

Instead, it’s just ‘i was wrooonnnngggg..... you beat the crap out of me so hard i had a complete change in personality....’

I guess I can understand if that was the only way they could think of to get the thousandth-paper-crane thing kicked off. Folding him into the thousandth paper crane was impactful too, even if I feel that it was an unrealistic change in personality.

But the very end. The very end is what gets me the most.

Olivia’s Double-Bladed Wish (and How Nintendo Did Her Dirty)

So.

As you might know, at the very end, Olivia wishes for all the origami that Olly folded to be unfolded again.

Hey, Nintendo? Why did you gloss over the fact that Olivia FUCKING DIED?

She died from that wish because her brother finished folding her!

She was being folded by the Origami Craftsman when Olly trapped him, so he took the unfinished product and finished her!

SHE DIED! Nintendo, you barely even acknowledged that!

It was literally just like “oh, where’d origami girl go?” and that was about it! Nintendo, you dirty cowards!

Bobby got more sendoff than Olivia. A bob-omb that was with us for two streamers got more sendoff than the companion with us for the entire game. (don’t get me wrong, Bobby’s great and all, but he got more sendoff than Olivia.)

Why? Why would you do that? You hardly even acknowledged her sacrifice. Not even a single firework in her honor.

I know people say that resurrecting a dead character means the original death was surefire shock value, but even that would feel more fufilling.

Just stick an after-credits scene back at the Origami Craftsman’s house, where Olivia is refolded anew from the parts that Olly had not folded, and that would have felt so much more satisfying than the end we got.

Which brings us to the final point:

4: Unrewarding Completion

In my opinion, the ending felt extremely unrewarding.

I had this issue with BOTW too: It just kicks you back to the last save before completion, and it feels like nothing you did mattered at all; Like the ‘It was just a dream’ trope.

You’re just back again, standing before the door of the final boss.

It feels more like a punishment than anything to me.

I understand it from a gameplay perspective. There wouldn’t be any more folded soldiers to fight; no more enemies, no more challenge. But combined with an underwhelming ending and Olivia dying and not even being acknowledged, it didn’t feel rewarding at all.

Conclusion/TL;DR

Paper Mario and the Origami King could have been better.

However, they focused on gameplay, and I understand the thought process that led to that decision. An enjoyable playing experience is the most important part of a game.

The character designs may have been underwhelming, and the story may have not reached full potential, but in the end, the gameplay is most important.

However, I feel that the ending could have used more work, and it’s unfortunate that it ended up turning out in such a disappointing fashion.

If you like puzzle games, then you might enjoy this game. It’s generally enjoyable, and the dialogue isn’t too bad.

Just keep in mind that the ending might not be too rewarding, so don’t rush; take your time to enjoy the game by finding collectibles and saving toads.

#took out the Good Grammar for this one #not putting this in the main tag bc ik people don't like seeing negativity in a main fandom tag (which is understandable!)#/pm&tok spoilers #long post #pitch posts #pitch rants #pitch rambles

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metaknight · 4 years

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thoughts on FFVII remake so far SPOILERS of course through the middle of Wall Market

These are my opinions god please don’t murder me and don’t read if you don’t want to hear about things that I really hated.

The good

There’s some really nice character building (Barret my SON he loves to sing and read stories to Marlene) and some cutscenes that have expanded on the original story in a constructive way. Rly gonna hurt later on when bad shit happens to this good found family.

Combat is OFTEN very fluid, you feel super cool and badass as any of the characters. Boss fights are OFTEN really well designed, especially certain duels (Rude aww yeah loved fighting him). Tifa wrecks shit go go go.

Some good puzzle areas, like the route to Mako Reactor 5 through the plate with all the moving bridges and shit. Loved that, tons of fighting and puzzles to get to good materia. Wall Market is also shaping up to be a cool puzzle area like the original.

The BAD

Too many cutscenes, or sequences where you have to walk slowly while the characters discuss nothing new but instead re-hash their already stated thoughts and feelings, and if you start getting too far ahead the game will put an invisible wall in front of you so that you have to go back and watch your party members WAVE AT A CAT so you can hear them rambling some more. It really does feel like a movie sometimes, in a bad way.

No one is normal in this game. All of the new minor characters or characters whose personalities have been expanded since the original - Roche, Johnny, Madam M, even the single fight sewer bandits - feel more at home in an over-the-top Kingdom Hearts setting than they do in FFVII. I KNOW FFVII has its silly side, I KNOW, but those strange moments in the original made you love the characters, even random npcs, more because it was a relatable silliness. It made the world more diverse. The FFVII remake versions of characters aren’t silly, they’re insane. They’re annoying. There is nothing even slightly relatable or charming about them. Chocobo stable guy is the only guy I’ve met yet who I found charming.

Several segments where the game gives you NO indication what you’re supposed to be doing to move the story forward, so you’re stuck running endless circles trying to find the single action that will get things moving. It worked in a top-down world with fewer details, it does NOT work as well when there’s a hundred people to talk to in a fully fleshed-out slum. Examples - waiting in the bar for ages only to realize you’re supposed to play with the dartboard, waiting for Aerith FOREVER until you overhear the one conversation needed to get her to come out of that damn building.

There are a lot of mini games and puzzles slotted in to pad the game, and some of them are fun, but many are time-wasters - the hand crane puzzles in Aerith’s sewer shortcut, the INFURIATING don’t-wake-up-Aerith game that forces you through load screens when you fuck it up, etc. I’d take extra exploration/battle areas over these games any day. The second Mako reactor mission was an absolute treasure, please keep replicating it, Square.

The normal battles are pretty easy, which is fine cause it’s nice to breeze through them. Boss battles are appropriately challenging, but out of nowhere will come INSANE boss battles that are on a completely different level of challenge, and you’re supposed to be utilizing mechanics that were mentioned maybe once at the beginning of the game (Reno and the Punisher mode counterattack???????). There’s also the issue of dodge vs block - the game doesn’t appropriately explain to you that the dodge doesn’t have i-frames, so it should only be used against certain attacks while guarding is used for everything else. I was trying to play it like Bloodborne until I looked it up on reddit. Your main character is also very easily interrupted, even during their special abilities, spells and item usage, which not only wastes MP or an item, but also removes your full ATB gauge, forcing you to start up the hack-and-slash routine again. It’s a weird hybrid between turn-based and action-oriented that makes it VERY hard to adjust to sudden difficulty spikes.

The graphics are fine. I’ve seen a lot of people complaining about low res backgrounds/textures and our main characters being hyper detailed while all the NPCs are flat. It’s not that noticeable, and it’s to be expected for this gen of consoles. Love kicking those construction signs and tables around, reminds me of Soulsborne games.

THE SUMMARY (so far, I’m still only in Wall Market)

This is not the faithful remake that many of us were hoping for, and it does suffer from modern Square-Enix BULLSHIT and BLOAT, which should not have been surprising.

The battle system REALLY works when it DOES work, it can be cool and fluid, but is often an exercise in frustration. Action games need a lot of polished mechanics to work, which isn’t exactly happening here.

The story is pretty overbearing. I don’t mind the linearity because yes, the Midgar section of the original is almost completely linear too. But the constant cutscening, walking segments and reiteration of already stated facts and feelings really drags the game down. While our main cast has become even more lovable, a lot of new and old characters are written in a way that makes me cringe.

Bottom-line: If you’re willing to sit through a lot of cutscenes, the battle sections are fun as hell even with their numerous issues. 7/10 will probably not play again, but still looking forward to its sequel.

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