#with sprinkling of horizon zero dawn

[teecupangel]

I know this sounds weird but what if Desmond turned into an airplane? It wouldn't leave me all week and I needed answers.

Hi nonny, I’m so sorry if this wouldn’t leave you for a month now because I couldn’t answer you any sooner. (For those wondering, that’s right, I’m still trying to answer and reblog posts and asks from Sept 17 onward. So sorry TTATT)

Not gonna lie, making Desmond into an airplane made me immediately think of Bismuth the Crone who can become a jet for some reason in Oxventure.

Then I remember…

I mean we could easily make this a Transformers AU but then…

There is one AC that does have planes as a major part of their story…

Ace Combat.

And that brings to mind one of the fastest planes in Ace Combat 7 that I may or may not have used a lot because it has a pure white skin:

YF-23 Black Widow II (usually just called YF-23)

And it’s one of the most compatible fighter for Desmond because this is its description:

"A large stealth fighter and finalist in the Advanced Tactical Fighter competition. Its advanced speed and stealth capabilities make it ideal for preemptive strikes. One nickname for the prototype was "Black Widow II"."

This doesn’t even have to be an Ace Combat crossover if you don’t want it to be (although you can totally do it because Ace Combat has an AI that went megalomaniac after gaining self-awareness so you can totally make Desmond the AI of a specific YF-23 that’s meant to be a prototype of an AI support companion project who is supposed to be mimicking the personality of a person and the pilot realizes that the AI is slowly gaining self-awareness or… maybe even remembering more of the personality it’s mimicking, including his memories), this could be an AU where the Brotherhood is part of an Air Force of a country that’s being invaded or something (you can totally base it on Aurelia as well since the Aurelian Air Force squads are named after birds… and they have an Aquila Squadron too)

Anyway, the main idea is that DESMOND would be taking on the role of the support AI prototype on board of a YF-23 where the main character of your choice would be piloting. From there, DESMOND would be seen as an AI mimicking a person’s personality with the mystery starting to pile up as DESMOND starts talking about ‘past memories’ and even talking to the main character in a way that makes it sound like the AI is either gaining more self-awareness or getting memories.

Then the main character and DESMOND would learn that DESMOND is based on the late Desmond Miles, one of the lead developers of the AI project of which DESMOND was based of.

The AI Project by the name…

CAPITOLINE TRIAD.

[area-fiftyone]

End of Year Writing Roundup!

This year I wrote a total of 65,295 words in two fandoms, but most of that was for Horizon Zero Dawn and Forbidden West!

Smut- Still getting the hang of writing those wonderful hot scenes most everyone loves and enjoys, and I'm getting better at it!

(Didn't have room for the other piece but it was a Five Nights at Freddy's humor fic!)

New Things I Tried!- Smut! And my first official crossover in Fire and Steel, a Witcher/Horizon mashup which has been so much fun

Fic I Spent the Least Amount of Time On- Uuuuummmmm probably Bloom, the companion piece to Sun Before Shadow, a Hekarro/Nasadi piece. They live rent free in ny head. Bloom was part of Nilysium's Fluff Writing event and it was so fun.

Favorite Thing I Wrote- Is it legal to say all of it? Haha, jk. Probably Fire and Steel, a Witcher/Horizon crossover. I'm having a blast integrating the two worlds!

Favorite Thing I Read- Woooooooo boy I have to narrow this down otherwise this post is going to be a mile long! I didn't read much outside of the Horizon fandom save for one fic I can recall, so here we go!!

@nyxianthe wrote Sea and Flame, and Storm and Ash- a fairytale duology set in the same universe. I love a good fairy-tale and these were so good I could yell about them forever

Speaking of fairytales, @fogsblue 's Secrets of the Forest- alot of fairytale, a sprinkle of mythology, and I was hooked from the first sentence.

@poppypopp 's Gilded Shadows and Glitter and Gore got me in a chokehold and live rent free in my head. A dark progression of Nil/Avad, and a Kotaniloy serial killer AU?? Sign me the fuck up please and thank you!

On Dawn's Silent Wings by @wandereringray got me to fall in love with Aloy/Kotallo all over again (as if I ever stopped). They're a fantastic writer 10/10

@every-raindrop77 got me laughing til I cried with her An Exchange of Blades series- she writes crack as easily as breathing and I love it so, so much.

@blessedwithgloriousbutt 's Let's Get Wreckless was so fun- modern wedding and a tipsy threesome! Aloy/Drakka/Nil is my guilty pleasure and I am not ashamed of it!

On that note, @cthu-boo is my go to for Drakka/Aloy content. I've read The Storm and the Calm That Proceeds It so many times and I will never fail to be amazed at how easily they write such beautiful stories!

I seriously could go on forever about these writers and all the wonderful fics I've read this year- Im so lucky to call these lovely folks my friends. <3

Next Year's Writing Goals- Im hoping to continue putting out long fics, and not be so nervous when posting my work to share!

[kaeyaphile]

SELFSHIPS —

kaeya alberich × kayleigh 〔genshin impact〕・aventurine × kayleigh 〔honkai: star rail〕・kaveh × kayleigh 〔genshin impact〕・jing yuan × kayleigh 〔honkai: star rail〕・jiyan × kayleigh 〔wuthering waves〕・argenti × kayleigh 〔honkai: star rail〕・sunday × kayleigh 〔honkai: star rail〕・baizhu × kayleigh 〔genshin impact〕・satoru gojō × kayleigh 〔jujutsu kaisen〕・atsumu miya × kayleigh 〔haikyuu!!〕・kyōjurō rengoku × kayleigh 〔demon slayer | kimetsu no yaiba〕・leon scott kennedy × kayleigh 〔resident evil〕・sephiroth × kayleigh 〔final fantasy vii〕

polyamorous | polycule selfships » kaeya alberich × kayleigh × albedo 〔genshin impact〕・kaveh × kayleigh × alhaitham 〔genshin impact〕

INTERESTS —

movies » studio ghibli films・the lord of the rings・the hobbit・jurassic park films・stardust・moulin rouge・alien films・five nights at freddy’s・the last unicorn・coraline・pride and prejudice・final fantasy vii: advent children・demon slayer: mugen train・jujutsu kaisen volume 0

books﹠interactive novels » the silmarillion・the lord of the rings・the hobbit・the fall of gondolin・the hunger games series・the twilight series・scout・blood moon・fields of asphodel・shepherds of haven・the wayhaven chronicles・the night market

shows » the last of us・what we do in the shadows・peacemaker・the x–files・midnight mass・the dragon prince・castlevania・avatar: the last airbender・the legend of korra・parks and recreation・brooklyn 99・stranger things・the witcher・the good place・a series of unfortunate events・the great british baking show・adventure time・resident evil: infinite darkness

anime﹠manga » haikyuu!!・demon slayer・jujutsu kaisen・fruits basket 〔2019〕・tokyo revengers・sk8 the infinity・attack on titan・spy × family・bleach・bleach: thousand year blood war・naruto shippuden・inuyasha・inuyasha: the final act・fullmetal alchemist: brotherhood

video games﹠mobile games » genshin impact・honkai: star rail・mass effect・dragon age・the elder scrolls・baldur’s gate 3・final fantasy vii・kingdom hearts・fallout 4・the outer worlds・cyberpunk 2077・resident evil・five nights at freddy’s・horizon: zero dawn・horizon: forbidden west・spyro: reignited・the sims 4・love﹠deepspace・wuthering waves・neko atsume

PETS —

nagini 〔female ball python〕・cole 〔male blue-eyed leucistic ball python〕・smaug 〔male tarahumara mountain dwarf boa〕・wilbur 〔male albino western hognose〕・poe 〔male kenyan sand boa〕・lorelei 〔female mexican black kingsnake〕・coraline 〔female harlequin crested gecko〕・jinora 〔female harlequin crested gecko〕・pip 〔female aptor leopard gecko〕・luke 〔male albino rabbit〕 ・luna 〔female chantilly-tiffany cat〕・ruby 〔female classic tabby cat〕・sir reginald of bookshelf 〔male orange cat〕・oliver 〔male grey cat〕・sprinkles 〔female chaco golden knee tarantula〕

ORIGINAL CHARACTERS —

THE ELDER SCROLLS ONLINE

maevaris telvanni » female dunmer | dark elf nightblade, utilizes dual–wielding daggers and a bow, ebonheart pact, disowned by house telvanni, champion of vivec, member of the psijic order, in love with darien gautier

thaesandra caerllin » female bosmer | wood elf warden, utilizes bows and a bear summons 〔“bear grylls”〕, werewolf, aldmeri dominion | eye of the queen, follower of the green pact, silencer of the dark brotherhood, member of house ravenwatch, in love with fennorian

MASS EFFECT

jane shepard 〔mass effect 1/2/3〕 » female commander of the ssv normandy, spacer | sole survivor, biotic | vanguard, utilizes assault rifles / submachine guns, romanced garrus vakarian

kay shepard 〔mass effect 1/2/3〕 » female commander of the ssv normandy, spacer | sole survivor, biotic | vanguard, utilizes pistols / sniper rifles but favors melee / biotics, romanced kaidan alenko

estelle ryder 〔mass effect: andromeda〕 » female pathfinder, biotic | explorer profile, romanced jaal ama darav

DRAGON AGE

mihris mahariel 〔dragon age: origins〕 » female dalish elf warden, rogue archer and dual–wielder, bard & ranger specializations, romanced alistair theirin

ainsley hawke 〔dragon age ii〕 » female human champion of kirkwall, mage | spirit healer specialization, supported mages, romanced anders

charlotte “charlie” hawke 〔dragon age ii〕 » female human champion of kirkwall, rogue | duelist specialization, supported templars, romanced sebastian vael

mihris lavellan 〔dragon age: inquisition〕 » female dalish elf inquisitor, mage | rift mage specialization, supported mages, romanced solas

athera lavellan 〔dragon age: inquisition〕 » female city elf inquisitor, rogue archer | tempest specialization, supported templars, romanced cullen rutherford

FALLOUT

candace monroe 〔fallout 4〕 » female sole survivor, general of the minutemen, railroad heavy & codename: agent whisper, utilizes pistols and melee weapons, romanced hancock

petunia murphy 〔fallout 4〕 » female sole survivor・paladin of the brotherhood of steel・utilizes rifles and heavy weapons・romanced paladin danse

patricia smith 〔fallout 76〕 » basically just a lil’ baby disaster gay

CYBERPUNK 2077

valerie “v” valentine » corporate lifepath, utilizes monowire | blade weapons | hacking

BALDUR’S GATE 3

ahlysaaria “the dark urge” » female seldarine drow, bard, romancing astarion

UPDATED — may 30th, 2024

[sand-rose]

Just some random Animal Crossing pictures since I finally transferred them from my Switch. Might post some more but gonna have to go through the random mess of folders it transferred with to find some good ones to share. Some stuff about my island:

-Island name: Blu Razz

Players: Razzy (me), Pandora (OC), It (OC), Aurora (OC)

Villagers: Cube (dreamie), Rosie (dreamie), Muffy (dreamie), Katt, Merengue, Freya, Ione, Sprinkle, Lolly, Raymond

Theme: blue roses + small areas of fandoms/interests (Madoka Magica and spinoffs, Sailor Moon, Horizon Zero Dawn, Digimon, Tangled, etc)

I don’t have a dream address yet but once I finish a couple more details on the island I’d like to post it. I also need to compile a masterlist of all the designs I used for decoration as there’s only a couple that are mine. But I love how it turned out, it took a long time to get it to this point but it was worth it!

[alessiasfreckles]

I’m sorry you’re still feeling shitty :( I’m glad you’re staying hydrated it’s very important! I’m glad the weather is nice for you. It’s been pouring down with rain and the wind has been ridiculous all day here lmao

Omg stardew valley is soooo good I’m obsessed with it. I don’t play it too often I’m more of a Fortnite/gta kinda gal but when I’m really stressed I wipe out the stardew and Minecraft hehe

Oh god I’m also dreading going back but you’ve got this Hannah you’re gonna smash it!

Stop that’s so cute I’m glad you got donuts! What type did u get???(Don’t kill me but idk I’m just not a fan of donuts lol)

Omg I’ve never watched attack on titan cuz my brother loved it when we were younger so I refused to watch it cuz I didn’t wanna like the same things as him. Maybe I should watch it now cuz I feel like I would like it

-🦋

the weather here was so nice over the weekend (26°c yesterday!!) but now it's gone down to like 15°c again :(

i'm obsessed with stardew valley hehe especially after the new update, i go through phases of playing it a ton and then not playing it for like a year! i tried playing fortnite but i wasn't very good at it hahah, my favourite games are story based or open world like The Last of Us, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Horizon Zero Dawn are some of my all time favourites but i also like a good cosy game like Stardew Valley or Animal Crossing 😌 ooh another one i'm really into is The Long Dark which is more of a survival game but i'm obsessed with it

we got plain ones with white chocolate icing and sprinkles!

i really recommend attack on titan!! i never watched it when i was younger either, i just always vaguely heard about it on tumblr etc but yasmin watched it and she really liked it and in january at some point i came downstairs and she was rewatching the first episode and i was like oh this is kinda cool and then got really really into it! if you like sort of dystopian/post-apocalyptic type things it's really good, i'm sad we've finished it now

[stardryad]

Aloy from Horizon Zero Dawn or Senua from Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice would look cute in your artstyle! Prompt is uh fluff? Both characters need some of that in their life so ye lol.

I chose the one I didn't know about, which was Senua! I was gonna put her on a flower crown, as that seems like my love language LMAO, but found better to sprinkle some flowers on that fur of hers 🌸

[tjerra14]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Horizon: Zero Dawn (Video Game) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Aloy (Horizon: Zero Dawn), Talanah Khane Padish, Rost (mentioned), Sylens (mentioned) Additional Tags: Post-To Curse The Darkness, Pre-Deep Secrets of the Earth, Mid-Game Story Spoilers, Missing Scene, Slight Canon Divergence, POV Second Person, Injury, Grief, Guilt, A Sprinkle of Trauma, Aloy is a Wreck, that's it that's the fic, can't believe that one time I inhaled mulled wine would prove useful some day, One Shot, Talanah is Sunhawk at this point Summary:

Ever since you can remember, your search for answers has driven you. No matter what you did, the question had always been there: who was my mother? It has brought you both doom. Had you never asked, never demanded, back on that day the rock branded you outcast for everyone to see, Rost would still be alive. You would still be with him, hunting Scrappers and helping Grata or a desperate Brave willing to break the laws. It would have been a life you resented, couldn’t wait to flee, but how much better is the one you got instead? How much shorter? And all of it, his sacrifice above all, for nothing if you keep lying here.

Battered and beaten after her narrow escape from the Eclipse's main base, Aloy has to find help, else she won't survive.

[kyndaris]

Journey to the Forbidden West

The first thing that everyone who is intrigued about Aloy’s next adventure should know is that the Forbidden West is bloody big. The second thing that they should know is that if you’re a bit of a completionist, like me, it can take upwards of a hundred hours to explore every nook and cranny. While there’s plenty to do and the world doesn’t feel empty because of all the threats that are lurking just beyond the horizon, to this weary gamer, the review on Polygon was right. The emphasis on more only served to make the game a much more tedious slog than it needed to be. Beyond that, the gameplay was still top-notch and the characters felt both like pastiches of their particular tribes while also being actual human beings in their own right.

Forbidden West continues on from the ending of Zero Dawn. Six months have passed and the planet has gone from bad to worse despite the fact that Aloy was able to stop HADES from destroying Meridian. The biosphere is fading fast and Aloy is desperate to find a way to restore GAIA, the AI that had been Elisabeth Sobek’s life work and end-goal when the Faro Plague struck.

After the opening narration, Aloy finally arrives at the location of her final lead. Keeping her company is Varl. Together, they search through the ruins of a building that once belonged to Far Zenith. But despite fending off a Slitherfang, their efforts are in vain. The supposed GAIA backup that was rumoured to be at the base turns out to be a logic bomb. 

Dismayed, Aloy returns to Meridian, empty-handed and feeling the full weight of her failure. Although most would consider her a saviour, Aloy is not the type to bask in praise and put her feet up after a job well done. For her, there is always more to do. In that, she echoes the heroes of many a story in books, shows and video games.

The one that immediately came to mind as I was playing was Adora from the 2018 animated She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Just like Adora, Aloy is the type that would throw herself into the fire to save her friends rather than let them help her. The risk of them getting hurt is something they both share. In Aloy’s case, it’s much more prevalent with the active way that she pushes away those closest and dearest to her. As the game continues, however, Aloy begins to accept the aid that is offered rather than going it alone. 

That, in and of itself, is what elevates her above Sylens and many of the antagonists in the sequel to one of my favourite games on the PlayStation 4.

Once Aloy helps out the Carja by investigating the tower that helped bring down HADES subroutine from the end of the first game, she uncovers a message from Sylens telling her to go into the Forbidden West, a land that is governed by the Tenakth. A new goal in hand, Aloy sets out to the Daunt to attend the embassy being held between the Carja and the barbarous Tenakth. So began my hundred hour long journey through the new playground Guerilla Games provided us with.

From a narrative standpoint, Forbidden West built upon what came before. After all, HADES could not have become self-aware without the aid of another. The extinction signal that had activated the subroutine had to have come from somewhere. Then, of course, there had been the sprinkles of lore that had been scattered throughout the first game of the Odyssey: a ship which many of the brightest minds had taken to flee the dying planet. Taking advantage of what they had seeded before, Forbidden West was able to finally reap the plot points that had been left hanging in the previous game.

While the Far Zeniths were not particularly bombastically evil, they still served as passable antagonists to Aloy’s quest to save the Earth. Only Erik Visser seemed to have revelled in death, while others, such as Gerard Bieri felt like caricatures of current wealthy billionaires.

Then, of course, there was Tilda van der Meer. Voiced by Carrie-Anne Moss, she was the perfect foil to Aloy. Though she’s not as vicious as the others, the dream that she had, and her obsession with Aloy (a clone of Elisabeth Sobeck) meant that she was just as greedy and corrupt as the others. After all, who would be able to live for a thousand years and remain sane? Let alone altruistic?

My main problem with the game actually came with the contrivances that so many of the subroutines were located in North America. With a majority of them being scattered in the titular Forbidden West. While ARTEMIS, APOLLO and ELEUTHIA had been snapped up by Far Zenith, the fact that AETHER, POSEIDON and DEMETER were all located fairly close to each other stopped the game from being the globe-trotting adventure it could have been.

Although, to be fair, that particular contrivance helped Aloy immensely. Given that many of the tribes were very centralised, she would have needed to figure out a way to cross the oceans (or fly in the sky) with only a few months to spare before the biosphere would have been become unlivable. 

Then, of course, there was MINERVA. The one subordinate function that was named after a Roman Goddess. But that’s not the end of my gripes with MINERVA. Akin to Athena, MINERVA is the Goddess of war and of wisdom. She isn’t one that is known for messages and communication. So, why is she the subroutine that is in charge of the communication arrays? If that was to be the case, why couldn’t the scientists at Zero Dawn have named it HERMES?

On that note, why is APOLLO regarded as the subordinate function with an archive of human history and culture. True, he was a patron of the arts and has also been associated with health and the sun, but it seemed a far cry from his actual responsibilities as a deity of Ancient Greece.

Beyond that, I loved my time helping out the various Tenakth clans and meeting new tribes such as the Utaru and the Quen. Aloy’s companions: Zo, Varl, Erend, Kotallo, Alva and Beta were all such rich additions. I loved each and every one of them and felt as close to them as family.

For too long, Aloy has operated as a one-person army. Yes, she might be skilled and smart, but everyone needs help sometimes. And it takes a strong person to realise that and to be open about accepting it.

As for the combat, I loved the new machines that were introduced in Forbidden West. Facing up against a Frostclaw, Tremortusk or even a Burrower felt like a refreshing change. Then, of course, there were the legacy machines - ones that I faced in Zero Dawn. Honestly, the variety between the machines was outstanding. The only one I look forward to never fighting again, however, are the Rockbreakers. They are the worst machines. Anything that tunnels and leaps out from underneath the ground is terrifying. 

And while the changes made to the weapon wheel was great for those that liked to experiment, I found myself sticking to true and tried formulas for fighting. My Aloy was stuffed full to the gills with sharpshot bows, blast slings and hunter bows. Sometimes, I’d pull out the occasional warrior bow. That was it. My arsenal when it came to taking down humans, creatures and machines alike.

Actually, now that I think about it, the animals in the world also seemed very limited in the world that Guerilla Games created. I was always puzzled why that there were foxes, prairie dogs, vultures, owls and rabbits (to name but a few) but I never saw any apex predators that would have been on the top of the foodchain. Were were the wolves? Or even the mountain lions? The deserts didn’t even have snakes or coyotes! How does the food-web in the new biosphere operate? Have the machines taken over a lot of the jobs that might have been done by a plethora of insects and other creatures? 

I have so many questions and yet so little answers.

Forbidden West is a great sequel to Zero Dawn. The world is rich with history and the characters were all a delight. I very much enjoyed seeing the different tribes interacting and seeing what in particular inspired them when it came to their beliefs and ways of life. There is so much to love in this unique world that Guerilla Games have created, from MachineStrike to the graphical fidelity to the intricate lore in the games...

Is it any wonder that I also platinumed the sequel as well?

Here’s hoping that Guerilla Games can stick the landing when it comes to the ending of what has felt will be a trilogy of games. Each and every time, the threat has been escalated but I hope that Aloy’s adventure comes to an end with a bang. She certainly deserves the chance to take a break after all the time and effort she has taken to saving everyone else. Whether or not they know it.

[giriduck]

Random notes re: Breath of the Wild

Oooh Japanese audio! Yesssss. More games need this as an option.

Oh man, Zelda sounds perfect. ❤️

And she definitely called the tablet a “Sheikah Stone.”

The Sheikah constellation motif is neat. Please tell me that these show up in the night sky.

My PlayStation brain cannot deal with the flipped cancel / confirm button placement.

I like that you can overload the fire with mushrooms and the olde man jumps to his feet in concern. (I used to be a game tester; I’m gonna notice and appreciate the extra mile details.)

“What are you gonna do with the torch?” “Light fires.” “Careful with that, you’ll catch the grass on fire.” *Immediately takes torch to light nearby campfire, accidentally catches a stick on fire, then accidentally catches nearby grass on fire, alerts nearby monster, who packs up a branch in their way over to beat me up* I’m on my way to save the world!

The Temple of Time…! 😧 Those ruins!! The freaking HOLE in the side of the building! 😭

Hylia with 6 little… are those sages around her??

The mossy leggy machines are giving me some Horizon Zero Dawn vibes.

The bokoblins have idle animations where they hang out and then start dancing with each other around their roasting dinner on the campfire. They look so happy! I can’t just run up to them and slaughter them. 😭 I shall endeavor to only engage with them if they come after me; I shall not initiate. (Can’t this be like Undertale? 😂)

The water in this game is gorgeous. 🤩 I just want to stare into all the little ponds. OMG the leaves are pushed aside when you swim through them!!

The double-walled, sand-filled ruins of this massive plateau wall! The environmental art and design do such a good job. 😮

Oooooh the data drip comes off the stalactite like the Sheikah tear… ohh clever. 😏

Hmm… old Sheikah, living mummy in a meditation state… dissolves into bright green energy when they die… 🤔 (My guess is that the Ganondorf mummy in the BotW2 trailers is NOT a corpse; the first trailer starts with a very slow heartbeat, he wakes up, then the heartbeat is thumping at a normal rate. He’s in stasis like these ancient, meditating Sheikah. Only it was violently imposed on him.)

Magnet powers kinda fun.

Ok, seriously the random piano sprinkled throughout the music is jarring and feels just like Untitled Goose Game. 🤣

I shot a lizard with an arrow and now I feel like such a monster. 😭

I would do well to remember that Link in this game can climb like a gecko. 🦎

Huh. I usually hate cooking mini games but this is weirdly satisfying. Gotta be the goofy percussive jingle and the bouncing ingredients.

OMG a Windwaker Korok!

[strangefable]

I’ve had this account for ten years this month, and I STILL don’t understand how this site works.

I game. A lot. The Outer Worlds, Far Cry 5, Horizon Zero Dawn, Horizon Forbidden West, Assassin’s Creed (Origins & Odyssey & Valhalla only), the Life is Strange series, The Last of Us series, Skyrim, Fallout 4, former Telltale Studios heavies like The Walking Dead, Wolf Among Us and Tales From the Borderlands. Just to name a few. Largely, that’s what my content is, with the occasional sprinklings of writer life, films/shows I love, and other things I find interesting.

My fanfic can be found on my AO3! Currently, there’s The Outer Worlds fics centered around Vicar Max and my captain, Lore Jameson, and a few Parvati/Junlei fics. Also featuring my Far Cry 5 deputy, Micah Hale. Horizon series fics are on the horizon!

I’m well past 30, so I’m Old On The Internet. Been in and out of fandom since the 90s. I have seen some shit, y’all. This blog is 18+ because I curse like a sailor and I occasionally enjoy smut. But I promise I’m friendly and mostly harmless.

If you’re here to request a moodboard, slide on into those DMs! (More info on moodboard requests found here.)  Update: Please be aware, I no longer do requests. If you want me to make a moodboard for you, I will require a fair trade in return.

[piracytheorist]

Though The Sun May Not Rise Again (1/1)

Summary: And so the world is ending. Their humanity, though, is not. Post-apocalyptic AU.

Warning: This fanfiction includes themes of natural mass disaster, mentions of blood, off-screen background character deaths, discussions about death, as well as implied, eventual, untimely major character deaths. Proceed with caution.

Thanks to @fraddit for her quick and effective advice!

Word count: ~2.7k AO3

Nobody expects the world to end that way.

Killian finds himself in a subway station at around 11 pm when what feels like the strongest earthquake ever shakes the whole place. People are literally thrown to the end of the platform, the train that he just missed flies off the tracks to a horribly rough landing against the wall. Light bulbs and TV screens crack and the station is filled by screams of fear and pain.

What it feels like hours later, the earth stops moving and the few people left that are able to move struggle their way to the surface. Killian loses his breath at the sight - and not in a good way.

Towers, skyscrapers - they’re all gone. Very few buildings are left, and even fewer of them look only slightly damaged. The roads are filled with blood and bodies - in one or more pieces, too.

Heavily injured people stretch their arms out in despair, some too speechless to actually call for help. Killian and the other survivors try to help, but it doesn’t take them long to realize that help isn’t coming at all.

The first vehicle they see in hours is a reporter van. There’s only the driver in it, his head poorly bandaged. He doesn’t say a word when they approach him, only leads them to the back of the van, where he puts on a video for them.

It’s a broadcast from the International Space Station, the people on camera frantically trying to say that the Earth has stopped spinning on its axis. It wasn’t earthquakes that ruined the cities - it was the Earth’s own atmosphere that apparently didn’t stop with the Earth. Then it’s images from space, and what Killian sees is so surreal he wonders if he’s dreaming.

He’d never wondered what would happen in such a case, but he guesses it makes sense that just because the Earth stopped spinning, nothing would stay where it was. But it’s just different to actually see waves rise from the ocean and literally swallow the ground - all of Europe, the west coasts of Africa and the Americas, India and southwest Asia, even more than half of Australia, all swept up by huge tsunamis. Any place that had big bodies of water on its west is now gone.

Killian watches the video again and again, a heavy emptiness in his chest as he watches the British Isles disappear under the waves. He had some third-fourth cousins there. And of course, his scumbug of a father. Yet he keeps watching it, every time making it feel even less real.

It only sinks in when, hours later, he walks out from the half-underground assembly station the van took them at, it’s 9 am yet still dark, and significantly colder than he’d expect for October. He sinks to the ground, shaking from sobs.

He still sits outside on the slowly freezing ground when that same van arrives at the station. He looks at it, realizing his breath is now coming out in a cloud, and he counts the survivors coming out of it. One, two, three, four - a child that isn’t holding anyone’s hand, five, six-

His breath is cut short again when he sees Emma exit the van. She’s alive! He stands up slowly, his legs feeling colder by the second and he runs to her, wrapping his arms around her. She’s slow to return the embrace, he can feel her trembling breath against his shoulder, but that’s alright. She’s safe. She survived. She may still be aloof as ever and not even consider getting into a relationship with him now that the world’s ending - what the bloody hell is he thinking?! - but she’s here and she’s alive.

“You’re alive,” he says. It’s the first words he says since the disaster.

~

He watches her nearly gulp her food down as he holds his chin in his hand, trying to conceal how much it’s trembling. She also happened to be underground at the time of the “stop”, but her exit had been blocked and she with the other ten survivors had stayed trapped until just an hour or so ago.

One of the calmest survivors has managed to move the equipment from the van and contact the ISS.

The Earth is now tidally locked to the sun, they say.

What’s left of the Americas is stuck on the side that’s not being lit by it, they say.

Even if they survive the freezing temperatures and the detriment of civilization, they’ll never see the sun again, they say.

~

The Earth’s magnetic field will fade away and deadly radiation from space will enter its atmosphere. The dark side will be too cold for plants to grow even with artificial light, and the light side too hot. The inbetween parts will be wrecked by storms created from the exchange of hot and freezing air from both sides. No-one knows exactly how many people survived the “stop”, but it won’t be too long before the oxygen runs out and they suffocate.

“So what do you think?” Emma asks him on day three. “What will we die from? The cold? Radiation? Suffocation?”

“Starvation,” he says, looking at the tinned food the group has managed to scavenge. It’s not enough to last all of them long enough. There’s no doubt there’s more out there, but it would take the courage to actually risk the trek in the cold, and that’s even if the group agrees to risk using up more of the van’s limited gas.

It’s not like there are any gas stations left.

Day six, the power generator stops working. One of the survivors manages to create a dynamo-like extension to at least provide enough energy to listen to the daily announcements from the ISS. The survivors scavenge for wood to burn in the station’s only fireplace. With destroyed homes around, it’s not that hard. No-one says how they fear that’ll probably make the oxygen run out faster.

Day twelve, three of the group leave, desperate to search for more supplies. Only one returns.

Day forty, the ISS says everything on the light side is boiling. There are zero confirmed and zero estimated survivors on that side.

“Never thought I’d miss the sun that much,” Killian tells Emma. “Haven’t missed it that much, but still.”

Day sixty-three, the van returns with more supplies and an empty gas tank.

With the lives lost to illnesses and lack of medicine, the rations aren’t that bad. But they’re probably the last they’ll have.

Day seventy-five, the ISS says they predict people on the dark side have about a year left of oxygen and protection from radiation.

Day seventy-five in the evening, Killian confesses his feelings to Emma.

“I’ve been in love with you since long before the disaster. I’ve feared it didn’t matter if I said anything now. But then I thought, bloody hell, the world is ending. Now’s as good as any time.”

“There’s no room for love in this world,” she says, her face fallen.

He didn’t expect anything better; he knew how much she’s been hurt in the past. “I’m not asking for anything. I just wanted you to know.”

Day eighty-two, Emma and Killian play Never Have I Ever with a half-full, forgotten bottle of rum. When he next wakes, he doesn’t remember sleeping with her tucked in his arms; he supposes she doesn’t, either, but his heart warms when she doesn’t move away upon waking up.

Day ninety-seven, Emma kisses him.

“I kind of wanted to wait for the hundredth day, for some stupid reason, but couldn’t,” she says, shaking her head.

She looks at him with a slightly apologetic face, but he simply leans back in and captures her lips in his.

Day hundred and six, there are about seven survivors left.

“So are you two gonna propagate the species or what?” Keith tells Killian when they’re on their own.

His hand shouldn’t hurt so much from punching the bastard in the face, should it?

“Lack of vitamin D, you idiot,” Victor says as he wraps a bandage that has seen better days around Killian’s knuckles. “Causes muscle and bone pain, and slower healing.” He then looks at Keith, whose nose is bleeding probably more than it would if they had sunlight. Victor just shakes his head. “Next time, you could use your hook,” he whispers to Killian, then flinches. “Not in... not in that way. You- you know what I mean.”

Day hundred and thirty, Killian wakes alone. By now he’s gotten used to the perpetually dark sky. He almost always used to wake up before the sunrise, so much that it had become part of his morning routine. But now his own body knows not to expect it, knows that when he’ll walk to the kitchen area for his breakfast rice and tea, he shouldn’t expect to see the telltale blue of dawn peeking out on the horizon.

Doesn’t mean he doesn’t miss it, of course.

Emma is sitting in front of the window, far from the fireplace, a blanket draped across her shoulders. She’s found a spot on the window that isn’t frosted over, and there’s a clear view of the sky, the stars, and the waxing moon. Grabbing a blanket himself, he sits down with her, hugging her from behind.

He’s welcomed by a familiar scent when he’s close enough. “Is that cinnamon?” he says softly.

She looks back at him sheepishly. “It’s just a sprinkle.” She shows him the cup in her hands... that’s definitely not tea. “Ruby found a mix for hot chocolate and I said that someone should have a first taste of it. It’s not as good without milk...” Her face falls.

He’s surprised how he can still feel a small pang in his heart over her disappointment. They’ve all lost so much and watched much more being lost, they’re now living in a world none of them could ever have prepared for, yet their hearts are still soft enough to understand the loss of something so small as good hot chocolate and why Emma would sneak away a sprinkle of cinnamon to make it better.

“It’s okay,” he says, kissing her hair.

What he doesn’t say is how they’ve reached the point where the existence or lack of spices makes such a difference in their moods.

“Ten days of moonlight,” Emma whispers.

He turns his attention back to the sky. “These days I think I understand why ancient cultures made the moon a deity.”

Emma sighs. “I don’t know. Half the time I just look at it and think how it’s taunting us with the sunlight we can’t have anymore.”

Now he feels a bigger pang in his heart. He hadn’t thought of it that way. “I see it like- like... a memory.”

She scoffs.

“It’s like my tattoo of Milah. When I- after I lost her, and before I met you... it was in memory of what I’d had, not what I’d lost.”

He watches her as she wraps her hand around her swan necklace. “Didn’t peg you as such an optimist.”

“It’s not optimism, Swan. I’d never thought I’d be capable of moving on until I met you.”

She looks at him for a moment, lips parted, before she smiles a bit and drops her eyes. “They did use to say that the moon spurs romantic spirit, didn’t they?”

He smiles at her light-hearted joke in face of his confession, and when she looks up at him, he leans in for a kiss, tasting cocoa and cinnamon.

Day hundred and fifty-eight, there’s no transmission from the ISS.

Day hundred and sixty-three, everyone has accepted the fact that there won’t be any more of those.

Emma and Killian sit cuddled together in front of the half-frosted window, looking at the full moon and wondering where the estranged space station might be now - if it’s still in order even.

“Do you think they’ll wanna make babies up there?” she asks.

“Is that even possible?”

“I think I saw a video once. The baby may turn out... weird? Cause of the lack of gravity.” She flinches. “Wonder how the mom would push it out without gravity’s help, too.” She’s silent for a moment, before adding, “Would you have a baby with me, if we were up there?”

A warmth spreads in his chest. “What you said about the lack of gravity makes it questionable. But I think yes.”

“What would you name it?”

“Alice, if it’s a girl. For my mother.”

“And a boy?”

He smiles widely. How different that discussion would be if the world wasn’t ending.

“I’d leave that to you.”

She smirks. “Chicken.”

He notices how she doesn’t ask why he wouldn’t give his father the same honor he’d give his mother.

She turns back front to look at the sky. “What do you miss the most?” she asks.

“As weird as it may sound, the water. My boat.”

“Why would it sound weird?”

He snorts. “I mean, with all the ice around... who would have known we’d live through an apocalypse where there’s an endless supply of water?”

She laughs softly.

“What do you miss?”

“I do miss that yellow Bug. It barely got any damage during the Stop, unlike other cars in that garage. But we could barely fit through the opening ourselves, much less a car. And I don’t think I was thinking clearly enough at the time to think it was the last time I’d see it.”

There’s not much he’d have taken with him, had he known the world would be ending. Now he resorts to working the dynamo for hours, just enough for the tiniest bit of battery on his phone just so he can turn it on and look at the photos of his mother and brother he has saved in it, before it turns off again.

The tiniest part of him is jealous of Emma for not having such a thing to miss.

Day two hundred.

It’s quiet.

Emma is lying awake next to him, sensing what he doesn’t want to share.

It could be just a simple, minor infection that’ll go away on its own, he’s only had minor stomach pains. Though Emma’s occasional comment about his high pain tolerance worries him that it may be much worse than he thinks.

Still, since they lost Victor, there hasn’t been much they can do when they feel sick or unwell. It will either pass... or they will.

“You once asked me what I thought we’d die from,” he says.

Her brows furrow and she swallows hard.

“If I could choose... I’d go with cold.”

“Why?”

“It’s quick. Eventually you lose feeling of your limbs, and maybe that doesn’t hurt that much. Especially when your body is past the point of shivering. As for other ways, it’s already getting harder to breathe and we’re already starving. So, tried and tested.” He sighs. “Besides, you can be outside and have a last clear view of the sky and the moon.”

Does he have the courage to ask her to take him out there, if it comes to the point where he’s not gonna get better?

He sees tears in her eyes, but she smiles. “You’d probably freeze slower than me. You’re one hand short.”

“I’m also hotter.”

A laugh bursts out of her.

And still, the thought that crosses his mind is how, in spite of everything, they can still have this.

It’s the proof of their humanity that has sustained, despite the world itself doing everything in its power to make them disappear. And out of that, there grows a hope that there are people out there somewhere, in better shelters, surviving much better than they are, maybe even growing their own food and developing technology strong enough to one day, maybe years from now, reach their by then empty shelter and finding their journals, filled with happy little moments like this.

Huh. Maybe he is optimistic after all.

[superpopculturecravings]

Bewitched

I all in and out of love with the Witcher series. I went back to look at the various times I've chipped away at the Witcher 3 throughout the last 5 years, some at the end of 2016, more a year later, and then off and on a little since then. When I get hooked into the game, I fall all in, and play exhaustively for a month or so before losing all motivation. I still haven't gotten to the end, despite a few moments that felt like I may have reached the crescendo for the series. I don't know if I ever will. But I keep trying.

I'm brought back to the series again in 2020 for a variety of reasons. I've been wanting to revisit the richly conceived world and finish it since the Netflix series debuted earlier this year. I wanted to read the well-regarded books that the series is based on since I'm on a fantasy kick this summer. And I keep hearing from other sources that it's the best video game of this generation. I have already invested dozens of hours into the world; I owe it to myself to see it to its conclusion.

To be sure, there are reasons I love the Witcher world: the concept is simple and intriguing, a lone gunman monster hunter travels from town to town looking for bounties to collect, but instead of criminals and outlaws, he hunts monsters based on Nordic folklore. It's a Wild West story set in medieval times. And sprinkled on top is a heaping of sex, romance, political intrigue, and espionage. It's a lot of fun genres rolled up in a sexy package. The main character, Geralt, is a fascinating character study and far more complex than the Man with No Name he is clearly based on: he's supposed to be stoic because his character is trained at an early age to reject emotions and yet, his humanity continues to shine through his interactions with characters, oftentimes in humorous ways. The story is written with nuance to characters and emotions that makes other narrative-driven games seem simplistic in comparison. And I like a game where I can live vicariously through my main characters and have lots of passionate sex.

But it has its faults, too, that have turned me off from the game. It's sooooo long. The pacing lags and feels off-kilter. In addition, I continue to struggle with the combat systems they have in place. There's been a couple of times I've put the games down because the enemies are effectively "sword-sponges" or I get easily clobbered by an enemy that shouldn't be that difficult (I had similar struggles with mid-game Skyrim). I barely touched the potions or alchemy systems which should be huge parts of the game, but were poorly introduced. I had to set the difficulty level to the easiest mode possible just to feel like I stood a chance in fights. Then there's the distracting HUD which holds my hand at every turn and instructs me exactly where to go and which pathway is the quickest to get there, like a medieval GPS.

On revisiting the game this month, in hopes of finally completing the main story, I've been introduced to a few things I can do to alleviate some of my problems. I've been encouraged to turn off the HUD altogether, which I've done for a few games this past year: Far Cry Primal, Skyrim, Days Gone, Horizon Zero Dawn, AC Odyssey, Ghost Recon Breakpoint. This is admittedly harder to navigate around, but it does shift the focus and allure of the game. It makes me focus on my surroundings more, take in the scenery, explore, and slows the pace down. Sure, I mention pacing issues in regards to story, but maybe I was approaching it the wrong way. Instead of trying to beeline through the main story, I should have been more concerned about approaching it like I'm going to live in this world for a while with less emphasis on plot and more about roleplaying as a wandering Witcher. 

I also think I should invest more time and energy into the alchemy and potions section. This is to give me a better advantage in fighting and is designed to enable players to try a harder difficulty. Once I have a better grasp on potions, and I can start playing the game as it was meant to be played, I can up the difficulty again.

I may be at the last part of the main storyline (I think), but it doesn't mean it has to end here. I have two DLC expansions that are supposed to add 30 hours to the experience. What if I were to approach them with my new playstyle and mindset?

And I see the synergy of geekdom available to me with playing through the game, reading the books and graphic novels, and watching the Netflix show. I can fully immerse myself and hyperfocus in this world for awhile longer. At least until I lose all motivation again and an overpowered beast makes me rage-quit.  

[kaeyaphile]

*:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ ɪɴꜰᴏʀᴍᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴍᴇ * ˚ ✦

ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴇꜱᴛꜱ + ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀɪᴛᴇꜱ (in no order whatsoever)

movies » star wars films, disney films, studio ghibli films, lord of the rings, the hobbit, jurassic park films, into the spiderverse, stardust, moulin rouge, alien films, the last unicorn, coraline, pride and prejudice, demon slayer: mugen train, jujutsu kaisen volume 0

books / interactive novels » the silmarillion, the lord of the rings, the hobbit, the fall of gondolin, scout, blood moon, fields of asphodel, shepherds of haven, the wayhaven chronicles

shows » what we do in the shadows, schitt’s creek, peacemaker, moon knight, the dragon prince, castlevania, avatar: the last airbender, legend of korra, parks and recreation, stranger things, the witcher, the umbrella academy, the good place, brooklyn nine-nine, a series of unfortunate events, the great british baking show, adventure time, snake city

anime » haikyuu!!, my hero academia, demon slayer, jujutsu kaisen, fruits basket (2019), tokyo revengers, sk8 the infinity, attack on titan, spy x family, naruto: shippuden, boruto: naruto next generations, inuyasha, inuyasha: the final act, sailor moon, yu yu hakusho, bleach

video games / mobile games » mass effect, dragon age, the elder scrolls, final fantasy, kingdom hearts, the legend of zelda, fallout, the outer worlds, cyberpunk 2077, horizon zero dawn, unravel, spyro, the sims, genshin impact, neko atsume, animal crossing: pocket camp, obey me! shall we date, fallout shelter

♡ ꜱᴇʟꜰꜱʜɪᴘꜱ ♡ (aka characters that i simp hardcore for)

atsumu miya (haikyuu!!) × kayleigh

satoru gojō (jujutsu kaisen) × kayleigh

manjirō “mikey” sano (tokyo revengers) × kayleigh

levi ackerman (attack on titan) × kayleigh

kyōjurō rengoku (demon slayer) × kayleigh

kaeya alberich (genshin impact) × kayleigh

arataki itto (genshin impact) × kayleigh

thoma (genshin impact) × kayleigh

/ᐠ｡ꞈ｡ᐟ\ ᴍʏ ᴘᴇᴛꜱ (animal care is my passion)

nagini » female ball python

cole » male blue-eyed leucistic ball python

smaug » male tarahumara mountain boa

wednesday » female western hognose

wilbur » male albino western hognose

poe » male kenyan sand boa

loralai » female mexican black kingsnake

coraline » female harlequin crested gecko

jinora » female harlequin crested gecko

pip » female aptor leopard gecko

luke » male albino satin rabbit

luna (“baby kitty”) » female chantilly-tiffany cat, bunny (“bunbun”) » female black brindled tortoiseshell cat, ruby (“ooby”) » female classic tabby cat, reginald (“bookshelf”) » male orange tabby cat

skye » female border collie

sprinkles » female chaco golden knee tarantula, confetti » female honduran curly hair tarantula

colony of madagascar hissing cockroaches

colony of porcellio laevis ‘dairy cow’ isopods, colony of porcellio dilatatus ‘giant canyon’ isopods, and a colony of porcellionides pruinosus ‘powder orange’ isopods

colony of feeder dubia cockroaches with porcellionides pruinosus ‘powder blue’ isopods, temperate springtails, and buffalo beetles

colony of darkling beetles and mealworms

ᴏʀɪɢɪɴᴀʟ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀꜱ (iʼll add more as i create them)

ᴛʜᴇ ᴇʟᴅᴇʀ ꜱᴄʀᴏʟʟꜱ ᴏɴʟɪɴᴇ

maevaris telvanni » dunmer nightblade, “romanced” darien gautier ⋆ thaesandra caerllin » bosmer warden + werewolf, “romanced” fennorian ⋆ galathril camoran » bosmer necromancer + vampire, “romanced” bastian hallix ⋆ míriel galerion » altmer templar, “romanced” verandis ravenwatch

ꜰᴀʟʟᴏᴜᴛ 4

candace monroe » general of the minutemen, railroad heavy; codename: whisper, in a polyamorous relationship with deacon and hancock

ꜰᴀʟʟᴏᴜᴛ 76

patricia smith » basically just a disaster gay tbh, haven't really fleshed out her character as of yet

ᴅʀᴀɢᴏɴ ᴀɢᴇ

mihris lavellan » dalish rift mage inquisitor, supported mages, romanced solas ⋆ athera lavellan » dalish rogue archer inquisitor, supported templars, romanced cullen ⋆ ainsley hawke » human force mage champion of kirkwall, supported mages, romanced anders ⋆ charlie hawke » human duelist dual-wielding champion of kirkwall, supported templars, romanced sebastian ⋆ mihris mahariel » dalish ranger rogue archer warden, romanced alistair ⋆ elsa cousland » human noble bard dual-wielding warden, romanced leliana

ᴍᴀꜱꜱ ᴇꜰꜰᴇᴄᴛ

jane shepard » paragon vanguard, romanced: garrus vakarian, ending: destroy ⋆ rachel shepard » renegade sentinel, romanced: thane krios, ending: synthesis ⋆ estelle ryder » scrapper/explorer pathfinder, romanced: jaal

ᴄʏʙᴇʀᴘᴜɴᴋ 2077

valerie ‘v’ valentine » corporate lifepath, romanced: johnny, ending: tbd ⋆ vanessa ‘v’ jelani » nomad lifepath, romanced & ending: tbd

ɢᴇɴꜱʜɪɴ ɪᴍᴘᴀᴄᴛ

“the traveler” » legitimately just a self-insert, i named the character ‘kayleigh’ and everything

this post was updated on june 11th, 2022

[brothermouzongaming]

Divisiveness in Rage 2

What little promotional material there was for Rage 2 interested me. The idea of a nitro-fueled FPS surrounding an open world and a heavy power fantasy. I wasn’t expecting an enthralling story with deep and rich characters that would stitch me into the fabric of the world created. I was expecting a rip-roaring hail of bullets in the shape of a gun the likes of which I would ride across the map destroying everything that did so much as exhale in my presence. In short, that is what I got but it’s quite mixed. The “boots on the ground” combat, and I use that term lightly, is smooth as hell and lets you the player take on the various mobs and gangs of the wasteland in the way you want. The vehicular combat is more sparse and anecdotal in the sense that they are typically randomly occurring events as opposed to the convoy routes. The world itself is big but not Horizon Zero Dawn or Assassin’s Creed Odyssey “oh my god how did they even fit all this on one disc” big, it’s more than manageable. The biomes are varied and impressive in detail despite some being more vacant than I’d like.  All in all, it’s at the very least better than the bland world of Rage 1, and at best it’s a gorgeous backdrop for the best FPS action since Doom 2016.

Anger Surrounds

There isn’t a lot in the way of introduction and it’s cause the game and it’s creators understand what you’re here for: shooty bang. You literally pick a gender and are handed a gun. After the first big firefight, the world is literally open to you. This exploration is encouraged because you don’t gain abilities or weapons unless you find Arks which are silos scattered around the map. Normally I’d be mad about another icon cluttering the map but it’s at least a way of getting stronger while discovering the hovels and holes your enemies hide in, grabbing some cash and feltrite (upgrade currency) along the way. It’s essentially the best version of the Far Cry towers ever.

The world is very pretty both graphically and from an art direction aspect. Boggy swamps, desert, rocky canyons, and even suburbia is sprinkled into the colorful and sometimes striking scenery of the world around you. Some structures are established like roadblocks, resource stations, or mutant nests, some are just dressing to fill out the world, but the best is the elaborate gang camps that go from close quarters combat to open courtyards that have you working with cover and elevation. Most main and side mission areas appear to be carefully designed to be engaging set pieces that vary from open lots littered with obstacles to break up the battlefield and enhance the functionality of some abilities. If the map itself doesn’t grab you, the way the world is designed to make combat as fun as possible definitely will. 

Walker Wasteland Ranger tonight at 9 

Rage 1 very much gave you the feeling of having your back against the wall. In Rage 2 if you ever find yourself in that situation you push off that wall and crush whatever is in your way into misy and gristle. You are the baddest thing breathing and everything in this game is about making you feel that. I can’t tell if the progression is deep or cleverly padded and that might be fine by me, I haven’t decided yet. When you first see how many currencies there are in the game it makes anyone that knows what AAA games have been doing lately sweat profusely. Fortunately, Rage 2 gives you plenty of opportunities to load up on the kind of cash you spend in stores, the kind on upgrades, weapon skins and mods, it's all here for you to take when you want it you just have to kill a bunch of baddies to get it. Thankfully there isn’t a single gun that doesn’t feel incredible and unique. From the way the rifle spits a volley or the kick from the shotgun; all of them are a dream and when used in tandem with the abilities it makes for very enticing gameplay. The abilities span all aspects of combat and their refresh time doesn’t allow them to be spammed but lets a player that bounces from skill to skill always have one refresh by the time the effect of the current one wears off. They really found a way for the guns to play into abilities and vice-versa which only makes spicing up combat easier. In Destiny when you throw a grenade, that’s it. Did you use your melee? Oh that’s cool but, that’s also it. In Rage 2 I can mix up abilities to create different means of destruction and death in a much more satisfying way. Even the more nuanced abilities like the Rush and Focus are used to bolster the minimal downtime firefights give you. 

From McQueen to Mater

The sixteen vehicles are divisive stars of Rage 2 and it really shows, alongside the facelifted combat, that Id and Avalanche tried to not lose sight of what the original game was focussed around. This rendition’s vehicular combat is much better with weighty pit maneuvers and pretty smart auto tracking from turrets. Alongside this, the vehicles simply must be redone Mad Max vehicles Avalanche never got to use or something cause they just work in a way Bethesda hasn’t been able to claim in a long time. The Phoenix, your signature ride, is the best of both worlds with it being quick and tanky with a litany of additions you can make to it. You’ll see vehicles that have no weapons (why would you even), some speedsters that drop nuke mines behind them, a tank that is slower than frozen shit but also practically indestructible and armed to the teeth. There is fast travel but there is also the Icarus which is a hoverbike and though it can handle like a shopping cart with one wing (more on that later). When it does work its nice to get to where you’re going quicker meanwhile not missing out on any points of interest along the way to where you’re going. Vehicular combat is serviceable and engaging once you get the controls under your fingers.

rAGED

I don’t have too many issues with this game, some are typical nitpicks but others are definitely more egregious. The world though colorful and varied is very “basic open world game” format, I was kind of hoping for some kind of expansion on a version of game we are wildly overly saturated with. The mini games like MobTV and races (which make a comeback from the original) are great but the typical icon littered map is a little draining at times. Which brings me to the endgame because with consideration of just how last gen this game seems to be design wise, I fear they didn’t think about something as “modern” as having an endgame model outside of the season pass and totally unnecessary “live service” content drops. I feel like they missed their own mark and could’ve really populated the world with quite a few more enemies but instead, there are a lot of times where it’s actually quite isolated even in some intriguing areas.

Oh, and every situation that yields dialogue in the open world is wildly repetitive like the writers could not be fucked to give the character anything more than the one decent line you get to hear when approaching a mutant nest, gas station, or bandit hideout or the mobile trader oh my god it’s absolutely torturous especially when you don’t feel like returning to a town and they typically come around fairly consistently.  

Back to the Icarus flying bike thing. Mother Fuck that thing can be absolutely unbearable. You see the right trigger merely starts the engines with minor altitude control, the left trigger lowers yourself. The vehicle is supposed to identify altitude and the height of oncoming structures and mountain faces on its own and adjust automatically. But it doesn’t and you’re often sitting there like a fucking idiot ramming into every mountain and building you come across. Why didn’t they map an ascend and descend control to the face buttons? How did no one catch how lopsided that thing controls?

Let’s continue to discuss vehicles, shall we? I talked about the good of the actual combat and the weapons it comes with. What I didn’t talk about was how the controls for said vehicles go from tight and responsive to sludgey and “too fast for the game”. It’s like the vehicle is going too fast for your controller. So many times I’ve gone sailing over the cliffside curve or undercutting and completely killing my momentum. The margin for error is really thin. 

The progression system for weapons is...suspect. On the surface, it’s deep, you unlock tiers of upgrades with feltrite and then use upgrade/mod tokens to select the actual mod itself. It seems really unnecessary to have to purchase the ability to spend your tokens to upgrade your weapon. Just typing that made my brain fuzzy, it’s too many steps. At least with the skills each tier in itself comes with a boost to that specific skill but with weapons, you’re literally just adding steps for now real reason. Thankfully there’s no connection to monetization or anything like that. What it does have though is a premium currency for weapon skins which....whoopie...but thankfully that really is the extent of it. Not that it’s okay at all. 

Conclusion

People are gonna compare this game to Far Cry New Dawn and I don’t believe many should give too much thought to that comparison. Outside of the bright post-apocalyptic setting (an aesthetic Rage 2 established first for the record), I feel like Rage 2 is more consistent in what it sets out to deliver. Not to mention the combat is just head and shoulders better in Rage 2 and if you go in knowing you won’t leave with a story that changed your life or even really impact you at all but instead expect a white knuckle shooter designed to keep you on your toes and keep the kill count increasing. This game is fun and once this goes on sale there will literally be no excuse. 

tl;dr I give Rage 2 an 7 but I can’t stress this enough this is one of the best First Person Shooters I’ve ever played from a mechanics standpoint. The game appears to be this good despite the rest of the game design and execution. 

[chriswritesthings]

Generation Zero offers a great world to shoot in, but is technically flawed

Originally uploaded to MSPoweruser.com

Just Cause and Mad Max creators Avalanche Studios have been busier this past year than I think they’ve ever been. Just Cause 4, the upcoming Rage 2 and the just-released Generation Zero is a rather large line-up for one studio. But are all of these games of quality, or are they hindered by a spread workload?

Set in 1980’s Sweden, shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Cold War tensions are at their peak. You play as a nameless 18 or 19-year-old in your first semester of university, the threat of thermonuclear annihilation constantly looming in the back of your head. It’s decided that a camping trip is a good idea, as a getaway, and your friend decides that a small island just off the coast is a great locale.

You grab a couple of coolers—for a cheeky bevy with the boys—and food before setting off. On your return, you get shot out of the water, have to swim to shore, discover that everyone has been murdered and that there are machines roaming the wilderness that are out for blood, and you and your friends are left to piece together the events of the last few days while attempting to avoid heavily armoured death, probably all while hungover.

This is the premise of Avalanche’s first foray into a co-op first-person action shooter since theHunter: Primal. At its base level, it feels like an amalgamation of Fallout and Far Cry with a sprinkling of Horizon: Zero Dawn.

However, before you can begin roleplaying your Swedish Rambo fantasies you must first create your character through a fairly rudimentary creation suite. It offers eight pre-set 80s stereotypes to build upon with gender options, face shape and skin tone. We’re not talking Black Desert Online levels of character customisation, but enough to give the player a distinct look from their allies.

Generation Zero starts out solidly, prompting you as soon as you make landfall to find a weapon and some first aid kids in the nearby buildings. There’s ammo in a police car parked on the road—sorted. Not long after you’re introduced to the games’ basic enemy machine, the runner. Fast and deadly, they pose a challenge from the get-go and don’t get much easier as the player progresses. Physically, they look like robot dogs or wolves with a fuel tank and a machine gun strapped to its back. Once these machines are dispatched, the game points you in the vague direction of the nearest settlement that might have people in it at one point and lets you off the leash.

It’s certainly not a game that will hold you hand or tell you where every objective and enemy is. The in-game compass functions purely as a compass, it always points north. It won’t tell you where objectives are, there won’t be a red dot highlighting nearby enemies, it just points north. Enemy detection is only signalled by two things: actual sound and a shotgun mic style detection meter.

This would be great if it wasn’t for the fact that both sound and detection are broken. This much becomes abundantly clear when you go into the first underground location you come across. While inside you’ll constantly have a detection bar even if you’ve cleared the entire building of enemies if you walk or sprint—not because enemies are down there with you, but because they’re above ground and can apparently hear you down there. The second time it becomes noticeable is when trying to sneak past a patrol. If they get too close, even moving while crouched will raise their awareness forcing the player to either sit perfectly still or attempt to engage them hope the entirety of Sweden doesn’t come running.

It’s unfortunate that Generation Zero is consistently marred with technical issues, all of which seem entirely unpredictable. For example, being downed and then reviving too quickly may make the player unable to sprint at full speed. The next time this happens, the same set of actions may have no effect. Machines locked in steel containers can seemingly warp out of them at will, and then there’s whatever this 28-second clip of nonsense is.

Despite its many, many flaws, I wouldn’t say that Generation Zero is a bad game. From the moody nightime lighting to the midnight thunderstorms followed by dense fog, its world is dripping in a thick, dripping atmosphere. The morning god rays and autumnal leaves are a definitive pep-up after a brutal firefight. Much like their previous games, Avalanche really does know how to sell a world.

All of this is backed by an 80s soundtrack that fits so beautifully to the design of the machines and the world they inhabit. The game is true for the player character who feels as weighty as their firearms, all of which have great audio-visual feedback. Encompassed in a story about a sudden invasion and a missing populace, never meeting a living NPC, interacting with hastily written notes and skittish recordings—it’s a unique and mystical world trapped in a rugged game.

Generation Zero is a game propelled by its ability to be played with a group of friends. While its technical systems may be flawed, its world and mechanics are still engaging enough for fun-times-with-mates. Once you get into the groove, you’ll find amazing atmosphere, story, and a rocking OST. You’ll also discover busted mechanics, flawed AI and bugs crawling out of every corner.

7/10

Pros:

Weighty combat

Incredible visuals

Stunning audio

Cons:

Sub-par AI

Flawed detection system

Mehs:

Inventory management can be sluggish

[pikapeppa]

20 Questions: Get To Know Pika

Tagged by the lovely @alyssalenko! 

Nicknames: Pika. That’s pretty much it. My mom calls me “Squeezy...” Does that count...? 😂

Height: 5’3”

Orientation: Straight with a sprinkling of lady crushes 😍

Nationality: Mixed race - Chinese/white

Favorite fruit: Cherries, peaches, mangoes

Favorite season: Summer

Favourite flower: Orchids. ALL OF THEM.

Favourite scent: Citrus scents. This is in no way related to the characteristic scent of a certain Murder Husband™, no no not at all 

Favorite color: Red

Favorite animal: Tiger, housecat

Coffee, tea or hot chocolate: Tea

Average hours of sleep: mmmmmeh. 5 hours on weekdays, 7 on weekends

Cat or dog person: Cats 100%

Favourite fictional character: HOW CAN I ANSWER THIS QUESTION THOUGH. Honestly these days my top 3 are Nil (Horizon Zero Dawn), and Solas and Cole (DA:I)

Number of blankets you sleep with: 1 in the summer, 3-4 in the winter. I GET COLD EASILY OK

Dream Trip: Japan/South Korea/Singapore

Blog created: Summer-ish 2017? I think?

Number of followers: 468

Random fact: I’m left-handed!

Tagging it forward to @makocartwheels, @hellarcanine, @vgtravlr, @littlesnowarrow, @sun-and-shadow-aloy, @problematic-cinnamon-roll, @chillyrose, @cylonalyna, @horizonfan12, @himluv, @novamm66 and anyone else who wants to play!