Really? I’m excited to see it, then! (That is a cool quote.)
Also, yay for puns!
Lurking in the depths below, waiting, watching, hungry for books…
It’s The Readers!
(Cue cheesy 1950s horror film violin trills)
I mean at least it’s not The Blob, 'cause if it was The Blob I would probably die because I was laughing too hard to run away. (It’s basically a 1950s horror movie about sentient jello.)
Ahem, on topic: Cool! Okay, that’s good. It does mean updates will be shorter sections but- hey- that just means more cliffhangers to go around! But since they’ll also be a little faster you (hopefully) won’t have to wait that long.
They get this whole repetoire among the villains as like the person who isn’t affected by their scare tactics anymore and only the young, fresh-faced ones try to kidnap them because they’re so sure that they can be the ones to make the MC feel fear but, nope, no dice.
Imagine the MC having a whole arsenal in their closet of their “kidnapping kits”, we’re talking pepper spray, tasers, extra clothes, water, and power bars. If the MC starts a romance then whoever their romantic partner in will probably have some questions at first about why they have a Mace can taped under the kitchen sink. (And if they’re a hero/villain you can bet that they’re gonna add to the arsenal with things that they’re sure can help the MC protect themself, plus a panic button or something to let them know when the MC is in need of help.)
I also imagine the MC just showing up at their friends how now and then, a little scratched up, their friends always fret over what happened and the MC is just casually explaining that they had to skirt around the flaming pit of lava after untying themselves from the electric chair in a villains basement and it’s a long walk home, could they use the phone to call a cab?
I could totally see a hero-wannabe MC daydreaming about being a vigilante who, when kidnapped, can just activate their superpowers and bring the villains to justice themself, all the while playing the “helpless reporter” act just to get the villains to open up and expose their plans so that the MC can write about it later.
What if it was love at first sight for ex and manipulated MC into marrying them that night? The ex distracts MC from trying to get a divorce kind of like: “Hey, we should really see about getting a divorce.” “Have you ever been to Paris?” “No? What does tha–” “We should go. Now.” The ex proceeds to drag MC to the airport, “We don’t even have any plane tickets!” “Don’t need em.” And that’s how MC finds out their ex is filthy rich, they have a private jet. That’s how MC gets sidetracked. Every. Single. Time. Eventually MC gives up on trying to get a divorce.
So some time later, years maybe, things get worse. More often than not the ex is always gone when MC goes to bed because of “work”, so the ex says. MC tries to wait for their ex to come back but always ends up going to sleep by 3am, at first they were happy to wake up and find their spouse next to them in bed. As time wore on it became more often and MC couldn’t find any joy in it anymore, not to mention all of the “business trips” ex goes on and leaves MC behind. MC starts thinking there’s another person in ex’s life and keeps trying to lie to themself and eventually develops a sense of apathy (with a hint of resentment) and can’t be bothered to bring it up anymore because ex keeps telling MC they’re being silly.
Then, one day, MC wakes up and ex isn’t there when they usually would be. At this point, MC waits and waits, getting angrier for every second, minute, and hour that passes until they get tired of waiting and start searching the house for proof that ex was cheating on them. MC finds a spare super villain costume or something that links ex to being a super villain. They can’t stand the thought of their ex being a villain and cheating on them. MC finally manages to justify a divorce to themself and they try to hate the ex (MC realizes they can’t hate their ex after leaving), but they can’t stop blaming themself. So later that night ex comes home and MC tells them that they’re leaving and so that’s how the fight happens.
As they’re walking along, preferably getting soaked to the bone in rain, after sending ex the divorce papers, MC realizes they were in love and still are. They want to go back to their ex but they’re to stubborn.
So, yeah, they meet again, ex is trying to destroy Nickelport and MC walks up to them and slaps them, there’s a collective gasp coming from heroes and frightened civilians alike. The ex just grabs MC’s face and kisses them, shocking MC and someone shouts get a room (possibly Finley?). Then the conversation, or shouting match looks something like this: “MC, why did you leave?” “You lied to me and you cheated on me!” “I’m sorry I lied, I should’ve told you I wasn’t drunk when we got married and I should’ve told you I was a super villain, but how could you believe I would ever cheat on you!?” “You were never home, I lost count of how many times I went to bed alone!” It takes a second for ex’s admission to sink in, meanwhile everyone inches closer to hear the argument, “What do you mean you weren’t drunk when we got married!?” Red Light tries to be helpful, “Uh, shouldn’t this be private?” Both ex and MC tell Red Light to shut up. Ex continues, “I was trying to take over Paris for you! (or whatever city ex first took them to when they were trying to distract MC from divorce) I’ve loved you since I first saw you in that club, I’m sorry I took advantage of you but I’d do it again because I’ve never been as happy as I have with you!” MC is lost for words, maybe the argument continues or maybe it doesn’t, but it eventually ends up with ex hugging MC, mumbling mushy lovey dovey crap in MC’s ear while MC is sobbing into ex’s neck.
I love feeling my heart break for characters and tragic, tearjerking romances. Probably my favorite feeling in the world. Have you seen The Fountain, directed by Darren Aronofsky by chance?
Yeah… It was obviously intentional, but needless to say it did leave a bad taste in my mouth for the rest of the game. I don’t think my character ever finds out, either. For the rest of the game, whenever I see Morgan, he can’t even look at me and basically goes to school (monk training) to get away from me. Guilt-ridden, I assumed. But my character is left completely in the dark and kind of heartbroken, so it’s pretty shitty. But I became queen of Britain, if that’s any cancellation. Not all bad.
I imagine we’d take the form of sirens, lurking in some ominous, murky waters, tempting authors of all kinds into the depths below. That’s when we kiss them, feeding off of the literary ideas in their heads before drowning them and dooming them to their fate.
(Where did I go, just now? Loch Ness?)
Perfect As for the cliffhangers: at this rate, we’re gonna need some climbing gear and a few power bars.
It turns into this thing where some young, buck do-no-gooder captures MC, and in the moment after they reveal their evil plan or try some scare tactic, when they expect the MC to freak, they just don’t know what to do when MC is completely unintimidated by the death-ray pointed at their head, or the attack dogs blocking the exits, etc. That precise, speechless second is all the MC needs to go into their “turn your life around” spiel:
“Ok, kid. I get it. You think, if I steal and lie and scare people into giving me what I want, I’ll be on top of the world in no time. The people who step on the backs of everyone else always end up at the top, right? Wrong.Look at you. You’re young, cute, brilliant, determined as hell, and you have powers! You’ve got the whole world ahead of you! I can’t say the same. What you’re doing now? This is for old, strung-out desperados who have nothing else to lose. You can still turn back, before you do something you’ll regret for the rest of your life! While you still have a life, anyway… one worth salvaging. Because, if you go down this road, it will be long, and it will be lonely, and it will slope downhill faster than you can say, ‘I’m sorry.’ And you will be. You will be sorry you turned away from someone willing to help you, right here, right now, because you can bet your ass there won’t be any, where you’re headed. Whatever you’re fighting for, whatever you’re hoping to get out of this… this isn’t the only way. I swear, if you come with me, I will help you do whatever it is you’re trying to do, but I’ll show you a better way.”
Either that works or they get shot. Hell of a coin flip.
This got me thinking about… say the MC was dating a hero, maybe even someone who just knows popular/famous people in those circles. I’m imagining Red Light (again, placeholder) finding their “secret lair” (actually just a closet that looks like a bug-out bag exploded) and asking MC what that’s about. They explain that throwing their own ass into the line of fire for a good story can get particularly difficult without the proper tools, let alone without powers.
“Say no more,” Red Light says abruptly. “The problem isn’t the closet. The problem is your gear. Sure, this stuff will help you stay alive, but it’s just the bare minimum.”
“We can’t all be blessed with your salary,” MC returns defensively.
“Sorry,” Red Light sighs. “That’s not what I meant. What I mean is, I’m worried that you’re jumping into these life-or-death situations without the proper protection.”
MC narrows their eyes, “I can take care of myself.”
“I know.” Staring at the floor, Red Light takes a deep breath and turns his gaze back to MC, “I know how capable you are. It’s one of the many, many things I love about you. But no matter how amazing you are, that doesn’t change the fact that you are not invincible. I know I can’t stop you from hunting down stories, and I won’t try to. I just want to make sure that you make it out of the fray in one piece, okay?”
Proceed to Red Light bringing back lightweight, stylish, yet bulletproof clothes, including a jacket that’s fireproof and absorbs electrical pulses, collapsable staff, stun gun, grappling gun, flashbangs, smoke grenades, pocket first aid kits, etc. (Also a watch that has 2 buttons: one to signal Red Light to the watch’s location, and the other to call a self-steering hoverbike to the watch’s location. Christmas came early this year. )
And he starts training them so they can defend themselves a little bit, or they were already training somewhere else, in Muay Tai or kickboxing or something.
Or, this could be so commonplace with the MC, that the friends who put up with it are no longer surprised either. I’ll use Finley as an example:
Finley: [pauses Netflix, answers MC’s knocking] Get kidnapped again?
MC: Yep.
Finley: Flaming pit?
MC: Yep.
Finley: Electric chair?
MC: Yep.
Finley: Need to use the phone?
MC: Uh-huh.
Finley: [sigh; steps out of the way to let MC in] You know the drill.
MC walks in and turns in the direction of the phone. But before they can take another step further, MC is pulled into a surprisingly tight hug by Finley. “I’m glad you’re okay,” they say. MC, releasing a breath they didn’t realize they were holding, returns, “Thanks. You too.”
Oh boy, you’re gonna love Supergirl, especially season 2! (Not the same thing, but similar idea…)
I’ve been meaning to check this out since I saw it posted, but something always comes up when I would actually try I have to say I love the idea of my ex wife being a super villain (honestly I wouldn’t be surprised in the least if a few of my ex girlfriends really did become supervillians ) I’m really really excited to see how this comes together
You know what’s super funny about this little hypothetical right here?
It actually kinda used to be in the game.
Like in the first time around when I wrote this, the MC could discover the exes supervillainy in (I think) 3 different ways. One of which was the whole “suspect that they’re cheating on you and try to find out why and with who” which would inevitably lead to the MC finding out about their supervillainry. (The only problem was that I had no idea where to go from there- there was no real plot. So the story got cast into the void of “first page stories” and I didn’t think I’d see it again. But I really liked some of the characters so I kept going back to the idea and just writing/doodling little things about them. Then I decided to rewrite the story and actually give it a foundation to go off of this time around and… yeah, now we’re here. That being said- there’ll still be the option for the MC to think that they’re ex is cheating on them with somebody due to those long nights away. They might even come painfully close to finding out the truth, but they didn’t… not yet.)
Part of me is doing the oh, my heart and the other part is laughing because I’m just imagining Red Light and all the citizens being very, very confused when this evil supervillain starts acting all mushy and lovey-dovey.
I haven’t! I’ll need to look it up! (Dang, this thread is really good for getting recommendations on what to watch.)
Very well, my friend!
Ha! I love it. I can totally imagine them using this when some politician (coughcough Ricky Dempsey coughcough) gets on their nerves like,
“I tazed a goddamn supervillain to get my bank money, Ricky! I do not have the patience to put up with your shit today!”
Well there is that bonus, I guess?
Glad to know thats where I’m headed. Well if I’m going down I’m dragging all y’all with me in the form of emotional scenes and cliffhangers. Into the pit we go!
I was thinking more Creature from The Black Lagoon but Nessy works too.
Contact the MC, I’m sure they could hook you up.
I love it. I can imagine the MC does this everytime they get a young supervillain and sometimes- it actually works, and that even though they long to be a hero and save the world they don’t realize that they are a hero in a way- turning these kids lives around by speaking to them and telling them that the path they’re on isn’t the best.
And then years later maybe the MC runs into one of them on the street corner- maybe they’ve even turned and become a hero and the MC is investigating this hero that they’ve been assigned and they found out it’s this kid who they convinced to give up the life of a supervillain. The MC somehow can’t find any info but the truth is that they just don’t want to ruin this kids new career, maybe even shows up at one of their hideouts to give them instructions on how to hide their identity as a hero better so that nobody else can ruin this new life for them as well.
And when they do get shot you can bet that the villain is gonna be caught by some up-and-coming hero.
This is an amazing description.
This is great! I can totally see a hero (especially Red Light) doing this.
And when the MC does get hurt you can bet that they’ll be taking care of the MC and then also showing them basic first aid that they might need if they get hurt and the hero isn’t there to help out at that time. How to stitch a wound and stop bleeding, take out bullets, stuff like that.
Agh, my heart. This is so great.
I also just imagine that Finley’s an emergency contact number on their phone because they’ve got basically their own supply closet full of first aid after the MCs exploits.
OOh, really? Cool!
Yay! I’m happy you like the idea! (And glad you checked it out, aha!)
Thank you! I’ll do my best to make sure it all goes well!
When I first read this, for some reason I misread it and thought MC was a model and a reporter. Now I can see how I could make it a part of my headcanon, MC was a model before they got a divorce. Finding out their ex was a super villain kind of killed their ability to trust others, especially masked heroes and villains, so when they arrived in Nickelport they chose to find a job with The Nickelport Rust after finding out about the paper’s reputation.
I imagine MC’s ex would be giving Red Light a death glare because they just know Red Light has been trying to steal MC from them. Also, I think of ex as being protective, if not overprotective, so I think of the ex doing something to keep curious bystanders away while hiding MC from them. So, kind of adorable in a villainous way. After this post, I’m going to start thinking of the sweetest things ex has done with/for MC.
Yay! Sorry to hear you couldn’t get the original idea to go anywhere, though. But I am glad you reworked it into something you could work with.
If the ex is cheating on MC I’d imagine it would be with a hero and they’d probably ask that hero to watch over MC while they’re away. The hero would know ex is married, but what would it do to MC if they found out their ex was cheating on them with a hero? Anyway, to the hero’s surprise, MC is perfectly capable of saving themself, just so I can fit that beautiful headcanon in here.
Make sure you have a box of tissues when you watch it, trust me on this.
Aha! That’s super funny, especially since one of the exes hobbies is photography, and I’m just picturing how in this head cannon the MC and the ex met because MC was a model and Ex was the photographer at the photoshoot.
I love the quote “Adorable in a villainous way” sounds like a good way to describe many cats I know… (I have bad luck with cats, lots of the ones I know are just that- adorable, but in a villainous way. Save for one, she’s a sweetheart who catches mice at the barn and will follow around and likes to sleep on the saddle blankets. Ahem, sorry, sidetracked.)
Hmm… sweet things the ex has done with the MC? Well, depends on which ex but there are a few that might come up in the MC’s flashbacks.
Such as the first date with one of the exes if you chose to have been in love with your ex, good lordy is it awkward because Ex has no idea what to do and basically attempts at romance but kinda fails miserably because Ex has zero idea how to be romantic. But just the whole attempt and everything they’ve set up, even if it fails, is gonna be really cute… er, well, supposed to be, y’know?
I’m happy too! And, y’know, I think this version of it’ll be a lot better then the original ever could have- since there’s actually an end-point and reason to it all in sight!
Hmm… y’know I hadn’t actually thought of the possibility of the Ex actually cheating on the MC- just the MC thinking that they are. But if the player has already specified that the two weren’t in love (since knowing the personalities of the two I don’t think either would be the kind to cheat… ironic as that is considering that they’re both supervillains… but that’s only if they’re in love with the MC, and I could definitely see at least one of them pursuing other relationships if they’re not romantically attached to the MC…) and got married for some other reason- then it might be a possibility…
Okay, now I have something more to ponder over…
(Every time someone posts something new in this thread the game expands a tiny bit more because of all the head cannoning and inspiration and creativity here and it’s positively fabulous.)
Hoo, boy, now I can get ready to do my song and dance of trying to hold back the tears because it’s just a movie and therein failing miserably.
Tissues will be on hand, thanks for the forewarning.
Oh my god, I love this idea! I am really excited for more. Also. Married to a Supervillain? My weakness. I can’t wait to see the two character who can be the ex, I am already in love.
Omg that’s beautiful and I feel it’s something I would try to do in that kind of situation. Although, I’m not nearly as eloquent in speaking as I am in writing, plus it’s worse under pressure, so that’s likely to get me killed. Unless I’m really lucky, that is. But I’m ever the hopeful (albeit naive) optimist who tries her best to see potential goodness in everyone, so the probability of failure probably won’t stop me from trying to turn someone back from the dark side anyway.
I don’t know, I just like how this headcanon supports the idea that you can make a big difference in little ways, regardless of whether or not I really believe that. Everyone needs hope, and what else says “hope” like telling someone that they have a choice?
Even better, but I think this is what you were alluding to anyway: The MC finds this kid’s identity rather easily, but knows that exposing them would shoot down their chance at a fresh start before it even got off the ground. So, they start covering for this up-and-coming villain-turned-hero. It’s not until they start running out of excuses and Finley gets suspicious that the MC, as you said, starts contacting the new hero and helps them keep their identity under wraps.
Like the powered insurance agency-thing, I wonder how many powered youth-counselors and social workers that specialize in turning powered delinquents away from a life of villainy there are? Or, Scared Straight for powered kids?
Bringing up a question that’s been gnawing at me, although I fear the answer would be a majorly obvious spoiler: Why, exactly, is the MC working at The Rust? My initial impression was that it was a sleazy tabloid mag that specialized in ruining the careers of people who deserve the right to privacy. So, basically, I’m asking why I would work there when what that job entails goes against many of my own personal morals? What I suspect, unfortunately, is that MC took the job there because the pay was good/they had no other options post-divorce/they needed to get away from their spouse, even before they divorced them, etc.
I think it’s the first thing that came to mind because I associate bug-out bags so closely with earthquake kits, and the reason I thought of earthquake kits was because I assumed the city in which MCU takes place is in California. And that was because I had been playing Fallen Hero a lot, which takes place in what used to be Los Angeles, in addition to Heroes Rise which takes place in Millennia City, in California. So, because of CoG overload, I basically assume any city with a large powered populace is at least somewhere on the west coast.
Plus, I’d assume one would keep all of their defensive/protection/combat stuff and their survival essentials in the same place.
I totally agree, but I would think that, depending on how long MC has been doing this sort of thing, they know the danger of what they’ve gotten into and know at least the essentials of self-defense and first aid, especially if they started out doing this alone. Would you say, at this point, that the MC has taken some classes/picked up a few pointers/trained in some form of martial arts in order to make sure they don’t get themselves killed chasing a good story? Or is that something we can choose in the game? They would still need help healing and/or training regardless, but I just hope they’ve made some preparations themselves before risking their life all the time. Even though the MC’s powerless, I still wanna be independent and badass where I can be. Though, you did say we’ll be given the chance to catch up with the heroes, so I’m not too worried.
Also, about that lightweight, bulletproof clothing? The MC won’t have to worry about bullets too much if they go out in that. Obviously, they’re not invulnerable, so getting shot will still hurt like a motherfucker, but at least the clothes will protect against being filled with bullets.
That’s another useful profession in this world: fashion designers and textile engineers for heroes and villains. There’s probably even stores that sell clothes made with powered people in mind. I could see a store called “Kute in Kevlar,” selling some cute bulletproof fashions, though not top quality. Also fireproof fashions, clothes that protect against electrocution and energy attacks, things like that. Since Red Light appears to be quite popular, I assumed he could easily get in touch with someone he knows in the powered fashion industry, to get MC the highest quality protective wear possible, while factoring in comfort, aesthetic, and maneuverability/dexterity/speed. The first person that comes to my mind is Edna Mode, but hopefully the clothes won’t cost a fortune.
Totally, but I don’t think Finley would join MC too often on their story hunts, except in an absolute emergency (as in a rare situation in which Finley isn’t sure MC can get themselves out of it, which must be really bad). They’d mostly just support the MC and help with other things (I was thinking like surveillance/hacking, unless Finley isn’t that tech-savvy), but you know Finley better than I do.
And by the way, after I wrote that little excerpt, I imagined that, if the MC went down the Finley romance path, Finley would say to the MC, before they call a cab, that they might as well just stay the night at Finley’s place. If this is particularly early in the romance, Finley would give excuses, like “the cab will take forever to get here with traffic,” things like that. Or they wanted to show the MC whatever they were watching on Netflix just now, and MC falls asleep leaning their head on Finley’s shoulder, cuz I’m a sucker for that trope.
Speaking of cats, I think Chat Blanc would sound better as Le Chat Blanc.
That example sounds so adorable, I can’t wait to read about it!
A couple of things I’ve thought about: Ex drags MC into at least one tango everyday and somehow surprises MC every time. And breakfast in bed that usually ends up as a food fight in bed.
I kind of imagine MC and their ex would be one of those couples that don’t have a care in the world. Like, they’d start a food fight in a high-end restaurant (the kind with a dress code) or go wherever they want whenever they want to.
At first I was relieved that Ex doesn’t cheat on MC then I just imagined MC being in love with their Ex when their Ex isn’t in love with them. That would be incredibly painful to find out. Then there’s MC yelling at Ex about how they loved them and still do. I’ve already broken my promise of no more sad stuff.
I wouldn’t try to hold the tears back for this movie, it’s too beautiful and amazing and kind of tragic for that.
Imagine if that’s how the ex finds them, because they’ve just earned this city-wide reputation and it doesn’t make much for the ex to put two and two together…
It’s very roomy too, lots of floorspace. I mean, if I’m gonna make a pit I might as well make it a high-quality pit, right?
Ahhhhh!
(That image is A+, both of them are)
Haha!
(Also the update might come a little sooner than anticipated, since I’m also done with the cafe scene if you chose to go there, which would then be 2/5 scenes I’m gonna put up to test length vs. time -this would be the very short but much faster kind of updates, I’m experimenting with what works best.-)
I mean, that’s what makes a hero in some ways, isn’t it? Just giving it their all in a “damn the odds” kind of way to try and save even just one person?
Especially in a world full of heroes vs villains- I mean, how would you see a hero trying to reform a young villain? They’d mostly just be worried about stopping their plan to commit mass murder or take over the world, not actually reforming them- maybe it would take an outside perspective, someone who can speak to this villain who isn’t an enemy.
Yeah, yeah, that’s kinda where I was going. But I like the whole ‘Finley gets suspicious’- just imagine them confronting the MC and asking if they’ve been helping out this kid. I imagine an MC who’s friends with Finley might actually tell them that the kid used to be a villain and their whole story of how the kid ended up a hero and they don’t want to ruin it for them.
Finley then proceeds to tell the MC to pass onto the kid all the advice that they’ve learned can really stop a reporter dead in the tracks- maybe even subtly wipes the story out of the newspaper.
This is kinda what I wanted to explore with the whole Model Citizens book about a psychiatrist/counselor (still not sure if I’d write it though, I don’t have as good a plotline for that one as I do this one or the others), but yeah I imagine that there are quite a few young kids seeking help for this new thing they’ve found out they have- and maybe it scares them because they see what they have the potential to become (i.e. a villain). There’s also probably quite a few counselors who try to not-so-subtly nudge the kids towards becoming a hero and away from even a normal life. Some probably use scare tactics too. (Nickelport isn’t exactly the best place all the time. Which is something I’m hoping to give the player a lot more of a chance to just explore and see how not only having superheroes and battles around 24/7 can affect the city and just kinda the city unto itself.)
So there’s a couple of different reasons the MC ends up at The Rust (some of which are optional/vary from player to player), it is spoilery so I can’t say a lot, but it does have a lot to do with what happens post-divorce.
Whether or not it continues to be their motivation for working will also be up to the player, but there is a reason as to why they started working there.
That’s… really ironic, actually. I always pictured Nickelport as a mix between Seattle and Boston- so I hadn’t put much thought into whether it’s east or west coast… huh. (I also hadn’t noticed that they’re all in California- that’s really funny, actually!)
But yeah “large powered populace” fits the bill pretty well.
I hadn’t actually thought of self-defense classes or anything along the like, I was thinking mostly along the lines of wit and outthinking the villains since I feel like it’d be hard to attack someone like a supervillain physically when you posses no powers of your own (most of them are stronger than the average person after all). I can put it into the game as an extra option (maybe couple it with a couple of others), but I feel like it’d be kinda unrealistic to expect a normal person to beat someone with powers. But maybe that’s just me?
Plus, I wanted to experiment more with beating the villain with skills that would pertain to the reporter type (wit, charm, observation, perseverance, etc.) And making it a bit more difficult considering that the MC is up against professional criminals (and heroes too, since some of them aren’t exactly the happiest with what The Rust does.) But I would guess that the MC at least knows basic self-defense.
Sadly stuff like that probably costs a ton of money (at least the good quality ones- I mean look at a bullet proof vest by today’s standards- according to google it’s $119!)- so the MC would definitely need either a loan or to receive it as some kinda gift from someone like Red Light as you said. (I imagine that this is a big industry with a lot of very expensive high-end type of clothes since their main customer would most likely be the politicians/public stars that are often targets of villains and vigilantes alike.)
But as for like a Pearl’s of protective fashion? I mean there might be lower-quality cheaper versions of this, but they’re probably poorly made and have a lot of just manufacturing problems (although I could see the MC starting out with something like this, and maybe if they earn enough money could upgrade their gear. I could implement a system where the MC can choose to update their camera for photographs, computer for research and writing, wardrobe for fashion, wardrobe for self-defense, and self-defense equipment, car, living space, or to save their money. I mean I already have a money system in place that’ll come into play later on and affect reputation but… hmm… I’m gonna have to experiment with this…)
Also the name “Kute in Kevlar” is absolutely genius, by the way.
I mean, Finley is really, really good at what they do. Like MC said when introducing them, they were a rising star in the reporting world, and would’ve been on their way to the top-dogs if they hadn’t decided to quit actively reporting and run The Rust instead. So they’ve got quite the skill-set, most of which has to do with information gathering/fact checking, and as you’ll see if you chose to talk to go and talk to Finley they can definitely help the MC out when needed.
This is so cute. (That trope is absolutely adorable, I agree).
I also imagine a romanced Finley would fuss over MC whenever an especially injured MC would show up at their house. Like the MC would be cool with just calling a cab and being on their way but Finley would want to make sure that the MC is okay before they so much as take a step out the door, they wouldn’t even try to play it off casually, they’d just straight-up tell the MC that they’re not gonna just let them leave injured and spend the rest of the day worrying if the MC made it home okay, that they’re gonna make sure that they get fixed up before they go off adventuring again. (A sassy MC might tease them about being a worrywart.)
Yeah, you’re probably right, haha. (I just wasn’t sure if it’d sound too cheesy?)
These are adorable oml.
I imagine MC and the Ex would probably get kicked out of said high-end restaurant but they wouldn’t care, they’d just proudly stride out of there with tiramisu stains on their clothes and pasta in their hair. (One of the exes would be the type to slip the wine bottle into their coat and not tell anyone, then when they both got home they’d give it to the MC “as a present”.)
By the time this game updates my heart will just have been speared through and just have this giant, gaping hole in the middle.
Oooohh, boy, I have a whole folder of just sad stuff as ideas for this game. (Granted, I also have a folder full of silly/happy/fluffy/cute stuff… well, more like 5 but yeah. Not all are in the game, some are just fun hypotheticals I came up with to help me flush out characters/personalities more.)
Agh there’s so much stuff I want to give examples for but basically every single one of them contains a major spoiler so I can’t but I really want to.
Sooo a couple questions, firstly how long until we can get some face time with the ex? Second thing is will the ex be a possible RO? The idea of having an ex spouse in a game is just soooo awesome, I mean the sheer amount of emotional baggage and tension that can come out of it has me reeling.
Depending on how their marriage ended, I’d imagine the ex’s initial reaction could be anything from amused anticipation, to reawoken lovesickness/desire, to “…Oh shit.”
Also, quick question about the ex(es?): Are they more what you’d expect of a villain, overall immoral with a complete disregard for human life, while also having a tragic backstory that explains how they got here but ultimately doesn’t justify any of the horrible acts they’ve committed? Or do they live in a much more grey area, an example being my character in Fallen Hero: goes to great lengths to cause as little harm to innocent civilians as possible, seething hatred for the upper class/people in positions of power who take advantage of their status and don’t care about who they have to step on as long as its for their own benefit, became a villain to reveal the vile underbelly of the government, etc? Basically, a minimally problematic villain, but at the end of the day, still a villain. Or do they lie somewhere in-between? (Sorry, I only just realized when I finished typing that that it’s probably another really spoilery thing you can’t say anything about…)
We might as well just set up a thriving settlement of readers and writers. We could even put together a live band, get some music in here. It’ll be like Renaissance Venice, except, y’know… a pit.
Thanks. It was a gruelling 5 minutes in photoshop.
That’s great news! Don’t sweat it though, I was only joking about the “when’s the next update” thing. It was a nod to those comments on wip threads that taught me you’re not supposed to do that here.
Tbh this made me feel really good about myself just now. I hadn’t really thought about it like that before, cuz I’d always thought it was just the dumb, impulsive thing to do, and yet I’d still do it anyway… But you made me see it as a positive, so thanks for that! (Also I got a little Han Solo vibe, with the “Never tell me the odds.”)
Exactly, man! From my point of view, in this situation, I would just see someone who needs help, no matter their intentions. They could even be fighting for a good cause. (Again, Fallen Hero’s made me look at some villains a little differently…) They just need to rethink how they’re going about achieving their goals. And, unfortunately, a lot of the time, there are gonna be those people who have nefarious plans and would do anything to achieve their goals, people who have passed the point of no return. Still, with those people, I’d try to make them see the error in their ways. But, if they feel no remorse, and couldn’t care less about whose lives they have to ruin or end to achieve their goals, and those goals cause more pain and suffering, that is when they are beyond help.
Maybe I just have too much faith in people… Or, that could be my superpower. It’s a toss-up.
I’d like to think the natural progression from here is Finley doing a complete overhaul of the content of The Rust, until it is completely unrecognizable from what is used to be about. Like, I don’t know, they start reporting on news that matters…?
Idk why, but I just instantly imagined an indie/short film focused on group therapy for powered youth in a society where superpowers are still new, so these kids deal with hate and prejudice and are being told that their gifts are actually curses, etc. Basically it’s a huge symbol for homophobia/transphobia and its effect on kids/teenagers only just now figuring out their sexuality/gender identity and I should write this down somewhere…
OH and the viewer isn’t given context that it’s about superpowers until the end. Now I’m done.
Ok, gotcha. That’s kinda what I suspected anyway. I imagine, when the MC found out they were married to a supervillain, they confronted their spouse as soon as possible. However that went down, I’d assume that the MC would want to get away from their spouse as fast as they could, pack a bag and everything. Then, while stewing in some janky motel and rethinking their entire relationship, the MC starts to plan the rest of their life, starting with divorce papers, and eventually leading to them getting their job at The Rust.
Or, the MC decides to turn their spouse in when they found out, the ex got arrested and broke out of jail or somehow managed to evade the authorities and leave the country, and the ex is the one who filed for divorce. Then, MC has to figure out what to do now, etc, etc… then, job at The Rust.
Ok, so I misread that as “somewhere between Seattle and Boston,” so when I looked up the distance between I was like
Also, I looked up facts about nickel for no reason. Did you know that nickels are made out of only 25% nickel and 75% copper? That’s just false advertising. By the way, I haven’t ever been to Seattle or Boston, so my image of Nickelport is still pretty cloudy. It’s your fictional world, dude. I’m just living in it.
Yeah, I get what you’re saying. I didn’t anticipate being a martial arts expert or anything, just having the essential know-how and tools/equipment to get yourself out of a particularly sticky situation. Obviously, being kidnapped by an evil villain with powers and money and resources and henchmen is a bit different from being mugged in a dark alley. But, like you said, I can see why mental or social skills would take precedence over a physical action, in the case of someone whose job prioritizes intelligence and charisma, as opposed to physical strength. It’s just a backup I’d like to be able to use if I need it, and I wasn’t thinking attacking the villain head-on so much as a henchman or something. Plus, if the villain doesn’t have any powers like strength, speed, or durability, I think MC could have a shot. Ultimately, it would be a backup, but useful nonetheless.
Yeah, that’s something I thought could be one of the perks of dating a rising star in the hero business, hooking up with a superhero while being hooked up with awesome gear I wouldn’t be able to afford otherwise. Not that I’m (intentionally) a golddigger, but it’s definitely a positive side effect of that relationship…
Anyway, I think the upgrade system sounds like a great idea. Kinda reminds me of a similar thing in Heroes Rise, except the opportunity to upgrade wasn’t too often, plus you could do most of your job without those upgrades because the MC has powers. But in this case, it seems a lot more important for the MC to have the right kind of gear to stand up to all they’ll be facing.
Ha, thanks. You can have it, if you want. It was really just a jab at stores and other businesses that do that, change the letter in one of the words to make it match, because that always seemed real dumb to me. I think it’s only because I can be such a grammar/spelling snob at times. Anyway, I don’t know what I’d use it for, so consider it yours now.
Gotcha. Sounds like a useful friend to have around, plus I don’t think I’d even bring them in the loop if they weren’t a trusted friend already. I’m trying my best to avoid the term “sidekick,” because I was never really into how labeling someone with that role felt like calling them second-best, or less important. Or, maybe I’m just looking at it from a negative angle and I’m missing the fact that, without sidekicks, heroes would probably die twice as much and owe a lot to their sidekicks.
I love it. I don’t know what more I can say about that, other than it’s adorable and fantastic and 100% me-approved. I gave you some cute and you topped it with this.
Oh! And I can see Finley being tender af and kissing MC’s bruises and stitches and shit, until it leads to them making out but gently because Finley doesn’t want to hurt MC. Wtf this is so cute it’s gross.
Oh, don’t worry, it could’ve sounded like a strip club.
That’s so sweet! But please don’t tell me they wasted the tiramisu. If they did anything with the tiramisu they should’ve been feeding it to each other. Seriously, tiramisu is too delicious to waste.
What if they were so disruptive in the restaurant that they didn’t even have to pay for any of the food?
I’m so sorry.
On the bright side, suspense and more potential cliffhangers.
I just thought of something, maybe Ex is the jealous type. So if someone were to buy a drink for MC, Ex wouldn’t get angry, but they would do something overdramatically romantic that would get everyone’s attention and maybe dump the drink on the person’s lap when no one else is looking.
Well, do you mean in flashbacks/the past or in the present? There’s gonna be some flashbacks pretty soon (you’ll probably have the chance to determine who your ex is in the next update), so you’ll get to talk to them in those.
As for in the present? Probably a little later, but not too long (I hope, as there should be the chance to at least see them in person during the Red Light investigation.)
I’m happy you like the idea!
Yes, both exes are possible ROs for the player (both, that is, since both play parts in the story regardless of whether or not they were the one who you were married to.)
That’s… pretty accurate
Don’t worry about it! It’s not that spoilery since it’s mostly to do with their personalities then motivations (I think? Forgive me if I’m reading your question wrong. I see the motivations aspect of it as well… but, yeah, spoilers. I can answer for personalities though!)
So since they are two different people with different personalities it depends on who you divorced:
One definitely does not fit the role of a villain at all. This Ex is more the grey-area kind of supervillain who, like you said, doesn’t really enjoy taking life (at all) and does everything to avoid that situation- only using really lethal methods when necessary.
The other… Well, the other Ex is a bit more lenient when it comes to things like violence or lethal methods of fighting. This Exes personality does fit more into what one might expect to be a villain but that being said still isn’t really what you’d expect of a villain to be. (Not cruel just… not quite as hesitant.)
In the end, I knew that the MC could have been married to either or these people, and because I doubt the MC’d marry someone who’s an obvious murderer, neither of them really have ‘evil’ personalities. That being said, they’re tactics, reasoning, and characters do differ, and one is definitely a bit more comfortable falling under the ‘villain’ title than the other.
Now all we need is a name. (The Pennaissance? Renaissance Pitice?)
You can really tell that a lot of blood, sweat and tears went into the creation of them.
No problem! I’m happy it made you feel good!
(Han Solo, huh? I can roll with that…)
This… is actually really poetic.
It sounds like those really inspiring speeches that come at the end of movie’s right before the big climatic event where the hero tries to change the minds of like a group of other heroes going out to kill this young evildoer and the protagonist knows that they can help this young villain but not if the others try to kill them or something… I don’t know, that was what just popped into my head when I read it.
Well, Finley only has so much power. The Rust, in the end, is owned and run by Triple N- what gets published is up to them. Finley only has so much that they can do…
But who knows? Maybe that’ll change sometime…
I do see where the X-Men vibes are but I also feel like it could make one of those really cool short-films where the kid goes through all this and the viewer thinks that its about sexuality/gender the entire time and then like the camera pans out and the kid is in the waiting room of the family psychiatrists office just casually floating a pencil with their mind. (Or maybe that would be the opening scene to a longer movie like @Lux_Inferni said.)
I’m really excited to show everyone the scene where the MC finds out their ex is a super villain.
I’m also really excited to show everyone what happens after the MC finds out their ex is a supervillain.
Ha! Well, it’s definitely somewhere in there! So, you’re not wrong.
Huh, I had no idea. That’s so weird- why not just call it a copper then, I wonder?
They’re cool cities, I’ve only spent short times in both but I remember liking both of them. (I remember eating really good ice cream in Boston and some kinda fish in Seattle- also good.)
Basically: Big city, some skyscrapers but nothing as massive/blocked-in as New York with lotsa different kinds of people living in it. (There’ll be more descriptions about Nickelport later on which’ll hopefully flush it out a bit better.)
For some reason the first thing I thought of was just this ripped reporter going into an interview on like a normal job (not under their alias) and the politician they’re interviewing is just really confused about why this reporter looks like a professional bodybuilder and somehow just their sheer muscle mass ends up being what outs them as this reporter for The Rust.
… my mind goes weird places.
Anyway, yeah, that makes sense. I’ll most likely implement something along the lines of self-defense later on.
I like the extra parenthetical intentionally there.
Yeah, it would also be interesting because then it would sort of make the MC chose whether they want more contacts/info (which would come from having a higher reputation which could be aided by things like better housing, cars, clothes, etc.), higher ratings on their paper and more fame (from equipment and the like), or just to be better equipped for defending themself (bullet proof vest, weapon, etc.)
I’ll treasure it forever.
Ha, but yeah, I know the stores you’re talking about. (There was one store I went shopping at once that just completely misspelled their title, I don’t even remember what it was but it was absolutely horrid and wasn’t even for an effect such as alliteration. Just. Misspelled.)
(That and a neon Shell sign without the S. Seen quite a few of those- which is rather eerie when you’re taking a roadtrip and it’s just completely black outside because the last inkling of civilization was several miles ago and you’re exhausted from driving when all of a sudden a glowing red sign displaying the entrance to ‘hell’ appears in the void in front of you.)
This statement is actually really funny when you look at it. Heroes in comic books do die a lot don’t they? But also just… ‘die twice as much’… I don’t know, I guess I find it funny because you’re right but also comic-book-logic, y’know?
Anyway,
I think of Finley more as a mix between the boss figure and also how in sci-fi movies there’s always that hacker who can help the protagonist get into the locked area? That’s Finley. The skilled hacker (minus tech skill, more in people/investigative skills).
I’m gonna sound like a broken record at this pace but: my heart.
Imagine if like the MC breaks their foot or basically has something more incapacitating Finley would just sentence them to bedrest and dote on them (even tries and cooks them breakfast and brings it to them in bed kinda thing). Even when they’re able to walk again Finley doesn’t assign them anything because they want to make sure that they’re completely rested again, and the MC is just like ‘Finley, I’m fine I swear, I can walk it’s okay.’
I love how this game about a reporter who has to hide their identity and basically exposes superheroes after being horribly betrayed by their spouse in a world where mortal danger is basically an everyday occurrence due to city-wide destruction via fights between the forces of good and evil has basically become the subject of all the cutest head cannons filled with cuddling, kisses, and how one woman takes it upon herself to bake brownies and cookies for absolutely positively everybody she can.
It’s amazing, and I love it.
Aha! Well, I’m glad that didn’t happen.
Don’t worry- I’m 99% sure that one of them stole that as well.
Haha, the perfect crime.
It’s okay, it’s a lot like the pit. You’re happy its there even if you’re partially trapped in it.
Very, very true my friend.
Aha! I can totally imagine one of the exes doing this. Breaking out all the roses and charm and suave speech.
But since they’ll also be a little faster you (hopefully) won’t have to wait that long.
As for the cliffhangers: at this rate, we’re gonna need some climbing gear and a few power bars.
)
I have to say I love the idea of my ex wife being a super villain (honestly I wouldn’t be surprised in the least if a few of my ex girlfriends really did become supervillians 
) I’m really really excited to see how this comes together 
I’ll need to look it up! (Dang, this thread is really good for getting recommendations on what to watch.)
Well if I’m going down I’m dragging all y’all with me in the form of emotional scenes and cliffhangers. Into the pit we go!
Because everyone wants to be me since I’m dating 
Don’t sweat it though, I was only joking about the “when’s the next update” thing. It was a nod to those comments on wip threads that taught me you’re not supposed to do that here.
