#desperate struggle

[runthepockets]

[jisuto]

[defeatedai]

The world had died a long time ago. The oceans had boiled away, the forests had burned to ash, and the cities had crumbled beneath the storms. What was left was sand — endless, whispering sand.

Jarek stumbled barefoot through the dunes, the sun burning into his skin. His breath came ragged and dry. Behind him, a battered dune-crawler idled, its engine growling like some ancient beast. Two men sat atop it, scavengers of the wastes. One of them — a thick-set brute named Rusk — laughed as he held up Jarek’s torn pants like a trophy.

“Maybe next time you’ll keep your eyes open, boy!” Rusk roared, his voice echoing across the emptiness.

The driver, a masked man called Fenn, said nothing. His gaze never left the horizon — always watching, always waiting for movement in the heat mirage.

Jarek kept walking. He didn’t dare look back. The scavengers had stripped him of everything: his gear, his water, his pride. All that remained were the sand and his underwear, clinging to him like a final shred of dignity.

[loopersum]

NOW LET THE BLOODSHED BEGIN

[dr-nyrator]

Travis Touchdown from No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle

Commission for jjsamachan

[fantasyinvader]

I may be overthinking this (surprise surprise), but perhaps the battle with Jasper Batt Jr. isn’t as pointless as people think it is. It’s not deliberately removing any meaning from itself to show how pointless revenge is, but rather another series of the game offering Travis a mirror to reflect on his own actions.

Batt Jr. is, in essence, a reflection of Travis, and in this case Travis becomes his Jeane. Think about it. Jasper’s father and brothers weren’t assassins Travis took out, they were his targets as an assassin. They were killed because someone paid Travis to do so to prevent their franchise from coming to Santa Destroy. To Travis, their deaths were simply work for him.

It should be noted that in NMH2, there isn’t assassination missions to be had (revenge missions don’t count). Instead there are the odd jobs, which can mostly be used for training and equipment (and terrible fashion decisions) in order for Travis to kill better, since Ranking Battles are free. And what does the game say when Travis unlocks a new job?

IT’S WHORE TIME!

It’s comparing Travis working to prostituting himself, much like Jeane did in order to become a lethal weapon in order to get her revenge against their father. And when Travis fought her, he techinically did so as #1 since Dark Star died aaaand if an opponent dies for whatever reason (say Jeane punching through his crotch) then it’s your win. Travis effectively sold himself in order to get revenge on her, and to get revenge on Jasper Batt Jr.

And like Jeane, Travis doesn’t stop killing after he gets his revenge. He does the Skelter Helter fight despite him supposedly getting out of the business. No matter how he slices it, and his opponents, he’s still a killer.

The Batts were innocents that were killed so that Travis could have his revenge, an event that Jr. made out to be like his world falling apart. That same feeling he made Travis think he killed Henry, Shinobu and Silvia, after Travis said that Bishop had nothing to do with this. But the Batts had nothing to do with Travis’s own vendetta, they were just a dollar sign to whore himself out to.

Jasper Batt Jr. made it to the number one spot to lure Travis out to him, much like how Travis needed to get to the #1 fight to see Jeane. He starts the fight riding his vehicle around, much like how NMH started with Travis riding to Death Metal’s mansion. His second form represents just how cartoonish Travis could be in the first game with his perversions and the absurd amount of damage he can take. Not to mention using wrestling moves on him. The superhero form form though represents another thing NMH2 is about, how in spite of it all Travis ended up being idolized by players, how they made him out to be a hero rather than a psycho with a beam katana. And the parade float is how this is reflected in the second game, something Henry calls to ridiculous for his own standards... I guess. In NMH2, between the giant robot fights and Travis’s face replacing the center of the Santa Destroy flag, it’s showing how over the top this idolization has become.

[dead-souls-deactivated177013]

Margaret: How beautiful the moon is!

The musician(s) of No More Heroes 2 Desperate Struggle: 

[mrauthor3ds]

SSB Musings - Travis

Travis Cuts In!

A fairly popular request, especially today with Travis Strikes Again having just come out. So here’s an idea I had for how Travis Touchdown could work in Smash.

- Trait: Battery

Travis’s Blood Berry beam katana runs on a finite battery. Basically, every time Travis’s beam katana attacks make contact with a foe (or their shield), a tiny bit of battery will be expended. But those same attacks are a bit stronger than average, so it’s only fair. Not only that, but any projectiles that come in contact with these beam katana attacks will be destroyed. However, the amount of battery this uses up depends on the power of the projectile. When the battery is empty, beam katana attacks will be half as strong, and they can’t nullify any projectiles.

This also has an effect on Travis’s shield. So long as there’s battery, his shield will be stronger and shrink at a slower rate. But hits taken by the shield will still drain the battery, but a bit less so than with beam katana attacks. On an empty battery, the shield will be weak and shrink very fast.

To recharge the battery, you just need to hold the shield and special move buttons together, just like refilling an Inkling’s Ink Tank. But with Travis, you may have to do this a little more frequently.

- Neutral Attack: Three-part beam katana combo (high stance). - Side Tilt Attack: Two-part kick attack. Doesn’t use the beam katana. - Up Tilt Attack: Overhead arc slash. - Down Tilt Attack: Low stance slash. Has a low launch angle. - Dash Attack: Rush Attack (TSA:NMH). Furiously swings the beam katana side-to-side four times while rushing forth. - Side Smash: Forward lunge with Camellia Mk-III. - Up Smash: Upper slash with Camellia Mk-III. - Down Smash: Spin slash with Camellia Mk-III.

- Neutral Air Attack: Spin slash. - Forward Air Attack: Aerial light attack (TSA:NMH). Lunges forth a little bit and delivers a wide slash. - Back Air Attack: Backward stab. - Up Air Attack: Upward backflip slash. - Down Air Attack: Aerial heavy attack (TSA:NMH). Dives down into a stab, and makes a shockwave on contact with the ground.

- Grab: Seizes foe up close. - Pummel: Headbutts foe. - Forward Throw: Quebradora Con Giro. Flips foe onto his knee. - Back Throw: Brainbuster Slam. Leans into foe, then hurls them around into the ground. - Up Throw: Tombstone Piledriver. Spins foe up and slams them into the ground between his legs. - Down Throw: Full Nelson Suplex. Grabs foe by the head and slams them into the ground.

- Neutral Special: Blueberry Cheese Brownie: Shoots a straight fireball from his beam katana. Expends some battery with each use. - Side Special: Finishing Throw: Lunges forth to grab a foe. - If the foe is grabbed from the front, he’ll use Giant Swing to spin them around before throwing them forth. Good forward launch. - If the foe is grabbed from behind, he’ll use Tiger Suplex to leap up and slam them downward. Devastating damage, but brings Travis and his foe downward. - Up Special: Step-In Slice: Wields Rose Nasty and delivers a spin attack, rushing in quickly in whichever direction you input. Deals multiple hits. - Down Special: Deathblow: Readies an attack as a rotating direction prompt appears. Tilt the Circle Pad to unleash a wide attack. - If the tilt matches the current direction on the prompt, the attack will be much bigger and stronger. - Final Smash: Charge Attack: Rushes forth with the beam katana to catch foes in his attack. If he does, he’ll dash back through them a second time, then finish with a lunge accompanied by a gigantic rainbow tiger.

- Entrance: Leaps off Schpeltiger and draws Blood Berry.

- Up Taunt: “Come on!“ Draws a finger across his neck, then gives a thumbs-down. - Side Taunt: “It’s game time!“ Grips Blood Berry with both hands in a wide-legged stance. - Down Taunt: “Moe~“ Stands straight with Blood Berry shouldered, grinning while making a cute gesture with his left hand.

- Victory Pose: “I’ll be ready, any time!“ Slashes left and right with Blood Berry, then turns his back to the camera with an over-the-shoulder pose. - Victory Pose: “You satisfied yet?“ Holds Rose Nasty and does a spin-slash. - Victory Pose: “Good kitty~“ Kneels down and pets his cat Jeane.

-= Palettes =- - Red (Default) - Purple (Travis Strikes Again) - Black (Skeletal Tiger) - Pink (Bizarre Jelly) - Yellow (Mt. Fuji) - Blue (Crash Star) - Green (Rock Snake) - Brown (Grizzly)