#referenceforwriters

And there you have it: Keeping your character consistent through their motivation.

So feel free to use this as you will and I would absolutely love to see how any writer, poet, artist — any creator basically goes about using these questions as a means to expand their work. Credit isn’t needed but if you’d like for me to take a look at it, respond to this post or tag me at #oneletterfromgenius.

So feel free to use this as you will and I would absolutely love to see how any writer, poet, artist — any creator basically goes about using these questions as a means to expand their work. Credit isn’t needed but if you’d like for me to take a look at it, respond to this post or tag me at #oneletterfromgenius.

It had taken over an hour and more than a few dollars of quarters, but the player and a handful of Space Marines had finally made it to the 99th floor of the Tower. The elevator opened in on a large room with far more open space than most of the other levels that they had traveled through. The scientific purpose of the tall building was never more clear than it was now. Aside from the large window adorned with a repeating pattern of triangles that was straight across from the elevator bank, the room was surrounded on all sides by computers and other pieces of machinery spanning two separate floors reachable by staircases on either side of the elevator entranceway. While all of this was an interesting view full of curious background objects, everyone's attention is drawn to the very center of the room. It's hard to not focus on it, it's designed to catch attention. There's four staircases that lead up to a raised platform, it's almost a stage, especially with the bright lights becoming a spotlight that illuminates its entire surface. Above the centerpiece is a tangle of wires connecting to nearly every section of the ceiling and it's clear what they're powering: several floating shield-like objects, rectangular chunks of metal floating in the air. The Space Marines share uneasy looks between them, they had been told that the way to stop the Cy-Bugs was located on the 99th floor. It looked like something belonged in the middle, but it's clear that there's nothing but air hanging in the center of the room. As scripted, the FPS wheels forward and a Marine blocks its path with their arm. "Wait," they advise, pointing on ahead, "eggs." There's no sign of Cy-Bugs, they surely would have attacked by now, the higher up they went, the stronger they were (having access to more advanced technology) and they were far more frequently spaced. However, here, silence hangs in the air, only the humming of the abandoned technology and the hovering shields echo throughout the level. The FPS nods to the Marine and the small group fans out, slowly entering the room and beginning to blast the many, many eggs. There's more eggs here than on any other level, while the Cy-Bugs laid them at will if there was enough energy for them to continue using the function, there generally were only a handful scattered throughout the levels, for jump scares and baby bugs to cling to the Marines as they tried to blast them off and prevent them from steadily gnawing away their health. As they begin to carefully dispose of the eggs, shooting them one by one and sending glowing green goo spraying into the air, there's a creak, a groan, a rustle from somewhere above. Nothing's showing on the radars yet, but the more eggs they shoot, the closer it comes. They get about halfway through the room, part of the team on one side, the rest on the other, when the radars start pinging rapidly. There's something big coming and it's registering as a hostile. It's traveling through the empty center of the room, amidst all the metal and wires of the machinery above. As per the coding states, the Marines all stop and ready their weapons, waiting for the enemy to show their face. They don't have to wait too long, though they hear her battle cry, an echoing screech that rocks the wires connecting to the upwards tunnel. First there's a gigantic deadly claw, then her face appears with four bright green optics glowing with fury. She's adorned with a crest that's reminiscent of a crown, her massive size dwarfs every other Cy-Bug, including the mini bosses, but it's obvious that she's still one of them, nearly untouched by their ability to absorb things and magnify them to terrifying usage. The other two sets of legs follow out into the open, followed by an immense abdomen. She's wrapped herself in wires, allowing her to dangle out in the center of the room. The Queen has arrived. She roars again and the cutscene ends, giving control back to the player as they and their surviving Space Marine comrades enter the boss battle. They shoot at the Queen, while she provides a nice size target, the floating shields guard her sensitive face as they chip away at her health. She has her own ranged attack, bursts of energy come shooting out in threes. Difficult to dodge, but can be shot away by the plasma that powers the assorted weapons in game. A rotating shield comes crashing down after quite a bit of fire, giving them a bigger opening and activating the second round of combat. The Queen screeches again, clicking her mandibles. The rows and rows of eggs that the Space Marines hadn't gotten to start glowing green. Several baby Cy-Bugs hatch out of their shells, toddling forward to attack those that dare challenge the Queen. They're not hard to dispatch, however they distract attention away from the Queen. The Marines and the player have to watch the boss and her minions, helping each other to stay alive during this intense combat. As the shields fall, her tactics change, more eggs hatch and she utilizes the snapped wires, trying to whip the sparking ends into the Marines. They've gotten in some good shots and with better access to her face, her health bar is dropping rapidly. The more it depletes, the more furious her attacks are, until suddenly, red becomes black and it bottoms out. But it's not Game Over just yet. She gives a final ear-splitting screech and scurries up through the tunnel, leaving the Space Marines standing there and having to clean up the rest of the mess the baby Cy-Bugs are causing. Once they've all been exterminated, there's a chance for a small reprieve. There's supplies in the escape pods, but they've all been deactivated. There's plenty of ammo to replenish their supplies and there's some health packs, not enough to fully heal all of them, but they're a welcome addition after the harrowing battle. The Space Marines give chase, riding the elevator up to the top as they follow their enemy. She must be stopped, for from her come all the other Cy-Bugs, eliminating her would mean they were one step closer to completing their mission. As the elevators open on a darkened sky, lighting flashes as the next round begins, crowned by an attack by several flying Cy-Bugs. Once they're destroyed, the team of Marines leave the elevator, sticking closer together this time. The radars are all but useless, there's bugs swirling around the sky, their green lights standing out against the clouds. There's a screech and the Queen charges in, slashing at them with one of her large front claws. While her armor is tough, with no shields to protect her, she takes damage much quicker this time, but her attacks are up close and personal. Claws and teeth rip and tear, her enormous bulk and weight used to smash and bash. The other Cy-Bugs come to their Queen's aid, dive-bombing the Marines and the FPS, adding their own attacks to the chaos. During these times, the Queen draws back and fires off her energy blasts, letting the Space Marines close the distance and get within reach of her claws. It's a fierce battle on all sides, but eventually the Queen is driven to the edge of the Tower, finally, her health depletes for good as shots slam into her. Her eyes flicker, there's a shudder as her massive body slides right off the top of the building. Her claws weakly scrabble at the edge, her wings are activated, but they're useless, she topples down falling and falling until she's out of sight. The Marines don't watch her full plummet to the earth, they've got an angry swarm to deal with. Shooting the Cy-Bugs as they charge in, they stand back to back as they slowly make their way over to a control panel against one of the two triangular structures sticking out of the Tower's roof. After several furious charges, they're finally within arm's distance of the panel. The FPS is the closest one to it, so the player, in the arcade outside of Hero's Duty, lifts a hand away from the plastic gun they've been clutching throughout the game, then bring it down decisively on the glowing green button positioned right next to where the gun is docked between games. With the physical button press, the FPS follows suit, mimicking the action and hitting the in-game button with just as much determination. There's a hum in the air and a thin beam of light starts emitting from between the two triangular monoliths. The sound and light grow, expanding to completely fill the empty space. The noise is echoed thousandfold as every Cy-Bug in the game drones in response. Forcefully drawn to the light, they all change course and head straight for the glowing beam. The light, their Beacon, contains a huge amount of energy, drawn from the entire building. It's more akin to a high-powered laser than a flashlight, and just as deadly. The Cy-Bugs fly into it obsessively, blissfully dying on contact and being burnt to shreds. After several seconds of destruction, the Beacon fades away, having taken every single remaining Cy-Bug down with it. It's much darker on the roof without its brief light, it takes several moments for the Space Marines to recover. Realizing that their battle is finally over, they laugh and collapse against the ground, exhausted, but triumphant. The cutscene fades on the triumphant crew as they discuss their victory. There's only an instant of darkness on the screen before it comes back up to reveal a timeskip, the player finds the FPS back in the 99th floor, the Space Marines that survived the final battle at their sides. This room is brighter now, glowing not from Cy-Bug eggs and dimly glowing computers, but by the dozens of holograms of soldiers to the left and right and the giant glowing hologram of the General, with a medal floating right below his face. The heroes step forward to gather their medals and acclaims, the General begins his speech lauding their accomplishments and congratulating them on a mission well done. Once that's finished, he recites the names of the Marines that fell in battle throughout the course of the game, stating that they, too, will be forever memorialized as heroes. The battle won, the day saved, the medals obtained, the screen fades to black one last time as the credits begin to roll.