#which honestly that's just a tiny chunk in comparison to what i have written

[nehswritesstuffs]

How come in some DW circles it’s considered wrong to say that 12 and Clara were intentionally written and performed as a romantic relationship and that this just gets misinterpreted or unnoticed?

So, uh, I was cleaning out my drafts and found a couple of DW/Whouffaldi meta-asks I answered but never published for some reason??? idk why but this has been sitting buried at the bottom of the drafts for, like, over a year and a half, and I feel it's important to post, all things considered. The other one will come later, but that one's only, like, half-done, so it's with any luck. This is going to be long and long-winded, so brace yourselves. There's notations.

So, the thing about Twelve and Clara is that there are many directions from which they got a lot of flack where they should not have, especially in comparison to other Doctor/Companion pairs. Getting to talk with younger fans who were not in fandom at the time, or with generally newer fans who have entered the game late, it is really a puzzle to them, whether they ship it or not, how and why this deep division took place. My perspective is obviously from someone who ships it, but also saw some absolute bullshit go down.

More under cut:

We had, in no specific order:

People wanting Twelve to be mean to Clara bc they hate her (????) and wanted her to be abused until she left

PROFESSIONAL REVIEWS dunking on Capaldi's age as though it's a bad thing (it's not)

People being really grossed out because there is a noticeable age gap between Capaldi and Coleman. Lots of blowback was based on how overdone and predatory older man/younger woman can be, which, true, but overdone and predatory Whouffaldi is not and there was more than nuance missed with this one

The same people from the point directly above forgetting this is a space-fantasy and that the 2000yo alien is making eyes at a 28yo adult, not the 800yo alien making eyes at a 19yo child, BECAUSE ONE OF THESE IS GROSS AND FOR SOME REASON IT WASN'T THE LATTER

Again, when people were writing PROFESSIONAL REVIEWS, they refused to acknowledge that there was even a hint of anything despite the fact that they supposedly both had eyeballs and watched s8/9

Multiple people involved with the show, including Steven Moffat and Jenna Coleman, said there was a deep and intense love between Clara and Twelve. Peter Capaldi basically said as much, but he was much vaguer, which I imagine is mostly because he is very much blissfully married and the awkwardness that might come with that. I don't blame him for such, and although it should be a non-issue, some people use that as backing against the Whouffaldi ship, which is very rude of them.

There were actually really intense ship wars in fandom during s8/9...? Like the Twelve/River fans were fcking fierce when it came to declaring that theirs was the superior ship(1), and then you get the Doctor/Master fans(2) and that entirely separate debacle. I honestly don't know how the Whouffaldi fandom would have survived had it not been for the PCap fandom in general, who were on average much less concerned with ship wars and much more concentrated on quenching their thirst.

There's more, but that gives you a taste into what's gone on. The biggest problem from all of this was that the people who were writing the articles and making the complaints and starting the wars were altogether a very small minority of people who watched the show. However, this tiny group of people, thanks to the specific platforms given to them, were extremely loud. They were able to join forces with the Not-My-Doctors who had long-ceased watching the show(3) to make a larger chunk of "fandom" than they really were, able to artificially inflate the noise, as the NMDs just trusted everything the group of what was essentially hate-watchers said was fact.

Let me tell you: entertainment media is largely interpretative and that was not fact.

With such a loud counter-presence, the Whouffaldi fandom was really sort of loathe to give up easy, and as they reexamined and revisited and overanalyzed the content, we were able to come to our conclusions time and time again. This kind of pissed off the hate-watchers and the NMDs and they dug in their heels. They took a storyline that pushed the definitions of what love is and, when all they have to say is "meh, it's possible, but not my cup of tea", there is repeated denial and insistence on the father-daughter angle(4) as the only angle to the point of being destructive. There were reasons as to why the show was doing poorly in the ratings during the Capaldi years, and it had nothing to do with Whouffaldi, or Capaldi, or Coleman, or Mackie, or Moffat or any of the other "usual suspects'" in a singular form.(5) That instead lies with the Beebus, which has been jerking around the show since 2009(6), and seems to be not doing that again, but ONLY in regards to the "new" showrunner(7) who's getting the show after Chibs and not anything else that's been happening post-2010.

All in all, Whouffaldi as a romantic ship is either seen as a delusional sicko fantasy, or one of the most shat-on romantic ships in the entire show, and to mention one of those opinions in a crowd of the other opinion means that you might just get your ass verbally handed to you. Yeah, it's all fiction and doesn't matter, but the amount of shit that's gone down because of it has drawn distinct lines in the sand and idk if anyone is willing to cross it right now... I mean, especially now, given everything that's happened and this is now a nine-year-old ship that hasn't been represented/acknowledged on-screen for years, but... yeah.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Auxiliary Notes

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

(1): My personal stance is that Twelve/Clara is the better of the two in general, but that the Twelve/River we got should have been loads better, and I want to know who it was who was making the final calls for THoRS (Moff or someone higher), because I did want to see Twelve/River, bc those actors are just really good, but that episode felt too much like a Monkey's Paw prank to be legit. Best THoRS ending should have been Twelve leading River to their table at the restaurant and there's Eleven, and he gets to spend the twenty-four uninterrupted years with River, but eh what do I know.

(2): As someone with siblings, as well as acknowledging how much weird sibling energy the Doctor and the Master exude over the multiple versions I've seen, please don't come at me with excuses for what would essentially be an incest ship. Just no. I love you all, but some of you are disappointing me with your sins.

(3) It is very common for certain NMDs to have stopped watching at the end of 2009, or, alternatively, after the Ponds left the show. These are often people who have dangerous settings on their nostalgia filters and low amounts of media literacy. This brand of NMDs often are fans of Ten and/or Eleven, claiming they're their favorite "because he's so quirky", despite the fact they were... not... that... quirky... really. Many of them also hate Moffat's writing for [insert reasons here], despite the fact when you ask them to list their favorite episodes, Blink and Girl in the Fireplace are in their top five. They also have an extreme overlap with the fans that the show is attempting to court back with The Second Coming of Russell, despite the fact those fans really be out there wanting more Ten/Wose when that is the horse that even its creator acknowledges has been beaten to death.

(4) I worry for you if you thought that eye-sex Twelve and Clara kept having was how fathers and daughters are supposed to behave. Did you see any glances like that between Twelve and Bill? No? Well guess what: TWELVE WAS BILL'S SURROGATE DAD. THERE'S YOUR FATHER-DAUGHTER STUFF RIGHT THERE.

(5) Ratings, which have been a garbage system of proving a television show's worth since recording via VHS became widespread(1), were effected way more by the fact that there was often shoddy advertising (as though all the budget for the next few seasons went into the 2014 World Tour marketing blitz), weird changes made to the broadcast times at short notice, and the fact that iPlayer/VOD/recordings aren't counted alongside people who tuned in when it was airing. While it's true that consumer watching habits are changing, and that's fine, but the shift was much weaker back in 2014-2016 and that's only the UK ratings. Other countries that got a stable broadcast schedule or people who simply binged tend to have a greater outward acceptance of Twelve, despite the fact their population also will contain NMDs of varying levels.

(5.1) It actually can be argued that the garbage nonsense about ratings has only really been a thing whenever it is most convenient for the people running the television network, considering there are shows that in the past have done poorly and were allowed to continue, and shows that were doing very well with a loyal fanbase and axed for no reason whatsoever, other than some whim of a higher-up at the company. Compare the American shows M*A*S*H (which was actually a disaster in the ratings to start) and Green Acres (which despite not being a top-30 program had enough of a loyal viewership that it should of been saved during the Rural Purge of 1971, but wasn't).

(6) I have reason to believe that the channel that is in charge is just a giant NMD in of itself since Tennant (first) left the show, despite the fact it's their cash cow, based on how they've been making moves deliberately meant to be divisive and tear the show down, all the way back to casting Matt Smith. How effective they were with each move is debatable, but yeah... there's a lot of ways you can say that the channel itself is an NMD, to the point it becomes less of a coincidence and more of an aggressive pattern.

(7) It still both disappoints me and does not surprise me how things have been going lately and it's part of why I'm over in my corner being petty and ignoring what's going on in canon, bc they can't even let Gatwa have his time to shine without being overtaken by overdone and overrated.

#replies #Greyface replies #I'm not going to tag the ship until later to keep it out of the tag #but yikes #I'm a white woman who grew up in a conservative household in the suburbs: I have an inner conspiracy theorist #instead of Q and OWW I have cryptids and how much the Beebus hates DW #much safer and saner that way #but... like... it's so fcking tiring #and although I still love this ship profusely the amount of shat on and ignoring that happens kinda got to me #so like fuck that

[atlas-tries]

Shatter Me

A Patton angst fic by yours truly

Read on AO3

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Summary: All the sides have secrets, but none have one as lethal as the one Patton is keeping. Can he keep it under wraps long enough to resolve it or will the trauma of it all spell his undoing? 

Hey guys, so this has been a long time in the making (aka since January). But I finally got this finished and I’m very proud of how it turned out. This was all based on a simple headcanon I had about how Patton experiences emotional pain. I hope you enjoy it, and the next chapter will be out next Monday! Check the notes for definitive links to the next chapter.

Chapter 1: Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones but Words Hurt Far More Deeply

At some point or another, all the sides had kept secrets from each other.

Mostly, it had to do with where they had been in the past or something silly, like the time Roman “accidentally” ate all of Logan’s Crofters. The others still kept some, likely to make a well-placed or dramatic reveal of it, and Patton was no different. He himself occasionally had physical manifestations of emotional pain. However, there was one thing he knew that wasn’t a secret.

Patton knew how they all really felt about him.

Sentimental.

Overbearing.

Naive.

Worthless.

Even if they rarely said any of those descriptors out loud or in his presence, the unspoken words came through loud and clear every time they thought he would mess something up. Which was in almost every video he appeared in. They thought he didn’t notice the dismissive remarks or the eye rolls whenever he had any ideas to share when Thomas had an issue that needed working through. It’s just ol’ Patton spouting off whatever random thoughts and/or dad jokes pop up in his head like always.

For the most part, Patton could handle whatever emotional turmoil they threw at him. He knew that despite what they thought, they still cared about him and valued his opinions. The occasional pain was worth it if they were happy. And they were, especially after Thomas had introduced them to his online community of Fanders (the part that made him the happiest). Even Patton himself had been ecstatic to reach out to so many other kiddos out there. At least, he was until they had gotten in front of the camera.

Yeah, his jokes didn’t land with the others, it wasn’t a big deal. That was no different than telling them in the Mindscape on most days. However, he really wanted to do that four-part harmony when Roman suggested it, even after they immediately shot it down when he came in. But Patton could shake that off, too. He was strong. So, imagine his surprise when he discovered short, thin cracks radiating from over his heart when he was changing into his cat onesie that evening. “Oh,” he said, running his hand delicately over them, “That must’ve gotten to me a little more than I thought.” No matter, though, they always went away within a few days.

Everything went back to relative normal in short order and Patton was back to being a happy pappy. The next few videos came and went without much fanfare. He was even featured by himself to help Thomas with his adultery! There was nothing better than that. The cracks didn’t return until just before they started planning out The Mind vs. The Heart.

That morning, Patton had been making breakfast for everyone as he almost always did. This morning was especially pleasant for him because Thomas had actually listened to Patton yesterday when he suggested he go and pet all the puppies in the pet store on the way home. Having that thought at the forefront made it easy to softly sing to himself as the bacon sizzled. Roman was already eating his as fast as he could fancifully manage.

“Roman, I know my food is good, but please don’t choke up on your swallow through,” Patton said with a smile, taking the last batch of bacon out of the pan and putting it on a plate. Roman just nodded and kept doing exactly what he was doing. “Say, you didn’t happen to see Logan when you came down, did you?” Patton was getting a little worried about Logan. It was early, yes, but the logical side always made his appearance long before now.

“Haben’t sheen ‘im thish morning,” Roman said with a mouthful of pancake.

Patton hummed, set his and Logan’s plates on the table, and grabbed some forks. He sat down at the table, picking at the eggs a little. He would feel better about eating when Logan came. As if on cue, soft squeaks came from the staircase. “Huh, speak of the devil,” Roman mumbled. Patton immediately perked up.

“Good morning, Logan!” Patton shouted. Logan stopped at the bottom of the stairs and covered his ears.

“Too loud, Pat,” Logan grumbled, making his way slowly to the table.

Patton softly replied, “Sorry. I made breakfast.” He couldn’t help but notice the dark circles beneath Logan’s eyes as he approached; they were almost dark enough to rival Anxiety’s. Patton was very much hoping that Roman wouldn’t notice, if only to preserve the peace (and the rest of his good mood, but Patton didn’t want that to be the focus).

“Thank you.” Logan sat and went straight for the coffee, downing half of it in only a few seconds. So far, so good. “Ugh, aren’t I a little old for cat-shaped pancakes, Patton?”

Patton shook his head with a smile. “You’re never too old to have a Patton paw-ncake!” he said cheerily, batting a pawed hand in the air for emphasis.

“Wow, looks like someone’s been to the dark sides this morning. Can we get a bag check on Logan’s eyes?” said Roman, going for another mouthful of bacon.

Logan wasn’t amused. “I’m sorry some of us have to work overtime to make Thomas make the right decisions,” he spat. “Sometimes it’s like I’m the only adult here.” Patton felt that familiar pain ghost across his chest.

“Ex-cuse me, how dare you say such a thing, and when Padre was nice enough to make you breakfast! And anyways, you are NOT the only one who has to pull late nights, Snide and Prejudiced,” Roman countered.

Patton said, “It’s fine, Roman, ple—”

“Really?” Logan adjusted his glasses. “Because it seems to me like you only keep Thomas up at ungodly hours fantasizing about the things you want.”

“Oh, and you don’t?”

“As the most important side, no, I don’t.”

“Oh well ex-cuuuuuuse me, Mr. President—”

From there it devolved into them shouting over each other. Roman slung eggs and syrup everywhere while wildly gesticulating. Logan kept smacking the table trying to make his points. Chocolate milk was going everywhere. They had never been so tense with each other.

“Um, kiddos?” Patton said. Neither of them heard him in the midst of their shouting match. “Kiddos?” he said a little louder, reaching out toward them. “Maybe if we just—”

“THIS DOESN’T CONCERN YOU, PATTON!” both of them yelled. Patton recoiled. Another crack split painfully across his chest. Both of them went back to screaming at each other. He couldn’t stand to see them like this, even if they were hurting him in the process. What else could he do but meet them at their level?

Patton stood abruptly and slammed his hands down on the table. “That’s ENOUGH, both of you!” he scolded. They instantly hushed, flustered and in awe that Patton could even raise his voice. He took a breath and calmly continued, “Roman, I appreciate you defending me like the noble Prince you are, but it’s okay. We know that Logan isn’t the only one that works the graveyard shift, but we shouldn’t make fun of the sides that do when they’re not in their best shape. And Logan, I know you’re tired, but—”

“Yes, from trying to mitigate the effects you had on Thomas yesterday,” Logan interrupted. “We almost adopted one of those puppies when we have neither the resources nor the time to look after one. And who was the one who had to convince him that it was a bad idea? Me!”

Even though Patton wasn’t sorry about that in the slightest, he still apologized. “You did the right thing, Logan. Why don’t you go back to bed for a little while? You’ve earned it,” Patton said. “I’ll even keep your breakfast warm for you.”

Logan nodded and left wordlessly, taking the coffee mug with him back up the stairs. With him gone, Patton looked to Roman. “You owe him an apology, mister,” said Patton.

“What? Me? He was the one being snippier than an Edward Scissorhands wannabe!” Roman cried.

“Well, you didn’t help that, now did you? But he also owes you an apology, too.” That garnered a little “oh” from the Prince. Patton sighed and took Logan’s plate to the oven, turning it on to the lowest setting.

“You know we would’ve worked it out on our own eventually, right?” Roman said. “This is just what we do.”

“I know,” Patton responded. “I think … I should start cleaning up. There’s chocolate milk everywhere.”

Roman nodded. “Okay, Padre. Is there … something I can help with, at least?” He got up and handed his mostly empty plate to Patton.

“Thanks, but I can handle it,” Patton said softly, voice barely above a whisper. He felt Roman’s hand on his shoulder and looked up at the Prince.

“You shouldn’t worry about us so much. We’ll be fine. And, uh, I promise I’ll make it up to the Grinch up there,” said Roman with a small smile.

We don’t need you smothering us.

Great! Now Patton’s thoughts were going to take it upon themselves to put translations after the other’s words! Patton tried to return a smile despite the pain in his chest growing. It must’ve convinced him because Roman, with a final pat on his shoulder, turned and left. As soon as Roman was completely out of sight, Patton rubbed at the cracks to try and soothe their aching. It never worked, but it made him feel a little less like a sad dad. Oh well. At least they’d disappear soon enough.

Or not.

A few days after Losing Motivation came out, Patton had once again busied himself in the kitchen, this time baking chocolate chip cookies while humming along to the Disney showtunes that Roman had playing in the living room. No doubt Thomas would have them stuck in his head by the end of the day. Not that it was a problem in Patton’s mind; the music really helped him ignore the constant throbbing pain that those ugly fractures left on his chest. Better to have Disney showtunes on the brain than a recent ex-boyfriend, right?

The oven timer let out a short ding! at the start of the chorus to Prince Ali. “Oh cookie, where would I be if you weren’t hooooot,” Patton sang over the lyrics. He danced over to the oven while putting on heart-patterned oven mitts. “So full of sweets from eating way more than I ouuuuggghhht. To.” He took the finished cookies out of the oven and twirled around to the music, kicking the door closed and sliding the baking sheet onto the stove in one smooth motion.

Patton made quick work of getting them off the baking sheet and onto a plate. “Cookies are ready!” he shouted. Quick, thundering steps met his cry and in seconds, Roman was in the kitchen juggling three.

“Don’t mind if I do, Pat,” said Roman. Fear never deterred Roman, not even when in the face of third degree mouth burns from oven-fresh cookies. Patton would be lying if he said he wasn’t proud of his son for being so brave (even if another part of him was terrified of Roman getting hurt). “Hanksh,” he said with a mouthful of molten cookie, pretending that it wasn’t actually too hot but still doing the hashafashafa thing to cool it down while he ate.

“You’re welcome, son,” Patton replied. He looked at the cookies and remembered why he was making them in the first place. Ever since Anxiety had made himself known, Patton had been trying to reach out to him. Sure, he was dark and broody and sometimes the others had a little trouble seeing how important his contributions were, but he wasn’t the villain that they made him out to be. Anxiety deserved to feel welcome, and that was something Patton would always advocate for.

He set a few of the cookies on another plate for the rest of the sides (and himself) and poured a glass of milk. “Anxiety’s gonna love this!” He picked the cookies and milk up and danced them out of the kitchen, making sure to pass by Logan on the way. Not that it was hard, he was almost always studying at the dining room table. “Hey Logan, do you wanna eat a cookie?” Patton sung to the tune of Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?

Logan glanced up from his book. “I would prefer not to as I am attempting to set a good example for Thomas by abstaining from sugar,” Logan responded.

“Ah. Well, more for me and Anxiety, then!” said Patton. “If you change your mind, there are some more in the kitchen.”

Logan put the book down and said, “Hold on, are you telling me you’re still intent on making friends with him?”

“Well, yeah, what’s so bad about that?” Patton asked.

“I can’t believe I have to explain this to you again. Anxiety has no place with us, Patton, and it’s time that you stop pandering to him. There’s a very good reason why he lives with … them, and not us.”

The little fissures began slowly spreading. Patton was getting good at keeping it under wraps. And under shirts. “Now Logan, just because he’s a little different from us doesn’t mean that he has bad intentions. Sure, he started out in a bad place, but who’s to say that he can’t grow out of that? Sometimes, people just need a push in the right direction to shine. Bright like a diamond~,” Patton sang the last part, which earned him a groan. “I promise, if I felt fishy about any of this, I wouldn’t be doing it.”

“Why would you feel like a fish? Do fish even feel?” Logan said, genuinely perplexed.

Patton sighed. “Gosh, words can be tough. What I mean is that I don’t feel bad about reaching out to Anxiety, not when he’s been reaching out to us in his own way. I don’t get the feeling that he means us harm.”

“But you have to admit that when it comes to character judgement, you can be too forgiving,” Logan said.

“… Is that a bad thing?” Patton quietly replied, wincing a little as the cracks splintered further.

Logan’s eyes narrowed. “Patton, are you feeling alright?” he asked.

Oh, no.

“Of … course I am!” Patton said. “I’m Morality, why wouldn’t I be feeling?”

Logan grunted and adjusted his glasses. “Let me rephrase that. Patton, moments ago, you clearly indicated you were in pain. Am I interpreting this cue correctly?”

“Um …” Patton stalled. Maybe it was time to tell someone about this; it wasn’t like he could keep hiding it forever. With a sigh, he replied, “Yeah.” Oh no no no no, he couldn’t do this.

Logan stood there silently for a few moments before realizing that no explanation was going to come out of him without prompting. “Would you care to explain what’s causing it? I can perform first aid if necessary,” he said, stepping toward Patton.

Patton backed away and put his hands up. “I’m alright, really. It’s just … a little heartburn is all. You know me, not waiting until the cookies are cool to start munchin’! It should go away soon,” he replied. He couldn’t describe how badly he wanted to get out from under Logan’s scrutiny.

“If that’s all, then, here,” Logan conjured some Tums, “please take two of these.” He offered the bottle to Patton, who took it with a smile.

“Thank you, Logan, where would we be without you?” said Patton. He took some out of the bottle and made a show of chewing them up. Even if he didn’t really need them, he wanted to be sure that Logan felt listened to.

“What is that on your neck?” Logan asked, gesturing on himself where he thought he saw something.

“Hmm?” Patton felt around in that general area, squeaking softly when he felt a small but deep fracture across his skin. How did he not notice that before? Quick, Patton, think of something! “It’s uh … it’s chocolate!”

Logan’s eyes narrowed again. “Chocolate?”

Patton smiled. “Yeeeaahhhh, I must’ve gotten chocolate on myself when I was making these cookies. Silly me,” he lied, waving a dismissive hand. Well, it wasn’t totally a lie; he did still have some chocolate on his hands.

That seemed to sate the logical side. “Very well then, be sure to wash that off. And I know that no matter what I say, you’re still going to take your cookies to Anxiety. Just, please be careful around him, no matter how he makes you feel. We do still need you to help keep Thomas functioning normally,” said Logan.

“Thank you, Logan, I appreciate that. I promise I’ll be careful,” Patton said with a smile. Logan gave him a curt nod and went back to his studies. Some of the pain subsided with that last comment, which Patton was very grateful for. If it had been anywhere near what it was before, he couldn’t have done what he had set out to do without cuing Anxiety on to his problems. With as much of a smile as he could muster, Patton picked up the cookies and milk and headed down to Anxiety’s room. Thankfully, Logan didn’t notice him adjusting his cardigan along the way.

Patton always thought it was odd that the doorway to the darker side of Thomas’s mind would be inside the broom closet at the end of the hall. In another way, it made a lot of sense when he thought about it a little harder. Anything he wanted hidden would be stowed in here for safe keeping until he was ready to confront it. Plus, it made an excellent visual pun that made Patton giggle every once in a while. He opened the door, carefully balancing the plate on his arm.

“Let’s see, last time I made two rights, a left at the weird eyeball painting that stares at you, another right, then a left, and it’s the last door on the left,” Patton mumbled to himself as he walked through the dark side’s labyrinthine corridors. “Please let there be no spiders this time.”

In between the first two rights, a yellow-gloved hand slithered its way around the edge of the corner in front of Patton, making him stop dead in his tracks. No no no, not now! “Well well well, if it isn’t Morality,” Deceit stepped out in front of Patton, “have you finally decided to join us AND bring us cookies? I know we would all be devastated if you did.” His ever-present smirk seemed even more delighted than normal.

“Um, no. I’m just bringing Anxiety some cookies like I’ve been doing for a while now. You know that,” Patton replied. This definitely wasn’t making him uneasy.

“Indeed I do, and I also know something else.” Deceit strode forward until he was uncomfortably close. “You’ve been hiding something I find to be … most exquisite. If you keep that up, you’re liable to put me out of a job. Tell me, how long do you think you can play my game but keep me away from the field? Or even better,” he slowly circled Patton, eyes ever trained on him, “how long do you think you can keep their prying eyes away from your little secret?” He gently touched the center of Patton’s chest, which made him hiss and nearly drop the cookies and milk.

Patton had to take a moment to catch his breath. “I refuse to … make this their problem,” he gasped. He could’ve sworn he saw a few glowing drops of his essence through his shirt where Deceit’s finger had been.

“Oh, of course you don’t. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard that one. They’re obviously trying to hurt you by saying and doing all of these little things and telling them this would only make them want to do it more,” Deceit said, coming to stop in front of Patton.

“Look, I know you’re just trying to look out for me in your … own way and I appreciate it, but please, Dee … I can’t tell them this. It would break them even more than it’s breaking me— and I won’t have it.”

Deceit’s smile faded. “You don’t want to listen to reason? Fine. But I leave you with this,” he shook a finger and slowly began sinking out, “what would hurt them more: the others finding out about this now or the others finding out about this when you’re in itty. Bitty. Pieces?” His last words echoed through the empty halls, chilling Patton to his core.

He knew Deceit was right, in his own roundabout way. That was one of his greatest assets: he was a brilliant analyst despite his airs, one that could keenly rival Logan’s perceptive inclinations. It was also what Patton dreaded about him. He couldn’t hide anything from Deceit, not that there was much he could do to hide all the cracks given how many there were.

“No!” Patton said to himself. This wasn’t the time for getting absorbed in thoughts! This was supposed to be bonding-with-his-precious-anxious-baby time, gosh darn it, and he was not going to waste any more time thinking about all the things that were hurting him! Putting on his best determined dad face, Patton quickly marched toward Anxiety’s room.

Before he could get too far, though, he saw Anxiety’s familiar, brooding figure lurking through the halls. He perked up almost imperceptibly when he saw Patton coming. “Oh, there you are. Not like I was worried about you being late or anything,” he said, fiddling with his hoodie strings.

Patton just smiled, relieved that Anxiety hadn’t noticed the little, slightly glowing stains on the front of his shirt. “Of course not. Shall we?” he replied. Anxiety nodded.

The two shared a nice, albeit short, time in Anxiety’s room talking through everything they could. Anxiety’s particular favorite seemed to be picking through Disney movies (or really any movie) to find all of the dark origins or morbid underlying themes they held. While Patton liked being able to spend time with Anxiety, the combination of being in his room for longer than around half an hour and the negative talk were lying heavily on his chest. Still, he never let it show that those cracks were slowly spider-webbing across his skin.

By the end of the day, every step was a Herculean task for Patton. He barely made it back to his room without stumbling. Still, there was one last thing to be done: survey the damage he had accrued. He trudged into the bathroom and grasped the sink with shaking arms, head hanging heavily. “Alright, head up on three, Patton. One, two, three,” he said, letting go of the sink and looking up in the mirror. Despite his weathered appearance, not much could be seen with his shirt still on aside from two small fractures that forked up either side of his neck. The few that had made it past his sleeves were so thin that he didn’t even notice them at first. Patton sighed. He really didn’t want to look at the epicenter of the damage. “Right after this, you can go to bed,” he bartered with his reflection. He gently lifted the hem of his shirt up and nearly fainted from what he saw.

The cracks at the center of Patton’s chest had turned more into chasms where his skin had chipped away like broken porcelain. His essence shone through, now a raging blue storm that threatened to break through the invisible barrier where his skin should be. From there, the light bled through into the smaller fissures that spanned his entire torso, front and back. He knew it was bad, but it had never been to this extent. He gently touched the edge of the center break and accidentally dipped his finger into the blue fluid. The tears he had repressed welled up in his eyes, spurred on by a jolt of raw emotion. Patton quickly wiped the fluid off onto his pants. The tears no longer had any driving force behind them.

“Oh Patton, you’ve got to remember not to do that,” he once again told his reflection. He had forgotten how much emotional sway his essence had when he touched it. Patton knew he couldn’t keep the happy act up like this. So, what else could he do but make himself as scarce as possible until it healed at least a little bit?

And that’s exactly what he did.

#atlas writes #patton angst #sanders sides angst #patton sanders #long post #this first chapter is a little more than 4000 words #which honestly that's just a tiny chunk in comparison to what i have written #shatter me #shatter me story

[shinneth]

subject to future deletion

Normally I wouldn’t resort to that and I might end up being too lazy to do it anyway, but between getting sick again, dealing with some very intense verbal abuse every day irl, and the monthly burdens of the gender, I’m really not in a good place right now and I need to vent something. 

It’s officially gotten bad enough to interfere with my ability to write, even though I’m at a point in my current story that I’ve been very eager to reach... and every step of the way I’m struggling to write it and I hate what I currently have and it’s taking everything in my current power to not just scrap it entirely. 

Basically, I think I’m failing as a writer.

The irl stuff is actually not what I’m gonna get into because it’s really nothing new and it’ll probably resolve itself, but the side-effect of suffering that kind of negativity is that it enhances lingering negative feelings you’ve had about other things.

Namely, things you do to get away from the pains of the real world. The things you do to have fun and get some enjoyment out of life, no matter how challenging it is to be in this thing because it’s so wrongfully derided and demonized by the majority of your peers.

I try to keep telling myself it’s just because I’m still relatively very new to the fandom compared to my contemporaries, but as I’m typing this right now and listening to my favorite wrestler Shelton Benjamin in an interview, immediately I see the pit I’m starting to fall into. 

Like, it’s uncanny. This is what he said as I started on the above paragraph:

“If I sit and constantly compare myself to other people’s successes, you would drive yourself crazy. Because no matter what, there’s always someone who’s gonna be more successful.”

“I need to remember where I come from; how far I’ve came.”

Basically, in the very small world of Stevidot (and to a lesser extent, SU’s fandom as a whole), despite my efforts, I feel very much like the Shelton Benjamin in a small, dedicated group of talented Stevidot content creators.

Which is to say, I’m basically a midcarder in the mix with a bunch of top-tier legends. Shelton graduated from the same group as some modern very well-known mainstream stars that I can easily associate with a very well-known and accomplished Stevidot contributor.

Shelton graduated with the likes of John Cena, Brock Lesnar, Dave Batista, and Randy Orton. At least half of those names should be at least vaguely familiar for my followers as most of them have had such great success that they’re known in avenues beyond wrestling (save for Randy Orton, but he’s well past outshined his father as a legendary wrestler who’ll never be forgotten). 

I could easily say Watcher is the John Cena of Stevidot, while Platon’s probably the Brock Lesnar... sinderella0069′s the Batista. But I honestly don’t feel like I’ve done enough (or stood out enough) to even be a Randy Orton for this pairing. I’d at least give that honor to Ig just for being so active with it on Tumblr despite the wave of hatred thrown her way (even though she’s shifted focus onto Stevinel now). 

Again, I keep trying to tell myself that it’s because I’m not even remotely as tenured in the fandom as any of them are. 

Then I see this said in a review on a very recently-made Stevidot story...

And said reviewer has not once ever left a review on any Stevidot story of mine. Not even a follow or a favorite or a goddamned kudos. Considering I currently have an actively-updated Stevidot story going on (and a two-shot that I just did last month), I highly doubt my stuff was just overlooked.

Now, is it true that Stevidot is hard to come by? Of course it is. But this isn’t the first time I’ve seen a fellow Stevidot fan lament about the lack of Stevidot content while completely disregarding anything I contribute.

I know there’s one that outright doesn’t like my content based on personal taste (nothing to do with Stevidot itself, just how I execute it). There’s another big-name who shows no interest whatsoever in reading what I have to offer - and at this point I feel that’s for the best, because I have a feeling they’d hate my execution as well. 

While I’ve always primarily written for myself, I also felt a great fulfillment for providing content for a niche crowd that really deserves more than what they have. I think Stevidot’s a fantastic pairing with tons of unexplored potential and should be much more readily available than it actually is. Even if I tend to not get many reviews, I keep track of the site traffic every day on my stories and I know for sure that there are people reading my stuff. Since I’m really bad at leaving reviews myself, I go out of my way not to whine about not having very many overall for my series since I’d be a huge-ass hypocrite to do so. 

However.

Statements like the the aforementioned review and statements I’ve seen elsewhere by those who I know are at least aware of me are like stakes through the heart.

Because it can only mean one thing: my content doesn’t count.

I’m honestly not sure which is worse for me; being critically panned for the stuff I’ve put my all into over the past year, or being treated like my stuff doesn’t even exist. 

I prided myself on contributing as much as I did for Stevidot over this past year. Quantity doesn’t = automatic quality, but I’ve got 20+ years of writing experience in, so even someone with a shit self-esteem like myself can’t just say I’m an objectively bad writer, because I’m not. 

But apparently it doesn’t matter that I put in over half a million worlds in the name of Stevidot to a good chunk of the very tiny Stevidot fanbase; according to them, my contributions are irrelevant.

Is it my fault?

One thing I will admit is a detriment to my particular brand of Stevidot is that, save for one story (which happens to be by far my most successful Stevidot story in terms of recognition numbers), the rest of my series follows a continuous narrative that greatly deviates from canon as of Change Your Mind. I’m also notoriously a very verbose kind of writer - I have the tl;dr curse something fierce. 

So all stories I’ve written since my main 3-act series (which ended up being nearly 200k in length on its own) have been direct sequels to that. Because of the heavy deviation from CYM, the environment of the following stories is very different and easy to get lost in if you skipped GA entirely. 

Because there are so many dangling threads and new opportunities to be had after GA ended, I basically committed myself to my AU.

It’s not like anyone else is going to explore these possibilities.

Beyond that, honestly, I just don’t want to rewire my brain back to the canon status quo - not after the shitloads of character development I’ve not only given Steven and Peridot, but nearly everyone at this point has had a moment or two of really intense character growth. 

I like having Peridot co-star with Steven. I like having her become a more competent and active teammate than she’s portrayed in canon (while still giving her comic relief moments). I like that I didn’t redeem the Diamonds and instead had them killed off to force our protagonists to deal with the fallout of the collapse of a mighty empire on a much grander scale than what’s going on in the actual show.

In a way, this AU of mine has helped me cope with the shortcomings of the show itself. I already went on a stupid tirade once about how the sadistic nature of my writing has basically made me no-sell whatever trauma Rebecca Sugar’s throwing on Steven and upsetting everyone else. I’m still fairly certain I’m still outdoing her in that department. 

And because 100% of my passion for creating Stevidot is through this narrative I weaved, I have no desire to leave it. 

So I’ll admit my stories aren’t exactly the most accessible to the average reader who hasn’t been following my work since Day 1. 

Then again... I first got into Sinderella’s series completely ass-backwards at first. I eventually read it in the proper order, and like many of the great Stevidot epics, it’s canon divergent from a much earlier point in the series, so it was very easy to get confused about why certain things happened differently at first... but ultimately, I wasn’t that bothered by it because I just wanted some good Stevidot. I’d figure out the finer details later. 

I really do owe this author more props than I’ve actually given - she’s one out of two readers I know for a fact have been following my series since the beginning without missing a beat. I’ll probably review her newest story sooner or later now that it’s complete. 

Not gonna lie, though... when I saw our numbers side-by-side like this:

Considering they’re very similar stories (Stevidot smuts that were originally meant to be one-shots), mine is over a month old and hers is only a few days old and there’s already that big of a gap in our numbers? 

It’s hard not to feel like a failure; like I did something horribly wrong to suck this bad by comparison. 

I really should stress that I bear no ill will against Sinderella or any Stevidot author; this isn’t a competition, so this isn’t a matter of popularity. I knew coming into this that I wouldn’t get popular overnight; especially not with such an unpopular ship being the focus of my story. 

But when other Stevidot stories get frequent reviewers that I’ve never seen once acknowledge my stories even passively, I can’t help but feel like I’ve massively fucked up somewhere. That despite all my efforts, I might as well be invisible. When they say “Oh, good thing your story is here! It’s been such a Stevidot drought around here until you came along!” to other authors after I’ve written half a million fucking words in under a year for this ship...

You know, is it unreasonable to feel that I utterly fucking failed in several ways? 

I guess it’s no wonder why I’m struggling to keep writing. I still want to - like I said, I’m at a part I’ve been eager to write for a while now - but ever since I started it, I’ve just hated almost all of what I have so far (almost 8k words). And I’m really having trouble trying to salvage it.

I’m honestly not the type who’d scrap all my progress and start from scratch once I’ve gotten this far in. But maybe I’ll have to make an exception this time, because I think I finally made the mistake of trying to write while being mentally and emotionally distraught.

I thought I’d calm down once I wrote all this out, but honestly, I’m not really feeling it. Now I’m wondering if I should have just reached out to someone instead of making this, because now I’ll come off as a whiner with my pansy-ass first-world problems. 

But then again, I’d be an asshole to subject anyone to my idiotic woes. 

Maybe this’ll pass. I’m hoping it’ll pass. I really, really really really don’t want to lose my drive to write again. I was used to it coming and going in short and random spurts for almost all my life - then it finally came to me and stayed with me just a little under a year ago, and I’ve been desperate not to let it go because I’ve been more productive now than I’ve ever been in my 20+ tenure as a writer. 

I don’t want this to go away. There’s still so much more I want to tell. 

But then my logic goes... if you tell the story and no one’s there to hear it, is it ever really told?

#irl shit #stevidot #fanfiction #writing #self-esteem issues #self-worth issues #a cry for help #or therapy #or something #I probably shouldn't have made this #where did i go wrong

[awaylaughing]

Aaand More Changeling

This is...one 1/4 review and 3/4 impressions and opinions. It’s more non-spoilers but I do get into as much detail as I can so watch out JUST IN CASE. There is a link to a spoiler-y critique though, so don’t click that if you don’t want to see it. Also this is like, 3K long. So it’s loooong and if you are on mobile I am so sorry.

@steamberrystudio tagging you guys since you sorta asked, but like I said it’s long as heck so don’t feel pressured to respond to it any time soon.

OVERALL

MAN I love this game! It has a few flaws here and there (I swear in one route Spencer claims his left eye was blinded but I have...no memory which route that was...either Marc, Danny or Elliot??) but over all it’s well written with amazing sprites (ELLIOT IS SO CUTE AND I WILL KEEP SAYING THAT GUYS) and backgrounds. The CGs have been picked on a bit but I think really they have varying quality. I’m not super CG focused so I didn't hugely take notice tbh.

Onto characers/routes

Nora!

Nora is terrific. She's a fully fleshed out character with a coherent personality that remains true across all routes. Some routes, due to the circumstances, emphasize certain traits more than others but at no point does Nora just...became a different person to fit with the LI.

I will say though, just because she was coherent and well written does not mean she’s never frustrating. She is, after all, a teenager under stress. There's one route in particular where I wanted to smack her upside the head but that's just because one of Nora's key traits is non-complimentary to one of mine. I think it's probably a good sign of writing that I like her anyhow - and feel so strongly about it. She has flaws, she has strengths, and the two are not as clearly delineated as all that - what works in one scenario or route might be a poor coping mechanism for the next, etc.

I never tired of her, anyhow and I always rooted for her. She won’t be to everyone’s taste, but she is a solidly written character I forgive a lot of flaws when that’s the case. And I did actually like her over all.

Though I will say, I feel bad she never eats the breakfast her mom makes. #easilyguilted

Anyhow what more can I say...Nora's plot line is the key plot line here (I call it a sub-plot a few times but it's really a co-plot) and is handled more or less similarly in each route. How you get the answers to your questions varies, and the trouble you get in varies, but the outcome in the good endings is roughly all equal. This was a little unsatisfactory in one route (detailed below) because of what I consider "integration" issues with it's co-plots.

Also Nora's boy-phobia in every route is hysterical after you've played enough of them.

On to LIs – I'm doing these in the order I played them, so the reviews may reference one another a bit for comparison because I'm lazy and self-referential writing is easy.

Ewan

Okay so full disclosure – I always love anything Fae and I always like the Tall One(TM) so I am hugely biased in favour of Ewan. That said, his route is superb, with a huge focus on exploring Nora's life in a way that interacts with Ewan's. His story really unfolds in relation to how you interact with him - and not just in the obvious way but because, unlike some the plot in his story is very personal and very much reflects Nora’s progress.

The route really deep dives into what's going on with Nora - not just near the end but from the very start. It has a lot of Ally in it (more than Corvin's route, I felt) and plenty of Spencer. In general I'd say family is a strong theme through this whole route - not just yours. If that's the sort of story line you appreciate - I strongly recommend Ewan.

As a character Ewan sort of looks the part of the bad boy but doesn't really fall into any of the true stereotypical behaviour. What he does follow is really very reasonably applied and has ties to his actual personality. He has great banter with Nora and a solid personal arc that he is polite enough to explicitly spell out for you about half way/three quarters through.

Also in other routes he consistently overcomes his Ewan-ness in the name of sandwiches which is, frankly, adorable.

Since this story really gets into the nitty gritty of Nora's personal plot, it could feel slightly "spoilery" for the over all mystery. On the other hand, I found it really let me focus on the LI-related plots, since I wasn't trying to split my focus since I knew what was going on with Nora.

Lastly – this route has a key supporting character who I adore. Honestly he might be my favourite supporting characters just for being so damn cute (well, second, I love Ally dearly). This felt like a pretty “social” route, with lots of the other LIs popping in, a good amount of your parents and lots and lots of Spencer.

Over all, this is a very strong route and my personal favourite.

Corvin

Corvin's route is a lot more traditional than Ewan's. The content is definitely closer to a 50/50 split and the LI plot and Nora's plot don't really integrate the same way – but they do interact. Corvin's personal plot also ties into Nora in a way that really explores the world and a side-character you see in several routes. Like Ewan’s it’s a slightly more personal plot than some of the other routes, in that it really deals with Corvin’s own outlook and beliefs.

I did find Nora a tiny bit frustrating in this route - but really only because I'd done Ewan's first. So another thing to consider when choosing who to do first (if you haven't decided, if you were excited for someone before reading this do them first!!)

Corvin as a character is wonderful – he has an appreciation for Nora that's really very sweet and his interactions with the rest of the cast are generally either hilarious or sweet. Like Ewan, he's not shallow and actually has a very interesting personal plot that dives deep into a totally non-Faerie aspect of the paranormal.

Corvin’s route is a bit insular in the same way Ewan’s was, but with different people in play. This is not a bad thing – each plot line uses the characters it needs to get the story to work. No one feels “left out”, I’m just making note of things really (I DO have critiques they are just not right here). Lots of Ally still, and a decent amount of Spencer for people invested in their platonic relationships too.

Special note on the (best) ending here – I liked it a lot (a lot) because it really dived into some interesting aspects of the setting which sort of tips me as liking this route more just in general though Corvin’s over all sort of tied for 2nd for me. While not my favourite route, I consider it equal in strength to Danny, Marc and William’s routes (maybe Ewan’s? I’m biased okay).

Danny

This route is a lot of fun – it's the first one I did where I felt like I was dealing with actual antagonists. There is certainly conflict in the other routes and even interpersonal conflict but it’s a very different flavour than what you get in Danny’s route.

And also, Nora is so thirsty in this one (but she cannot be blamed...Danny is fiiine)

Danny is not complicated – again not shallow and totally has depth – but he is genuinely as nice as he seems when you first meet him. Like seriously – I was grinning like a deranged loon for a good chunk of their interactions because they're so damn sweet. You also get a slightly different “take” on Nora’s personal plot in this – since it’s all the same plot the revelations don’t change but the outlook of people involved do inform their opinions on everything. This is one of the key examples of the really solid writing you find in Changeling actually.

As for side characters - there are a few unique to Danny's route. I liked them - at the very least as plot intensifier if not because I actually would want to hang out with them. You also get more Vilos (swoon) in Danny's route than you do Ewan or Corvin's. That said, the route specific characters are great and I want so badly to wrap some of them in blankets and feed them lycanthrope-friendly foods.

Plus Nora gets to party with everyone in this one* and it’s fun**

Danny’s route is a lot of fun and I liked it’s conflict quite a bit.

*wherein party is used colloquially to refer to any event, not an actual party

**wherein fun is not an objective term

Elliot

Okay Elliot let's see...well first off I love Elliot so much. His route has what might be my hands down favourite scene in all the routes. I have a save right before it to go re-live it again. Frankly, Elliot’s just adorable and several times had me cackling with amusement. He definitely has a very touchy route, so good for those of you who like hugs*

That said this is probably the route I'm most torn over story line wise, going so far as to say it’s my least favourite route, despite having one of my favourite love interests. Elliot and Nora's interpersonal plot is great, and Elliot's plot is pretty strong but I feel like the integration of Nora's plot with Elliot's is the weakest. I think the issue is the one I alluded to at the start – there are three fairly major plots in this route and not enough time to settle them all properly. Indeed, the Nora-Spencer plot line in this one frankly feels like it needed way more work on it and the way it’s handled while understandable, isn’t really what I think it needed.

Nora also in this one bugged me a little – but it wasn't so much that Nora was hugely different as this route really brought out the personality trait (shown in other routes) that I least enjoy in her (as in, it's one that bothers me for IRL people too, not in that it's poorly written).

There's not much to say on side characters - this route has lots of Marc in it which I really enjoyed, not getting a lot of him in the other routes but not a tonne of anyone else. In fact, the cast is pretty much the Lewises, the Vampire LIs and [Brenna - who is fantastic] for a good chunk. There is a reason for this in story, and in the end you do see mostly everyone for the last chapter or two.

I might recommend doing Elliot first, because I think maybe I was a little frustrated more by having other endings to compare it to. Over all I would say I think this is the weakest route, almost entirely on the merits of its ending rather than the strength of individual plots or characters. My spoiler-y critique can be found here.

*Not actual hugs but this game doesn't include any sexual elements and I'm trying to be both informative and incredibly vague

Marc

I did not expect to like Marc as much as I do. I don't tend to gravitate toward the standoffish LIs but Marc is a swell guy. He has his reasons, but also he's hugely more than just standoffish with very clear desires in what he wants for you.

You get lots of Cryptic politics in this route so I looooved that and it meshes pretty well with Nora's plot because it does not require the same level of focus-switching as in some of the other routes, with “lower” stakes or ones that are at least very personal to the characters.

The side characters are good – I felt so bad for one of them in this just...honestly terrible. And also, I wanted to light them on fire. Yeah for duality~ William pops up more in this route too! He's a sweetie. And he has a great scene with you in chapter. There's a goodly amount of Ally, and lots of Spencer. So much!

Speaking of Marc strongly dislikes Spencer and I while feel bad for Spencer – and Marc definitely is projecting some personal issues here but – it's nice to have someone completely in Nora's corner (also, it's hilarious after a point, at least if you have a slightly evil sense of humour). So if you want to feel vindicated about Stuff, I suggest watching Marc snark on your brother.

Marc is another strong route with a good conflict that blends the personal and the issues of the wider Cryptic community well.

William

William is, as stated elsewhere, a cutie. And what a sad cutie he is! My instinct, tbh, is not to want to kiss him it's to teleport to Pine Hollow and adopt him and shower him with platonic affection while somehow not enraging his groupies.

Nora is...obtuse in this route – I know she's overwhelmed but she takes a bit to clue into something hugely obvious. I chalk this up to her gut instinct to normalize things as best she can, but it does grate a little bit (in other routes I've been hesitant to note it because I'm fairly certain a large part of it is my familiarity with her plot line, rather than things being obvious)...but she blames poor helpful wee friend in this and D':

Anyhow – though this isn’t my favourite route I do want to highlight one part of it. I mentioned in Elliot’s route there are balance issues. Well William’s route is a display of excellent writing that invokes that and makes the fact there’s so much to cover and so little time part of the plot and problem. It’s also got excellent pacing – like Ewan’s route I spent a lot of this on edge because I knew something was coming and was just waiting for the shoe to drop. When it did it was a very “oh shit!” moment.

This has a pretty good number of supporting characters. You meet Guess, who is mentioned in Elliot’s route but I don’t think any others, who is a very interesting character.

William’s route I think utilizes the conflicts inherent to the characters super well, and has a really fascinating divergence based on your choices.

Non-route stuff

Ally

Not a route, but she's a constant I need to say that I love her. She's clearly an excellent friend and her relationship with Nora is strong in every route – though as I mentioned slightly more or less present depending on which route. She's never ever erased from the story line though - so don't fret about an LI replacing her just because she gets less screen time in certain routes. In those cases, it really has to do with the scope of the subplots in play rather than a hierarchy of importance of relationships and Nora never “switches” focus because she found a “more important” relationship (quotations bc I think that concept is bullshit).

Spoiler Character

There's a character who's just...a walking spoiler so I can't speak to them other then I really like them a lot. They're role varies per route but I find them very interesting in each and the routes come together to form their personality. I actually like them a lot, despite their role in everything and wish we could have seen more of them. This character really shines in a few routes – William’s and Corvin’s I’d say.

Spencer

Best awful little brother ever, would constantly attempt reconciliation with again.

But seriously, I quite like Spencer and his involvement varies - there's tonnes of him in Ewan's route, the relationship is a bit more tense in Danny's route, but in general the same story beats are hit if you're trying to repair your relationship. Because I am a huuuuge sap I have not done anything but that, so IDK what it's like if you engage in mutually assured destruction tactics.

I will say Spencer varies a lot per route - so it could be you get a route where he's less likeable depending on where you start. I wanted to drop kick him in one of the routes, but he was plenty likeable despite being a jerk in mooost of the others (people with contentious sibling histories might find some of it difficult? I don't have any expertise in that so I can’t say sorry).

The Brownie

Cutie. Such a cutie. Again you see more of them (I am not up on my brownie sexual dimorphism nor their place in the gender binary) in Ewan's route (since it's the Fae route) and I love them dearly and feel weirdly protective of them. Also Nora calls them ugly and Nora is wrong. See first word: c-u-t-i-e.

#changelingvn #changeling #it's a review! #but like #barely #i focused on story bc i don't know shit about art of ui design lmao #i am made of opinions and trivia #and trivia has no place here #so have my many opinions

[evolutionsvoid]

As an experienced natural historian, I have dealt with a wide variety of flora and fauna that can be found throughout our world. I have studied Great Mottled Caecilians in the rainforests, traveled with Trolls across great mountain ranges and nearly froze my roots off trying to track Arctic Wolf Fleas across the icy tundra. Not to praise my own petals, but many see me as one of the top researchers in this field. Despite all that, though, I have to question if I am qualified to even write an entry on such a species. While I could write about anatomy, behavior and reproduction of other species with ease, these creatures defy a lot of things I am used to. Honestly, I don't even know if I completely understand how their anatomy works! A part of me thinks that a mage would be better suited for such an entry, but I will do my best to tell you about these strange creatures. I probably know just as much about Sphinxes as the next guy does. The first thing to note about Sphinxes is that they do not appear to have a preferred habitat or environment. This is due to the fact that they seem to not even live on the same plane of existence we do. Much like the Aelf, they appear and disappear at will, showing up without rhyme or reason. This is baffling and frightening to many because Sphinxes are pretty big. They reach the same size as some dragon species, making them quite intimidating when they happen to appear in the middle of town. They are quadrupeds, preferring to walk about on all fours, strutting about with the elegance and ego of a really big cat. That is honestly the closest comparison you could have between a Sphinx and an existing animal, they act like giant cats. The way they walk or jump, the way they stretch when they are tired or bored, the way their tail swishes about without a care and the way they gain entertainment from the suffering and despair of others. It's kind of unsettling how close those two match. 

While this comparison may make one assume they are just big dumb cats, one must realize that Sphinxes are incredibly intelligent creatures. Their knowledge blows scholars and mages out of the water, which is surprising when they drop an incredible piece of wisdom with the nonchalance of someone ordering gravy off a menu. Though one may appear on the southern continent, they can easily tell you about things out east as if they had just finished vacationing there. It is obvious that I bring up the riddles and puzzles that they so enjoy, which attests to their knowledge. One thing to know, though, is that they are not all-knowing. As legends and encounters say, there are things Sphinxes do not know, they just happen to know a lot. You won't trip them up with common knowledge, you will need to delve deep into a subject to start finding things they haven't learned yet. On the subject of riddles, it is time we bring up the motives of this species, or what we think is a motive. History has seen several famous Sphinxes appearing over time, each different from the last, but each sharing some common themes. Some Sphinxes have terrorized the countryside, deploying deadly puzzles and devouring the losers. Others have created great lairs and dungeons in which they rule and hoard. Certain encounters have had some showing up to toy around with people, speaking of riddles and puzzles but not eating those who come up empty. It is a strange spectrum of behavior, ranging from voracious tyrant to bored, playful titan. The one theme we can find that connects them is entertainment. Saying it out loud is a little weird, but that is the best we can come up with. Sphinxes who show up in our world seem to be looking for some kind of amusement. Much like how each person has different hobbies, each Sphinx has different ways to amuse themselves. As I mentioned before, some may become monsters who ravage the lands and take entire towns hostage as they play the role of some demented tormentor, while some find fun in bamboozling people with riddles and tricks. Intricate lairs and dungeons formed in mountains and valleys may be an enjoyable hobby to one, as they take pleasure in making elaborate traps and thwarting eager treasure hunters and monster slayers. It all depends on the individual who arrives. So if a Sphinx appears outside your town, pray that it is one who prefers logic puzzles over the taste of human flesh. Though not every Sphinx is a destructive monster, each is well equipped to take down foes (prey is probably a better word, though). Their sheer size and strength already makes for a tough fight, but their intelligence and magical abilities makes slaying them an extraordinary feat. Their magical prowess allows them to unleash devastating spells and they are clever enough to use such powers to create traps and set ups that can take down foes before they even realize their mistake. Though large, they are quite fast, which combined with their size allows them to turn their bodies into battering rams. Their tails are prehensile and can act much like a boneless arm, slapping away foes or snaring them in its grip. The "wings" they possess are tipped with venomous barbs which can paralyze the muscles of those they sting. These stingers are often employed by Sphinxes who enjoy playing a deadly game of riddles. When one fails to answer their riddle, the stingers will whip down and paralyze them, allowing the Sphinx to devour them with ease. Speaking of eating, that mouth is another thing you have to watch out for. With broad, cracking teeth, they can crush metal and stone within their jaws. An odd thing to point out is that the huge mouth on their chest isn't used for talking. Instead, their voice seems to come from the organic vents that are positioned below their eyes. It's quite bizarre. Also, to top it all off, Sphinxes have the ability to create portals out of thin air. With a mere thought, they can open up a gate between places and stroll from one land to another in the blink of an eye. These portals have a wide array of uses, like catching fleeing victims without moving, redirecting spells in complex patterns, hopping from one place to the next and even creating complex dungeons that defy reason. Those who have triumphed over Sphinxes in their lairs have claimed that large chunks of these domains simply blink out of existence with the departure of the creature. I guess it explains how they are able to make such massive labyrinths in such tiny spaces. Now I cannot go too far into this entry without bringing up my encounter with a Sphinx. For the longest time, I had never seen one. They rarely appear in this world, and often disappear just as quickly. Having one show up anywhere near me during my travels was like praying for a miracle. For years, I would hear stories about them, but I could never be around when one showed up. It is more frustrating than the situation with the Aelf, because I at least know it is impossible for me to meet one of those, but the mere ounce of a chance of seeing a Sphinx was excruciating to deal with. At last, though, my time came. I was out studying Rock Dragons in the canyons when a messenger raven dropped a letter at my camp. One of my associates had written to me saying that a Sphinx was spotted out on a plateau that was a five day journey away from me. He said he didn't know when it originally showed up or when it would disappear, but he thought to let me know. I immediately dropped everything and rushed to the scene, writing back to my friend mid-journey. I traveled without rest for days, moving as fast as I could so that I didn't miss my chance. There was not telling when the Sphinx would be driven off or would decide to go home, so I hoofed it the whole way. I did the five-day journey in four, and I was at the verge of collapse when I finally finished my climb onto the plateau and looked to find it empty. Words cannot describe the sheer anger, frustration and disappointment I felt at that moment. I would have burst into tears if I had the energy to do so. All that effort was wasted, the Sphinx was gone. I was ready to give a good cry when someone awkwardly coughed behind me. I turned around to be stunned by the Sphinx, who was just sitting there. I later learned that he had caught wind of some "explorer" who was dying to meet him, and he figured it would be an amusing event. To make things more fun, he hid during my arrival just so he could pull this mean prank. What is with people pranking me all the time? What have I done to deserve this? Anyways, I rejoiced at the sight of him, as I finally had the chance to meet a Sphinx, despite the fact I was moments away from dropping from exhaustion. I introduced myself to him and told him about my background. He seemed to find amusement in me, so he agreed to talk with me further. However, my fatigue made such an interview difficult, so I asked if I could meet with him tomorrow. Thankfully he agreed to that as well, so I went to set up camp. Before I could even open my backpack, there was a flash of light, a mighty shove and I tumbled into the front desk of an inn. Originally, I thought I had just woken up from a dream after some traveler hauled my exhausted carcass to an inn. The terrified owner didn't give me any details, he just threw me my keys and pointed me to my room. Never had a bed felt so good! I passed out the moment I hit the hay! Dream or not, a good night sleep was the greatest thing at the time for me. I don't know how long I slept, but sunlight was what woke me the next day. The blinding light roused me from my slumber and I opened my eyes to find myself in a bed that was sitting in the middle of the plateau. I practically screamed when I saw the Sphinx staring at me like a creep! Thank goodness I had the thought to wear a sleeping gown that night! Of course the Sphinx thought it was hilarious as I scrambled to figure out what was going on. Turns out he dropped me at the inn last night to get some rest, then teleported the whole bed back the next morning to give me a scare! I pointed out to him that this prank seemed more creepy than funny, which he found endlessly amusing. No matter who I deal with, someone is always trying to pull a fast one on me. After changing into proper clothes and collecting my faculties, I finally had my chance to talk this Sphinx. My first question was his name, which he told me. I then promptly asked him to say it again, as it was some sound I couldn't comprehend or even write. I wound up calling him "S" as that was the first part of his name that sounded remotely similar. I immediately threw dozens of questions at him, eager to learn more about his kind. S quickly cut me off and told me that such knowledge came at a price. I thought he meant a dual of riddles, which would put my life on the line. I have to honestly say I would have agreed to such a game. I know that sounds foolish, but discovery requires risk. Thankfully he did not go that route, rather he wanted to do what he called "Quid pro quo." How it would work is that I would tell S a piece of trivia or some kind of fact that I gathered from my journeys. If he did not know this fact, or found it amusing, he would allow me to ask a question. If I failed three times in delivering satisfying trivia, he would cut the interview short and call it a day. I agreed to the game and readied my journals. It was time for the duel to begin! Surprisingly, I actually got him with a few. A part of me was worried I would botch it three times in a row and fail, but I actually interested him with a few pieces! It seems that Sphinxes don't know as much about the Underworld as other places. I am guessing it is a tight fit down there for them, so they avoid it. I was able to ask him four questions before I bungled it, but that was good enough for me! My first was asking if his kind had any sort of culture or society, which S said yes to, only clarifying by saying "it's looser than you would think, but the others force a bit more order to things." My second was asking about Sphinxes and the Aelf, and what their relationship was. S said that the Aelf are a bunch of stuck up, self-serious, doom-sayers who really need to learn how to let go of a grudge. The Sphinxes aren't at war with them, but the two sides often get into arguments and fights. He joked about how Sphinxes are a funner bunch (despite the fact their kind sometimes devours people and terrorizes cities) and that they know that grudges are silly to hang on to. He did grumble, though, that there was one Sphinx that everyone seemed to despise. He mumbled something about how "she ruined the best one for the rest of us." The third thing I got to ask him was how their anatomy worked. It was a pretty broad question, but I figured I would try. S replied by going into detail about Sphinx reproduction which I quickly cut off and refuse to write down here. Clearly that reply was a joke, albeit a rather gross one. He did say that they have skeletons, but they weren't made of the same thing as people "from these parts" have in their bones.  My fourth and final question was the big one. I had two strikes at the time, I knew it was now or never to ask the burning question. I looked to S and asked why the Sphinxes came to our world. What did they want from us? What did they seek? S rolled onto his back to catch some sun and told me that "everyone needs a good rumpus room." He said nothing else, and I blew my chance when I failed for the third time. Before I could try and bargain with him, a portal opened up and he batted me into it. One nauseous second later, I found myself sitting in my old camp, where I had been studying Rock Dragons previously. S seemed to be done with me, having gotten all the fun he wanted at the moment. Though disappointed I didn't get to ask more, I was grateful I had the opportunity. That brief conversation I had with him will forever be burned in my mind. Happy with my luck, I turned to my camp to continue my research to find the hotel bed flattening my tent. S was done with me, but apparently still had to squeeze in one more gag. Funny enough, a few days later, when I was watching a family of the creatures drink from a river, I was caught off guard by their hatchling appearing right behind me. The inquisitive thing tried to nibble on me, thinking I was a cactus, which I was forced to fend off. This angered the mother, and I wound up running from an enraged female for the next two hours. Later that day, I received another message by raven saying that S had disappeared from the plateau for good. Something tells me that the "sudden" appearance of the hatchling was some kind of parting "gift" from him. I have to believe he was sitting somewhere that day, chuckling as I scrambled up monoliths to avoid being trampled.   And that is all I really have to say about Sphinxes. They are an odd lot who just seem to show up in our world for their own amusement. A part of me hopes to see S again, as there are hundreds of more questions I wish to ask him. The other part of me, though, kind of hopes I don't, because I am starting to get sick and tired of being the butt of every joke.   Chlora Myron Dryad Natural Historian

#monster #creature #sphinx #art #drawing #alien

[entergamingxp]

The Steam Game Festival 2020: Demo Impressions Lightning Round

June 26, 2020 4:00 PM EST

Having played the best, I now play the rest. Here are more demo impressions from The Steam Game Festival that didn’t leave the same mark.

The Steam Game Festival – Summer Edition’s first iteration has come and gone, and I feel like it was an overall success. Lots of up and coming games got fresh eyes on them to drum up interest and feedback. I took it upon myself to play huge swathes of them, and I’ve already covered the games that most stood out to me. But that’s only the 10 most impressive games of the 24 in total I played.

As before, I’ve written impressions and limited myself to two paragraphs per game. They aren’t as universally good quality this time around, but there’s still some potential gems buried away here. So, here’s the lightning round of my remaining demo impressions from The Steam Game Festival – Summer Edition.

Iron Harvest

A squad based RTS with steampunk mechs in an alternate history set a little after World War I. It’s set in the same world as the acclaimed board game Scythe. In practice, Iron Harvest plays a lot like Company of Heroes with a WWI skin featuring steampunk mechs. You build up your forces, take and hold resource points on the map, and try to beat the enemy before they beat you. I was looking forward to this game, but I honestly found myself quite underwhelmed.

The ability to pick up weapons from defeated enemies and change up your infantry armaments on the fly is neat, and the presentation is quite nice. But I just found that the gameplay is missing something. The cover system is very barren and requires you to build most of it, and units just don’t feel like they’re as effective as they should be. Unit control feels unresponsive, the mechs are visually impressive but clunky to move, and I just found myself failing to engage with it. It all felt very hollow and lacked any sort of punch or X factor when playing. I hope this can be improved before launch, but it ultimately feels like it’s too barren an experience as it stands.

The Survivalists

The Survivalists is a somewhat standard survival/simulation game. You’re a castaway on an island and have to scrounge for resources to survive, thrive, and eventually escape. In addition to the colourful pixel art, The Survivalists’ main gimmick are the friendly monkeys you can bring on your side. These can be trained to gather materials for you, mass produce basic crafting, or aid you in combat.

In practice however, I found the controls and UI to be fairly imprecise and unclear. Multiple times I thought I was teaching my monkey pal a new task and assigning him orders, only for it to do nothing or go completely awry. The system needs a little cleaning up, I think. Beyond this, The Survivalists is colourful, functional, and entertaining enough. It’s fairly generic survival stuff beyond the presentation at this early point, though. With that said, there did seem to be the promise of ancient ruins, pirate treasures, and other intriguing things to unearth from hints gleaned in the world. Hopefully there’s more spark and variety in the full thing.

Builders of Egypt

Back in 1999, Impressions Games released an Egyptian flavoured city builder called Pharaoh. This is a game that my teenage history nerd self played quite a lot of. Apparently, so did the makers of Builders of Egypt. This is effectively an attempt at making that classic game on a modern engine. Unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be anything on offer here that I couldn’t get from just replaying Pharaoh. And I don’t mean that to be a reflection of the early nature of development; it just seems like it will be a lesser game even when complete.

Pharaoh had real charm to its presentation, sound, and general design that I just don’t feel in Builders of Egypt. There’s a lack of colour and personality here that no amount of historical accuracy and high fidelity Unreal Engine lighting can replace. Now to be fair to Builders of Egypt, it’s a perfectly serviceable city builder with a solid theme. It’s possible that with enough time and effort, the mechanics and options for building cities here will really stand out. I just don’t see it currently, is all. It’s not a great feeling to want to go and replay a 20-year-old game after playing a new demo, unfortunately.

Stronghold: Warlords

After finishing this demo, I went to check who had developed this. I thought that this was someone trying to capitalise on the Stronghold name and legacy with a cheap knockoff, or else they’d managed to get their hands on the IP. To my surprise, it’s still the same developer that’s had the series since the original game. Sadly, that’s not the only thing that hasn’t changed since the first game, either.

Stronghold: Warlords is a city-builder/RTS with a focus on building and defending a castle or stronghold. Warlords is an eastern-themed one, and has a diplomacy feature by which you can bring the titular Warlords into your fold for bonuses. But the entire thing is ugly, slapdash, and controls awfully. Again, it feels like there hasn’t been any forward development or improvement from the very first Stronghold game(s) almost two decades ago. This will need a lot of work to make it even slightly comparable to those games. Given the poor reception Stronghold 3 got, I wouldn’t hold my breath.

Occupy Mars

Another survival game, and this one just begging comparison to the book (and film adaptation of) The Martian. The aim of Occupy Mars is exactly what the title says. You’re an astronaut on Mars and you have to gather resources and build up the facilities needed for future colonisation prospects. The gimmick for this one is that it is intensely micro-management heavy. For example, let’s say you want to get ore from a rock. Generally, survival games will let you hit it twice with a pickaxe and then pick up the ore. In Occupy Mars, you’ll start by breaking up rocks into smaller chunks a few times until they’re small enough for your rover’s crane arm to load them. Then you’ll be manually moving and opening/closing the crane’s claw to load chunks of ore into your trailer.

That’s only the beginning of the tiny details you’ll need to control and pay attention to. How about manually setting power consumption, dragging power cables around and placing them in the right sockets? Or having separate oxygen metres for your spacesuit and interior structures? I generally don’t mind this genre of game, but Occupy Mars felt way too technical and fiddly for me to gel with it. That said, this is absolutely a dream for a small niche of players who crave that level of simulation. I respect its commitment to detail-oriented gameplay and wish it well, so check it out if this is your thing.

Haven

Haven’s a potentially interesting one, but the short demo didn’t give me a lot to go off. It starts with a gorgeously vivid animated cutscene full of life and colour. The actual gameplay can’t match those visuals, but it definitely tries to match the aesthetic. Said gameplay is very movement centric, as you control your character(s) and glide over the landscape to collect resources and investigate the world. At the tail end of the demo, it surprised me by becoming an RPG, featuring an ATB-esque battle system. You control two characters with their inputs mapped to each half of the controller, and you unleash their appropriate actions in combos or sequence as appropriate.

More than anything, Haven is aiming to be a story-driven experience. The two characters are young and in a relationship together, making that abundantly clear in their early actions and dialogue. It’s all set amidst a somewhat fantastical sci-fi backdrop, and there’s definitely enough threads that pique my curiosity. At the same time, it could very easily crash and burn hard based on execution, and there’s a couple red flags in the dialogue that make me worried about that. So I’ve got a curious eye on this one, and we’ll see if it pans out.

Learning Factory

I’m still not entirely sure what to make of Learning Factory. It’s not unlike Factorio, that delightfully complex game in which you build massive automated resource collection networks. The look, layout, and mechanics of Learning Factory are almost identical to that, but on a very simple level. Despite this, it’s got a very stylised appearance, and the machines are being built in order to sell goods to cats and satisfy their needs.

Just when I thought this was a kid’s first Factorio, that’s when it kicked off the learning machines and data analytics angle. You take the data from selling goods to cats and then refine it via these learning machines to perfect your algorithm and maximise your sales. There’s even a tutorial and links to educational sources for more about learning machines. By the looks of it, the developers Luden.io have a focus on making educational games, so on that front I could see this being a useful resource. It’s not something that I’d want to play over its contemporaries, but I nonetheless respect this approach and wish the devs all the best in this undertaking!

Ostranauts

Ostranauts is a top-down adventure/simulation where you get a derelict spaceship working and set off into space with it, hiring your crew and making life work out there. Unfortunately, that description ends up being far more alluring than the game is to play. It’s another case of having incredibly technical mechanics that end up being really esoteric in practice. There’s an audience for this, but it isn’t for me. Instead, I just found it very unclear how I was supposed to proceed with actions and tasks, and struggled to even begin doing so.

In fairness, this seemed to be one of the least ready-to-experience demos I played; so much of this could just be technical difficulties. Lots of trial and error was required to even really begin, only to find certain aspects clearly bugged and broken. This is a game in dire need of a manual, but that’s currently complete absent. I get the feeling that I’d be able to fly a real space shuttle easier than I could a ship in Ostranauts, at least until there’s actual documentation present. There’s not really a lot I can say about this one, unfortunately. Alas, I’m not interested in seeing more of it.

Mr. Prepper

Based on its appearance, I assumed Mr. Prepper was going to play something like Fallout Shelter. In practice, it’s much more a standard survival game with resource collection and crafting. Even so, the unique perspective and dystopian “hyper American Dream” setting and narrative makes for a fairly compelling time.

You have to manage your usual gauges for survival and scrounge what resources you can, but you’re also being watched by government agents. There will be routine inspections of your house, so you have to hide all evidence of your secret bunker and illicit activities. This means keeping your house above ground in complete order, covering up workbenches, putting bunker entrances under a rug, and so on. It’s an interesting little spin on things, and I have to say that I’m intrigued by Mr. Prepper. Will keep an eye on this one.

Grounded

I’m still surprised that this is made by Obsidian. But then, considering the systems are largely just adding more survival and crafting aspects to The Outer Worlds, it’s not all that unbelievable. Grounded is yet another survival game, but this plays with the Honey I Shrunk The Kids formula. You’re a child/teenager who has been shrunk to the size of a bug, and has to survive a suburban backyard amidst an assortment of now very large insects.

Like so many survival games, the general mechanics and crafting options on offer here are nothing new. The aesthetic and concept of your resources being chunks of grass stalks and bug parts is remarkably endearing, though. There’s also a lot of nods to the era of ’80s/’90s aesthetics and a general Weird Science feel to it all, though. I’m not sure how much content and variety this will feature, but Grounded definitely felt more charming than I expected. Worth a look at the very least.

Arietta of Spirits

At a glance, Arietta of Spirits ticks a lot of boxes for a somewhat generic indie game. Colourful pixel art, classic action/adventure mechanics that evoke memories of classic games — 2D Zelda titles in this case — and a story that promises to be emotional and personal? That’s all here, and there wasn’t anything in my time with Arietta of Spirits that I hadn’t experienced like that before. Still, that’s disingenuous of me to say. Something doesn’t have to be unique to be good, and Arietta’s demo was good.

It’s pretty, playable, charming and fairly well-written. The concept of the spirit realm bleeding into the physical has lots of potential to work with. Gameplay mechanics were somewhat bland though, with little in the way of unlocks or special moves beyond slash with sword and dodge roll. There’s nothing bad or out of place here, it just hasn’t really done much to elevate itself. I’d need to see how Arietta of Spirits plays in later parts before I can make a solid judgement call here.

Wild Terra 2: New Lands

Wild Terra 2: New Lands is another survival game, but this time it’s an MMORPG. You start in the wilderness and have to gather resources to survive, eventually building up a base and developing technology. Skills will increase through use, and some scavenged items will be higher quality than others. Once again, nothing that the genre hasn’t seen before, but it’s got some depth and a decent amount of options in its tech tree to entice players.

What killed the game for me, then, was the MMORPG aspect. As an Australian, I connected to the Asia Pacific server first, only to find that lag and rubber-banding was pretty extreme. I tested out the gameplay systems and found them enticing enough, but swapped to the US server to see if performance was better. Technically, the latency was improved, but in exchange? Everywhere I moved to in every direction was filled with the camps and huts of other players, and almost all usable resources were now impossible to find and respawning insanely slowly. For a new character, it was practically unplayable. If this isn’t fixed or addressed by launch, Wild Terra 2 is likely dead on arrival. Some potential here, but the current state is worrisome.

Earth From Another Sun

This is a lawsuit waiting to happen. I feel like Activision-Blizzard is going to smite me just for even speaking about the existence of this game. Still, here it goes: Earth From Another Sun is a blatant asset flip that shamelessly plunders visuals and designs from the likes of StarCraft. If the thumbnail wasn’t a dead giveaway, then the fact that I was fighting a slightly modified Hydralisk almost immediately was. Mechanically, it’s a horde-mode FPS that tasks you with killing enough units in a time limit to progress to the next wave, gathering pickups and loot along the way.

There is so much wrong with this game, quite frankly. It’s a visual mess; not just for the cheaply-designed or copied assets but also just in how readable the UI and systems are. Nothing describes trying to figure out what I was doing better than “trial by fire,” as I had no recourse but to wing everything. And yet? I couldn’t help but find the idea of the game enthralling. A fast-paced and frantic FPS with numerous progression and customisation elements? I could see myself playing that. Or hell, just make a StarCraft FPS. Anything that isn’t this much of a mess. Steer clear of this one, but do take note of the ideas in the process, developers!

EarthBreakers

Speaking of an FPS based on an RTS franchise, who else remembers Command and Conquer: Renegade? Petroglyph does, because that’s what they’re attempting to reimagine with EarthBreakers. It’s a team-based FPS where you use resources collected by harvesting or through kills on building up an RTS-style base. You can use money on upgrades for you and your team, eventually producing base defences and vehicles to deploy. Ultimately, the last base standing is the winner.

References to the original C&C Renegade notwithstanding, EarthBreakers is a decent proof of concept. It’s going to need a lot more work to really shine, though. Movement was very floaty, and weapons didn’t feel particularly satisfying to shoot or land. Hitboxes were an awkward affair, and currently the only vehicle on offer are tanks so there’s not a lot of variety. As much as I love the concept and really hope for it to be polished and delivered, I’m not sure that Petroglyph has the chops to land a strong FPS that feels solid to play. Let’s hope I’m proven wrong.

And that’s everything I played for the Summer Edition of The Steam Game Festival. The event is over now, but many of these games will be developed further and available in the future. Some are worth keeping an eye on, and some are less so. But overall, this was a good event, and the availability of demos is only a good for customers.

Here’s hoping the trend will continue, and I shall likely to do this again for future events. For now, if anything piques your interest, you can click the links on each game in the piece above to wishlist them on Steam.

June 26, 2020 4:00 PM EST

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/06/the-steam-game-festival-2020-demo-impressions-lightning-round/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-steam-game-festival-2020-demo-impressions-lightning-round