smellbringer

[smellbringer]

Question for my fellow Halo nerds on this site. Do you guys think that there were certain SPARTAN-III Gamma Company members prepped to serve as supplements to SPARTAN-II's like Noble Team were in Halo Reach?

And do you think those Gammas, if they existed, would have been spared the aggression boosting drugs the other Gammas got?

My personal answer to both is yes. The first simply because it happened to Alpha and Beta. So it makes sense to have it happen to Gamma. The second because those Gammas wouldn't be hurled into suicide missions. Meaning those drugs wouldn't have been deemed necessary.

I think it'd be interesting to have a 13-14 year old prepped for that role. Only for the extinction threatening war to be over and leaving ONI with some hard decisions to make about them. But that's just me, I'm curious what everyone else thinks.

[smellbringer]

you can only reblog this today. if you even care

[smellbringer]

I think that's a bit of a... Halo Reach.

gets pelted by tomatoes

Halo Reach is far from the first story to pull this, but I cant help but call "Prequel where everything goes wrong and nearly the entire main cast dies" as "Halo Reaching"

[smellbringer]

Special shoutout to Halo Empty Throne, for being able to bring back a character who's been dead for over 20 real life years, was insignificant in the only story he was in beforehand, and somehow make him the character I cared the most about in the end.

Bra-fuckin'-vo.

[smellbringer]

Lord Hood's entire story in Halo Empty Throne feels like the book is self-aware of the state of the Halo universe and uses Hoods chapter as a mission statement. Something that I feel works to get more jaded Halo readers hooked.

Both Hood and the overall Halo universe in the immediate aftermath of Halo 5 are left lost and adrift, trapped in a drunken haze, and constantly reminiscing on it's past while everything goes to hell.

Conversely, Lord Hood in Empty Throne is back to his old self; focused, forward facing, and clear minded in purpose. Willing to admit past faults but no longer willing to let them consume him.

Given the point of Empty Throne is to finally move the overall Halo universe post-Halo 5 forward; I feel it's fitting. It also works with where things are with Empty Throne by the end, the universe finally in a new paradigm. Even if it's similar to the paradigm that existed before Halo 4.

Look, I'm just happy we no longer have to worry about the giant death robots and can actually tell stories in the Halo universe without that shit looming over.

[smellbringer]

Nah, I'm fuckin' with ya. I just finished Empty Throne and was looking for people talking about it. When I saw your post, I got possessed by the spirit of opportunity and took my shot.

I know I'm the only one thinking this hard about Sangheili underwear, but why are they always putting these mfers in loincloths?? They wear skin-tight techsuits under their armor, these guys are in briefs at best. Unless someone is fashioning them a loincloth, in which case, whose job do we think that is?

[smellbringer]

Even later response:

They're insurrectionists?

I know I'm the only one thinking this hard about Sangheili underwear, but why are they always putting these mfers in loincloths?? They wear skin-tight techsuits under their armor, these guys are in briefs at best. Unless someone is fashioning them a loincloth, in which case, whose job do we think that is?

[smellbringer]

I suppose my problem is that, well, I don't know how to get better.

"Just practice!" Great, but how do I get it in front of eyes who will point out where I erred?

If I can only get the feeling something might be wrong but not figure out why then I'm not learning. I'm just ramming my head into a wall and maybe the wall will break. If I'm lucky.

So earlier in art class today, someone drew a characters hands in their pockets and mentioned that hands are really like the ultimate end boss of art, and most of us wholeheartedly agreed. So then, our teacher went ahead and free handed like a handful of hands on the board, earning a woah from a couple of students. So the one from earlier mentioned how it barely took the teacher ten seconds to do what I can’t do in three hours. And you know what he responded?

“It didn’t take me ten seconds, it took me forty years.”

And you know, that stuck with me somehow. Because yeah. Drawing a hand didn’t take him fourth years. But learning and practicing to draw a hand in ten seconds did. And I think there’s something to learn there but it’s so warm and my brain is fried so I can’t formulate the actual morale of the lesson.

[smellbringer]

[smellbringer]

The Best Way To Play The Metroid Prime Trilogy In 2025

Metroid Prime 4 is coming up around the corner this year in time for the Nintendo Switch 2’s Launch window. And this got me thinking about replaying the entire Metroid Prime Trilogy. I grew up with these classic shooters and they sealed my love of the Metroid series with their fun design, creepy worlds, and great atmosphere. There’s one small problem with revisiting the Prime Trilogy however;…

[smellbringer]

"Love is stronger than anything."

Wrong, RPG-7.

[smellbringer]

Between Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Heroes, I like to imagine that if anyone asked Sonic if he thought Shadow survived he'd just say, "I can't say for sure but if Shadow's anything like me; then he's stubborn and full of surprises."

Initially as a way of holding out hope that Shadow did, then it turns into a sort of affirmation. One proven true by the events of Sonic Heroes. Which is why, when he sees Shadow, Sonic just goes,

Cuz he'd spent the past few weeks/months saying that same thing.

[smellbringer]

Crossover idea, Sonic the Hedgehog and Doom. But Sonic and his usual quartet of friends don't really get involved.

Instead we get Doom Slayer and Shadow the Hedgehog spending time bonding over a love of guns and vehicles. Doom Slayer introducing Shadow to the Ballista and Shadow introducing Doom Slayer to the Omochao Gun.

Oh, and Doom Slayer meeting Cream the Rabbit. The man has a weakness for rabbits and Cream's a talking one who's also sweeter than goddamn sugar. The Slayer doesn't get super emotional but Cream's presence would make him actually have to try not to be emotional for once.

Also the entire time E-123 Omega spends the entire time trying to get the Slayer to be his friend. Because The Slayer to Omega is an aspirational figure what with the ultra-violence and unquenchable rage.

[smellbringer]

Yeah I'm old enough to remember when every man on the planet idolized a chemically castrated, virginal momma's boy who took orders from women.

This is what peak performance looks like.

[smellbringer]

This convinced me to buy Empty Throne, reading tonight.

I always have beef with Halo novels, it's my primary function, but god I think Empty Throne is a deeply sincere effort from top to bottom and I thought it was really good and that outweighs all of the small things.

[smellbringer]

Well when you put it like that it sounds completely fucking insane.

It's also 100% accurate, no lies detected.

what is halo

Imagine a hard-scifi military series where, in the wake of a massively popular anti-colonial insurrection, the future CIA starts kidnapping children from colonial subject planets, brainwashing and experimenting on them to create teenage supersoldiers, then using the survivors of this program to assassinate left-wing political opponents of the imperial government, because the previous traditional military campaign was untenable. THEN as this is happening, an alien pseudo-catholic empire doing some Ancient Rome shit shows up and just starts OBLITERATING any resistance humans put up.

Okay so now imagine a series of video games where you play as (now adult) child soldiers from this program, and none of it EVER comes up and the games are just about how freaking sick the imperial government’s guns and tanks are and you go around shooting aliens with them and it’s sick as hell. That’s halo, baby! Anyway, read the short story Dirt from Halo Evolutions it’s so so good

[smellbringer]

I know a lot of people talk about the similarities between the "Space Marine Trio" of Samus, Master Chief, and Doom Slayer. But I never see anyone mention the fact that, unlike most other gaming protags, their victories don't result in an actually happy ending.

No, even though their enemies are left slaughtered in droves; Samus, Master Chief, and Doom Slayer all have their lives irrevocably ruined. They're left as hollow shells, everyone they love is dead, and the universe is indifferent to their suffering.

Samus lost her parents at age 3 when a goddamned space dragon murdered them. Then her adoptive bird dads go almost extinct. Then every person she forms any attachment with, from her human mentor to a goddamn space parasite, dies in horrible and brutal ways while she's helpless to save them. Samus has one friend left and even then it's unclear if they're on speaking terms.

Master Chief is forced to watch billions die in screaming agony to an unstoppable alien horde while he can do nothing to stop it. Every victory the Chief wins is immediately nullified and rendered pointless. Then his adoptive family almost entirely dies to said alien horde while he's forced to watch. After that he winds up stranded for 4 years and is forced to watch his best friend die. Then she's reborn as a megalomaniaical dictator who he has to kill.

Doom Slayer has everyone he cared about killed by demons from hell. Then proceeds to fight hell so many times that it breaks his mind and leave him in an unstoppable blood rage. When The Slayer eventually recovers from that and finds new purpose and people to care about he's betrayed and loses almost everyone he came to care about. Even killing the Lord of Hell and destroying hell comes with a final 'fuck you.'

No wonder they're people of few words. They'd be screaming in constant emotional agony otherwise.