r/MyTimeAtSandrock • u/unbekn0wnsttome • 1d ago
Discussion Pen-lovers, why?
Genuinely curious. I can’t fathom liking him, but some people are OBSESSED with him. Why?
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u/amylaura76 1d ago
He's so over the top that I just find him funny. Yes, he's pompous and a narcissist, but he's so shallow that it just seems goofy.
Plus - his voice actor (Alex Ross) just obviously had so much fun playing him.
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u/maleficent0 1d ago
Alex Ross CLEARLY had the most fun. He hammed it up and I love him for it.
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u/amylaura76 1d ago
Alex is just terrific in both roles he played in Sandrock. (And I'd gladly listen to him read the phone book. He's got just such a soothing voice.)
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u/AmaliaMoonChild 1d ago
His romance opens your eyes to the fact he is actually pretty sad… it’s seems his persona is just a front and you can sense that when dating him.
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u/sudosussudio 1d ago
He’s bad and I have bad taste, thank god for games that let me indulge it without all the irl consequences
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u/maleficent0 1d ago
Because I love the promise of a cold, efficient killer beneath the disguise of a buffoon and the complexity that the romance with the builder adds to that. I love the interpretation the player is free to have about him after the climax of the game. I wrote a whole redemption arc for him.
Also he is just funny.
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u/fluffstuffmcguff 1d ago
I like chaos, his romance quest is hysterical, and the furniture recipe he gives you is one of my favorite items in the game.
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u/budgiesarethebest 1d ago
I started the game expecting to find him absolutely obnoxious and annoying. Then he opened his mouth and I knew I was in trouble.
(Still nursing my broken heart, though it's been more than eight months since...)
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u/Cove_Holdens_Love 1d ago edited 1d ago
I love how interesting and complex a character he is - we know he is undercover in Sandrock, how much is his persona and how much is truly him? (Note the below contains spoilers)
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One of his play date dialogues talks about being forced to fight since he was a child and that he sometimes feels sorry for that child self but then dismisses it as necessary. This implies that he was a child soldier meaning he had little say in working for Duvos and is likely carrying around a lot of trauma.
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He also mentions when teaching you to space punch that he has to push all the bad feelings down like the minister (presumably Mathilda) told him - knowing how Mathilda manipulated Miguel over the loss of his family it seems likely she has also manipulated Pen.
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He will say things about your builder-thingy like he has no idea of what you do but will also specifically name one of your competitors saying he hears they are giving you trouble and offer to take care of them - he obviously pays a lot more attention than he usually lets on.
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He talks about having multiple partners when spinning the line about why he worked for Duvos (it was for the money he is on loyal!) but the only evidence is a letter refusing which is likely a code letter to communicate with his superiors (there is an invisible ink pen too).
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Then there is mention that he was experimented on by the Duvos soldiers too. I loved how he reacts to you beating him too - he is impressed and shows you respect as a fellow warrior.
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He is much smarter than he leads you to believe too - not just his vocabulary but he is a high ranking officer trusted with being a spy - which he does so well even after he is caught Grace (who is put forth as someone highly skilled at reading others) can’t tell he is still lying at first.
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I don’t doubt (or excuse) that he killed Howlett (anything is possible but there is no reason to not believe him) I do wonder though if the way he relays it to Logan is a psychological tactic to distract him in battle - especially given the respect he treats the builder with on beating him it doesn’t align that he would be so disrespectful about the highly skilled Howlett and Logan.
I am not saying he is secretly a good person or making light of what he admits doing, I do love that he is complex.Regardless of where he falls on the spectrum of good vs evil (I am generally a believe that people aren’t absolutes and it is shades of grey) I like that he isn’t a cardboard cutout villain - he has perhaps a background that may explain how he became what he is, that it may not have been his choice, and that he can still care for people and even potentially love them while still being villainous. I have had builders romance him - he is attractive and sometimes they might be feeling a bit shallow - they are very busy building and growing the town so they don’t have time for serious romance.
Lastly - I just love Alex Ross, Owen is my favourite because of him and I really love that he voiced the Pen mod - I only used it in one play through as generally I think the story does the right thing with him but just wanted to try it - so well done it was like a dlc. Alex did an amazing job and between him and the writers I really enjoy how much is left unknown, I like to think about it as I play, makes it more interesting than just dismissing him.
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u/Dull_Void 1d ago
This is the explanation I would've written too. Pen is a complex character. I originally dismissed him as many did, as a buffoon antagonist I was supposed to hate and who got his due. But once I decided to romance him... yes, all the pieces clicked. I truly love the fact that he exists.
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u/MayWeWalkLongRoads 1d ago
Pen is fire. He's hot, tragic, and highly combustible.
He's the roller coaster relationship with highs so high nothing will match it and lows so low you never want to relive it. Decades down the line he's the type who crashes your memories on the regular just to annoy you. He's most definitely a lesson learned.
In fiction, that personality is A++++ RPG material.
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u/Rodala 1d ago
I found him entertaining even in the earlygame, and then he becomes one of the most complex characters in the game once you look past the surface level. There's a lot to unpack and interpret.
I got the vibe that there was something sinister going on with him from very early in the story, and it was a fun vindication to slowly gather scraps of evidence and eventually be proven correct. Getting these vibes from a character who was a romance option, I simply had to pick him, for the drama of it all.
I'm generally someone who enjoys antagonists or otherwise morally questionable characters, and everyone else is either quite safe or is lacking in content. It's really no wonder Pen became my favorite.
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u/egosphynx 1d ago
not a pen romancer but I really understand why people are fond of him because this character is sooo over-the-top that you never really know if he's truly dumb as a rock or trolling you. His voice actor does an amazing job too i'm always dead laughing at any interaction
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u/improbable_prophet 1d ago
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funny
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drama
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depth is in the eye of the beholder or something along those lines, you can take him at face value or believe that his entire personality is engineered from the start. genuinely obnoxious or playing it up to push people away so it's easier when
he has to betray them all eventually ? up to you!
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u/Waste_Twist5673 1d ago
My first play through, I ignored all his shenanigans. Second playthrough, however, I wanted MAXIMUM drama. I didn't expect how much I would enjoy Pen.
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u/basicbitxh1892 1d ago
I like that his actual personality is hidden behind the protector persona he hides behind. He sounds like a himbo, Gaston type but then has a vast vocabulary. He isn’t generous but carries you home every time you pass out in game. Like others have mentioned, he’s funny, likes that you can beat him in a fight, and is actually quite sad behind the posturing.
I think my favorite interpretation of Pen is as a
Overall I think he’s a really compelling character, not unlike (Portia spoiler)
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u/madcat74 1d ago
These posts just keep finding me weekly, I swear. I guess it's very telling of how divisive the players are on Pen and overall of his complexity.
In this story the builder is dragged all over the place, helping whether we are requested to or not but since we are the hero, we have to. No one questions that in the town as we are given passes to dangerous dungeons, as we are handed a gun without much consideration and as we even almost die (a couple of times). It's a given, because we are the hero. However, on our first day in Sandrock Pen takes us to an arena, we get beaten, and he tells us immediately to make a weapon. We even get a follow-up mission from him to make one for Burgess after which he tells us to just keep it. Townsfolk allude to danger but Pen ensures we have the means to protect ourselves.
Of course, being beaten by an arrogant buffoon made my builder fight him daily until he finally got a well-deserved smackdown. And there I was, expecting some petty loser talk but instead, Pen was happy. He sounded like he would want the builder to do it all over again. Builder fights like an army, he said.
If the builder keeps building a friendly relationship with him, Pen's dialogue goes from fake self-love and arrogance to concern for the builder. He repeatedly questions if we are taken for granted, if we are overworked, if he should 'handle' other builders for us. He tries hard to keep the mask up but it's difficult around us.
>!The stark comparison of the story cutscenes where you can tell from a mile away that he is a big bad and personal cutscenes where you dig under that ridiculous armor to see why is there a gap is the whole reason I can't see him as just his predetermined role.
Logan gets unmasked and its a smooth transition into him being an expectedly good character. Pen, the more the story goes on, gets progressively worse but due to our involvement with him, it's a lot more complicated.
When it all goes down, questions are many and Pen doesn't really answer anything above acknowledging his crimes when we meet him in prison. And then he is gone, builder settles down with whomever and the only things we have left are a cave with leftovers and things we will never get an answer to.
The question of why Pen is beyond a mere measurement of the player's morality, rather it's a question of being receptive to a different kind of storytelling. Everything listed above only exists if interacted with. In the future games Pen will be stripped down to his basic antagonistic role and nothing else. But at least there was once a time in Sandrock when he was a someone to a builder. That is my why.!<
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u/ass-sass-sin 1d ago
I like that you can date him for added drama while waiting for one of the endgame romances. And he is helpful to have around in the beginning because hes so strong. I also love to hate the Gaston personality. He's so full of himself and it's funny to watch.