#which is basically how i handle x2 because like. you just know they did NOT think it through | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

apparentlyaswarmofbees · 4 years

Text

Making the Seven Demon Brothers Flustered (?)

basically a compilation of sweet stuff with the seven brothers.

Warning: uncensored swearing

This was an extremelly random idea that came in my mind. I was laying down looking at the ceiling and had a moment of epiphany where I thought: "holy shit I love when the brothers blush, I should make that everyone else's problem" and so here we are.

Lucifer

Contrary to popular belief, flustering Lucifer isn't impossible.

You know those days you just can't sleep?

If you decide to walk around the house you will most likelly stumble upon a Lucifer coming back from filling his most likely 10th cup of coffee.

First he will definetelly ask you what on earth were you doing awake before frowning in disapproval because you have classes tommorrow. So you should be in bed, asleep, like probably only Asmo and maybe Satan, and possibly Mammon in the house.

But honestly, it's 3am and both you and him are sleep deprived and I don't think anything really has a meaning at this point.

So that's when I say it's your cue to walk up to him, raise your arms, and hug him.

Just hug him and refuse to let go

He will be both flustered and frustrated that he can't hug you back

10/10 he would walk to his office with you clinging to him like a koalla, put his cup down, and give you a hug of his own.

He will still demand you to go to bed after he rechargers himself thought.

Mammon

I mean, what doesn't fluster Mammon?

But what about the moments he can handle being flustered without trying to deny his feelings out loud?

Yeah, those ones are the real treasures.

So I give you: hand holding.

This man is weak for holding hands, wherever and whenever. Just grab his hand and carress your tumb over his own, or link your pinkies and swing your arms a bit, even just losely holding each other's fingers.

He loves it so much it can even become something he does automatically once he gets used to it.

Sitting together? His hand is right over yours. Walking side by side? He will absolutely refuse to let go of your hand (he even forgets sometimes and scares himself when he raises his hand to fix his shades and he sees he's still holding onto you).

At some point the others may even start to cringe over the fact that you two appear to always be holding hands, even inside the house. It's very sweet though, and honestly, I bet his grip is very addicting to hold on to.

Leviathan

Even more so than his older brother, what doesn't fluster Levi?

So I will give out the one that possibly brings the cutest reactions out of him: surprise attacks.

Laying down side by side and you just feel like kissing him? Just do it. Give him a lil' peck on the lips or a soft one on the tip of his nose, and watch as he tries to hide in plain sight.

He did something that made you extremelly happy and you just feel he needs a reward? Just do it. Smooch his cheek, hug him and give him a lil' squeeze. He will be so happy he will not know what the hell he is supposed to do.

And best of all: at some point, once he gets, a bit, used to it, he will try to reciprocate.

Satan

Will the answer to how to fluster Satan be cats?

Yes it will be cats.

But also cheesy lines from romance books.

So you can pick your poison.

You have chosen cat? Just lay down besides him and give your best meow. Lean into his touch, plop your chin on the top of the book he is holding and stare at him, maybe pout for increase in effectiveness. He will be squirming on his spot in no time.

You have chosen cheesy lines? Do it while having one of those candlelight dates with Satan, give your best shot with the biggest smile you can. He will melt.

Asmodeus

Contrary to all of his brothers, the real question for Asmo is: what even flusters him?

The answer might be: unexpected compliments that are related to who he is as a person instead of who he is in appearence.

Which is... very specific to say the least.

Just fucking throw compliments at him about how he is extremelly sweet, caring and talented. Diligent, passionate, and how he always manages to brighten your day simply by saying his usual excited "Hi!".

Just throw all these at him like bullets from an automatic gun, throw your hands in the air or clench your fists and look him right in the eye as you say it loud and clear. Let whoever is around hear it too, they should all realize how important this man is.

And congrats, you now have a red faced, mouth agape, wide eyed, Asmo.

Beelzebub

Surprisingly not that hard to fluster the avatar of gluttony.

Though it's not very common for him to blush, on the inside he will be dancing macarena on x2 speed.

Pocky game? He will get so flustered he will break it midway. Helping him work out? Just lay right under him as he does push ups and he will slowly either stop working or become more, let's say, determined.

Just feel like hugging him? If he has his hands free, just throw yourself at him, he will be perplexed for a second and believe me when I say you will be able to feel his heartbeat, and it will be pretty damn fast.

But there is also a different strategy: pair up with Belphie.

Just throw a blanket over both of you and snuggle together, then walk over to Beel. Yes just walk over to him. This man is weak for you being cute with his twin. May end up engulfing both of you in a bear hug.

Belphegor

Oh, the avatar of denial.

Just like his brother it isn't exaxtly that hard to fluster him, and he often doesn't show it much on the outside. But when he does? He will not admit it.

Waking up to you sleepily staring at him from his stomach while laying on your arms? No, he is not blushing, you are imagining things.

You give out a giggle and a sun blinding smile in response to his denial? Oh! he is frowning now. Look at that, his face is becoming redder with each second.

Want to get a finishing blow? Just say you love him. You will never see him move so fast to latch onto you in a big hug like an octopus as both of you fall ungracefully back on the bed. He is totally not hiding his face on your neck, pfft, of course not.

#obey me #obey me!#obey me! shall we date?#obey me headcanons #obey me scenarios #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #this is what happens when I let my brain do its thing when I'm trying to sleep

2K notes · View notes

danny-chase · 3 years

Note

Do you think that Tim saved Dick in a way? Because we see Dick getting better as he gets closer to Tim and healing and getting back into the family, and ig it’s Tim who initiated that.

I literally don't have a yes or no answer for this... like most things in the Batfam - it's complicated. (Following answer is informed by 90s-00s comics, i can't really speak for new52 because it just... has so many issues one of which being erasing the relationship between Dick and Tim for *checks note* no discernable reason other than possibly *checks note* Didio hates legacy characters and wants only bad things for them so he could have excuses to kill them off or cancel their comics... idk just a guess)

Warnings: for Bruce stans - just look away i'm about to bring up bits of canon you most likely don't like, for Dick stans - Devin Grayson's run is mentioned, for the lovely anon - i wrote an essay, hope you are prepared

Tim coming into the family gave Dick a reason to occasionally hang around Bruce and i'm not sure if this is an exaggeration or not but he did sort of save that relationship - but whether that was a good or bad thing at the time, i can't really say. For sure - it starts off good, Bruce is actually trying to be a good dad (he comes down to Blud to check on Dick, adopts him, trusts him with his own city, calls him for backup, etc.). But we also see throughout Bruce Wayne: Fugitive/Murderer how unhealthy the relationship between the two can be. Dick built his core values around Bruce - if Bruce had actually killed here it would have been devastating for Dick (he was pretty much on the verge of a mental breakdown simply because they couldn't find proof Bruce wasn't guilty). The two literally got in a fist fight during the arc because Bruce was being uncommunicative and Dick couldn't take it anymore, snapped, and punched him when Bruce said "Bruce Wayne is dead only Batman now" - this tied into Dick finally having the relief and validation of being adopted and he couldn't handle Bruce stripping himself (and by extension, his fatherhood of Dick) away. In this era of comics Bruce had gotten physical with Dick before (here's me venting like an annoyed loser), and here's a clip from Bruce Wayne Fugitive that i just, *sigh*, canon Bruce, my detested.

Now on the other hand - getting Dick involved in the batfam more doesn't just mean he was hanging out with Bruce. His relationship with Tim is pretty great and I can definitely see where it was healing for a while - but also - to give credit where credit is due, the healing he goes through during this era of comics can also be attributed to Barbara and the Titans (the fab five specifically). Wally literally joins the Titans to give Dick a "social life" (me - it's because he's gay and wants to spend more time with Dick, actually, screw you DC you know i'm right). Donna plays a major part in keeping Dick's emotional well being in check. So like everything was going fine - Dick was healing, spending more time with friends, spending a lot of time with people he loved, like Tim, except he was neglecting his health and not sleeping - but overall he was in fact, managing, and moving past the deaths of Jason and some of the other Titans. With the current Titans - he was a hardass (which like ~trauma~ so I understand), but like things were going relatively okay.

And then Donna and Lilith died. And hooof Donna dying was like really really bad for his mental health.

Teen Titans/Outsiders Secret Files (2003) #1

[Image ID: Dick sits in a room staring at a photo, the phone rings in the background, and he doesn't even acknowledge it, the voice mail plays: "I'm not here. Leave a message after the beep." The photo is shown closer in the next frame, it's of the five original Teen Titans - Roy kisses Donna on the cheek, tipping his hat his other hand making the okay sign, Donna has an arm around Roy, the other hand on Dick's shoulder, Garth proudly stands beaming with his hands on his hips, and Dick has both his arms around Wally's neck. Everyone is smiling in the photo. A voice plays over the answering machine: "Dick, it's Roy - pick up the phone... c'mon... please... I know you're there... just pick up. Dick, we need to talk... you can't just... please..." End ID]

For context - the previous page noted that this is Dick SIX WEEKS after Donna died. Usually Dick's the one who moves on quickly, but Donna dying broke him in a way nothing else had before - and that could be partly because he was still recovering from everyone else's death.

Up to this point, Dick had been healing and Tim was definitely a part of that, but then DC decided to throw the absolute book, bookshelf, and library at him. Reading Outsiders (2003) it's very clear he's very traumatized, and around the same time, Devin is literally whumping him like it's the whump Olympics, breaking him and Babs up, burning down his childhood home, blowing up his apartment complex (killing all but like two of his neighbors), he's literally sleeping on fire escapes using newspapers as covering because he has nothing, and the bad thing i don't like to think about (i'll let you know if you ask but that one needs lots of tw, but if you know where i'm going you know what it is already), Blockbuster is killed and he blames himself - and loses it over breaking Bruce's one rule, Bludhaven is nuked, and he pretty much tries to kill himself.

So basically, he was on the path to healing (with Tim as part of that) before he got absolutely destroyed (and almost killed off by Didio in one of the crisis). Tim in his own right, was also going through a lot in the meantime, his dad died, Steph died, Kon and Bart died, i don't remember what else happened and i haven't read that era of Robin yet. Things were good until they weren't anymore, and sometimes i think Dick would regret ever exposing Tim to the life they live, and questions whether he should have just sent Tim packing x2. They do get to spend a year together on a mental health cruise, but then Damian comes into the picture, Battle for the Cowl happens, and they have their falling out. But whatever happened on that cruise must have been really healing for Dick because he actually kind of rocks it in this era - he keeps things light with Damian, Alfred notes at one point how he makes things easy because he has lightness in him, and he patches things up with Tim - catching him in that panel of Red Robin - from there they kind of go back to normal, there's a lightness to the way they banter with each other (also here) and Tim returns the favor (from the Red Robin incident) by pulling Dick out of the water.

They've saved each other multiple times over (physically), and in both in the Black Mirror and Gates of Gotham, Tim helps out in a period where Dick is starting to fall apart from the pressure of holding things together for so long (something Tim might feel guilty for, because he did run away from Gotham on a wild goose chase for Bruce). In that period, it's really clear that Dick saves Tim (he reminds him in RR, that someone does actually care for him) and then Tim saves Dick from being torn apart by Gotham.

I should point out - Damian, while starting off as kind of a hinderance, does eventually start helping Dick as well. By the end of their relationship (before the New52 destroys everything i love), Dick has helped Damian grow emotionally, and through that process Dick probably finds meaning and value in their time together, probably a lot like he used to feel with Tim. And of course, physically, they've both saved each other multiple times by the end of the run.

So yeah. I think Dick finds meaning in growth in mentoring his younger brothers, and it's likely a healing process, that healing just has some twists and turns along the way, and sometimes, on bad days, he probably feels like maybe he shouldn't have intervened at all, but i think on most days, he's proud of what Tim's become.

...I hope this is coherent lmao

#the old: blame everything i hate about comics on Didio #thank god he got fired #tw suicide #i am so long winded oop #i'm in too deep #does this count as character meta?#maybe #Dick Grayson meta #Dick Grayson #Tim Drake #i'm kinda sad that Dick and Tim's relationship is misunderstood in a lot of fanon - because it's something that can be so personal #it's not as black and white as people seem to think #as in like... they're usually really good for each other and have a healthy dynamic #even in RR (I haven't read all of it) people take things out of context and just... ignore that Dick reached out to Tim afterwards #and like asked him to go to therapy (not arkham why are y'all obsessed with Dick throwing his brothers in arkham get help)#Tim also straight up throws Dick over his shoulder and starts a physical fight in that series #so... it can be a toxic relationship too but idk i like to highlight the good parts #i see a lot of - Dick begs for Tim's forgiveness for taking Robin away fics out there #but like there relationship isn't that simple #if they ever talked it out in canon - they'd have to address Tim lashing out physically at Dick (Dick would probably not be having it)#and the writers might then be like - hmm maybe we should address all the times we had Bruce hit him too #so like yeah i get why we never saw their reconciliation on panel (they just kinda were like okay we're fine now :D)#but still it's something i'd like to see explored from a more balanced perspective - instead of a - i project on Tim so he's always right #i probably also wouldn't be the best person to write it because i project on Dick too much #not that i would make Tim beg for Dick's forgiveness - Dick would forgive him in like .000001 seconds and def doesn't hold it against him #that's just how Dick is (he'd probably prefer if it wasn't brought up and they just pretend it never happened)#but also knowing Dick he probably feels guilty as fuck for the way RR went - which like *sigh* martyr #batfam #batfamily #batfam meta

61 notes · View notes

game-fixer · 3 years

Text

Game Fixes Episode 1: Mega Man X7

I'm gonna start my tenure with one of the most notorious games in all of Mega Man, not just the X series. I have several ideas that can make the game feel more in line with characters and feel less forced.

Of course this will come with general polish in many aspects including a redone script and voice work. No disrespect towards any actors/actresses in the games, of course, but the presentation needs some serious work. Anyway, let's start with the first change

Axl

No, I'm not gonna get rid of him. I think he's a welcome addition to the cast and, if worked right, could be made to be even more beloved in the game he debuted in, despite being the Silver the Hedgehog of the X series.

First idea would be an overhaul in his move set. I say ditch the lame Copy Shot thing for his charge. Also have him function more like Bass from Mega Man and Bass/Mega Man 10, where he stands in place and you aim manually from the start. In 3D, (because I'm not getting rid of 3D) this could even include a first person aim function so you can be more precise. Also a light will shine to show your path so you're not relying on blind fire. Now, I'm thinking he could still charge a shot. What would he shoot? Well you could target multiple enemies at a time, release, and shoot a spread shot of small homing missiles at enemies or even Mavericks which can take a lot of these shots, of course. This feels more like a proper special ability and something that requires a meter for. So what do we do with that Copy Ability that makes him special?

Bio Metal

Yep, the special little MacGuffins from the ZX series. The very same. I'm thinking Axl would be the first Reploid to be made with an early version of Bio Metal, allowing him to change forms at will. This would be his version of X's Weapon Systems. Axl would gain new armor and abilities from the Mavericks he fights to boost his arsenal. A regular shot and a special shot. For example, with Ride Boarski, you'd shoot his regular weapon, but his Special move could be a Tackling Dash that would plow through enemies until the Meter runs out. Flame Hyenard could give a flamethrower for the main shot and his special could give you a clone that shoots for a few seconds. Tornado Tonion could give his leaf shot as a main, and his special lets you throw a tornado and damage enemies in a wide pattern. That sort of thing. The Mavericks aren't the only ones you're getting Bio Metal data from, though. Before I talk about that, let's bring up the main boy himself.

I'm thinking X would still be unlockable just like normal, but you'd play as him through an intro stage to feel the power you need to have back. Is he moping about violence and sitting on the couch like a lump like before? Yes and no. X, after causing a serious accident and putting innocent lives in danger, requests to be taken out of active duty until he can sort himself out, but he doesn't want to stop helping. Seeing how lousy X treated our new friend in the real story gave me an idea. Make X train Axl as his superior officer! Axl could be a trainee Hunter, still dealing with his checkered past with Red Alert and realizing they were no better than murderers, thus joining the Maverick Hunters to pay his dues to himself and prove to himself he isn't evil. X, seeing some of his own plight in his Rookie apprentice, starts taking a liking to Axl's ideals, despite his hot-headed, quick-to-the-trigger tactics and lack of professionalism. They butt heads through the intercom, with X saying this needs to be done by the book, but Axl wanting to show how he can take on any challenge no sweat and all that. X would be the Navigator for Axl, though Alia would aid as well.

Unlocking X

While saving Reploids will still be a thing, X will be unlocked halfway through the game. The whole thing would be integrated into the story. Axl defeats 3 or 4 Mavericks. All the while, X is still dealing with his fear of becoming a Maverick, fearing all he lost and hating his carelessness. Before your 4th fight, X will start getting more hostile and snappy at Axl, making Alia worried for X, since she's never seen him so worked up at himself. Axl begins to suspect X going Maverick to himself (he'd think "H-he isn't going...nah, of course not. Commander X is too strong for that...but...) Once the 4th stage is complete we get a midstage, like in Mega Man 7 or 8. A Mechanaloid is causing havoc in the city and Axl offers to go help. However, X sees that it's the same one that he caused the accident with and this sends him spiraling into anger.

"It's still out there?! After all I did, it wasn't enough?!? Damn it!!"

"Commander! Let me go take it out! Those people are in danger!"

"Why? So you can cause more damage with your recklessness?! You want to be a Maverick Hunter? Act like one and grow up!"

"...that's it... I'm not taking this from an old man that's crying about one little mistake he made!"

"...tch...you can't go anyway...you have your mission... just... stand down for now, kid."

"Commander X, what are you-?"

"You're right, Axl. I've been stewing about this for too long. This guy's mine. I have to prove this to myself."

That's how I think the scene would go. You go in as X and fight the Mechanaloid after a short stage rescuing plenty of civilians along the way. Alia and Axl are watching the events and communicating with X as well. X wins the battle, but suddenly his Buster goes off out of nowhere again, nearly destroying something that would put civilians in harms way. They are saved in the nick of time by Axl, who ports in anyway to try to help. X starts to doubt himself again, but Axl could see that it was something out of his control. The two go back to Hunter Base to run diagnostics and they find a bug in X's Buster systems, a lesser string of the Sigma Virus. X gets repaired after seeing this virus as a warning that Sigma might be back. This snaps him out of it and this gets him to go out and fight. You can now choose to go out as Axl, X, or as a team. If you go solo, your shots will be stronger, but without the backup, you'll be left with less defense.

Zero?

Nope, I'm not forgetting our favorite robot swordsman. At all. He will not make a physical appearance at all in the game. Why? Well...the Mega Man Zero series is still a thing. While I like the idea that Zero's ending in X6 being at the very end of the series, I'm trying to keep a stronger set of continuity here. Zero would still be in stasis, though he could communicate with X, since I'm thinking this could be a precursor to Cyber Elves, having Zero be something like a separate AI that can still communicate. As for playing as him? Oh he's still available...as a Bio Metal! I'm thinking after your first Maverick stage, a Zero spirit will appear in a level (kinda like the X Hunters in X2 but less stupid). Go find it, and Axl will be challenged to a fight against Zero, or at least a Reploid being controlled by his spirit. Before Axl finishes it off, X tells him to stand down, and Zero comes back to talk with X. The Spirit also leaves behind the Z-Saber, and thus infusing Axl with Zero's abilities, thus creating a prototype of the Z-Type Bio Metal from ZX.

Red Alert

So, get this. What if Sigma really WAS technically gone forever? I mean the bodies are all used up. The Spirit lives on, yes, but ol' Siggy ran out of his own bodies. Humor me here. What if Red Alert became the new villain faction full time? What if Red became the new face of Sigma? We'll call it...Red Doom or something. Sigma basically integrated himself into Red's systems and basically became part of his robotic code as thoughhe was always Sigma. This could also explain more why Axl needed to leave Red Alert, but it also shows how much in denial he was about Red going Maverick, since Red taught Axl everything he knows.

Script Changes?

I made my case about where the plot should go, but lemme try to work out personalities I think everyone could get down with in general.

Axl is the cocky, hot-blooded new kid who wants to prove himself to be better than where he came from. No petulant, childish talking or stupidity here. He'd be more like Sonic the Hedgehog but still acting just a little green. Still taking things just seriously enough for his quips to be endearing.

X takes his role as a CO very seriously. He's to the point and ensures that Axl is taught the way a situation must be handled. He hates how lax Axl is during his missions and tries to get him to focus. In combat, X is a no nonsense fighter who is ready to bring in the Mavericks, by force if need be. He doesn't try to get them to go peacefully considering his experience. (in fact he'll say once "I guess I can't expect you to come quietly?") No more "Why must Reploids fight each other" and blah blah blah. We all heard this. While he hates the fight, he knows at this point that the world needs a warrior, sort of like Gohan if that helps.

Zero is supportive of X and does his best to help keep his mind out of darkness. He'll even say "You were willing to stand by my side when I feared going Maverick, so I'll be here to do the same."

Red is a lot more cold at the start, outright insulting Axl, saying that he's no more than a worthless prototype, and the next generation of Reploids will be far superior to Axl's faulty design, or taunting X saying "How the mighty hath fallen. How does it feel, X? How does it feel to have to watch as the world crumbles to nothing through the eyes of your good for nothing amateur all because you couldn't keep a tab on your trigger finger?" Red will also be a boss at the end of Axl's first stage before the Maverick fights, and you're meant to lose it to show how powerful he is. You can see shreds of Sigma in there, but he is woven into Red's thoughts and personality in a way that makes Sigma and Red seem equal in the body, though a body can still be created (basically Red Sigma will be put in a more "Sigma appropriate" body with the bald head and big ass chin. Basically Sigma takes Red completely in a way. They're both in control, like their souls combined if that makes sense.

Everyone else is how they should be. Alia, for example is more like how she was in X8.

These are just a few changes that would make Mega Man X7 a much more plot centered game that knows how to work with it's characters. Other fixes like making it faster, tweaking the weapons, making Dr. Light stay as an AI, all that feels superfluous, because a lot of that just makes sense to change. Same with presentation, but with a new script, new lines are inevitable, so duh.

Stay tuned for more Game Fixes! If you want to request a game, lemme know!

#megaman x #megaman x7 #megaman #video games #fan idea #fan thoughts #new blog

4 notes · View notes

popculturebuffet · 4 years

Text

Hickman’s X-Men One Year In: Part 2: The Dawn of X

And we’re onto part 2. Since it took me a while to talk about Hickman’s Series outside of Giant-Size and the setup here, that’s in part one if your curious, I split this little retrospective into two parts, with this part here talking about the rest of the books. This isn’t to say they aren’t great, many of them are, it was just easier to do this as a two parter so with HIckman himself out of the way how did his hand picked batch of talented writers handle the lofty status quo he set up?Find out under the cut. Pax Krakoa baby.

Mauraders Okay just to get this out of the way this is my second faviorite x-book running, after X-Men itself and it often equals it and far and away the best tile of the run and restored my faith in Gerry Duggan. Duggan is not a bad writer and I blame the messy finish of his otherwise awesome guardians run with infnity wars on marvel trying to cram other characters into it and then a weird mash up idea that while cool, kept the guardians out of their own damn event and from confrting a now mad gamora, but that and deadpool made me forget the guy is a good writer and can do great things. Maruaders however won me back to him with intrest. A unique concept, the x-men as pirates helping ferry goods to krakoan allied states and ferry trapped mutants from hostile ones, is fucking awesome. The only thing missing is nightcrawler and it’s clear hickman has other plans, though I still feel he shoudl’ve been on the boat as he has both the relation to kitty pryde and pirate pedgree that fit in perfectly. Speaking of kitty after years of writers misusing her due to having a crush on her as a kid and shoving her into half baked romances with peter quill and her ex peter rasptuin, the latter failing so badly that marvel pulled the plug on their wedding because fans clearly didn’t want it, and battling my own reluctance ot see her front and center again, Duggan makes good use of her again: Kitty is given the unique hook of the portals not working for her and no one, even her old friend Doug after he gets back, being able to figure out WHY. Though I do hope Doug does show up here and explain it more, as him being kitty’s best friend once is rarely brought up since he got back and it’s silly it hasn’t been. But rather than take this on the chin Kitty strikes up a crew consisting of big sister Storm, first class graduate x-man, badass gay and kitty’s friend and ex iceman, bishop who reluctantly joins as her bishop more on that in a second and the best of them by a mile: Pyro. The original, finally brought back and given some intresting backstory: he was the first mutant brought back and felt good about it..t ill he realized that despite sacrificing himself to save a, if your familiar with the various cartoons this will be baffling but trust me, reformed senator kelly as Pyro himself was dying from the legacy virus, only to find out they did him first because they considered him expendable basically and naturally was upset over that, drunk a bunch of the liquor kitty smuggled in, for logan naturally, and passed out and then joined in on the rescue mission that formed the team because why not and stayed because it was a great offer. Speaking of offers with a new purpose, Kitty accepted her old enemy Emma Frost’s offer to be red queen, which includes a seat on krakoa’s council and was basically emma’s way of saying fuck you to her old cohort who she was forced to bring back on to handle the seedier side of Krakoa’s dealings via his underworld connections, sebastian shaw. Emma is the fincical backbone of krakoa, having the shipping connections to get the flowers in and out and now having kitty to handle the stuff she can’t and do some of the shipping, as well as again tell Sebastian, who naturally wants both gone and is pissy at Emma being so far ahead of him, wants gone. And while he’s seemingly succeded with kitty I not only have every expectation that while ressuection is failing to work on her she’ll be back, but that trying to murder one of the most beloved x-men whose consdiered family to among others three of krakoa’s captains, bishop after this series, four of their council, five if you include Doug whose best friends with both his left arm which is also a deadly space robot and the very place they live on. The only reason he’s not going to die 80 times in increasingily horrifying ways is because the five can’t take on that kind of workload and one murderous ass beating from half of krakoa and krakoa itself is close enough.

Emma is easily one of the books best parts, being written back as she should: An anti hero who while quick with a cutting quip, truly cares for her charges, and mutantkind as a whole and has grown from the monster she started as or even the kind of person who’d use a therapy session from a desperate man having issues opening up emotionally after apocalypse used his body as a rental car to convince him to fuck her. And yes that’s how things started with Scott and Emma and yes it’s really fucked up and yes the story treats it as such, though I still wish Scott would get actual therapy, but as Linkara recently pointed out in his House of M Review the Marvel and DC universes weirdly lack therapists for the most part and thus it was left on my mind the last two weeks.. and yes I know DC tried but when your final product at trying to serious tackle mental health is heroes in crisis.. I award you no points and god have mercy on your soul. But while Emma and Kitty get the lions share of the focus the rest of the group is enjoyable, well done and intresting, if not given many arcs to themselves, but still have enough character moments to counterballance that. The standout of the rest of the crew is easily Pyro, taken from “why is he still dead despite being super popular and used in a heavy role in X2 that’s garnered fans of that version to this day and bafflement he became a foot note in the next movie and used in every adaptation” to fun side character with a skull on his face and a love of booze and setting things on fire. He’s finally given the respect he deserves sorta and while I hope more is delved into his ressurection angst, he’s a ton of fun and it again makes me wonder why it took 20+ years to bring him back, but i’m glad the right person did it. The rest of the crew are fun with Bishop being another standout. That being said part of the reason there isn’t a lot of focus is simply because in additoin to our brave crew the book is juggling a LOT of characters.. the morlocks and calisto, both given a proper treatment after wya too long, jumbo carnation a minor character from morrisons run who was introduced in the same issue he died is emma’s designer, shinobi shaw and christian frost, the latter I question why a main relative of one of marvel’s a-list mutants who was one of marvel’s earlier gay characters hasn’t been used in a big way till now but no time like the present, Sebastian and the people he shares his big bad spot with Homines Verde aka those tweens who ran the hellfire club during jason aaron’s run because the man is nuts and who I only seemd to liked, brillinatly revamped as a racist replacemnt for the hellfire club and so far a clever threat. The book is just stuffed iwth good characters, beautiful art, and a great tone that combines spectacular humor with really good story and worldbuilding. It’s also a nice contrast to hickman’s stuff: don’t get me wrong I love hickman’s writing style but it’s nice to have something JUST as good.. but with a cheerier tone and less weariness to it, while still not lacking weight. I can’t wait to see where this goes.. it’s a pirates life for me.

Excalibur: Like most of the dawn of X-Line outside of fallen angels, more on that in a minute and even then that had an intresting new directoin for betsy braddock, I was pumped for this one. A team I loved: While I struggled to find a run I loved with Claremont’s run having Brian Braddock be a raging dick whose terrible to his girlfriend and gets away with cheating on her and Claremont not really bothering to explain Saturnyne or other characters and their history with Brian well to us yanks who never had the chance to read those tales.. though why stories by alan moore and chris claremont haven’t been republished properly or in epic collections is beyond me. Warren Ellis, who I now loathe for being a scheming weasel who treated women like garbage, had a decent run with plenty of warlock, in a weird phase where he thought he was doug, Moira and Wolfsbane stuff I loved.. but also had 30-40 something pete wisdom shacking up with 18 year old at most kitty pryde, with Pete at the time being basically Warren Ellis badass self insert character, and given recent revelations i’m pretty sure he damn well knew kitty was just 18 and even if he didn’t having his own fanfic character deflower her is just all kinds of EWWWWWW. He also had Colossus, fresh of being a villian for a while for understandable reasons, nearly beat pete into a coma in a jealous rage over the ex.. the ex he dated while she was still a minor, and left because HE , and editorial, was uncomfortable with it for damn obvious reasons. I can see why fans like to see her as bisexual and pair her with Illiayna.. I mean why the fuck not? They have better chemistry than most of he hetrosexual intrests and are paried because of that and not because the writer wanted to make out iwth kitty as a teenager and forgot “oh yeah she’s fictional and i’m 40!” Christ thank god for Gerry Duggan. But yeah moving on from that I was still pumped as a magical x-men book with Besty Braddock now captain freaking britan, and apocalypse on the roster. And rictor and jubille? nad rouge and gambit I guess.. I don’t knokw if they fit but whatever. Sign me up. The actual result is a mixed back. I do like Tini Howard’s work here to a point: Betsy gets good character stuff and theres actually good tension from the fact that the new captain britan is no longer primarily a british ctizen, and the book brought back a character I felt marvel needed to do more with: Jamie. if you don’t know, Jamie is betsy and brian’s, her brother and the former captain britian, older brother who went insane due to his powers and thus just goes around in his underwear convinced reality isn’t real and he can do what he wants and the tension with Jamie refusing to have anything to do with his brother for no good reason is really good. Rictor and Apocalypse are likewise good sensable additons: Rictor turns out to be a natural to being a druid which is a nice twist and makes sense given when he lost his powers the biggest issue with that was loosing touch with earth after having a connection to it be a vital part of him for years. Apocalypse as an ominus chess master slowly securing magic for mutantkind with some goal we’re about to get answers to is really investing and adds a layer to his character, that much like doctor doom he’s as much sorecer as he is scinetest and given the guy’s immortal, it dosen’t feel like it was pulled out of nowhere. The problem is the other half of the cast.. dosen’t really work. I fucking love Jubilee, a faviroite of mine as an xman despite not being a huge 90′s x-men cartoon fan, just feels kinda shoe horned in. Her son becomes a dragon and she worries about him constantly, but her worrying about her son possibly not being a mutant on mutant land could be done in any other x-book, and fraknly I feel her personality would fit better with the maruaders, and it’d be intresting to see kitty and her on the same team since both really haven’t interacted. Here she just feels like “well tini wanted jubilee and no one else did soooo I made her son a dragon to justify getting her”. I feel more could be done and hope Tini has better plans for her. Rouge is one of my faviorte x-men and All New X Factor and Kelly Thompsons work with him and Rouge made me like Gambit again, and I DO love their marriage and it was a way better idea than the one Guggenhiem had planned.. but while the idea of Rouge being reborn is intresting and all, she still dosen’t really get to do much and like Jubilee just feels weirldy out of place while Remy has that plus he’s annoying, as while he’s the only one rightfully supscious of apocalypse he also won’t shut the fuck up about it for five minutes. Ig et where he’s coming from but it dosen’t make him less annoying. These aren’t bad characters, but sof ar they just feel weirdly out of place in a magic based book and unlike Rictor tini hasn’t made any of htem but Rouge feel in place.

That being said I could ignore that more.. but the villians are also week. So far at least, as the return of Satyurne has given the book it’s first good antagonist.. but what I feel drags the book down the most from it’s potential is the bad guys; Morgan Le Fay is the first antaognist, being mad at apocalypse’s intrusions and corrputing Brian.. but her motives are just so boring: She wants power and to rule, she hates mutants... while “hates mutants” is a qualifier for every other antagonist so far, she just feels bland.. Tini just dosen’t make her feel like a good antagonist and it’s a shame as mutant hater or not she’s something DIFFRENT from the throngs of mutant hating conspiracies, mostly from russia in the other books... she’s just so bland it dosen’t work. And after her is Cullen Bloodstone who as far as I can tell is written out of character.. haven’t read his book but I had both a friend confirm it and having read his marvel wiki entry, it just seems like an odd turn to have him be a racist asshole. But even with all my problems and underwhelm here.. I still WANT the book to get from okay to amazing, and feel it genuinely has the potetial. I’ve seen books sharply improve after a rough first arc, Duggan himself showed me that with his Guardians run. Sometimes it just takes time for something to truly blossom and I have a feeling even with my issues, with x of swords coming up howard’s going to flip it all on it’s head and leave me standing there gasping like a moron. I have hope for that. And if nothing else the book is at least UNIQUE. And not in a trainwreck way: by giving mutants a piece of the magic pie and having them tackle far weirder threats, it’s at least doing something new and it probably lands for other people if not me, and if nothing else it does brian 80 times better than the claremont run did. not a high bar but I do like the character and it’s nice to see him take such an intresting path, and the same goes for Betsy. Tini’s still got magic to do, and I have a feeling it’s going to take me by storm very soon.

Fallen Angels: Now for the other half of the coin as it were. Some fans weren’t happy about Betsy getting her old body back, and yes Psylocke wasn’t orignally asian but a white british woman bodyswapped iwth a japanese assasian and yes that’s as ludicrious and unteitonally offensive as it sounds, because horrible implications of said Body Swap or not, Psylocke was one of the few asian superheros of note. So to compromise , Hickman and co decided to split the diffrence: Betsy would come back and get a rank up to captain britan, while Kwannon, said assasian, would take over as Psylocke. Hence Excalibur above and fallen angels here and I was excited about it. The Body Swap thing went on a decade too long and this way fans got the character they knew as Psylocke in another book while the face they recognized would finally get some fleshing out. I was excited about that and while probably the least excited about this book of the intitial 5, it did have an intresting lead, two characters I did like (Kid Cable I grant was only under hickman who turned him from that brat version of cable who killed the one I really love to a good character in his own right), and an intresting antagonist in a sentient machine. In practice it was okay. The best I can say is that writer Brian Hill DOES do a great job taking a mostly minor x-character and really fleshing her out and making her engaging and Kwannon’s quest to save her daughter is really compelling.. but the premise of those who don’t fit with krakoa dosen’t work with the roster given. Laura Kinney is not only sticking with the x-23 name after dropping the wolverine mantle for no reason previously, something Hickman fixed as soon as he realized how fans felt for her apperance in the main book, while Cable feels nothing like the far more fun version from Hickman’s X-Men and later Duggan’s Cable. Add in Husk and Bling who do deserve to be on a team but feel out of place here, and it just.. is okay. The book has an intresting angagonist and a great lead, but just dosen’t work as a team book and would’ve been better off being JUST about kwannon herself, who is far and away the best part about the book and i’m glad she got fleshed out. Not TERRIBLE but nothing special and it’s a shame given the antagonist, whose name I can’t even remember at this point, is intresting and ties into mutantkind’s greatest enmies being man and machine accoridng to house and powers.. basically a decent concep twith a flawed execution. Maybe hill’ sbatman and hte outisders run is better. I need to get on that. That being said the premise and idea is so far being done well in Hellions which we’ll get to, even if I’m being cautious really getting into the book with Zeb Wells track record. But more on that in a bit.

X-Force: Time to make noise, bad guys leave us no choice.. you know the rest. But yeah X-force. The concept here grabbed me, having X-Force rather than just be the black ops squad but be literal black ops for krakoa, was really great and fit the brave new world.. what worried me was the writer, Benjamin Percy. Now a lot of x-fans probably knew him from the much beloved “Wolverine: The Long Night” podcast, which i’ve heard is utterly fantastic as is it’s followup.. but I hadn’t heard it, and had only heard of Percy from DC comics where under his belt was an okay teen titans run and a not very good and politcally unsubtle green arrow book. And i’m not against politics in comics it just wasn’t done at all well there and the “oliver queen looses hif ourture due to a shadowy conspiracy thing” was already done better by jeff lemire. So yeah I was going to give this a chance but figured like those books it’d start strong and then peter out. I. Was. Wronnnnggg. X-Force is easily one of the best of the dawn of x and uses said premise well. It started a bit roughly, mostly becasue the first arc idnd’t make clear x-force didn’t exist yet but was a great origin story: a squad of military commandos working for a shadowy consirtum who become x-force’s big bad, plunge onto Krakoa and massacre a bunch of mutantas and assinate charles xavier. He comes back, though it’s trickier for obvious reasons, but it’s clear from this, and from wolverine and kid omega’s sucessful investigation and finding domino, that this can’t go on and thus X-Forces is formed; The intellegence and black ops arm of Krakoa and the one arm of it’s goverment exempt from the ‘dont’ kill humans rule”. What followed was nearly a years worth of fast paced adventures with good character stuff: Wolverine is in his element, kid omega, while I had my doubts due to quinten being way overused , turned out to be a perfect choice basically being a more compitent teenage sterling archer, cocky and loving this but also really good at his job, while Domino gets a great arc dealing with her trauma over her mutalation and having some of her power stolen by the shadowy masked dickheads while Colossus deals with his trauma over what went down when he rescued some Russian mutants, with the book slowly building up new threats and towards a showdown with Russia, something that’s also been built up by conflicts in Wolverine and Mauraders, which again makes the world of x feel more like an actual world instead a bunch of comics in one cast herd. Jean Grey is good for intellegence, though by now seems to have noped out as she couldn’t take the toll, it’s not for everyone and most notably after 5 or 6 years of being treated worse and worse and written worse and worse and becoming a bigger and bigger piece of shit Beast is FINALLY put in the right spot: his darker turns aren’t ignored but he’s back to being an actually intellegent hero as X-force’s director, still a bit greasy but now for good reason and without a god complex or some such bullshit and with a tiny bit of his humor back. Not much else to say really, X-Force is well paced, enjoyable and gritty, getting the spirit of the team at it’s best down right while doing something fresh with it.

New Mutants (Ed Brisson) Last one, New Mutants is the odd duck of the dawn of x line in terms of how it was launched. Fallen Angels ended up being a mini series both due to Hill being busy and it’s cast being needed elsewhere but will presmibly get a follow up later, but it’s not the ONLY mini series in the line with Fantastic four/x-men, the giant sized one shots and now Empyre: X-Men all debuting in wave 2. New Mutants however is the first book to change writers and said writer STARTED in the middle of hickman’s run, partly due to scheduling delays but even before that it was partly by design and those issues haven’t been collected yet, with hickman’s short run being collected first. So you have a run that builds off what Hickman started but with it’s own ideas that started insidei t and suprisingly it .. really works. While I do think there are better books in the line Brisson’s new mutants is enjoyable, combining humor and character work. New Mutants focuses on the sextant, which was first brought up in hickman’s run, the series of habitats for younger mutants on krakoa that the new mutants look out for, and while the original new mutants are in space, Armor decides to try and bring some old friends in to join in paradise with the help of Glob Herman, that big pink guy with a visable skeleton and eyes, and Maxine and Manon, who in the tradition of layla miller were created for an event and not great htere but turned out amazing under the right writer.. who I think also wrote that event but whatever, a pair of empaths and telepaths who have trouble grasping the right ethics for using their powers. The four go to get one of my faviorite x-men back: BEAK! I missed him even if he’s weirdly suddenly repowered. Beak and his wife Angel only haven’t joiend in with their kids because his dad’s sick, and things soon escalate when a bunch of criminals try holding them all hostage and it’s up to boom boom, bored since everyone left her alone, to save the day! After that we deal with Magik rangling them and the team’s new mission statment: not wanting ot mess up again like she did with beak, who did join them but not without loosing his dad and then his memory of his dad thanks to the twins misguided efforts, Armor still wants to try welcoming new mutants in with the vetrans help, and thus we have our puprose: focusing both on how these younger mutant 20 somethigns of various ages from early to late work together to make a better world nad help their own get back to this world. it’s intresting.. I’m not in love with it like mauraders or x-force, but it’s still pretty good and their first big foe so far, DoX, a blog that well.. doxes mutants that haven’t arrived yet, seems to be intresting. Not much to say just pretty good and and better at mixing comedy and character stuff, and getting the cast right. Ed Brisson had already proven himself on old man logan, but this cements him as one of the hottest new x-writers around and i’m glad he was given a book here. He’s also succeded in making me actually like Glob Herman so that’s a plus.

Fantastic Four/X-Men The first title of wave 2 and easily one of the best, right up there with mauraders nad probably JUSST behind it and ONLY because i’ts a mini series, giving the X-Men their first real step into the rest of hte marvel universe. Sure the 4 had cameoed in the first issue and there’s been mentions of krakoa in other books and one off issues but mostly Krakoa really hadn’t impacted anything.. but that first issue also set things up with Scott’s conversation with Sue Richards

Yeah and in case those who haven’t been aware of what’s going on with the FF lately and either remember franklin as a 6-11 year old or wondered why the hell he was suddenly a teen when they read this crossover, it’s actually simple; At the end of secret wars the Richards family was put on a bus, also so marvel could shove the ff as a proper team out the door due to the whole fox rights thing, and when Dan Slott had brought them back.. and cleverly had more time pass for the richards than for the 616 proper, so he could age Franklin up to his late teens and Valeria up to her early ones, allowing the richards children to actually age since Franklin’s age always had to stay vauge due to marvel’s vage and wobbly time scale. This way they get both consitant ages and more agency. But the return also came with a price as Franklin, who if you didn’t know is so powerful he can create whole universe and shape the sturcture of the universe, had his powers break saving his family, and thus since he came back, he’s onlyg got so much of them left in the tank before they run out entirely, and it’s been an issue for him in Slott’s run as he worries about being the normal human in a fantastic family and comes to a head here, though rather than Hickman himself, who as mentioned last time has a marvelous track record with the family or FF series writer dan slott Hickman choose a wild card for this, though had both Hickman and Slott’s permission to do whatever he wanted: Chip Zdarsky, a modern marvel for marvel who’d writtne the four in marvel two in one but for some reason didn’t get the main book and this book makes me hope whenever Dan Slott bows out he gets his turn and while this is his first x-men work, Zdarsky proves he’s just as good here as is in most of his work on Howard the Duck, Jughead and Star Lord.. a weird selection I know but all classics.

With this power outage, Franklin is worried his dad is, at least subconciously, not really trying to help him and to make matters worse teh x-men show up to offer their help.. and Franklin his birthright. The arguments made by both sides are great and I will be covering the series in full soon but in a nutshell the four dont’ want to give up their son/nephew, Reed dosen’t trust Xavier and feels he wants to use his son’s powers while the x-men feel it’s franlin’s choice and he’s old enough to make it, he belongs with them and he’ll be safer there. It also works because Franklin understandably isn’t swayed by either as neither is reallyt alking to him more at him, especially his parents .. and only tries the gate when Kitty Pryde, the two bonded back in the 80s and a young franklin stopped her from comitting suicide long story but really moving, is the only one to tell him it’s his choice. This dosen’t go quite well though since Reed Richards, father of the year, decided to make a device to mask his son’s mutant gene and no one, including his own family, is happy about htis. Naturally Franklin, with Val’s help, runs away.. and then as if it couldn’t get worse DOOM shows up wanting to help so now it’s a three way dance between them for hte fate of franklin. The series has gorgeous art form the dodsons a really damn compelling story and great setup for further stories for both lines and feels like the best of both franchises. It’s the x-men’s first huge impact on the rest of the marvel universe,a nd it feels like it with the ending showing that and showing this might not be the last time both sides crossover. It’s everything you could want from a crossover and i’m only being so brief because I want to review it soon as a huge fan of both groups. Easily one of the best x-men stories of the line and one of the best stories for both groups period.

Wolverine: We’re onto the final two, and Percy’s second book and the first solo.. and it’s logan again! Makes sense though: Wolverine only just came back from the dead, and while both is daughter and alternate future self carried the woverline banner for him, the original hasn’t gotten his own ongoing in some time. And so far.. it’s pretty good> the first issues a bit messy due to it’s lenght, but overall the book is intresting and has Logan graple with being the best at waht he does and if he can be better or if he deserves paradise while also delivering a compelling solo mission teaming Wolverine up with a federal agent who resents mutants. it also does some good world building, explaning why Krakoan drugs have things like wait lists (they want to control production closely both to avoid having the flower taken away and for quality control), and expanding the russia subplot while using Dracula of all people as a major antagonist, which is clever especailly since this isn’t his first rodeo with the x-men. Just a fun book wiht loads of promise.

Hellions: NOt much to say here as it’s hard to judge after two issues, buti f nothing else this series brought back the delightfully batshit Nanny, who just with last weeks issue offered to nurse Greycrow (who had his name changed from scalphunter because of course marvel did why wouldn’t they) and falling down. It combines humor with an odd but well thought out cast and makes Alex Summers intresting without making everyone else assholes, a hard but earned feet. If it continues to be good.. I dunno, especially since i haven’t been impressed by any of zeb wells other works especially his new mutants run, good god that one’s am ess, but so far he’s winning me over with a clever concept and roster full of deep cuts. Final Thoughts: I won’t be covering Empyre: X_men, though I did enjoy it and i’l save that one for next time. For now this has been a hell of a year of x-men comics, with even the weaker books still having something intresting and none being outright terribule and only one had a bad grasp on some of it’s cast and for a line this big and expansive, that’s a gold medal achivment. After YEARS of stasis the x-men have finally risen again better, bolder and stranger than ever. IS every book A+ gold star etc etc, no, but what’s important.. is that it’s all DECENT. There’s enough standout books to make it work but as i’ve made clear what isn’t the best of the best is still good or decent. There’s nothing bad, no one phoning it in or not giving an effort, everyone is trying thier hardest and succeding on SOME level even if not completely and that.. that’s truly amazing and I look forward to more of it as this line continues. Pax Krakoa and hopefully i’ll see you again.

12 notes · View notes

taleslations · 5 years

Text

ToX2 behind-the-scenes info

People have been wondering about the decisions behind Xillia 2’s creation, so I have compiled information found in guides and interviews. No straight-up translation because that’s too tedious, just an info dump.

X1&2 Spoilers below.

From the Complete Guide interviews

Producer & Director – Baba & Anabuki

[Note: Anabuki worked on S, A and V’s development. He was the main planner for V 360 and did some directing for the PS3 ver. He was part of the battle system team in X1, and became the director for X2.]

Reasons for making a sequel

· Fans had often said they wanted sequels in past questionnaires

· Xillia was the 15th anniversary and they’d created a very detailed setting they wanted to re-explore

· Wanted to expand on Elympios with an Elympion main character

· Felt it was a waste to use the characters in only one game

· Feels it kind of started when people said it would be fun to play as Gaius and Muzét

On what changed and what didn’t

· They wanted to keep the old characters

· Since the setting was more or less the same (tho with more focus on Elympios), they decided to build the game’s identity on its mechanics (see below)

· Game mechanics changed a lot, with the introduction of the debt system, fixed parties, chromatus ability and choices

· Setting is more modern

How the debt system came to be

· Because ppl Ludger’s age worry about money

· They wanted to have Ludger burdened by something

· 20,000,000 gald bc that’s the kind of sum that modern day salarymen could borrow. It’s a huge sum but not impossible to pay back if you work hard

The choice system

· Because part of being an adult is making choices

· Sometimes there are choices you don’t want to make but you have to (exemplified by having to destroy fractured dimensions)

Okumura as main character designer

· Because since this wasn’t a game with two protagonists, they couldn’t ask both Fujishima and Inomata like last time

· Since Ludger’s kind of a player self-insert, his design would be tricky, so it’d be easier with someone from within the studio

· Okumura’s been working on Tales designs since Eternia (mainly for minor character) and his talent shone when he designed the Chimeriad, so they weren’t worried

Why the heroine is 8

· They wanted her to be someone you’d strongly want to protect (working toward the last choice)

· It wouldn’t work if it was a strong heroine who fought alongside you like in past titles

· Yamamoto wanted her to be a girl because “I’d want to protect a little girl more than a little boy”

· If she can’t participate in battles, it’s easier to remove her from the party for plot reasons (can’t have a fighting heroine kidnapped by the last boss for gameplay reasons)

· (When she’s out of the party) Wanted to make players feel her absence in anticipation to the last choice

On Ludger’s various fighting styles

· Baba wanted a sort of style shift like in Graces

· Since he was a new protagonist, they wanted to introduce something that wasn’t in the original Xillia

· Chromatus was Anabuki’s idea, because he likes transformations

· People who played the first game probably have attachment to the old characters, but since Ludger’s the protag here, they wanted to make him stand out more

· Staff got angry at Baba because that meant they basically had to program three characters in one XD

On Ludger’s silence

· They wanted him to be a self-insert to the player

· Plus it makes the one scene where he speaks more meaningful

· They added the voiced lines option as NG+ bonus for those who like voices

· Reason they didn’t make that option available on first playthrough was they wanted to get their message across/wanted players to see what they were aiming for, which wouldn’t be possible if players could skip the voiceless aspect from the start

About Gaius and Muzét

· It was hard to include Gaius because he’s supposed to be super strong

· Also because he’s the type to handle things himself before the protag has a chance to. But since this was Ludger’s story, they had to sideline him

· They wanted to give him an ability like Vesperia’s fatal strikes, but that would make him too strong, so they had to tone it down

· Muzét’s a good middle-range character. She’s weak if you get past her guard, so she has the ability to move out of range quickly

About the endings

· The first scenario they came up with was the one where Ludger disappears, but since they implemented the choice system they wanted the game to have an important choice at the end, hence the creation of other endings

Discarded ideas

· Fractured Milla with short hair (discarded because they didn’t want ppl to realize immediately from promotion images that she was a different Milla, and also bc they didn’t think Milla was the type to cut her hair short since she doesn’t care much about her appearance)

· Otoh, something they hadn’t planned on: character models. They were originally just a way for the motion team to test things, but since it was fun they decided to include it in the game

Any chance for another sequel or anime adaptation?

· Nope on sequel, as they think that world’s story is over

· They’d like an anime or other media adaptations, but there’s no plans for it

Battle team – Fukuie, Yamase & Takizawa

[Fukuie was responsible for battle planning, various mechanics and linked artes; Yamase was the battle programmer (worked on Ludger’s artes and on mystic artes in particular); and Takizawa was battle program support (enemy artes and mystic artes, effects etc)]

What was kept from the original and what’s new

· Linked artes were an essential part of the original so it was kept. They thought of modifying it but since it was popular they decided not to and simply make it easier to use

· They gave spellcasters some more melee artes

Anabuki’s influence

· Anabuki wanted more event battles so they added a lot

· He’s also responsible for having them end the final fight with a mystic arte & cut-in

Ludger

· They made bosses stronger because Ludger is really powerful

· Elite monsters weak spots were inspired by Vesperia’s secret missions system

· Implementing Ludger’s three fighting styles was apparently tricky with the tight schedule they had, so they asked for something else, but they went back to the first idea eventually

· Example of other idea: giving him the fighting styles of the old characters. But that would cause problems if they simply copied the motions (they cited Elize’s posture, which would look weird on Ludger)

· The scenario team asked that Ludger use both hands for each weapon style

Chromatus

· The transformation part came mainly from the scenario team – someone said they wanted the image of a dark hero and someone else replied “then they should have a transformation.” The battle team was like “but he already has three fighting styles!”

· At first the transformed state was less useful than fighting normally, so they removed staggering when transformed but added a time limit

Other characters

· Anabuki wanted Gaius to be strong since he was the previous game’s last boss, but simply making him stronger than the rest would break the balance

· There was a lot of arguing about his special ability

· They also had a lot of ideas about Muzét but settled for emergency wrap because she can fly around freely

· They increased the speed at which Rowen threw knives to make him less defenseless

Trivia

They picked Cless and Stahn as cameo because they were cameo costumes in the first game; then they added Mint and Rutee

They like the cameo ending, they feel it’s like a 4koma

At the beginning, the animation team made an animation of Ludger prostrating himself, but it wasn’t used. There’s always a number of gestures that don’t make it into the final product

Takizawa cleared everything on Unknown

Scenario team – Yamamoto, Hasegawa & Hori

[Note: Yamamoto was the main scenario writer of X2 (as well as H, Z and B); in X1 he worked on sub events]

Settings

· They picked the story of Maxwell and Kresnik from the first game and developed it further as a base for X2

· They were careful not to make it look like the previous game’s story wasn’t complete or to make it sound like the previous game’s conflict was lighter than the sequel’s

· There was a request from the planning team to make up a different system, so that’s how they came up with the choice system and having the protag be a player self-insert

· However, leaving him without expression or personality would be too un-Tales-like, so that’s how he ended up like he is in the game

· It was decided from the start to change the protag because Jude and Milla’s story was over

· Since the first game was heavily focused on Rieze Maxia, they made this game from the pov of Elympios

On separating main story and character episodes

· Part of the new system idea

· You get to know the characters more in their chara eps and that can influence the main story a bit

· They’d planned on adding bonus scenes from the start; they added more than expected

Fractured dimensions

· Represent the power of choice (as they show how history would be if different choices had been made)

· Also as a way to catch X1 players’ interest

· Yamamoto’s favorite FD is Victor’s dimension because it’s full of suspense; in chara eps it’s the one with Nachtigal. Hori’s were the ones with the Chimeriad because he had wanted them to survive so that was a way to see them again. Hasegawa’s were the ones in Leia’s and Alvin’s chara eps.

· They redid Leia’s episode entirely, giving a bigger role to her boss as a result

· The target audience for X2 is a bit older than X1, so that’s why they show stuff like relationships between boss and employee, it adds a touch of realism and can make adult players empathize

Ludger and Elle

· Elle is at the center of the story. She is both a trouble bringer and a source of strength for the main character

· They wanted the last choice to be heavy, choosing between Elle and Ludger/the player themselves

· No choice is more correct than the other. While Jude etc were heroes who saved the worlds in the first game, they didn’t need for Ludger to be a hero at all cost – that’s for the player to decide with the choices

· The Julius ending was Hori’s idea. He wanted people to feel that it was a valid choice

· Choosing means eliminating the other possibility. Nothing changes if you don’t choose, you can’t go forward. That’s why they didn’t include the option to save both

· If it had been a shonen manga, everyone would be happy at the end, but they wanted an older target audience for this game, which meant burdening Ludger with difficult choices

· The two joke endings were added for more Tales-like fun. The cameo ending was requested by the planning team

· It’s just for fun though so they don’t consider the cameo “happy end” valid because it glosses over the main story’s drama

New characters

· It was hard to find balance on Gaius because he tends to solve things himself if you let him, but here he needed to have a support role

· They liked showing a more casual side to him, as well as his relationship with the Chimeriad

· Muzét didn’t really have evil intent (in the first game), it was more that she went out of control. Bc she had a hard time in X1 and since X2 had a heavy story, they decided to focus on light-hearted scenes with her

· Fractured Milla was created to show the player what fractured dimensions were in a straightforward manner

· They also wanted to surprise the players by giving her a completely different personality

· At first, she was just created as a step to bring prime Milla back, but they decided to give her a bigger role because they grew attached to her

· At first, they came up with half a dozen personalities for her before settling on one (tsundere)

· They picked a cat for a mascot because there were cat lovers among the staff

· It’s hard to have an animal move around during events, to they made him a fat cat so he wouldn’t move too much

· Ludger’s hair is silver like his father’s, and the black part is dyed

· Nova’s meche is because she saw Auj Oule women (it’s a cultural thing there) and she wanted to imitate Rieze Maxia’s fashion

Discarded ideas

· Julius’ was supposed to be Ludger’s mother at first, but they thought an older brother character would be more popular. His overprotectiveness is remnants of his motherly role

· Yamamoto wanted Bisley to use a gun and have a scene where Ludger transformed and avoided the bullets, so Bisley would go “that slow thing is useless” and discard the gun before transforming himself and punch faster than the gun fired bullets

· He also wanted a scene where Bisley showed up to the last dungeon in a car saying “Sorry for the wait”

· Anyway Bisley is really Yamamoto’s favorite XD

· Nova and Vera had a very small role originally but Nova grew as a character who cheers Ludger up when he worries about his debt

· She was originally just there to provide information; in the original idea, she was also originally in love with Ludger, not Julius, and would be irritated at Julius for causing Ludger trouble

· They didn’t expect her to even show up at the hot spring

From staff comments in the World Guidance book

· At first the debt was supposed to come from Ludger having to take responsibility for the Oscore incident

· Anabuki drew the wanted posters

· They call Kanbalar Edo lmao

· They’d originally planned to have an ending where Ludger gives up in ch.14

· The imagery of butterflies is associated to the Key of Kresnik (Elle’s hat design, Bisley’s wings in his chromatus form…)

· Jude was introduced early to cover for Ludger’s lack of lines

· They considered having him oppose Ludger at first (abt destroying the dimensions) and eventually join the party

· They decided to keep the old cast’s personalities as they were in the first game’s epilogue, but made an exception for Elize, who matured a bit in between

· They originally wanted to show Muzét regret her actions of the first game, but her chara eps took another direction

· Fractured Milla was originally simply a gimmick to show the cruelty of fractured dimensions, but her role got bigger

· They had templates for her

· A hidden thema of the extra episode is to restore Ivar’s honor

· Ideas for Rollo: Julius’ disguise, Chronos’ true form. But he ended up as a regular cat in the end

· The dungeon in ch.10 was meant as a homage to past titles

· Since the game is aimed at adults, “immorality” and “irrationality” were key themes of the first ideas

· Some character design rough sketches are dated as far back as March 2011 (the first game came out in September 2011)

Past translations:

Unused ideas for plot, fractured dimensions, Ludger & Julius episode, and fractured Milla personalities.

Staff comments about the fractured dimensions featuring the Chimeriad.

Interview with Daigo Okumura.

Interview with Takashi Kondo.

#tales of xillia 2 #tales interviews

84 notes · View notes

andytfish · 4 years

Text

FREELANCE GUiDANCE: A 10 Part Series- Part 5- GET PAID SON!

The biggest magic trick the Freelancer ever pulled was convincing his client to actually pay him a fair wage.

You want to make it in this business, kid, you gotta get paid.

You can turn to the Graphic Artists Guild Pricing Guide for some reference if you're just starting out. But unless you live in New York or LA (lower Alabama I'm not talking about) those prices are going to be spit-took when the client hears them.

So HOW do you get paid? The easiest way is to negotiate with respectable clients.

First and foremost, make sure you agree up front (and in writing) that you WILL be paid. Not only do I use a formal contract I also insist on ALL communication between me and clients to be via email-- why? Because then I have a paper trail-- I can re-read emails for project details and I have essentially a written correspondence regarding the agreement of trade.

Cause that's what it is-- the client is trading you something (preferably cash) for your services to provide.

When you first hang your freelance shingle up you're going to get approached by a LOT of people offering you work either on SPEC or "for the exposure". Here's a cold hard truth-- unless that company offering you exposure is Time Magazine it's not worth it-- and guess what? Time Magazine actually pays you for work so the point is moot.

This brings up the basic formula of work:

1. Work on Spec - You'll get paid after publication based on the number of copies sold because your work appears in it. I HATE these deals. HATE 'em. If you're going to work on SPEC then work ONLY on something you OWN. In the comics world writers can whip out a 22 page story in a day or two, an artist will take a month or longer if they have a full time job. Yet SO many writers and publishers of small companies offer you spec for payment with ZERO equity in the product. BAD. Make sure if you're providing the artwork you are getting a share of the profits.

2. Work for hire-- You'll get paid up-front or upon completion but you will own nothing. You are solely providing a service, like a plumber installing a new bathroom for you-- they can't come over and use it any time they want just because they installed it. Same thing here, you do the work, you get paid and that's it.

3. Royalty Work-- You get paid up front or upon completion of the work and you will get a royalty based on the number of copies sold.

How do you negotiate?

I use a simple method when someone contacts me-- here's how I handle it and it works 85% of the time:

"Hi Andy-- we LOVE your work and we have (such and such) we think you'd be PERFECT for! We were wondering if you'd have time and what such a project would cost?"

"Great! Thanks! What's the budget?"

That's as involved as it gets, now keep in mind there are a couple other factors--

A- I look over the project that they're talking about and make sure I understand exactly what it is they are looking to hire me for.

B- I calculate a rough budget and time frame in which I can deliver it so I have a number in my head.

Now if that client has a project that I REALLY dig, or if they happen to make me laugh in the proposal AND they show that they've actually LOOKED at my work that will go a long way towards keeping my price down. Steve Altes, when he reached out to me about his graphic novel GEEKS AND GREEKS, not only referenced specific works I'd done but he made me laugh. His online presence was tremendous and he happened to mention a record album he had been looking at that day- and by sheer coincidence I had looked at the same exact one (a vintage one at that) -- I knew it was instant Karma and this was a guy I not only wanted to work with but I found a new friend.

Ok, so about 85% of the time the client will come back with a budget they had in mind. On the 15% of the time they don't I have to give them a number. I've been doing this a long time so I can come up with a number pretty quickly.

I use a simple equation:

WHAT DO I NEED to pay the bills this month?

HOW busy am I?

How LONG will this take?

Let's say you pay yourself an hourly wage of $100/hour and that is what you consider your IDEAL rate. Ideal= you're in good shape bills wise so it's okay if you lose this job.

Factor in the number of hours you expect this to take (a good rule of thumb is to double whatever number you come up with because you're likely to underestimate how much work this'll be).

ASK and UNDERSTAND what your royalties will or won't be. If it's none then you need to up the price a bit. If it's being used for commercial purposes what kind of permissions are you granting? Someone who hires you to design a T-Shirt for a Cub Scout fundraiser shouldn't have to pay the same amount as someone who is hiring you to design a T-shirt for their website that they will then sell in perpetuity with no royalties on those sales.

This is the point where you're going to hear about the magic of exposure. Exposure means you should do this cheap because of the fame you will gain.

I just don't buy into that. I DO free work that I donate to Charity Auctions like Art In The City or the Boys and Girls Club. I do it because I believe in the cause and if it's lead to any exposure no one has mentioned it to me.

In fact you can get a lot of exposure just by building yourself a decent web-presence, but that's next week's lesson.

All right so let's assume they've given you all the details of the project and you want to do it, and it fits in your schedule and it seems to be a good mix for you.

You figure how many hours-- let's say 10 to keep the math easy-- double it because you know how bad you are at figuring how much work something is going to be and you have that hourly rate-- in this case $100/hour which brings us to a grand total of $2000/USD for 20 hours of work granting them whatever useage rights you are comfortable with. NOTE: Specify the currency you'll be paid in. USD = US DOLLARS. It's a world economy now.

A good rule of thumb is if they aren't going to pay you royalties then add 30% to the quote. So now we're at $2600. I'd also be comfortable giving them a 180 days exclusive rights to the image, after that it reverts to you so that you can use the image on your own product. If they want to keep the image as an exclusive to them in perpetuity (essentially forever) then add a few more bucks to the job.

I like the rule of 1/3s for payment- so 1/3 up front for me to start, 1/3 at the halfway point and 1/3 at completion with the agreement that they get the final useable image with the final payment.

Meaning of course, that every file you sent them for approval through the stages was at 72dpi and NO bigger than 500 pixels or so tall. This ensures they don't just take your prelims and run with it never paying off the balance owed.

Remember if you give them a price that's too high you can always lower your price, but you can't raise it.

In that same vein, if you are in financial straights as this potential assignment comes in you can simply follow up your quote if you don't hear from them within a day or two and tell them it's negotiable if you were far off from the number they had in mind.

It's all about NEGOTIATION.

NOW WHAT ABOUT THE CLIENT WHO WON'T PAY ME?

It's going to happen, sooner or later. A client runs out of money before the balance is paid. Unless they file for Bankruptcy protection your best option is to file a civil case against them in your local court system. In fifteen years I've never had to do this, but I've come close twice. It's not hard to do especially if you have a contract and a paper trial of your conversations. It's a simple filing fee and the clerks will usually walk you through it. You'll have to see a constable or sheriff about notice getting served to the (likely now ex) client but that too will be explained to you when the time comes.

You should also use your instinct. If a client comes to you with a project someone else had been working on in this day and age of the internet it's not hard to track down the previous creator and find out why the relationship ended.

If a client comes to you with a project that is scattered with fallen creators that should give you a pretty good insight into how smooth this project is going to be. It certainly could be that this person is a great partner to work with and all those creatives were the guilty parties, but far more likely is that this is a difficult client who is never happy.

Add that to the equation when you're providing your quote (should you decide to work with them).

I was approached by a client once who I was warned against by several friends who stated they were difficult and slow to pay.

When I quoted the job I did my usual hourly rate x hours x2 only I added ANOTHER X2 to the equation so essentially the quote was DOUBLE what I would have normally charged.

They balked at the price, I stuck to it-- they finally relented and we were off to the races. They weren't the most difficult client I'd ever had but they were "tweakers"-- so there were a lot of revisions along the way. They were also a committee which is another FLAG-- committees are slow to green light and that usually eats into the deadline.

If a project needs more than one person's approval I stipulate when the approvals need to be in hand in order for the project to come in on schedule. This way I can point to this when we start running late. I also insist on ONE CONTACT person from the group so I'm not getting multiple directions taking me all over the place.

By the time the project was over it had taken me twice as long to finish it as I'd projected-- good thing I doubled my quote.

When they came back for a new project I knew what I was getting myself into up front and used the same quote system.

BECAUSE SOMETIMES IT'S OK TO SAY NO.

No matter how much they like you, how much they love your work, how much they're willing to pay, how desperately they want to work with you. Sometimes the right thing to do is to pass.

*OK so what about that HOURLY rate? $100 might seem like a lot or it might seem dirt cheap depending on where you live and how long you've been doing this Freelance thing. Your best bet to discover the going rate in your area is to keep yourself familiar with the work being done in your industry.

Locally you can attend Chamber of Commerce and Business to Business events, but I find local means little money (at least here in Central Massachusetts-- I've found the same thing in Boston too). So I keep my client base international via the web.

But network with other artists, find out what they're charging. Look at ads via sites that advertise for freelancers and see what clients are paying.

A site like FREELANCED.COM can give you insight and fits of laughter too. I'm always amazed at the number of people who will apply for a gig that pays something like $2 an hour. Amateurs no doubt, because a professional couldn't keep the lights on for that rate.

Meaning keep an open mind when perusing the offerings. Like the reviews on Amazon, you have to weigh in the value of what the person is saying.

Which will take us to the next lesson:

Part Six: ESTABLISH AN ONLINE PRESENCE

Andy Fish is a freelance artist and writer who has been living the lifestyle longer than there has been an iPhone on this planet. The advice given has worked for him, it might work for you, he hopes it does. But like all advice, take it with your own situation in mind. If you want to contact him shoot him an email [email protected]

Which will take us to the next lesson:

Part Six: ESTABLISH AN ONLINE PRESENCE

#ADVICE #FREELANCE #FREELANCE LIFESTYLE

1 note · View note

jimclassicstoycollection · 4 years

Photo

Gundam Universe

RX-78-2

Gundam

I was never much of a Gundam fan, but I always had a passive interest in them.

The Gundam Universe toyline, I suppose is meant to feature Gundam figures from varies series and timelines, similar to how Power Rangers is doing their Lightning Collection, and Bandai did the Legacy Collection.

If you’re a Gundam fan, I hope this makes you happy, and a dirty casual such as myself I’ll just buy what I like, which right now is this one.

Gundam:

This Gundam is supposed to be the first one, I think...

The aesthetics of the Gundam is keeping with that blocky, giant robot with a lot of hard angles, with some smooth lines as well.

The primary colors or white, red, and blue unpainted plastic, with some painted yellows, and red in certain areas, and unpainted gray plastic for the hands, joints and back pack.

Articulation:

Ball jointed head, ball joint at one end of the shoulder, and a hinge joint at the other end, bicep swivel, elbow joint, and ball joint at the wrist.

Ball joint at the mid torso area which allows for an ab crunch and a pseudo waist swivel too...

Four of a hip skirts can flip up, ball jointed hips, double knee joint, and a double ankle joint, which is a new one for me.

Articulation is pretty much by the numbers for some areas, and has some other idea such as the double ankle joint, which adds a little bit to stability and poses.

However due to a limited waist swivel, and limitations to the elbow and knee joints, I wouldn’t have any hopes of too many extreme action poses.

Accessories:

This thing comes with a lot of stuff:

-extra pair of hands: Closed fists, gun hand (R), and grabby hand for the shield (L)

-Beam saber hilt x2: The hilts are basically unpainted white plastic cylinders which are meant to fit in the Gundam’s hands. They can be pegged into the backpack for easy access. They’re small, so they can be easily lost if you’re not careful, and knowing me I will lose them one day...

-Beam saber blades x2: The blades are hot pink translucent plastic and can be pegged into the saber hilts. The pegs doesn’t go in very deep, so I’d be concerned about possible breakage in the future.

-Shield: The riot shield is made of white plastic, and has red and yellow paint deco. The shield (without the handle can be pegged onto the backpack.

-Shield handle: It’s a dark gray plastic which attaches to the shield, and can be held in the hand of the Gundam.

-Gun: The gun is a mostly unpainted gray plastic with an articulated scope with yellow paint on the lens.

Final Thoughts:

I’m not a huge Gundam fan; for a guy who likes giant robots I’m just not that into the series. But this is a fun toy.

It’s not quite collector’s grade, but it makes a nice display piece. The accessories on the other hand could be lost if you’re not careful.

I’m not really sure where to place this guy. I bought him because I had an idea for making a diorama, but never got to work on it, and it doesn’t really scale well with any of the my other giant robot toys, so right now it has no place. I’ll just hold onto it until I can get to work on that diorama.

#toys #action figures #gundam #anime #bandai

1 note · View note

heads-in-the-clouds-spacecadet · 4 years

Text

When asked to write a daily diary for anxiety management.

Here are a few days example....

Sunday 24th

Mood/anxiety = numb.

Additional meds =8mg of diazipam.

My whole body aches yet it shouldn't. My stomach is growling yet i feel physically sick.

Things i ask myself....

Q.1 Will i leave my safe space, weighted blanket & mountain of pillows?

A.1 NO.

Q.2 Will i manage my yoga routine

A.2 NO

Reasons....Why

I feel exhausted even though ive not been outside since Thursday. I just want the aching to subside the pain to leave. My jaw is clenched closed making eating an ordeal. I know this needs to be done.

The dread of what passive aggressive message/s ill receive today either in person or written either way im struggling to motivate myself to move.

The Internet has been blocked for nearly a wk now. But i just let it slide as the saying goes choose your arguements "wifi is not the hill i want to die on" quote from TBBT. I hear Luke (my brother) is now in his bedroom and his door is closed. He has been banging around the house sending passive aggressive messages (sms) since 4am. My belongings that i left downstairs were thrown into my room. I'm nervous to leave my room till i know he is asleep.

Flashback/negative thoughts....

1. How can my baby brother be an emotional manipulator.

2. Last time i had to justify my everymove i was in Portugal in a very bad relationship.

*****Ways im looking to excuse his behaviour. Find the cause to my sudden crash of low mood aka depression with a nice battle of anxiety.

---Logically i know its not the same.

---Emotionally it hurts the same.

The way he looks at me with disgust, resentment & impatience is the trigger. I realise this. How someone you love can make you feel this way.

Solution: i decide to find a solution to the sudden conflict of money and i know there is a receipt in the car. I go to the normal place the keys are kept and theyre no where to be found. I look in all the obvious logical places they could be and realise theyre hidden by my loving brother. His Reasons, 1-to stop me buying shit (his words). 2. He has decided its his house, his car so therefore his rules. (Its all my mums btw)

As im downstairs i notice the kitchen is a mess. Pots all over from a feast Luke cooked up the night before. Or should i say 2am.

So i feel defeated. Ive basically been cleaning non stop everytime i use a room as per gov guidelines and he just doesnt seem to comprehend the severity of the situation.

I decide i need to eat. So i opt for Shreddies with Oat Milk (Luke has a serious milk allergy to the milk proteins in cows milk so im not fussed about milk and am happy to use alternatives) topped with vanilla soya yogurt, bannana, a few cranberries, 3 strawberries, sultanas and crushed Almonds. My logical brain is telling me eat well as we are not leaving the bedroom again unless desperate.

I send a few messages to the family whats app (Luke refuses to be a part of this) and receive encouraging and support in return. Everyone is struggling in their own way so i appreciate having a small outlet between us all.

After food i sleep finally.

Trying now to Ready myself for round 2 which i know is coming.

My mum calls i dont want to answer but i do. I explain the situation. She knows, she has dealt with his angry behaviour since he was 11yrs old. She stated she is coming to visit Tuesday as per new gov guidelines and we will meet in the park. She then asks me to pass the phone to Luke which i pointblank refuse. Im not ready for round 2 yet. Especially since he has his own phone he is just not answering making everyone worry about him but he just resents it. Its safe to say im proud i refused to do something. Gold star award ⭐

Monday 25th

Mood/Anxiety - still no change from yesterday but i decide i have to force myself to move. Wash, clean and pack the additional things my mum has requested.

Additional meds - i decided against taking anything today as i need to be clear headed for my appointment Tues and obvs my mums visit.

I check the weather see its a nice day decide washing is task 1. I set a bath running (multi tasking saving time from all the free time) and head downstairs to pop the washing machine on. Before i left my room i checked my phone for messages i have one from my mum telling me she has had words with Luke and that he needs to basically deal with the resentment in a more positive way.

This explains all the banging and loud music yesterday early eve. He decided to actually clean.

Anyhow I head downstairs. Kitchen is clean, messages all wiped from the black board.

I decide i must try and communicate with Luke as we cant take the conflict with us to the park it isnt fair to our mum.

I can hear him moving so send a sms message asking if he wants anything in the oven. No response. ***He did finally get out of bed at 3pm so a peaceful day so far.

I decide food is required. I opt for protein soya burgers x2 with Spinach, tomatos, avacado, sultanas, almond pieces and some crumpets. I sit in the garden to eat.

All washing is out and drying but im to anxiety ridden and unmotivated to enjoy the sunshine.

I head back to my room to sort bits for my mum and throw away my origami collection. It was over taking my room and again causing conflict.

Lukes awake!!!. I decide to say hello. So far so good. He decides to make himself lunch and throws a fit because i ate a £0.45 avocado. I walk away as i know he is just venting and i need to not start the circle of negative thoughts or interactions. This is rewarded with resentment. Luke suddenly decides to do his own washing and cut the grass. Which means my washing is in his way. Before he even starts i am pulling in whats dry mainly because i want to go back to bed and need my bedsheets but also because he wont care if my washing turns green or is damaged. To my delight my sheets are dry but my pjs etc need another 30mins so i leave them whilst i go and make my bed.

Im bellowed at about washing as Luke needs the line. So i head down stairs to reteive the rest of my belongings.

Self soothing thoughts...

Im walking on eggshells trying not to provoke the beast and i need to keep going. Focus on my achievements. I left my room. I cleaned myself, my clothing and my pillow fort which has been my safe zone for the past 4days.

Deep down thought i am disappointed as i know isolation and distancing is not a long turn solution as the yrs pass im becoming more and more isolated and lonely.

Im downstairs again and i ask Luke if he wants anything popping in the oven as i was having toast. He requested 2 burgers and chips but on seperate trays as he was hungry. Easy to do popped into the oven. 40mins later chips are cooked he is plating up and all he says is "why have you cooked so many chips, clearly we now live in a household of wastefulness".

This was the turning point for me id had enough for 1day and just told him to give it a rest and went to my room.

Im dozing with Big Bang on in the backround and Luke is banging on my door. Mums on the phone. Confirming arrangements for tomorrow. I say a few oks with the occasional nod.

I start packing the bits n bobs my mum has asked for and carry then downstairs so theyre ready for the car tomorrow am.

Its PJs and bed time. Luke has other ideas. He is awake and up and about at 4.30am. Having a bath at 5am, doing weights after his bath at 6am then leaves in the car at 7am. He is back around 8am banging has a shower then decides to leave again in the car. He is meant to be house-bound until July 1st. This in itself causes me anxiety as i cant handle watching another member of my family die in front of my eyes.

Thoughts...

Yes this is VERY dramatic. STOP IT BRAIN!

Take precautions all will be ok.

Tuesday 26th

Mood/Anxiety = No change

Additional meds = 4mg diazipam but late afternoon as i couldnt stop shaking and fidgeting.

My mum is coming to visit. Im trying not to think about the fact Luke is out of the house.

We are having a picnic social distancing style.

We head to the coop as Luke has decided even after knowing our mum all his life never be on time, we have to be early. I buy Costa coffee, fresh bread, hummus, bananas, diet coke and some biscuits the nature valley ones theyre really good. Luke doesnt go into the shop I think at least he is listening to some rules. He rolls his eyes as i spray the shopping with dettol spray and use the alcohol hand sanitizer for my hands and door handle etc. I just tell him its how it needs to be done.

We find a perfect parking spot under a bunch of trees. I notice that all the trees are trimmed in a very even shelf across the bottom. It looked like it was designed perfectly for people to walk straight onto the park from the car park without having to fight with tree branches or go around. But in actual fact its the deer. They eat the lower leaves this made me smile and relax for a moment. WIN.

My mum is late so im nervous that she is

1. Stuck somewhere (over reaction)

2. Lost (over reaction)

3. Just running late (normal reaction)

Im a tad fidgety as im aware i have an appointment in 2hrs. Hurry up MOTHER...

I ponder about work and whether or not ill still have a job to return too. Had an email this am stating theyre cutting 200jobs from the team i work in. So not sure if thats a good thing or not. But its also increasing my anxiety as ive read the email and now have a burning desire to do the research to see what my probability of keeping my job will be. Before my brain can go on a major tangent my mum arrives.

Shes brought Oscar (her poodle) he is so excited to see me. And the big hairy fluff ball gave me the biggest snuggles. He has a major Covid hairdoo. My mum doesnt hug me which hurts but i know she cant.

Picnic time. We sit in the middle.of a field away from everyone. Social distancing 10/10. My mum has made me my favourite cakes, rock buns. (Apparently these are a northern thing) but im feeling the love. Its fairly chilled only 1 disagreement with Luke over blinkin avocados.

Im clock checking and aware of impending appointment, im a little (understated) nervous because ive not had positive relationships with therapists or doctors in the past.

#mental health #lost #hurting #help #self reflection #finelinebetweenloveandhate #still breathing #GAD #recovery #survivor

0 notes

ominousmagpie-blog · 4 years

Text

Pleated Skater Skirt (with suspenders)

Materials--

-3.5-4 yards medium weight fabric

-4 slide buckle adjusters

-1 zipper

-1 button set

-black thread

-regular and zipper foot

-iron

-dressmaker’s pins

-tape measure

-fabric pen or chalk

OPTIONAL: two small squares of fusible interfacing, to stabilize the buttonholes

[ID: notes for the skirt, including an overview or materials, and a key for the measurements for each piece.]

One, Prep. Always start by preshrinking fabric in the wash. This is also a good time to see how much shrinkage you’ll have to deal with regarding this fabric, so you know for the future whether you’ll be able to regularly wash and dry it or not. If you’re not sure how the fabric is going to dry and you’re worried about a lot of shrinkage, just cut off a small, palm-sized square, and dry only that. It’ll give you a good idea of how much the fabric will shrink before you shrink, you know, the whole thing.

While this is washing, it’s usually a good time to clear yourself a space to work. You’ll need a decent amount of floor space for this project initially while making the pleats, so keep that in mind when setting up a workspace. I usually try to work near outlets, because ironing is very important while sewing. Trust me; I didn’t think it was and would often bypass it, and that wound up leaving so many otherwise lovely projects a little off.

>Note: while waiting for the fabric to wash, I turned two of my slide adjusters into makeshift “D rings” because I didn’t have any lying around, and these are basically the same thing. (Also I still have like 40 slide adjusters laying about.) To do this, just take a butter knife and carefully pop off the middle bit of the adjuster. It took me five minutes, though I did keep getting distracted by an episode of Drawfee and my cat. This step is also technically unnecessary -- you can just hide the slide bit when you sew it to the lower strap -- but I don’t like the very faint jingling noise, so I removed it. It also looks just a bit cleaner upon close inspection, but if anyone is looking that closely at the hardware on your skirt, you may have other problems.

Two, Skirt. Take and decide measurements. My skirt is almost a mini-skirt when accounting for my body, so including the waistband, it’s 16 1/2 inches. Subtracting a 1 1/2in waistband, and then adding 3/4 inch of seam allowance (for the bottom hem and to attach the waistband), the length of the “♥A” measurement is 15 3/4in. “♥B” will be my waist measurement, 29in, x3, and then +2. In all, the length of my Skirt Piece will be 15 3/4in x 89in. It may seem like a lot of fabric now, but the pleats will be flat once ironed and sewn in place.

When you’re first starting sewing, numbers can be very vague and not mean much tangibly. A length that would be a miniskirt on me would not necessarily be a miniskirt on you. In these situations, it’s best to look at clothes you already own, and measure a final length from those. When cutting, remember that if you’re not sure, be safe and just cut a little more. You can always take away from the bottom hem later down the road, if needed.

Three, Waistband. The “♣A” measurement is however wide you want your final waistband to be, x2, + seam allowance. I typically include, in all, 1/2in of seam allowance for waistbands, because I sew two 1/4in seams into them. My “♣A” will be 3 1/2in, in all. My “♣B” will be my entire waist measurement, +2 inches. For me, this will be roughly 31in.

Four, Straps. Your straps, for 1in slide adjusters, will be 2 3/4in on 1/4in seam allowance. You will have to turn these inside out, and you want the final width of these straps to be just wider than the adjusters themselves to keep them in place. You’ll need the main strap, which will go through the slides to adjust the length to your comfort, and two much shorter straps, that will go through the D Rings. You can either cut two very long straps, and then trim the ends for your Δ-Strap pieces, or you can cut two “♦” pieces and two “Δ” pieces. The length of your “♦” pieces will be 50in (each!) when all is done, though. I like to have straps at a length where the metal of the slides are visible around my chest/shoulders, because I think it’s pretty, though this can be adjusted to be shorter if you’d prefer they only be visible from the back. All of these pieces will have an A measurement of 2 3/4 inches, while the “ΔB” will be 3in, to result in 1 1/2in loops. (You can make these shorter if you’d prefer, though I’d go no smaller than 1in loops, for both aesthetic and ease of assembly reasons.)

[ID: a picture of the six skirt pieces laid out together.]

Five, Hemming. Once your fabric has all been cut and sorted, lay your Skirt Piece out somewhere, completely flat. Before proceeding with anything else, take a minute to hem the BOTTOM of your skirt. You will regret it if you wait until you’ve pleated it. I like to do rolled hems for outside hems; take the fabric, fold it up 1/4in, and iron it in place. Then, fold it another 1/4 inch in and pin it in place. Secure with a straight stitch. This is time-consuming now, but makes sewing the seam much easier at the end.

[ID: three pictures showering the process of a rolled hem. In the last picture, I’m giving a lil thumbs up.]

Six, Pleats. Starting at one end of your skirt -- I started at the right sight of my fabric, right side facing up, and I think this was a mistake, so start at your LEFT -- use your tape measure to measure one inch in, and mark it with some kind of pen, chalk, or marker. This flap will later home half of your zipper. (Note! I’ve used permanent marker on fabric before, and so long as it’s set into the fabric, it won’t bleed, and it won’t be visible on the final product.)

After that, mark every 3 inches, until you run out of fabric. Then, starting at the beginning, you will take your first mark and fold it over the second, to meet the third. The second mark will be the hinge of the fold. Think of it as the spine of a book, with the first and third marks being your pages. Repeat this until your entire skirt as been pleated. At this point, it should be the same length as your waistband. If you’re unsure of your pleats, you can do them all, and double-check your measurements, or you can iron and pin as you go. Whatever is best for you, but DO make sure to iron the pleats down flat, and THEN pin them in place. (You only need one pin per pleat, running parallel to the outer edge of the pleat.) I promise, this makes the sewing part MUCH easier!

[ID: four pictures showing the process of making pleats. The first shows the measurements next to a tape measure, the second shows me indicating the three parts of the pleat, the third and forth showing the process of folding the pleat over.]

Seven, Pleats continued. With the pleats facing TOWARD you, sew the top hem at 1/4in seam allowance. You’ll want to make sure the “hinges” of the pleats are going through your machine before the open ends. Then, sew each of the pleats down. You only need to go about 1-3 inches down per pleat, depending on how “structured” you’d like them, but it makes the final result look much neater either way. I tend to go down a bit further, as I have a lot of hip, and don’t want to add unnecessary bulk there.

>NOTE: You can also sew the pleats in place, THEN iron them, though I find it easier to iron and pin and THEN sew the hem. Sometimes I wind up doing an extra bit of ironing afterwards, but it’s usually unnecessary.

[ID: the skirt with all the pleats pinned in place, then the pleats being sewn down.]

Eight, Waistband continued. If your fabric has a wrong side, fold the waistband piece in half right sides together, and sew down the entire length at 1/4in seam allowance. Turn the tube inside out. (If you have a turner, this step is much easier, though you can do it just fine without one.) Iron the tube flat, and then attach your waistband to your skirt at 1/4in seam allowance. You can just go over the first line of stitching you made to seal the top hem of your skirt.

Nine, Zipper (AKA, fuck this). When I talked to my grandmother about how to attach zippers, she told me to hand-baste them first. For so long, I, as the foolhardy lionheart ingenue ignoring the advice of her wise mentors and elders would have, didn’t listen, and I so deeply regret this. What you’re going to do, young Knight of Yore™, is listen to me, because someone really should heed this sweet old woman’s advice. So here’s what we’ll do:

First, you will bring the outside seams of your skirt together, right sides touching. Pin them in place as far up as you’d like. Note that wherever you stop, this IS where the bottom of your zipper will be. I recommend leaving about 7 inches for zipper length, but that’s because I have quite a bit of thigh and butt to contend with. If you’re less worried about those things, you can get away with anywhere from 4-6 just fine, though I always prefer seven anyways. I’ve found it as a comfort spot for me when dressing.

Next, you’ll make a seam as normal up to where you’ve marked on 1/4-1/2in seam allowance, whichever you accounted for when cutting. Make sure to fully backstitch at the top and bottom of this hem. Next, laying your fabric flat, you’ll press this seam open. You’ll also press the remaining seam allowance on the fabric up to either side, so it’s perfectly flat. If you’re looking at the skirt from the outside, these two seams should be neatly folded, concealing the raw edges inside the garment. Once this is done, arrange your zipper over the fabric, and take care to pin it in place. At this point, you can handle the rest of the attachment one of two ways.

One, you’ll now hand-baste the zipper into place. I always thought this wasn’t a necessary extra step, but pins are hazards when sewing, and hand-basting is invisible and much safer. If you think you’ve done too many stitches when basting the zipper into place, you probably haven’t; if you think you’ve done enough, you certainly haven’t. Your zipper doesn’t need to be securely attached at this point, but it shouldn’t be shifting. Make sure the corners are in the proper place, and neither the zipper OR fabric have bunched at all. Now, you’ll be able to attach the zipper using your machine. Just follow the guidelines of the zipperfoot, arranging the seam on either the right or left side as needed, and attach. When you get to the bottom of the zipper, do be sure to turn your fabric and finish your stitches by going across the bottom of your zipper. If you’re using a zipper with plastic teeth, this WILL NOT ruin or damage your machine/needle, but you MUST take care. Use the hand crank to carefully go over the teeth; do not sew over it normally. This is a necessary step, as it will make your new zipper stop.

Two, you simply hand-sew the zipper in. I like to use backstitches when hand-sewing anything that needs to be sturdy. The process is much the same, but you need to pay slightly more attention that your stitches are not only secure, but straight, too. You’ll still have to make a new zipper stop, but this is functionally the same as above: just wrap the thread around the bottom of the teeth a few time to keep them securely together.

Both of these processes have pros and cons, but both will result in a very neat and securely attached zipper. Sewing is like cooking: do whatever you want, and as long as you like it and no one dies, no one is allowed to complain.

Nine-point-five, Button. You can technically do this Whenever at this point, but I recommend doing it now; you’re probably going to want to try the skirt on soon (for both necessary construction reasons, but also to just be proud of your progress). To figure out where the button will need to be, put your skirt on, and mark on the center of your waistband where you’d like the closure to be. Then, take whatever press button set you got, and following the instructions on it, attach your button to the fabric that will cover your zipper. If you don’t want a visible button detail, you can also just use press studs and sew them inside at the top edges.

If you think your garment is going to get a lot of wear and you’re worried for the durability of your fabric, cut out two tiny pieces of fusible interfacing, and attach them (as the package directs!) to the INSIDE of your garment over where your buttons will be. This will give it just a tiny bit of extra strength around the button, and won’t be visible from the outside of the assembled garment.

[Unfortunately, I did not take pictures of any of this.]

Ten, Straps. You’re going to assemble the straps much the way you assembled the waistband; fold each piece in half lengthwise, either pin or iron it in place, sew with a straight stitch at 1/4in seam allowance. Once they’re finished, turn them, and iron them flat. Here, you could either leave the straps as is, or make them look very clean by sewing two top-stitches down the length of either side, about 1/4in from the edges. It keeps your straps very flat, and gives them an extra little ~finished~ look.

[ID: one of the long straps laid out, and then a closeup of the two small straps. On the bottom is the turned strap that’s only been ironed; on top is the strap once the extra stitching has been added.]

At this point, you’ll want to try the skirt on if you haven’t already, and ask a friend (or your mom) to help you mark out where you want your straps to sit on both the front and back of the skirt.

Now, you’re ready to attach the hardware. First, loop one end of one of one ♦ through the adjuster’s center piece. Make sure to give yourself enough slack to tuck the raw end up, and then sew this as close to the adjuster piece as you can comfortably get.

[ID: pictures showing the strap being threaded through the adjuster.]

Then, take the remaining length of fabric and thread it through one of the D Rings, BEFORE looping it through the rest of the adjuster.

Take the Δ straps, and loop each one through the other end of the D Rings.

Fold the raw ends up so they’re hidden, and use a straight stitch to attach them where marked on the back of the skirt, as close to parallel to the top of the waistband as possible. You can also attach them a bit lower, stitching a box over the straps for extra security, but I don’t think it’s necessary, seeing as they’re not functional suspenders. Repeat with the remaining end of your suspenders on the front of the skirt. [You can see pictures of this above; I decided to attach the triangle straps first, but it really doesn’t matter what order you do it in!]

Eleven. Technically, you’re done! You have a fully assembled and CUTE AF skirt!

But since we live for Aesthetics here, let’s embroider something on. The great thing is, you can put anything you want, anywhere! Tiny daisies along the bottom hem, a large rose at the hip, ivy going up the hem-- whatever you want! Just be sure that once the design is on, you lay the skirt out again and iron it flat. And then you’re done! Go into the world and look adorable as hell!

2 notes · View notes

murasaki-murasame · 4 years

Text

After doing way too many summons on this gala without getting Gala Elly I’m just gonna quit while I’m ahead and start hoarding for the New Years banner, lol. And in the mean-time I’ll probably be skipping the Christmas banner so that kinda sucks but oh well.

Either way, I still got a whole bunch of new stuff in my gala summons, and also I have a lot of thoughts about the new This Month in DL post, so I’ll just put the rest of my thoughts under the cut.

I swear to god this gala was the most summons I’ve done on a banner without getting a focus unit, lmao. This must be punishment for me getting like three copies of Gala Euden last time. I think I did like 250 summons total, which included over 10 5-stars, but no Gala Elly. I may or may not end up caving to my temptations and grinding adventurer stories and hard mode campaign levels to try and summon more, but I should just quit while I’m ahead.

Either way, my haul of 5-stars, new and dupes, is:

-Gala Ranzal

-Wedding Elly

-Xanfried

-Lea

-Jeanne

-Chthonius

-Dupes of B-Zardin, Victor, Sylas, Cassandra, Gala Sarisse, Shinobi, Vayu, and Long Long [x2]. I also got another dupe Shinobi from the 5-star dragon voucher thing they just gave us.

Let’s just say that I don’t know how to feel about wanting Gala Elly and then getting Gala Ranzal + Wedding Elly, lmao. At least they’re both new units for me. Though it feels doubly bad that I got Gala Ranzal, 45MC’d him, and then almost immediately afterward I got Wedding Elly. Welp. I’m a Noelle main in eHMC anyway so it’s not a huge deal. But it’s nice to get my wind roster fleshed out more.

I’m honestly really happy about getting Xanfried, and it more or less makes up for not getting Gala Elly. He was one of those 5-stars who I was vaguely tempted to dream summon because it was bugging me that I still didn’t have him. Now I think the only launch 5-star I don’t have is Hildegarde.

I’m also happy about getting Lea, even if she isn’t a great unit and I have like six other flame swords. I really like her whole design aesthetic.

I don’t really care much about the new 5-star dragons I got, but they’re nice to have. The Long Long dupes are nice, though, since now I have a nearly MUB one for my Lin You.

Oh and I got regular Aeleen as well, and she was the last non-limited 4-star I needed to get, so that’s cool.

We’ve known about the next banner for a while because of datamines, but either way, I feel a little bit salty that the new 5-star is literally just Thaniel But Better [tm], lol. If it weren’t for the fact that Chocolatiers is a limited print, I’d say that she wouldn’t even be worth it when Thaniel’s a more accessible option who works just fine in HBH because the whole fight is literally tuned around his kit since until now he’s been the only real healer for it. I hope this doesn’t lead to people acting like Thaniel’s not good enough for eHBH anymore once Jiang Ziya comes out. I’ve invested way too much into him to switch. I did recently craft the HDT water spear, and I can use my H-Maritimus on Elly if I want to use her in eHBH, but I still want to stick to Thaniel.

And on that note my H-Maritimus is at 2UB, and between the sunlight stone we’ll get soon from the Megaman event, and the dragons I have at nearly max bond level, he’ll probably be MUB soon, which should push my Thaniel above 7k might, which will be great. He’s currently at about 6,850 might, between him having +200 augments, Chocolatiers at +190 augments, a MUB HDT1 water staff, etc etc. And we’re gonna be getting the Christmas event facility again soon so that’ll boost him up even further.

Also I’m really not interested in the new dragon since he’s just water Hastur and I don’t care about that at all, lol. Durant seems cool but I already have a 50MC Natalie, and he’s a 4-star so he’d be easy enough to get off-banner anyway.

I’m gonna probably skip the Christmas banner since I went all in on this gala and I want to save for the New Years banner. And since it looks like the Christmas banner will be in just a week or so, I won’t exactly have many resources saved up by that point anyway. I’m not really interested in any of the existing Christmas alts, though, so it’d probably be an easy skip anyway, unless the new ones really interest me.

I hope that them doing the Christmas rerun stuff earlier in the month than I expected means we might get a Christmas-themed raid event afterward, but I won’t get my hopes up. I think we’re due for a new raid event anyway, but that’ll probably be what the New Years event is anyway, I guess.

I’m curious to see how they handle the New Years stuff, since it’d feel weird to rerun the Ieyasu event/banner, with how that was themed around the current zodiac year. I think we’ll just get a new event with new units, and probably a new welfare unit along with the event itself. With how good Ieyasu was [and how salty I still am about not having him], I think it’ll be worth saving for that.

Though considering that the next story chapter is gonna apparently be Luca-focused, I’m guessing the January gala unit will be Gala Luca, who I’d be extremely interested in, so that’s another thing to worry about saving for, lol.

And on that note we’re getting Chapter 11 in about two weeks, and even though we got more or less the same teaser description for it as last time, we at least have a better look at the two new android characters. Even though they’re gonna be antagonists I still kinda hope we can get them as playable units some day.

We also got more info on the new endgame boss mode, and even though I still want more specific details about it, my current guess is that it’s basically going to be High IO. It’ll probably be themed around there being new android military squads to fight against, with the new bosses being their leaders or whatever. It’d be fun to get some genuinely difficult wave-based content, but it’d also be great if it means we can get facility upgrade materials a lot faster.

The reveal of the new mode being called The Agito Uprising also more or less confirms that rumour that’s been going around for a while, which also talked about how the Christmas banner would include a new Christmas Phoenix alt, that the new endgame bosses would drop 6-star weapons, that we’ll get a Monster Hunter collab in February, and that Mikoto, Ezelith, Naveed, and Xanfried will be at least some of the first units to get their sixth mana circle upgrades.

I’m honestly kinda happy to hear about Christmas Phoenix since that makes it more likely that the Christmas banner will be an easy skip for me, lmao. But anyway, I really wouldn’t be surprised to see the Agito Uprising bosses dropping weapons that are roughly between 5t3s and HDT weapons in power. we really need something like that to ease the transition into the eHDT cycle. I’ve basically given up on getting into eHJP/eHZD until something along those lines happens to make them more accessible, lol.

I still have a lot of questions about how the whole sixth mana circle upgrade thing will work, and sadly this didn’t really tell us anything new, but they at least said that they’re aware of how limited the pool of units used in endgame content is, and that they’ll try and make changes to make more units viable for that, so that’ll probably be the main point of the sixth mana circles. I have a feeling that only 5-star units will end up getting them, which would kinda suck. There’s a lot of 5-stars who need an upgrade, but there’s also a lot of other units who need an upgrade too.

They did mention that they’ll be doing something with 3-star units in general, though, so I’m really curious about that. I really really want them to rebalance 3-star units so that they all have 100% on-element status resistances. I could take or leave anything else, but they really need that sort of buff. There’s no real point to holding back a unit by giving them incomplete or off-element status resistances. Which also applies to welfare 4-stars. For example, my Xania would be way more viable in eHMS if she can get to 100% stun res without needing a print, and it’d just be great in general if Vixel could get an actually relevant status resistance for his element. I have a feeling they won’t change anything else about their kits, but even just that’d be nice.

My realistic prediction for what the sixth mana circle upgrades will actually include is that it’ll more or less just be more of what we already have with the current ones. It’ll probably just be a few flat stat upgrades, maybe some more coability node upgrades, and one or two upgrades to the skills/abilities of each unit. At the very least I think that units will get a third upgrade to their S2, since those only go up to two upgrade tiers whereas every unit gets three tiers to their S1. And there’s a lot they could do to improve units by buffing and adding stuff to their S2s. For example, Thaniel would really benefit from getting a regen heal added to his S2, but Jiang Ziya existing makes me think they’re just forgetting about Thaniel for good. I can’t really think of what they could do with any of the 5-stars, though. It’s possible but less likely that some units might also get upgrades to one of their abilities, but that’s a bit more uncertain than them getting skill upgrades, if only because there’s a lot of ability types that you just can’t upgrade at all, like 100% status resistance or skill prep abilities.

It’d be really nice if they changed the second ability of 3-stars to 100% status resistance and gave them something entirely new for their third ability, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they just buff the 25% status resistance abilities of those units to 50% status resistance.

Also, we got more details about how we’re getting higher-level void battles added, and higher difficulties added to the void dragons, which I think is a necessary addition in order to help bridge the gap toward endgame content. As it is now, void battles aren’t really worth doing outside of endeavors. But it’s also nice that they’ve added augments to the void dragons and stuff.

In general they’d been making a lot of steps toward easing the progression toward endgame content, especially with the other changes they made to Avenue to Fortune, and them also adding augments to HDT drops. It’s nice that they’re aware of the issue of how steep the progression curve is right now, but it also really makes it clear that it’s a genuine problem that they’re currently being stuck trying to fix. I don’t really blame them for it, though. These things happen with games like this. I’m just glad that they’re actually addressing it instead of leaving it unchanged.

It’ll sadly take a while for them to add all of the new void bosses on the same tier as the Volcanic Chimera, but it’ll be nice to eventually have more accessible options to get into other eHDTs and stuff.

Anyway a whole bunch has been going on lately and I think it’s on a good track. Honestly my biggest issue right now is that since they changed the UI I keep clicking the wrong buttons when I’m trying to go between menus, lmao.

Oh and yeah the Megaman event is a thing that’s happening. There’s really not a lot to say about it because it’s so barebones and gameplay-focused, but it’s fun, and I like how much they’re leaning into the aesthetic of it. Megaman himself is a really goddamn weird unit, though. I like how much he’s apparently designed to play like he’s in an actual Megaman game, but it’s a weird playstyle to get used to for this game. And I still prefer Xania as a flame wand, lol.

#dragalia lost #this week on 'rate up is a lie': I get punished for my hubris :)

7 notes · View notes

bunjywunjy · 6 years

Text

THE EARLY WORM GETS A TURN

hi everybody, welcome to another excellent episode of Weird Biology! I definitely had some trouble picking an animal for this week.

“bunjy,” you say, wringing your hands dolefully, “it’s been a while since you did an invertebrate, maybe do one of those”

well, you couldn’t be more right!

so without further ado, I’d like to introduce you to a good, soft boy.

a good, good boy!

“oh,” you say dejectedly, still wringing your hands, “worm?”

okay first off, how dare you, worms are great. second, they aren’t even worms, despite the name. Velvet Worms are actually panarthropods, most closely related to arthropods and tardigrades (though they look more like a multi-legged velveteen slap bracelet). Velvet Worms consist of about 200 known species in their very own adorable phylum, Onychophora.

the panarthropods first wriggled into existence all the way back during the Cambrian Period, 540 or so million years ago (you know, plus or minus a few million). they have changed very little since then, making the transition onto land but keeping the adorable alien-teddy-bear look.

if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Velvet Worms are found across the tropics and southern hemisphere, and reach lengths of 0.2 to 8 inches depending on species. they come in many colors, though Red Flavor is probably the most well-known. they are velvety squooshy soft to the touch, and have between 13 and 43 pairs of adorable tiny feets (depending on species). also, they don’t have a skeleton and operate entirely by hydraulics.

unlike vertebrates like you, the Velvet Worm moves by rapidly inflating and deflating parts of their squishy squashy bodies with internal fluid. just imagine that they’re made entirely of water balloons that can wiggle awkwardly in any direction.

wobble wibble wobble.

given their soft wobbly balloony body and adorable face, it may surprise you to learn that Velvet Worms are actually voracious predators. they are efficient and successful killers, mainly eating insects and other small creatures.

Velvet Worms hunt by sneaking up on possible prey and papping it gently with their retractable antenna to see if it is good for eating. which is, uh, not the stealthiest option. I mean, can you imagine if every time you wanted a snack you had to walk up to it like “LET ME JUST RUB MY HANDS ALL OVER YOU TO SEE IF YOU’RE EDIBLE, HOLD STILL PLEASE”. it seems to work okay for the Velvet Worm, though.

but anyway once it has the prey lined up in its sights, the Velvet Worm unleashes its secret weapon.

SLIME CANNON SLIME CANNON SLIME CANNON SLIME CANNON

that’s right, the Velvet Worm turns its whole face into a high-powered hose that jets a double stream of slime up to a foot away! it’s the super-soaker of nightmares. once the target is slimed, it ain’t goin nowhere. the slime rapidly hardens into a solid mess, literally gluing the victim in place.

it’s the most badass special attack of any invertebrate short of the Bombardier Beetle.

SLIME CANNON SLIME CANNON SLIME CANNON SLIME CANNON

what? how could I not be excited about what is basically a real-life Pokemon move?

moving on. after the Velvet Worm has immobilized its prey, it unleashes its even more secret weapon. hidden in that soft gooshy adorable face are a pair of razor-sharp nightmare jaws and a powerful dissolving enzyme. the Velvet Worm uses them both on its victim, making quick work of prey.

some species of Velvet Worms will even hunt cooperatively, using their x2 Combined Slime Cannon to bring down large prey they wouldn’t be able to handle separately. these hunting parties are led by a female warlord (wormlord?) who will eat her fill before the other Velvet Worms are allowed to feast.

cold, merciless and completely adorable.

this group hunting behavior shows that Velvet Worms have surprisingly complex behaviors. but it’s still got nothing on their reproductive strategy, which has been best described as “yikes”.

after a brief courtship that varies between species, the male Velvet Worm just kind of plops a packet of sperm onto the female’s back and leaves. which, not very romantic, but okay. but then the female then proceeds to dissolve some of her skin and absorb the sperm into her bloodstream. holy shit. several months later, the female gives birth to a new crop of wriggly babies. it’s a functional strategy, but probably leads to an interesting domestic life.

"don’t sass back at me mister, I dissolved my skin for you!”

though Velvet Worms in all their splendid weirdness are still commonly found across the world, we don’t actually know how they’re doing ecologically because they aren’t studied very often. we do know that Velvet Worms are threatened by habitat destruction and human expansion, and scientists suspect that individual species range from near threatened to critically endangered. this is not allowed.

conservation programs need to be enacted for these good soft boys, and soon. we hope that Velvet Worms and their many many soft gentle feet stick around for a long time to come.

thanks for reading! you can find the rest of the Weird Biology series here.

#velvet worm #slime #invertebrate #cute #biology with bunjy

9K notes · View notes

dootznbootz · 6 years

Text

DIFH x2 Chapter 4: Hoarding?

Nalu multichap Basically it’s Natsu’s and Lucy’s point of views in which their away from each other and sad/mad about it. And if any of you have read my other fics, You KNOW It’s going to have more Fluff in it than a Build-A-Bear Workshop and a Pillow factory combined! Sometimes so fluffy that it may seem out of character at times so yeah! (Better summary in first chapter!)

On fanfiction

Rating: T (swearing, puberty, violence, some mentions of abuse and there is sadness but there is not smut or sex in any way shape or form!)

Words:

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |

I really couldn't figure this out and I've rewritten it SO many times but out of all of the ones I had this one was my favorite. It's really cheesy, but whatever. What do ya expect? I have a dairy farm! There's gonna be cheese! And honestly I was kinda just letting my writing go wild on this one...

"What the fuck are you doing Salamander?" Gajeel said, one metal eyebrow up, looking at the pinkette who currently had the top half of him flopped out the window, from his sitting position on the couch. In the tall man's hands, was the metal box that was on the couch earlier.

"I'm trying to see if I can see any sign of Luce but... it's so dark in there right now. There was so much noise before but now it's gone. What do you think they're doing?"

"Uh, probably sleeping. Which I am tryin' to do and what you should be doin' too!" Gajeel sneered. When Gajeel didn't hear a response, he looked up to see if Salamander or his blue cat was looking. Happy was sleeping on his green sack that he always carried on his back while Natsu still out the window but now whimpering and whining softly. Tch, what a moron… Gajeel thought. ...Can't he see how damn lucky he is? Even though deep down, Gajeel was in the same state. But by now, he was used to the pain of being away from the one he loves...

Knowing that Natsu was occupied and Happy sleeping, (He didn't have to worry about Pantherlily seeing, he already knew) Gajeel looked back at the intricate metal box and smiled softly. Patting the top, he opened it carefully as if it was the most precious thing in the existence.

Inside was a book, an orange T-shirt, and a yellow polka-dotted headband. Quickly, he tucked the items into his arms, flipped over on the couch so his back was facing everyone. He took in the scent of paper, ink, and lavender of all the items and immediately relaxed, the familiar rumbling from his throat began. All tension left his body all at once. Although the scents of the items were faded, they were enough to calm him.

The whimpering pinkette had his eyes squinting and nose twitching, searching for any sign of his most precious person but nonetheless, even the comfort of his absolute favorite scent of vanilla and fruity sweetness was nowhere to be found as he stared at the building. It took every fiber of his being to keep from jumping out the window and going to her… He promised Gajeel and Natsu neverbroke a promise…

No matter how much it sucked.

Natsu sighed in defeat, knowing that this was better than nothing. He was disappointed that he didn't get to see Lucy. But he understood why Gajeel didn't want Natsu to do what he originally wanted to do. He would be mad if someone told Lucy or anyone else about him sneaking in her home to sleep next to her. Speaking of sleep he was starting to feel drowsy.

At least if I'm here, I'll see her first thing when she comes out... She'll have that pretty smile on her face like she always does… And with that, the pinkette laid his head against arms and closed his eyes…..

But painful stab of abandonment and longing washed over him before he could even get comfortable on the windowsill, unknowingly yelping as it did. His hand that was not holding him up was clutching his aching chest. He felt as if his heart and guts were being brutally ripped out of him with some sort of poison. As if they were being slashed into tiny little pieces. His head felt like it was being ripped apart, as if someone was trying to rip him in half. It felt worse than motion sickness.

Mavis, how he hated this! It hurt so goddamn fucking much! It made him want to rip everything apart and wreak havoc on anything and everything that was in his way, keeping him away from her. The world seemed to spin and flip around plain darkness. He just wants to be with her. That's all he wanted. Nothing seemed right without her. Was that so much to ask?! He groaned and keeled over, sweating profusely. His hair and clothes sticking to his overheating body. He luckily fell on the floor and not out the window. He shook and shivered, pleading to any merciful being to just let him be by her side…

"Open your eyes, dumbass!" Was all he heard in his state of pain and then suddenly the world was...back to normal?

"Ugh..." Nope, scratch that.

"Hurts doesn't it?"

Natsu looked away from the ground and instead looked to where the source of the sound was, but everything was so blurry...

"Gods, is that you? If it is please take this pain away…" Natsu croaked, his face crinkled in pain.

"What? Hell no! I ain't no God! Where'd the fuck you get that fro-Oh, shit! HE'S BURNING A HOLE IN THE FLOOR!" Gajeel retorted, but Natsu just moaned back curling further into himself, making the metal floor slowly turn into a bright red and melting underneath him. Gajeel growled. "Happy?!"

"Aye?! What can I do?!" The blue exceed looked up from his hurting friend. He knew Natsu was too hot to comfort him even though Happy wanted to.

"Go to Lucy's hou-"

"LUCY! What about Lucy?! Is she here?! Where is my Lucy?! I need to see her!" the pinkette tried to look around but was too delirious and in too much pain that he just flopped back over.

"Oh geez, Lily please don't tell me I am this pathetic when I get like this?"

Lily just laughed. "You act exactly like this guy."

Gajeel groaned and slapped his hand to his forehead. "Whatever. It doesn't matter right now. Happy like I said, go to Lucy's house and-No, Natsu, she ain't here right now! Stop bein' so dramatic, ya piece of shit!-when you get there grab something of hers like a T-shirt or somethin'. Do NOT grab any of her panties or bras! You'll kill 'im if you do. Now go!"

"Aye, sir!" And with that Happy flew off, you could hear him yell 'Max speed!' as he went. Gajeel sighed and shook his head looking down on the groaning pinkette, "Shoulda known you wouldn't have been able to handle it right away. It's your first real night that you're tryin' to go to sleep bein' this far away from her without anything of hers, right? Maybe it woulda been better if I'd just sent your sorry ass back to her place... At least you can go to hers..."

"Wha…?" Natsu felt as if his mind was warring against itself. One side was screeching at him to go to her, but the other was resisting. Knowing that promises are meant to be kept. He was in hell right now…Where was his Angel when he needed her?

All of a sudden Happy burst through the window, landing in a metal bucket that made a 'clang!' sound on impact, panting heavily. "I got... the stuff…" He wheezed as he showed what he had in his arms. A little blue T-shirt, a yellow and pink tank top, and a little ripped white blanket.

"Damn, you're quick. Good job now give 'em here," Gajeel said, putting out his hand for the items which Happy gave to him, then began to walk towards Natsu. "Lily, what do you do when I do-"

"GIMME!" A blur of pink flew past him and suddenly the items that were in Gajeel's hands were now in the possession of the Flame Dragon Slayer as he crashed into a pile of scraps.

The boy, who wasn't even affected by the crash (it was nothing to the pain he felt earlier), marveled at the wondrous treasures in his hands, he fondled them, just indulging the fact that they were in his arms, as if they may disappear if he were to let them go. Everything about them screamed 'LUCY'. He brought the articles of fabric to his face as if he were trying to suffocate himself and deeply inhaled the sweet, sweet scent. Relief came over him as the excruciating agony he was in seconds before ebbed away until it was only a slight throbbing ache in his chest and head. It was only a substitute for her after all. He began to purr softly, something he only did when he thought of her or was with her. He remembered how he got embarrassed by it at first and smiled.

He and Happy were hanging out with Lucy at her house when he first purred. It happened a few weeks after they met. She was doing the dishes while Natsu and Happy dried them, when the two boys looked at each other, forming an idea. They snuck up on her as she was humming to a tune, wiping the inside of a bowl when they picked her up! (She squealed! It was so cute!) Next, they threw her on the bed and tickled her! She laughed her pretty laugh and yelled for them to stop but they refused and kept tickling her!

The boy and cat started to laugh also as the girl beneath them squirmed and giggled trying to get the boys to stop. The cat laughed because Lucy screamed 'Stop! I'm gonna pee!' and the boy laughed because he was just so happy because she was so happy! He noticed that something was vibrating within him he just didn't think much about it.

Soon, the boy and the cat decided that that was enough and stopped tickling her but Natsu still kept his hold on the beautiful girl. As she calmed down from her torture, she was about to punch and scold the boys when she heard something. With every cackle that Natsu released, there was a low rumbling with each breath. She said 'Wait, Natsu hold still!' before she put her pretty head on his chest trying to hear his breathing.

Natsu immediately froze as the color of his hair started to show on his cheeks, he was not expecting her to do that. He was surprised that she didn't hear his racing heart as she listened. He… really liked her being there. As if she belonged there…

The boy, distracted by the girl who he so very much adored, unknowingly began to purr louder. Lucy gasped suddenly and jerked away from him, making him very disappointed, and giggled cutely 'OH MY GOODNESS, NATSU! YOU PURR! THAT'S SO CUTE!' Happy and him were surprised to hear that statement, but Natsu was still delighted to hear that she thought he was cute, making him purr even louder to the point where they were able to hear it without being close to him. Happy gasped too and jumped up and down and shouted 'We're purring buddies!' then began to purr also.

Natsu made them pinkie-promise not to tell anyone which they agreed to.

Ever since that day, whenever Lucy came around, he would purr. Sometimes so softly that only he knew that he was purring, sometimes so embarrassingly loud that he felt like he was causing an earthquake! Sometimes he would hold his breath trying to make it stop! It was so embarrassing! Imagine if Gray or any of the guild for that matter found out! At least Lucy thought it was cute…

"-mander! Salamander! Get your lazyass up!"

"You didn't take this long…"

"NATSU! ARE YOU DEAD?!"

"Salamander's fine. He's purrin', ain't he?" came not so cute voices. Natsu groaned from his position, still breathing in the heavenly scent. Couldn't they just leave him alone!

"YOU'RE NOT DEAD!" Happy said well, happily and flew into Natsu's back for Natsu was laying on the scrap pile face first, curled around his precious treasures.

"Well, that's good. I'm gonna sleep now, and you two better be out of my house in the morning," Gajeel grumbled, his own precious treasures still in his hands. With that, the tall dragon slayer went back to the couch getting ready to sleep again.

"What?! You just can't leave him there! You need to help him!" Lily yelled in Gajeel's sensitive ears.

"Ouch! That hurt ya jerk!" Gajeel got up and yelled back at the cat, forgetting that he was supposed to be quiet. "And anyway, you know this is the best we can do for him right now!"

"What's going on? I don't get it!" Happy cried, then pointed at the limp boy in the pile of metal scraps. "What happened to Natsu?!" "He's hoarding that's all. That stuff you got him should last him through tonight at least."

"What's hoarding?! I still don't get it!"

"Ya don't know?!" Gajeel shouted back, honestly surprised.

"Tell me…"

All the males in the room stared at to where the new voice spoke. Natsu, was now sitting up, his eyes, the only part of his head you could see, staring everyone down menacingly.

But…

Let's just say that it is really hard to be taken seriously when you have a white blanket, a blue T-shirt, and a yellow and pink tank top wrapped around your head making you look like a mummy who went berserk in a paint shop.

Happy, Lily, and Gajeel burst out in laughter.

"You look stupid!"

"Oh, like you're one to talk, Gajeel!" Lily said, in between his laughter, holding his sides. "You do it too!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP LILY!"

Although you couldn't see it, Natsu started to blush under his makeshift mask, still breathing deeply while pressing the cloth to his nose and mouth, rubbing the soft fabric with his fingers. It felt so nice...

"Don't change the subject! Tell me what's going on!" Natsu demanded.

"How do you not know? And you call yourself a dragon slayer! Oh, and quit shouting!," Gajeel said between boisterous laughter.

"No!" Natsu shouted back, pointing a finger into the older dragon slayer's chest. "This obviously is somethin' that I apparently don't know! This has somethin' to do with being a dragon slayer right? I'm not that stupid! You've been holding onto that stuff of Levy's for the longest time and I need Lucy's stuff to function! I think Igneel said something 'bout this but...Arhgh! I don't remember!" He threw his hands up in frustration. "Wait, what about Lucy?! What's she got to do with this?! ANSWER ME, GAJEEL!"

"Geez, you're loud. You're just lucky that you didn't burn a complete hole through the floor so that I was able to fix it quick. By the way, you are stupid. Especially if you don't remember your dragon telling you this," Gajeel replied still snickering.

"Gajeel just tell us!" A little voice shouted. Happy had jumped in between the 2 blinked in surprise, and stepped away from each other.

"I already told ya. He's hoarding."

My goodness, give them some info Gajeel! Pantherlily thought, pinching the bridge of his nose. Then he sat next to Happy who was now on the floor waiting for answers.

"Hoarding?" Natsu asked, tilting his cloth covered head.

"Yeah, at least that's what I call it," Gajeel said. "You seriously don't know what's going on?"

"No, I don't."

"Wow. Ok, uhhh," Gajeel said, thinking about how he should word this to the unknowing dragon slayer. He for some reason felt an older brother teaching his kid brother about puberty. "So, Bunny Girl's very important and precious to you right?"

"Yeah! She means everythin' to me!" Natsu responded, saying it as if it was the most the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well, uh… Damn this feels weird to talk about. Ok, to sum things up, Dragons like keeping whatever is most precious to them close to them and safe. Whether it be gold and jewels or friends and loved ones. They're able to be away from them for a while, just as long as they come back to whatever it is to sleep. Don't know why but dragons feel reassured when they are able to be with them to protect them because when they're asleep they can't watch over them in the way they want to. So they like to be with them, makes 'em feel comfortable. Kinda makes them feel safe too. And with us bein' dragon slayers, we kinda have the same thing. That pain that you were in was basically your body telling you "You can't go to sleep yet, you need to go back to the hoard" The pain is supposed to wake you up or something so you can go back. Ya catching on so far?"

"But…Then why hasn't this happened to me before? I've been away from her before-"

"But you would usually stay at her house right? At her house, Bunny Girl's scent is everywhere. So in a sense, she's "there". At least enough to fool you or whatever."

That makes sense, Natsu thought. That's why he can't sleep without Lucy…

"Wait a sec, if we have to be near them or whatever, why didn't I just run over there?"

"I don't know man! All I know is that Dragon Slayers do this thing for some reason."

"Gajeel curls up into a ball and turns completely into metal," Lily stated.

"Thank you for saying that Lily," Gajeel said through gritted teeth.

"You're away from Levy right now. Why didn't you get like that, Gajeel?" Natsu asked, still playing with the fabrics across his face.

Not realising the can of worms he just opened.

"Because unlike you, asshole," Gajeel snapped, he stood up and glared at the pinkette, his red eyes narrowed dangerously. "I don't have the privilege you do! I don't get to be with Levy every fuckin' night like you do! This is as close as I get to be with her! I'm used to the pain! I had to get used to it! And it was hell! It still is hell! Think about it Salamander! Could you handle this every goddamn ni-"

"I think I heard something. It's coming from up there!" Said a voice from outside.

The voice was a girl.

A girl they knew.

It was Levy.

Everyone up in the metal treehouse froze.

I know it’s a bit different but please be nice!

4 notes · View notes

megamanxfanfics · 3 years

Text

Did the Risk pay off?

Did you enjoy my little April Fool’s Joke? Did anyone even notice it??

Sorry about that. It’s not usually like me to joke like that, but the reason I did so was because its probably the last time I’d have the opportunity to ever pull an April Fool’s Prank about this project again. That is to say, I am very confident that by next April Fool’s Day - 2022, I’ll be long done with Season VI.

It’s a little sad to say that, but mostly triumphant on my end. There was a little truth in that 4/1 post. I Did go on a Marvel bend and rewatch the entire MCU for funzies, and I was taking a long ass time on getting out Ep. 13, but believe me. I wasn’t over or burnt out from X at all. I just needed a little time to figure out how to execute what I wanted to do properly. I’m mostly satisfied with the turnout. =D

For those of you who haven’t read S. VI - Ep. 13 yet, I highly suggest you do so, because there will be Massive Spoilers ahead. Since the tail end of Ep. 11, I set X up for a risky fanficky side-adventure. And now that I’ve committed to it and it’s officially out there, the only question that’s left to ask is... Did the risk pay off??

First, I guess I should admit that my planning for the 2nd Arc was always hazy, even after finishing up Ep. 7, when X defeated the Nightmare Zero.

I knew in Ep. 8, we were going to have a lot of Zero getting reacquainted with the gang and that I was going to have to resolve the plot hole of X5′s Bad Ending, lining up with the way he acts in X6 - as a Zero fanboy. So the returning Memory thing factored in big time.

Ep. 9 was Zero’s first mission out while X recovered. My plan was to always have X get in that portal and face Dynamo. But what would come after was a giant mystery to me.

I didn’t want X to keep bumping into to Dynamo every time he got in a portal. And I also didn’t want him to keep bumping into High Max either. All of High Max’s dialogue and interactions thus far indicated that he wants X dead, and based off of the rules I set up for the Portal Dimensions, X couldn’t just leave in the middle of a fight. That’s also not his style.

So in a way, I kind of wrote myself into a hole. I’d either have to end High Max early, (which I didn’t want to do), or I’d have to get creative.

Then something clicked out of nowhere. Something that could be very Nostalgic and Special, but would it work?? When X gets to the Fire Portal, he could face a Nightmare Vile from X1. Then in the next portals, he could face Nightmare versions of his other bullies from the rest of the games. X2 - Violen & Agile, X3 - Bit & Byte, X4 - Double... It could be great! But what purpose would it serve other than Fan Service?

It’s a great question that I’m still asking, but ultimately - my alternative was to have X face High Max prematurely and lose [where it would be very hard to have High Max spare him.] Or to have X prematurely defeat High Max, which again I really didn’t want to do. And Dynamo was way too injured to just keep taking beatings from X. That’d get very boring and annoying very fast.

So I went for it. It took 2 episodes to get there, but in Ep. 11 X took on Nightmare Vile... And honestly, I thought it was great! While he was doing that, Zero was facing Blaze Phoenix, which was equally exciting to me.

Honestly, in Ep. 12, I wanted to get right to it and call that one Nightmare Lane, but X & Zero needed to recover and I already had planned on them talking everything out, which I was putting off again and again. That episode named itself once their conversation about X5′s encounter in Antarctica really got going. I also really kinda loved that ending with X’s failure in the Inami Temple portal.

This set us up for Ep. 13, which I wanted to be an Action-Packed showstopper. So that was the plan all along for this episode, once I committed to the Nostalgic Nightmare idea. My goal was for X to get to Double, and I made it there. It worked out. But this is admittedly a very dense chapter.

Part of the point of these Nostalgic Nightmares is to show X’s growth after all this time. He’s been whining and complaining this whole time about how the Nightmare is too tough, but guess what? He’s already so much stronger than he ever was to previous threats like Vile, the X-Hunters, the Nightmare Police & Double. I felt like this could be a much-needed confidence booster for him, but also serve as a dual purpose for the bad guys to wear him down, psychologically. Any excuse I can have to make the villains banter, I’ll also take. I really like how this is all build up to Metal Shark, but will it pay off is the question? Will I be able to stick that landing? Time will tell.

I'm looking forward to writing Ep. 14. Honestly, I wanted to have a whole fight with Double and then some aftermath planned as the true closer to Ep. 13, but upon rereading, it was already dense enough. [Frankly, it probably could’ve ended when Zero was about to set off to the North Pole Area, but that’s fine.]

Also, I really surprised myself with how good X’s meet up with Phantom was. [His Rescue Reploid name in the game was the ONLY reason for these MMZ Easter eggs.] But now I’m so happy that I’ve been including them, because I’m feeling a bigger picture coming about for when I end this Season.

Levy was just this flirty inclusion to spice up the Alia & X dialogue at first. Anything else with her would be a bonus. Fef became a very necessary device to keep Hal & Kassy safe, while they’ve been stranded in the Magma Area for so long. Making him a junkie derelict was an interesting choice too. And of course, Phantom was in the Portal at the Central Museum revisit. I always had this vague sense in my mind that X was going to have a very harrowing rescue mission that kept failing at every revisit, but then he’d bump into Phantom who was holding his own and he’d get this giant sense of hope. Boom. Grainy Effect. Episode ending right there on Phantom.

But of course, in execution that couldn’t happen with the rest that I had planned and that’s fine. Still, I was surprised at their dialogue with each other. Phantom was really impressive and cool. Just the premise of this exhausted warrior, whose resigned himself to protecting himself for days, only to bump into X and consider him a fool for getting stuck here with him.

But no. Now, Double has entered the Portal. And X knows there’s a way out.

[I also never thought about the fact that Phantom would be stuck in the room with him during the fight, so now I’ve got some thinking to do.] lol

Harpy’s save will be next and I don’t mind spoiling that he’ll be in the Recycle Area. [I did my best to keep to their elements, but the X6 stages didn’t really lend for that.]

Phantom was always gonna be in the Central Museum, because that is game-dictated. Levy could’ve been in the North Pole, I suppose, but the Inami Temple is ridden with females, so it made the most sense to me to make that her domain. Fef being in the Magma Area was spot on. I love that it was his old hangout spot - Dark Haven. So teen-angsty/broody.

Harpy being in the Recycle Lab is kind of just a circumstance thing, but we’ll talk about it when we get there.

I wanted to go over the writing process to this one, but this is already getting quite lengthy. I guess I can say that it was straight forward, writing through X’s battle against Violen & Agile. I always wanted Isoc to come in right after, to give us the hint that he’s Serges 2.0. But then, that revisit to the Amazon Area got draggy... I did my best, but I had to make cuts. I liked what I did once he got in the portal. His refight with Bit & Byte was pretty cool. Bringing Marty into it was a fun choice. I did like, how X got his moment of catharsis after all. [I know there’s a real lost-opportunity with not including iX, but honestly that’d be too much. If I ever write iX again, I think it’s best if I save him for the Mega Missions series.]

This thing fell apart when I got to the Central Museum revisit. I didn’t want to write that at all... In my script, I had marks at the bottom of the doc for what he’d say in the other totems IF he revisited. And here we weeeeere. Yet again, I was in the same position as last year at this time, when I wrote out Ep. 3. I handled it better, then! Playing over and over again to find right parts of the stage I wanted to write was annoying. I bet I missed out on Rescue Reploids too, or Zombie Reploids at this point, but it’s fine. It’s been so long, they probably just died. I could always edit that in post, that X passes a bunch of dead bodies. That’d make for some spooky atmosphere.

At this point, I re-analyzed the entire chapter and decided it was high-time for Zero to wake up and go about his original directives. Time to add to the layers. It brought parts to life, for sure. It even cemented other transitions, which was really cool. I liked that I gave Douglas something else to do other than just, be there...

Once I was actually writing Zero’s stage, it did start to feel like a different episode, but I had a goal to reach and damn it, I was gonna get there! lol What’s good about this is that it moves Zero along in the stage without it being a real pain in the ass.

And that basically takes us to where the episode left off.

For the broken Central Museum part, I wrote X’s interactions with Phantom first. Then, with every Totem, I caught up to it as I could. Once the Zero layering came about, things pieced together. Same goes for any extra Villain narrations. The episode definitely started a certain way, and I wanted to keep that up as much as possible. While also having Alia commentary, when appropriate and necessary.

I like this one. There’s a decent balance amidst all the nonsense I set up for myself. And I definitely think that all these Portal Revisits are more interesting for X’s Nostalgic Nightmare encounters. It spins the premise around that they didn’t just create a Nightmare Zero, but also a Nightmare Vile, a Nightmare Violen, a Nightmare Bit, a Nightmare Byte and now a Nightmare Double. The possibilities are endless.

Yes, X’s mission is a complete side-quest, but guess what? It makes you think that if he didn’t do this, the Nightmare would be that much worse for everyone later, down the road. It’s Preventative Action. It’s pretty neat.

Also, again - every Investigator thus far has been relatively good, but mislead in thinking that X was the enemy. So once he’d explain it to them, they'd be at a standstill, and pretty much at a loss for motivation. Go figure that Zero actually battles the evil ones with Infinity Flea and Blaze Phoenix. But he’ll get a real taste for the good/mislead dilemma soon enough with Blizzard Wolfang.

Then we’ll see how I handle Metal Shark when I get there. I’m looking forward to it. I can’t believe I’m almost up to the 3rd Arc already!

But that’s exactly what I was getting at at the beginning of this rant. This is definitely gonna be my last Season. [Unless we get an X9 that suddenly ends all cliffhangers.] So with that said, I think the Nostalgic throwback was the right thing to do. Show us that growth and remind us of where he’s been in a short time span, before we end things proper in MMX’s final season.

I’m getting misty eyed thinking about it already. =P

I’ll see you next time for Episode 14.

#MMX Fanfics #Season VI Diaries #Did the Risk Pay Off?#Nightmare Revivals #2nd Arc talk #MMZ characters #Writing rant #It's almost over

0 notes

michiopa · 7 years

Note

let's mix it up with 1-10 for space!Thomas and 11-20 for space!Emma

I HAD NICE LONG ANSWERS BUT THEN I ACCIDENTALLY REFRESHED SO FUCK ME BASICALLY THESE WERE BETTER BEFORE

Thomas

1. How does your character think of their father? What do they hate and love about him? What influence - literal or imagined - did the father have?2. Their mother? How do they think of her? What do they hate? Love? What influence - literal or imagined - did the mother have?

His father is a piece of shit but slightly less of a piece of shit than his mother. It made Thomas want to be a better person out of spite. It’s why he takes Alex in the way he does, he wants to prove that even if he isn’t her father biologically or whatever he’s still a better parental figure than either of his parents ever were to him.

3. Brothers, sisters? Who do they like? Why? What do they despise about their siblings?

He’s one of at least 4 kids, maybe more. He doesn’t speak to his siblings and they don’t get along. Huge case of middle child syndrome but is entirely justified in his case. Thomas fucked off out of Zakon for a reason.

4. What type of discipline was your character subjected to at home? Strict? Lenient?

My dude is parents were basically Tywin Lannister x2. Super strict, nothing he did was good enough.

5. Were they overprotected as a child? Sheltered?

HA that’s a big fat NO.

6. Did they feel rejection or affection as a child?

Rejection my dude. His parents saw him as a failure both on like a personal level and on a bigger level. Like a ‘this child is punishment for all the ways i’ve gone wrong’ sort of way. He wasn’t a bad kid or anything but his siblings were all extraordinary in some way and he was just Thomas.

7. What was the economic status of their family?

They’re well off but idk if that’s because money or political power or both. They WERE in the spotlight occasionally and that’s why his parents were so obsessed with every one of their kids being perfect.

8. How does your character feel about religion?

He’s not very quietly religious. He prays by himself a lot but nothing more than that for his home religion. After he gets away from Zakon and into the main system he still just keeps to himself but he is fond of the religion on Nathos. He finds it nice, peaceful. He’ll occasionally attend things there even if he doesn’t actually believe, he finds it comforting.

9. What about political beliefs?

His beliefs can be summed up as “don’t be a dick”. For real tho he just wants to help people and to not live in a military state anymore.

10. Is your character street-smart, book-smart, intelligent, intellectual, slow-witted?

He’s got high emotional intelligence but other than that it’s all street smarts. He can read people easily and is highly empathetic and knows how to use it.

Emma

11. How do they see themselves: as smart, as intelligent, uneducated?

She’s smart and is aware of it. She knows she’s not like, omg the smartest person out there, she doesn’t find her intelligence remarkable, but she knows she’s not stupid.

12. How does their education and intelligence – or lack thereof - reflect in their speech pattern, vocabulary, and pronunciations?

She speaks all the languages of the system since that’s what she has spent all of her time since college studying. She has a habit of using grammar from one language while speaking another. It’s even worse when she’s switching between the two for conversations. She’s really good at mimicking accents and dialects tho!

13. Did they like school? Teachers? Schoolmates?

She did like school as long as it didn’t involve math. She would get in fights pretty often with her classmates because smol Emma had Opinions and she was going to defend them.

14. Were they involved at school? Sports? Clubs? Debate? Were they unconnected?

SPACE MUN!!! She was a total nerd for whatever the space version of MUN is. She was good at it too and it’s what got her interested in studying languages.

15. Did they graduate? High-School? College? Do they have a PHD? A GED?

She’s got at least one college degree in languages and poli sci and then after the Main Plot i think she’d work towards getting a masters and then later once she and Ramsay move to Praemia she gets a PhD too.

16. What does your character do for a living? How do they see their profession? What do they like about it? Dislike?

Sarah.......... you Know

She works for the bureau as a team leader/handler. Her agents handle what are basically RICO cases. They go undercover a lot but not all the time. It’s Emma’s job to keep them up to date on everything and to make sure they come home okay.

She loves her job, her coworkers, she loves being able to take down crime rings that people thought were untouchable. The best part is seeing the tangible difference she makes in the system. She really hates bureaucracy tho and the fact that she can’t do fieldwork anymore.

17. Did they travel? Where? Why? When?

Yes!! She stayed on all of the planets for extended periods of time as part of her college’s intensive language program.

18. What did they find abroad, and what did they remember?

She found her passion, tbh. She found that being able to communicate with so many people to be the best thing she had ever experienced and so she kept up with the language program even when it got super hard and intense.

19. What were your character’s deepest disillusions? In life? What are they now?

[tw for miscarriages, child death, etc]

Well her fertility issues certainly fucked her up. The constant miscarriages messed her up but not nearly as much as her daughter. Because here’s the thing, yes she was attached to the miscarriages, she had names picked out for most of them, but she didn’t go to the hospital expecting to bring home a healthy baby like she did with Abigail. The fertility issues combined with the stillbirth really just destroyed any faith she had in a higher being.

Ted also did a number on her ability to trust. The fact that he left her after she was paralyzed fucked her up. The cheating fucked her up. He messed up her ability to believe in marriage which is why later on it’s Ramsay that has to bring it up (and tbh she wouldn’t have agreed if not for the adoption thing)

20. What were the most deeply impressive political or social, national or international, events that they experienced?

I mean, she was there for the first water riots. She got paralyzed in one of those riots. Then she lives through all of the Main Plot things that I won’t spoil for the general public.

#johnandrasjaqobis #kayla talks

1 note · View note

singlespiritinthecity · 5 years

Text

The Dry Janners

Right guys, I’ve got some good news. I’m in a much, much better place than I was pre-Christmas. Happy New Year 2019!

I’m also a Dry Jan dating convert. There are SO many benefits to it... no foggy head the next morning, no drunken kissing (occasionally sex) regrets, I don’t eat loads of crap post-date (or order an Uber Eats McDonalds so it’s there by the time I get home) and it’s SO much cheaper (did you know soda limes are actually only about 20p?!) Not to mention the fact that I actually get a vague idea of whether or not I genuinely fancy the person with a sober perspective.

I’ve been on Dry Jan dates with four separate boys and I’m about to tell you about them now.

The first one was with someone who’s from the same neck of the woods as me. He also sounded quite funny over messaging, but... he was a teacher. Normally this is one of my dealbreakers (there’s a few reasons for this, the main one being that I just don’t think I could handle the amount of holiday they get. Jealousy would turn to resentment, I’m sure of it) but we got on well enough so I tried to push that to the back of my head.

The date itself was good as far as dates go - we had a hot chocolate at the Southbank market (trying to soak up the remaining Christmas cheer) but he had a lot of opinions. We ended up talking about gender fluidity, Brexit, “kids of today”.. it all got a bit intense. He feels very strongly about things, and I didn’t agree or disagree with anything he said, but I just didn’t have that same passionate views he did.

We ended the night with a kiss, made reference to doing something for a second date but I never heard from him again. I was a bit bothered by the lack of effort, but not about never seeing him again.

My second sober date I’m going to call ‘Comeback Kid’, the name my best friend gave him.

We started speaking between Christmas and New Year, and had a good back and forth conversation for a day or so. After which, one of us said goodnight and then we didn't speak for a week. I obviously assumed this meant our date we had arranged was no longer going ahead, until...

And that is why he’s the Comeback Kid. He managed to turn it round from that, put no pressure on me to rearrange, carried on chatting to me and left it up to me to rearrange for when I wanted/felt comfortable to.

So we went on a date, I drank a lot of orange juice and I would have said it was an all round great date (blocking out him shushing everyone around us when someone who’s 30th it was wanted to make a speech and also a small dose of him imitating me) and he’s a very good kisser.

We’ve actually been on a second date since - a very wholesome walk around Wimbledon Common. 30,000 steps and 1,150 calories burnt later, it ended the same way as the first one with a kiss. The only thing that was bothering me was that over WhatsApp and sometimes in person, I felt like he was on the defence a bit. So when I tried to say something nice, it wasn’t often acknowledged or replied to with a joke of some sort. I tried to address this over WhatsApp...

He read the last message and just didn’t reply. Bearing in mind it was his birthday the next day, I just wrote again and said the typical girl thing “forget it” followed by a happy birthday. The waiting was excruciating and seeing he was online the whole time and completely ignoring me, I couldn't take it any longer.

The next day he messaged me but didn’t make any reference whatsoever to what I had last sent or what I was trying to have a conversation about...

I didn’t reply on his birthday (I was still disappointed, angry, upset about him ignoring me when I was trying to speak to him the previous night) and was planning on calling him to chat about it but knew he was in Paris for work so it was going to be a busy couple of days for him. He wrote to me again yesterday asking how my week was going, so I thought I’d try and readdress the situation again

He never ended up calling me, said his day was too hectic, but suggested a walk and talk on Saturday (tomorrow) which I’ve agreed to, even though we had originally said we’d do something Friday night (tonight) but he’s probably got the hint I’m not too impressed. I appreciate the effort (although some may say too little too late) so let’s see if what he has to say makes him Comeback Kid x2.

My third date this month won’t take me long to tell you about. I had regrettably got my hopes up a bit about this one. He was quite beardy (there was me thinking that was a guaranteed sign he was going to be cool) and had dark hair, blue/green eyes, my type all over. But in person, he was a bit awkward, a bit geeky (but not in an endearing way) and I got the impression I sort of intimidated him at times. This was an absolute milestone of a date because... for the FIRST TIME EVER... I told him on the date that I wasn’t feeling it. The thought of heading home and having to send the cliched text that makes me die a bit inside every time was enough to make me go for it, there and then. So I told him I was feeling more of a friend vibe, which he said he was disappointed about but took well. However, he still pulled me into him to say goodbye and gave me a lingering kiss on the cheek... lucky escape, there.

My fourth and final Dry Jan date was just a few days ago. He was attractive, definitely my type, but I sensed he was quite nervous and maybe wasn’t quite himself because of that. He seemed so confident over WhatsApp I was expecting someone who was going to fully take the reins on the date, but I didn’t quite get that, I felt I probably steered most of the conversation. After about an hour and two pints (for him), he started to settle into the date a bit more and told me lots of personal things which I really appreciated him sharing with me. I would consider myself a pretty open and straight forward person (could you guess from the blog?!) so warm more towards those who can be open with me, so felt the date definitely improved with time.

He was very sweet and complimentary (basically said it was game over for him after we matched), and we kissed (even though it was on the tube platform, the worst possible location for a first kiss). He said he was going to send me through suggestions for our next date which I could pick from, an idea I LOVE (oh the effort!).

I’m not sure I’ve found my future husband just yet, but dating sober has been an eye-opening experience that’s for sure. And one I would actively encourage if you’re ever feeling a bit insecure and down on yourself. It doesn’t feel like a waste of money, time or effort because, let’s face it, there’s only so many pints of soda lime one can drink in a sitting!

0 notes