#alright so. been conceptualizing a fighting game story in the back of my mind for the past like half year. it's a grungy urban fantasy

[gamb0fficial]

Fighter Selected: "Subject 99"

[space-blue]

The Wolf of Tales

If you are brave, and venture in the world's wilderness, you can cross the Wolf's path and marvel at his tall shoulder, his golden eyes, and the thickness of his pelt. But the Wolf of tales is no simple Canis Lupus. He is the loss of innocence, the end at the end of all roads, night after day, death after birth, he is the moment of change in the cycles of life. He is, in short, an institution. You might fear or hate him, but you cannot avoid meeting him.

For all his conceptual existence, the Wolf, on that day, hungers. Spring is still young, and he has not been lucky. He's walked much and ate little. He lays in a ray of sun by a stream to rest his weary bones, when a high voice appears and grows, singing a simple song. A child enters the clearing, twirling in the young grass and plucking flowers as she goes.

The Wolf beckons, using his softest voice. Curiosity brings the singer to him.

'Child, what is this I smell? Pie? Sausages? Will you spare one for a starving animal?'

The girl peers down at him. She wears a peasant's apron dress, blond locks spill from an old-fashioned hood. On her arm is the wicker basket that is the source of the delightful aromas.

'I canna do that, they're for my Gran, who lives all the way down the forest road, Ma sent me.'

'You will not spare a single sausage to keep me from dying? Do you have no heart?'

The girl shrugs, jostling her golden curls. 'Ma says it's for Gran, not strangers.'

The wolf rises then, his eyes burning with contained fury.

'If you won't hear the cries of mercy, what about the simpler call of threat?' He shows teeth, his mane bristling on his neck.

The girl frowns, but swings her basket behind her, and tries to look at him down her nose, a task made difficult by the fact that he's rather taller than her.

'No's no, mister!'

'Do you not know who I am?' The Wolf asks, incredulous.

'Are you famous?'

'Famous?' He snorts. 'Child, cemeteries the world over are monuments raised in my name. Does your hearth have no fire, that you never heard whispers of my deeds?'

'I'd no idea we've such a neighbour!' she squeaks.

The Wolf chokes on his protest. He's noone's neighbour. He passes through this forest like he passes through the world, but there is little to be gained by confusing her further.

'It's alright,' he says, more to himself than to the girl. But really it isn't. The child is too old to be this naive, and the Wolf hungers. 'So you truly won't give this to anyone but your Gran?'

She nods.

'How lucky she is, to have you come all this way for her!'

The child smiles, and brags of her many trips through the woods. It takes little prodding for the Wolf to get directions to the Grandmother's house, though they come with half the village's gossip. Seeing her collected flowers, he encourages her to follow the river a little ways to find daffodils and lilies of rare colours. She falls for it all, even thanks him. He ambles away, a smile on his canine lips, and soon is galloping through the underbrush.

The Wolf is half convinced he's lost before the trail finally turns into a path, that turns into a dirt road, that turns into the yard of a little house. Such a lost place! And not much to look at. The thatch is old and mossy, the walls lean on each other like drunks. There are no chickens in the coop, no cow on the grass, and the pond is fit for naught but a family of frogs. The Wolf gathers himself and stands up, looking like a stark young man, with a mop of silver hair and a fur coat (not all of the wolf can quite fit in all of the man). He steps to the door and knocks.

'Grandmother, open up!'

'Who is it?' comes an old voice from inside.

'I'm a hunter,' the Wolf says, 'been told you lived alone. I've more game than I need, so I thought you'd like a hare or two.'

'Pull the rope, hunter, and come in.'

The Wolf does as he's told, and the door unlocks and creaks open, revealing a small room, and in it an old crone, hunched over her knitting by a dim fire. She looks ancient, this woman, full of stories and tales and old adages. The Wolf cannot help but think that if she'd stayed and lived with her daughter, then her grandchild would not be so painfully innocent. The crone's eyes squint at his tall figure.

'Where is your game, hunter?'

'Oh, you're the game, Grandmama,' the Wolf says. 'Look at you. The reaper would have found you long ago, did you not live at the lost end of a lost road. Your time has long been up.'

The old woman's eyes widen, but she doesn't struggle as the Wolf grabs her chin and bends to kiss her wrinkled brow: she falls dead in his arms. Old folks rarely fight. They've heard the discreet patter of Death's footfall in their wake, when it lands off the beat of their own shuffling feet. Most welcome the end of such odious suspense.

The Wolf sets to work straight away. He strips the old woman and drapes himself in her rags, tying her shawl around his head and donning an old apron for the task ahead. He rends her flesh, works her bones and drains her blood. It is hard, messy work, as the crone is tough and dry. No amount of pies or sausages can make you tender past a certain age. Soon he worries he won't be done in time. But the little girl doesn't come until the Wolf is finished, tidied and ready, waiting by the fire, his belly filled and his mind wandering.

The knock rouses him.

'Gran, open up!'

'Who is it?' The Wolf calls in his best elderly voice.

'It's me, Gran, can't you tell?'

'Pull the rope, child, and come in.'

She does as she's told, and in comes the little girl, all dishevelled from running through the woods, her flowers in a large wreath, the basket hooked at her elbow. He welcomes her in, bids her to put her things aside, sits her and serves her a plate of meat, a glass of red (wine, he says) and watches her eat. The girl looks at him too, as she chews on her meal and drains her cup.

'What big eyes you have, Gran. And what strong hands!'

The Wolf says nothing, but refills her glass and smiles.

'What wide mouth you have, too!' she exclaims.

At that the Wolf barks an awful laugh. 'The better to mock you with, little dolt!'

The girl, dismayed, looks as the clothes fall away from the Wolf's shifting body. Claws click on the tabletop, the wine bottle topples and spills its ruby red content. The Wolf towers above her, dark and terrible, outlined as he is by the firelight.

'Are you surprised I'm not dead in some ditch, after you wouldn't feed me, not for all the whining I could muster? I'm quite sated now, thanks to your Grandmama. But I'm generous! I can share, unlike others. I saved you a bottle of her blood, and a slice of her flesh. How did you like it?'

The girl stares at him, then her plate, in horror.

'It is true, he killed her,' comes a voice, that of a bat, speaking from the rafters. 'I saw it.'

'It is true, you ate her,' comes a voice, that of a bird, speaking from the window. 'You git.'

She screams, jumps away from the table. She retches and cries. The Wolf watches the emotions that flash across her face: disbelief, rage, disgust, hatred, fear. Humanity.

'Here you are, my child,' the Wolf croons, 'all grown up at last.'

'Why?' she yells in a shattered voice.

'Because you're too old not to think for yourself!' he yells back. 'I pleaded but you would not be kind! I threatened but you would not compromise! Yet you're no infant, to not recognise danger when it crosses your road. You would not feed me, so I fed myself at your expense. You did not know me, but now consider us introduced.'

He strides towards her and colour drains from her face. 'Will you eat me, too?'

The Wolf laughs as he walks past. He stops in the door frame, glancing back at the trembling girl.

'You can tell your folks I tried, if it makes you feel better. Most do, some even say they cut themselves free of my belly. What matters is the lesson learnt, and besides,' his eyes glitter with cruel humour, 'I'm much too full as it is.'

~~ May 2016 – Theme : Well known fairytales from a different PoV

[crystalelemental]

Alright, now that I’ve beaten the League, a few thoughts on the game overall.

I really like it, but I’m not sure I like it more than Sun/Moon, which is a damned shame considering the next part in a generation is almost always better in my eyes.  I think the only other time this might have been the case was Black/White 2.  Which is...oddly fitting.

I think my big issues come down to two things: Necrozma and Lusamine.  Combined, they adequately sum up all of my problems with the game.  I’ll get to them, but positives first.

Love the new UBs.  They’re all excellent, I can’t wait to get my Stakataka, Blacephalon is still cool, and while Naganadel cannot be my favorite because Nihilego is way better, it’s a neat design for a Dragon thing so I’ll let it go.  I’m a huge fan of the expanded island dex, and I’m sure that Nuzlock-esque rules would be fantastic with the new spread.  That said, I cannot imagine a horror greater than a Nuzlock in these games.  Totem Pokemon are hard as shit, and while that’s been fun for a normal playthrough, you’re basically asking for half your team to get wiped if you run a Nuzlock.  Marowak in particular is a fucking asshole, with Detect and, if memory serves, Ground and Fighting coverage on a Fire type.  Callie hated this fight, and had a really good point: it’s not entirely fair that you have two things, both now super fast, hitting for most if not all of your life in one turn.  You don’t really get breathing room in a 2-v-1, and without a chance to really switch out, a Nuzlock may as well be impossible, I feel.

I ADORE Mantine Surf.  The ability to accrue a reasonable amount of BP per session is spectacular, and I sincerely hope this mechanic stays forever.  Not even necessarily in this form, but in some kind of easy minigame that permits you to get a ton of BP per run.  Two runs gets you any move you want, and that takes all of 5 minutes.  Easily the best mechanic.  The move tutor options are also great, and a lot of additions really help a lot of Pokemon.

On a more neutral note, I think the Ultra Wormhole travel is interesting, and I don’t have that they put it in the game, but I really wish it wasn’t so random.  Going through the White Wormholes was a nightmare.  I found my first Celesteela on accident before getting Nihilego, but once I tried looking for another I couldn’t find it for an hour.  I really, really hate random chance, and think there should’ve been a way to make sure you know what you’re getting in to with those.  But, they also allow me to get an infinite number of UBs and shiny hunt forever, so I guess I can’t be too mad?

Now, the complaints.  The real ones.  I’ll start with Necrozma, because it kinda ties in with the other, but indirectly.  Necrozma, as a force you need to subdue, is great.  It does seem intimidating, and it’s new forms are great.  But it’s a force that...literally was already kept in check.  And was only a threat because some assholes pissed it off in their dimension.  They don’t really get into this, but it was apparently used to power the technology of Ultra Megaopolis.  Which, by the way?  Super disappointing area.  You don’t get to explore it!  It was just the tower!  Laaaame.  But getting back to Necrozma: I think what bugs me is that it’s a Dragon.  I know that’s petty, but another major super legend being Dragon type sucks.  I really was hoping we’d move away from that, but instead here’s yet another Dragon.  So now it’s a slower, weaker Deoxys-attack with better defenses, and an ability that lets super-effective hits deal more damage.  No idea how much more.

From a story angle, what really bugs me is that it doesn’t feel like an immediate threat.  I can definitely get behind the concept of a force of nature as the antagonist, in the sense that there is no villain and the real thing we’re struggling against is a force of nature or some conceptual threat.  It’s the entire reason I loved the Atelier Dusk trilogy so much.  But...well...that only works in the absence of a villain.  But we do not have the absence of a villain.  We definitely have one, and she was great once, but just...god, okay, get it together me.

Lusamine’s arc in this game weirds me out.  And not in the good way.  I knew some people who were looking at the anime trends and some of the promo stuff for this game, and going “Oh god, please don’t make Lusamine a good person, that’s really not okay.”  And I didn’t really agree entirely.  I think a redemption arc is fine.  I think that, given sufficient motivation and self-reflection, any villain becoming a good person is possible.  But with Lusamine...her actions are severely fucked up, especially toward her kids, and if you’re gonna have that redemption, it’s gonna have to be big, and it’s gonna have to mean going through a lot.  My biggest worry was the return of Mohn.  I saw that spoiler, and was worried they were gonna go the route of “well Mohn’s back, so Lusamine’s stable.  See?  She just needed her husband, and when he left bitch just lost it.”  Basically, I was worried about an invalidation of her entire character and agency as a person by having everything hinge on her husband.  Thankfully, that did not happen, and initially I was very pleased with the direction.  I have since changed my mind.

Lusamine goes off and awakens Necrozma, attempting to capture it for herself, fucks up, and Necrozma almost ruins the world or Alola, as well as Ultra Megaopolis.  She does this because, guess what, she still has that collection of Pokemon frozen in time.  She also still has the scene where she talks down to Lillie and proclaims she has no children.  So all the stuff that showcased her definitely being a villain?  Still there.  My problem isn’t what, it’s how.  A sufficient struggle and showcasing of Lusamine making an effort and dealing with ramifications for her actions would be good.  That I would appreciate.  But they didn’t do that.  Any possible changes occurred off-screen and we’re just told about them, and worst of all, the main takeaway they try to push is that Lillie and Lusamine talked to each other, and suddenly it was fine.  No.  That is not acceptable.  Communication is good, but do you know what Lillie tried to do, in both games, after the third island?  TALK.  Lillie tried to talk with Lusamine, tried to talk sense into her, and nothing came of it.  Communication only works if both parties are listening, and the entire point of Lusamine’s character is that she’s controlling and not willing to listen, but suddenly we’re gone to Ultra Space for a few hours and she’s completely changed as a person?  Nothing adds up, and it’s entirely because there’s no focus on characters anymore.

It was kinda like this with Delta Episode.  Instead of focusing on any human element, it’s just “Here’s this big cool super legendary Pokemon.”  And sure, Necrozma is cool and all.  But you know what was better?  The dynamics of a broken family, and the development of an abused child coming to terms with her history, calling out her abuser’s actions as awful, and moving forward.  But we don’t focus on that.  Instead, we sideline that entire family’s story.  You give a few more details initially, talking about the history and the loss of Mohn, and hinting at more complex motivations for Lusamine, then immediately toss all of that away in favor of...what, exactly?  Big space monster dragon?  Yeah, it looks cool, but it’s not as engaging as their story.  You focused on the wrong thing, and sidelined what made the initial games so good.

I mentioned Atelier earlier, and I feel like this is the perfect comparison, because Atelier Shallie did this too.  “This series is supposed to be light-hearted, so we have to have a positive and upbeat ending!”  Fine, great.  But the basis you set is heavy material and incredibly sobering, and you can’t just hand-wave that and insist that things got better off-screen or with minimal effort.  These things take time and effort to resolve effectively, and it’s almost better to imply that parties are willing to work toward a solution and not reveal the means, than insist that the means was a simple 5-minute conversation and easy fix.  Acknowledging the gravity of human struggles and showing only that parties are willing to work toward a fix without needing to show the fix is perfectly valid, and trying to undermine severity for the sake of remaining “light-hearted” becomes a massive problem for a story that is otherwise gripping.

Ultimately, I strongly feel like the bad outweighs the good here.  As a cap-off to the series on handhelds, it’s almost disappointing to know that their idea of an appropriate culmination was a bunch of flashiness and “Look at this cool big Pokemon thing!” while sidelining the story and characters as hard as humanly possible.  I was really hoping for an improvement and a deeper analysis of the family dynamics within the context of the original story.  But instead, all of that is sidelined in favor of this “alternate telling” that changes nothing about the history of their dynamics, but ends on a note where everything is immediately and casually resolved with no effort, off-screen.  It’s bad, and I really, really wish that we’d stop getting these stories that have such a powerful start to work with, and just fuck up the ending beyond belief.  I know I have a tendency to complain, but I do not ask for much to be generally satisfied.  To miss that entire mark is, quite frankly, unbelievable. 

[recentanimenews]

"I Discovered a New Joy in Fighting Games" an Interview with the Creators of Guilty Gear and Blazblue

Part two of our my interview with the big three of ArcSys, the president and founder Minoru Kidooka, creator of Guilty Gear, Daisuke Ishiwatari, and creator of BlazBlue, Toshichi Mori. In Part one, we discussed their upcoming BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle and the atmosphere in 2D fighters development and competition. At the halfway point, we dug into the history of ArcSys's two flagship franchises with their creators, including their inspirations, plans, and, of course, their favorite anime.

Was your original idea for BlazBlue entirely separate from Guilty Gear or where there untouched avenues in Guilty Gear you wanted to explore through a different title?

Toshimichi Mori: A large difference I kept in mind when I first developed BlazBlue was that it was going to be a platform, an intellectual property, moreso than Guilty Gear. That thought informed the mediums through which it developed. It wasn’t necessary only supposed to be a fighting game, we also have a mobile game, Dark War, coming up. I wanted there to be many ways to interact with the BlazBlue franchise and its characters whereas Guilty Gear is designed much more like a fighting game.

You mentioned that Ragna’s story was “complete” with BlazBlue: Central Fiction. Are there any new developments with the story you’re planning for BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle?

TM: In terms of Ragna’s story, Central Fiction represents a nice way to sort of tie up some of the loose ends. With Cross Tag Battle and the way its story mode will develop and interact with the BlazBlue universe, all I can really say is you have to play it for yourself and I think you’ll see what we were trying to do. I think it’ll become very evident once you pick up the controller.

  BlazBlue was an interesting title since it first appeared as a 2D fighter with 2D sprites just as the 2D fighting industry began shifting over to 3D sprites. Was there an awareness of the industry was moving in that direction?

TM: It’s easy to call BlazBlue a 2D fighter, but I’d argue a good half of it is 3D including the backgrounds and, in the development pipeline, 3D was heavily used when generating the sprites, although they might look truly 2D in end. This 3D technology we used in our pipeline was heavily relied upon in the Guilty Gear development which, in turn, informed how Dragon Ball FighterZ looks right now.

There’s definitely been an evolution brought upon by the information passed on game-to-game as opposed to “this is strictly 2D" and "this is strictly 3D” so, in terms of BlazBlue, we’re not limiting it strictly to 2D. That’s just the form it happened to take, although you’ll find a lot of 3D elements if you look under the hood.

In ArcSystem Works, “ARC” stands for “Action, Revolution, and Challenge.”

Do you follow the Blazblue competitive scene?

TM: Yes, very closely. I’m still very curious about who’s going to defeat Fenrich.

  Do you have any favorite players or characters you’re happy to see played on the competitive level?

TM: In terms of characters, I love them all, so there isn’t any single character I’d love to see in the professional scene. We do our best to make sure the balance is such that every character has a chance and have the right tools to be able to climb up to the competitive level.

In terms of players, I really can’t pick any single one player. Of course, I really want to see everyone succeed and I know the players spend so much time and energy and effort learning the games that we create, deconstructing them to become competitive with them. I feel it is our job to create a platform upon which these players can shine and an environment where they’re able to show everything they’ve done.

You know, we have some ArcSys specific tournaments in addition to our games selected for EVO. It could be as simple as pointing the camera on some of these players, shining a spotlight on them, inviting them, or getting them a plane ticket to a tournament they wouldn’t otherwise be able to attend. Making it easier for them to shine is what I feel our rule is as a developer and a creator.

In your honest opinion, is Noelle better with or without a hat?

TM: Really, it comes down to personal preference, right? I’ve had a lot of players provide feedback saying they like her with or without the hat. Me, personally, I think I have a lot more nostalgia and memories linked to her original design with the hat. But, to be perfectly honest, looking at her from a design perspective, her silhouette, the strength of her as a character, I think she is a more complete design now with her hair down as opposed to with the hat.

In summary, it depends on whether you’re looking at her memory or in terms of the character…

Ishiwatari-san, same question for Millia Rage?

Daisuke Ishiwatari: *Laughs* That's funny, when Mori-san began answering that question, in my head, I immediately thought of Millia. I think my answer is kind of similar. Her design in Guilty Gear XX, I have a lot of nostalgia for that version of Millia but, as an icon and as a character, I think she’s much stronger with her current design.

I’m curious about the large gaps between Guilty Gear releases. First 7 years between XX and Overture, then another 7 years between Overture and Xrd. Can you share what was going on with Guilty Gear either conceptually or developmentally during those periods?

DI: There were a number of reasons for those huge blanks including creatively and development. The sheer amount of time it takes to get a project greenlit all the way to the finished product. There were a lot of challenges between Overture and Xrd and everything represented a sort of theme we had at that time. Overture was to tackle 3D. At the time, ArcSys wasn’t equipped to make a completely new 3D game. That was what Overture represents.

In a similar way, with Xrd, we were trying to find ways to express anime in a completely new way in a game, visually and conceptually. Those 7 years really were the time it took to completely challenge and rethink the way we can express certain elements of a game.

So the 3D in Overture, along with the developments from BlazBlue, acted as a sort of prototype for the new look in Xrd?

DI: It’s safe to say that, with every project and everything you do, you’re gaining XP. Knowing that experience will always materialize as the next product, I don’t think is necessarily a true statement. It can be applied in various different ways or might appear as a completely different thing in another game. That being said, in terms of what I’m working on, if you start to see me pop up less and less in the press then it’s safe to say that something big’s coming soon.

On that subject, you previously said you might be interested in developing games besides fighters and many of your favorite games seem to be RPGs. Is that a direction you could see yourself moving into in the future?

DI: In terms of developing games, I don’t feel bound to any particular genre. Of course, if the opportunity presents itself, I’d love to try developing an RPG, an FPS, or even something like an old-school Mario side-scrolling action kind of game.

Looking back on my own history, after Guilty Gear X2 #Reload, there was a moment when I was really tired of, or almost complacent in, developing fighting games. When Xrd came around, I discovered a new joy in fighting games, which was the internet and network battles.

Watching people fight each other while not being in the same place or, in extreme examples, Japan and US players can fight against each other. There was this moment of connection. It was a tool that could connect people and allow them to share that same emotion, this same moment, together, no matter where they were located. That showed me a new joy in developing fighting games and I believe there are still more joys to be found in the fighting game space. Right now, I’m really enjoying being able to develop fighting games.

I’ve heard rumors you were planning to conclude Guilty Gear and I’m curious about what that specifically means. Did you mean the story, the franchise, or perhaps your involvement?

DI: When I said to conclude Guilty Gear, I meant the current story arc would be concluded. By no means did I mean the franchise or intellectual property would come to a halt. Does that mean in the future I might be involved less or not at all? Perhaps, but, if I am involved, I think there are a lot of possibilities and different ways to explore what is possible with Guilty Gear.

Does the conclusion you have planned include Elphelt finding her true love?

DI: *Laughs* I might have to not be involved in the project by that point for that to happen, but I’ll leave it up to your imagination.

Guilty Gear is very well known for embodying the aesthetic of a particular era of music. If you were to make Guilty Gear today, would there be different inspirations you drew upon?

DI: Well, we’re entering the realm of fantasy here. Parallel universes or star systems, whatever you’d like to call it, I have thought of and I jot in my notebook sometimes, what would happen if I took the actor, Sol Badguy, and dropped him in different settings and stories. We have this particular collection of characters and I think that’s what people believe makes Guilty Gear, but, taking any one of these characters and drop them in another universe or setting, that has been a fun theme of mine to chuckle to myself about.

In doing so, I think, visually, it would be very different from what you see now. Musically, if I were to be developing this, I don’t think there would be many changes.

Ok, these last two questions are a round robin for each of you. First, what is your favorite non-ArcSys fighting game?

DI: Street Fighter: 3rd Strike. I played Q.

TM: Vampire Hunter. When I was a student, it was the game I played the most. I remember using the low-tier characters, that was my thing. Donovan.

Alright, last question. Many of our readers are anime fans, so can you share your favorite anime or manga?

DI: In terms of where I draw inspiration I’d have to say it leans more toward movies and other aspects of pop culture, but if we’re specifically looking at favorite anime, I would have to say Planetes is one of my favorites, but it doesn’t have much to bring to the table when it comes to Guilty Gear.

TM: Giant Robo would be my favorite anime. In terms of manga, I think Parasyte really is a very complete form of manga. The story is very well constructed. As a creator and as a way I thinking I can really resonate with Comic Master J. It’s a very dark manga, but I can really feel for the characters in it.

DI: That’s the same artist as Ninja Slayer.

Minoru Kidooka: Magical Girl Sally and Giant Killers… Come to think of it, Sally had the same creator as Giant Robo.

Oh, really?

---

Thus concluded my time with the big three at ArcSys and I left the interview with a new respect for the company as a creative force and each of the interviewees for their excellent taste in anime. BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle is slated for release only a month before it will be featured on the main stage at EVO 2018, but the words of its creators make it seem like it will be an inevitable hit.

---

Peter Fobian is Features and Reviews Editor for Crunchyroll, author of Monthly Mangaka Spotlight, writer for Anime Academy, and contributor at Anime Feminist. You can follow him on Twitter @PeterFobian.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[yes-this-is-sam]

WIP MEME

List all the things you’re currently working on in as much or little detail as you’d like, then tag some friends to see what they’re working on. This can be writing, art, vids, gifsets - anything at all!

I was tagged by the extraordinary @sexy-salmon thank you hun!

Aight.... shoot, gotta collect all my notes.

1) Escaping Ostagar:

This one is my only current Dragon Age fic. It’s... been a labour of love. My baby Melisande is a bit of a self-insert, I was maybe trying to use her to get a hold on my own PTSD. Maybe I cared way too much about this damn story. I’ve been working on it since Dec 2016 and it was the very first of my own writing I ever tried to share with anyone. Twice now I’ve given up on it despite having the last 12 chapters planned out. I still want to finish it but... I gotta get to a point where it doesn’t hurt that it got little attention. Like I said, I invested way too much into it. 

2) I Have To Try:

WOOO Currently my most progressed new story-child. Probably going to start posting it soon. Set in Andromeda, it follows none other than a bedraggled Avitus Rix in his new and initially unwelcome role as Pathfinder and the creation of his Pathfinding team. I didn’t like that we didn’t even hear news or anything playing about the other Pathfinder’s efforts to make their own colonies and help in whatever ways they could. A couple cameos where they take back seat to Ryder, which is unfair to ALL of the Pathfinders. Why put the other races and the entire Initiative on Ryder’s shoulders when the others have more experience and just as many resources? Kaetus gets dragged along for the ride, as well as an APEX team led by the fierce ex-Cabal Vitetoria Digeris. 

3) Though This Be Madness:

Hehehe this one certainly lives up to its name more than I expected. The story focuses around the blog’s namesake Samantha Curtis along with her wayward AI OPI, her adopted Batarian family Ragar and Ecetia, and the Krogan she knows way too much about Ganar Jirr. This one I'm taking a step back on to rethink how I'm gonna set it up. Originally it started right before the Initiative left for Andromeda and followed Sam taking on both an incurable illness and the Kett she needs to stay alive AND trying to outrun every faction now after them both.... BUT THEN SAM FELL IN LOVE. She met Rexis Sarex, an adorable troublemaker created by @masseffectoc and now I can’t write them apart. I got permission to include her characters in the story too and IT WILL BE GLORIOUS SHENANIGANS. If I start at the same place I was going to, it’ll still work but miss a lot of character and relationship building. SO I’ll either back up and start from farther back and end up with something as long as goddamn GRRM’s books, or I’ll split it into 2 and make a prequel where Sam and Rex meet and all the characters come together and decide to go with them to Andromeda or not. At least..... the ones who survive. Mwahahaha.

4) Chronicles of Jirr:

Ok, I’ll be the first to admit it. Ganar Jirr was originally just a nameless NPC I randomly created to give Sam a funny story to tell and amuse Rexis. Now he is one of my most dynamic characters I’ve ever made, I think. Affectionately nicknamed Krogan James Bond, by myself, this will be a series of stories told alternate BY him or about him. The ones told by him will probably be ridiculously exaggerated or entirely made up, fair warning. 

5) Blast Off:

This is gonna be a surprise for masseffectoc for her birthdaaaaaay so I'm not gonna say more than I told her. Which is that it’s an addition to Having A Blast, a silly fic pair I made for Sam and Rexis and his obsession with Blasto. 

6) Untitled (thus far):

I recently heard of a 10k word count challenge for the month of March, held by @mebigbang and I’m thinking of doing something for it. It sounds mildly terrifying but an excellent challenge and one I know I can hit the word count on (HA) if my other fics are of any indication. I tagged their blog here so if any artists or authors are interested (there’s an art part as well to Mass Effect Big Bang) you can check it out. I’ve got a couple ideas floating around but given that there’s a level of anonymity I won’t describe them just yet. I don’t wanna break the rules before I decide if I even can jump in. 

7) Post ME3 - currently untitled:

My take on the end of ME3 and how the people I care about make it through, a Garrus/Shep fic. It’s pretty amorphous atm since my OC fics have been taking up much more of my time. 

8) Halfsies:

Alright, this one is... urk. It’s the most conceptualized original idea I’ve had yet to date. It’s one I’ve put together enough to potentially go through on. I just don’t know if I’m good enough to get published and I’ve been so stressed with life stuff going on the last few years I’m still at concept stage. Anyway, premise... let me see if I can even describe this right.

Have you ever seen something out of the corner of your eye and for an instant you know it’s real and you HAVE to look at it but then as soon as you do you explain it away? Oh that was just the shadow off the vase. Damn, my cat scared the shit out of me. Those are Halfsies. Halfsies live halfway been this realm and another and have no form until they’re fully Recognised. They WANT to be Recognised. It is the only driving need they have and they fight viciously for it, to be made Real. Our main character makes a game out of trying to trick herself into believing what startles her is real instead of explaining it away automatically and one day she accidentally makes one Real. The form it takes is exactly what the MC imagined so it’s rather cartoonish and surreal looking, but it immediately grabs the MC and tells it to stop. That ALL of the Halfsies, literally there are no ways to count them because they don’t have form and always create more, now know the MC can make them Real, Recognise them. And they ALL are after the MC now and will do anything, drive them insane if they have to, in order to be made Real. And the MC has to rely on their befriended Halfsie and a few other friends to escape. 

Alright, I know I have more. I ALWAYS have more. But these are the only ones coming to mind right now. 

Tagging @shekissesturians @isharaytaoshay @daddyvictus and @ithewriter