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cocastyle · 5 years

Text

The In-Between Chapter 4

Stranger Things x It Crossover

with some Bill Denbrough x reader

Word Count - 5,710

Warning - cursing (if some people don’t like that kind of stuff)

A/N- ahhh chapter four is here!! so I got a little carried away with this chapter and had to cut it down (this only means that chapter 5 is already partially written so yay). this is a pretty action packed chapter, but I hope you guys like it! we are so close to the Party and the Losers’ Club meeting🤩I’m super excited!! thank you for all the love and support!

if you would like to be added to the tag list, let me know!

T H E I N - B E T W E E N

Intro The Losers’ Club The Party Prolouge 1 2

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Epilogue

As much as it pained the Losers to have to wait another day to save Mike, they knew it would be no use if they went into the whole situation more tired than they already were. So after getting the few hours of sleep that they could and having to go through another dreadful day of school, you could say they were a little impatient by the time there was only a minute of the school day left.

Y/N bounced her knee up and down, her toes being the only thing touching the ground as she violently shook her leg. Her eyes were trained on the clock at the front of the room and she was biting her lip nervously, the only thoughts she could think of being that she wanted nothing more than for the school day to be over.

Bill watched the girl silently from his assigned seat across the class. Back when the teacher had allowed them to sit anywhere, the two had sat side by side. However one pair of girls had ruined it for everyone the day they kept talking during class which meant the teacher could think of nothing more to do than create a seating chart.

Y/N was placed at the front of the room while Bill was in the back, but Bill didn't complain. He would've liked to sit next to the girl, but luckily for him, his spot in the back gave him the perfect side view of the girl's face, allowing him to admire her from afar without her even noticing.

In that moment, his eyes kept flickering between the clock and Y/N who he hesitated on a little bit longer each time. It was only when the bell rang that Bill seemed to snap out of his thoughts and he was quick to get up from his seat and race over to Y/N, grabbing onto her hand and dragging her out of the room as the teens raced to find their friends.

Neither of them had to go to their lockers and it seemed the other Losers didn't either because Beverly, Richie, Eddie, Ben and Stan were already waiting by their bikes when the two made it.

"Finally! You two just couldn't save your make out session for later, could you?" Richie asked causing both teens to simultaneously blush and glare at the boy.

"Shut up, Richie," Y/N muttered as she reluctantly let go of Bill's hand and got onto her bike. "Come on. We can go to my house."

The others nodded and not even fifteen minutes later they were at Y/N's house, locked away in her basement with papers and pencils on a huge table in front of them.

"The portal you guys saw," Y/N began as she took a piece of paper and drew a long line across the middle of it, "it goes to a place called the Upside Down. I know I've mentioned it before, but I don't think I've ever really explained it. One of my past teachers once explained alternate dimensions like this. Think of this line as a tightrope and the tightrope represents our dimension."

Y/N drew a little stick figure on top of the tightrope before saying, "For an acrobat, they can only go backwards or forwards along the rope since the rope is flat. They can't turn upside down or they will fall off."

She then drew a tiny dot on the rope. "This is a flea. Now the flea is different than the acrobat. It can go forwards and backwards, but it can also go up and down meaning that it can get into the other dimension. The portal is like what makes us fleas, allowing us to cross over into this other dimension if that makes sense," Y/N explained.

"I'm confused," Stan muttered. "How does something like that even exist?"

"We don't know. It's just kind of been there and we don't exactly know why it's all decay either," Y/N replied.

"Why do we have to be fleas to go into the Upside Down?" Richie asked gaining everyone's attention. "I don't want to be a fucking flea!"

"What? Richie-" Y/N began as she shook her head.

"I don't want to be a flea, Y/N!" Richie exclaimed while Eddie shook his head at the boy.

Before Richie knew what was happening, Eddie had whacked him on the back of the head. "You idiot, we aren't going to turn into fleas. It's just a metaphor, dumbass," Eddie said with a roll of his eyes.

"Oh," Richie said as his eyes lit up in realization. The others just shook their heads in disbelief.

"So what's the game plan then?" Beverly asked.

"Yeah, how are we going to save Mike? We can't all go to the Upside Down, right? What if the portal closes?" Ben asked although Y/N knew he only asked because he didn't want to be the one to go into the portal.

"That's where my experience with the Upside Down comes into play. Now I've only been in there once, but I know enough to make my way around and stay safe. We don't need everyone going, so I'll just go and have a rope tied to myself so that you guys can pull me back if I yank hard enough," Y/N explained.

"I-I-I'm going w-w-with," Bill declared causing the young girl to look at him with raised eyebrows.

Y/N let out a small laugh before shaking her head as she smiled at the boy, "No, you aren't."

Bill furrowed his eyebrows and frowned. "I-I-I'm going, Y/N," he insisted.

The girl shook her head. "You don't get it. I am the only one who knows what this place is like. I'm not about to bring any of you, especially you, into that place. It's just not happening," Y/N told him.

"I-I-I will be fine b-b-because I'm with y-y-you, but I w-w-will not let y-y-you go in there a-a-alone even if you d-d-do have experience w-w-with this thing," Bill said, crossing his arms as he gave the girl a serious look that told her he wouldn't back down.

Y/N frowned, obviously not pleased with Bill's decision, but nodded. "Fine, but you aren't allowed to leave my side even for a second, got it?" she asked.

Bill smiled and let his arms fall back down to his side. "W-W-Wouldn't want to be a-a-anywhere else," he said. Y/N felt her face heat up at that and she quickly looked away while the others all looked at her in amusement.

"So what do we need to do now?" Eddie asked.

"Well we can't exactly just waltz right into the Well House," Y/N explained. "We're going to need supplies like weapons of any kind, flashlights, masks and rope."

"Lots and lots of rope."

- - -

"I can't believe you're doing this," Eddie muttered, his face pale as he stared at the pulsing goo in front of him that lined the basement wall of the Well House. He looked as if he might puke or pass out. Maybe even both. "That thing looks like an infection just waiting to happen."

"Oh, hush. They'll be fine. It's just decay anyways," Beverly noted from where she was tying the rope around Y/N's waist, remembering what Y/N had said about the Upside Down being a world of decay. She finished tightening the rope before standing back and looking at the girl who grinned at her.

"Be careful and go kick some demogorgon and It ass while you're at it," Beverly told the girl. Y/N smiled and the two girls high fived before Beverly gave her a quick hug just in case something were to happen.

"Remember, we are just trying to figure out what is going on in there and hopefully you guys will find Mike while you're at it. No unnecessary fighting if you can help it," Stan said.

Y/N nodded and the two did a small fist bump before Y/N turned to see Bill talking to Richie, Eddie, and Ben. Her eyes locked with Bill's and she gave him a small nod. "Ready?" she asked.

Bill nodded and pulled his bandana up and over his mouth and nose, a technique Y/N had advised him to use to keep the decay out of his lungs. "Ready," he nodded.

Y/N nodded back and put the bandana over her mouth and nose as well before looking over at Richie, Eddie, and Ben and saluting then. Eddie chuckled and waved to the girls while Ben quickly saluted her back. Richie tried to hide his small smile as he rolled his eyes at the girl, but he couldn't stop himself from smiling at her goofiness and looked to the ground.

Bill lightly grabbed onto Y/N's hand, instantly gaining her attention for a moment. Their eyes locked and he squeezed her hand slightly before she squeezed back. The two then looked before them and took a deep breath before pushing their way through the goo portal, the ropes attached to their waists staying on the other side with the Losers where a huge pile of rope they had managed to find from town laid by their feet.

It took about a minute for the two to break out of the other side of the portal and about fifteen seconds for their eyes to adjust to the sudden darkness around them. Y/N shuddered at the sight before her, the familiar sight of decay in front of her bringing back too many memories.

Bill let out a small gasp, his eyes wide as he looked around and muttered, "What the hell. . ."

Y/N ignored the boy and was quick to flip on her flashlight. "Let's go," she said, her hand still tightly holding onto Bill's as she took a step forward.

She held onto him so tight that Bill thought his hand might break, but he knew she was just afraid and thinking of her many experiences with the world they were in so he held her back just as tight and rubbed a thumb along the top of her hand.

Bill followed at her side and pulled his flashlight out as well as the two began to walk deeper and deeper into the Upside Down. Bill didn't know what to think as he looked around, still shocked at the place that was before him.

They seemed to be in the Well House still, or at least a version of the Well House. Bill had thought the house was already broken down, but this just proved how much worse it could be where half of the building was practically crumbling to ashes while everything was covered in a grayish green decay.

The teens quietly made their way up the stairs of the basement and began to make their way towards the front door, making sure to be quiet enough not to let It or the Demogorgons know they were there.

"We should check outside first. Mike's bike was left outside, so maybe we could find clues," Y/N told him in a whisper and Bill nodded in response.

Luckily the door was already open so all the two had to do was step over some of the broken wood from the door before they were outside. Bill almost gasped louder at the sight of the outside world.

Just like Y/N had said, the scenery around him reminded him of Derry. There were buildings and streets identical to the ones he was used to seeing every day. The only difference was that this landscape was covered in decay and a green and gray tint to everything.

Bill could only stare in shock, so Y/N gently tugged on his hand as she pulled him forward. They couldn't afford to get distracted or separated. Not in a place like this.

The two walked down the front stairs and Y/N dragged Bill over to the same bush that Mike's bike had been in, only the bush was nothing but a bunch of broken twigs while all that was left of a bike was the rusty handles broken in pieces on the ground.

Y/N frowned and bent down to pick a metal piece up. She stood up and studied it for a minute before looking up and around at the scenery in front of her. She was quiet as she looked around, her eyes scanning the area as if she were waiting for something to happen or looking for clues to anything alive having walked through these parts.

Her questioning gaze was soon answered when a small almost screeching noise came from the house behind them. . .the same house they had just walked out of.

Y/N's eyes widened while Bill stilled beside her. "W-W-What was th-th-that?" Bill asked as he looked to the girl beside him confused.

Y/N shook her head and turned to look at the house, but as soon as she heard what sounded like claws scrapping across the ground as something started running through the house, she immediately burst into action.

Her grip tightened on Bill's hand and she bolted, yanking the boy forward as she yelled, "Run!"

All she could hear was her own heart beating in her chest and the cries of a demogorgon as she ran. She knew Bill was yelling at her, possibly trying to figure out what was chasing them and what they were going to do, but she wasn't able to function or process his words so all she heard was a muffled voice yelling from behind her.

Y/N didn't know where she was running as they rushed forward, but she knew that she had to find somewhere to hide, someone where the demogorgon would have trouble finding her. Why she thought the creepy woods was a good idea, she had no idea. But then again, everything in the Upside Down was creepy so how could the woods be any different?

"This way!" Y/N yelled as she pulled Bill into the forest with her. All the trees were bare of leaves, some of them even having branches and twigs broken in odd angles, but there were so many of them bundled together that it was easy for the girl to find them a hiding spot between two large trees towards the middle of the woods.

Y/N had to remind herself to keep her breathing low, that it didn't matter how scared she was. If the demogorgon heard her breathing, then it would be able to find her. It took a second but she finally managed to get her breathing to almost inaudible.

The only problem was Bill who was holding onto her hand with a deathly grip as his other hand held onto his chest. His eyes were looking around frantically and his breathing was almost so rapid that his body shook with every breath.

Y/N frowned sadly before quickly turning her body so that she was in front of the boy. Her hand was quick to go over his mouth, instantly making his breathing ten times quieter. Bill stared at her with wide eyes and she tried to remain calm as she looked at him.

Sweat was dripping down both of their faces and fear was evident in their eyes. Bill shook below her touch and Y/N gave him a sympathetic look before letting go of his hand so that she could brush her hand through his hair, a small gesture she always did when she needed to calm him down.

It seemed to help a little bit and he just blinked and watched her silently as she kept her hand over his mouth. Once she knew he was calm enough for her to look away, Y/N peaked her head out and around the tree so that she could look back in the direction they had just come from.

A snap of a twig had her pulling back and practically launching herself at Bill, the two huddling together as Y/N kept her hand over his mouth and bit her lip to keep herself quiet. Both teens were shaking as they heard the crunching sound of dead twigs and leaves and Bill squeezed his eyes shut before leaning into the girl more, never having felt this scared except for three years ago when they had fought Pennywise.

He hadn't even seen the thing, but it didn't take much for him to realize why Y/N was so freaked out and the sound it made only added to his own fear.

The two were so quiet that the crunching of the leaves and twigs was the only sound that filled the air. So when the sound suddenly paused before starting back up again and growing distant as it did, the two knew they were safe. Y/N waited a moment after the sound had disappeared before pulling away from Bill and looking around the tree.

She let out a small sigh of relief once she saw that the coast was clear and she turned back to Bill before pulling her hand away. Their noses were touching from how close they were, their rapid breaths mingling together as they stared at each other.

"W-W-What was th-th-that?" Bill asked, his eyes frantically searching Y/N's as if they held the answer to his question.

"A demogorgon. Something you do not want to meet," Y/N breathed out. She let her eyes flicker over Bill's face before she looked at him worriedly and used a hand to cup his cheek, her thumb rubbing his skin as he leaned into her touch. "Are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

Bill instantly nodded. "Y-Y-Yeah, I'm okay," he told her before he reached up and brushed a strand of hair that had fallen out of her ponytail behind her ear. "Are you okay?"

He knew how much the Upside Down and the creatures inhabiting it had affected her. There had been countless nights where she had showed up knocking on his window with tears in her eyes and where he had held her in his arms as she cried and shook in his hold from how frightened and upset she was. Bill had never minded much especially since Y/N returned the favor whenever he had nightmares of Georgie and It.

Y/N let out a shaky breath and nodded her head, "Yeah, I'm-"

Her sentence fell on deaf ears as an ear piercing scream filled the air. Y/N instantly tensed while Bill looked at her confused. Y/N ignored the boy as she quickly pulled away, her eyes wide as she looked around. "That scream. . ." She muttered making Bill furrow his eyebrows.

"W-W-What scr-" Bill didn't get to finish because Y/N's wars were suddenly filled with another scream that made her eyes widen.

"It's Mike!" she cried out. "This way!" Before Bill could even get up, the girl had bolted and by the time he was up, she was already gone.

"Sh-Sh-Shit," Bill muttered as he realized him and Y/N were now separated. "Y/N!" he cried out, but there was no response. Knowing there was no way in hell he would be leaving without her, Bill took a deep breath before running in the direction she had went, silently wondering to himself what screaming she had been talking about.

The screaming may have not been real for Bill, but for Y/N it was very real. So real in fact that she didn't even think twice about running off to find Mike. She knew about the horrors that came with the Upside Down so she could only imagine what was happening to him at that moment.

However, it wasn't until she reached a small clearing where Mike was standing with a blank expression on his face that she realized she had been tricked.

"Mike?" Y/N called out, confusion laced in her voice. Upon realizing it was him, she let out a sigh of relief and ran over to the boy, a smile on her face. She reached the boy in a matter of seconds and was quick to wrap her arms around him in a hug. "Thank goodness you are okay! I don't know what I would've done if I-"

The girl fell short as she realized Mike wasn't hugging her back. Confused, Y/N pulled way to see that Mike was staring at her with a blank look on his face, his eyes wide as he just stared at her in silence.

"Mike?" Y/N questioned, a nervous laugh escaping her lips. "Come on. We don't have time for games. We have to get out of here."

Y/N turned to leave but before she could even take a step, Mike's hand was suddenly grabbing onto her wrist before he let out an eerie laugh.

"Oh, but games are so much fun, Y/N," a voice that didn't belong to Mike told her. The girl tensed at that and slowly looked behind her to see that Mike had disappeared and been replaced by It.

The clown grinned at her, his sharp teeth shining as his eyes stared at her. "We can play a game," It suggested while Y/N shook her head and began to pull against It's iron grip. Tears were in her eyes as she struggle, but It didn't seem to notice. "The other kids love my games. You can float too, you know. You'll float too. You'll float too. You'll float too! You'll float too!"

It's voice was so loud that Y/N's ears hurt. Letting out a strangled cry as tears began to stream down her face, the seventeen year old tried deservedly to escape his iron grip. It just laughed and Y/N's eyes widened when the clown's mouth opened up to reveal rows of sharp teeth.

Just when It was about to clamp it's teeth into her arm, Y/N remembered the rope around her waist and yanked on it before using her leg to sweep It out from under his feet.

On the other side of the portal to the Upside Down stood the Losers' Club who were all staring at the portal ahead of them with frowns on their faces. "You think they're okay?" Stan asked quietly, his voice just above a whisper.

As if having heard his voice, the rope that belonged to Y/N suddenly began to move forward faster than any of them had seen. Beverly's eyes widened and she quickly grabbed ahold of the rope, only then realizing that Y/N was tugging against it to signal that she needed them to get her out.

"She's pulling on the rope! Y/N needs help!" Beverly exclaimed, the others' eyes all widening as they hurried over to the girl and began to pull on the rope.

Y/N let out a small sigh of relief as she began to run, the rope pulling back against her not only helping her run faster but also telling her that her friends were trying to help her.

She had lost It a little ways back, but Y/N was no fool and knew that he was not far behind. Stumbling through the woods, Y/N was barely paying attention and accidentally slipped onto the ground.

The girl let out a groan as she sat up, but it was only then that she realized the tugging on the rope had stopped. Y/N furrowed her eyebrows, a small panic rising in her chest as she hesitantly reached out for the rope and began pulling on it. It was as if the rope was as loose as could be and before she knew it, Y/N came face to face with the frayed end of a rope.

The rope, her way back home and the connection to her friends, had been cut.

"No," Y/N muttered as she felt the bubble of panic rising in her chest. "No. No. No. No."

"Y/N, please don't run! We can all be friends down here!" It's voice sang from a little ways away causing the girl to drop the rope in her hand and scramble to her feet.

Y/N didn't know where she was going at this point, the rope not being of any help anymore. Everything in the woods looked the same and the longer she ran through it, the more scared and upset she got. She just knew that she had to get away from It.

She hadn't even realized she was crying before her vision got so blurry that she was literally just stumbling around. Her breathing was heavy as she ran forward, her eyes flickering all around her.

Hadn't she passed that tree a minute ago? Why did everything look so familiar? Wasn't that the place her and Bill had hid from the demogorgon?

Y/N froze at that. Her eyes wide as she realized Bill was no longer with her. When had that happened? She didn't know whether to be relieved since he didn't have to deal with It or scared because she didn't know what was happening to him.

"Bill!" Y/N cried out frantically, tears streaming down her face even more as she suddenly became frightened for Bill's life. "Bill!"

A loud screech from behind her made her jump as she realized both the demogorgons and It were now after her. Knowing she had to find Bill, Y/N took a deep breath before running back into the thicker parts of the woods, making sure to still run away from the creatures that were following her.

"Bill!" Y/N yelled as the branches on the trees scratched her face and pulled at her hair. "Bill!"

She ran through the thick trees for a second longer before she suddenly came stumbling out into a small clearing. No sooner had her feet touched the ground that something came barreling into her side causing her to hit the ground as she let out a scream of terror.

Y/N squeezed her eyes shut as she began to cry, knowing that this was it. A fucking demogorgon had gotten her and she was about to die. She really hoped Bill had found his way out, that he had made it back to the others and that they would work with her friends from Hawkins to kill these motherfuckers.

"Y/N?"

The girl's thoughts were hushed at the sound of her name and she slowly blinked her eyes open to see Bill propped up above her. "B-B-Bill?" she questioned, still leaning back slightly and shaking because she wasn't quite sure if this was actually the boy that had stolen her heart or some sick hallucination caused by the clown.

But then she saw the rope attached to his hip and the concern in his eyes as he gently reached up and cradled her face in disbelief before hugging her tightly. "F-F-Fuck. Don't sc-sc-scare me like th-th-that," he muttered as he held her close to his body, stroking her hair and pressing a kiss to her temple as he did so.

And she knew it was him.

A loud sob left her lips as she clung onto the boy, a feeling of relief washing over her at the fact that he was okay. However, the two didn't get long to comfort each other before a loud almost howl like screech filled the air.

Y/N perked up at that, instantly remembering why she had been running in the first place. "We have to go," she told him before she grabbed onto the rope around his waist and began to yank on it. Within a couple of seconds, the rope was starting to pull Bill up onto his feet and through the woods. Bill was quick to grasp onto Y/N's hand and the two began to run as fast as they possibly could in the direction the rope was pulling them.

It didn't take long for them to exit the woods, the Well House coming back into sight. Y/N silently wondered if the house had been that close all along and if the woods had just been a trick of her mind.

A red flash of lightning came from behind them and Y/N felt the hairs in the back of her neck stand up. She hesitantly looked behind her before gasping at the sight of the Mind Flayer, a creature from the Upside Down that she hadn't seen in two years. She had thought he was dead.

"We got to go!" Y/N exclaimed, pulling Bill along faster towards the house. A howling screech filled the air before it was followed by another one and then another. It didn't take much for Y/N to realize that the Mind Flayer had sent a herd of demodogs after them.

"Shit," she muttered as she pushed Bill into the house, glancing back to see a herd of demodogs and demogorgons running out from the woods they had just come from with the Mind Flayer right behind them.

Bill looked outside as well and his eyes widened before he quickly grabbed Y/N's hand and began to pull her towards the basement. The two could hear the creatures that were hot on their trail and for a second they both even swore they heard the sound of Pennywise laughing from behind them.

But then they saw the flashing portal and didn't even think twice before lunging inside, the two flying through and onto the floor of their world causing the Losers to all jump back in surprise.

"Holy shit! You guys okay?" Beverly asked as she hurried over to help them up, but neither of them made a move to get up. Y/N had started to cry while Bill held her close to his body, his eyes trained on the portal in front of them as if he couldn't believe what had just happened.

"Guys? Why aren't you talking? What's wrong?" Ben asked worriedly.

"Yeah, what the fuck happened in there? And why the hell was Y/N's rope cut?" Richie questioned in anger as he held up the frayed end of the rope that had been on their side.

"What about Mike? Did you see Mike?" Eddie asked.

The questions all came barreling at the two, but neither were able to process just what their friends were asking. Y/N was shaking as she held onto Bill, the boy shakily holding her back as both of them stared at the portal in front of them.

Just then, the lights above the group began to flicker causing everyone to look up confused.

"Oh no."

The Losers all froze and turned to look at Y/N, their faces paling slightly at the look of sheer fright and panic on her face. "What's wrong?" Stan asked, not knowing if he actually wanted to hear the answer.

However, he got his answer sooner than he expected when a slimy looking hand pushed its way through the goo portal on the wall. Before any of them could blink, the face of a demogorgon appeared, it's whole face opening up like a flower to reveal rows of teeth as it screeched at them.

Everyone let out a scream while Richie yelled out, "What the fuck! What the fuck!"

The next few seconds were a blur as everyone scrambled towards the stairs, tripping over each other as they did. The demogorgon chased after them, but somehow the teens were able to be just a step ahead of the creature.

They ran towards the front door and Y/N quickly pushed her friends outside before they all stumbled across the front yard. The demogorgon was right behind them and Y/N pushed her friends across the street only to trip and land just on the other side of the road.

"Y/N!" Bill cried out once he saw that the girl had fallen behind. He went to run back, but it was too late, the demogorgon was already standing above the girl with its mouth opening up even wider if that was even possible. Y/N whimpered and tried to crawl away but the demogorgon's hand was suddenly latching onto her ankle.

But its hold on her disappeared almost as quickly as it had happened. The hold was suddenly ripped away as a car came barreling past the group, the front of it hitting the demogorgon so hard that the creature went flying back.

The Losers all blinked in surprise before looking to the car that had stopped in front of them. Y/N was breathing heavily as she pushed the strands of hair that had fallen from her ponytail out of her face.

Her lungs and ankle were on fire as she looked up at the car and she was shaking out of fright, but she still managed to smile as the window rolled down to reveal that face of Steve Harrington. The boy ran a hand through his hair before glancing down at Y/N who was lying on the ground still.

"L/N, still don't know how to stay out of trouble I see," he mused, the corners of his lips twitching up slightly as he looked at the girl.

Y/N let out a laugh of relief that had the Losers all looking at her with wide eyes, wondering how the hell she was able to laugh after what had just happened.

Then they saw the smile on her face and the way she looked at the boy as if she couldn't believe her eyes and they knew this person was obviously important to her and she was relieved to see him. This all together made them look to the boy confused, wondering just who the hell this guy was.

"Harrington, still don't know how to drive I see."

* * *

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257 notes · View notes

dxmedstudent · 5 years

Note

Hi dx, I'm starting med school this fall and moving to Ireland to do so! Ive got chronic fatigue though and Im worried about being able to manage the workload. Im on meds so I'm doing pretty well, working 10 hour days rn with a 2 hour commute, but im pretty drained at the end of it. Have you or any of your followers got any suggestions for handling med school when youre just so tired all the time?

And another ask:Hi, following on from the anon asking about studying, do you have any specific tips for studying medicine with chronic fatigue? I find sitting in lectures (and the journey to and from) drains me even more than I am usually. Thanks and have a great day! Hey, peeps! So I have someone important in my life who has gone through a chronic fatigue condition in med school. I’ve seen a lot through what they went through, but I wanted to be able to give a more useful answer. I took a little time to think, and to ask them what advice they would give. They gave me permission to share an edited version with you.

It is possible to get through medical school with chronic health problems. Don’t let other people tell you otherwise. You may encounter people who doubt you, but never let them get to you. Remember that many people with chronic illness have achieved great things and it doesn’t have to be a barrier to success.

There is usually a way to get through whatever obstacle comes up. The key is to take everything literally one day at a time, and do not get overwhelmed by thinking about all the demands for the year at once. Focus on what needs to be done right now. Next week is another week.

Let yourself have setbacks, and don’t give up when you have worse periods of health. There will be times when you’re more tired and stressed, but you have to give yourself space to recover back from that. Remember that everyone, whatever their health status, has bad times, and that usually they will pass. If things aren’t getting better, talk to your family, friends, personal tutor at university. Seek help with clincians.

Keep in touch with your fatigue clinicians and be open about new obstacles and your fears about things. They can help with a lot of problem-solving aspects and support you during times of difficulty. They are also useful to rant to when you are stressed out as they know a lot about the problems of people with CFS who they’ve seen in clinical practice.

Consider reading books on CBT and acceptance commitment therapy (ACT) - these have really helped me through psychologically difficult situations and build resilience when medical school has thrown difficult things at me. In the hardest year of medical school it really helped to have written advice to look at when various situations came up.

Tell the university (occupational health, senior tutor, personal tutor etc.) - I cannot stress this enough. It is confidential, and they have to accommodate you because it is a disability. This can become really important if you have issues completing sign-offs/assignments on time, getting hospital placements closer to home, getting extra time in exams etc. It can also be useful if you have problems with exams (not being well enough to do a sitting) for the university to know what is going on and how best they can help you. If they do not know what is going on, then they cannot help you. This is one of the best things I did at medical school in terms of having a safety net for when things were more difficult.

Do not feel you have to attend 100% of everything. If you are feeling very fatigued and not gaining much by that point in the day, it is usually better to go home and do some quality studying at home. So many students who have no health problems will go home early, so do not feel guilty for doing so when you feel fatigued and like you’re not having a good day. Just remember to catch up what you’ve missed.

Talk to the students in the year above about what the demands of the coming year are like, what the exams are like, what textbooks/resources to use, and other *off the record* tips which the university would never tell you. This will help you out in planning how to approach the work for that year. It is very important to know what you’re preparing for and the best way in which to do it.

On placement, talk to the teaching fellow/head of the placement if you have any issues completing tasks or sign-offs etc. They can help you and give you advice about how to get things done. This has been of great comfort to me during placements where sign-offs have been very tricky and I’ve worried about whether or not I will complete everything. Also ask how previous students did it - you’re not the first cohort who’s gone through the system.

Let yourself adjust the intensity of your concentration when attending lectures/seminars. Some days you’ll be able to be at your highest level of functioning, and other days you may feel less functional. Your levels might look something like:

Highest level: concentrate/listen, participate/answer questions, write down notes.

Medium: concentrate/listen, no writing or participating.

Low: zoning out some of the time (5 mins etc), prioritising more important slides or mentally checking in again when possible.

Use breaks during lecture days to really give yourself a breather. It is best to physically leave the space where the lecture took place, ideally go to a canteen and have a snack (food and drink are very important for boosts), or go outside (fresh air is important). Let your brain truly wonder and do something not related to university or teaching. Don’t hang around with peers unless they talk about things which are less brain intensive or non-university topics.

Take on a reasonable workload during group assignments, and don’t let other students foist extra work or their work on you. Be strict about your role and that you will not do their work for them.

E-books (textbooks) - either download pdfs and upload on google drive etc. or buy on kindle etc. This is VERY useful for reading and studying whilst out and about for medical school, and fitting in revision during parts of the day which are empty/less busy. There are often quite a few times where you will be waiting around between teaching/clinics/hospital activities and if you use your time wisely you can really get a lot done. You can also read on public transport when commuting which is a good use of that time too.This becomes especially important close to exams where time management is key. This is one of the best things I did.

Pacing - plan for deadlines in advance. If you have sign offs/essays/histories to do, space them out and plan everything in advance. Make a plan and stick to it, but be flexible enough to change things around if you don’t feel up to doing a particular task on that day. Make sure it is realistic personal timetable, and has time for you to attend university, study and complete assignments/sign-offs, as well as relaxation/social time.

If you feel you are doing too much, cut back and do the bare minimum of what you need to do. Whilst it is nice to aim high and everyone at medical school is crazy competitive, the aim is to pass and go into the next year, and complete the degree. Scraping passes = still a doctor. Many people forget this, but the priority is to get by and become a competent doctor. You are doing what you can do, and you don’t need to get a Distinction in all your exams to be a good doctor.

Do not feel guilty for not being able to work as hard necessarily as other students can all the time. Be proud of yourself for being there and for doing something so difficult as medical school in the first place. Medical school is very hard even for people who do not have any problems with their health. There is really nothing wrong with coasting along and doing just what needs to be done. It can be frustrating to not be able to do more, but tell yourself that you’ve done your 100% which is all you can give at this current time. Sometimes you’ll be able to do more, and sometimes you’ll be able to do less. But don’t feel guilty about it. Know that you are doing your best and that’s all that you can do.

Similarly, everyone feels they are not doing enough/like they don’t know enough. Doctors on placements will also occasionally have a go at you, not realising that actually for your level you do know enough. You may feel you like you’re not enough, but the truth is that everyone feels like that. Many people at med school act like everything’s fine but underneath the surface, we’re all working very hard and tired.

You are not alone - many people at med school have either physical or mental health problems. They are all also battling through the challenges and you are not alone in your difficulties. Remind yourself of that and know that everyone is on their own journey/battle.

Believe in the work-life balance Pie chart - Everyone should ideally have equal time in their day dedicated to 1/3 cognitive, 1/3 self care and 1/3 social activity. In med school, the latter two may fall back a bit even for students with no health problems, but it is very important for these things to be done consistently during med school. “If you can’t look after yourself, you won’t be able to look after other people”. The only way you can achieve your goals and look after patients etc is by looking after yourself (with the pie chart) and keeping yourself in the best health possible.

Cognitive:studying, reading, academic extracurriculars, any activity where the mind is actively involved.

Self care: pampering yourself, hobbies, leisure activities, exercise/yoga, playing with pets, praying/worship etc.

Social: going out with family or friends. Relationships. Support groups. Societies/clubs etc.

Join support groups either in real life or on Facebook - it is really useful to have somewhere to rant about issues which specifically affect people with CFS/ME, and to have their support when you have a hard day. Family and friends will not always understand everything you’re going through, even with the best of intentions, so it’s important to have peers with CFS/ME on those occasions.

Don’t be afraid to turn down going out or doing extra things in the day if you’re really not up to it. Better to keep yourself at a functioning level than overdoing it because you feel you *should* be doing something. It’s best to be honest with yourself about what you can do today.

Learn to say no - if other people ask you to do things and you are feeling overwhelmed at the time from work/personal life, do not feel bad about saying no if you have reached your limit of how much you can cope. Do not feel guilty about this, and realise that it is crucial to not take on too much at once, in looking after your health for your ability to get through medical school. People can and will ask you to do things either not realising that it’s over your coping limits or not caring. You have to learn to put yourself first and forward and know your limits - it is not worth the payback which can inevitably happen when we overdo our limits. Medical school does not give you a lot of time to rest or recover, so you really have to make sure you keep yourself functional and within your limits.

Work steadily during the year - if you have fatigue then you cannot leave things last minute and cope with the physical and mental stress of this. Make sure you are making notes and keeping up during the year, and increase your revision before exams to a comfortable level. Be careful not to overdo it in terms of number it hours a day, as most likely you will lose your concentration and not absorb the information anyway. Best to do revision in chunks, with breaks and other things to break up the day. If the next day you get payback, it’s a sign to dial back the number of hours of revision. Even if you’re doing less hours of revision than you planned, if you’re better focused and rested you will pick up more information. “Quality not quantity”.

I hope this helps! Good luck with your studies, and I hope that things go well for you in the coming year.

#askdx #ask dx #chronic illness #fatigue #i-cant-promise-that

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traincat · 6 years

Note

If you have some time to spare could you please help me by pointing me in the direction of some comics that show Peter temper? I have a comic with Peter beating up Kingpin. I started reading Spider-Man late last year and I've recently pulled my best friend in too. But I'm finding it hard to round up some evidence of Peter's anger because sometimes it's not Peter, it's a clone or he's possessed or something. Thank you very much, your blog helps me a lot and you are a star xx

Yes, of course! I’m happy to help, especially with this subject. Getting into Spider-Man comics is really exciting and I’m happy for you and your friend! The fact that in comics Peter has such a temper and can be so aggressive and violent and that Spider-Man can be scary is a very appealing thing about this character to me, and it’s both frustrating and fascinating how such a vital part of the character in comics has sort of become inconsequential in discussions about the character and in more recent comics, because basically the fact that he has a temper was in heavy play – though some writers handle it better than others – up until very recently. The arguments you’ve presented – that sometimes it’s a clone or that Peter is possessed – come up far less often than moments where he is genuinely aggressive, and it’s coming from him, no mitigating factors. (It’s important, I feel, to note that there are two black suits – the symbiote he picked up during the original Secret Wars event, and a plain cloth black suit he has worn off and on over the years. It can be hard to tell at first glance which is which, so if he’s behaving aggressively and in the black suit, remember that it may not be the symbiote. It’s really usually just him.)

Peter fighting the Kingpin sounds like it was probably a story arc called Back in Black, which takes place in Amazing Spider-Man #539-543. This takes place after Civil War, during which Peter unmasked himself on national television – to disastrous consequences. Aunt May has been shot, and Peter is looking for the would-be assassin.

“I break his hand. It snaps like dry wood.” One thing I love about Peter when he’s angry is how his speech patterns shift – when he’s angry, his sentences become very short and direct, like punches. One after another. Back in Black is one of my favorite comic arcs, I read it all the time, and I’m psyched that it sounds like it’s drawn you in too.

But okay! Angry Peter comic recs! Let’s go! This is just a handful of comics that immediately came to mind. As you read more and more Spider-Man, you’ll probably stumble upon a ton of others. If you’ve mostly been reading Amazing Spider-Man so far, I really recommend branching out into the original runs of Spectacular Spider-Man and Web of Spider-Man.

Amazing Fantasy & Mythos: Spider-Man: Two versions of Peter’s origin story – the original, which is a masterpiece, and an updated, modern version, with incredible art by Paolo Rivera. Everyone thinks they know the origin story when they start reading it, because it’s so iconic – Peter bit by the spider, Ben shot by the burglar, power and responsibility. But I think it can be very useful to look at the origin and look at how angry Peter is in it. In Amazing Fantasy #15, the comic that started it all, when Aunt May and Uncle Ben present their secretly newly empowered nephew with a microscope, Peter thinks to himself that he’ll take care of them, but the rest of the world can “go hang.” I think it’s important that a lot of the goodness the character displays is something that has grown in him, through his connection to others and through his love for them, not something that was inherently there. In keeping with that, one of the easiest ways to set him off is to hurt someone he loves.

Amazing Spider-Man #98: Peter beats up Harry Osborn’s drug dealer.

Amazing Spider-Man #121-122: The Night Gwen Stacy Died. Following the death of Gwen Stacy, Peter hunts down Norman Osborn.

“So now it comes down to it, doesn’t it, Peter? Do you stay – and help your friend? Or do you go find revenge – simple, vicious revenge? Not much of a contest… is there?” I think there’s some real ugliness in the depths of Peter’s anger, like here in this scene where he chooses between staying with drug addled Harry, calling and calling for his help, or hunting down Norman for revenge, and that it’s really important to the character and the story, how ugly that anger can be.

Spectacular Spider-Man #75: The Black Cat makes her re-entrance into her life and she and Peter go up against Doctor Octopus, to disastrous results.

Spectacular Spider-Man #107–110: The Death of Jean DeWolff. When a police captain Peter was close to is murdered, Peter finds himself on the hunt for her killer.

Spider-Man vs Wolverine: While on assignment for the Bugle in Germany, a coworker of Peter’s is murdered, and Peter finds himself entangled in Wolverine’s personal life.

Spectacular Spider-Man #120: Peter takes on an arsonist in a burning building.

Spectacular Spider-Man #123: When a hostage situation isn’t what it appears, Peter violently loses his temper.

Amazing Spider-Man #284-288: Gang War. With a gang war well underway in New York City, Peter clashes with Daredevil over how to handle the Kingpin.

Kraven’s Last Hunt: (Web of Spider-Man #31, Amazing Spider-Man #293, Spectacular Spider-Man #131, Web of Spider-Man #32, Amazing Spider-Man #294, Spectacular Spider-Man #132) After Kraven literally buries Spider-Man and assumes his identity, Peter finds himself looking for payback.

Spectacular Spider-Man #134-136: A sequel to The Death of Jean DeWolff. Sin-Eater’s been released from prison, Peter sees the consequences of the kind of damage he can inflict up close and personal, and wars with his own guilt.

Spectacular Spider-Man #173: At the Bugle Christmas party, personal tensions come a head between Peter and Nick Katzenberg, a slimy tabloid photographer.

Spectacular Spider-Man #200: The death of Harry Osborn.

As a general Spider-Man rec, I really recommend the lead up to this, the greatest issue of all time, starting from Spectacular Spider-Man #178 and reading through #200. It’s some really incredible storytelling with some really incredible art.

Spectacular Spider-Man v2 #6-10: At the end of this Doc Ock story, Peter makes Otto beg him not to kill him.

Amazing Spider-Man v2 (1999) #30-35: A mysterious stranger comes to town offering potential revelations about the nature of Peter’s powers. Basically, Spider-Man does Dracula, but with more radiation. In my opinion, very few people, especially modern Spider-Man writers, manage to tap into Peter’s inner well of rage and the inherent steeliness of him as well as J. Michael Straczynski, who also wrote Back in Black.

Amazing Spider-Man v2 #46-48: Doctor Strange warns Spider-Man about oncoming danger as an otherwordly wasp monster starts to dismantle Peter’s life – in whatever way she can

Marvel Knights Spider-Man #1-12: An unknown foe has kidnapped Aunt May, and Peter’s running out of time to find her.

American Son: (Amazing Spider-Man #595-599) Norman Osborn is the head of HAMMER, replacement of SHIELD, leading America forward. He wants Harry to be his heir. Peter is not okay with this.

Grim Hunt: (Amazing Spider-Man #634-637) Someone’s hunting spiders, and Peter gets drawn into the web. Speaking of Peter’s temper and violent streak, both this and the above American Son feature one very specific thing he does when he’s really mad, where he sticks his hand to his enemy’s face and PULLS.

And finally, an alternate universe rec:

Spider-Man Noir and Spider-Man Noir: Eyes Without a Face: It’s the Great Depression. Ben Parker is dead. Newspaper man Ben Urich encounters his young nephew, Peter Parker, and decides to take him under his wing. But one fateful night, Peter encounters a spider…

Hailed as a darker take on Spider-Man’s mythos, Spider-Man Noir’s Peter is a fascinating study on how the circumstances of Ben’s death change how Peter operate as a vigilante.

#peter parker #spiderman #marvel comics #comic recs #traincat talks comics #long post/

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it1776 · 3 years

Text

youtube

The Best Nintendo Switch Controller Review

The Pro Controller is fine.

I still recommend it to most people

but if you play a lot of 2D games that the D-Pad placement

just isn't gonna cut it. 8BitDo is been making

fantastic Deepak controllers for a while now.

I originally recommended the old SN30

if you wanted to play a lot of 2D games.

Its biggest flaw was it's ergonomics, making it hard to play

3D games with its thumb sticks.

They fixed that with the release of the SN30 Pro+

a near-perfect controller that quickly became

my favorite controller for the Switch.

I used it so much that I ran it into the ground

and had to buy a new one recently. Almost two years later,

they finally released an updated version,

simply called the 8BitDo Pro 2.

Thank God that name was starting to be a mouthful.

This version adds a lot

to the already fantastic Pro Controller alternative.

If you are on the fence about getting one before,

this one will for sure give you

a couple of pretty good reasons to reconsider.

(upbeat music)

This video is sponsored by Aspyr, the guys who brought you,

the Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy Switch ports

are now bringing you Star Wars Republic Commando.

It's finally on Nintendo Switch

and PlayStation 4 for just 1499.

Check it out at the link in the description below.

Whoa! Whoa! Come on, dude.

Chaos has erupted throughout the galaxy.

As leader of an elite squad of Republic Commandos,

your mission is to infiltrate, dominate,

and ultimately annihilate the enemy. You will play as Boss,

leader of the special ops unit Delta Squad

together with Fixer, Scorch and Sev

working together as a team

instinctively, intelligently, instantly. You guys all right.

I was here first and then you guys just came.

Battle a variety of highly intelligent and deadly enemies

from brutal Trandoshan mercenaries, all right.

To the flying insectoid warriors of Geonosis.

This game was originally released in 2005

and I think is a crucial part of Star Wars history.

I love this era of Star Wars games and I love that Aspyr

is putting some games from this era on the Switch.

So again, you can try it for yourself for just 1499

at the link in the description below.

(water bubbling)

Sorry anybody got a USB-C charger.

(water bubbling).

So if you're new here

the biggest reason why I recommend this controller

is because of the D-pad. It's perfectly clicky.

It feels almost exactly like an original S.N.E.S controller

but you know, newer obviously. But it also has

all of the makings of a great modern controller.

It's thumb sticks feel almost exactly

like a DualShock 4 thumb sticks, making this a great option

for 3D games if you need something that could do both.

Here's something I often forget to mention.

It comes with a rechargeable battery, but it can be removed

and replaced with two double A's if you're in a bind,

something Microsoft should take note of.

It also has great motion controls and rumble.

The only thing that it's missing

that the Nintendo Pro Controller has is NFC.

But at the significantly lower price point,

are you really gonna be missing NFC that much?

The original SN30 Pro+ was and still is $45.

This new one bumps the price up to $50,

which is still a reasonable price

and some harsh competition for Nintendo's $70 controller.

It also works on Switch, Windows, Mac, Android,

and Raspberry Pi via Bluetooth, which is great

if you wanna play emulators or 2D games via Steam.

It's an all-around great controller

and I haven't even mentioned any of the new features yet.

Everything that I've said is also available

on the older $45 model.

The Pro 2 Sports 2 assignable back buttons.

This is a very welcome addition

and something I wish more controllers included.

My only gripe here is that

they're a little too easy to press. They're very large.

It's very difficult to grip the controller

without touching these buttons with your middle fingers.

In an intense game of Mario Maker

I accidentally press these buttons many times.

Luckily, by default they're assigned to nothing.

So pressing them did nothing at all.

You can assign functions to these buttons

using the brand new 8BitDo companion app.

In fact, you can remap all of the buttons

using the companion app.

And there are three different assignable profiles

that you can swap between on the fly.

Technically there's four because

there's just a baseline default one which is great

for when you don't wanna accidentally hit the back buttons.

Pressing this button right here switches between the modes.

There's off one, two and three.

In addition to remapping the buttons,

this software also allows you to fix the sticks dead zones.

It's also supposed to let you fix the trigger sensitivity,

but I couldn't figure out how to do that in the app.

I can only figure out how to do that on the desktop version.

But I like having my trigger sensitivity set really high

so they're like hair triggers because almost no Switch games

registered trigger sensitivity anyway.

Upon further review it seems that they disabled

the trigger sensitivity tab for the Switch.

So they got rid of trigger sensitivity

entirely for the Switch which is weird

'cause there are games that could still use it.

But if you go to Android or DInput or whatever,

it shows the trigger sensitivity, which is very strange.

You can also adjust vibration levels and of course,

macros, which go great with the new additional back buttons.

Previously, I used to assign macros to the share button.

Now I don't have to, unfortunately, the macro functionality

still, isn't very intuitive. You have to program it yourself

in the app, one button at a time. You can set the timings

between button presses but that's way harder to do

than just inputting a macro yourself on the controller

and having it record your inputs.

Something I've seen in a few other devices lately.

I hope that 8BitDo can eventually update

the Ultimate software and the Pro 2's firmware

to have this sort of functionality.

Because right now the macro function is pretty much

all only useful for like fighting games.

They did add the ability

to use thumb stick inputs for macros.

So if you have more patience than me

you can figure out some macros for Smash Brothers.

What might be more useful is assigning a turbo button

which is useful for many games, namely Animal Crossing.

I have a whole video on that if you're interested.

The old Pro+ had a turbo function but with this new Pro 2,

it might be worth it to assign one of the back buttons

to enable the turbo function. You can also have

the other back button assigned to hold.

So it will hold down a button forever.

So you can breeze through long menus or something.

Another useful feature that was recently added.

You can set the left stick to be swapped with the D-pad.

This is useful for games like Link's Awakening,

which should have D-pad support, but it doesn't.

There's also an option

to swap the right stick with the triggers.

I think that's some fighting games.

But my favorite part about this new mobile app

is that it allows you to change your settings on the fly.

You don't have to disconnect it from your Switch at all.

You can have it connected to your Switch

and the app at the same time.

This is something that you could not do

with the previous desktop app. This is huge for figuring out

the timing of macros or finding out the right button mapping

for yourself and immediately trying it out in the field.

One of my least favorite things

about wireless controllers like this

is connecting it to the Switch.

I often find myself just (indistinct) the button

till it finally comes up.

This controller alleviates some of that pain

by adding a mode switch on the back.

On the previous Pro+ you had to hold Start and Y

to enter switch mode. Windows, Android, and iOS,

all had different corresponding face buttons.

You expect me to remember all those.

There was also no indication

what mode you were currently in.

Now it's as easy as just flipping the switch.

You have Nintendo Switch, Apple DInput and XInput.

XInput is for Windows and Android.

DInput is for like old. I don't know it's

just probably don't worry about it. Other than all that

the only other real difference is it's enhanced grip

which is really just a textured back

similar to the textured back

of the new DualSense controller.

Other than that, this controller feels exactly the same

as the old SN30 Pro+ controller.

Switching between the two reveals that the face buttons

feel more responsive on the newer one.

Maybe it's because it's newer

and I used the shit out of my old one.

It's hard to tell.

- Oh no. - Hit the button, dude.

I think this controller.

(upbeat game music)

You know, I'll try, I'll try the top ones.

The buttons, the build quality, everything feels the same.

The Pro 2 comes in gray, black and GB edition.

I pre-ordered myself the Game Boy looking one

so I'll be getting that one when it eventually comes out.

But 8BitDo sent me their gray edition one, which looks like

it's attempting to resemble a PlayStation 1 controller.

It's an okay design. The A, B, X, Y buttons

colored like PlayStation buttons is like unsettling.

It's like a sin. The strongest design that they have

is definitely the Game Boy looking at one.

8BitDo used to have controllers that looked almost exactly

like Super Nintendo and N.E.S controllers,

but I'm sure they strayed away from that

so that they weren't bullied by Nintendo's lawyers.

It's also probably why they don't have

a Super Nintendo looking one at all anymore.

But I mean, the feel of the controller

is more important than anything else. And for 2D games,

there's nothing better than this,

until you find your Lord and Savior keyboard keys baby.

So if you haven't yet picked yourself up a 8BitDo controller

now might be the time to make the jump.

$5 extra for the back buttons,

the updated Ultimate software, the mode switch,

the custom profiles that can switch on the fly.

Yeah, I'd say it's worth it to get this version

over the original or Pro. Now is it worth upgrading to

if you already have an original SN30 Pro+.

That I'm not sure about.

Maybe if yours is starting to feel like shitty.

I know mine started to feel like

a little unresponsive, I guess.

I don't know how to describe it other than

it just got shitty and then I had to buy a new one.

But if you're perfectly content with your original SN30 Pro+

then it's probably not worth dropping an extra $50

on a brand new controller. It's like 90% the same controller

and about 10% new hotness. Or maybe I'm sure

you could find a way to justify it.

Maybe you could teach your grandma how to do Kaizo Mario.

What do you guys think about the brand new 8BitDo Pro 2?

It's a lot easier to say at this time.

Is this gonna make you finally make the jump

into getting an 8BitDo controller? Or it's something that

you would consider upgrading to from the original?

I don't think you really need to

unless like yours got like old crappy.

If you have a Nintendo Switch Pro controller already,

and you find yourself playing way more 2D games

this might be worth getting in addition to.

I mean it's like a second,

you get a second player with it to.

Leave in the comments below, add me on Twitter

and all this social media garbage.

As always we have new videos here all the time,

at least once a week.

This week, I think you're getting two, lucky you.

And we got streams over on twitch.tv/wulffden

where we can hang out and chat with each other

about stuff like this. Look at that.

Make sure you turn on notifications for all of that stuff

so you know, when we go live

'cause you can't rely on YouTube or Twitch to tell you.

But of course the most important thing right now

is just subscribe. Thank you.

I appreciate you for wanting to watch these videos.

And share this video with a friend.

A friend who maybe hasn't gotten

one of these controllers yet and it's still stuck

with the freaking regular role Pro controller.

Or maybe they're using the freaking split Joy-Cons

like a real, degenerate.

(gentle music)

Thank you. Have a good week.

#Youtube

0 notes

igb220-n10063013-blog · 3 years

Text

Platformer Development

Ok wow so this week was...insightful. Learning the ins and outs of GDevelop took a lot longer than I was expecting, and I spent even more time just trying to get the platform-spear throw idea to work.

Thankfully the tutorial provided me with a pretty decent skeleton for a platformer, basic jumping and enemy "AI" so they can patrol around and be menacing, I basically just ripped this project for my own development as a good jumpstart (I even kept the name Bingus Platformer because the default model we were given looked like a good Bingus to me). In Chapter 7 of Game Design Workshop a Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games (Fullerton, 2019), Fullerton discusses the loop/technique of visualising, building, playing, then refining or building upon a prototype, this method of design was much more helpful than I would have thought and I found it to be very fluid and engaging. She also emphasizes that a design should almost solely focus on "the fundamental mechanics, and if these mechanics can sustaint the interest of playtesters". Using this knowledge, as well as a bit of my learning from IGB181, I built a white-box style space with a single enemy in it to playtest my mechanics as I was designing and developing them. This would also force me to play the same pieces time and time again and eventually helped me polish and tweak little things here and there (such as the enemies model being slightly too high to jump over, so I added a double jump to make it easier and more expressive to move around, plus its cool ninja stuff).

Spear Mechanic Development

First things first was the core mechanic, throwing a spear. Immediately I realised I had absolutely no idea how to do anything more complex than a jump in GDevelop so consulting youtube was a must. I found a few tutorials recommending the use of bullets, which made a lot of sense to me I'm basically trying to create a projectile that sticks into walls. The bullets worked in that they shot out when I pressed the Q key and it was pretty straightforward to make it kill the enemy using collision/delete logic, I even gave it a spear model, but for the life of my I couldn't get it to stop when it hit a wall and turn into a platform.

Eventually after playing around for far too long, as well as realising that the the enemies "AI" was basically just a blank sprite with a force applied to it, I found my solution. Instead of creating bullets I could just create a platform object (I eventually made it a jumpthru platform) that looked like a spear and apply a force to it from wherever the player was standing and determining the direction using the same direction text variable assigned to the player, then if it hit a specific type of wall it would simply stop all momentum. Honestly this revelation alone felt amazing and it worked exactly how I wanted it to, at least at first glance.

Unfortunately because it was a platform the player would glitch in and out of it until the spear was safely far enough away, this required all kinds of weird fixes like fine tuning a spawn displacement over and over again.

Above is the basic whitebox I worked with to test features, at this point I added some simple instructions as well as an ammo mechanic, since I was planning on making ammo management part of the puzzles (EDIT: there were no puzzles created past me was far too ambitious, also the character is mid jump because screenshots require holding shift which is apparently a default jump button, fun).

I let two of my friends play this very basic concept as they were partly watching me develop the game on discord. One friend thought he was very cheeky finding an erant pixel outside the map to stand on.

and another found that a spear would get stuck in the wall if you were too close to it, the sacred benefits of testing have already become apparent (but also no, I didn't bother fixing this)

"Finished" Development

So its now been a week since I implemented the spear mechanic and here's what I've done .

I was far too ambitious in my pitch but this is the completed version for now so let's break it down with some quick thoughts.

Wanting to develop extra skills and abilties to unlock was beyond what I should have realistically expected given the time it took to develop what I have so far. (maybe slightly lazy but time was also a big factor)

A nice-ish backdrop was added as well as a decent level

While creating the level I realised it kinda bland to just have the same enemy over and over again, it was also pretty hard to think of new ways to throw a spear at a wall.

A jumping frog enemy was added, the samurai enemy could not be jumped on but would always drop a new spear, while the frog enemy was the opposite and forced you to risk goomba-stomping him or spend a spear

I added a little floating cloud (and a recall button to pull it to the starting point) the player would stand and have to keep up with while navigating a little challenge

Bonfire finishing point

Easter egg if you can finish the level with a spare spear and jump over the wall next to the bonfire (the easter egg has not been shown as while it adheres to player reward theories discussed by designers and academics, Im not so sure they would approve of my reward (no, its nothing vulgar just an inside joke for my friends who will playtest the game shortly))

A lot of this process was pretty straitforward thanks to me prior experimentation in my "white-box", I felt pretty comfortable coming up with new pieces of content and implementing/iterating upon them. One particularly interesting mechanic was in response to my friends very initial playtesting where they found it was cumbersome not being able to drop down from through your own spear (Terraria platform style).

I figured out how to make his suggestion work by disabling all spear objects platform behaviour upon pressing the down key, then re-enabling the behaviour once the player was falling fast enough (I tweaked this amount to be just enough to fall through and be caught by another spear just below it)

This logic for this mechanic is shown below, I've also thrown in the spear-platform logic as well because why not

So that's that, my level is finished in my eyes, time to move onto player testing and then the postmortem before checkpoint 1. Here's the link if you'd like to play it, not sure why the background doesn't work though: https://games.gdevelop-app.com/game-56eaf9d8-8391-4669-ab73-60f081963ef2/index.html

Fullerton, T. (2019). Game Design Workshop: A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games.

Re-Logic. (2011). Terraria [PC].

#development #platformer

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