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bladekindeyewear · 4 years

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HS^2 bloggin’ mainline 2020-08-06

♪ HS2 HS2 is baaaaack ♪

♪ HS2bloggin here we gooooo ♪

♪ Structural changes on their team but I don’t caaaaare ♪

♪ Already resooolved myself that its NOOOT gonna beee as good ♪ with inattentiveness to details characters like Terezi forgetting-what-they-used-to-know and an obsession with dwelling on traaageeeDEEE without relief-or-considering how weee’d feeeeeeel~ ♪♪♪ --so just gonna enjoy-what-i-caaaaaan about iiit~ ♪♪♪

Okay time for bankruptcy

> CHAPTER 11. History's Most Notorious Haters

Let’s see how effectively my perky new lowered-expectations attitude lets me enjoy this comic *click*

wut

Oh. so is this Dave drawing comics about current events or Regular Calliope doing so for our very first lanky look at her presumably-grown-up-more cherub form

> Knight: Keep it real.

HOLY SHIT IT’S DAVEBOT AND ARADIA

so we just get to SEE them?! just like that??? no buildup or anything? :D

Okay I’m marking out a little that’s a good sign. Also what a nerdy cop-out to turn the roboteyes into glasses that’s barely passable which is perfect, the rest of his outfit looks pretty cool tho

DAVEBOT: and thats reason four hundred nineteen why despite my mans many accomplishments i will never acknowledge big skateboardings contrived message that tony hawk is the quintessential skater of our generation ARADIA: o_o DAVEBOT: not in these trying times

Good to see Ultimate Dave is being true to form with regards to the core of his personality

DAVEBOT: beep boop ARADIA: i have told you several times that i was a robot before and i know for a fact you dont have to say beep boop DAVEBOT: hm that sounds fake does not compute ARADIA: david DAVEBOT: mom

I was with this conversation until the last two lines what the fuck

(I’m reading into it aren’t I, Aradia was trying to be atypically proper -- even though she wouldn’t have the frame of reference to know without being specifically told that “Dave” was considered nickname shorthand for the human name David, and thus if she DID know there’s no reason she’d use it except to troll him -- and Dave’s just mocking her response. Without any shame about his continued weirdness of calling people Mom, and by without any shame I mean he made the choice EXPLICITLY to intentionally evoke the awkwardness. Wow I got a lot out of two lines.)

(Oh, also alt!Callie’s true Jade-body incarnation here probably prompted her to start using “David” by example. There, various mysteries solved via a pile of assumptions probably to be disproven in the next couple lines I read.)

The Knight and the Maid stare at each other briefly, having exchanged enough meaningful glances over their time together to know when to drop it.

Would Time players have an easier time gelling this way, like this particular smoothness? Dropping it just before it gets weird or excessively irritating?

(Overclasspecting)

ARADIA: i think we have exchanged enough meaningful glances over our time together to know when to drop this DAVEBOT: what i enjoy about our conversations is that you just say things like that

OKAY I SNRK’D AT THAT. That was funny.

Initially. And now I’m concerned whether Aradia is being controlled by the narrative-speak, or whether they’re both just humorously referencing the meta-text they can both see, or--

ARADIA: oh is that what you enjoy ARADIA: well we are both an infinite number of years old living countless lifetimes at once but thats no reason to waste any of our...

WHAT??!? She’s an Ultimate Self too?!?

Um, okay! Yeah! So they’re BOTH just riffing on the narrative then. But... why would Dave need a robot body to accommodate his Ultimate Psyche without getting sick but Rose not need it? I can understand Dirk not needing it because the merging of the full breadth of his multiversal individuality gels well with him being a God of the aspect governing the power of his multiversal individuality, but Aradia?

Were the robot bodies not necessary after all, and the sickness Rose suffered and Obama thought Dave would have suffered some sort of ruse? Are there shenanigans afoot? (Or are we going with the “troll biology is better” cop-out?)

She knows how this will play out, having undoubtedly tried this joke on her friend in some timeline or another. Their rapport reflects a unique combination of their matching aspects but greatly differing classes. One a passive but powerful servant to time, the other wielding the aspect like a honed blade.

WHAT????

PASSIVE SERVANT OF THE ASPECT?!? WHAT THE FUCK

Okay if that means anything like it sounds like I guess my class chart is finally blown up, sure, they only waited (*checks last edit date*) SEVEN AND A HALF YEARS TO BLOW THAT GUESS UP, SURE

Wow. Okay, I feel some obligation to jump to conclusions and say the whole class chart is wrong, but let me stay strapped in to see if “passive” is as literal as one would expect alt!Callie to mean, or it just means “an active class passive compared to other classes”. And, serving the aspect? Oh dammit, now people are gonna come at me advocating a Maid / Page dichotomy about actively serving the aspect versus allowing the aspect to be served... or Page / Maid even, jesus

I wish I had enough energy to have those chats anymore. I’d rather hold on and see the whole ridiculous chart scheme they have in mind... which is definitely (and hopefully) the one Andrew really drew up at the time and not made up by the staff, even if it throws away plenty of my old work... I’ll just stop thinking about it and keep reading.

...

--no, I don’t think I can just stop thinking about it yet. Dammit, brain.

So um. Maids serving their aspect. There was a whole “Maids serve” thing going on throughout the whole plot of Homestuck, but despite how prevalent it was, I wrote it off as the story riffing on the classical definition of Maid when the actual stuff Maids accomplished was something different and more specific, just like Knights constantly got riffed on for chivalry and the like. Furthermore, service seemed like a really shitty class definition, when class definitions are the verbs one uses to interact with reality through Aspects to change the way reality unfolds, and “serving” isn’t really an action that results in change, implying a distinct deficit of agency that I wouldn’t have viewed as fair. (Especially since you originally think “meant to serve others” and not “meant to serve the aspect”, implying even LESS agency.) Furthermore, MOST passive classes from their descriptions seem to have a propensity to act “as if by the will of the aspect”, so even with the nuance of “serving the aspect”, devoting an entire class verb to service would just step on the territory of other active/passive class pairs’ passive sides, right?

But... IF we were to take this for granted as what it SEEMS... then concentrating on that angle of “serving the aspect” implies a whole lot more agency than a service class might sound on its surface. The definition fits with the story better once you contextualize all the Maid-y references to service around Jane, for instance, with the additional idea of “serving Life” by baking prolifically and creating more of its symbols in food and--

--fuck. “Serving”, like serving to others. Serving the aspect as its attendant AND serving it out to others that need it. Maybe this still IS part of the Additive class pair! Whoa. :O

Okay okay so, what I/we thought before was:

Create/Add - Maid / Sylph

Destroy/Reduce - Prince / Bard

But “additive” really isn’t an elegant verb compared to the “Destroyer” classes, so... could it be the “Servants” and the “Destroyers”? Like Maids cleaning up and healing the broken wreckage strewn through the halls by a bratty Prince’s tantrum???

It’d certainly be weird... and it’d CERTAINLY be a wild twist where I was partially wrong in some fascinating ways but not entirely off base?

One a passive but powerful servant to time, the other wielding the aspect like a honed blade.

And yet, I can’t bet on this being the situation yet; not at all. First, it relies on the idea that alt!Callie’s explicit narrative here is slightly misleading, which would be a pretty extreme thing to commit to, even for a technical truth like “she was saying it was passive relative to other classes even though it’s technically “active””. Second... it would mean that Muses are even more wildly defined than the previous insinuation of hers, that the Sylph -- what we thought was the passive additive class -- was not enough like a Muse compared to a Witch. Muses not being that Additive? I could grudgingly understand that, but Muses not being anything like passive Servants?! That would be EXTREMELY weird!

So... there’s not a whole lot of chance that I’m not dramatically wrong somewhere about these classes! In a way that throws the entire chart into disarray!

I’m... oddly excited? Huh.

That’s a pretty nice surprise that I actually feel that way.

(Don’t hit me up all at once to discuss this Classpect development over Discord, I’ll still need a few days without talking about Homestuck to recharge as usual. Like... maybe wait and come at me as a group chat? So I’m not talking about the latest developments separately with everyone? No that wouldn’t work, how about... guh I dunno, look my outlook’s a little more positive right now but dealing with Homestuck still takes emotional energy okay?)

Okay the rest of this page...

ARADIA: ... DAVEBOT: time then make a weird face ARADIA: ........ DAVEBOT: waste time DAVEBOT: time ARADIA:............. DAVEBOT: i experience all points of time simultaneously please just say time and make a weird face

This is true.

ARADIA: .................. DAVEBOT: cmon megido youre killing me clocks ticking ARADIA: ... ARADIA: time o_o

The Maid casts a furtive glance around the empty crew quarters, as though to search for someone more sympathetic to her bit.

ARADIA: tough crowd

Dorks.

> ==>

(Lazy fruit-throwing sword-training I won’t bother to screenshot but looks fun)

(I mean, really lazy looking, these people really don’t have Andrew’s knack for action composition that would make the same amount of gif-creation effort feel like a microcosm of the event they’re depicting, unfortunately. Again, I don’t blame them; Andrew was just too good at it.)

DAVEBOT: ok heres one DAVEBOT: how old do you think you are ARADIA: emotionally? ARADIA: that is a pretty heavy topic DAVEBOT: you know damn well thats not what i meant ARADIA: you know I have been through a lot dave DAVEBOT: ok ARADIA: its just so kind of someone DAVEBOT: ok i get it ARADIA: to finally ask how i feel ARADIA: i am beside myself with emotions ARADIA: i want to open up DAVEBOT: jesus christ ARADIA: shall i open up about my past traumas to you ARADIA: would you enjoy that ARADIA: to think even a frog like me can work through their pain with a dear friend ARADIA: you have truly blessed me on this day dave strider

Is Aradia JUST trolling here or is her Ultimate Self grappling with a ton of real unresolved trauma too that she’s bullshitting around Dave-style?

DAVEBOT: times fun when youre having flies

Okay that’s a damned good frog pun.

Alright now Davebot’s rapping

DAVEBOT: lacking tact i stay stacked while i breach contract DAVEBOT: sacred vows disavowed got divorce fever DAVEBOT: i leave her DAVEBOT: dont look back dont perceive her ARADIA: do you want to talk about it :( DAVEBOT: about what ARADIA: would you say you are hung up on leaving your wife and friends behind

Goddamnit is DAVE’S ton of real unresolved trauma leaking into his raps unintentionally Dave-style?? I knew we had to address it when we cut to Davebot but how about LESS TRAGEDY IN THIS COMIC MAYBE

DAVEBOT: arent you even a little guilty about ditching your boyfriend ARADIA: what ARADIA: oh fuck

But she knew what she was doing when she did it she explicitly did it didn’t she? Epilogues quote:

DAVEBOT: what about your boy DAVEBOT: eyepatches ARADIA: oh sollux is in one of his moods ARADIA: this was all getting to be a bit much for him ARADIA: if i go ill probably just cut him loose DAVEBOT: good move

And then they stepped through the sky hole more or less. Did like, distracted Ultimate Aradia not realize exactly how long she was leaving Sollux for, ie forever? Or did she “ascend” to Ultimate status later and hadn’t thought back to the full consequences of her actions within this timeline? Or both? From the looks of the link we’ll probably find out on the next pa--

--Wait. Something else I just thought of, unrelated.

If Aradia is an Ultimate Self, that’s another coincidentally Ultimate version of someone hanging around that happens to be on the prospective list of Soul-Powered Jujus that might have their creation loops closed in the coming story. Could those two things play into each other somehow? Like instead of their souls getting stuffed into the items, their “Ultimateness” is? Or as if that’s a necessary component, or... no, I’m probably overthinking things.

> (Months in the past, but not many...)

Uh huh. Is that flashing because he’s “watching” Aradia leave? But I thought Aradia SAID she was leaving--

> (==>)

--and that black hole portal doesn’t look as cool as it sounded in the Epilogues. But why was Aradia acting surprised, she said “I’ll probably just cut him loose” mere MOMENTS before entering the portal, did she mean “cut him loose” as in “I’m going to talk to him before leaving” and then just IMMEDIATELY forget that she didn’t say anything to him because she cared so little???

Wait. Waaaait wait wait. I think. I think maybe I missed some subtext. Lemme do some fuller quotes here:

ARADIA: oh sollux is in one of his moods ARADIA: this was all getting to be a bit much for him ARADIA: if i go ill probably just cut him loose DAVEBOT: good move

His gaze remains fixed on her. She blinks and looks away, unsure what to say next. He’s standing perfectly still, presumably waiting for her to say something. She met him... what was it? Once, twice before? She can’t remember. But she knows this is a very different Dave. Aside from the metal skin, he seems implacably confident. But then, people go through changes. She’s been through more than her share. She cocks an eyebrow, recalling her own stint with a metal body.

DAVEBOT: hey earth to whats your face ARADIA: oh ARADIA: its aradia

[...]

DAVEBOT: youre coming DAVEBOT: better decide quick i doubt that dank fuckin hell funnel is staying open for much longer ARADIA: yes i suppose so ARADIA: thats where all the action is right? DAVEBOT: all the action that matters yeah ARADIA: off we go then :) DAVEBOT: word

He holds out his hand. She looks around, and assumes he means for her to take it, so she does. She didn’t know someone could fly this fast. He nearly yanks her arm out of its socket. She considers reminding him that maybe this isn’t necessary, since she can fly too. But she doesn’t want to risk saying more embarrassing stuff around this outrageously cool dude. Besides, they’re through the wormhole before she can even finish the thought. It vanishes the moment they’ve crossed.

...this was a SHIPPING thing wasn’t it. She’s impressed as hell with Striderbot, she SAID she’d cut things off with Sollux, and then she was so busy being swooped off her feet and into the portal that she forgot to actually say anything to him. Is that what happened????

Ultimate Self Davebot x Ultimate Self Aradia. Huh. Didn’t see that coming. (Though, again... they could make it SLIGHTLY clearer that this wasn’t just a blatant continuity error.)

Anyway, a rare-don’t-get-used-to-it [S] page...

> [S] (Gaze.)

...Okay that was kinda funny.

> (==>)

SOLLUX: h0w the fuck am i g0ing t0 get d0wn fr0m here.

HAH! Okay, he’s taking it pretty well. :) --and THAT’s what she realized she forgot, giving him a flight down from the tower before leaving.

GOOD. KEEP THINGS HUMOROUS EVEN WHEN LITERAL ABANDONMENT IS HAPPENING. THAT’S the Homestuck I was missing. :) :) :)

> Back to reality.

(Since the black hole is outside “canon” reality.)

Those are some cool poses-AHAH JESUS CHRIST ALT!JADE YOU LOOK ABSOLUTELY TERRIFYING XD

COULD YOU MAYBE HAVE CLEANED UP THE DRIED BLOOD AT SOME POINT OR IS SOME OF THAT FRESH FROM EATING MORE RAW MEAT

(Lord English’s blood leaving permanent timeless bloodstains would be a cool new thing to squeeze into canon i admit, i wouldn’t blame them for taking the excuse even if you could find small canon counterexamples I’m not sure of but dimly think might exist)

((ALSO SHE’S GONNA BE TINY NEXT TO THEM I DUNNO IF THAT MAKES IT MORE TERRIFYING OR LESS, PROBABLY MORE))

DAVEBOT: so youre telling me you dont even feel a little bad that you ditched him to be a weird death acolyte ARADIA: no i think he found my wiles both charming and irresistible DAVEBOT: not even an ounce of guilt or self doubt huh DAVEBOT: just like that DAVEBOT: no conversations about the greater good DAVEBOT: no revelations about your feelings

Is Aradia a jerk or weird? Can’t decide.

ARADIA: do you often find your faith in yourself shaken like this or is it a new experience now that your mortal coil has been left behind DAVEBOT: what ARADIA: do you think now that all that is left of you is a literal ghost inside of a machine you are more or less likely to embrace finality DAVEBOT: oh dope more cult of one shit DAVEBOT: immortality changed you ARADIA: could it be that you are projecting your feelings onto my situation DAVEBOT: does not compute rose jr ARADIA: ... ARADIA: we dont have to talk about it DAVEBOT: thanks

Wow, I actually can’t follow this conversation at all. Let me stare at it for a sec...

...okay, the first part she’s talking about DAVE’s faith in HIMself being shaken, not her own. She’s not asking if he relates to HER experience, she’s contrasting it.

Then, asking if he’d be more likely to embrace death, or... Time? Death. Whether his self-worth has changed because he might view himself as “less real”, something Aradia doubtless struggled with when she was a robot who already had so many excuses to devalue herself at the time? And then Dave talks about “cult of one” shit what does that even mean-...

OH. Like she’s a death cult. Gooot it. Because Aradia’s of the position that death and ending should be celebrated, and Davebot understandably isn’t entirely bought in. This is as hard to parse down as one would EXPECT conversations between two Ultimate Selves to be hard to parse down, unlike Rose and Dirk where their insane missions and glaring flaws shine bright enough through it all that you can follow their conversation flow easily.

JADE: They sit in each other's presence, the silence between them as meaningful as any words they could exchange. DAVEBOT: its always really cool to hear how meaningful my silences are DAVEBOT: especially while DAVEBOT: CALCULATING DAVEBOT: CALCULATING DAVEBOT: especially while i am attempting to experience them

Alt!Callie pulling a narrative-text AFTER a talk-identifier like “JADE:” is really hilarious in my opinion.

JADE: i do not need your approval. the story will continue how it must. DAVEBOT: beep boop hater detected ARADIA: wow is that true JADE: i am not a hater. DAVEBOT: classic hater line DAVEBOT: i know this because i am pouring through genuine actual quadrabytes of information on historys most notorious haters JADE: no, you aren’t.

Pffffff. This is pretty fun.

DAVEBOT: you are the exact opposite of a hater ARADIA: a liker DAVEBOT: ok DAVEBOT: perfect example your tolerance for whatever is going on with DAVEBOT: all this ARADIA: i think she looks quite lovely covered in the viscera of the all-powerful enemy she consumed ARADIA: floating lifelessly in our periphery ARADIA: observing our every action and noting its relevance :) DAVEBOT: uh huh thats what i mean

I was gonna note “liker” as additive for pointless classpect purposes, but really more quoting it just because I really enjoy this conversation. I’m starting to get sold on the chemistry of these two a lot faster than I expected.

JADE: even though I understand that it must happen, i am growing frustrated with the direction of this conversation. DAVEBOT: do you want to talk about something else stinky JADE: what would you suggest?

How long has that dried fucking blood been on her

DAVEBOT: ok hear me out DAVEBOT: kanaya DAVEBOT: but like DAVEBOT: wearing huge jorts

That explains Homestuck’s twitter earlier

> Weeks in the future, relative to the original point of interest...

Wait wait which point of interest? This time we were just viewing? *click*

I love what must be this shitty imagination-ship they’re using to cross the substrate of reality

> ==>

Whoaaaa. So they DIDN’T stay in those outfits for long? It showed them in a bunk bed earlier, it showed CallieJade still going around blood-covered afterward-- dammit, I’m having a hard time gauging exactly how much time is supposed to have passed between their entry into the black portal, their earlier conversation, and this moment. And as likely as some are to call this poor scene composition, I can’t think it’s anything but intentional, given we’re dealing with a couple of Ultimate Time players bullshitting with each other.

Moments like these are not rare, and serve a valuable function to the story. They are able to show a passage of time with the bulk of the emotional labor of a lengthy bonding process happening off screen. How did we get here? What have they been through? These questions are often better left open to individual interpretation and can give the one interpreting a sense of ownership of the story.

See? We’re being trolled is why. (Even if the authors are pulling the trick Alt!Callie describes maybe a little too damn often, because a cut like this where we’re supposed to fill in the emotional gaps and intervening events ourselves as readers depends on readers’ faith that sensible events and decisions for these characters would OCCUPY the gaps, as if readers don’t have faith that what intervenes WOULD make sense to their understanding of the characters the way the authors are writing them... it just seems like an excuse to do whatever you want without adequately explaining yourself, when in reality if you’d spelled out the events that led to it we’d all cry foul at the mischaracterization.)

...okay, maybe I’m a BIT bitter. Sorry. Where were we?

JADE: As a point of curiosity- ARADIA: oh shit!!!!

The dead Cherub possessing the body of an equally deceased Goddess of Space pauses at the interruption.

She doesn’t talk much, then? Too busy doing whatever talking you’d do as your other possessed Jade body? Just how temporally related is you controlling THIS Jade compared to when you were controlling the other? When that Jade pegged you as enjoying contact with friends, are these two just not enough for you, or did you “experience” the trips entirely separately? I don’t THINK the alt!Callie possessing either Jade is a separate entity from the other, but...

Were she to voice her opinion, it would be that --actually-- it is not unusual for those whose primary concern is The Grander Scheme to have a passing curiosity about the insignificant. So when one really thinks about it, any annoyance with the attendant’s small mindedness is both understandable and warranted.

She pissed

...also, “the attendant”. Even if “serve” is really the verb here, that phrasing really irks me as if she’s talking down to her. Which, I mean, makes sense for alt!Callie’s character, but doesn’t make me feel better about this new definition being foisted on us.

ARADIA: :( JADE: as a point of order, you never answered dave’s question. ARADIA: which one he is very chatty JADE: you experience time in a way that is woefully unfamiliar to me and it has... piqued my curiosity enough to learn more. ARADIA: ?_? DAVEBOT: shes asking how old you are

Wait a minute, is Alt!Callie asking a question about a dropped topic from WEEKS ago?! And is Davebot so in touch with Time and the meta ordering of topics that he actually CAUGHT ON that fast to what she was actually wondering about?????

This is getting more disorienting by the minute.

ARADIA: in this form our bodies stop aging once we reach maturity i think ARADIA: the god tier keeps our physical form locked in a state of undying ARADIA: even in death the bodies do not decay ARADIA: only lay dormant

THAT LAST PART IS FUCKING IMPORTANT. It’s being brought up intentionally to tell us that JOHN’S DEAD BODY can still be in the wallet Terezi’s carrying around RIGHT NOW without having decayed over the past years. I remember remarking in SOME previous HS^2 liveblog post of mine that I was alarmed by the decay that would have happened there (can’t find my remark on short notice and don’t really care to), so this explicitly dismisses it so we won’t be surprised by the fact that she could keep it in just-dead condition.

DAVEBOT: like how long have you been alive JADE: yes, that one.

[...]

ARADIA: oh maybe a few hundred years or so DAVEBOT: what JADE: what? ARADIA: well if i had known you were going to be so judgy about it DAVEBOT: when did this happen ARADIA: oh i spent some time in other doomed realities and timelines and came back before anybody could tell i was gone

Hm!

We knew she spent a LONG time in the dream bubbles, enough to talk to “pretty much all of the Nepetas”, but she was actually able to access a universe or universes and hop between them? That’s not something any time traveller we’ve seen has been explicitly able to do intentionally before, quite like she’s describing.

DAVEBOT: oh just out for a bit of fun then DAVEBOT: just hopped on over to a different reality DAVEBOT: real casual like DAVEBOT: oh hello dont mind me just popping in to see if it really is as doomed as they say it is DAVEBOT: did not disappoint ARADIA: yes almost exactly like that :) DAVEBOT: who did you hang out with are they cooler than me ARADIA: it is complicated to explain DAVEBOT: oh ok nevermind then DAVEBOT: all clear

Yep, he’s kinda bewildered. Is this Pesterquest stuff she’s referring to? Did she stop by Pesterquest?

DAVEBOT: a whole alternate universe ripe with the coolest motherfuckers imaginable ARADIA: you were there too i threw your air conditioner into the sun DAVEBOT: wow thats fucked up DAVEBOT: thats not where that goes at all JADE: these events are not-canonical. ARADIA: rude

Ah! Yeah, almost certainly Pesterquest. (Still haven’t played that and have little inclination to now that I’m more sure we aren’t being gaslit with intentional continuity errors, just disappointed by actual continuity errors.) Oh! And that makes a bit more sense because I imagine that’s Black Hole territory, and that territory outside of Canon seems pretty rich and easy for time-travellers to hop between stories and timelines willy-nilly. As they’re apt to in fanfics, which is the most appropriate way for things to be in that realm!

DAVEBOT: is that the trope of being hundreds of years old but looking young forever patently sucks ass DAVEBOT: a plot device an asshole would write ARADIA: :( JADE: that is not what i am trying to say at all. DAVEBOT: hmm wow yeah thatd really be a sort of pot/kettle situation i guess DAVEBOT: i cant believe im the only woke one here DAVEBOT: its hard being such a visionary AND such a fine metallic specimen DAVEBOT: but im an altruist first and fucking foremost ARADIA: so selfless JADE: yes, the greater narrative is truly blessed by your beneficent presence. DAVEBOT: oh so you got jokes now huh JADE: i have always had the ‘jokes’ of which you speak, but i have heretofore exercised restraint in laying you low. JADE: i possess knowledge of many of your iterations, as the scope of my powers allows me to exist in several narrative structures at once. DAVEBOT: but can she see why kids love the sweet cinnamon taste of cinnamon toast crunch JADE: i do not know, or care, what that means. ARADIA: neither do i :)

I’m actually really enjoying this conversation

JADE: its cultural significance to you as an earthling is wasted on the two of us entirely, as we have not conflated the misguided notion of clinging to nostalgic cereal advertisement trivia with socially relevant conversation.

Pff she literally checked her meta notes just now to learn what the cereal ads were after admitting she didn’t know what it meant and pretending not to care

> ==>

Oh, closer look at Davebot. Are those actual SHAPED shades over his robotic eye bulges? Weird, I thought it was just a lazy line drawn between them with red sharpie at first, Sans style. That would’ve been funny.

> ==>

Ohh, I get it. I was gonna say that was an unwarranted reaction... but he just realized that the Time-wait puns will be coming from BOTH his shipmates from now on. That’s gotta be a downer. :)

> ==>

HOLY

FUCKING

SHIT

IS ALT-CALLIE LAUGHING!??!?!?!??

That’s REALLY, REALLY GOOD!!! SHE’S ALREADY LAUGHING OCCASIONALLY THAT MAKES ME SO HAPPY

“BEST NARRATOR” COFFEE CUP

SHE’S ADORABLE

> ==>

Ah, was that Jade kicking you out? Or just the multiverse punishing you for being briefly happy :(

--oh, end of the update. Guess that’s it for now!

...

Alright I know I’m A BIT BEHIND on covering the HS2 commentary,

But

I really would rather wait on that a bit longer if that’s alright. Real busy and stressful week or two. (Found out my hair is starting to thin noticeably at age 31! Quite suddenly, too. Blood test looks fine so it’s nothing serious... gonna see a doctor to check if anything can be safely done about that, it’s really hurting my self-esteem more than I thought it would. Didn’t think it would hit my emotions that hard when it eventually happened, knew it was likely but not so SOON... really messing with my anxiety every time I accidentally touch my hair, now. I’ll deal with it.)

If I sound really aimless in this post, I think it’s cause I am? My mental and emotional energy’s REALLY drained. I’m glad that June/July break in HS^2 happened when it did, and I’m definitely glad there’s apparently plenty in HS^2 I can really enjoy, if this update is anything to go by. Maybe this comic can help lift me up instead of knocking me down. :)

See y’all later! More Patreon commentary blogging catchup after some other upd8.

#Homestuck #hs2 #Homestuck Liveblog #upd8 #Homestuck^2 #Homestuck Theories #Homestuck Theory #spoiler #spoilers #Classes and Aspects #Space and Time #Aradia

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chatlucky355 · 3 years

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The older you are, the harder dating typically seems. For those who are newly single, it might be hard getting back in the dating pool—the whole dating game has changed so much since the last time you were here. But when milestones like marriage and children are no longer the standard goal, dating and the act of meeting new people is a whole different ball game. And in a lot of ways, it can be a lot more fun.

There are many advantages to dating single women over 50. Even if nothing romantic springs from a date with a woman who’s older, she may still turn into a fun contact for social events and a good friend who you can have a great time with.

Here are some things to know about single women over 50:

They might not be looking for true love. Women at this stage often have never married for certain reasons (like a busy career) or have separated from their partner due to death or divorce. It’s very possible they don’t want to start over again, nor do they want to be swept off their feet.

All they want is someone to see a movie with, and chat about it afterward with a glass of wine. Age doesn’t necessarily predict what each woman wants, but for many, the idea of starting over from scratch just seems tiresome and unnecessary. So if you’re looking for a social companion, a woman over 50 might be a great match.

They’re often very self-sufficient. If they’ve been single for awhile, they’ll be the most independent women you’ll ever meet. They know how to work and manage a household all by themselves. And even better, they’re happy with the arrangement. Here’s why—if they’ve chosen to never get married or have kids, they’ve had to handle the, “Won’t you have any regrets?” question from people who straight up think being single in your 50s is an irresponsible choice. But, these women know what kind of lifestyle they prefer, and are out to prove that there’ll be no regrets. Is meet singles only a safe dating site.

They have a solid friend group. A single woman in her 50s is only alone if she personally chooses to be. Typically, she’ll busy her schedule with activities she enjoys. And she’s likely made a few lifelong friends as well. She’s probably in a book club, or goes out to eat with buddies at least once a week to chat and spend time together. She’s not afraid of being social, and might introduce you to a few good people if you get to know her.

They have realistic views on marriage. Nobody goes into a marriage thinking they’ll get divorced. Their love is the type that’ll last forever—until it doesn’t. If this woman in her 50s is divorced, she knows that Prince Charming isn’t necessarily going to knock on her door and save her from life’s biggest responsibilities. She believes in forming true connections with people, but isn’t necessarily in a rush to replace her husband. In fact, it’s possible she’s not even into the idea of marriage anymore. Some people get married since it’s what they’re expected to do—maybe she figured out that’s not for her and is looking to play the field.

They know what’s actually important on a daily basis. As women get older, they realize time is limited. So, they focus on the details that matter. A woman in her 20s might be absolutely embarrassed to leave the house without makeup. A woman in her 50s, however, has less to prove. She’s over putting all of her focus on appearance and would rather be on time for her doctor’s appointment than waste minutes looking for spare mascara. She doesn’t feel as if the world’s judging her if she accidentally forgot to swap our her flats for heels, and isn’t afraid to value comfort over high fashion.

Their idea of close family often includes friends, neighbors, and pets. If they haven’t built a family of their own that includes a husband and kids, they’ve built a solid network of friends, supporters, animals, and neighbors. Plus, just because a woman is childless herself doesn’t mean she doesn’t consider her sister’s teens like her own. Her idea of family is a little less traditional, but that means she gets invited to no less than three Thanksgiving dinners every year. And she probably tries to attend all of them—or at least FaceTime every group to wish them a happy holiday.

They’ve seen every trick in the book. Really—if you hang out with a single woman in her 50s and you’re not your genuine self, she’ll be able to figure that out within seconds. Women in general have a wonderful intuition, and if a woman in her 50s has been single for long enough, she’s pretty much seen all types of men and women cross her path. Just be yourself, and it’ll go a long way. Even better, if your history isn’t one you’re not happy with (say, two failed marriages) she’ll be more receptive and understanding if you’re open about it.

They understand how to balance everything in life. There’s a reason why you don’t often see 50-year-old women hanging out in their parent’s basement. Like the rest of us, they’ve grown up and learned how to support themselves. Whether or not they’re single by choice, widowed, or divorced, they take care of the bills by themselves. And that means they’ve got the drive to get promoted to that better title, and aren’t afraid to put the extra time in over the weekend to finish that big report. Single women over 50 find a way to balance all of life’s responsibilities, and they still have time left over to pursue their own hobbies.

They might be a little stubborn. Wouldn’t you be? When you depend on yourself, you have certain ways you like to do things. A woman in her 50s will probably be open to fun dating activities and unique ways to connect, but they might not like your brand new way of cooking ham on Christmas, or other methods of cleaning, organization, and general living. It’s a comfort issue. Humans like to have rituals, and those become a lot harder to change as we get older.

They’re more attracted to your heart than your looks. As we all age, things… happen. It doesn’t mean that humans stop being attractive as the years go by, but bodies naturally change with time. You can’t expect to look 20 when you’re 50. A single woman in her 50s and beyond is well aware of this, and doesn’t expect you to have rock hard abs either. The things they’re attracted to are the kind things you’ve done, and the amazing skills you possess. Pretty much, they’re into what you’re actually like, and not the fact that you have a gym membership.

There’s a ton of benefits to being with a single woman in her 50s. If you’re asked out by a woman who’s older, or perhaps want to spark up a friendship with an older woman who lives alone, just know that these days, 50 isn’t old. She’s at an age where she’s lived a pretty rewarding life so far, but she’s still eager to see what’s ahead.

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If you’re a man who is over 50 and attempting to date women, you might not realize the distinct advantages that you possess over younger guys.

A man of your age has had a lot of life experience and you really should be using that to feel confident in what you’ve got to offer women. Unlike a younger man who is still trying to work out who he is and what he should be doing with his life, you’ve likely past those stages and have become your true self as a man.

So, from here, you need to have confidence in the overall value that a woman will gain (emotionally, mentally, financially, etc) by being with man like you. However, don’t try to pitch it that way to women.

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Women don’t like it when a man tries to sell himself to her by listing off all of his great or beneficial qualities. Instead, what you need to do is trigger her feelings of sexual attraction for you.

When you’ve triggered a woman’s feelings of sexual attraction, she then starts to look at everything else about you in a more positive light. Here’s how it works…

As you will discover from the video above, it’s possible for you to attract women who are a lot younger than you.

Most women (not all) are open to feeling attracted to different types of guys and if you can make a woman feel what she’s hoping to feel with a guy, she will be much more open to dating and getting into a relationship with a man of your age.

Getting Past Your Age

I think it’s fair to say that most people still consider dating to be something that “young” people do.

Despite the changes in our society, there still seems to be an unwritten law that once you’re passed a certain age you’re too “old” for dating. Yet, if you’ve reached that certain age and you’re a single man looking for love, the fact is that you’re going to find it in the same way that guys in their 20s and 30s do – and that’s dating.

Dating after 50 is no different to dating at any other age, because the principles of it remain the same.

After all, the whole idea of dating is to get to know the woman you’re attracted to and to figure out whether she is someone that you’re interested in being in a relationship with. However, with that said, the most common mistake that guys over 50 make when trying to woo a woman, is that they forget the all important element of sexual attraction.

Getting Back in to the Dating Scene

It’s understandable that many men in their 50s, who find themselves returning to the dating scene after decades of being in a relationship, start off feeling a bit insecure and unsure of themselves. If this is you, I can help you.

Insecurity and lack of confidence in your attractiveness and value to women at any age is a barrier to success with women, but the good news is that any man can overcome that at any stage in their life and irrespective of age. All a guy needs is a willingness to learn.

“But, I Don’t Have My Youthful Looks…”

Something a lot of guys in their 50s say to me is, “Dan, how am I supposed to attract a new woman into my life now that I’ve no longer got my youthful appearance? Surely, most women aren’t going to be interested in an old fella like me.”

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What such men don’t realise is that I also get comments from guys half their age saying, “How am I going to attract a woman without movie star good looks?

Isn’t it all about being tall, dark and handsome?” I answer everyone in the same way – a man’s looks have very little to do with how attractive he is.

The notion that “attractiveness” is the way you look, the way you style your hair, the clothes you wear or even the car you drive is nonsense, but it’s the nonsense that is shoved in our faces day in and day out through TV, magazine and billboard advertising campaigns.

They want you to think that way because it makes you buy their cars, deodorants, colognes and expensive clothing.

You know the sort of thing I mean – wear a certain brand of deodorant and you’ll be irresistible to women, wear a certain brand of watch and you’ll become a distinguished gentleman in a woman’s eyes, wear a certain designer label and you’ll have soccer star status, etc.

Yet, when you go and buy those things, women still aren’t going to be interested unless you have the confidence and belief in yourself as a man to back it up.

A watch isn’t going to get you laid and a hairstyle isn’t going to make women say, “Wow, now THAT is what I’ve been looking for! The way you’ve styled your hair is perfect! Let’s have sex!”

In the real world (not the TV commercial world), women are attracted to confident men; they don’t buy into the false world of advertising “attractiveness,” so why should you? The sooner you let go of the idea that your not-so-good-looks are holding you back, the sooner you can get on with discovering what women really find attractive in a man.

Focussing on what you don’t have gets you nowhere, but focussing on what you do have gets you moving towards having whatever you want. Women love a man who believes in himself because he decides to believe in himself for deeper reasons.

Having temporary confidence over a new shirt you’ve just bought at a designer shop isn’t going to last very long at all. In fact, if you’re going around basing your confidence on superficial things like that, women will see right through it.

Some will even challenge you on the spot by playing hard to get, making it difficult for you to keep the conversation going and so on, so they can check to see how confident you really are. When they see that it’s just a front, boom – it’s over.

You Deserve to Be Confident After 50

At this point in your life, you’ve no doubt experienced a lot and have done many good or even great things in your life.

You’re also probably not to bad in the bedroom either.

Those and countless other things should be your reason for feeling confident.

Allow yourself to have that confidence, because when you do, women will love you for it. Dating after 50 is easy for guys who believe in themselves and know that their experience with manhood and their ability to “be the man” is like a drug to women of all ages.

If you don’t have a lot of confidence or are lacking in the masculinity department (mental and emotional masculinity), let me help you out. I’ve heard back from 100s of men over 50 who are now sleeping with women in their 20s and 30s, as well as men who’ve found a beautiful new women to share the rest of their life with.

Don’t Believe the Lies from TV Advertising Campaigns

There’s nothing that advertising campaigns like to do more than appeal to a man’s insecurities surrounding his age.

Think about it; they show the “sad” grey-haired man and then the “happy” man with newly dyed youthful-looking hair. He dyes his hair and then he gets the girl. Yet, in the real world, the many women I’ve spoken to about men dying their hair have said the same sorts of things, “It looks silly. You can tell that the guy is insecure and is trying to be something he’s not.”

As I’ve already said in this article, all women love men who believe in themselves for deeper reasons. Being a girl and dying to hair to “look young” is not cool and it’s not attractive. If anything, it actually makes you look like a guy who secretly isn’t into girls, if you catch my drift.

Hopefully you’re one of the smarter men who isn’t being tricked into thinking that women want you to look radiant and youthful. Hopefully you realize that men actually become more attractive to women as they age, as long as (and I repeat, as long as) the guy retains and builds on his confidence, continues to push forward in life and beyond what he has already achieved.

If you’re wanting to get a date after 50, but you’re lacking confidence and going nowhere in life, don’t expect women of any age to be lining up to be with you.

Most women, whether they’re 25 or 55, are instinctively attracted to the same characteristics in a man. Silicon nerd reddit. What women really want is to be with a man who knows how to make them feel like a woman and who is able to consistently “be the man” around her and in life, and that’s it.

Yes, some women are picky about looks, but many women are more flexible with what they will find attractive in a guy than most men realize.

So get over that imaginary hurdle and stop thinking that a wrinkle cream or hair die will get you a hot lady. Stop thinking that all you need to do is spend all of your money on a sports car and THEN you’ll get the girl. Just believe in yourself, be a man and make women feel like women.

As you will discover from the video above, the real reason why a lot of good men fail with women is that they simply don’t know how to attract women.

When you interact with a woman, she is only going to look at you as a potential lover, boyfriend or husband if you can make her feel sexually attracted to you.

The more sexual attraction you are able to make women feel by way of your personality, confidence, vibe, body language, behavior and attitude, the more options you will have with women. It’s as simple as that.

“But, I’ve Got Baggage…”

Of course you do; you’re 50!

It’s no surprise that a man in his 50s might be carrying a little more “baggage” with him than a man in his 20s. It’s totally normal, expected and nothing to worry about at all.

For instance: Maybe he’s got kids, maybe he’s got six dogs, three cats and a goldfish, but is any of that an issue? It will be an issue only if he chooses to see it in a negative way.

Sure, you might have different sets of responsibilities by the time you reach your 50s compared to a guy in his 20s, but you don’t need to consider it “baggage,” it’s simply part of who you are.

There’s nothing wrong with you having a past with other women, or having a dog that you love or having your children come and stay with you on weekends. Women are attracted to men who know who they are; men who have established their own set of values in life and men who have the strength of character to stand by those values and always be true to themselves.

Knowing who you are and knowing what you want from life makes you an attractive man at any age. To get over this particular hurdle regarding dating after 50, all that you need to do is realise that most women (not all) are interested in “who” you are, not “what” you are.

“But, I’m Set in My Ways…”

If you want help and advice about dating after 50 because you’ve realized that the world has changed since you were last on the dating scene, you need to be prepared to learn from current experts in the field.

Trying to use advice that was applicable 40 years ago is only going to cause you trouble because, believe me, things really have changed. To master the modern dating scene, you need to be open to learning and that means being open to change. If you’re too set in your ways and you’re not open to change, things are going to stay exactly as they are.

Don’t make the mistake of getting locked into thoughts of, “Well I am what I am, so it’s too late to change anything now.” Success with women is all about taking steps to become the best version of yourself it’s possible to be, so you can attract a quality woman and keep that woman (if you want to!).

Don’t settle for second best or worse – nothing at all. You deserve to be happy and have a beautiful woman to share your life with, or if you prefer, many beautiful women to share your bed with.

If you’re dating after 50 and are looking for advice, then let me help you. I’ll show you the way to quickly having your choice of beautiful women…and you don’t need to change a thing about your physical appearance to make that happen.

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Marvel’s Avengers Beta Doesn’t Deliver Superhero Spectacle, But There’s Hope

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There was a moment while playing the Marvel’s Avengers early access beta on the PlayStation 4 when I had to ask myself whether this slice of the game was the best way to showcase what was supposed to be a major spectacle for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Following two of the biggest movies of all time, Marvel’s Avengers should feel like a victory lap for Square Enix and a grand return to video games for the superhero team. Instead, the beta showcases a low-key affair that never quite feels all that fresh or unique.

While the combat, traversal, and all of the game’s other mechanics generally work just fine, the title’s dependence on long-established trends and design concepts, as well as a very dull group of baddies, render Marvel’s Avengers sort of ordinary. The game’s arcade-y co-op gameplay feels like an over-the-shoulder upgrade of the Marvel Ultimate Alliance series, which is undoubtedly a major inspiration here, while the loot shooter elements don’t really add anything new to that particular genre, either.

It’s important to note that these are my impressions after only playing the game’s beta build, a small portion of a much larger whole. This is in no way a final verdict on Marvel’s Avengers.

Before we jump in, you can check out some gameplay footage from the beta below:

I spent three days with the beta, playing through the “A-Day” intro mission that Square Enix has previewed plenty of times before as well as several main story missions (called Hero Missions in the game), a handful of short Drop Zone and War Zone missions, an Iconic mission focusing on the Hulk, and three HARM Room Challenges best described as the game’s take on a horde mode. While the beta was a varied sampling of the activities that Marvel’s Avengers has to offer, it was also a brief one that I wouldn’t consider a full view of the final product, and I definitely left the beta with the sense that there was way more to see.

The beta opens with the heavily-directed A-Day tutorial mission that familiarizes you with the different heroes at your disposal. You wreck terrorists on San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge with Thor and his mighty hammer while zipping through the skies to lend air support as Iron Man. The Hulk joins the fight on the bridge, too, smashing and stomping his way through gun-toting enemies and tanks. The tutorial gives players only the briefest of moments with Captain America and his trusty shield before switching to Black Widow for a QTE-heavy boss fight with Taskmaster.

The A-Day sequence is fast-paced and exciting, full of Marvel’s signature funny quips and heroic moments to be sure. But while this opening story mission shows how Earth’s Mightiest Heroes can work perfectly in tandem during an emergency, it isn’t really indicative of the rest of the missions in the beta, which feature combat more akin to a brawler or beat em up than the choreographed, more linear fights of the intro.

A time jump after the intro sequence sees the Avengers disband after failing to save San Francisco from the terrorist attack. We reunite with Bruce Banner and Kamala sometime later on a mission to reassemble the superhero team. The beta keeps things largely out of spoiler territory, so I didn’t get to see how the duo first met or what set them on their new mission. But from what I did see, it’s clear that the young Kamala, who is destined to become the superhero Ms. Marvel, is the heart of this story.

It’s her desire to learn more about her powers as well as the heroes she grew up admiring that drive the main plot forward. She brings an energy to the team that’s a very nice contrast to the much more defeated Banner, who is living in exile on the Chimera years after A-Day. We get hints that he’s not really interested in being the Hulk or an Avenger anymore, but Kamala convinces him that reuniting the team is the only way to save the world from the game’s main enemy faction, Advanced Idea Mechanics (aka AIM).

The Hero Missions that follow hit familiar story beats, as Bruce and Kamala first go on a mission to recover an old piece of Stark tech vital to finding Iron Man and then make contact with what remains of SHIELD, now led by Maria Hill. The beta stops short of actually reassembling the team, but along the way, we watch as Kamala interacts with pieces of Avengers history, from finding Cap’s original shield in a silo to walking around the team’s old HQ on the Chimera. It’s nice to be able to experience this story from the point-of-view of a fan who feels as much wonder for these characters as we did when we read our first Avengers comic book or watched the first movie, even if the beta’s somewhat unsurprising and safe missions don’t quite inspire wonder themselves.

The big issue with the Hero Missions and War Zone/Drop Zone side quests is that AIM’s massive army of jet pack-wearing soldiers, evil scientists, and robots aren’t all that much fun to fight or learn about. While some of the robots boast cool, bug-like designs (one class even looks like a smaller version of an X-Men Sentinel), they’re basically just punching bags and bullet sponges that don’t require much strategy to take down.

Running from room to room taking out AIM agents and machines starts to feel repetitive really quickly, and it doesn’t help that the environments sometimes feel really drab — big steel buildings with plenty of glass and high-tech lab equipment to destroy. There were even times when I felt like War Zone missions were recycling the same environment, simply remixing the order of rooms and hallways you traverse. Fortunately, these environments are almost fully destructible, which is a nice touch, especially when you’re playing as someone as chaotic as the raging Hulk. But overall, the level design showcased in the beta felt a little uninspired.

Once you unlock the War Table, you’re pretty much free to embark on missions in any order you choose and with whichever character you want, except when it comes to Iconic missions, which require you to play as a specific hero. The beta featured a Hulk-centric Iconic mission that saw the Jade Giant smash into an AIM facility to destroy the group’s gamma ray research. There’s a bit more storytelling involved with Iconic missions as well as opposed to other War Zone and short Drop Zone activities, which feel a bit less remarkable.

While there are a variety of different War Zone and Drop Zone missions to choose from, the ones in the beta mostly come down to fast sprints from point A to B that require you to destroy AIM research, defeat a robotic mini-boss, gather intel, or hold down a specific position. They rarely feel like unique experiences that could only belong in a Marvel game and are generally unexciting. And although some War Zone missions tend to offer up multiple stages and objectives, usually broken up by an elevator ride into an AIM facility or underground bunker, Drop Zone missions are bewilderingly short. You can finish them within 10 minutes, which makes them feel like filler content most of the time, although it should be noted that the shorter length of these missions is by design.

The nice thing about Marvel’s Avengers is that it won’t force multiplayer on you. All of the missions mentioned above can be played solo with three AI characters at your side or with up to three other players. While I only spent a very limited time playing with others, matchmaking worked well, but the real test will come when Crystal Dynamics opens up the beta to a much bigger group of players throughout August. But if you want to play the game solo, you can do so no problem. I even found the companion AI to be nice substitutes for real players during big fights with AIM. It’s evident that the studio has put in a lot of time into making all of these heroes feel genuine regardless of whether they’re being controlled by a player or AI.

A high point of the beta was the HARM Room, a holographic training area where the Avengers can square off against hordes of AIM enemies. In this mode, which is set on the Chimera itself, the team must survive 10 waves of increasingly difficult baddies. Only three difficulty levels were available in the beta, but it was a nice taste of what the mode has to offer. Whereas fighting AIM grunts in War Zones and Drop Zones starts to feel a little redundant, taking them on in bigger numbers in an enclosed area can get pretty exhilarating, especially when you’re against a wall in later rounds with fewer chances to heal.

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As far as the combat itself goes, there’s a nice flow to the action, which feels pretty polished at this point, as you chain a mix of attacks with Black Widow, Kamala Khan, Iron Man, and Hulk. I particularly enjoyed playing as Black Widow, who uses a mix of batons, gravity-defying flips, kicks, and dual pistols to take down the game’s robotic enemies. She also has a cool grapple that she uses to swing to hard-to-reach platforms or hurl herself at enemies. Switching between her melee moves and third-person shooter gunplay is pretty smooth, too. Black Widow ultimately feels like the hero who benefits the most from Crystal Dynamics’ own experience with the action-adventure genre. At times, I even wished the studio had embarked on a Black Widow solo adventure instead of such a big superhero endeavor.

Unsurprisingly, learning how to play as each hero is the best part of the beta. While Captain America and Thor are notably absent beyond the tutorial, you get plenty of time with the other Avengers. For the most part, each character feels distinct. Black Widow performs as a close- to mid-range hero while Ms. Marvel is all about melee. Hulk not only brings devastating tank-like power to the battlefield and destruction to the game’s environments but also does quite a bit of platforming along the way (a strange choice to give Hulk so much of the platformer gameplay but it mostly works). With Iron Man, you unlock the ability to fly around and wreak havoc from above, although his melee attacks also feel satisfying and weighty.

Special abilities that work on a cooldown timer add a nice superheroic layer to each character. Iron Man can summon his Hulkbuster suit for when he needs to take on bigger enemies and Hulk can clap his hands together to create a soundwave that does incredible damage and staggers targets. Black Widow can activate a camo that effectively turns the entire team invisible for a short time while Ms. Marvel can embiggen. Each hero has three unique abilities that really complement them and their move set. It was a blast learning how to best implement each ability.

A skill tree and a gear upgrade system allow you to unlock new attacks for each hero as well as upgrade gear stats to make your character stronger. As you level up in the game, you get skill points to redeem in the skill tree while the game’s myriad resources can be used to upgrade different pieces of gear. There are quite a few resources to keep track of, mostly found inside giant crates during missions, but I found that you could mostly ignore which resources upgraded each piece of gear. Compared to loot shooters, collecting resources never feels as grind-y or frustrating as it does in, say, the Destiny games.

You can also find different pieces of gear on the field, such as better gauntlets for Black Widow or better armor for Ms. Marvel, that offer perks (buffs) such as a damage boost, health boost, or elemental effects. Some pieces of gear even have two perks that you can unlock by upgrading them. As far as I could tell from the beta, gear serves to boost your character’s stats further but doesn’t offer any cool cosmetic effects, making loot feel a little less satisfying as a whole than in other loot-based games. Instead, cosmetic changes to your character will come from unlocking skins through gameplay or buying them with real money.

While microtransactions weren’t turned on during the beta, Crystal Dynamics did provide in-game currency so that I could shop for some skins, emotes, and themed nameplates for when you want to rep your favorite hero while in the matchmaking lobby. Skins include a Joe Fixit costume for Hulk, a casual winter-themed outfit for Kamala, a very cool black and red suit for Black Widow, and MCU-inspired suits for each hero. There were only a few skins to try for each character but trailers and gameplay videos have already promised way more costumes to choose from.

Some Marvel fans might perk up at the thought of being able to play Marvel’s Avengers as Joe Fixit and I guarantee there’s plenty more deep-cut comic book goodness where that came from. Credit must be given to Crystal Dynamics for just how much Marvel history it managed to pack into just this short beta. From breaking news from Marvel’s number one reporter, Phil Sheldon, to references to Dum Dum Dugan, easter eggs to be found on the Golden Gate Bridge, and classic real-life comics that make up the game’s collectibles, it’s clear Crystal Dynamics has done its research and has a real love for this universe. There are Avengers memorabilia scattered pretty much everywhere in the Hero Missions and there are even one or two villainous cameos I won’t spoil here.

While AIM facilities feel a bit dull as you run around their familiar hallways, the world as a whole feels lived in. The level design in the beta might falter but the world-building in Marvel’s Avengers is on point. It’s just a shame that the gameplay itself never comes together like the world and lore Crystal Dynamics is building around it.

I return back to my earlier question about whether the content specifically chosen for this beta was the best way to showcase a game as big as Marvel’s Avengers. Did Crystal Dynamics play it too safe for the sake of preserving story elements and other surprises? Will War Zone missions have more to offer than the repetitive gameplay shown here? Crystal Dynamics has stressed that these missions could last anywhere from 10 minutes to two hours. It would’ve been nice to see a mission that’s somewhere in the middle, just to get a better look at the scope of the game. For now, missions and levels feel too minuscule for a team as big as the Avengers.

Will AIM be the only bad guys in the full game? Hopefully not. There are hints in the beta that other supervillains may be on the move and there’s even a brief boss fight with a villain that’s appeared in an MCU movie. With all of Marvel history at the team’s disposal, it’s hard to believe AIM was the best choice here over the countless other evil organizations, factions, and races created by the House of Ideas. Hopefully, the full game will offer a bit more variety on the bad guy front.

Ultimately, it’s important to remember that this is only a beta and what does work in Marvel’s Avengers works well. There’s hope in the game’s world-building, character design, and the combat system. And don’t forget that Marvel’s Avengers is a live service title designed to change and improve over time. It’s positioned as a platform that will receive content updates for years to come. Like many online games before it, it’s possible Marvel’s Avengers will face a rocky launch this fall, but if the history of this particular game format is any indication, Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix will have plenty of time to right the Chimera.

Marvel’s Avengers is out on Sept. 4 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Google Stadia. It’s coming to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X later this year.

If you’re interested in participating in the beta, here is the schedule of when you can do so:

August 7-9 – PS4 pre-order customers can join the closed beta

August 14-16 – All PS4 owners can join the open beta, and PC and Xbox One pre-order customers can play the closed beta

August 21-23 – Open beta across all platforms

The post Marvel’s Avengers Beta Doesn’t Deliver Superhero Spectacle, But There’s Hope appeared first on Den of Geek.

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acoolguyscoollife · 5 years

Text

Chapter 12: Prep Time

Cool Guy

Seeing the rebels gearing up for the war was a worrying situation, to say the least. A lot of weapons were being grabbed, crudely made swords and clubs being most of what they could make. Some of the higher-up colours had magic weapons, barely able to maintain them for extended periods, but still preparing to use them, training by attacking trees and other objects. The entire village had geared up, and now it was just the leader who they were waiting on. The leader who, at this exact moment, was talking to use while glancing sideways at them.

“I’m not sure if they realise how unlikely it is for us to win this battle.” He said simply, once again looking back at them. “I don’t want to lead them to their deaths.” As much as part of me wanted to help, the reality of Tabitha’s explanation of the simulation made it incredibly difficult to act.

“People die in wars. You need to reconsider what you’re going to do here, before it becomes too late to act.” I said, with Seth nodding next to me.

“What do you propose I do? They’ve purposefully cast us out, in order to benefit nobody but themselves. We can’t do anything here.” The leader clearly wasn’t happy, but I had to admit, there wasn’t much of an alternative. Civil discourse had long since stopped being an option. “Our people don’t intend to fight to kill, and neither will theirs. People will die, yes, but not as many as other wars will cause.” The leader said, but I could tell nobody believed it. Seth turned to me, making sure that the leader wouldn’t be able to hear us speaking.

“Remember Peacekeeper, that game where you play as a riot cop?” Seth asked me, and I nodded. It had been a VR game, nowhere near like what I had thought the simulation had been, but according to the reviews, it had been pretty damn close to reality. “We 100%ed that game on the hardest difficulty, do you think it’d be as easy to do here?” I had to think for a moment. I mean, there had been no weight to our movements in the game, since there was no haptic feedback, one downside of virtual reality. That being said, Seth had a habit of working out, and I had been doing Kendo for a while. In theory, it was possible, but I didn’t think we’d be much more than just two more fighters.

“I’ve not seen any other guns down here, weirdly enough, so you’d have a distinct advantage. But I probably wouldn’t.” I replied, taking a quick look at my sword. Sheathed, it’d be quite close to the wooden blade I was used to using, and those things could hurt like hell if used right. “You can’t shoot to kill, though, and I thought people were trained to shoot at center mass?” I pointed out, and Seth thought for a second.

“I was never trained, all I know about shooting I got from video games. Doesn’t really translate very well, but…” Seth paused. “Wait, that does mean shooting the bigger target would make more sense. Shit.” He grasped his chin, eyes looking off at nothing in particular. They widened slightly as he started to pay attention again, glancing around and stopping someone who was walking past. “Hey, if I gave you something, would you be able to replicate it in bulk, but with different materials?” The man Seth had stopped thought for a moment. He was one of the builders, doing things very similar to what Amy had been doing, except at a much slower pace.

“I believe so, why?” The man asked, and Seth took the magazine out of his gun, removing a round and handing it over, as well as the magazine itself. It was a standard 7 round magazine, chambered in… god, I had seen the gun before but I couldn’t tell you what it was.

Seth

It was a Colt 1911, .45 ACP chambered. Worn, old, but reliable, modified with a custom grip and finish. It felt versatile in my hand, and was easy to unload and reload, as well as unholster.

“I need as many of these bullets, except made entirely from rubber, as you can. I also need as many magazines as you can make, but those can be made out of whatever, as long as it’ll fit the gun and won’t break anything.” I told the man, and he nodded, taking the items off of me.

“It’ll be a few hours, but I’ll get them to you before the battle begins.” The man responded, and I gave him a nod before turning back to CG. It was go time, now or never, and I had a few ideas.

“Okay, game plan time. As much as you’re the de-facto leader of our group, I think I should be the one to plot out what we’re going to do.” I spoke before CG could interrupt, and while he objected slightly and pouted, I knew that he preferred not to responsible for this. I’d known him long enough to know that the less responsibility he took, the less he’d be blamed when shit inevitably went south. I looked around for a sheet of paper or something, and settled with a piece of tent that nobody was using anymore, grabbing a piece of charcoal and beginning to scrawl on it.

“Judging from how long we took to get over here on foot from the castle, I would say that the two groups, if they set off at the same time, would meet in the forest.” I began, doodling a forest, a tent, and a small castle at specific points. “But that’s assuming we all leave at the same time, which I have my doubts about. The castle guards seem keener to hold out their position than actually advance on the rebellion, which, honestly, is kinda strange.” CG stepped forward then.

“It’s preventative measures to protect the castle itself, literally. If the rebels reach the king, he’ll fight back, and when he does, the entire land’s going to be razed.” CG said, and I couldn’t help but scowl at him.

“And this is info you chose to only tell me now?” I said, exasperated.

“Well usually the protagonist takes him down, but this is the course of one of the bad endings. The player wins, but at the cost of a lot of lives.” CG replied, taking his own tent piece and charcoal and drawing on it. “There’s five separate paths that can be taken for a unique ending, and right now we’re on the second worst.” He had drawn five lines, all branching off from one main line. “We could only have done worse if we’d actively been trying to kill everyone.”

“So we’re screwed?” I asked, but he shook his head.

“Not necessarily.” CG replied, drawing a line that linked two of the other lines. “There are parallels between this ending, and the second-best ending. In that ending, the King unleashes his power, but the rebels and the palace dwellers have united, and take him down with minimal casualties.” CG grinned as he looked up.

“When do we make the choice to unite the two?” I asked him.

“Oh, way sooner than this.” CG said, completely deadpan. It took all of my energy to not make him eat a piece of charcoal.

“Then why bring it up?” I questioned, and he grinned again. It was kind of getting annoying.

“Basically, the war keeps going because you can’t convince them to stop after one side kills a member of the other side. Despite the player’s best efforts, it’s impossible to do. Specifically coded that way.” He said, still grinning, though I wasn’t seeing why yet. He was awfully chipper, making it clear he knew something I didn’t.

“I’m confused, how is that a good thing?” I said, not able to really ask much more. It was tiring playing 20 Questions.

“Because one person alone can’t stop them.” CG began, drawing a stick figure on his paper. “But we don’t have just one person.” He doodled three more stick figures, then added additional features. Multiple dots on the face of one, and a crude little gun in his hand. Another had wide-rimmed glasses that expanded past the face. The third had a small ponytail, and the fourth had very intricate looking sunglasses.

“Do you think we’ll be able to do it? Even magic and guns aren’t much of an advantage against a LOT of people with guns.” I asked, and he nodded, and I had to admit, this time the grin was infectious. I was actually starting to believe we could do this. There was just one small problem.

Amy

“Where the hell are we!?” Tabitha yelled, and I couldn’t answer. The skeletons had ended up getting us way more lost than I thought they would, and apparently, we were walking in circles now, according to Tabitha’s thingymajigger that pointed us in the direction of the guys.

“I dunno, man.” I replied, because what else could I do? “Can’t you magic us over there or something?” For a moment, Tabitha glanced over, as if to respond. Then she paused. I was beginning to think she had actually become a computer at some point, one which had now frozen after years of working fine, but she blinked and I knew that at the very least, background processes were running.

“Theoretically.” She replied finally, tapping away at her watch. “In fact, it should be fairly easy to shift our positions in the world. We just need to make sure we’re not going to teleport into anything.” Tabitha was barely paying attention to me at this point.

“Can you survey the area?” I offered. Quick shake of the head in response. Seeing no other choice for me, I sat down on a rock and began to contemplate existence. The important questions, like why are we here and why have we still not eaten anything yet? Looking down at the plant life, I had a thought about my powers, and decided to swap sitting on the rock for using it as a kind of workbench. I grabbed a random assessment of different objects, trying to think back to what I remembered from science classes. See, I knew that everything, at its core, is made up of the same base elements. Or something like that. So, in theory, I could turn these basic things into more advanced stuff, potentially food. I placed my hands over them, watching the energy dance in the space between the two. Now, to change them into something I knew. Bread was simple enough, just yeast and… stuff. Eh, plants had to be the same on some level, right? I closed my eyes, partially to be either surprised or disappointed, and partially because seeing dirty ground sticks turn into delicious bread would be kinda gross.

“Whoa, that was… impressive.” Tabitha said, causing me to open my eyes. When I focused my energy, I lost track of time a little bit, but when I opened them again, I was surprised by what was in front of me. It wasn’t just one loaf, but multiple. They were even steaming, which was a surprise. “Cooked and everything, that’s… wow. You’re a natural at this.” Usually, Tabitha would respond to surprise with a single raised eyebrow. Right now, both were raised, along with her mouth open. It was like, the greatest positive affirmation that I could have ever gotten. We both took one in our hands, biting into them, and thankfully the taste was as good as the look. Freshly baked, with a hint of spices and sweetness.

“What do now?” I asked, mouth full of bread. Tabitha raised her free hand in response, shooting a giant flare of fire into the air. I glanced up at it, and watched as it exploded into the words rebels please come get us.

“Might seem like a trap, but screw it, I’m completely willing to throw caution to the wind.” She responded casually. “This is some good-ass shit.”

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