#one of my biggest fears in bloodborne

[vechter]

Top 5 Dick and Bruce moments or things

it's gotta be what faith tells dick in JLA (1997) #73

just the implications of it all. how bruce recognizes he hurts people, whether its criminals or the people who have chosen to love him. but still. still. he is immensely and immeasurably proud of dick. he can never say it, he wouldn't know how to even begin to tell dick how much dick means to him. also the crazy thing- we all know dick is insane about bruce and how endlessly devoted he is to him. but bruce is equally insane about him in his own neurotic way. he puts dick on a pedestal (he is right to) but just how fucked up of him. bonus scene from the obsidian run (#76) that always makes me grin:

2. this one is from robin: year one (2000) #4

so bruce fired dick after two face nearly beat him to death with a bat and dick ran away and managed to end up joining a league of assassins vengeance school under this dude named shrike. i won't bore you with even more plot but something about this panel just kills me. they're both so lonely and desperate for each other's partnership. bruce knows he miscalculated firing dick even if it was for dick's safety- dick isn't going to stop being a vigilante just bc batman said so (bruce u fucking idiot) and i think this instance of firing, while glossed over later in favour of the whole two-face of it all did sth that changed their dynamic fundamentally and irrevocably. it is probably the catapult for all of dick's future doubts and insecurities about his role and place in bruce's life. meanwhile, bruce giving dick agency in what he wants to do next- he needs dick just as much as dick needs robin. it's incredibly sad because i think there is a part of bruce that believes dick is only coming back to be robin, a doubt furthered when dick eventually forms the titans and loses all semblance of a life outside the mask.

3. this one is from outsiders: five of a kind - nightwing/boomerang (2007)

basically, dick decided to hand over the outsiders to batman and this is owen boomerang, the son of the guy who killed tim's dad. this is post-adoption so dick is more secure in his role as bruce's son. and just sth about how dick won't stand for people criticizing bruce, even when he might be thinking unfavourably of bruce. bc he can do that. but other people? no dice. also the added angst from owen talking about his own dad and his own version of legacy. i like to think dick probably felt some type of way about owen yelling out 'he was my father' bc while dick probably hasn't ever verbalized that, he has probably felt similarly.

4. batman (1940) #636

bruce brooding over the past. little does he know his second son is back and ready to haunt him literally instead of metaphorically lol. but anyway, this always makes me froth at the mouth. both bruce and dick have a tendency to look back on those years very, very positively and something about how nostalgia warps your memories but also how much of it is nostalgia and how much is truth? bruce is forever living in the past. @nighhtwing summarizes one of bruce's core truths in their fic Hereditary beautifully: Bruce has lived with grief longer than he’s lived without. It’s easy, then, to mourn this moment even as it’s in front of him, alive.

5. basically all of the comic batman/nightwing: bloodborne (2002). one of the most stellar pieces of bruce and dick writing. the art's a little funky but the story is fantastic. the devotion dick has. it's debilitating, it could kill him. it should have (thinking about the blast dick took for bruce in infinite crisis and how it was supposed to have killed him). the same toxin and anti-toxin runs through their veins. something about the intimacy and inherent religious imagery and nature of sharing blood. but it isn't even a cursory thought to dick. of course he will put himself in death's way if it means being able to save bruce. dick's biggest fear: being unable to save bruce like bruce saved him all those years ago. the way it all takes place on the anniversary of his parents' death. fantastic, killer, devastating show-stopping even.

[ferhog]

Getting into Metroid This Past Month:

I first learned about Metroid (as well as most Nintendo franchises that weren't Pokemon and Mario) through my friend's copy of Smash Bros Brawl at around the age of 9. Samus being a hot lady underneath the cool set of power armor left enough of an impression for me to try and draw her from memory, but I otherwise had no interest in actually playing her games for most of the following decade and a half. In that time I learned a bit of her lore from Smash Trophys, Game Theory videos, and watching the first few minutes of Other M cutscenes to hear the lady from Smash Bros talk, but it wasn't until shortly after the release of Metroid Dread when I watched some late game cutscenes from the game and GameXplain's Metroid movie pitch video that I became interested enough in the story of the games and Samus as a character that I decided to downlo- I mean obtain copies of Zero Mission and Fusion for my Visua- I mean Gameboy Advance, which I held off on starting until I worked through my gaming backlog more, and it was earlier this summer that I decided the time had come.

The Metroid Manga: Before starting Zero Mission as my first game I read the manga so I'd get a good sense of Samus' backstory before starting. Now I knew what to roughly expect thanks to the Gamexplain movie pitch adapting much of the story, but overall I enjoyed it more than I was expecting. I probably don't need to tell you that Ridley was the absolute highlight. His pure evil is matched only by Louie from Pikmin in terms of Nintendo villains and it got me very invested in his rivalry with Samus throughout the games. Aside from that, my favourite part of the manga was Samus' characterization and her relationship with her bird dads. I have a real soft spot for all adoption related tropes so I really like the idea that Samus was taken in by what was once the most important race in the galaxy and inherited their legacy of keeping the peace, which she basically turned into a job via bounty hunting. However a lot of what the manga does is better in concept than in execution, as the art is hard to follow a lot of the time and much of the story is sped through quite quickly, no thanks to how much time is spent with the extensive cast of side characters. When Samus started her zero mission I held off on finishing the story until I played the game, and while I'm glad that they went with adapting the game at the end because we got to see a climactic fight against Ridley it is super bizarre that they didn't commit to the idea and just stopped when Samus reached Mother Brain. The manga is absolutely worth reading but best thought of as a companion to Zero Mission, probably best read afterwards.

Metroid Zero Mission: My experience with Metroidvanias was basically just Hollow Knight, the first Dark Souls, and Bloodborne, and while I was excited to experience the same sense of adventure I also feared getting lost as per this franchise's reputation. However I surprisingly managed to make my way though the whole game with only one thing I had to look up, which embarrassingly was the same mistake David Jaffe infamously made in Dread, as I failed to realize I could shoot a ceiling open even with enemies there to hint that I could. I think the game has the perfect balance between freedom and guidance as someone's first Metroid game through the chozo statues that mark your next destination without telling you how exactly to get there. Combine that with it being a remake of the first game and I think it was just the perfect game for me and anyone else to start with. My biggest issue gameplay-wise was just the fights against Mother Brain and the two black Space Pirates were very frustrating, the latter because the combat just didn't feel designed for a fight that reflex based, at least not for a newcomer. After finishing the game I felt compelled to earn the Zero Suit Samus ending, which I accomplished by constantly scouting out the optimal routes and resetting so I could get through them as fast as possible.

AM2R: I wanted to play these games in story order so I knew I had to play some version of Metroid 2 next. After trying out the original Metroid that you unlock after beating Zero Mission I figured the pre-NES games weren't going to be fun for me so I wanted to play either AM2R or Samus Returns, and I went with the former as it would be easier to find and would be closer to the game I just finished. The game is a very impressive feat for a fan-made project, though I think it was the one I had the least fun with overall. A few hours into the game I listened to the Some Call Me Johnny review which mentioned it being very hard, and that made sense considering it was a fan project by big Metroid fans for big Metroid fans, but it did result in a few of the bosses being quite frustrating with how much skill they demanded, particularly with the space jump which I struggled to understand the timing of. I didn't feel like instantly replaying it as I did with Zero Mission but I really loved how they adapted the ending.

Super Metroid: "This SNES game probably won't hold up that well right?" Thought the guy whose first console was the PS2.

Super Metroid is one of the greatest games of all time.

Metroid Fusion: I was real intrigued going into this game given what I'd heard about its linearity and extra story focus compared to the prior games but it was still a shock going straight from 2 playthroughs of Super Metroid to this. It didn't even really feel like Metroid, especially with how you were essentially playing through levels via Adam sending you through specific locations with specific tasks. Eventually I got used to it and fully accepted it as a Metroid game as I was increasingly required to be more explorative, though I think of all Metroid games I've played it has the most needlessly abstract methods for mandatory progression. The example which I eventually gave up on and looked up was the yellow Space Pirate X which which could only be damaged with a shot to the back apparently? There was seemingly no visual hints for that and the doors didn't even open if you absorbed the X before they formed the Space Pirates. While I figured out the other examples on my own I just felt I had to blow up way more seemingly random walls than normal. The bosses were generally very fun except for everything about Yakuza. A super long lead up to a boss that kept killing me super easily before I figured out how to avoid its grab attack, followed by a struggle to regain health for the ensuing SA-X encounter with how little health you get from enemies that could fly in out of nowhere and do more damage to you than you were regaining. Speaking of the SA-X, it wasn't in the game as much as I was expecting, but each encounter was quite memorable, especially when I was hiding behind power bomb blocks and it dropped a power bomb. Overall I didn't like most of this game's choices, but I like it when franchises try new things so I wouldn't say anything should have been changed except for how much health you get from enemies. This was the 2nd game I didn't feel like instantly replaying.

Metroid Prime: As of writing this I am currently a few hours into the first Metroid Prime, specifically having just gotten the boost ball. The Metroid formula was very well translated into 3D and the visuals have aged amazingly. I may be playing a remaster but most remasters still don't look this modern. But curiously this has been the Metroid game I've spent the most time away from during a playthrough, going several days without picking it up again. It's not that I dislike playing it, I just don't feel as much of a strong desire to keep coming back to it. Maybe I just feel the need to catch up on other stuff after playing so much Metroid. I do think I'll get around to playing the rest soon enough.

One of my biggest impressions overall is that Metroid is actually quite underrated despite how iconic it is. Samus seems mostly remembered as a Smash Bros character and her iconic twist as one of gaming's first female protagonists, but it doesn't seem like that many people actually play the games. It's also funny that while Samus is famous as a sex symbol in the Smash Bros and general gaming fandoms, it seems that the actual Metroid fandom prefers their Samus cooler than sexy. Anyway I'm looking forward to eventually picking up Dread, the game which first hooked my interest into this franchise, and the other 2 Prime games. Maybe I'll even pick up Other M if I see it around.

[katyspersonal]

😨 🤥 🕷️ 🌌 about your oc Geranea :з

Thank you for asking about her!! I still really need to draw a proper reference of her hunting outfit and weapon, but for now 80% of my WIPs are visual references and it is slowly destroying me т.т

(Asks from this ( x ) meme)

😨 FEARFUL - when scared, do they go into "flight" or "fight"?

'Fight' reaction is her default! If this is some kind of a wild predator animal (or, a dangerous beast, more appropriately to the context), she will fight without a second of hesitation, and very furiously so! It would apply to dangerous people too, like someone trying to rob or attack. She is that kind of person whose body just "knows" how to fight the exact second there is a reason to. If the threat IS too much for her to take on however, she also soon measures it and knows to run.

It applies in less drastic contexts, too, like someone making her scared or anxious in simply conversations. She defaults to scolding a person that alerted her, angrily, blushing and with her fists balled, and if she realises she picked a dangerous opponent in a conflict (like, say, starting a quarrel with people like Brador or Alfred) she will retreat. It is like a second nature, sensing whether default to fight or make an exception and fight. She has good "instincts"!

🤥 LYING - are they good liars? do they have tells to show they're lying?

Geranea is an okay liar when not a lot is at the stake, she could tell a small lie to keep someone's secret or get them out of trouble but would not lie for a personal gain. But when she got sent into Research Hall she had to lie, a lot. She needed to swipe various tools to help herself and others, avoid various chemicals and procedures, even help the patients that still could be saved...

Her face is not the most emotive (I swear her only expressions are 'tired' or 'angry' xD), but it is her body language that gives her lying away. When the cost of her lie being found out is high she blushes up to her very ear tips, hods hands in fists and overall looks stiff and tense. And, well, you don't want to attract unnecessary attention of cunts like Micolash or Brador of all people.... Since this is so inconvenient, Geranea tricks her own body by 'omitting' rather than straight up lying; comforting herself with how she technically says the truth actually helps her to relax and no longer look suspicious!

🕷️ SPIDER - what is their biggest fear? do they have any irrational / mundane fears?

She has quite generic fears of heights and the dark that not even much more horrifying Yharnam experiences weeded out! She will also dwell quite strongly if she had near-death experience recently (like for example someone's weapon JUST missing her head). The fear of ghosts, however, became a thing of the past after she had to fight several! Previously, they were the exception of her 'fight' reaction, the girl was screaming and running away! I guess it is too bad that she can't punch the height or the darkness in the face, then. xD

After leaving Research Hall by herself at last, her biggest fear became being found and returned to it. She still saw nightmares about it even since Research Hall, from her knowledge, got shut down and retooled into an "Orphanage". Even with her kindness, she tries to 'not think too hard' about the fact that most likely they experiment on children now, only to not deal with feeling like returning there and saving whoever she could is her duty.

🌌 MILKY WAY - what was the inspiration behind your oc? what was the first thing you decided about them?

Damn, the story of her appearing is actually such a good memory for me, oh my god! I first thought of her back in Summer 2021! Remember how I told that sometimes I am sitting and minding my own business but random memories about Bloodborne lore bits simply 'appear' in my brain, like if I caught a radio frequency? Well, one day, my brain randomly grasped at the link of "hmmm, Valtr's helmet is missing one eye, he curses "freakish slugs and mad doctors", Yamamura was spyoning on dark Healing Church business as he is a summon for Living Failures, Valtr helps fighting Laurence and Ludwig.... I need to check whether Eye Pendant looks like an eye, ONE SECOND-"

So yeah! I also was and still am 'Valtr has both eyes as we are allowed to see' truther but back then it looked like canon rather than just one of the interpretations for me, so that sorta helped x) I decided whoever owned the Iron Helm previously was missing an eye, for the reason of Research Hall taking it, sought Valtr's help (as a cop??? xD) with their shady business and was significant enough in Valtr's life to make her associated item a symbol of League's mission!

.....and this was just me trying to look like I was super planned from the start lol. x) BEFORE this tangent, I already fell for guilty pleasure of wanting to make an OC deceased member of the League, just ask @val-of-the-north! I loved the concept of her dealing primarily with plant-like "filth", since flowers and alike in Bloodborne are a symbol of reaching for the skies for salvation and many corpses, especially in Hunter's Nightmare and Dungeons, sprout mold or flowers from their bodies. They grow from blood, everyone's blood has human dregs, blablablabla.

But after the Research Hall idea I soon decided to combine the characters into one! Again, back then, existence of previous Iron Helm owner felt extremely apparent for me, I was a sweet summer child (literal summer lol) yet to learn just HOW few things in Bloodborne are indisputable :/ And I wanted to breathe life in an "mentioned character" (in Iron Helm description) more than I wanted an OC, at least back then! ...then I screwed myself over with the idea that maybe this helmet is Djura's wielder helmet (it even misses the same eye!), and THEN I screwed myself over more thinking that maybe two-eyed Valtr we see is a snapshot by "Flora of the Moon and the Hunt" of his most efficient stage of life. And THEN Val had to battle me on still keeping Geranea because I deserved one (1) break from fiddling with "the most reasonable" theory instead of just taking it easy fdhfhds

She also was a she from the very start because I just like female characters, but initially her hair was black. I always associated her with cyan/aqua color though, especially darker tones. I guess dark red hair felt like a good contrast in the end!

Thank you for letting me talk about Geranea!

[gaysnorlax]

dungeon meshi manga spoilers below 👍

just a quick idk thoughts about the arc that Got Me™️ in relation to my autism. this is not an evaluation of general neurodivergence in the manga, just one part that spoke to me personally 🫡

the arc that really Really spoke to me was marcille becoming the lord of the dungeon. it really fucking resonated with me. for context here is a quick story about me:

as a teenager i was a maladaptive daydreamer, to the point where i have essentially zero memories from age 14-19 EXCEPT the daydreams.

i had created a world in which everything was the same but everything was different. an alien creature (kinda like looked like the bloodborne moon presence, but it started before bb. i can’t remember if it morphed after i played bb when i was 17 or if it was always something similar) came to me and told me that time was standing still and it had removed everyone from the planet. it assured me everyone was safe and that at any time i wanted, everyone would come back and time would resume.

the buses were still running but with no drivers so i would take the bus into town. i went into a cafe and there was a barista and i told the creature to get rid of him so it did. i made coffee for myself. i spent days of my life imagining myself just hanging out in a world with no other people. not once did i ever tell the creature to bring everyone back. it stopped once i stopped daydreaming to such a destructive extent. at that time of my life, i would have given ANYTHING to make that real.

so i fucking get it. i absolutely GET her feeling of powerlessness in face of her biggest fear and biggest desire and i get just taking the chance and fucking doing it. i GET her frustration when everyone is laughing about how no one lives for 1000 years, but SHE does, and she’s terrified. people would hit me with “really? you want everyone to disappear? what about XYZ? checkmate autist” like i hadn’t thoroughly thought through the consequences of everyone disappearing. like. idfk man the desperation and powerlessness and whatever Really got to me. the “care” about other people wrt the wish you have, but not really.

yeah.

anyway dungeon meshi did more for autism rep than any other media forever x

[huggingtentacles]

How long before the Lands Between start feeling like home?

I've been playing... For a while now, but I still can't get used to it. Lothric feels like home. Yharnam feels like home. Lordran feels like home. But the Lands Between feel... Just foreign. I don't feel like I truly belong here. I have this strange feeling that I don't fully understand this place, this world.

Dark Souls is about courage and overcoming adversity. It's about how anyone can be the Chosen One in their own story.

Dark Souls 3 is about the pain of holding on. It's about fear of the unknown, and the undying nature of human spirit and hope.

Bloodborne is about a lot of things, but amongst all of them it's about violence. Violence of authority, institutional violence, violence of our fellow humans. But most of all it's about the cyclical nature of it, and how to break it.

I know the plot of Elden Ring. But I don't know What This Game Is About. There are a lot of themes here, but none of them truly speak to me.

Perhaps on my way to those 3000 rune arcs I will find the answer, or maybe I won't truly understand untill I beat the dlc.

Or maybe I just don't belong to the Lands Between. After all, even if I'm the biggest fan of From Software, they don't have the obligation to make their games about me. Maybe this game is just for someone else?

If that's the truth... I'm okay with that. I'll be waiting for the next one all the same.

[halfbakedspuds]

Thanks to @honeybewrites for the tag

WIP Questionnaire tag

Rules: answer the following questions about a WIP!

I may as well do this for the Tempest Prince

What's the first part of your WIP that you created?

Probably the idea of the bloodmoon being responsible for beast activity ramping up. (not an actual bloodmoon, they just call it that because it looks like a second moon made out of churning blood that only the hunters can see)

If your story were a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be?

'kickstart my heart' by Mötley Crüe would work really well for this, but I think for the darker parts later on 'House of the rising sun' as covered by Ghost of Johnny Cash would work better with some lyric changes

What are your favourite characters that you've made? Why?

I have two:

Lifvinja Ravenscar was really interesting to write because of the whole psychology of someone who spent the first fifteen years of her life believing with good reason that she likely wouldn't live to see her twenties only to accidentally make herself immortal. The psychology of someone who feels isolated both because she'll outlive everyone and because her clockwork body makes her the outsider in any setting. Also her feelings towards her 'late' wife (I mean it's been a thousand years) and how it's shaped her life.

Eileen Snowsong only shows up much later, but I enjoyed writing her mostly because I relate with her more than any of the other characters (which says a lot given how much I relate with most of them). I can't say why I relate with her without spoilers, but part of the reason is her specific inner tug of war between what she feels is expected of her and who she really is.

What other pieces of media do you think your fanbase would share?

Bloodborne definitely.

Probably Percy Jackson too but I'm not so sure about that one.

What has been your biggest struggle with your WIP?

Writing a series of this length is daunting.

Like, I have all 21 books roughly planned out (with the Jason, Alex, and Helga's story being five books long) but it's daunting trying to write it simply because it's such a massive undertaking, and trying to talk myself out of that fear has been my biggest constant struggle.

Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!

There are these things called Beasts, which are sort of like the universe's immune response to humanity. Whenever a creature is touched by the void (Usually during a bloodmoon) they mutate and disfigure into a beast, and it's around that point that they become the problem of the hunters. Humans are somewhat immune to this process, however that's how Demihumans are created and that's a story for another day.

It tends to be more concentrated around heavy population densities, so cities are the most commonly hit, and it got so bad in the area from Central to Southern Asia that the hunter vanguards in the area broke off to deal with it themselves because the hunter cities just did not have the manpower to give them adequate support

How do your characters travel/get around?

Most hunters use witchpowder lanterns to partially detach from reality and relocate to a different part of the world in a matter of seconds.

However, Jason and Alex have some upgrades from regular hunters.

Jason figured out pretty early on that he can literally ride the lightning and travel that way (which is a few minutes faster than lantern travel as long as he's not hopping from Antarctica to Northern Canada, Scandinavia or Russia.

Alex has portals, although he has passed out several times in the past from the exertion of keeping them open, so he doesn't like doing it.

What part of your WIP are you working on right now?

I have so much done in the first book, but two years on the introduction still refuses to click for me, so I guess trying to get it to work

What are your hopes for your WIP?

Mostly just that people enjoy it and that I don't fuck it up too badly.

Open tag for anyone who wants to hop on

[swallowtail-ageha]

So... You've mentioned something about Izzy x Maria...... 👀

Yeah yeah!!! It's a ship that has been growing a lot on me lately ig i am made to ship rarepairs

I have a few hc about them but they're probably gonna change because one i still have to form a "canon" version of it in my extremely dramatic and hbo esque version of bloodborne lore and i am also not well known for keeping constistencies LMAO

I hc that Izzy was actually one of the first tomb prospectors from when byrgenwerth decided to explore the chalices dungeons as she had interest in the beast scourge as i hc her to be a descendant of one of the few survivors of Loran and that's how she met Maria, through Gehrman and the tomb explorations!

I do not think they actually got very along at first, i think their personalities clashed a lot, with Izzy being more of a "i actually do not care what others do or think, i'll do whatever i want whenever i want" while Maria was still stuck in her old rule abiding/stuck up Cainhurst ways (both i think out of habit and both out of a fear of being kicked out of the tomb prospectors/proto hunters? In my hc she was never happy to begin with at Cainhurst but repressed a major part of her unhappiness. She only realized that after she left it and her biggest fear was to be somehow forced to return to it. So yeah my Maria is also someone who gets morbously attached to those who she sees as her "superiors" who can lead her to do better and will obey them no matter what, something that was going to bit her in the ass later in life).

So Yeah, i expected them to have lots of fights especially when regarding how to approach the actual exploration part and how to handle certain artifacts they found, but i also think that their big "bonding" moments were also born out of both's genuine interest in exploring and wanting knowing more about their respective ancestors (people of Loran and Pthumerians). So after a while they found a midway point to concile each other and after that they fell in love.

I also Do Not Think they were the most stable relationship ever

(they fought. A lot, especially as Izzy's ideology begun to shift and she began to think that becoming a beast was the true path to ascension while Maria became more and more aligned with the Healing Church methods of ascension. This is also what caused them to separate forever on bad terms. Izzy will keep thinking of Maria as the Church's lapdog for the rest of her life, without ever knowing that Maria too felt trapped by what the Church had become because at that point their relationship had become too strained for them to have an earnest conversation again + again i think Maria's deep emotional repression and denial had an hand into this)

BUT i also think it was the healthiest relationship that Maria had with someone as it didn't involve really manipulation or a power imbalance on neither part, while Izzy even after having her whole image of Maria soured after the Research Hall would think of their early days together as one of her happiest times (buut if we want to add a little more messed up layer to this we can also say that one of the reasons why Maria was attracted to her was because she reminded her of Gehr//HEADSHOT)

As a lighter headcanon i also think that Maria would have been extremely fascinated by Izzy's ability in weaponcrafting and she would spend just... hours looking at her smithing, and that sometimes they'd go together binging on pubs and inns for shits and giggles. Do not ask them from how many of those places they've been kicked out

[luxmaeastra]

Korok frowned at Melinöe and Oristes.

"Are we sure this won't invite more issues? The Bloodborn of Terresan have Mala, you all have me. If we bring them in then we will be sending a message -"

"Yes. That children shouldn't be left orphaned!"

"Asteri orphaned children Melinöe."

She snarled stepping toward the throne. Achlys tensed looking to her twin. She'd stayed silent as this debate had raged for the better part of the last two days. Melinöe was saved when her mate stepped forward.

Oristes voice was quiet but firm.

"Carnyth was my twin sister, Arktos my Kindred. I - those children should be raised by family. Achlys if you both refuse we will leave for Night in Prythian. I can't - I can't them grow up thinking we abandoned them."

Melinöe glared at Korok and sneered.

"Eosphoros is 16, I have heard Carnyth wished for her to take Etele's throne when the Grace Rite happens in the next 20 years. Tell me, does your sister fear her enough not have a potential Heir in her court?"

Korok was on his feet, the ground beginning to crsck and rot. As an Asteri his magic had bent toward the soul, toward life and death. That cold light was beginning to glow brighter.

Achlys could see this ending in disaster. She and Melinöe hadn't both planned to mate Asteri. They hadn't both planned for any of this. It had been a blessing that Oristes and Korok hadn't come to blows before. But if they did now? Here?

Oristes was a genius with magic, with the Wyrdmarks. Korok was powerful but Oristes was Old Blood. If he saw Korok as a threat, even as mild mannered as he was he'd react.

She thought of Carnyth and her children. The attack had sent shock waves through the Asteri and Valg communities.

Carnyth had been one of the biggest proponents of peace and had helped Sarai draft those treaties. Treaties that still stuck, that had kept the Valg and Asteri relatively peaceful after Cassandra's fall.

Everyone had said Carnyth and Sarai had the potential to take the Asteri throne after Cassandra. Sarai herself had been named a potential Heir of Cassandra's 500 years ago.

But this? No one had seen it coming. Both had opted for peace and relatively obscurity over the power the Asteri Queenship gave.

Who had dared to target Carnyth and her family? It had been brutal from the reports she'd gleaned from Night in Prythian.

Their family mansion had been decimated. The oldest three children Austrus, Hesperus, and Eosphoros had been away. Of the young children it had been rumored Rigelus had found his parents. He'd try to wake them before reinforcements had arrived and dragged the children away.

Her heart went out for the children. This was the exact thing she had wanted to stop. This was the reason she, Neculai and Brannan had taken arms up against Cassandra before. It had been their families targeted and decimated like this.

"Rhain do you have any thoughts? You lived among the Nightborn. Will they see us bringing these children in as a threat?"

She turned from Rhain to her mate and glared at him.

"Sit down Korok."

"But -"

"Sit. I will not have you attack anyone in my throne room."

So many has warned her of Korok's wandering eye, his propensity to grow bored and restless. In the 500 years they'd been together she had realized he craved discipline. That he wanted someone else to lead him. She was happy to do so, she didn't like to give up control in any case. It worked out well for the both of them.

Oristes had stopped fidgeting with the little gold contraption he'd been working on. He slid it in his pocket taking Melinöe's hand and squeezing it. Korok and he didn't break eye contact and Achlys rolled her eyes again.

Territorial males.

“I don’t believe so, but it is hard to say. The Nightborn aren’t always the most forth coming with their views on things.”

It was such a cryptic way of saying he didn’t know, Melinoë rolled her eyes before she looked towards her sister. It seemed Rhein was not as insightful in this as clearly her sister had hoped, she honestly at thought they all would have been on her side in this.

The children needed stability, they needed to know they were not being abandoned. It was one of the things she and Sarai had agreed to in their correspondence, however she knew Sarai wasn’t capable at the time - her family was growing and she needed to focus on Night.

Her hand gently returned the squeeze to Orestes, thankful that at least he was backing her up in this. “We shouldn’t let other courts and kingdoms dictate to us, by doing so are we not just showing them that we want to bow down to them?”

[mousetaildeveloper]

April 7th 2022

Hi there, welcome to the start of my development diary for a project I’m tentatively calling “Mouse Tail.” I’m planning on making a Video Game by myself (mostly, I’ll likely outsource some stuff) and this blog will be a log of my feelings, progress, and anything else related to the project. I’m hoping to post here once a week at least, just to try and keep myself accountable, though don’t be surprised if this doesn’t go anywhere.

I'm planning on this game to be a Metroidvania style game, taking inspiration from some of my favourite game settings, namely you can expect influence from Hollow Knight, Bloodborne, and Ori and the Blind Forest.

To get any obvious questions out of the way, I'll try and answer some that I know I have answers to right now 1. What Platform will the game be for? A. I plan on making this game for PC only at the current time 2. How long will it take to make? A. I have no idea, I'm just one person doing this by themselves. 3. Why are you making this game? A. I've always loved games, and I also love programming, so here I am, trying to make the kind of game that I'd like to play. 4. Will you be running a kickstarter/GoFundMe/Patreon? A. Maybe eventually, right now I don't think I have enough material to justify asking people to support me financially, and the engine I currently plan on using (Unity) also has restrictions on my license regarding funding that I'd rather not risk getting sued or losing my ability to develop. 5. How can I support you if not financially? A. For right now, share this blog with others who might be interested! Though try not to get your hopes up too high, as I have no idea how this will go, Just a concept, passion, and some free time.

6. Do you have a plan to work on this, or are you just winging it? A. I'll mostly be working on this project between school and my part-time job, so progress will likely be slow at least at first. that being said below the cut is the development plan/roadmap I've made, It's not comprehensive by any means, but it details my intended process.

Development will be split into 4 phases, Planning, Prototyping, Production, and Polishing.

Planning is where I am now, this is where I'll be figuring out the central elements of the game, what kind of game it will be, what the tone will be, how I want the game to feel, etc. Some of this work is already done, I have ideas about the narrative, and a few core concepts have already been worked out (like the Player Character for example.) The biggest challenge of this phase is knowing when to start the next phase. My fear is getting stuck "overplanning" and never starting.

Prototyping will be where I do the bulk of the coding work, I'll be creating the systems and mechanics of the game. The goal of this phase is to have a playable tech demo by the end of it, that should be able to accomplish all of the features I intend to put in the game. This is effectively where the gameplay will be made. Stuff like movement, Combat, Menus, basically just how everything in the game works under the hood. This is the phase I actually have the most confidence in, though I may find that misplaced as time goes on, we'll see.

Production is the third phase, and this is where I'll be making the actual content of the game. You could consider this phase being where the game is in 'Alpha' as builds may be released to test content, and find any catastrophic bugs, but the focus here is mostly on adding content until the game feels complete. When this phase is done you could consider the game in 'Beta.'

Polishing is the Final phase, this is when all of the intended content has been added to the game, and all that remains is polishing up assets, optimizing performance, and squishing bugs. this is the other phase that I worry about never completing, as I could end up polishing forever, and never releasing. Once this phase is over, I should have a fully finished game!

That being said, I'll elaborate a bit on the specifics of what I plan on accomplishing in each phase.

Planning - You Are Here 1. Establish the overall narrative of the game (40% there) 2. Establish the story telling style (Done) 3. Establish an artistic theme (Done) 4. Establish Major Mechanics (Anything outside basic combat/movement) 5. Establish Game Vibe (What do I want this game to be? How do I want it to feel)

After this I should have enough material to start.....

Prototyping - Function over Form 1. Implement Object types (player, enemy, npc, terrain, boss, etc) 2. Implement Basic Movement Mechanics (Walking, Jumping, Camera) 3. Implement Player Status Mechanics (Health, Mana, Damage, etc) 4. Implement Basic Combat Mechanics (Normal Attacks, Dealing and Receiving Damage) 5. Implement Basic UI/HUD Systems (HUD, main menu) 6. Implement Basic Enemy AI (Have enemies fight back) 7. Implement Advanced Movement Mechanics (Dash, Dodge, Double Jump, etc.) 8. Implement Advanced Combat Mechanics (Projectiles, special attacks, Healing) 9. Implement Screen/Room Transition Systems 10. Implement Map Systems (Update Player Map with exploration) 11. Implement Player Menu Systems (Inventory, Map, Journal Menus) 12. Implement Fast Travel Systems 13. Implement Visual Effect Systems (Animations, Attack Effects, Etc) 14. Implement Sound Effect Systems (Enemy/Player/NPC/Interaction sounds) 15. Implement Ambient Sound Systems (ambient background sounds, background music) 16. Implement Global Trigger Systems (Story event triggers, Boss defeats, Collectibles, Upgrades) 17. Implement Save Game Systems 18. Implement Perma-Death Systems 19. Implement any other systems needed but not listed (means I don't know about them) 20. Optimize systems to best of ability

Ideally at this point I now have a fully functional tech demo that is capable of housing all the features I want in my game, Which means now I can move on to the next phase.....

Production - Content is King Production is a bit special as it has a few loops to be repeated, so I'll detail the design loop for Enemies and regions, and then anything outside that scope will come after. It's also important to note that the order is flexible, and is just a basic guide to help if stuck

Enemies - Oh the Misery 1. Define Enemy type A. Basic, No AI, does not deviate from set routine. B. Simple, Targets Player, has simple attack like running at the player C. Complex, Targets Player, Has 1 or more abilities that it can use D. Boss, Challenging fight, typically protecting a story beat or major upgrade 2. Design Enemy Appearance 3. Design Enemy Movement (How does it move? fast, slow, erratic, predictable, jumpy, flies, etc.) 4. Design its Attacks (How is it trying to kill you) 5. Design its sounds (What sounds does it make when it moves, when it attacks, when it's hit, when it dies?) 6. Design its Strength (HP, Defense, how often does it attack) 7. Implement Design

NPCs - Anything not trying to kill you more or less 1. Define NPCs purpose (Merchant, Companion, Lore, Storytelling, etc.) 2. Design NPC Appearance 3. Design NPC Interactivity (Do they run from the player, do they talk to the player, etc) 4. Design NPC 'Inventory' (For merchants what do they sell, for companions how do they fight, etc.) 5. Design NPC movement (if applicable) 6. Design NPC sounds 7. Implement Design

Regions - Put the Geo in Geography 1. Define the Purpose of the Region (Every Region should contribute to the narrative or player progression.) 2. Define the Theme of the Region (Every Region should be visually distinct, this will also help tailor enemy design to the region) 3. Design the Layout of the Region (How is it shaped, what rooms go where) 4. Design Region Rooms/Screens (Make the rooms) 5. Design Regional Enemies (Design region bosses, and regional enemies) 6. Distribute Regional Enemies (put the enemies where they're supposed to go 7. Design Region NPCs 8. Distribute Resources (Place Upgrades, Collectibles, Fast Travel Points, NPCs, etc.) 9. Implement Region

Design Priority - What to do first 1. Design and Implement UI/HUD (HUD, all menus, Icons) 2. Design Upgrades (All possible player upgrades) 3. Design and Implement Regions

Ideally here the game is "complete" all the planned content is now implemented, the game can enter 'beta' and we move on to the fourth and final development phase.....

Polishing - Try not to Cyberpunk it a.k.a. Beta builds galore 1. Eliminating catastrophic bugs first (things that cause crashes, or PC errors) 2. Eliminate Severe bugs (things that cause the game to become unpleasant to play, stuff like broken global triggers, softlocks, hardlocks, etc.) 3. Eliminate Moderate bugs (things that keep the game playable, but are still annoying, misalligned hitboxes, movement errors, etc.) 4. Eliminate Minor Bugs (things that are difficult to reproduce, highly specific bugs, etc.) 5. Optimize game performance (try and reduce resource load on the system)

So that's the roadmap/plan/guide I plan on using for this development journey, at least at first. My plans may change as I dive into things, but I can't predict the future. if all goes to plan, then by the time I've hit this point I have a completed game! which means I can go to the secret fifth phase of development.....

Publishing! - Congrats, you made it! The game is done, you've done your best to make it, all that's left is putting it up on your platform(s) of choice, and letting players do the rest. (though you are likely going to need to do a few patches)

If you've read this far, thanks, I hope you'll keep checking in, and I'm excited to document where I'm going with this! See you some time next week maybe!

[ceph-the-ghost-writer]

What was the inspiration behind your oc? What was the first thing you decided about them?

Isaac: The biggest inspiration for him was Ardeth from Nancy Baker's The Night Inside/Vampire's Kiss. Mainly, I liked how Ardeth was afraid and overwhelmed in her situation, but she was never simply passive. She was also allowed to feel anger and disgust toward her captors, not just fear, and took action against them when she could. That sort of balance between vulnerability and inner strength was something I've tried to write Isaac with since the start. (And bonding with a vampire who'd been meant to kill him, of course.)

Renato: He didn't have a direct inspiration really. I just needed to make a vampire who was dangerous, particularly because he knows how to get people to let their guards down. I didn't really start thinking about his backstory until after "Dysthanasia". I decided early on that I didn't want to soften the things he's done too much, but that Renato's not a soulless monster either. Treating him like one and killing him off would be letting us both off the hook.

Dorian: They didn't come from any particular source of inspiration. I knew only one thing about them in the beginning: They always wear a sweater, jacket, or coat. The rest has come together bit by bit while writing "Phagophobia". Each new discovery has been a delight so far.

Kinslayer: They're one of my oldest OCs actually. I think they sprung up from a weird combo of Captain Spaulding from House of 1000 Corpses, a New Age-y book on psychic vampires I'd been reading at the time, and the Skeksis from The Dark Crystal. A lot about them has changed over the years, but they remain true to their sometime antagonist, sometime antihero roots. And they've always enjoyed bullying their bloodborn cousins.

Vess: I think she's got a bit of Aughra from The Dark Crystal in her, except she's all grumpiness without the wisdom. I think the first thing I decided was that she's not really out to hurt Celina, the human she meets, but winds up doing so anyway for various reasons.

Ankaris: He's lived in my head rent-free for some years now, but I think I only actually wrote about him once. Another Skeksis-type character, with hints of Faust's Mephistopheles, Hannibal Lecter, and a dash of The Legend of Zelda's Happy Mask Salesman (yes, really). He has always been a slippery bastard.

Fior: She's barely a few weeks old! I guess you could say the whump community inspired her while I looked through stuff about intimate whumpers and pet whump. She and Ankaris would get along pretty well, but I decided she's slightly less...hands-on with the humans who fall into her clutches. Not that she's above hurting them in ways that would leave marks.

Return to list

[katyspersonal]

you‘ve probably discussed this, I might have missed it. what do you think laurence’s motivations/goals were for everything he did? would you say he’s morally grey? had good or bad intentions?

I would not be surprised if I already discussed it and forgot myself! I am talking about Bloodborne SO much that I end up not remembering what I've discussed already :') I do think that he is morally grey; his most prevalent intentions were good ones, but I think he had some "badness" about him, mostly in the form of wanting to become the new ruling power in Yharnam! Okay I'll go bit by bit.. or try to.

THE biggest clue I have towards his good intentions is the fact that the holy blood is... well, a thing that heals. Not only we can witness it in the game first by using blood vials, but people do address it, verbally! However, I think the evolution and protection bit is really important here, if not MORE important.

There is a large possibility that beasts started becoming a problem even without the scholars messing with the dungeons! Yharnam stands on the "tombs of gods" that are related to the civilizations that actually messed with the blood first, Suspicious Beggar being unlike any other beast but a Loran one could mean that he inherited beasthood rather than developed it... even the very first Caryll Rune was the howling of the beast, and it is paired with the rune that points out beasthood is inherent for humanity:

We are talking about the setting where magic and aliens are real and where there were "first people" (Pthumerians) who caused irrevercible damage on the mortals in general, so the concerns could be real! My personal headcanon is that concerns over beasthood started to come up because meanwhile Kos was washed on the shore, thus abandoning her own concealment of the Eldrich Horrors; she was like Rom, since Sea and Lake runes refer to the barrier both. 🤔

But, yes, notice that Clawmark refers to the inherent thirst for blood within human nature, whereas Simon sarcastically refers to Healing Church's ministration as "beast cleansing", and Amelia's prayer goes like this:

(Sorry for always ripping excerpts from retranslation document ( x ), I am just incapable of working without it after discovering plenty of mistranslations fsdjhfdhs)

We can get a picture that the point of blood ministration is basically, 'The beastly nature within humans craves blood so it is better to satisfy it with some, but if you are not careful about it, you will just keep wanting more and more blood uncontrollably and become a beast anyways'! That's why people should fear the blood... yet, at the same time, seek it. Just in moderation. I would not say that it is a bad plan, but believing that religious agenda and presenting what were the stakes would be enough to keep people's will power strong is... strangely optimistic? Again, Laurence was a smart person, but he had more faith in humanity than, say, Willem or Micolash.

And at the end, besides healing properties and protection from the curse of beasts (that, again, might be inflicted on humanity genetically in this setting all history concidered), there is evolution factor too! There is a very important bit about Sedative:

Byrgenwerth people started to investigate Eldrich Horrors as soon as they returned from Isz, and also after massacre of Fishing Hamlet! I already talked about how Frenzy is relevant to bloodlust, hunt and Oedon here ( x ) and here ( x ), so it is still tied to 'feed your inner beast some blood so it doesn't rip you from inside'! But also, what could be observed directly was, 'if you peer into cosmic horrors too much you go insane and fucking die'. And ALSO:

Willem, and Byrgenwerth in general, pursued the Insight / Eyes Inside and cosmos as the means to improve the humanity:

So, like... it became plain that whereas the researchers could go insane and die from witnessing too much, they could also... NOT do that, and simply study mysteries of the universe normally - all they needed to do is to sip some blood sometimes! I actually can envision Willem, as well as Choir and Mensis that continue his ideas (albeit twisted) to believe that the "weakest must go"! That if someone died during research - it is a tool for the scientists coming after them, and if someone could not handle it then maybe they were not worthy! Meanwhile, I think initially Laurence disagreed with that and thought it would be better to just sip some blood when it gets hard, and evolution without the blood would simple have too much of a body count, with the "survivors" having lost their humanity (figurally OR literally)!

+ This is also an important observation in my version of lore and timeline, in which Healing Church and Byrgenwerth were one at first and Willem was the 'pope', so they were doing both blood ministration and research for eyes (most notable in Adeline's arc), and later Laurence elbowed Willem away to have more control over his own thing 🤔 This is not the most popular theory but the one I am satisfied with the most, I explained it here: ( x )! (fun fact: creator of that one BB fan manga centered on Lady Maria had that interpretation too! xD I feel validated.)

So yeah, in the conclusion, Laurence had plenty of reasons to put his faith in the blood! Healing, protection and evolution. But whereas the next most influential person (Willem) insisted that it was the worst idea ever, other people who LIKED the blood (Cainhurst nobles) apparently were doing it "wrong". They reveled in blood thirst and curse, whether truthfully or that was the prejuduice. Knowing Soulsborne settings, it was both. There must be the reason Lady Maria distasted it, okay? Maybe Fauxsefka too, if you believe she was one of the OG ones and not taken from Cainhurst as a child. Laurence needed to assert the blood healing, but also to have it as the good thing! A thing that connects you with the gods, whereas protecting and advancing your humanity, not corrupting it!

So, he needed to replace the oligarchy (Cainhurst), but to also not let someone else rise instead! Though I still could write it down as good intentions too, albeit twisted - Laurence could not TRUST someone else to act for the betterment of humanity, as well as to have courage to do sacrifices and morally burdening decisions. He was somewhat arrogant but he had the reasons to be, as a genuinely smart person. In his eyes? Micolash and Rom maybe were "smarter", but at the same time so detached from humanity that he could tell in the end they'd forsaken it, by their own will or unintentionally. And wasn't he right? Well, wasn't he?? Micolash is "You are too stupid to make such decisions" (derogatory), but Laurence is "You are too stupid to make such decisions" (affectionate)! Caryll was his equal intellectually but Laurence could tell he lacked the 'courage' and risk-taking streak (by being unwilling to mess with the blood, first of all). Willem was certainly smart, but not only avoided the blood like Caryll, but Laurence could tell he was prone to "gatekeeping". In Laurence's eyes, the 'peasants' deserved a chance for evolution too (and this is some contrast with his teenage "Sorry hun, I don't speak poor uwu" years xD Character development!).

________________________

Anyways, thank you for this ask very much! I LOVE talking about Laurence, he raised in amongst my favourite characters since recent times.. and also discussing the depth and complexity of his character is just what I need x) Yeah, sadly enough, he was not much better in terms of great sacrifices for his goals and machiavelism than Willem or other scholars he looked down on. But, Laurence believed that when HE did that it was different, because at least his ways were 'productive' xd In his opinion, I mean.

The concept of Laurence who was just evil and selfish asshole that wanted power and religious-ish control over everything does nothing to me :pensive: But, I do think that whereas ensuring his power and theocratical control was a necessity, he could still enjoy what he got even a little! I don't see it as corruption arc from nice and good person to a deranged asshole, but rather from a person with clear ambitious goals and comprehension of what it will cost to... well, a person horrified of the cosmic insight and gods that once guided him and getting obsessed with blood in the exact same way he warned others not to.

[gnzma]

Tagged by:@hatsudenki​ ty and sorry i completely forgot about it fnsdmgd Tagging: u ♥​

LAYER ONE: THE OUTSIDE.

NAME: Guzmania Mitchell EYE COLOR: very light blue/gray, almost white HAIR STYLE/COLOUR: naturally black and curly, half-dyed in white, with the remaining half being partially shaved. He surprisingly takes a lot of care of his hair, but they’re a mess neverthless. HEIGHT: 192cm (6'4’’) standing straight CLOTHING STYLE: baggy clothes, mostly sweater jackets and pants and a simple t-shirt. He usually wears his Skull Boss clothes, making sure to always remember the necklace and the sunglasses with his team’s symbol. BEST PHYSICAL FEATURE: he generally finds himself not exactly appealing, but even he can say that he likes his muscles. He’s pretty fit, despite everything.

LAYER TWO: THE INSIDE.

FEARS: mostly hurting those he cares for. In a sense, becoming like his father. ...and aliens and jellyfishes, lately. Fuck em. GUILTY PLEASURE(S): some good ol’ Tapu Cocoa and Pokèmon Crossing to calm down his nerves every now and then. People who say it’s a game for kids don’t know the deep frustration of not finding Apollo, ever. BIGGEST PET PEEVE(S): people who think he left just because he didn’t get a position as Trial Captain, mostly. They’re free to think whatever the fuck they want, he doesn’t really have the time nor the patience to explain himself, but that’s always kinda frustrating.  AMBITIONS FOR THE FUTURE: honestly? At this point he’d be content with reaching his 30s. That’s enough.

LAYER THREE: THOUGHTS.

FIRST THOUGHT(S) WAKING UP: uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT MOST: new fun ways not to get bored and keep the Skull’s name always relevant, even if it isn’t with big big crimes to avoid upsetting the Champion. Intrusive thoughts are a close second. YOU THINK YOUR BEST QUALITY IS: bold of you he thinks he has any good quality

LAYER FOUR: WHAT’S BETTER?

SINGLE OR GROUP DATES: as in, romantic dates? Single, unless the group ends with all of them in the same bed TO BE LOVED OR RESPECTED: you can’t really love someone without respecting them, right? So. Yeah. BEAUTY OR BRAINS: ...beauty. Yeah. He knows he isn’t smart and doesn’t mind someone with a working brain, but someone must be aesthetically good for him to be into them DOGS OR CATS: dogs dogs dogs

LAYER FIVE: DO YOU?

LIE: a lie a day keeps your problems away. Wether or not someone finds out, that’s a problem for Future Guzma BELIEVE IN YOURSELF: he doesn’t, but also he knows he’s The Shit, so. Huh. It’s complicated. BELIEVE IN LOVE: not really WANT SOMEONE: ...maybe so. Maybe So.

LAYER SIX: EVER BEEN…

BEEN ON STAGE: he was a tree in a school play once. Does it count?  DONE DRUGS: he smokes weed pretty regularly with the excuse that it calms himself down, and tried coke once or twice. CHANGED WHO YOU WERE TO FIT IN: he tried to, after the whole Ultra Space situations and tried to force himself to be “good” for three months. It didn’t work.

LAYER SEVEN:  FAVOURITES.

FAVOURITE COLOR: black and gold  FAVOURITE ANIMAL POKEMON: Golisopod no doubt. Wimpod is a close second, Volcarona is a close third. Someday he’ll get one......  FAVOURITE MOVIE: he doesn’t watch many movies, but damn. Pokèmon Godzilla fucks  FAVOURITE GAME: Dead or Alive, Bloodborne and Pokèmon Crossing. Specifically New Leaf. 

LAYER EIGHT:  AGE.

DAY YOUR NEXT BIRTHDAY WILL BE: 1st of August  HOW OLD WILL YOU BE: technically 27, implying I’ll ever age up my characters lol  AGE YOU LOST YOUR VIRGINITY: exactly 18, during his birthday  DOES AGE MATTER: he’d rather not go with anyone 3 years younger than him, setting the limit at 23 for now. As for adults, well... yes, sure, he has his limits, but he’s much more into older people.

LAYER NINE:  IN A PERSON.

BEST PERSONALITY: He can’t stand people who are too overly nice, shy and indecisive. If he must hang out with someone, he likes people who are honest, not afraid to be rude and, most importantly, know when to have some fun.  Also with some hint of dom energy, that’s always important.  BEST EYE COLOR: he literally doesn’t give a shit  BEST HAIR COLOR: he LITERALLY doesn’t givea  shit. BEST THING TO DO WITH A PARTNER: having fun! Does that mean having some adventures? Causing troubles? Sex, even? Who cares, as son as  he feels like he has fun it’s good for him.

LAYER TEN:  FINISH THE SENTENCE.

I LOVE: "My numbskulls.” I FEEL: “Bored.” I HIDE: “A lot, but I ain’t gonna tell ya.” I MISS: “Not having constant nightmares.” I WISH: “For the world to shut the fuck up, every now and then.”

[slightly-gay-pogohammer]

Ok, let's do some Bloodborne characters for that ask meme: Laurence, Micolash and Ludwig.

FML.........2 [ACCEPTING]

get randomly assigned as your lab partner for a whole semester: Laurence, absolutely. smarty boy.........

get trapped with on a broken elevator for ten hours: OK FUNFACT im TERRIFIED of elevators and being stuck in one is one of my biggest fears and. Ludwig? he could manage to calm me down. i trust him

get as my employee trainer for my new job at McDonalds: micolash both because only he remains and that the idea of him working at McDonalds is hilarious

[therealtsk]

okay so i think before I really start delving into this fandom I wanna give my thoughts on the game itself.  so MUCHO SPOILERS FOR CONTROL. IF YOU WANNA EXPERIENCE THIS AMAZING GAME YOURSELF DO NOT READ THIS POST.  You good? Alright, let’s go. 

So. First, I wanna talk about the game-play of CONTROL.  It’s fucking amazing. In a year where I played five incredibly strong games (Bloodborne, Uncharted 4, Red Dead Redemption 2, God of War and of course, CONTROL), it was my favorite game. In fact, I think it might be my favorite game of 2019.  It has something that all of the other games lacked, with the possible exception of U4...the core gameplay was inherently fun. The word “Next-gen” gets tossed around a lot in the gaming world, but this was the first thing I played that truly felt like it. The gameplay of CONTROL is at once simple and wildly different: I think I speak for most people when I say that the Launch ability is my favorite gameplay aspect: it just feels amazing to use, even after a year of playing it. It’s the closest I think a game has ever come to truly come (for me) to making me understand the sort of power the character wields in a way that isn’t superficial. From the sound design to the rumbles of the controller, to the superb animation, all of it comes together to make you feel powerful.  It’s amazing.  Okay so now that’s over, let’s talk about the world, characters, and story, the biggest reasons I love this game. As a long time fan of the more surreal and ethereal types of the supernatural, CONTROL immediately stood out to me with it’s central location: The Oldest House. What an incredible setting for a game, but also just what an incredible setting in general? When I walk through the hallowed halls of the House, I never feel at ease. I think it’s a fantastic combination of visual and audio design, but the House has a way of making you feel both unwanted and watched: even with all of the human touches the Bureau has scattered throughout the map, The House feels starkly inhuman- the ceiling too high,the doorways slightly too broad. Even after centuries of co-existing with humanity, the House has not quite adapted to humans. And yet there’s something also irresistibly compelling about wandering a place you know, logically, you probably shouldn’t be. It’s a fantastic way of putting you inside Jesse’s shoes: you feel both her fear and the powerful call of the unknown that beckons her to the darkest corners of the House.  The Altered Items themselves are also just...fascinating. The twisting of the mundane into the paranormal- there’s a word I’m looking for, but I can’t find at the moment. I know some people got annoyed with all of the reading in the game, but personally, I loved scanning through every document, case file, and correspondence. Dead Letters in particular caught my imagination: I’ve never stopped thinking about the woman trapped in the phone since I read about it, I even turned it into an original short story. CONTROL’s world feels very much lived-in, like it has history and activity outside of the game’s story, which is crucial to the livelihood of any setting.  Now, for the characters: Jesse Faden is perhaps my favorite video game character to date. I love her so much, words can’t describe, but I’m gonna try anyway. I love her sass, her jump-down-and-figure-out-a-plan-on-the-way-there attitude, her frustration and quiet sadness, her anxieties and ultimately- her love. Jesse Faden loves her brother so much that she literally threw away any chance she could have had at a normal, peaceful life and risked everything for him, not even knowing if he was still alive. As a proud brother of two siblings, It’s nice to see familial ties being just as strong in games as romantic ones.  Speaking of romantic ones, Emily freaking Pope am I right??? The minute Jesse and her sat down at the table I was like :eyes: “these vibes...the chemistry...the delivery...” I don’t care what anyone says Jesse and Emily are gay for each other and you cannot tell me otherwise, just look at all of their interactions. Remedy thank you for giving me another ship to stan until i die  The other characters are also amazing! I love my bois Simon Arish and Fredrick Langston, adorable dorks that they are. RIP Marshall but damn you were badass- also your long coat. Remedy make merch so I can buy it pls.  As for the more supernatural characters: Polaris.  Oh my god I love Polaris. My first assumption was that Jesse was speaking to us, the player, but learning the truth about what Polaris was and her own character was so fantastic- I would literally watch so much of just Jesse and Polaris communicating, the idea of humans and these...ethereal life-forms co-existing is just fascinating.  And then there’s the Hiss. I have been obsessed with the Hiss since I first heard those words. You are a worm through time. Like...the idea of a malignant radio wave, burring into your mind and planting itself within you, overriding your thoughts with song...just fucking chills. I can’t wait to write about this audible horror. 

Also just something I wanna note before I wrap this rambling thing up: CONTROL was not a game I expected this from, but I love how they handled representation in it: they never call attention to it or try to get clout for it, but they have a wide scattering of nationalities and a very even split of women and men: it was just so nice to have a game that didn’t feel dominated by dudes, you know?  Anyway: the story. I think this is where the game lost a lot of people, but I thought the way that it unfolded was fantastic, and every ending (Base game, Foundation, AWE) has left me excited to see more. I think my favorite plotlines thus far comes from the DLC’s: The Astral Politics and, of course-  Alan.  Fucking. Wake. 

But more on that in a bit. I think The Board and the presentation of them was fantastic: It’s so hard to for humans to write utterly in-human mindsets and persons, but I think Remedy’s team did a truly amazing job with The Board. Down to the method of communication alone, blasting divided concepts into Jesse’s thoughts that are literally shattering into synonyms because they don’t quite understand human language is just...aaaaaaahhhh, so good. And then The Foundation, my favorite DLC out of the two: So much expansion on the lore of both The Board and The House itself. The implication that The Board may, in fact, be just as much of an intruder as the Hiss are is chilling, and of course, The Foundation gave us even more Emily/Jesse ship fuel and development so like come on. As for the AWE DLC: I know a lot of people were disappointing with it, and I get that! Don’t get me wrong, when it ended, I literally went: “Wait, that’s it? That can’t be it.” I was expecting something roughly around the same length as the Foundation, and I think other people were too. Once I got over the initial surge, though, I sat down and really thought about it.  Story and content wise, Foundation is 100% the better DLC. But gameplay-wise? Oh man, AWE was so much more thrilling. I think this lends to Remedy’s incredibly atmosphere building, but after spending hours of Control feeling like an unstoppable badass, for them to completely turn it on it’s head and make me feel like a rat trapped in a maze, desperately lunging for any light and being utterly terrified of the dark: god, what an amazing fight the entire Third Thing was. The Service Tunnel in particular had me shook, man.  Was AWE short and felt more like a teaser trailer for Alan Wake 2? Yeah. Was it still really fun? Yes. And also, I think people missed out on how much lore we got for CONTROL, as well! Two words: Chester Bless.  So, to sum this completely chaotic post up: I adore CONTROL, every bit of it, and I can’t wait to talk to you y’all about theories, fics, and the like. 

[altalksaboutstuff]

My Top 5 Games of the Past Generation Youtube Script Plus Notes

This is, more or less, the script for My Top 5 Games of the Past Generation video that I just published on Youtube: With the Xbox One and Playstation Four about to head out of the door to make ways for the Xbox Series X and the Playstation 5 respectively to lead us into the next generation of consoles were only Nintendo has been sitting comfortably with the Switch, the Wii U has been long gone and Nintendo also recently announced the official end of the Nintendo 3DS line cutting all the ties to this last generation.  With that almost everyone is now releasing their lists of the best games of the current generation, myself included, I couldn't help but notice a lot of same-soundy lists such as Game Informer's top 5 list.  I myself have to disagree with these, not to say that any and/or all five of those games on Game Informer's Top 5 aren't good, important or worth playing just that I don't think they are the best representative of this generation in terms of impact and wide appeal, so much as had the most money backing them. That these games on the list are more the best representative of the biggest Triple A titles.  The games that I had in mind are more impactful on how this generation swayed and set new standards.  I want you to keep in mind that while I liked some of these games, these aren't my personal top 5 of the past generation either but I think closer to what best represents our closing era of gaming, when I say the “best games of the current generation.”

First off I'd like to make an honorable mention of PT.  PT or playable trailer was supposed to be a demo for the new Silent Hill S game that unfortunately never came to be for the Playstation 4 from Konami.  A joint venture between film director Guillermo del Toro and the famous creator of Metal Gear Solid, Hideo Kojima, this demo spooked the pants off of everyone and was probably the reason a lot of people decided to buy a Playstation 4.  Unfortunately Konami let Hideo Kojima go under less than favorable conditions and the demo vanished with him in time.  Since then the immersive, first person perspective horror game demo changed the landscape of what survival horror could be.  We then saw Resident Evil VII by Capcom, the Park by Funcom, Layers of Fear by Aspyr and Death Standing by Hideo Kojima's new studio Kojima Productions that were all heavily influenced by PT (this point made more obvious for Hido Kojima's Death Stranding) and the future of Survial Horror / Suspense games seems to be headed there with upcoming games like Resident Evil VIII: The Village.  The only reason this isn't officially on the list is because, well, it was sadly never a game but its influence was too important for me not to mention.

Number 5: Sonic Mania.  Ok so Sonic Mania isn't anything new but it is very important in the sense that it is a major franchise, Sonic, by a well established publisher, Sega, and they had officially given the keys of Mobius to the fandom to make a new game and it was fantastic. While that's oversimplying things a bit errr a lot, since Sega just didn't come out of the blue offering that opportunity.  Rather Sega saw a Sonic game pitched by Christian Whitehead, aka Taxman, who worked on porting previous ports of Sonic games to Mobile platforms. Why I think it is important is that this validating the bridge between fandom and passion projects in world where game hacks and fangames are traditionally shut down almost immediately after gaining the slightest attention.  While Sonic Mania isn't a fangame, its roots were deep from the Romhack community.  This represents cracking the door between what the fandom produces and what the corporate offices allow being available to consumers in a world were popular fangames and hacks result in cease and desist orders - which is why I think is very important to put Sonic Mania as the number 5 game of this console generation.

Number 4: Rocket League.  As of today, Rocket League is a now free to play game for better or for worse.  Rocket League is high-octane fun, blasting balls across various courts and fields such as basketball and football with fast automobiles but what it is most well known for is basically soccer with cars.  Rocket League is a lot of fun to play and has a large audience of  in the streaming and esports field which would be reason enough to put this game in a top 5 but what this game marks maybe even more importantly is cross console online play. While other games have and do continue to have online play across systems, back in March of 2016 Microsoft was very interested in allowing online play between Xbox One and other consoles them being extremely hopeful for Playstation 4 in particular, however Sony was holding out.  Sony was hesitant, citing their emphasis on providing a certain quality online experience but finally came to the party and in 2019 you could finally play Rocket League online with all your friends whether it be on PC, Xbox One, Switch, or Playstation 4. Since then we have had other games slowly roll out this feature such as Wargroove and the trend seems to be expanding.  I hope to see all games adopt this in the future and since Rocket League “birthed” this concept coming to the table for cross console online play for us all to enjoy, this is why I think Rocket League deserves the number 4 slot.

Number 3: Bloodborne/Dark Souls III.  This past generation and hell even to some extent decade, spanning to the PS3/Xbox 360, has lead us to compare every challenging game that comes out to Dark Souls.  Cuphead is the Dark Souls of run and gun shooters, Dead Cells is the Dark Souls of Metroidvanias, Celeste is the Dark Souls of platformers, etc.  While the meme of “X is like the Dark Souls of” is hard to find a concrete start, according to Google Trends this first seemed to spike in April of 2015 around the release of Bloodborne, the PS4 game created by FromSoftware.  While not technically a Dark Souls game, it was made by the same team and the game play and feel is very Dark Souls in the sense that I feel the phrase is used today, in contrast to the first two Dark Souls games.  Then we can see that in/and around October 2017 the trend has risen to its peak a little after a year and a half of the release of Dark Souls III.  While this justification may seem more flimsy and ultimately the Dark Souls brand was established in 2011, I do think Bloodborne/Dark Souls III is more in the zeitgeist, if you will, of the “X is like Dark Souls” comparison that has shaped the conversation of so many games today.

Number 2: Undertale.  Undertale is perhaps the darling of this generation. A game chock full of charm with multiple ways to approach it.  Will you save everyone, sacrifice everyone, or something in-between?  This game does look next gen, current gen or even comparable to past gen games until you hit perhaps the SNES or even late NES.  Maybe a number 2 spot is too high on list – this game didn't revolutionize the industry in ways that the other games on this list did nor was it the first anti-RPG of its kind, that would probably go to MOON, but Undertale just had such a powerful impact on gamers when it came out and became so unforgettable.  I feel like Undertale will be a game that we remember for a long time and to not include it in this list because its an indie game would be a real tragedy which segways me to my number 1 game.

Number 1: Shovel Knight.  Shovel Knight is the indie game that, I think, lead to the current boom of retro inspired indie games we have been enjoying.  A love letter to the NES games of the past such as Castlevania, Mega Man and Ducktales to name a few.  Shovel Knight wasn't the first retro inspired indie games but I feel like the attention to detail in trying to stay as true to what the hardware could run in terms of look, color, sound and pixel art with its overwhelming success showed that there was a market for these type of games.  Its success kickstarter in 2013 also showed that Kickstarter could be used as a viable platform to create indie games for a wider audience without having to rely on that Triple A model of good gaming synonymous with big budget corporate funding.  I firmly believe that we wouldn't have the great retro inspired games like Celeste and Dead Cells or the Kickstarter'd Yooka Laylee and Bloodstained or games that did both like Blasphemous if it wasn't for the hard-work and ingenuity that Yacht Club Games paved with Shovel Knight.

To use a popular Youtube cliché to conclude this list, “At the end of the day” I didn't make this list to put Game Informer or anyone's personal preferences down.  If you believe that they got the Top 5 games of the decade right that's perfectly ok and valid too, to have as your opinion.  I also want to reiterate that those five games – The Last of Us Part II, the Witcher 3, Red Dead Redemption 2, Zelda Breath of the Wild and God of War are all important to this generation coming to a close as well in their own way.  While this list isn't my favorite games of the past generation, maybe I'll do that in the future, they are my subjective “best games list” of the past generation for what I think they did to the industry and you are free to agree, disagree, pick and choose between my list and Game Informers list or make a completely different list of your own.  I'm personally excited to see what the future of gaming has for us in this coming generation and optimistic for what's both around the corner and late into the next systems' life-cycle.  Happy gaming to you however you play.

Webpages noted: https://www.polygon.com/2020/9/17/21443683/nintendo-3ds-discontinued-lifetime-sales-hardware-software-units

https://www.fandom.com/articles/sonic-mania-just-nostalgia

https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/15/15807138/sony-playstation-cross-network-play-xbox-block-response

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/were-ready-microsoft-says-about-xbox-one-ps4-cross/1100-6438654/

https://www.rocketleague.com/news/full-cross-platform-play-now-live-in-rocket-league/

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yachtclubgames/shovel-knight

https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/DavidDAngelo/20140625/219383/Breaking_the_NES_for_Shovel_Knight.php

Games shown/referenced in the video:

The Last of Us Part 2

God of War

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Red Dead Redeption II

Witcher 3

PT / Silent Hill S

Sonic Mania

Rocket League

Blood Borne

Dark Souls III

Undertale

Shovel Knight

Shantae: Half Genie Hero

Cuphead

Celeste

Yooka Laylee

Mega Man 2

Ducktales

Castlevania

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

Blasphemous

Dead Cells

Resident Evil 7

Resident Evil 8

Moon

Layers of Fear

The Park

Death Stranding

Bonus Footage:

Xbox Series X reveal trailer

PS5 reveal trailer

Also note: I messed up in the original video and said the phrase, “X is like Dark Souls of” spiked in April of 2015 when I should have said first peaked in January to April of 2015.  I noted it in the video but wanted to note it again, sorry.

[seoulsborne123]

The Forgotten Queen: Prologue

The discovery of the ancient city called Yharnam was supposed to be the biggest archeological find of the decade. But perhaps some secrets are best left well alone...

A Ghost Hunt and Bloodborne crossover. Set about two years after the events of Akumu no Sumu Ie.

Prologue

Illuminated only with the dim light of their emergency candles, Joanna couldn’t help but feel the unease creep in. It was not a problem in daylight, or even when they had working lamps that provided a constant source of light, but with the flickering flame the shadows turned the Gothic embellishments on the pillars and doors from being grotesque to outright nightmarish. And despite the roominess inspired by the open archways and the high vaulted ceiling that gave the impression of rising high into the heavens, she couldn’t help but feel stifled.

She shook this feeling away and cleared her mind, trying to focus on the game before her. 

"Check."

Her opponent pulled his lips to the side and studied his hand intimately though his eyes seemed to land on nothing in particular. As if sensing her studying his every move, he cleared his throat and feigned confidence, jutting out his chest a little more than usual. Joanna, for the meantime, forgot her unease. He was being too obvious. Normally she would wonder if he was attempting reverse-reverse psychology, but although she’d only known him for a week, she knew that Nick would be too simple and straightforward to consider that option. It could only mean two of the same things: either he had a very low hand, or none at all.  

"Yeah, I'll raise the bet," he said, holding up two coins and making a big show of slamming them down on the table. The noise it made echoed obnoxiously loud.

"You do know how poker works, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

She shook her head. "Suit yourself. They’re your chocolate bars to lose..." She threw in another coin to match what he put down.

"Okay, let's see what you got."

Joanna revealed a seven of hearts and a four of diamonds. Counting the community cards on the table, she only had a pair of sevens. It wasn’t exactly the greatest hand, but she knew it would be enough to beat her colleague.

"Damn, again…"

"Oh Nick, you aren't very good at this." She laughed and added three more tick marks on her notebook, the little rush from winning made her completely forget the unease she felt moments ago. "You owe me 12 pieces now. You’ll need to stake another item; I won't care very much for your chocolate bars any more if we keep going at this pace and that'd be a shame."

Nick rolled his eyes and gathered the cards. "Oh be quiet. I've got—" but a sudden loud thud in the distance made the two of them nearly jump out of their seats. They whipped their heads back and tried to search the darkness beyond what their candlelight could illuminate, but saw nothing out of place. Joanna remembered everything again.

"Must have been the wind," Nick mumbled.

"I'm pretty sure the sound came from inside that door and you know there is no chance of wind behind there. "

"Okay, structure settling."

"Stone settles?"

Nick sighed. "'Okay, then what, ghosts?"

"I don't know, maybe," she answered with an edge to her voice. "With everything that's happened, don't you think… don’t you think it may be supernatural after all?"

Nick let out a breath, unsure of what to reply.. "Come on, Jo. You don’t really think that? It's an ancient place. Nothing about… this… screams haunted..." As he said this, the two of them looked warily around their immediate vicinity: ghastly figurine statues of cloaked women interspersed along the edges of the room, hands outstretched towards the heavens in a plea; empty clay jars scattered about, which they thought must have been used to hold wine, though recent findings point to it actually having once hosted blood; a giant lancet window framed with elegant tracery that let in what little of the obscured moonlight there was, which only served to cast formless shadows all around

Nick looked at Joanna again and repeated with less confidence, "Yep, looks normal to me. We should be okay. And it's a holy place. Don’t ghosts fear Jesus, or something?"

"What? Ghosts can be in churches. And churches can be creepy, especially long abandoned ones. Have you not seen any horror movies?" Joanna retorted, wondering how it was possible for this to not be common knowledge. 

"No, come on, look let’s be logical about it. Have you been to other dig sites before or is this your first rodeo?”

Joanna deflated and admitted, “No, this is the first.” Although she was only a third year Archeology undergraduate student, her work and track record had impressed her professors and they fully endorsed her in joining this short expedition.

Without turning haughty or dismissive, Nick nodded and simply said, “Then okay, I get it. But let’s consider the facts: a giant city in the middle of a dense forest, abandoned and hidden for over two centuries. Of course it’ll be overwhelming. The buildings here may look like they’re in good shape, but sometimes we can’t see all the damage, which might be causing all the random noises we can’t understand. It could also be rats, or something.”

"But that's the problem, isn't it? We should have at least seen some rats by now. I haven't even seen bugs. Have you?"

"Well it’s a bit too nippy here, probably."

"But rats should—" Once again, their conversation was cut off. This time it was the long, baleful howl of a wolf that made them shudder. Eerily on time, the clouds that obscured the full moon parted and bathed the church in its pale, luminescent light. It only lasted for a few minutes, but it made Joanna question whether she preferred the figures partially hidden in darkness, or exposed fully in the moonlight. 

A new thought hit her. "What if this is how it all starts? The last time Professor Gimmel and the others disappeared, wasn't it also a full moon? What if Jon's just the first?"

“Full moon? First ghosts, now you think witches are involved? Or do you mean werewolves?"

"Well, why not?" she snapped, annoyed more at herself, knowing full well how ridiculous she was being. "That was undoubtedly a wolf, and nearby too by the sounds of it, but everyone keeps insisting there are no wolves around here. How does that make sense? Nothing in this place makes sense."

"You know yourself that there's been no signs of wolves around here. None of us have found footprints, or droppings, or old kills in the area. They would have left some kind of trace in the woods outside. Besides even if they were outside, we’re still safe within the city walls since they’re definitely not in here." Nick gathered up the cards and resumed shuffling. "I don't know. Maybe it was an owl."

"That’s just ridiculous. What about that weird singing choir we sometimes hear at night? Kyle and his group heard it, too. I’ve also read mentions of it in the old reports.” 

She leaned in closer and whispered, “I think this is a cursed place. Those jars and the bottles we’ve found… I think it’s becoming more obvious that a blood-borne disease led to a slow collapse of this town. Look at those countless graves outside— people had time to bury their dead. The manner of those blood rituals are still unclear, but usually that would point to pagan worship, right? Yet the significance of the Church and religion in this city leads me to think it’s actually something sanctioned by them. To have the Church’s sacrament be twisted... There must have been something seriously wrong with this place.” 

“I actually agree with your points, but we can’t just jump to conclusions. I guess we’ll have to wait and see if the lab has been able to transcribe those old texts...”

As if completely unaware he even spoke, Joanna continued her denunciations and was steadily growing in urgency until she reached a fevered hiss, “And that creepy nun! Where the hell did she come from? I don’t trust her. And now Jon’s missing and we could be next. Just remember that three years ago the others investigated this place and disappeared without a trace."

“You don’t need to remind me of that, Jo.” 

His tone made Joanna stop and look up. His face was grim. 

In her delirium she forgot that Nick was personally connected to the events three years ago. How could she have been so callous? She was trying to formulate a way to properly apologize when to her surprise, he quickly recovered his composure and resumed as if she hadn’t misspoke.

"Jon's always been the kind of 'not always there' type of person though, hasn't he? Maybe he wandered off and got lost. The others will find him and when they do, we'll be right here ready to radio for help."

Joanna groaned. "Nick, something is wrong with this place." She cast another look at her cards and muttered, "I'll raise."

Nick thumbed his cards absentmindedly before calling her raise to stay in the round.

"Again, in terms of its odd history, I agree with you. But to say that what’s happening now is due to supernatural causes? That’s too much, Jo." 

He revealed the fifth card on the table and took in a sharp breath as she put down yet another coin to stay in the round. All he had was a pair of twos. 

Was it worth to continue on? He shook his head. ”Okay, I fold." 

He revealed his cards. She revealed a losing hand.

"Son of a—" but for the third time that night, the sentence was cut off by the sound of the doors opening and heavy footfall fast approaching. It was one of their colleagues who had gone out as part of the search party. He stood before them completely out of breath as if he had sprinted for miles.

He was clearly shaken and quite manic as he gasped out, "They found him! My god, they found him!" Unable to elaborate further, he resorted to gesticulating wildly and pointed outside.

Fearing the worst, Nick immediately stood up and radioed for an ambulance. Unfortunately their heavily secluded location meant that help can reach them twenty minutes at the earliest provided good road conditions. As he spoke to the operator and gave detailed directions, he grabbed one of the first-aid kits nearby and threw it towards Joanna, who caught it and rushed outside with the researcher.

Many scenarios played in Joanna's head, the kind of accidents Jon could have gotten himself into. The current expedition was only meant to go on for two weeks at most and thus their patron did not think it necessary to send out a qualified field doctor with them. At the very best, they had an avid hiker among their group who was trained and volunteered to be their first-responder, but she only knew how to take care of minor injuries. She wondered if Cecile was already at the scene and whether the kit she carried would even be of any use.

However when they reached the plaza, Joanna stopped in her tracks.

It was not Jon.

Most of the group were already gathered, looking on just as surprised as she was. Cecile was already hunched down with him, checking for any serious signs of injuries.

"Who…?" she asked in a whisper, more to herself, and in the still air her voice carried but no one spoke a word.

"What in the--Professor Gimmel!"

Joanna frowned and spun around. Nick had finally caught up. He stood beside her, speechless and confused.

"The Professor? But it's been three years since… Are you sure that’s him?"

Nick finally snapped out of his stupor and slowly approached the sickly, pale man. "Professor Gimmel, are you hurt anywhere? It's okay now. Help is on its way. Are you able to walk further? Our base is at the church nearby." When the professor wouldn't respond, Nick looked to Cecile. "What’s happened? How is he?"

"Shocked, I reckon. Hasn't spoken a word nor looked at anyone in the eye, really. I don't even think he realizes we're here."

Joanna listened to their conversation while her head buzzed with a million questions. She looked the professor over. 

He was bony, disheveled, reeked of something foul, but otherwise he appeared unharmed. Where had he been all this time? How had he survived out here for that long on his own? From the looks of it, it didn't seem like he'd had much to eat, and with the absence of any animals and edible vegetation around, how was he able to provide enough sustenance to keep himself alive for so long? But then again, didn't the nun live here on her own as well and was somehow able to survive? Perhaps the nun had known of his whereabouts all along? Where were the others?

She only knew him by name: a distinguished professor from Cambridge who led a team of seasoned archeologists, crewmen, and a handful of graduate students to study the newly discovered ancient city called Yharnam. It was meant to be the next biggest discovery, but in the end it had to be kept hushed up due to the tragic story of the original excavation team. They had been working for half a year before most of the crew, fifteen people including the Professor, suddenly disappeared without a trace. 

The case was cold. No leads, no suspects to consider. Work on the site was temporarily put on hold, but eventually another wealthy patron stepped up and fresh, willing workers eager to sign up for an adventure were found.  If it weren't for the appeal of the occult and the dig site's macabre history, Joanna would have passed on this opportunity. Alas, though she thought herself not spiritual in the least and refused to believe in supernatural phenomena, the fear of the unknown both excited and scared her. Like a living contradiction, the more outrageous the circumstance, the more she refused to believe, and yet the more mystified she became, the more it terrified and thrilled her to think it could be supernatural. 

Her attention switched back to Nick, who, after having no luck extracting any information from the professor, turned to the rest of their colleagues and asked, "Where did you guys find him?"

"It was Adella who found him," answered Thomas. "Karen and I were on our way towards the area below the Cathedral when we came across her and the Professor. She said she found him down there."

"Well where is she now?"

"Slinked off somewhere. You know how she is. The Professor here has been unresponsive to our questions so we just took him here as soon as possible. All he kept talking about was something about some 'big one' or other. Don't seem to realize we're here at all. We need to get him out of here as soon as possible."

As if on cue, the Professor collapsed on the ground, prostrated himself, and suddenly shouted in excitement, "Oh, Amygdala! Amygdala! Oh… what a pleasure it is to see the divine!"

The clouds had cleared once again and the moon illuminated the forgotten city, the towering Gothic buildings, weathered and ancient. The town was a mess: rubble, gravestones, and coffins strewn about, rotted of old age. Though the addition of a new light source was most welcome, the sight of a large, full moon unsettled everybody.

Joanna tried to follow the Professor's gaze. He seemed to be focusing on the rooftop. Whatever he saw there moved him almost to tears, but she saw nothing. A hallucination, perhaps?

The voice of Evan, one of the younger contractors, broke her train of thought. He had just arrived with two others.

“Thomas, we checked the area to corroborate what Adella said, but no one else there, just him."

Thomas whipped around. "What about the Gate? Was it still open?"

“Open?” Joanna interrupted incredulously. The others around her were just as surprised at this information.

"We didn’t venture too close to it, but we saw it was still open."

"Since when and how?"

"Don't know, kid. It wasn’t open yesterday when the others checked.”

Thomas turned to the others. He was the most senior ranking member of the team and was responsible for everyone’s safety, but this new opportunity was just too good to pass up. Previously inaccessible, now its gate lay wide open. What new discoveries could they find in the lower area? Moreover, there was a good chance they could find the remaining missing people there— alive or dead. He shuddered.

“What do you guys think? Shall we take a team down there?"

Nick answered, "I've already radioed in for emergency; they're on their way. The sky's clear now so we can take advantage of the moonlight. Probably best not to venture out too far though, but if the Professor got out, the others may not be far behind."

"Agreed. We'll go with a small team for now. Cecile you're in charge here to make sure evac goes well. Jon might still be out there, too. If you don’t need that kit, we’ll take it with us. Mike, Evan, Karen, Nick, let's go."

“Take me with you!”

Thomas turned around. Beside him, Nick shrugged and said that she wouldn’t make trouble. With a sigh, he also motioned for Joanna to follow along. 

The trek was a long one. After climbing several sets of stairs and winding along dark alleyways, they finally arrived at the Grand Cathedral, the tallest, most grandiose building in the city, but instead of heading inside the group turned right, following the narrow pathway around the building and found themselves by a cliff side. Following the long stairway down led them to the central plaza of a small community of decrepit houses, where it's been suggested clergymen and nuns must have once lived. But the trek didn't end there. Further along there were more stairs leading even lower below, leading to a hollowed out, possibly man-made cave. The group was forced to huddle in closer together due to the tight space, the feeling of claustrophobia setting in and making everyone's heart beat a little faster until they all finally emerged on the other side.

From the distance, they could see the atrium that housed the aforementioned gate that sectioned away a part of the town no one had ever managed to step foot in.

Thomas held his hand up, halting their advance. He himself took a few steps forward and frowned.

The Gate, which was the name they've baptized the set of gigantic double doors towering approximately forty feet high, was sealed completely shut as it had always been.