#and figuring out how to make each battlefield distinct and satisfying

[tathrin]

I saw a mention of Celebrimbor in third age AU in your tags and I deeply wish to hear more about it 👉👈

Ohhhh my goodness, okay!!

So, it's a canon-divergence whose pivot-point is set on the idea of Celebrimbor returning to life from the Halls of Mandos shortly before the War of the Ring, and—somehow—begging a boon of the Valar that allows him to return to Middle-earth to help in the struggle against Sauron.

(Is this plausible at this point in time? Probably not, no, no matter how badly they feel for Celebrimbor's pain and how proud they are of his defiance of Sauron before he died. I don't see anyone being allowed to sail back post-Istari, but it's plausible enough that I can build a fic off it if I want to lol.)

So, we pick up in Rivendell with the Council, except this time Celebrimbor isn't just a name in the story of the Rings of Power, he's there. With all his history and skill and knowledge.

(And his trauma and guilt and grief, but shhhh.)

So all of a sudden, there are three options for the Ring: throw it into the sea, throw it in the fire...or entrust the elf who helped make the Rings of Power to take it to a forge, and unmake it.

Of course, with Ost-in-Edhil in ruins, there aren't a lot of forges that are equipped for that kind of work. In fact, the various members of the Council can only think of two: Sauron's forge in Mordor...or Sauron's old forge in Mirkwood.

So that's where the Fellowship heads for.

But since "attacking Dol Guldur" is a lot less stealthy of a mission than "sneak into Mordor," this time the Council decides they have to be more active in providing distractions for Sauron than in the books. They have to have enough attacks going on in other places that the one on Dol Guldur can get lost in the noise. It's one of Sauron's places of power, sure, but it's not really one that matters a lot to him (they hope, probably) so they figure if they have enough battles going on elsewhere, that one will rank low on his priority-scale.

It's a fortress of last resort, a fall-back position he flees to when things are bad elsewhere. If he has to choose between Mordor and Mirkwood, he'll pick Mordor. If he has to choose between attacking the elven realms where the Bearers of the Three Rings are (no longer) hiding, he'll pick Lórien and Rivendell. Who cares about Mirkwood, with its silly flower-crowned king who doesn't even have a Ring?

And if he has to choose between conquering the Dwarves of Erebor and fending-off an assault by Gondor on the Black Gates, or protecting his old half-abandoned home in Mirkwood, he'll surely choose the former two and forget the latter. At the least, if they can split his forces enough that he has to prioritize where he sends his armies, the one he sends to Dol Guldur is sure to be the smallest and least powerful, right?

That's their hope, anyway! So they instigate war everywhere else they can, and hope that while they're keeping Sauron busy there, the Fellowship and the little army sent to help them can both take Dol Guldur and hold its walls against whatever force Sauron sends to take it back long enough for Celebrimbor to do his work.

And if you'd like to read it, here's where it all begins.

[mediabasedlife]

A Look Back At...The Last Generation (2013-2020)

I’d like to start this off by thanking those who encouraged me to write this article, my friends and family who encouraged me to rekindle this project despite my own trepidation. I hope its quality lives up to those lofty expectations.

     Say what you will about the hobby, gaming is in many ways the gift that keeps on giving. Every year there are hundreds, if not thousands of new offerings for every brand of player out there. And wouldn't you know it, there's a fairly significant portion of that library that are actually pretty good. Now, people will argue ad infinitum about what games are the best, or what consoles, or even which generation trumps the rest. This diversity of opinion is what has allowed gaming discussion to thrive just as potently as the medium which it encapsulates. Like any opinion, all of this is especially subjective; great games have been coming out pretty much every year since gaming began, a trend that seems like it will continue as long as gaming itself continues to thrive. While some may argue, I would say the latest generation thrived especially well. Ignoring the Wii-U, since I never owned one, and skirting around handhelds, the latest generation spanned the life of the Xbox One, the PlayStation 4, and technically, the Nintendo Switch. And through their seven-year life [switch notwithstanding], we saw the release of some truly excellent games - from top budget AAA titles to humble indie offerings. Now, in 2020, while we as a community are taking our first steps into the new generation of gaming, I think it fair to take pause, gaze back, and remember some of the games that made the latest generation so memorable for so many.

2013

    2013 marked the start of the last-gen, with the release of both the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4. Both consoles were built to shepherd out their predecessors, marking leaps in visual fidelity and infrastructure that would empower them to become the monoliths of gaming that they hoped to be. I won't say that both consoles had an equally vibrant launch, but they both tried to put their best foot forward. While the Xbox was busy desperately trying to become the multimedia center for your living room, Sony kicked off the next generation in style, releasing a whole seven days earlier than its competitor. With the Xbox not far behind, both consoles brought a suite of new, shiny games to play. Well, in theory, anyway. I'm not here to speak of the quality of the launch lineups of either console, but what I can do is list off the game that stood out, and why it made it onto my list.

-Assassin's Creed Black Flag      Black Flag actually saw its initial release on the PS3 and Xbox 360 almost a month prior to the soon to be current generation, but with both new consoles came a second release, one that came equipped with all the bells and whistles you'd expect from what was then a next-gen game. It doesn't look good for my list to start things off on a technicality, but this game is worth it. Black Flag remains one of my top three Assassin's Creed Games, which is saying a lot considering the sheer scale of the franchise. Fresh off the love it or hate it Assassin's Creed III, Black Flag looked to take a revitalized approach to the franchise formula, playing off of fan feedback, expanding upon what fans loved from AC3, and adding in new activities and a broader, fresher open world to explore. In it, you play as Edward Kenway, a charming rogue of a pirate who kicks the game off by stealing the identity of a defected Assassin. Expecting nothing more than riches and glory, his masquerade instead goes quickly sour, thrusting Edward into the conspiracy filled, secretive world of the Assassin and Templar conflict. What makes this story stand out is how different Edward was as a protagonist, seeing him acting largely indifferent to the traditional formula the assassin's creed games had followed thus far. The game's setting also helped it immensely; the game plays more like a pirate simulator, seeing players sail the Caribbean searching out treasures and fame, gathering a sturdy ship and a hearty crew, engaging in thrilling naval battles, and basking in the warm glow of the sun-drenched sands that define the game's many islands. Along the way, you interact with a bevy of historical or mythical figures, such as Blackbeard, Captain Kidd, Calico Jack, and many more. All of this came together to create an immensely satisfying game, a standout amidst its peers and predecessors, and an experience that still stands the test of time despite the numerous sequels it has received.

2014

    2014 was the year the new generation really started to pick up. The consoles had begun to get their footing, truly ushering in the next wave of quality games and proving their value to the players. Several critically acclaimed games got their start here or saw revitalized releases on the current generation of consoles. However, there were a few strays, games that elected to release on the prior consoles first and foremost, games that wouldn't see new-gen ports for some time, and others that never did, but still merited recognition and praise. But how many will make it onto my list? Well, you'll just have to read on.

-Titanfall     Titanfall was, for me, the first game on the Xbox One that truly cemented it as a worthy purchase. It was a melting pot of ideas and innovation that I immediately fell in love with. Built with an always-online principle, Titanfall sees players engaging in a pseudo-campaign of multiple, looping competitive matches. On the surface, you could easily glance Titanfall's way and see nothing remarkable. Another first-person shooter in a sea of competitors, all of whom had far more clout at the time. But what set Titanfall apart from the start was its dedication to movement, satisfying and fast-paced gunplay, and especially, robots. See, Titanfall's whole gimmick is this; players take on the role of Pilots, better than average soldiers of the far future who are deployed in times of conflict as superior ground troops, but more importantly, heavy artillery. As pilots perform well on the battlefield, they can call in the titular Titanfall, summoning their respective Titan to the fray. Titans are large, deadly mechs that can be piloted by the player to give them a distinct advantage in battle. What this translates to in gameplay is simple; as players make their way through matches, they build up a meter which when filled allows them to call down a massive robot to wreak havoc. Every player can do this, usually multiple times a match if they're good enough. Titans are fast, tough, and lethal, and fun as hell to control. But what kept the game balanced was the fact that titans weren't invincible. All players came equipped with anti-titan weaponry, alongside their usual loadout of rifles or handguns. This meant that anyone could take a titan down if they were savvy. The titans, coupled with the frantic movement and satisfying shooting, made Titanfall a one of a kind game. It's fitting, then, that the inevitable sequel would go on to improve on it in virtually every way, but that'll have to wait for later.

-Diablo 3     I will admit to not having played this in its initial release window, in fact, some years would pass before I finally picked it up on console during a sale. And though my time with it was quite belated, I would still consider it to be a genuinely fun game, one worthy of being on this list. In Diablo 3, players choose between seven classes; Wizard, Monk, Necromancer, Witch Doctor, Demon Hunter, Barbarian, or Crusader. From there, they are thrust into the demon-plagued land of Sanctuary, beginning their adventure in the town of New Tristram. Each class has a different backstory and a slightly different narrative throughout, but the core throughline is thus; you are sent to the village to investigate reports of a falling star, only to be swept up in a fight against hell and heaven itself for the fate of the world. In terms of game difficulty, the game sports an impressive twenty difficulty tiers; easy, normal, hard, master, and then sixteen levels of torment. Should players want an even greater challenge, there's also hardcore mode, which starts you off with permadeath: you get one life, no exceptions. Die, and the character is gone for good. Overall, I would say that Diablo's biggest strength is in its gameplay loop; Diablo plays like a top-down, hack and slash role-playing game, with players exploring the various levels in search of loot all the while battling hordes of enemies and leveling up, earning new abilities and skills that players can swap out to create their ideal builds. The core gameplay loop, while simple, is wildly addictive, with a massive loot pool to chase in an effort to grow ever stronger. Each class plays differently, but all of them are easy to learn. Diablo also supports local and online multiplayer, making it a great game to play with friends or family.

-Sunset Overdrive     Sunset Overdrive is a game I've previously covered on this blog before. In fact, I'd say I did such a good job that if you want to read about it, go read that article. But if you'd rather not click away, let me give you the TL;DR. Sunset overdrive is a satirical open world game made by Insomniac in which you play as a cocky and comedic hero out to save their city from a bogus energy drink that caused a pseudo-zombie outbreak. It's built around movement, with the player grinding on rails and running on walls and doing everything they can to stay mobile while gunning down the mutated enemies and exploring the environment. It's funny and feels great to play while being hampered by an underwhelming character creator and suite of customization options, but still manages to come out on top as an immensely satisfying game.

-Destiny     Destiny is the brainchild of one Bungie studios, the original creators of Halo, the next game on this list. Fresh off their amicable split from Microsoft, Bungie did what they did best; develop a truly great FPS. But this time, they added a twist; Destiny is equal parts Shooter, Looter, and MMO. It took these three core ingredients and mixed them together with gusto, delivering an immensely entertaining game that felt incredible to play both alone or with your friends. The story of destiny is a long one, but can be summarized simply; Some years in the future, Humanity met and allied with an alien being known as the Traveller, an alliance that heralded massive technological and social leaps, ushering in the new Golden Age of humanity. Unfortunately, the Traveller's natural enemies, The Darkness, attacked the solar system, destroying much, and whittling down the last survivors to a single safe city. In response, the Traveller created Guardians, reanimated protectors infused with the Traveller's power, tasked with defending the earth and all its colonies from the encroaching forces of evil that threaten this dwindling peace. Resurrected by a ghost, an emissary of the Traveller, you play as one of these Guardians; taking on the role of either the agile Hunter, the cosmically magical Warlock, or the strong and stalwart Titan. From there, you could either progress alone or join up with friends to take on the challenges of the solar system, pushing back the forces of darkness. Although lacking in longevity in its first outing, destiny was quickly expanded and iterated upon, turning it from an already impressive game to a true powerhouse and pillar of its genre.

-Halo: The Master Chief Collection     I won't pretend this started off as a flawless, perfect compilation of prior Halo games. But I love Halo, and I loved playing these games again, so it makes the list. Especially after all of the improvements and subsequent additions 343 made to the collection post-launch. On release, it featured Halo CE, Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo 4, but has since gone on to include Halo 3: ODST and Halo Reach as well. If you're unfamiliar, Halo is a staple franchise in the Xbox lineup, and the master chief collection sought to unify all of the prior releases under one umbrella for the newest console. Halo is a sci-fi FPS franchise, largely following the saga of the titular Master Chief Petty Officer, John-117. John, or Master Chief as he is more commonly called, is a Spartan; a supersoldier of the future, who fights to protect humanity from an alien collective dubbed The Covenant. In the first game, Master Chief crash lands on an alien ringworld known as Halo, which later turns out to be an ancient superweapon created to exterminate all sentient life in the galaxy. Subsequent games only build the stakes from there, seeing John stave off one intergalactic threat after another in a franchise that continues to satisfy time and again. What the Master Chief Collection does is bundle everything up in one convenient package, while simultaneously offering tweaks and improvements to complement the technological advancements of the new consoles. It offers local and online multiplayer, both for its story and its competitive modes. Overall, even with the flawed beginnings, I would consider The master chief collection a must-have for Xbox players.

-Grand Theft Auto V     Ah yes, GTAV, the game that refuses to die. Technically, this game released on the Xbox 360 and ps3, but it's been put on the PS4/XBO and now even the PS5 and the latest Xboxes too. I won't be surprised if this game gets ported to the consoles that come after that, too, in seven or so years. This game just won't quit. But that's also a testament to the dedication of its player base and the overall quality of the game itself. GTAV is an irreverent, biting joy of a game, replete with humor and charisma. It was, and remains, the latest in Rockstar's open-world crime franchise, in which players take on the role of not one, but three separate characters trying to make their way through life in Los Santos California; Michael, a retired crook stuck in the witness protection system, Michael's former, quite deranged partner Trevor, and rounding out the cast is Franklin, a street-savvy up and comer. Together they go about committing numerous heists, shady deals, and more than a few moments of mayhem in their quest for glory. Its secondary selling point was a robust and open-ended online mode, where players could create their own character and participate in myriad activities with and against their friends and strangers for fame, money, and clout. This is the mode that has kept GTA going in the years since its release, and it is the mode that has seen the most improvements and updates as well. I spent a not inconsiderable amount of time in it myself, but it was always the story of Michael, Trevor, and Franklin that drew me in overall.

-Tales from the Borderlands     Tales from the Borderlands is the only Telltale game I'm putting in this whole list. Not for lack of quality on the other games' parts, but simply because this one has to be my favorite. For those unfamiliar, Borderlands is a series of FPS games that take place far in the future on the fringes of space; the titular Borderlands. It follows a revolving door of ragtag Vault Hunters, people who go in search of mythical, alien "vaults" that are rumored to contain vast amounts of treasure. They are incredibly popular, addicting looter shooters that match satisfying gunplay with beautiful cell-shaded graphics, topped off with charming and funny characters and not too shabby storytelling. Telltale games, on the other hand, are traditional point and click adventure games, released in episodic formats and usually broken down into seasons. They focus on storytelling first and foremost, showcasing incredibly compelling narratives influenced by player choice. You'd think, then, that these two dichotomous formats wouldn't pair well together at all, but Tales from the Borderlands proves that sentiment is wildly false. Tales from the borderlands took what was great about previous telltale games, and matched it perfectly to an original tale set in the Borderlands universe. It weaves an incredibly compelling narrative, filled with equal parts humor and feeling, and manages to tell one of the best Borderlands stories to date.

2015

    I don't have a lot to say about 2015. The new generation was still going strong and saw some truly excellent games grace its shelves, many of whom are going to appear below.

-Bloodborne    2015 kicked off incredibly strong with Bloodborne, the latest instant classic from the studio behind the equally popular Dark Souls franchise. Bloodborne melds the skill-oriented, punishing combat and exploration heavy maps of the Souls games with an eldritch, psychological atmosphere, a match so perfect it went together like peanut butter and chocolate. To espouse the story of Bloodborne would be an effort in itself, but  I shall do my best to summarize it; Shirking the more medieval settings of the Souls games before it, Bloodborne sees players navigating the victorian gothic town of Yarnham, a city plagued by beasts and monsters. It is these monsters you are tasked with dispatching, taking on the role of a Hunter of Beasts, sent to cleanse the town of that which ails it. But not is all as it seems, and the beasts may not be the only monsters Yarnham has to offer. Outside of its interpretive yet incredibly strong narrative, Bloodborne offered equally polished gameplay, iterating on the previously mentioned combat from prior dark souls games to create a punishing yet wildly satisfying gameplay loop that was easy to learn yet hard to master. Bloodborne forced players to always be on their guard but gave them no shield or barrier with which to do so, believing that offense was the greatest defense, making success hinge on your willingness to fight and your skill in surviving the nightmares that Yarnham had to offer. A melding of horror, action, and exploration, Bloodborne was a true success, cementing itself for years to come as a top tier action-RPG, and saw countless fans that remain dedicated to it to this day.

-The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt     I'm going to be blunt; This is one of my favorite games of the last generation. It is a top tier RPG, made up of an incredibly charming cast of characters, a beautiful open world, and a thrilling, fantastical narrative that all come together to make one of the best games to release in the last seven years. Though a sequel to not only two prior games, but also a long line of books, The Witcher 3 was surprisingly friendly to newcomers, of which I was one at the time. Despite its pedigree, I felt right at home in the world of the Witcher, quickly picking up on what I had missed in its long and storied life. The Witcher 3 puts players in the role of Geralt of Rivia, the titular Witcher, a magically enhanced human tasked with routing out monsters that threaten the world of man. This time around, Geralt is searching for his ward, Ciri, as he navigates a world fraught with monsters and men in equal measure. what starts as a simple search for a missing friend quickly blossoms into an adventure for the fate of the world itself. Though a fantasy RPG at its heart, the witcher manages to tell some particularly grounded and human stories, and this game is no exception. One moment will see you stalking a beast out in the wild, the next will see you navigating political intrigue in the courts of royalty. But it all flows together to create one of the best RPGs I've ever played, and one that earned a not inconsiderable amount of well-deserved praise when it first debuted back in 2015.

-Assassin's Creed Syndicate     Hot off the heels of the muddied AC Unity, Syndicate was the last proper Assassin's Creed game before the franchise would experience a massive genre and gameplay shift in its next entry. Where Unity saw too much focus on graphics and not enough care anywhere else, Syndicate finely balances all of its parts to create an impressive experience overall. This time around, players get to visit London, at the tail end of its industrial revolution. Out goes flintlocks and swords, in came steam and steel. This entry sees players in the role of both Evie and Jacob Frye, siblings fresh off their induction into the Assassin Brotherhood, tasked with dispatching justice on their Templar foes across London. The setting isn't the only big change for this game, as Syndicate saw an overhaul in both visual quality, scale, and gameplay. London feels lived large and lived in, with plenty of ground to explore and streets filled with people going about their day-to-day. Missions are split between Jacob and Evie both, with some allowing you to pick and choose and others forcing you into the shoes of one or the other as they work together to clean up the city. It innovated on the traditional gameplay loop, with this game having you going from borough to borough, toppling its templar leaders and expanding your sphere of influence with the aid of historical figures like Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, and Nikola Tesla. These famous faces are not the only people lending the Fryes their helping hand, as Syndicate also put the Fryes in charge of their own street gang, a ragtag group of brawlers and scouts that would come to their aid at the press of a button. Most times, conquering a borough involved you and your gang scrapping it out with those of the templar order, dusting knuckles to see who got the final say in the control of the area. This may seem at odds with the traditionally stealth-oriented approach prior games focused on, but that side of the game was not neglected either. Assassination missions saw fine-tuning and innovation as well, with players able to plan out and partake in uniquely tailored kills that matched the locale and personality of their target, from disguising yourself as a scientific cadaver to kill a corrupt doctor to allying with a guard and feigning capture to infiltrate and kill a target in the Tower of London. The game saw improvements out of combat as well, with Syndicate receiving a large overhaul in its parkour movement and general navigation. The Frye twins come equipped with a grappling hook that allows for speedy travel across London's many rooftops, while ground travel was made all the more expedient with the inclusion of horse-drawn carriages. The general parkour itself was also tuned, allowing for freer player movement and tighter directional control. All of this to say, Syndicate saw some truly welcomed improvements, iterating on the legacy and creating a lasting impression that stands up as one of the better games of the franchise.

-Star Wars Battlefront     While I've spoken of a Battlefront on this blog before, this is not that same game. Rather, this is Battlefront 2015, a soft reboot to the previous Battlefront line of games for the new generation of consoles. This Star Wars Battlefront was helmed and developed by Dice, famed for the Battlefield franchise, a line of competent and entertaining military-focused first-person shooters. They were known for solid campaigns, but more importantly, massive scale competitive multiplayer modes. This pedigree is shown heavily in Battlefront, with the game sporting 64 players competitive multiplayer, with teams taking on the roles of either the empire or the rebellion as they fight their way through maps taken straight from the star wars universe, from the snowy plains of Hoth to the immense forests of Endor and everywhere in between. The game was replete with game modes and had the ability to be played in either first or third person. Players were given access to a modest selection of in-universe weaponry, and could even take the role of recognizable star wars heroes on occasion. Visually, the game was stunning, with incredibly faithful and detailed recreations from everything to weapons to the maps themselves. It felt like a genuine passion project, built from the ground up by competent developers and made for fans and first-timers alike. Battlefront, much like many games on this list, has since been usurped by a sequel but remains an incredibly competent shooter and a genuinely fun game to play.

2016

    While 2015 saw the release of some truly impressive games, 2016 was a genuine powerhouse of a year. It saw the rise to prominence of Virtual Reality, through the oculus rift and the PlayStation VR. 2016 also saw the first re-released console of the current generation, in the form of the Playstation 4 Pro, a trend that Xbox would follow as well, seeing the release of 2016's Xbox One S, and in 2017, the Xbox One X. These were touted as faster, better performing, better-looking consoles than their base model predecessors, offering several enhancements to graphical fidelity and console performance, running games even better than they already did. And with these new consoles came an all-star suite of excellent games, a multitude of instant classics from big-name studios and fresh indie developers alike. Many of the games that released this year are ones I've individually covered before, but they still deserve their spot in this article. So without further ado, here are some of the most noteworthy games of 2016.

-Oxenfree     Where Bloodborne was the standout hit that kicked off 2015, Oxenfree did the exact same thing for 2016. Developed by the California based indie team at Night School Studios, Oxenfree is a supernaturally infused, slice of life adventure game that follows Alex, a witty, rebellious, soon to be high school graduate as she makes her way to the fictional Edwards Island, accompanied by her best friend Ren and new stepbrother Jonah. This small group of friends is meeting up with what they assume will be a large group to have a weekend bash, But what was supposed to be a boisterous weekend party turns out to just be two extra guests; Clarissa, a fellow student who has ties to Alex, and Nona, a mild-mannered girl who just so happens to be Ren's current crush. Their modest get together quickly goes south when Alex uses a small handheld radio to tune into a weird signal emanating from the island, unleashing the spirits of a sunken military submarine, long since lost at sea. These wayward souls possess one of the kids and scatter the rest across the island, forcing Alex to uncover the mystery of their death and find a way to save her friends and escape the island. The game wears its inspirations on its sleeve, taking queues from classic ghost stories as much as it does retro coming of age stories, but it adapts these ideas masterfully. As for how it plays, Oxenfree is a side scrolling point and click adventure game, built around exploration and dialogue rather than complex game mechanics. It explores the interpersonal relationships between all the characters as much as it explores the haunted nature of the island itself. It easily shifts between these disparate tones, with a story filled with as many supernatural spooks as sarcastic teenage banter, seamlessly integrating player choice into the mix to create a truly excellent narrative. Oxenfree also features a high amount of replayability, with player choice going on to influence which of the game's many endings, as well as touting a new game plus mode that adds an extra smattering of content for your subsequent playthroughs. Oxenfree was a gift that kept on giving, more than earning its spot on this list.

-Firewatch     Firewatch is the first of several 2016 games I've previously written about, and while my opinion of it may have not been the highest initially, ruminating on it since has led me to a new appreciation of the time I spent with it. I would recommend reading my original review, but the short summary is thus; you play as Henry, a man on the run from his troubles who takes a job in the Shoshone national forest, keeping an eye on the wildlife and ensuring nothing is amiss. Your companion through the game is Delilah, a voice through your walkie talkie, somebody else who has taken the same job as you over in one of the adjacent watchtowers. Throughout the game you explore the forest, keeping the area safe while exploring the mysteries of the area you now inhabit, all the while developing a friendly relationship with Delilah as you go. It's a simple, but satisfying first-person adventure game, with an emotionally charged but comedic narrative about one man's journey to get lost and find himself.

-Stardew Valley     Stardew Valley is a retro-inspired simulator game about a down and out office worker who inherits their grandfather's farm in the titular Stardew Valley. They leave their mundane life behind and embark on a new journey in rural life, building up the farm from a rundown, untamed field into a bustling agricultural powerhouse, all the while making friends and forming bonds with the locals that you meet along the way. Stardew plays like a dream and features a stunning pixellated art style that complements its easygoing nature. Stardew is a game you can get lost in with ease, featuring an incredibly satisfying gameplay loop; It's a charmingly simple sim, one that encourages players to make their own way and their own choices, with a multitude of different ways to spend each in-game day. You're encouraged to play the game at your own pace, experiencing its range of content as it comes, rather than being railroaded into any one path for progression. It's a game that encourages exploration, diversity, and freedom, one that never really ends. Stardew made waves when it first came out for being such an open-ended, friendly experience, and it has since gone on to be heavily expanded upon by its developer, seeing releases on even more platforms and accruing even more fans along the way. It's a game that's easy to love and hard to put down, a comfort food game that makes you want to revisit it time and again.

-Titanfall 2     Where the original Titanfall was an excellent Xbox exclusive, Titanfall 2 bloomed the franchise into a multiplatform powerhouse. While it kept the excellent multiplayer modes, Titanfall 2's biggest change was the inclusion of a proper single-player story, and it's this inclusion that sees Titanfall 2 earn a place on my list. Titanfall 2's campaign is short, but sweet, seeing players take on the role of Jack Cooper, a pilot in training under the mentorship of an experienced soldier named Lastimosa. Unfortunately, on their first field mission, Lastimosa is killed, forcing Jack to embrace his future role as Pilot in an effort to survive and keep Lastimosa's experimental Titan out of enemy hands. This Titan, given the codename BT, is unique among Titans in that it can freely equip the various titan weapons and abilities, while simultaneously having an expanded AI that allows it to perform better in combat than its contemporaries. Together, Jack and BT make their way through the Frontier, coming into conflict with the varied enemy forces that they were originally sent in to stop. The campaign is brief, but what it lacks in lengths it makes up for in entertainment; the banter between Jack and BT makes for some great dialogue, and the campaign is perfectly built around the shooting and movement tech that made the first Titanfall so distinct, creating a series of levels that are just as built around gunfights as they are around precise first-person platforming. The game's environments are also beautiful to look at, varying from gritty industrial complexes to lush jungle environments that are as nice to look at as they are to maneuver through. Accompanying the stellar story mode is the recurring suite of multiplayer offerings, all of which have been upgraded and improved upon to complement the innovations of the sequel. Where Titanfall was good, Titanfall 2 is great, and it's a continual shame the series hasn't been given more time to shine.

-The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Special Edition     This is another game that I've previously covered on my blog, and it's also another technicality. See, Skyrim technically released back in 2011 but saw so many re-releases in the years afterward that at this point the only device that doesn't natively play it are phones. With this particular re-release, Bethesda sought to give console players the same quality of life changes that PC players had been seeing for years, namely graphical improvements, stability patches, and most importantly, player-created content. Skyrim had developed a bustling and dedicated community of creators in its years since release, all of whom had made countless mods for the game that ranged anywhere from simple tweaks to full-on expansion sized stories, and the special edition release marked the first time Xbox and Playstation fans could get their hands on this library of unique content. It created a situation where the already hefty game could be made all the more robust with fan contributions. Don't like the music? Download one of the unique music packs somebody put together. Want any number of pop culture-inspired items? Looking for some new quests to spice up this five-year-old game? It's all there and more.

-Watch Dogs 2     You might be wondering why I've put Watch Dogs 2 on this list while its predecessor is nowhere to be found. While the first Watch Dogs was a middling revenge story that happened to incorporate some neat hacking based features, Watch Dogs 2 is where the franchise really found itself. It follows the story of one Marcus Holloway, a bright and witty young man who's been framed for a crime he didn't commit by a faulty surveillance network that monitors the city of Los Angeles in a pseudo-dystopic future not so removed from our own. So Marcus does what he does best, hacks into the network and removes himself from it entirely, embarking on a campaign to take the whole system down with the help of white hat hacker collective Deadsec. What sets this game apart from its predecessor is the charisma of its cast and the far more varied ways in which you can use the game's technology to your advantage. Hijack cameras, remote control vehicles, manipulate streetlights, the world of Watch Dogs 2 is yours to manipulate all at the press of a button. And if hacking doesn't get you where you need to be, Marcus has some skills of his own; he's particularly skilled at parkour and quite handy at non-lethally dispatching foes with a weapon of his own design, a billiard ball attached to a bungee cord. And if playing non-lethally isn't your thing, you can also accumulate quite the arsenal of homemade weaponry, all 3D printed from the base of your hacker collective. Watch Dogs 2 is a game about a group of people trying to take down a corrupt system using whatever means they can. It's a witty, satirical, but surprisingly grounded story told across a beautiful open-world recreation of Los Angeles, one that drew me in far more than its predecessor ever managed to do.

2017

    2017 might not have had the same pedigree of games as its predecessor, but it did see the belated release of the latest current-gen console; The Nintendo Switch. A revolutionary step up from the Wii and Wii U, The Switch took the gaming world by storm thanks to its ability to seamlessly transition from a home console playing on your TV to a handheld console able to go with you anywhere. The Switch remains a staple of the console market to this day, easily standing tall next to the Playstation and Xbox consoles both new and old. Aside from the Switch, there was still a healthy collection of games for people to enjoy, some of which will be highlighted below.

-Night in the Woods     Night in the Woods marks yet another game I've personally reviewed, and also stands proud as one of my absolute favorites of this generation. A humble offering from indie studio Infinite Fall, it was a gorgeously animated sidescroller of an adventure game that followed college dropout Mae Borowski as she returns to her small home town of Possum Springs to rekindle old friendships and reconnect with her family. Despite its anthropomorphic cast, it tells a genuinely human story, one that perfectly reflected what it feels like to revisit old haunts; how things can be so familiar yet change so much, seamlessly blending an emotionally charged narrative with a dark, suspenseful hometown mystery. Night in the Woods remains an absolutely incredible game to experience, showcasing themes like mental illness, sexuality, and identity through the lens of youthful wit and clever, dry sarcasm. I haven't played many truly perfect games, but Night in the Woods came damned close to being one.

-Kingdom Hearts 1.5/2.5     Ah yes, another collection of re-releases. Kingdom Hearts technically started back on the PS2, with the release of Kingdom Hearts 1. From there it blossomed into an incredibly diverse and lengthy franchise that saw releases on consoles and handhelds alike, from the PS2 to the Gameboy Advance. What these re-releases did was bundle all of the Kingdom Hearts games into one complete package, and tossed them all onto the PlayStation 4. It created a cohesive collection for this storied saga and presented it all in an easy to follow order that anyone could pick up and work through. Both games also offered the previously exclusive Final Mix content to the west for the first time, expanding on the already hefty games with more difficulty options, more enemies, more story content, and more challenges to keep the fun going and going. But what is Kingdom Hearts, I hear some people ask. Kingdom hearts is a series of action RPGs that follow the adventures of heroes known as Keyblade Wielders as they fight against the forces of darkness that threaten the worlds beyond. They play great, feature an especially enjoyable cast of characters, and tells a heartwarming story of good and evil. A joint project between Square Enix and Disney, Kingdom Hearts features an abundance of Disney characters and worlds, crossing over with various Square Enix properties in this epic struggle against light and dark. That's the easiest summary of the story by far, as delving any deeper would almost certainly confuse the casual reader, but let me say this; The Kingdom Hearts games are fantastic, well worth the time, and with these remastered collections, more approachable than ever.

-Nier Automata     Nier Automata is a tough game to talk about in-depth, on account of just how easy it is to spoil for people who haven't experienced it. But it was also one of my favorite games of 2017, so I'll do my best to give it its due. Nier Automata is somewhat of a hybrid game; it blends so many genres together but somehow manages to do each one of them justice. Equal parts open world, action RPG, Bullet Hell, and more, Nier Automata takes place in the far, far future, in the ruins of earth. Humanity has long since abandoned the planet and sought shelter on the moon, entrusting a group of humanoid androids to defend the planet from an encroaching alien threat. The story follows several of these androids; 2B, 9S, and A2, as they wander the ruins of humanity and fight back against the robot foes that the aliens use as soldiers. It tells an amazing story that all but demands subsequent replays to get the full breadth of its narrative weight across, with each subsequent playthrough seen through the eyes of one of the other characters. Equal parts sci-fi story and humanist breakdown, Nier Automata is a deconstructive, philosophical pondering wrapped in the guise of an anime action game. That's not to say it doesn't wear the disguise well; Nier Automata plays like a dream, with stylish combat and an accompanying score that makes for easy listening both in and out of the game. It's another must-play, especially with the remake/remaster of its predecessor soon to release in 2021.

-Persona 5/Persona 5 Royal     Persona 5 is an absolute joy of an RPG. It's slick, stylish, has a superb soundtrack, and tells a top tier story to boot. You take the role of a down-and-out high school kid who's been forced to transfer from his hometown in the countryside to Tokyo, thanks to a bogus police incident. Labeled a criminal and looked down on by the adults of his new school, the protagonist goes about bettering himself, raising his grades, and making the most of his new life in a new city. He forms bonds and relationships with the people around him, making fast friends with many of his classmates and even some chill adults along the way. Oh, he can also use a supernatural phone app to dive into the corrupted hearts of society, utilizing a special power to battle the evils that lie within and force them to change their ways and confess their deeds. Herein lies the dichotomy of the Persona 5; Much like the other Persona games that preceded it, the story it tells is a hybrid of supernatural mystery and coming of age drama, blending mundane highschool life with a fantasy adventure. It is equal parts life simulator and stylish role-playing game, as you and your friends do their best to repair a broken system using the fantastical powers they've been imbued with. These powers are the titular Persona, powerful creatures that embody the sides of ourselves we keep hidden behind the masks of society. These personas allow one to do battle with the shadows that lurk within these corrupted hearts, creatures that take on myriad forms inspired by religion and myth. Wielding this power, they embark on a journey of social reform, fighting a revolving door of less than scrupulous individuals that all culminating in a battle to change society itself. In spite of its overtly fantastical elements, the story it tells is decidedly grounded and surprisingly relatable; at its core, Persona 5 is about a collective of disenfranchised individuals trying their best to make it through life and change things for the better, a story that was and remains especially poignant and a welcomed escapist fantasy to fall into time and again.

-Slime Rancher     Slime Rancher is an adorable simulator game and one I've praised before on my blog. It blends first-person shooter elements with the farming simulator genre, tasking players to manage and explore a planet on the fringes of space that's almost entirely populated by a race of creatures known as Slime. Slimes come in a varied selection of types and sizes, but all of them have one universal similarity; they all produce a resource known as a Plort that you can trade to an intergalactic trade center for currency, which in turn allows you to upgrade your slime farm and expand into new territories. The gameplay loop is nothing but fun, with each new expansion bringing in new species of slime that you can wrangle and combine to make hybrids that in turn create more valuable plorts. As you make your way through the planet, you start uncovering logs left behind by your farm's prior owner, that weave a narrative of love and loss, a story that drives you forward in your quest if only to see how it concludes. You're not alone in this quest, though, as you have your slimes for company as well as several long-distance conversations via the computer in your home between friends and fellow farmers alike. Subsequent game updates have only expanded upon the experience, seeing new opportunities for trade, daily activities, and more, making an already invigorating and enjoyable game all the more so.

-Destiny 2     It's no secret that Destiny 2 had a complicated launch window. Many fans felt that Destiny 2 left too much of what made its predecessor great on the cutting room floor, electing instead to reset the player base back to zero and tell a brand new story. While I missed some of what Destiny 2 left behind, I was still somebody who found a lot of joy in Destiny 2, as evidenced by the thousand-plus hour count it tells me I've poured into it since its 2017 release. The game has also seen countless improvements and additions in the years since its release, adopting a new seasonal model and even going free to play after a point. Most recently, Destiny 2 saw the release of Beyond Light, the first in a new trilogy of expansions that hopes to continue the game forward over the next few years. So, while it might have had a rough start, it still remains destiny at its core, making it one of the best shooters on the market, coupled with a satisfying loot hunt and a rewarding structure that continues to keep its fans coming back for more. That alone lands it in my list of games for 2017, and the generation as a whole.

-The Sims 4    Though this game technically saw the light of day back in 2014, I didn't end up playing it until its console release here in 2017. Thus, I place it here. There isn't a lot of complication with Sims 4. If you're at all familiar with its predecessors, you know exactly what to expect. An engaging simulator game, in which you craft an individual or family and set them on the path of life, influencing them as they go or leaving them to their own fates so as to see what happens. You tailor their looks, personality, aesthetic...it's a premier example of micromanagement as entertainment. This installment shirked some of the advancements made by its predecessor but still manages to be a robust and enjoyable game all on its own, made all the better by continued additional content releases in the years since its premiere. It's a game that keeps on giving and seems primed to continue doing so for some time yet.

2018

    2018 saw the release of some genuinely top-shelf games, with the Switch continuing to establish itself against its contemporaries, while the Playstation continued to add excellent exclusives to its lineup.

-Far Cry 5     The Far Cry games have always been known for being competent shooters with large open worlds, and this one is no exception. Shirking the usual foreign locales, Far Cry 5 takes place a lot closer to home, seeing players cleaning up the rural backwoods of Montana, taking place in the fictional Hope County. In it, you play as a rookie cop sent in to apprehend an evangelical doomsday cultist; John Seed, The Father. This arrest quickly goes south, leaving you as the last lawman willing to stand up to the Seed family and free Hope County from their grasp. To do so, you systematically break the hold of his lieutenants, dismantling their bases of operations and taking down his associates in a slow climb to face him once more. Along the way you make friends and allies out of the locals, people with a similar drive to rise up and clean up their county. As far as the gameplay, Far Cry 5 is a mix of FPS and RPG elements, with a rudimentary character customization system and plenty of powerful guns to acquire. You level up and earn skills that augment your preferred style of play, be it stealthy or over the top, all in your pursuit of justice. Augmenting this quest is the world it takes place in, with players exploring lush forests, vibrant fields, and the general detritus of rural America. Hope county feels real, with looks to match, despite its farcical tone and over the top gameplay. All of this came together to make a Far Cry that felt fresh and fun, a genuine step forward for the franchise.

-God of War     Prior games in the God of War series were not known for subtlety, nuance, or humanity. Rather, they were violent hack and slash games that featured the titular God of War, Kratos, seeking and exacting bloody revenge on the greek pantheon for their slights against him and his family. They were by no means bad games, but they weren't what I would consider masterpieces either. Then, we were given God of War (2017). This soft reboot/Sequel for the franchise saw Kratos embarking on a distinctly more grounded story than its predecessors, navigating the perils of fatherhood while on a journey to deliver his late wife's ashes in the world of the Norse Pantheon. He is joined by his son, Atreus, a bright but rebellious young boy who seeks only to prove his worth to the gruff and distant Kratos. This more human story is accompanied by a more grounded approach to combat and gameplay; while it retains the emphasis on action, it feels more deliberate than prior entries, shifting the combat style from the hack and slash nature to a more measured approach, with players needing to conserve stamina and plan their attacks lest they get easily overwhelmed. The game also incorporates a more open world structure than its predecessors, seeing Kratos and his son freely traversing their environment, unlocking shortcuts, and finding means to double back on past areas in a level progression that feels more like a Souls game than the God of Wars of old. All of this came together to make a game that felt genuinely innovative, a fresh new direction for a pre-established franchise that was as welcoming to newcomers as it was to prior fans.

-Donut County     Donut County is a silly, short indie puzzle game in which you play as a mischievous raccoon delivering "donuts" to the unsuspecting populous around him. These donuts are, in fact, large sinkholes that expand as they eat different objects, eventually growing to swallow the entirety of the lot they were sent to. The core gameplay lies in this concept, with you controlling the various sinkholes from level to level, figuring out the order in which to consume the various objects on each map in order to grow in size. As the game progresses you unlock various upgrades to these sinkholes, like the ability to spit things out of them, adding new layers to the simple puzzles the game encapsulates. It isn't a terribly long game, as already said, only taking an hour or two to finish, but it cemented itself as a charming indie game amidst a sea of big-name titles.

-Marvel's Spider-Man     Developed by Insomniac, previously mentioned in the Sunset Overdrive excerpt, Marvel's Spider-Man is a rare example of a genuinely amazing superhero game. In it, players take on the role of Peter Parker, a Spider-Man who has already established himself as the hero we know and love, but one that still has room to grow and learn. What starts off as a triumphant takedown of one Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin, soon blossoms into a complicated web that involves a shady group known as the Demons that Spider-Man must stop from wreaking havoc on the city. But the game isn't just about the Heroics of Spider-Man; The Game showcases the best aspects of Peter's character, splitting the game equally between his time as Spider-Man and his normal life as Peter Parker, a scientist working under the apprenticeship of one Otto Octavius, while simultaneously working with his Aunt May at the local Homeless Shelter and trying to rekindle his forlorn relationship with Mary Jane. All of this unfurls simultaneously, weaving a web that melds incredible movement with fast and stylish combat, stellar characters, and a heartwarming tale, cementing itself not only as a great game but also as one of the best Spider-Man stories out there.

-The Missing: JJ Macfield and the Island of Memories     The Missing is a heartfelt, down to earth story told through the lens of a grisly but goofy premise. In it, you play as the titular JJ Macfield, a young girl who goes on a trip with her close friend Emily to a remote island off the coast of Maine. What is supposed to be a fun excursion takes a turn for the worse, as Emily goes missing, leaving JJ to track her down. Unfortunately, this quest quickly leads JJ to her death...but not for long. Resurrected by a bolt of lightning, JJ gains the ability to remove various parts of her body, as the island quickly goes from an idyllic wonderland to a psychedelic nightmare. Undeterred, JJ uses her newfound ability to traverse the island, ever searching for her lost friend. The Missing might sound like a horror game on paper, but it uses these macabre themes to tell a distinctly grounded story about dealing with personal identity and navigating a hostile and unfamiliar world, culminating in a heartbreakingly bittersweet twist that I won't spoil here. This is all to say; the Missing is an excellent game. It's a joy to play, despite its harrowing content, and it manages to convey its themes in a way that feels genuine and meaningful, telling a story that's still relevant to this day.

-Super Smash Brothers Ultimate     Smash games have always been good, and Ultimate more than earns its moniker. This is the Ultimate Smash game; iterating on its predecessors without changing anything for the worst, Ultimate is an unabashed love letter to the series as a whole, incorporating every character and every map from every prior game all in one upgraded package. If you don't know what Smash is, let me explain; Nintendo is known for a lot of fantastic first-party titles, from Mario to Kirby to Metroid, and countless others. Smash takes all of these well-loved characters, throws them in an arena, and has them fight for supremacy. Debuting on the Nintendo 64, Smash has seen one major game release for every Nintendo console since, culminating in Smash Ultimate on the Nintendo Switch. As earlier stated, it features an absolutely enormous roster of playable characters, featuring every fighter from the previous games and several new additions for good measure. This roster was only further expanded with the release of the fighter passes, seeing an additional eleven fighters across the two that have thus far been released, ranging from surprise hits like Persona 5's Joker to fan favorites like Banjo and Kazooie. While not featuring a traditional story mode, Ultimate makes good use of its characters in a suite of different game modes that can be played both alone or with friends, online or locally. It's a fantastic party game and an equally praiseworthy fighter, rewarding skilled play but catering to casual players and newcomers alike.

2019

    2019 marked the slowdown for the current generation, shadowed by the whispers of a new age of consoles. This made for a simple year for games, but one no less stacked with noteworthy games and worthwhile experiences.

-Kingdom Hearts 3     After years of waiting, 2019 finally saw the release of Kingdom Hearts 3. The wait might have been long, but the game delivered on the hype, simultaneously closing out the narrative arc that had begun so long ago with Kingdom Hearts 1 and beginning a new chapter for fans to look forward to. In service of this goal, Kingdom Hearts 3 wrapped up the majority of dangling storylines from all the previous games, while still leaving a handful of mysteries to chase into the future of the franchise. It featured a new suite of Disney worlds to explore, and incorporated Pixar properties for the first time in franchise history. The new content accompanied refined and polished gameplay mechanics and a complete visual overhaul, while still retaining the heart and soul that defined the games thus far. It all came together well enough but was later expanded upon through the release of Re: Mind, the game's beefy expansion that rebalanced gameplay and added in hours of new story content to better cap off the story. All told, Kingdom Hearts 3 was another great game, building on a legacy that seems like it will continue well into the future.

-Devil May Cry 5     For those not in the know, Devil May Cry is a series of games that follow the life of Dante, a half-demon sword for hire as he does his best to kill monsters and eat pizza. It's a franchise known for skillful, precise, stylish combat mixed with goofy, over the top stories, usually involving Dante and his associates contending with the fallout of his family, the demon king Sparda and his brother Vergil. While not a flawless franchise, it saw several excellent releases over the years, but then went depressingly dormant. Devil May Cry 5 was the perpetual waiting game, but 2019 saw it finally come out, accompanied by mass acclaim and praise. it really seemed like all the years of waiting were well rewarded. DMCV features three playable characters; Nero, a fellow demon hunter first introduced in Devil May Cry 4, Dante, the series' staple protagonist, and lastly the mysterious V, a newly introduced character for this game. Together the three were tasked with working together to take down the demonic Qliphoth and its master, Urizen, an immensely powerful demon lord. The game looks gorgeous, marking the first time the games have looked truly next-gen. Accompanying this boost in visual fidelity is the franchise's staple; combat was finely tuned to be more stylish than ever, with each character having a variety of tricks at their disposal to dispatch the demon hoard that stood between them and Urizen. Devil May Cry was back, and it was better than ever.

-Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night     Bloodstained is the spiritual successor to the Castlevania series, helmed by its most prominent contributor Koji Igarashi. Starting its life as nothing more than a simple Kickstarter, it blew through its funding goal and a few years later saw its release on the current generation of consoles.  It's not a particularly complicated game, but it is particularly fun, with it adapting many of the staples that made Castlevania so great. As a spiritual successor to Castlevania, the games play very similarly; both are side scrolling hack and slash games that take place in fantastical gothic castles, and both see protagonists with varied combat and magical aptitude on their quest to take down the castle's owner. In the case of Castlevania, that owner is Dracula, but in the case of Bloodstained, players are tasked with defeating Gebel, an alchemically modified human known as a Shardbinder. You play as another one of these Shardbinders, Miriam. Miriam and Gebel are the lone survivors of an alchemical experiment that gave them the ability to wield a power called shards, crystalline embodiments of demonic essence. The narrative is simple, but the gameplay is where it shines; as players progress through Gebel's castle, you can accumulate more and more shards, all of which give Miriam access to new abilities, abilities that go on to aid her in her continued exploration. This creates a very satisfying loop; explore the castle, collect shards, unlock more of the castle to explore. Augmenting her shards are a suite of craftable and upgradeable weaponry, a selection of melee and firearms that allows players to diversify their preferred playstyle and experiment with what works best in any given situation. Subsequent content additions have added even more to the game, in the form of new modes, difficulties, and playable characters, adding to the replayability and longevity of what was already an excellent experience. Despite starting from simple roots, Bloodstained rose up and became something all on its own, paying homage to its inspirations while cementing a name for itself as a new staple of the genre.

-Catherine Full Body     While originally releasing in 2011, 2019 saw an expanded re-release complete with new characters, new stages, and hours of extra story content. At its core, Catherine and its Full Body re-release are unique gems in the gaming world. One part puzzle game, one part dating simulator, it blends the complicated world of relationships with macabre block puzzles, all the while weaving a beautiful tapestry about one man's quest for love. In it, you take the role of Vincent Brooks, an unambitious 30-something simply going through the motions of life. He has a steady relationship and a stable job, a group of colorful and enthusiastic friends, but it's clear from the start just how much he's stagnated. His current girlfriend, Katherine, is starting to ask the big questions; marriage, children, their future. Unable to parse these ideas, he loses himself in his time at the local bar with his pals, shooting the shit and getting sloshed. That is, until, a new flame suddenly appears; the seductive temptress Catherine. One thing leads to another, and it comes to pass that they spend the night together...maybe. This is where the game's narrative really kicks off, with Vincent having to navigate the day to day, attempting to reconcile his long-time love with his possible new fling. This story is juxtaposed against the game's core gameplay loop, which sees Vincent forced to climb the deadly tower of babel each night in his dreams. To do this, players must stack blocks and avoid the perils and traps that each stage presents, making a mad dash to the top of the tower before the bottom collapses in on itself and Vincent plummets to his doom. For you see, this isn't an ordinary dream; if you die on the tower, you die in real life, making this desperate ascent a race for his very life. Each stage of the tower represents the game's various core themes, and each gets more and more complicated as the game progresses. In the interim of these climbs, players are set about answering multiple-choice inquiries that influence the direction of Vincent's relationships, with each answer adjusting a conspicuous morality meter that eventually comes to determine which of the 8 endings you could attain. With Full Body, this number was increased to 13, to adjust for the inclusion of a new paramour; Rin, a mysterious piano player that sets up shop in Vincent's favorite bar. Both Catherine and its Full Body re-release are excellent games, but I was especially smitten with the layers of extra content and story that Full Body brought to the table, additions that made Full Body one of my favorite games of 2019.

-Untitled Goose Game     Untitled goose game is a simple premise on paper; players take on the role of an ornery, mischievous goose as it wreaks havoc through a small English town. Equal parts puzzle and stealth game, the goose has a laundry list of tasks it seeks to complete, from stealing hats off people's heads to infiltrating the local pub. It's not a long game by any means, but it has a ton of replayability in the form of additional tasks and challenges that only present themselves after your first playthrough. These range from time-based completions to additional bouts of mischief and all of them are incredibly satisfying to chase down. Untitled Goose Game has a quaint, painterly art style that compliments the charming simplicity of the game's premise, accompanied by a dynamic, classically-toned score that rises and falls in prominence as you go about your goosely business. All said Untitled Goose Game is a genuine treat, a brief but whimsical game that's just about having fun and goofing around.

2020

    It's no secret that 2020 has been a rough year for a lot of folks. Between a pandemic, political controversy, and general drudgery, it's a year that feels like it can't end soon enough. But in spite of it all, 2020 was also a fantastic year for games. Serving as the last hurrah for the Xbox One and Playstation 4, we saw the release of some truly excellent stories that kept players going through the long months of an otherwise mediocre year.

-Animal Crossing: New Horizons     Releasing right at the start of widespread quarantine, New Horizons supplied people with something they couldn't easily do in their own lives; escape. Animal Crossing New Horizons is the perfect escapist fantasy for the year it released in, seeing players partaking in an island getaway in the hopes of colonizing and forming an idyllic town on an untamed paradise.  At their core, the animal crossing games are simple simulators. You create your character by selecting a few presets; hair, eyes, skin color, and then you're let free to explore your new locale. With this latest release, that locale is the aforementioned island, a small paradise in the sea dotted by trees and rivers, accented by flowers and weeds. You start your life on this new Island with a handful of other residents; the Nook Family, the proprietors of this island venture, and two random villagers who are looking to make a life on this island the same as you. Things start small, with everyone working together to set up tents and create a bonfire and find some food for a welcome party. Afterward, the game synchronizes itself to your console's date and time and sets you off on your way. Unlike other simulators on this list, Animal Crossing is a unique breed, running concurrently to the real world, continuously progressing in real-time. Flowers grow, trees produce fruit, and each day is a new adventure. It follows the general turn of the seasons for your respective hemisphere, celebrating holidays and alternating available activities with each passing day. As for what you can do yourself, the opportunities are legion; you can catch bugs, go fishing, search for fossils, chat up your villagers, visit other islands, and much more. As you progress, more ventures open their doors to you; catch enough bugs and fish, and you can elect to have a museum built to showcase your finds. Collect enough resources, and you can build new furniture and create plots of land that encourage more villagers to come and move to your island. Everything you do is in service of continued growth, but also serves just as simple fun, a charming, easygoing distraction from the concerns of the day-to-day.

-Final Fantasy VII Remake     The Final Fantasy franchise is a long and storied one, replete with highs and lows. One such high was 1997's Final Fantasy 7, a game that quickly cemented itself as a fan favorite and an absolute classic. Now, in 2020, FF7 is back...sort of. See, FF7 Remake is the first in a line of games that will eventually go on to tell the entirety of the original FF7's story, which means that this release is only the first portion of a much larger narrative. Adapting what was originally the first few hours of the original game, FF7 Remake expands upon the opening section of its predecessor, simultaneously remaking the old content for modern audiences and adding in new aspects for old fans. FF7 Remake improves upon the original in practically every way, serving as a genuine remake that still manages to retain what made that original game so memorable and important to fans. The game might be new, but the heart is the same; FF7 Remake follows the story of Cloud Strife, an ex SOLDIER turned mercenary hired by an eclectic group known as Avalanche to dismantle a local power plant that's poisoning the planet. What starts as a well-intentioned but extreme case of eco-terrorism quickly explodes (pun intended) into a much larger story that sees Cloud and Avalanche bringing the fight straight to the corrupt Shinra Corporation and beyond, culminating in a battle against fate itself. Because this remake only covers a portion of what will go on to be a much larger narrative, it only scratches the surface of what makes the original FF7 so great, but it does so with gusto; the game plays and looks better than ever, bringing with it a heartfelt and compelling narrative that keeps you hooked the whole way through.

-Minecraft Dungeons     Minecraft Dungeons takes the charming, voxel visuals and world of Minecraft and melds them seamlessly with a charming, easygoing dungeon crawler that's approachable for casual and experienced gamers alike. Where Minecraft is an open-ended sandbox game about building and exploring a blocky world, Minecraft Dungeons sees a collective of heroes on a quest to defeat the evil Illager, a powerful sorcerer whose armies have been sweeping the land leaving destruction in their wake. It's not a very complicated story about good and evil, but it doesn't have to be; Minecraft Dungeons prioritizes it's simple and easy to master gameplay first and foremost. You collect loot, battle recognizable Minecraft enemies, and progress through a litany of stages on your way to fight the big bad. It's not very long but encourages you to play it time and again, collecting better gear and trying your hand at the many difficulty levels for additional challenges. It's not the best looking or the best playing game that released this year, but it had heart and made for a short and entertaining way to pass the time.

-Ghost of Tsushima    Ghost of Tsushima isn't a game to scoff at. One of the best looking games of the generation, this PS4 exclusive is one part historical timepiece, one part action-adventure, and one part stealth game. It follows the story of Jin Sakai, a samurai and one of the last survivors of the Mongol invasion of his home island of Tsushima, Japan. Left to die, he is found and nursed back to health by a wayward thief who teaches Jin the art of stealth and subterfuge, seeing him off on his quest for bloody revenge on the Mongol invaders that have encroached upon his homeland. To do this, he must first build up a fighting force of equal minded, skilled warriors, all while dismantling the various camps and operations the Mongols have set up in the absence of the defeated Samurai army. Jin can approach this in one of two ways; relying on his prowess as a formidable Samurai, Jin can challenge the many enemies in the game to flashy yet precise sword combat, or he can utilize the recently learned skills of stealth, infiltrating their encampments and silently picking the Mongols off one by one. There's no wrong answer to how you choose to play, although it takes some time for Jin to accept his new roles as both Samurai and assassin. Both methods of play feel equally as stellar, too; Combat in this game is incredibly polished, finely tuned swordplay that focuses on timing and well-planned strikes to dispatch your foes with ease, while the stealth feels tense and requires a distinctly tactical approach, planning your routes and cleverly dispatching foes so as to not raise suspicion. But the game isn't just about taking out your enemies. Ghost of Tsushima boasts one of the most beautiful open worlds I've ever experienced, a vibrant and gorgeous landscape dotted with myriad activities and side quests for you to explore and enjoy. One moment, you could be doing battle with a wayward group of Mongols or bandits, while the next could see you tracking a friendly fox to a shrine, composing a haiku in the shadow of a large tree, or recuperating your strength at a small hot spring while you ruminate on your adventures thus far. Ghost of Tsushima is an incredibly varied game, alternating between intense highs and calming lows, all coming together to become one of the best games of the last generation.

-Spiritfarer     While I have not finished this game, it more than deserves recognition on this list. In it, you play as Stella, a young girl who takes over as the ferryman for the River Styx once Charon retires to the afterlife, tasked with providing for the wayward souls who live on the river as you ferry them to their final rest. To do this, Stella must collect various resources and build up her ship, outfitting it with living spaces and various commodities tailored to her current passengers. These aforementioned passengers will, in turn, begin to open up to Stella, tasking her with making certain foods or visiting different locales, all in an effort to give these wayward souls a proper farewell on their trip to the afterlife. Spiritfarer is a simple simulator game about resource management and exploration that showcases a lovely, genuinely heartfelt story about love and loss, one that will put a smile on your face as easily as it brings a tear to your eye.

     And with that, I close out this hefty list, closing out the last generation. This compendium hardly scratches the surface of the last seven years' library, but hopefully, I did a good enough job remembering some of the games that made this last generation so great. There are a lot of games that I've still yet to play, resting in wait in my backlog for the time they get pulled out and given their due, but for now, this concludes my walk down memory lane. The last generation saw some excellent additions to the vast and ever-expanding library of video game history. Here's hoping the next several years can say the same. The start of the new consoles is off to a very promising start; in the last month or so alone we've seen excellent releases from both indie and big-name developers, fresh takes on old franchises, and new IPs alike. So, here's to the Last Generation, here's to the Next Generation, and here's to gaming overall; may it continue to thrive for years to come.

[lo-55]

Shattered Chains of Fate Ch. 9

Crown of Thorns

Before they set off for Seireitei the next morning Ichigo hands a backpack to each of his friends.

‘Backpack’ isn’t the right word. It’s a sling bag that will strap across one shoulder each. Kukaku had been nice enough to provide him with them. They’ve got basic medicines, rations, a small flashlight and a bowie knife, a few other things that came in strangely useful in Ichigo’s experience. Like a roll of tinfoil, and a ball of rubber bands.

“Once we get into the seireitei, we’re gonna make a flashy entrance. People are going to see us and they’re going to report on what we look like. As soon as we land we need to find the laundry, or the barracks, and steal uniforms.”

He holds a hand up to keep Uryu from objecting.

“I know you hate it. Deal with it. Orihime and I will be the most distinct. Chad and Uryu can probably change clothes, maybe hair styles and be fine. She and I will have to change hair color.”

They won’t have time to dye their hair, and even if they did Ichigo knows they were both loath to do so. Orihime prided her hair for Sora, her brother. Ichigo was just plain stubborn.

“There’s wigs in both of our bags,” and in Ichigos, his Chaldeas combat uniform in all its white and black glory. It will cover the rather distinct mark on his chest. He turns to their guide.

“Yoruichi. There’s different squads, what do we need to know about them? Characteristics, duties, positions. Anything.”

The cat has been staring at him this entire time. Ichigo doesn’t quite know what to make of it. She shakes herself out of it.

“You’re right. Each squad has different duties and different specialities. There’s also rivalries between certain squads. Each squad has approximately 200 individuals.”

“That’s not good,” Ichigo grimaces. “200 is small enough to be able to recognize people by face if not name.”

“Yes, but the turnover rate for unseated officers is low enough I don’t think it will pose a problem,” Yoruichi continues. She gives them a run through of symbols and squads associated with them, before moving on, “the first division is made up of those who are able to take charge. They rank highest, besides seated officers. They will be the second worst to masquerade as. The absolute worst will be the second division, who work as covert operations. They handle wetwork.”

“Assassins,” Ichigo understands. “And spies?”

“Sometimes. That also falls to the Third division, which serves as a secondary source of information gathering and is in charge of media, communication, and, for lack of a better word, propaganda. Fourth division is medics and combat medics. The fifth has historically been an emergency response system, and are one of the most combat ready.”

Ichigo nods along. Orihime would be best suited to the forth then. Chad, perhaps the fifth?

“The sixth division runs internal affairs. Even if Rukia had not been their captain's sister, it would have been someone from the sixth sent to retrieve her. Seventh doesn’t have a particular speciality as far as I know, but they are typically sincere people. The eighths division is made up almost entirely of women, and they are the reservists and jacks of all trades. They work closely with the thirteenth. Rukia’s own division.”

“Are they mostly women as well?”

“No. They typically do the most work outside of the soul society, sending people to the living world and protecting people from hollows. Ninth division is also combat oriented. They are entrusted with the defense of the seireitei. They count the paperwork of all high ranking officers as well. The tenth is in charge of inter squad cooperation and joint task forces. The eleventh is full of heavy hitters and combat specialists. They are one of the largest divisions, and also the one with the highest mortality rate. Twelfth is research and development. We should avoid them as well.”

Ichigo taps his fingers along his leg. “Orihime should find something from the fourth. She’s the only one who can heal, and can probably pass her abilities off as a zanpakuto if needed. None of the rest of us could be in the eighth, and the thirteenth seems too close to each other to be fooled. I don’t know enough about science for the twelve.”

“I could probably pass, but I would rather not,” Uryu agrees.

“That’s fine. I think it’s best if I say I’m in the eleventh. I have the sword and the fighting ability too. Chad, I think you’d be best for ninth. And Uryu, sixth. We need to avoid one through three if we can.”

“Ichigo…”

Ichigo looks up at Chad. “Huh?”

“When did you start planning like this?”

Ichigo doesn’t know how to answer that. He learned on the battlefields of france. He learned in the streets of london. He learned on the decks of the Golden Hind, the plains of america, the mountains of the middle east and the deserts of egypt. They had been weaker, they had been lesser. They had heart and desperation, but they had to fight smarter not just harder. It was the only option. He had to learn or he had to die.

“Chaldea, I guess,” he finally says. “We need to be quick and careful. This is a rescue mission, not a war.”

Chad looks at him for a long moment. Finally, he nods.

“Okay.”

They break apart and come back together around the ball that Kukaku hands them. She looks at Ichigo intently.

“This energy needs to be balanced between all of you equally. Your power is insane. You’ll have to put barely any into it.”

“That’ll suck,” Ichigo says bluntly. “I’m not good at holding back.”

He runs his fingers through his hair. “No choice though. Let’s go.”

Before they can start, Ganju grabs his wrist. Ichigo keeps himself from elbowing him in the face.

“What?” Ichigo asks, turning to look at him.

“Why are you going through all of this for one shinigami? Why is she so special?” Ganju asks. For once he looks absolutely serious. Ichigo stands straighter and lifts his stubborn jaw.

“It’s because she saved my life. And my family’s lives. She gave her power to me, and because of that she’s going to die. I owe her,” he said again, “And I will repay that debt.”

Ganju searches his face for something. Whatever he finds must satisfy him. He lets go of Ichigo, but Ichigo grabs his arm before he can get far.

“Why are you coming along? It’s not like you have a stake in this. You’re not one of our friends. You’ve never even met any of us before this, and you clearly hate shinigami.”

Ganju looks ready to say something, but Kukaku shoves her way between them and cuts it off.

“Enough chit chat, let’s go already. You’re wasting daylight, idiot.”

Ichigo can’t argue with that. They circle the sphere and Ichigo lets only the barest of his reiryoku bleed into it.

He’s not oblivious. He knows the difference in his power and theirs is about where he and Mash had been when they’d first began. She was endowed with the power and skills of a great warrior of ages past and he was little more than an amateur mage who fought punks on the side.

Now he’s got his own power, his own sword, and he’s been trained by the best warriors to ever walk the earth. He’d learned at the knees of literal legends. He’d faced down gods and demons and he’d lead armies.

He had the power, he had the experience.

It’s time to go.

They climb into the canon, form the sphere, and the chant begins.

Kido isn’t so different from magic. The only difference is the type of energy that’s being used. Reiryoku and mana are the opposite of two coins, the body and the soul. The living and the dead.

Ichigo figures now he stands somewhere between the two. He doesn’t fully understand. He doesn’t need to.

All he needs to know is how to fight and win, for the sake of his friends.

*

Ichigo will admit, it’s somewhat terrifying how  big this goddamn continent is. They’ve been marching for what feels like forever. He knows that the northern army has been holding the celts back for at least a week. He doesn’t know how much longer they can last, and they themselves are still a good week from the white house.

The stress of the situation was still heavy on Ichigo’s shoulders, but Kyo was a good person to carry part of it. Mash is under just as much stress as he is, but she must be made of stronger stuff than he is.

She presses on with all the faith in the world that they will stand victorious when the dust settles.

Ichigo has less faith, and more bullheaded refusal to accept any other outcome.

Kyo, he can tell, doesn’t understand this.

They stand in a field of death. Celts lay at their feet, blood drips from Ichigo’s sword and stains his cheek. His orange hair is dyed red in places.

These are soldiers who were born only to fight. They were made to die at the behest of a wicked queen and an artificial king. They never knew childhood. They never knew joy or a future. They only knew the present, they only knew what they were made to do.

To fight. To kill. To die.

“This is wrong,” Ichigo says, his hands fisted at his side and his jaw set in stubborn anger. In one hand his sword weeps bloody tears into crushed flowers at his feet. A mansion sets in the background, once grand, and around them stretches the ruins of a garden. A headless cherub gushes brown water into a red basin.

Kyo reaches down and plucks the flower from its place on the ground.  Ichigo knows well he has the heart of a poet and the mind of a scholar.

“Orchids,” he says, showing Ichigo where the violet petals stretch through the violent stains.

“I doubt we can get perfume from them.” The stench of rot and death hasn’t set in just yet, but it will. Ichigo would rather not stick around.

“No, but they’re out of place here, don’t you think?” He must see the scowl on Ichigo’s face, for he goes on without prompting. “Orchids are a spring flower. One of the four gentlemen. They’re a rather old concept in art.”

“Old for you must mean ancient for us,” Ichigo tries to turn the subject, but Kyo merely shrugs.

“You humans live short, scared lives. And we, long and terrible ones. It’s the way things are…”

It’s there again. The look in Kyo’s eyes. The one he’d had when he was first telling Ichigo about Rukongai and seireitei, and the empty throne that sits atop the world. There’s a longing for change, Kyo is too stubborn and ambitious not to have it, but there’s something else holding him back.

Ichigo scowls and closes the distance between them in a single stride.

“You just sound defeatist. So it’s hard, so you’ll have to fight. So you just give up? Are you going to give in to the status quo when you return to Soul Society?” Ichigo demands. He grasps Kyo by the front of his shihakusho and drags him so close that their noses almost touch. Brown eyes meet brown, one set wide and the other narrowed. “Half the fight is always mental. If you talk like that, you’ll never win, and nothing will never change!”

Ichigo bites out his hardest truth. “A victor should talk about how the world should be. Not how the world is.”

Kyo opens and closes his mouth, gaping like a fish. Ichigo has never seen the man so wrong footed before. Even when Ichigo had shoved part of his soul into Kyo’s body, there hadn’t been time for him to be so stunned.

Now he gets to see those brown eyes shift. From shock to understanding to a near burning determination that his calm demeanor barely betray’s.

Ichigo is getting good at reading him.

He can see the blossoming dream inside his heart. Soon time will erase everything, but maybe, just maybe, some things will remain. Impressions, hopes. Dreams.

Kyo lifts the orchid up between them, purple and red in equal turns, and incinerates it with only a whispered spell.

* *

They’re forced to split apart upon entry.

It’s not ideal, nothing about the situation is. All the same, Ichigo deals with it.

He finds himself spat out into a street with no name and no distinction with Ganju, who lands in a pile of sand while Ichigo himself land catlike on his feet. Yoruichi still sits on his shoulder, steady and growing familiar. She isn’t Fou, but the presence is welcome all the same.

It takes all of ten minutes for someone to find them.

Typical.

Ichigo glances at Yoruichi on his shoulder. “Are you staying, or do you wanna step to the side?”

Yoruichi considers him with those wide golden eyes of hers. He always feels like she’s looking more than skin deep.

“I’ll be off to the side. Don’t get into too much trouble.”

“Give me some credit,” Ichigo rolls his eyes and bends down enough that Yoruichi can hop to the ground comfortably.

He tilts his head at Ganju. “Hey. I’ll take the stronger one. Do what you want with pretty boy.”

“Oh?” one of the opposing shinigami smiles and flutters his weird feather eyelashes at him. “You really think I’m pretty?”

It wasn’t meant to be a compliment. Ichigo grimaced at him. “You look like you spend twenty minutes in front of a mirror every morning. If you don’t exfoliate, I’m a hollow.”

“Well, Yumichika, looks like this guy has got you pegged!” the other one, a blond man who has his sword propped on a shoulder, grins at Ichigo. There’s red around the corners of his eyes. Make up? Tattoos?

“I’m not pegging anyone, thanks,” Ichigo says dryly.

The three dead people stare at him blankly.

“Huh?” pretty boy, Yumichika, asks.

Ichigo shook his head swiftly. “I’m not explaining that.” At least Yoruichi snorted at him.

“Well, doesn’t matter. All I need to know is that today…” the bald man started bouncing around on his toes with his sword out in front of him. Dancing? “I’m lucky! Lucky, it’s my lucky day!”

“Ichigo!” Ganju hisses, grabbing his shoulder. “I’m not fighting these guys, they’re way too strong! I’m gonna run.”

“What? No. If you run we might get split up! That’s a terrible plan, just hold him off until I finish my fight.”

“Hah?” Ganju scowls at him. “Since when are you the boss?!”

“Since I knocked your ass flat on the ground, that’s when!”

“I don’t care what you say,” Ganju scrambles out of the sand box he made. “I’m outta here!”

Ichigo watches him go sprinting before he looks to Yoruichi. “Oi. Keep an eye on him, would you?”

Yoruichi gives a long suffering sigh. “I suppose I must. He is Kukaku’s brother, after all.”

Without another word the cat trots off at Ganju’s heels, keeping pace easily.

Ichigo is left with the two locals.

“...Did that cat just… talk?” Yumichika points after the runaway, his perfectly trimmed brows furrowed.

“Ee-yup.”

“Yumichika,” the bald one nods to his companion, who grunts in response and takes off after Ganju. Ichigo has no choice but to let him go and trust Ganju to handle himself. He doesn’t know if he can take the both of these guys at once. They’re clearly close. He’s sure they’re a terribly effective tag team too, and he really doesn’t have time for this.

“Your friend. He could tell we’re stronger, and he ran. You would have been smart to do the same,” the bald man says, eying Ichigo speculatively.

Ichigo merely shrugs. It’s not in his nature to back down from a fight. It never has been, and now it is even less.

“I figure, if you are stronger you’ll catch up,” They aren’t, he can see clearly.  “I’ll have to fight you either way. Besides, if you’re not then I’ll just kick your ass now and move on.”

He shifts himself, draws his sword and bares his teeth.

The man laughs, sounding far too delighted. This is someone who revels in combat.

“That’s a pretty good reason,” he praises, drawing his sword from his scabbard. Ichigo blocks the blow that comes, and ducks the swipe of his sheath. Ichigo bounces back and comes against him again, a whirl of blade. He twists out of the way of another blow and smashes his elbow above the man's eye, splitting his brow. He barely moves back from the blade that slices through his own. Blood drips into his left eye, a mirror of the damage he’s inflicted. They separate.

It’s the bald man, his opponent, who brings them to a pause. The air isn’t as heavy as he would expect. This man may want him dead, but Ichigo can tell; he’s fighting for the fun of it.

(Ichigo loathes to admit it, but he is too. Rukia is going to die, Ganju is being chased by someone dangerous, and Ichigo is here having  fun )

(It makes him sick to realize that the life of one person weighs less heavily than all of human history.

Rukia is his friend, how can he think such a thing?)  

“That was good. You’ve got good reflexes. You’re stong. What’s your name?”

Ichigo doesn’t see a reason to pretend to be anyone he’s not.

“Ichigo,” he says easily. “And you are?”

“Ikkaku Madarame. Third seat of squad eleven. Ichigo huh? That’s a good name.”

“You think so?” Ichigo arches a brow, privately waiting for him to say something about strawberries.

“Yeah. They say guys with ‘ichi’ in their names are strong and forthright. So…”

He lifted his sword again, his scabbard in a reverse grip behind him and grins like mad. “What say we be friends, Ichi?”

Ichigo wishes Urahara were here, if only so he could crow an ‘i told you so’.

Ichigo levels his sword and can’t help the curve of his mouth. “Fine. But only if I win. If I lose. I figure I’ll be dead.”

“Deal!”

They come together again.

“You seem young,” says the chatterbox, Ikaku. “But you’ve adapted to my fighting style well.”

Well? What can he say, he’s met a lot of dual wielders. EMIYA, other EMIYA, Diarmuid saber, Diarmuid lancer, Scathach, Jack the Ripper, and more. He’s fought with them, trained under them. His hand still itches to hold a sword that isn’t there.

He settles it on his hilt instead.

“Who taught you to fight?” Ikaku asks. He wipes away the blood on his brow with an ointment. Ichigo makes mental note of it. For now he settles on keeping one eye closed, and waits for Ikaku to try to take advantage of his ‘weakness’.

“Who’s to say? I pick up what I can from everyone I know,” he says truthfully. “Are we gonna talk or fight?”

“Fight, obviously! Now,” he slams his sword and scabbard together. “Extend! Hozukimaru!”

Huh. A duel wielder and a lancer all in one. What an interesting person.

It doesn’t matter. Ichigo crosses the ground between them. He pours his power into his blade, until it shines pale white and blue. Ikkaku brings his halberd up to block, but Ichigo cuts through it like butter.

Zangetsu slices through Hozukimari like it’s not made of wood and steel and soul.

Zangetsu carves through Ikkaku’s chest and stomach. It’s not deep enough to kill, but the blood flows heavily. Ichigo finishes it with a hard elbow to his jaw, and Ikkaku falls to the ground.

Zangetsu returns to his resting place on Ichigo’s back and Ichigo gets to work. He has no intention of killing if he can help it. In this case, he can.

He uses part of Ikkaku’s own balm and his first aid kit, one of the things he’d packed in his bag, to seal the injuries. Ichigo hasn’t got time to wait around for Ikkaku to wake up, but this is a good chance for him to get information.

So he sits and changes his hair color, and watches the clouds roll by while Yoruichi plays cat and mouse with the pretty boy.

* * *

The whitehouse is a twisted vision.

Ichigo has seen pictures of his classmates on vacation in front of it, and pictures online or in books. He knows, at least vaguely, what it’s supposed to look like. It’s not supposed to be a twisted desecration of red thorns eating away at pale stone dragons.  

Ichigo eyes one of the macabre statues, wrapped in thick, strangling vines made of the same blood red bane that Gae Bolg is. So many thorns. Scathach had called them unbearable. Ichigo is caught somewhere between pity and anger at the berserker that’s caused so much pain and suffering. He was born for this, created from a wish and twisted by Medb’s black heart.

A pitiful creature to be sure. Ichigo knew Cu Chulainn well. He was a creature of duty and loyalty, of compassion and determination. Once he decided he wanted to protect someone that was the end of it. He would battle an entire army on his own, suffer uncountable pains, and still die with his pride intact. He had.

Ichigo doesn’t miss the way his own Caster eying the thorns, his red eyes dark. If Ichigo remembered right, he had died at the point of his own spear during Medb’s quest for vengeance against him.

Ichigo bumps his shoulder with him and gives him a questioning look.

“ ‘m fine,” he assured, touching Ichigo’s shoulder. “I sworn m’self to you, Master. Have faith in me.”

“Will my loyal dog not use my name?” Ichigo rolls his eyes. He still manages to get a cracked smile from the druid. Caster lifts his staff and settles his shoulders.

“After you.”

Ichigo leads the way inside.

It’s just them again. His core servants, and now Florence Nightingale. For a medic, she’s one of the scariest berserkers he’s ever seen. He’s not sure even heracles would win a fair fight with her when she’s determined to save someone.

Indeed, when they finally step into the interior, where Cu Alter and Medb are waiting for them, she wastes no time explaining that she’s going to cure them.

Although, Ichigo has never heard someone say that the best course of treatment would be  suicide .

He privately agreed with the king of savages. Nightingale is crazy.

That doesn’t mean she’s not wrong. Ichigo can see it plainly. Cu Alter, the king that Medb created, really has had his joy sealed away by his duty to destroy. There’s no pleasure in the fight for him, and for a warrior such as he it must be equal agony to the red thorns that pierce his hide.

Ichigo shift, Kyo at his side, while his band steps forwards in formation. Mash and Rama take the front, a strong defense and a strong offense that can switch easily to long range at a dimes turn. Cu Cullainn and Nightingale bring up the rear, supporting them with runes and healing spells, while Medusa stays staunchly at Ichigo’s side.

Her hair floats around her, a hissing halo that rattles with chains. Her scythe has manifested in her hands.

Ichigo lifts his right fist, the command spells burning in his skin. He only has two left, and three spells in his combat uniform. This will be their final fight. They have to win. They have to.

If they lose, they lose the world. Everyone’s suffering and sacrifice will be wasted. Yuzu and Karin, and even his dad will be lost forever. His mother will have never even been born.

“Go!” He shouts, his voice cracking through the air.

Rama aims at Medb while Mash tries to keep Cu Alter at bay. Ichigo’s Caster uses the distraction to start weaving runes into deadly traps, while Nightingale reverses the worse of the damage as she’s able.

It’s going well. They’re this close to overwhelming the duo when Medb does something that Ichigo will never be able to forgive.

She summons 28 demon god pillars to the northern army.

Cu Caster get’s in the final shot.

Gae Bolg still does not kill the wicked Queen of Connacht, but it’s master does deliver the last blow that sends her glittering into dust on the wind.

That one instant of victory, however, is all Alter needs.

Gae Bolg leaves his hands.

Ichigo knows the details of the Noble Phantasm. A spear that affects probably, and turns ‘trusting the spear’ into ‘piercing the heart’. Once it’s active, there is no dodging it. There is no blocking it with anything shy of a realty marble.

It does not pierce Rama again. Nor does is strike down Mash, or Nightingale, or Meduse, or even their own Cu Chulainn.

Ichigo chokes.

He doesn’t feel it, not really. But he sees it. He sees the red jutting out of his chest. The hole that has pierced through his heart. ]

He chokes. Blood drips from his lips, down onto the spear. Brambles crawl beneath his skin, spreading the hole until black gapes within the red. Blood pours down his chest, staining the white of his shirt.

Ichigo chokes. Black bleeds into his vision from all sides and his mouth tastes like blood and chalk and void dust.

White drips down his lips.

Darkness consumes him.

* * * *

“Alright,” Ichigo tugs his wig in place one more time, double checking that there’s no orange hair poking out to give him away. Ganju is next to him, tying the shihakusho in place with a grimace over his face.

“I hate this,” he grumbles. He secures his sword back in place. His armor is barely hidden under the sleeves of his new uniform.

“You didn’t have to come with us,” Ichigo pointed out.

Ganju scowled at him. “Yes I did.”

“Your sister didn’t tell you to-”

“It’s not about my sister!” Ganju snaps. Ichigo shuts his mouth at the look in his eyes. Burning with anger and grief.

“It’s about… my brother,” Ganju’s hands were shaking. “He was killed in cold blood by a shinigami. He was a genius, a lieutenant, and a good man. But he was betrayed and killed by his partner. I was young… So I don’t know everything. But I will never forget that shinigami’s cold eyes, when she dragged my dying brother back to our home. Or the way he  thanked her for it. I’ve never understood. But you.”

Ganju grabs him by the front of his shirt. “You’re different from other shinigami. So I followed you here, so I could understand. Why he loved the shinigami until he died. I want to see for myself what shinigami are like!”

Ichigo meets Ganju’s eyes squarely. “I’m not a real shinigami, so I can’t and won’t speak for them. I’ll let you see for yourself, Ganju. Just as long as you watch my back.”

Ganju gives him a short, single nod.

Yoruichi, who has spent the entire time standing in the corner while they ready themselves, flickers her tail and stands.

“We should get going. The longer this takes, the more danger we will be in. Everyone will be on high alert, and while this can help us blend in in the confusion, we still need to stay on our toes.”

Ichigo nods sharply.

They duck out of the barracks they’d stolen into and start down the pathway. Ikkaku had told him Rukia was in a white tower, and they could see it from here. The problem was that none of them knew the way to get to the white tower. They’re just wandering around blindly.

There’s nothing for it.

They walk on.

Ichigo looks around as they go. Some of the walls carry Lily of the Valley on them, stamped in careful black ink.

“Mary’s tears,” Ichigo muses, mostly to himself.

“Huh? No, they’re plants,” Ganju argues, looking at Ichigo like he’s just lost his mind.

Ichigo scowls at him. “I know that. They’re Lily of the Valley, but some people call them Mary’s Tears. There’s an old legend in the west in the living world that they grew from the tears Mary cried when her son was crucified.  They’re a sign that their messiah is coming back.”

“That’s very interesting,” comes a smooth (terribly, awfully,) familiar voice from behind them.

Ichigo feels his heart tighten. He turns.

Kyo stands behind them. Brown hair, brown eyes. He’s older now. His face is more angular, the last of his puppy fat has melted off his face, and he’s finally taller than Ichigo. His smile is polite and geniel. Ichigo is almost fooled. He can still see the sharp intellect behind them.

A white haori hangs off his shoulders. Kyo has been made a captain.

It’s all Ichigo can do not to reach for him and hiss out the truth.

But this isn’t the place. He cocks his head and frowns.

“I’m friends with Jeanne d’arc,” he says straight faced. Ganju at his side has gone tense and still. Ichigo elbows him. They’re more than a little suspicious out here like this. Two men and a cat.

Except, Yoruichi is now gone.

Two men and no cat.

“Is that so?” Kyo looks faintly amused, even as he assesses them sharply. It’s barely hidden in his deep eyes. Ichigo knows him well enough to see it, and to see something unexpected. A faint recognition. “It’s rare for someone in the eleventh division to be so knowledgeable.”

“How did you know…?” Ichigo is not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Kyo does not speak his name, he does not broach any subjects. It stings far worse than Ichigo had ever imagined. Hadn’t Nero felt something familiar about them too? But she hadn’t remembred them, and neither does Kyo.

“You were with third seat Madarame after he lost the fight with the Ryoka, weren’t you? The eleventh rarely tolerate people who aren’t in their own squad.” He had waited at Ikkaku’s side for field medics, with his own choppy work keeping the barely conscious man stable. It shouldn’t be a shock that someone saw them and spread the word. But how did Kyo recognize him from just that?

“Oh, right,” Ichigo says like that makes sense. In his mind he’s screaming.

  Kyo, kyo! Don’t you see me? Do you remember? We’re friends, we’re friends! We fought in america, we travelled the continent, look at me goddamn it. I know the name of your sword, I know where you were born. Kyo-  

“Excuse us,” Ganju grabs Ichigo by the back of the neck and forces him into a sharp bow. “We need to get going. Invasion and all that.”

“Yes, of course,” Kyo says smoothly. He gestures behind him. “I won’t keep you. We all must do our best to protect Seireitei.”

“Right…” Ichigo barely keeps his hands to himself.

He’d promised. He  promised .

His mouth opens to say something, to beg time between only them, to send Ganju away if he must. But down the street comes a pack of blood hungry shinigami, looking for a piece of the invaders, and Ichigo has no choice but to let Ganju drag him away by the collar of his shihakusho.

A woman with a badge on her arm appears at Kyo’s side as they’re being pulled away, her brown eyes wide and curious. Kyo draws her attention away and that’s the last Ichigo sees of him. It drives him insane.

* * * * *

He comes in the dark.

Silver hair and a white haori, he manages to go utterly unseen by all. It’s a skill even Sosuke Aizen has trouble mastering without the aid of his illusions. Gin’s footsteps are light, barely a whisper against the hardwood of the office building. Even the omniskido would be hard pressed to beat his skill with sneaking around.

It’s one of the things that Aizen prizes him for. The other being his unfailing loyalty and his willingness to do whatever he was told, with or without answered questions.

These things include going out to spy on the young would-be Ryoka. Everything is happening exactly as he’s expected. They’ve even brought the Shihoin heiress back to Soul Society with them. How useful.

“Well?” he asks, without further prompting. Most of his attention is still on one of the monitors in front of him that details the boy sitting outside the Shiba house. A camera fly can only get so close with Shihoin around, so he must settle for watching the human stare at stones in his hand like they’ve personally offended him.

The boy must be mad, to come with such a small group, but this is a while different type of crazy. Sosuke is fairly certain he’d seen the human-shinigami- possible -hollow speak to the rocks.

“He’s got good reflexes,” Gin says, peering over Sosuke’s shoulder. His presence is familiar and not unwelcome. Few get so close, even when Sosuke pretends to be gentle and kind. He keeps them all at arms length, the brown nosers and sycophants.

“I saw that much. You know that’s not what I’m asking.”

Gin smiles widely at him and lifts, from out of his pocket, the innocuous looking marble. It swirls with blacks and blue’s and glows faintly it’s own ethereal light. A faint red in the center bleeds purple into the blue. Incomplete as it is, it still reacts to interesting things and people.

Gin drops it in his hand. It’s warm to the touch, nearly burning. He’s never seen the red in the center flicker so bright before, like a tiny ball of fire in the very center. There’s something not quite right about this intruder. Ichigo Kurosaki. Sosuke has known him for many years, even if he’s never gotten close enough to see the boy in person. That would involve getting far to close to Urahara and Shihoin, and if he is honest even Sosuke is not foolish enough to go up against legendary assassins in their own home field.

“It tried to burn a hole in my pocket when I got within fifty feet,” Gin reports succinctly. “What does that mean?”

Sosuke has no idea what that means. But one of his rules of his own behavior is that he never admits to not knowing something. So rather than say as much to Gin, he offers him his own faint smile, the kind that puts other people at ease but sets his most faithful companion on edge.

“You’ll see soon enough,” he says instead. “Now. Are you ready to be the bad guy, Ichimaru?”

Gin’s smile, snakelike and cold, only grows. His eyes curve upwards.

“What other kinda guy would I be for you?”

* * * * * *

[quirkless-and-embarrassed]

are you doing the character ask meme thing? it would be awesome if you talk about shinso!!

!!!

Hell yes!! It’s been too long since I did my last character meme, and Shinsou is majorly underrated. I love him. (Sorry this took a few days!)

Favorite things about him:

I love how he puts his hand on the back of his neck when he’s flustered, and I love how he’s got a toothy, kinda evil smile. It’s also cute how he plays it aloof and tries to hide his feelings, but Horikoshi draws him with little distress sweats to show he’s actually really nervous. Stoic, this kid is not. And his eye bags are cute. Why do I love characters with eye bags.

I love how, at the end of his Sports Festival match against Midoriya, he’s deeply moved by his classmates’ support (and the whole stadium’s support). It really blows a hole in his “I’m not here to make friends” image when he gets all choked up over being cheered on. Like…he wants acceptance so badly…just let him be accepted as a hero. None of this backhanded compliment “oh wow, with your quirk, you could do anything!” schtick.

His match is especially satisfying because even though he technically loses, it’s basically a victory. Midoriya beats Shinsou because he has people who believe in and support him, and by the time the battle ends, Shinsou discovers he, too, has people who believe in him. Not just friends—total strangers, too, and he can choose to listen to their voices as they cheer him on instead of hearing just his detractors. Plus, one of those supporters is Aizawa, and Shinsou accomplishes his goal for the Sports Festival: to transfer into the heroics course. SO…it winds up being a “failure” that is actually a win in disguise, and I love those.

I love how he has a complicated relationship with his quirk and society. It’s been impressed on him that he’s made for a villain role—and like…it illustrates how bizarre hero culture is in bnha, where some people are just so infatuated with the spectacle of it all to the point they’re like “oh cool! you’d make an awesome villain! don’t make me do bad things, though, okay? okay!”—but despite it, Shinsou has a defiant kind of pride in his quirk. He snarks Midoriya during their fight, being like ~oh you wouldn’t understand, but this quirk of mine is like a dream come true! (Though in the anime, it’s translated more like “even with a quirk like this, I dream of being a hero”?) Shinsou understands he could do whatever he wants with his quirk, and what he wants is to do good things. He’s bitter because like, is it that hard to believe someone might just want to do good? How/why do people have to be so pessimistic that they think someone with his power must abuse it? But at the same time, he gets it, he knows he’s not any better because he would also be dubious of someone with power like his. But also! It’s not fair! Because “heroic” quirks are also potentially destructive, but a kid like Bakugo or Todoroki is told he’ll be a great hero someday, not that he’d make a great villain—and the heroes industry guarantees them a fast-track to pro status at the expense of people like Shinsou or Midoriya.

So I love that Shinsou is this idealistic figure: he could do evil, but he won’t. His quirk enables peaceful deescalation of hazardous situations. It’s ideal. But it’s ideal because it is such a classically villainous quirk—a power that weaponizes communication, turns people’s trust against them, and exerts total domination to rob people of their autonomy. So very quickly, that inspiring interpretation of Shinsou being able to choose what he does with his quirk is easy to second-guess. The line between hero and villain doesn’t seem so distinct when both professions are distilled down with such brutal precision. Shinsou wants to use his quirk to help people, but the questions of which people he helps and how he helps them are the distinction between a hero and a villain, and it’s not as neat as the hero ranking would imply. His dialogue with Monoma about how they do unheroic things to accomplish heroic goals makes me hopeful that’s a seed Horikoshi planted for future exploration.

So…Shinsou sets up some interesting challenges, and that’s a major reason why I’m interested in him. I’m curious to see how his story unfolds.

One last thing I love about Shinsou. There’s a scene where Midoriya spots Shinsou in the hall and cheerfully calls out to him, and Shinsou’s only response is to rub the back of his neck and go “uh huh.” But! Later on, Shinsou has a flashback to this exchange, and he admits that he was actually really excited to face Midoriya again, and it’s like oh my gosh. You were secretly so pleased he recognized you, huh? You were so happy he remembered seeing you around and wanted to talk to you, and you wanted him to acknowledge how far you’ve come. But you’re a dumbass who couldn’t summon anything to say other than “uh huh.” D u m b a s s. But I like him for it. He tries so hard to be mature and collected that he really comes off as such a teenager.

Least favorite things about him:

Ok we both know he doesn’t get enough screen time, that can’t count as my least favorite thing. Hmm. Can I commit heresy and say that I think his hair looks pretty dumb?

Tbf though, Shinsou’s shortage of appearances is especially difficult because he’s fairly indirect and you can’t take what he says at face value, particularly because he aims to provoke. He’s also appeared almost exclusively in combat situations, so it’s hard to gauge how he behaves in more mundane circumstances (for example, in contrast to Mirio and Tamaki, who are fairly direct and who we see off the battlefield enough to get an overview of Mirio’s good-naturedness and Tamaki’s insecurity). I really dislike this uncertainty.

Other than that, it’s disappointing how, during the cavalry battle, he brainwashed all of his teammates. That leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Eliminating their brainpower definitely made them a weaker team, and I get the feeling he did it because he wanted to feel like he got to the final round from his own skill and not because he was relying on teammates with heroic quirks (which makes it ironic he taunted Midoriya about Ojiro’s “honor”). But I guess I get it, since he didn’t want to reveal his quirk to anyone and it would have been hard to persuade any of these strangers to team up with him.

Favorite line:

Ch212 – Brainwashing Midoriya to save him from blackwhip.

I just love how like…in the Sports Festival, Shinsou wasn’t trying to fight Midoriya as an equal, he was fighting Midoriya as a bitter underdog with something to prove. Then during this Class A vs B fight, even though Shinsou has inferred that his transfer to the heroics course depends on his performance, he’s happy to battle Midoriya again because he’s proud of how far he’s come. He’s discovered the shounen “let’s fight because we’re friends!” mindset, and I think it’s sweet.

And! There’s also this!

Monoma: “I like you, Shinsou. I really do. In order to survive, you too need to embrace your darker side. We’re much the same.”Shinsou: “No thanks.”

BROTPs:

Aizawa. Aizawa all the way. 90% of the Shinsou-centric fic I read is about a tired son and tired dad. 

I think Shinsou and Ojiro, once they get past the initial animosity, could be good friends. I know I mentioned that during the cavalry battle, I think Shinsou didn’t want to rely on teammates blessed with heroic quirks, he wanted to earn his own way. Similarly, Ojiro quit the Sports Festival precisely because he felt he didn’t earn his spot in the final round (something Shinsou provocatively dismissed as a sign of being a spoiled hero student who can afford to waste opportunities). I definitely have a weak spot for relationships that start off rocky and then, to the surprise of the idiots involved, they’re like wait we’re not that different…we might even be friends…? Anyways, Ojiro probably the number one Class A student I want to see Shinsou interact with more. I’d like to see him be Shinsou’s top critic at first, especially since Ojiro is generally such an easygoing nice guy.

On the other end of the spectrum, I love Monoma as Shinsou’s #1 fan. Their canon interactions cracked me up, and I like the balance Monoma strikes with Shinsou between his extravagant persona who’s all noise versus slipping him some thoughtful, barbed observations. Also like…Monoma emphatically embracing Shinsou as a member of the group is different from what Shinou’s learned to expect from people, so it’s funny to see him struggle with how to react. Shinsou has already said that he’s discarding any concept of good sportsmanship and so on, so I think having Monoma as someone to talk about how to fight dirty without being dirty would be a valuable friendship. …but mostly these two crack me up and I want more.

Okay, though Ojiro is the student in Class A I’m most curious to see Shinsou interact with, there’s also so much potential for humor with Kaminari or Aoyama. Kaminari’s little pep talk was really cute and I’d love to see him follow up on it by trying to befriend Shinsou while Shinsou is secretly pleased, embarrassed that he’s pleased, and unsure what Kaminari wants from him anyways. And Aoyama…LOL. Now, I dunno how these two would become friends, but imagine Aoyama trying to convince Shinsou to do something about his hair, about his eye bags, about his posture, about his dour inflections…meanwhile Shinsou suffers through it with his cool I don’t care attitude, gradually picking up on Aoyama’s hidden side. I can also imagine Aoyama and Shinsou being super passive aggressive to each other, ha.

I feel like Shinsou and Jirou could also get along pretty well, since they’re both pretty low-key. But I also feel like they might get along a little too well…I like pairs with a little more drama and tension. It’s easy to imagine them sitting in companionable silence, Shinsou listening to Jirou’s playlist while Jirou acts like this is no big deal. Or maybe Shinsou notices Jirou’s crush on Yaoyorozu and/or Kaminari, and Jirou is stuck seeking his opinion on matters he’s the opposite of an expert in…

I’d love to see Shinsou be subjected to Nejire’s relentless questioning. “Oh wow, hey! You look really tired! Are you really tired? Or are those shadows under your eyes just a side-effect of your quirk? Hey hey, wait, I recognize you. Aren’t you the brainwasher firstie? What do you say to people to brainwash them? Do you like, swing a pendulum in their face and tell them, ‘You are getting very sleepy’? You could do that to—oh! Can you brainwash yourself? Cuz then you could brainwash yourself to get more sleep! But…if you brainwash yourself, then who’s in control? How do you know you haven’t brainwashed yourself already—”

OTPs:

My favorite Shinsou ship is shiniida! This pic is what first put them on my radar, and the generally cute, funny fanart and fic got me the rest of the way invested. I like how on the surface, the two make an odd match, because you have Iida, who’s so by the book the bylaws are practically printed on his skin, and Shinsou gives a much more defiant, devious impression. But actually, Shinsou is surprisingly pure of heart, and Iida is someone who assumes the best of people, and it would be nice for Shinsou to find someone who implicitly believes he’s a good person. (…this is also something I like about Monoma.) Just the image of Iida fussing over Shinsou, and Shinsou being at a loss for how to deal with someone so well-meaning, respectful, and shameless about expressing his concern for Shinsou’s wellbeing. It’s intrusive but so sincere, I can imagine Shinsou getting pretty flustered.

It’s also interesting because Iida is from such a hero lineage with the sort of heroic quirk Shinsou begrudges for having it easy. I can see him being pretty caught off-guard by how seriously Iida dedicates himself to his dream to be a hero. Iida might have it easy compared to Shinsou, but that sort of determination isn’t something that can be scoffed off.

I also love todoshin, which I talked about here. One thing I didn’t talk about in that post, though, is that both of them in some way consider(ed) their quirks “evil.” Their complex relationships to their quirks are something else they might bond over, plus the fact that they’re both closely tied to the idea of self-determination, and I’m a weak-ass ho for free will as a theme so there you have shipping material galore in my book.

Shinoma is another ship I’ve read. I like this ship since it opens up different avenues of closeness between Shinsou and Monoma than between Shinsou and someone with a “heroic” quirk, but I think they’re more of a brotp for me. Kamishin, too—I like kamishin fluff/comedy, but I wind up gravitating more towards the platonic dynamic.

I haven’t read much shindeku, but it looks cute. I love the scenes where Midoriya greets Shinsou in the hall and Shinsou is too awkward to respond.

NOTPs:

Hmm…not really. Big multishipper here, I’ll ship anything I see nice content for.

Random headcanons:

There’s a fanfic where adult!Shinsou has a cat named Nyazawa, and Aizawa hates being a namesake. I approve heartily.

Though I also get a kick out of imagining that Shinsou likes cats, but he’s allergic.

I love this fic’s idea that Shinsou was once mistaken for Aizawa’s son, and ever since Shinsou has had a running joke where he annoys Aizawa by insolently calling him “dad.”

Shinsou has barely trained his quirk because he needs people to practice on, and, prior to Aizawa’s tutelage, he didn’t have any volunteers and he couldn’t quite find the nerve to ask people to be brainwashed.

Shinsou’s always wondered what it feels like to be brainwashed. Sometime after the Class A vs B training battle, Shinsou asks Monoma to copy his quirk and show him.

Shinsou could have gotten in to a different hero school, in their heroics program instead of entering general studies. I imagine some hero schools, unlike UA, must specialize in less flashy quirks. But Shinsou had enough of a chip in his shoulder that he wouldn’t settle for less than UA, the very best hero school in the country, because he so badly wanted the affirmation and endorsement that he can be a great hero.

Unpopular opinions:

Don’t get me wrong, I love reading fic where Shinsou has a crappy home life, is in foster care, etc. Angsty dadzawa and shinson is always a win. But the vibe I get from canon is that his home life is okay. His flashback sequence showing how people always think the worst of his quirk was sad, but it could’ve been much worse, so I think his life isn’t as terrible as it could be. Whew. (Though…it’s also a shame because he might get more in-story focus if it were bad…)

I like fic where Aizawa is a little harsher on Shinsou than the standard dadzawa fare, usually because he sees himself/Shirakumo in Shinsou, and that’s a good thing, sure, but it’s also an ordeal because it’s painful and difficult to reopen old wounds. This sort of internal conflict is one of the interesting things that differentiates Aizawa’s dynamic with Shinsou from his dynamic with Midoriya or his other students.

…I don’t really like erasermic+shinsou? Idk, Yamada never really feels like he fits into the dadzawa/shinson dynamic. He can be helpful for moving the plot along, but I’m not sure I’ve ever found a fic where I was emotionally invested in his role. Maybe now that there’s more canon content for him, I’ll take more of a liking to this trio.

Songs I associate with him:

I agree with this post that Mad World has a very Shinsou feel to it. I Surrender by Colleen D’Agostino reminds me of him too, since Shinsou seems like someone who tries to be cynical and detached but underneath he can’t help what his heart truly wants.

Favorite pictures of him:

Ch183 – zombie!Shinsou and terrified Kaminari!! I’d love to see Kaminari trying to revenge scare Shinsou.

(And seeing Mineta terrified is a different sort of satisfaction.)

Ch198 – Shinsou’s shock when Monoma ambushes him. He looks so awkward with his hands held stiffly at his sides.

Ch214 – why is he so cute. how did this happen.

Ch216 – This is the moment he loses to Midoriya a second time. I love the mix of emotion on his face.

Ch216 – His face when Aizawa announces Shinsou will almost certainly be approved for transfer

I’ve also answered these questions for Todoroki, Bakugo, Uraraka, Endeavor, Sir Nighteye, and Amajiki!

[page-of-tales]

Story: Frontier Medicine (Compiled)

When a conflict between the Ents and the Zygaroon erupts the Federation becomes home to their battlefields. On a distant and remote system one lone Zygaroon survivor comes into contacts with humans.

An optimistic look into possible future medical innovations. Rather than a look back this is more of a look forward at what kind of crazy innovations we will come up with.

Word Count: 7900

“Hospitals should be arranged in such a way as to make being sick an interesting experience. One learns a great deal sometimes from being sick. ”

― Alan Wilson Watts

Crash Landing

Clark Woods was in the living room reading articles on his hand held Screen. Reading local news was his way of winding down from a long day in the fields. There wasn’t much in the news itself. The weather report noted the changing season, warning people to watch for flash floods. Local events were rather mundane, which he sincerely appreciated. He yawned, wondering what he should make for breakfast tomorrow when suddenly the front door burst open.

“Father, father!”

It was Zeke, his young adolescent son. Zeke ran in practically leaping over the coffee table and grabbed Clark by the arm dragging him out of the chair.

“Something landed in the fields! Come on, look!”

Clark managed to hold his ground.

“Hold up son, what did you say? Something in the fields?”

Zeke spoke quickly, and Clark struggled to pick out the words. “I saw a streak of fire crash into the fields! I think it’s a spaceship.”

Zeke was flushed with excitement and Clark himself was now curious.

“Alright let’s go.”

As they both ran out the front door, Clark took a moment to grab his hunting rifle leaning against the door. Already he could smell something in the air. Smoke and dust was rising from the field. As the drew closer they saw that it was clearly a ship of some sort. A small one, capable of housing maybe 1-3 human sized individuals. It had skidded along the ground creating a deep blackened furrow. Sheets of metal had sheared off and were strewn scattered about. Despite the black smoke the ship didn’t appear to be on fire. Still the two approached cautiously.

“It’s a shuttle isn’t it?”

Zeke whispered. Clark was glad to see his son acting with some caution, he checked the chamber of his gun before replying.

“No, too small for a shuttle, looks like an escape pod.”

The two approached closer, Zeke kicking some debris out of the way.

“Doesn’t look like a human design.”

Clark muttered under his breath. The pair drew closer to the crash site. Zeke held his hand above the metal, “Hot. Oh, looks like a handle.”

Before Clark could say anything Zeke had pulled the handle. With a hiss 4 panels of the ship shifted forward before falling to the ground. “It’s an alien!” Zeke exclaimed excitedly. Then recoiled in shock.

Clark shifted to see, rifle held against his shoulder. It certainly was an alien. It wore a full suit that covered it’s face and much of its body. It’s general form vaguely humanoid in proportions, but was slightly taller than him, had a wider abdomen and four arms each with four digits. It also had a massive sucking chest wound from which purple blood pooled from.

Zeke peeked into each chamber, “I think they’re dead.” Indeed none of the bodies moved, and seemed unlikely to be able to. Abruptly one of the bodies flailed about.

It fell forward onto the ground and impulsively seemed to crawl a few inches before collapsing. Zeke started to move towards it before Clark yelled at him to get back. The figure didn’t move as Clark edged closer, the hunting rifle pointed at the alien. When he was right next to the alien it still hadn’t moved. With a foot he flipped the alien over. It’s face mask had been smashed during the crash landing and he could see a pale red face, an alien eye swiveling to look at him. For a moment the two stood in opposition to each other. Slowly Clark lowered the rifle. Setting it by the ground. Speaking slowly he said to Zeke. “Go and bring the truck. We’re taking it to town.”

Zeke to his credit didn’t stall and rushed off quickly. Clark maintained eye contact with the alien. “Help, friendly.” He spoke slowly, even though in the back of his mind he knew it was unlikely the alien understood him. He kept his arms held in front of him to show he wasn’t holding a weapon. Meanwhile his eyes assessed the alien. The figure seemed to be bleeding from a leg wound, purple blood drenching the entire suit. Clark reached to undo his belt, and moving slowly wrapped it around the mangled leg before tightening it firmly around. The alien grunted but didn’t resist. Not at all satisfied with his makeshift tourniquet but unsure of what else to do Clark rose to his feet. He checked the other aliens, shaking them trying to get a reaction.

But there was nothing. The alien called out, three distinctive sounds before repeating. Clark wondered it it was calling to it’s friends. Moving back to the wounded alien he placed a hand on it’s chest. It’s eye looked at him, the movement of its chest more erratic. Clark wondered if the atmosphere was poisoning it. But again there was nothing he could do about that, The sound of the truck approaching drew away his attention. The old red flatbed rolled right up to them and Zeke jumped out and in a moment the two of them dragged the alien onto the bed of the truck. “Alright, you sit in back, I’ll drive.” Clark threw the rifle into the cab and then whipped the truck around to race towards town.

Box Clinics

Zeke had “seen” aliens before. Sometimes you would see them near the spaceport outside of town. But they never went into town and most wore full suits at all times. A remote frontier world like this, so far from the Galactic Spine, didn’t see many alien visitors, made life quiet, but as Father said, quiet was good. Zeke kept a hand on the aliens chest, feeling it move slightly as it breathed. The whistling wind as they sped down the highway made it impossible to communicate, not that the alien would understand him. Up close Zeke noticed that the suit was in fact more an armor with thicker ceramic plating seeming to cover around the head and chest. Latches seemed to hold the suit together. He wondered if this alien being was a soldier. As Zeke watched he noticed the aliens eyes start to droop, a chill of fear ran up his back as he worried the alien might die.

Spotted Eagle was a small town, it was the largest settlement on the world, and its capital, but its population barely bumped above 12,000. It was a sprawling series of districts, it’s only notable feature being the spaceport just outside of town where large freighters and vessels were moored at dock. At this hour the streets were empty. The cold driving everyone indoors. It didn’t take them long to reach their destination close to the center of town. They pulled into the parking lot of the Box Clinic. An unremarkable looking building, bland concrete walls with no visible windows. Resembling more a warehouse than a medical facility. The alien had passed out, but was still breathing. The two of them dragged it inside. The waiting room was empty but notably there was no one inside to receive them either. Clark reached out to slam a red button on the wall labeled HELP. An alarm blared briefly and doors at the end of the room swung open. An automated voice spoke, “Please step inside the examination room, a medical professional has been contacted.”

The two dragged the alien into the room which was lit up by bright white lights. The room was absent of any features save a raised bed near one wall. The pair of them grunted as they lifted the alien onto the bed, it’s limbs sprawling to the sides. “Where’s the doctor!” Clark called out.

“One moment.” The electronic voice intoned smoothly. The sound of a call being connected sounded in the room. Zeke paced nervously. “Connecting, Doctor Yossar.” The voice said before it cut out.

A hologram stepped out of the wall. The blue light depicting a male human dressed in a lab coat wearing square rim glasses. The hologram even somehow managed to emulate the shine of his bald head. He looked at the two as he stepped up to them.

“Doctor Yossar, connecting from Angak, please state the nature of the medical emergency.”

Clark stepped aside to allow the doctor through. “We have an injured alien here. Hurt real bad.”

The Doctor looked surprised as he laid eyes on the patient. “I see. What happened?”

Zeke spoke up, “It’s ship crashed in our field. We pulled it out and brought it here.”

The hologram of the doctor raised its hands to gesture over the alien. Multiple coiled tendrils with grasping appendages at one end called Servos emerged from the wall to position the alien more squarely on the bed. “Did it speak with you? Do you know what species it is?”

Clark accepted a towel handed to him by a servo and wiped alien blood off of Zeke’s forehead. “I tried to talk with it but I don’t think it understood. No idea what species it could be either.” “

I think it’s a soldier!” Zeke blurted out.

“That’s good information to know.��� The doctor nodded in appreciation. He hit some buttons on his wrist band. “Clarence, can you come here I need some assistance.” He turned and spoke to someone invisible to the other two. “Please identify this alien and contact the appropriate team, urgently.” Turning back to the alien the servos began moving along the body, tugging at the tourniquet and moving to touch around the smashed face plate. “Do you know how to remove the suit?”

Zeke stepped forward, “I do.” reaching past the servos he jiggled something loose and pulled off some of the armor. It clanged loudly on the floor. “Thank you.” The Doctor said. Together the two of them, servos and hands, stripped off the armor and a pair of scissors cut away the fabric of the suit. The alien body was largely hairless, with a few lumps in places humans didn’t have. Patches of discolored skin stood out and small wounds still leaked blood. Doctor Yossar thanked Zeke before directing him to chairs which could be pulled out from the wall. Then he set to work.

Remote Medicine

Doctor Yossar was located many millions of kilometers from the remote frontier world. Located on the megalopolis world Angak. Standing in a room that was physically the exact same room as the one containing his patient. A VR headset allowing him to see the room containing his patient and the servos mimicking his hand movements with the same precision and accuracy as if he was actually there. There were even a specific set of servos that gave him physical feedback through the haptic gloves. Dr. Yossar was well experienced, having completed nearly a dozen years with Clinix Box. But his expertise was not in alien health. This alien needed a specialist and fast. He hoped Clarence would come back quick. In the meantime he could still perform basic treatment and gather as much information as he could. He began wrapping some sterile bandages around the bleeding wounds, stemming the flow of liquids. With that complete next he attached a few electrodes to the body. The signals he received were shaky and not consistent with a human’s, but enough to read a electric activity in the body. Whether it was neural or somatic wasn’t clear but still was a positive sign.

Floating a little off to the side Doctor Yossar had a chart which he was filling in as much information as he could. Some of it was already present. The weight and basic measurements taken care of by the bed. A catalogue on injuries being made. Other general observations.

He tapped some controls and a rod extended from the underside of the table. It swept up and down the alien figure performing a rapid radiological scan. In his vision a 3D image of the alien’s internal structure appeared alongside the alien. He didn’t bother trying to parse the raw data, without knowing the physiology of the alien and corresponding reaction to a scan he wouldn’t be able to determine much besides cavity, liquid, and solids. He heard a voice speaking through the internal communications, it was Clarence. “The species is identified as a Zygaroon, I’ve contacted the medical team, they will be here in a couple of minutes. Dr. Liu is team leader.”

“Thank you Clarence, get ready to process a sample of blood.” Dr. Yossar reached into the wall to grab a syringe. In the examination room the pair watched as servo wielding the syringe extracted a sample of purple blood from the alien. The servo retracted into the wall and deposited the blood into a machine. “Able to get anything Clarence?”

“Give me a second.” Clarence paused as the data streamed in from the analysis machine. “I don’t know Dr. Yossar. Too many alien proteins, the machine can’t get a clean read. I think the blood caked in the machine. I’ll try a different method.”

A call opened up in Dr. Yossar’s vision. Credentials streamed by quickly as several callers connected at once. Then a new voice spoke in his ear.

“Dr. Yossar, I’m Dr. Liu, head of the xeno medical team. I understand you have a patient for us?”

“Yes, a Zygaroon, pulled from a crash landing from OJ-332. Surface wounds, severe injury to a leg. Internal bleeding, possible structural fracturing, and metal all over in the chest cavity. I’ve pulled a blood sample into the machine. And here is the raw scan data. Oh.” Yossar clapped his hands together. “It might be a soldier.”

“Alright thanks, we can take it from here but we would appreciate you staying on the line.”

“Of course.”

Dr. Yossar stepped back and the visuals in his headset notified him control was being ceded to the newcomers. Pulling the visor up briefly he saw he was still alone in the room. Pulling the visor back down he continued to watch the proceedings.

In the examination room several holograms appeared and gathered around the Zygaroon. They spoke quickly, as they assessed the situation.

“Weight 92.3 kg, height 201 cm. Gender ZX.”

“Age approximately 32 cycles.”

“Scan shows some prior surgeries, a couple of implants.”

“No major organ damage, functioning glands.”

“Arm fractures, internal bleeding in the chest.”

”Clot in leg.”

“Metal fragmentation in the chest cavity.”

“Surgery recommended immediately.”

“We need to know if it’s on any medications.”

“Dr. Yossar do you have information on medication history?”

“No, I pulled a blood sample but the data was garbage.”

One of the techs pulled up the roll of data in front of him. “Yeah, that’s an accurate assessment.”

“I’m guessing it clogged up the machine.”

Clarence’s voice came in overhead. “Yeah I can’t get the machine to respond anymore.”

One of the techs nodded at that. “Zygaroon blood is thicker than most. Fascinating clotting abilities.”

“We have to wake it up.” Dr. Liu said taking hand of the situation. “Ideas?”

“Stimulant?”

“No, possible interactions.”

“Slap it?”

“Good idea.”

A servo with an electrode reached up and shocked the Zygaroon with a jolt of electricity. It’s eyes snapped open and it seemed startled to be surrounded by holograms and the hovering tentacle-like servos. However it gasped aloud when it tried to rise and it fell back against the bed. The servos moving to restrain it gently.

“*Don’t move, we are here to help” Dr. Liu spoke in translated Zygaroon, which sounded like a mix of grunts and huffs in different pitches. The Zygaroon just grunted in pain, but it seemed to comprehend. It’s resistance ceasing. A servo extended holding a tube to the alien's mouth.

“Blow.” Dr. Liu instructed and the Zygaroon blew a breath into the tube. The breathalyzer was a basic diagnostic tool capable of evaluating the contents of an individual’s blood. From a breath a doctor could evaluate the presence of drugs, metabolites, and even cancer. After a moment the machine produced matches with recognizable compounds which popped up in everyone’s view. One of the techs began labeling the molecules calling them out as she went down the list.

“Stimulant, mild pain inhibitor, anti-toxin, I would recommend anesthetic #3.”

Dr. Liu turned to the Zygaroon, a model of the alien appearing in her hand. “*We are going to have to operate to heal you. You have fragments in your chest and internal bleeding.” She pointed to the locations on the model. “Do we have permission to operate.”

The Zygaroon paused a moment before answering. “*Yes.”

One of the assistant techs turned to Clark and Zeke still waiting on the far wall. “Please wait in the waiting room. We will inform you when it is safe to come back inside.”

One of the team members began entering in some chemical formulas and somewhere in the clinic a molecular printer began producing the anesthetics and other drugs they would require. The walls of the room opened up and a number of devices deployed in preparation for surgery. A line of fluids was hooked up to the patient and the servos moved the electrodes to different positions to attenuate the signal properly. The techs hurriedly conversed amongst themselves as they did a quick pre-check. Meanwhile Dr. Liu extended a mask over the mouth of the Zygaroon. “I want you to count back from 10.”

“10, 9, 8-”

Background Check

Dr. Yossar watched as Dr. Liu went to work. The alien was cut open on the table. Small specialized servos moved about in the chest cavity. Applying adhesive grafts to bleeding vessels, grafts made of a special polymer that would disintegrate harmlessly as the body healed itself. Another metal fragment clinked into a metal bowl, as the chest shrapnel was cut out. A small torch kept the internal bleed down. One of the techs kept a watch on the monitors. Announcing metabolite values at regular intervals.

It was quiet, the team was professional and practiced. Dr. Yossar now certain his patient was in good hands and his presence was no longer necessary took the opportunity to excuse himself and exited the simulation. He pulled off the visor and let it hang from the ceiling. Walking to the corner of the room he picked up a water bottle and took a long drink. Even for an Emergency call that had been different. Clarence poked her head in through the doorway.

“Good work doctor.”

“Thanks Clarence, quick work on the identification.”

“Oh that was easy, I just did a search for the system they were calling from. Apparently the Zygaroon and Ents are at war. There was a battle there just today.”

“A war?”

“Yeah, apparently over some ancient relic ships.”

“The Ents are allies right?”

“I believe so.”

“Better contact the authorities then. Not sure in what jurisdiction this falls in.”

“I can handle it, go ahead and take your break.”

“Thanks Clarence.”

Dr. Yossar plopped himself down in a chair. Then he recalled the pair who had brought the alien in the first place. He tapped his wrist band and searched for the local number of the clinic. They would probably want to know about the alien as well.

Waking Up

Flight Leader Tara awoke with a start. Hands flailing to grasp at something. Then the memories returned. The ambush, the battle, the destruction of her fighter, the plummet to the planet. Rescue. She looked around. The slight movement causing an irksome pain in her chest. She felt sore all over, but she was alive which seemed miraculous. White panels covered the wall. The lights above were dim but starting to come alight as she moved about. A Screen at the end of the bed came to life. A human peered at her and showed her its teeth as she stared at him. A translator bubbled to life as it began to speak.

“*Good morning. Flight Leader Tara.”

“How do yo-”

“We scanned your flight tags. My name is Davi, diplomatic staff located on Angak.”

Tara looked around but she was alone in the room.

“What happened to my crew?”

Davi’s face took on a somber appearance. Already Tara knew the answer but she had to confirm.

“I’m sorry, they didn’t survive.”

Tara subdued the well of emotion. She could grieve later for her flightmates.

“Where are the humans who rescued me?”

“They’re outside sleeping in the waiting room. They were quite concerned about your health.”

Tara raised her arm which had some device connecting to a machine by the bed which appeared to show her vital signs. A green line jumping in time with her heartbeat.

“What is this place?”

“It’s a hospital.”

Tara scoffed, wincing slightly at the pain that movement caused.

“No backwater would have a medical facility this advanced. It’s absurd.”

Davi paused. Somewhat unsure of what the Zygaroon seemed to mean.

“Well I don’t know how hospitals work on Zygaroon. Though you are correct, this isn’t exactly a hospital but rather a remote clinic. As you put it, a *backwater* planet like this does not have a population base that makes a large scale hospital viable. However, we have laws dictating that population centers of 10,000 must have access to proper medical facilities. These remote facilities are a result of that. They give the local population access to health care to even these remote locations. Does that answer your question.”

“Yes…” Tara trailed off. She had suffered mortal wounds and had been saved overnight. Apparently human medical technology was more advanced than they had been led to believe. If this level of care was present on their frontiers who knew what sorcery they could wield at their core worlds.

“So what happens next?”

Davi looked up. “Oh I guess they didn’t tell you. Guess I got in before the nurses did. The doctors note recommended a couple days in bed here just to make sure there aren’t any complications from the operation. After that we WILL have to detain you. The Ents have made a formal request to the Federation that we hold any Zygaroon soldiers in our territory. You will be treated as a POW and continue being given treatment for your wounds.”

The monitor beeped as her heart rate rose. Tara tried to rise, but the effort exhausted her. “I don’t have a chance do I?”

Davi flashed his teeth at her again..

“You’ll live, in fact I think you might enjoy the terms of your stay.”

“How.” She growled.

“Well, other than actually leaving the planet, you are free to go anywhere you wish on the planet itself. I’m sure you are aware you owe a life debt to the humans who saved you. In exchange for being your *wardens* they have requested you not be imprisoned or sent to the Ents. Their request has been granted. Your life debt will be considered fulfilled if you remain peaceably on the planet until the end of the war. I assume those terms are satisfactory for annulling your debt?”

Tara sunk into the bed, defeated and exhausted. “So this is the guile of humans.”

Davi flashed its teeth at her again, satisfied that the agreement had been settled. “You will have my number if you wish to negotiate for imprisonment. Goodbye Flight Leader.”

Preface

The Ents and Zygaroon had never been friends. Howevert hey had enough biological differences that they would rarely come into contact. Zygaroons breathed oxygen while the Ents metabolized fluorine. This distinctive difference alone kept them sequestered to different star systems. In addition, fluorine isn’t a particularly common element in an atmosphere so the Ents rarely colonized planets beyond constructing simple enclosed habitats on a few resource rich planets. Another contributing factor to the Ent’s general aversion to space travel.

There is one exception to that notion, and that is the Progenitors as the Ents call them. Humans call them the Libenters for reference. From what remains of their civilization the latest hypothesis is that the Progenitors were a space faring race some millenia ago that eventually faded out into extinction. For the Ents the Progenitors are akin to religious icons. Half of their colonies are constructed on planets holding trace remains of the Progenitors for the sole purpose of archeological research. As the name suggests the Ents view the Progenitors as having a key hand in their history, the details of which are unclear to outsiders.

You can imagine the Ents delight when they heard news that an ancient Progenitor city had been discovered by miners. They rapidly set off en masse in a large fleet to investigate the ruins, in the process they chased off the miners. In short summary the planet was in a star system claimed by the Zygaroon. The Zygaroon didn’t take kindly to the intrusion and attacked. The Ents dead set on the Progenitor ruins declared war. Skirmishes erupted along their borders, and neither side yielded the other any advantages. Both parties had attempted to ambush the other by circumventing through Federation space, and instead ended up spotting each other in a surprise encounter and having a running space battle that stretched across several star systems. As a human observer would put it, “The neighbors were having a tussle in my yard.”

Staff Meeting

Davi had to fight back a guffaw. The embellishment to the memo had caught him off guard. The line sounded familiar, maybe a quote from a drama. A timer notification popped up on his screen and he minimized the files. Davi took a moment to take a glance to his left and to his right as he sat upright behind the desk. On his right sat the Provincial Supervisor Theseus, leaning back in his chair to stretch long lanky arms. On his left sat the military liaison, Lieutenant Commander or was it Lieutenant Colonel, Akers was sitting reviewing some data on her screen.

Around the three a cadre of staff and aides milled about. There was a quiet buzz as they passed notes between themselves and the door to the room was swinging open constantly. The lights began to dim as the meeting began and the voices died down. One by one a projector beamed images of the System and Planetary leadership figures from across the province onto the far wall as communication was established. Light years of distance cut to a few microseconds of lag, a miracle of hyperspace communications. Yet even with that convenience came the hassle of  arranging the schedules of 15 individuals who had widely varying day and night cycles. That aspect of conferences would never change.

The last connection was made and for a moment the room was silent giving Davi time to look at the profile’s of the gathered leaders. Of the 12 local leaders 1 was non-human. 8 star systems were represented, for star systems that didn’t have more than 1 significantly populated planet the Planetary leadership and System representative were usually the same. Supervisor Theseus issued greetings and the transcriber began tapping on his keyboard signaling the start of the meeting. Sparing everyone’s time the topic of discussion was brought up immediately, the Ent-Zygaroon war, specifically the recent battle that had careened through Federation space. First off the broad strokes presented by the Lieutenant Major. A star chart was projected into the room and the liaison highlighted the intrusion points of the alien forces. Noting that the initial intrusions had been too far from any Federation force to prevent either fleet’s movement. Davi took his turn to note the Federation had logged a strong formal complaint to both governments, and was now moving to secure its border with both species. Elements of the Federation Fleet would be mobilized throughout the region, and further intrusions would be met with force. There was muted approval and easing of worry from the leadership.

Supervisor Theseus took the reins again and listed out some prepared guidelines for the leaders to follow. In general all they were asking was for inspection of current defenses, and for certain systems to prepare for disruptions as the Federation fleets moved through and about. The Ents military were to be given non-military assistance if requested, the Zygaroon to be ignored unless an emergency presented itself. The meeting was adjourned after a special communication line was established for any further requests or notifications in regard to the matter. After the last leader had logged off Davi let out a breath. The Lieutenant Captain flashed a grin at him, “You thought that was hard, here comes the media.”

The door to the office open and a surge of reporters with cameras flashing rushed in. Davi groaned under breath. He still had that Zygaroon to call. Today should be the day she was discharged from the clinic.  

The Funeral

Flight Leader Tara stood at attention in front of the graves. It was a clear day, the sun high in the sky. At her request her flightmates had been buried in an open field. The tall yellow grass shorn to create a clearing in the center. Fresh turned dirt marking the site of the dead. Above the graves a pyramid of branches marked the site. The humans had made a good faith effort in the burial. Her flightmates had been cleaned, dressed in violet garments, and laid to rest with their weapons. A warrior’s burial. Tradition stated she wear battle wear, however only her survival suit had survived intact. At the very least her weapons, her pistols and blades, had been returned to her. For the moment it would do. Around her with heads bowed stood several dozen humans, friends of her rescuers. With the final resting rites intoned Tara lit the pyramid aflame.

As the pyramid burned itself down the humans came up to giver her condolences. This was a human tradition and she accepted their words silently. Last were her rescuers, the father and son. They didn’t say anything, merely standing beside her. Tara averted her eyes from the embers to look around. It was a good place to lay her comrades to rest, however momentary. When the war was over the bodies would be retrieved and laid to rest on their homeworlds. The humans had promised to watch over them until then and she knew they would hold to that debt.

At last she settled herself. She spoke through the translator. “We can go.”    

Check Up

Clark Woods waited for Tara in the waiting room of the Box Clinic. Today there were a few other individuals sitting around, waiting for appointments or here to have a doctor examine a weird mole on their back. Clark made small talk with the grocery manager, and to a parent of his son’s classmate. They were eager to ask questions about his new occupant, despite their inquiries he waived off any questions on his guest.

Tara in the meantime was stripped down and doing stretches for the holo doctor. Evaluating her today was one of the nurses from the team that had treated her that first night. The nurse was making some notes and asking questions about her health. Tara gave succinct answers. “Yes, her chest ached. It was a 4 on the pain scale. No, she wasn’t drowsy. No, she wasn’t allergic to anything on the planet yes. Yes, she was washing her wounds.” Fairly standard medical processing.

The nurse seemed satisfied and told her as much. There had been no complications with the surgery. At the end the nurse recommended Tara maintain a low level of activity making sure not to overexert herself. She could pick up a package of various medications from the dispensary.

After the nurse disconnected there was only a brief pause before the diplomat stepped back into the room. He said hello to which Tara ignored as she put back on her clothes. He wasn’t put off by her silence and continued. The full script of the blood debt had been written up by the lawyers and he was here to orate the terms. She initially listened dutifully, however  as he droned on she stopped listening. The stipulations were common sense and water tight, preventing her from inflicting harm or being deceptive in regards to her imprisonment. Tara hadn’t been looking for loopholes in her debt, and wouldn’t have taken advantage of them if she found any. To do so would have dishonored the spirit of the agreement and bring dishonor to herself. The diplomat finishes and apologizes for the delay, he continues by saying they have connected a communication to her people as promised. He points out that there is a minute delay because of the signal lag. He leaves the call button on the screen for Tara to initiate, before leaving the room. After taking a moment to groom herself Tara connects the call. An image screen opens on the wall, after a few minutes of silence the connection clicks and a Zygaroon voice comes in.

“This is Grand Overseer Maga. Report.”

“Flight Blue-243, Flightleader Tara. I was shot down in an Ent ambush and am being held prisoner on the Federation world Naranja.”

There was a long pause.

“I see. Are you being treated well?”

“Yes, the humans have provided medical treatment and adequate shelter. I owe them a life debt.”

Another long pause, one which seemed to keep going.

“Very well. Stay strong and persist Flightleader.”

With that the call disconnected leaving Tara feeling suddenly very isolated. Frankly the reaction of her people wasn’t surprising. Given her individual status as a prisoner of war her people couldn’t offer her much. Nor could she offer much to them in her wounded state. Fighting off the feeling of abandonment Tara turned and left the darkened room.

Settling In

The drive back to the farm was quiet. Clark had seemed aware of her disconsoled mood, yet as always remained silent. Tara took the moment to look out at the passing scenery. Fields of crops. Of what nature she couldn’t quite determine. The fields seemed rather like an endless ocean, stretching to the horizon and with only the occasional copse of trees to differentiate the landscape. The quiet and monotony had an enchanting effect on the Zygaroon who only realized they had arrived at their destination when Clark pulled the truck into the driveway.

Tara’s cell was to be the unused spare bedroom. The bed had been modified to accompany her larger size and it now made the rest of the room look awkwardly small. The survival packages from her escape pod had been brought here and placed in the closet. Not that she needed anything from them. Clothes had been custom modified for her distinctly non-human appendages. The environment did not have any elements that were averse to her physiology. Bottles of vitamins were left untouched as her dietary needs were compatible with the humans.

Tara knew she should count herself lucky. Rather than being imprisoned she was essentially on vacation. It was… a conflicting thing to try and think about. Her schedule as a prison was loose, but regular. She rose a little after the sun had filled her room through the room’s sole window. In the morning she spent much of it maintaining the grooming standard of a warrior.  She ate two meals with the humans. She would spend the day either walking the perimeter or resting in bed depending on the level of pain she was experiencing. In the evening she might play a game of Lilp against Clark or otherwise watch the sunset before heading to bed. The boredom felt much more in line with a prison camp.

She had asked how long Clark could expect to keep up this charade. His response had surprised her.

“The war won’t last more than a week.” Clark said with unwavering certainty.

“How long is a week?” Tara inquired, unable to bring herself to challenge the declaration.

“10 days.”

6 days had already passed since then.

A Nightmare

Tara glanced at the flight controls. But for some reason the readings she was looking at didn’t make sense. She tried to reexamine the data but she couldn’t understand what she was looking at. She turned to talk to her co-pilot only to see the entire fighter was filled with smoke. The thick oily smoke filled her lungs and she struggled to breath. Desperately she tried to call for help, for her crew to evacuate. Despite her growing panic her body seemed to refuse to listen. The smoke soon enveloped her and she started to choke. This was wrong. With a willful movement she thrust herself forward out of her chair as the fighter disintegrated around her.

When she blinked above her was a darkened ceiling. Underneath she could feel a mattress on her back, sheets soaked in sweat. Confused she sat up. Unfamiliar furnishings surrounded her, but after a moment the events of the past week caught up to her. As her racing heart slowed back down, and her gasping breaths stopped. Her chest ached and she reached over to uncap a pill. As she swallowed the medication Tara looked at the window. The frame just barely lit by the moonlight. A nightmare she thought to herself, the room echoed with silence as her mind fought with itself. Finding a balance point she laid back on the bed to try and go back to sleep.

Outside the door a figure slowly crept away as the breathing in the room returned to an even pace.

Idle Days

It was on the 7th day that Clark proposed a suggestion. At first Tara hadn’t understood, but after some clarification things became clearer. Clark was proposing a camping trip for the three of them. Nothing too wild, in fact they would be traveling just a couple hours to the nearby lake just out of town. Technically Tara had no choice in the matter as a prisoner of war, but Clark insisted on getting her to agree to the matter. He explained a change in scenery and a chance to relax would be good for her.  

The young boy, Zeke was quite excited. Even though they weren’t traveling far he eagerly rushed about the house throwing items into the truck. Tara found herself caught up in the boy’s enthusiasm, untangling the fishing line at a remarkable speed with her four arms. By noon they were driving down the road.

Naranja

To give a bit of background about OJ-332. The star system is located some distance within the borders of Federation space, and quite a distance from the warp points in the region. Various spatial bodies nearby made it difficult for hyperspace travel. Because of these factors OJ-332 would historically be largely ignored by all the government and major corporations. LEaving the colonization of OJ-332 up to the venturous independent settlers to move into. Within OJ-332 itself the only habitable and populated planet is called Naranja by the local populace. Naranja is classified as a desert planet with just enough of an atmosphere and water content to be colonized by humans. With a caveat of the atmosphere being a little thinner than standard. Like living at high altitude, without the actual altitude. From space the yellow orange terrain is wrinkled by mountain ridges and valleys, and its most notable feature is a large crater in the north-west hemisphere. Indicative of a long ago impact by a significant massive object.

Geological studies of the planet had determined that the impact had wiped out a thriving primitive biosystem present on the planet. All of that organic matter had been subsequently transformed into prime farmland. Human settlers had capitalized on this fact, with the primary economy of the planet supported by its agricultural industry. The viable and weakened biosystem providing an ideal base for growing food. All of its exports are directed to the overflowing interior Sector systems. Despite its potential for productivity, most of the planet is undeveloped because of how remote the region is.

Spotted Eagle was the first settlement on the planet, and in order to ease the process of terraforming, had been located by the largest body of freshwater on the planet. Development of irrigation and other projects had drained the lake somewhat. A decrease which made it the third largest body of freshwater on the planet.  

Lake Camping

Their destination was this small unnamed lake, and they arrived sometime just before the sunset. It didn’t take them long to find a camping spot and set up their campsite. Clark told the two should explore the lake while he prepared food. Tara took a walk to a small pier jutting into the lake to rest while Zeke ran up and down the gravel beach. The lake was for lack of better words, modest. You simply don’t get magnificent lakes on a desert planet. “Then again a lake is just a body of water and all bodies of water are the same in appearance.” Zeke had said after Tara scoffed at the lake as a tiny pond. The lake was of a moderate size, surrounded by tree covered hills. The water was largely undisturbed, and clear to the bottom. Tara could watch fish swimming around the legs of the pier. Laying on her stomach she ran her hands in the water. The cold sensation soothing to the touch. It was incredibly pleasant.

Some time later Clark called them in for dinner and they sat around a campfire eating their meal. Zeke eagerly showed some colorful rocks he had picked off from the beach, while Tara focused on the crackle and pop of the campfire. After the meal Clark pulled out a few more bags of foodstuffs. The two of them demonstrated an old human tradition. Smores as they called it. A melted over sugary dessert that repulsed Tara. Though she still ate eight of the monstrosities. Using her two pairs of hands to rotate the sugar balls on their spits to get an even brown appearance. Afterwards the fire was doused and the two split up to rest in the two tents they had set up. From her tent Tara could hear the sound of the water nearby, and the chirp of insects. She wondered how she would sleep with all the noise.

Clarks Past

The next morning Clark rose early. The sun was breaking the horizon. Surprisingly Tara was still asleep. Usually she would be up with the sun, doing her grooming. Clark let her rest. Moving to sit by the pier and look at the sun reflecting off the water as it slowly rose over the horizon. Blazing reds flashing off the waves, the light glimmering in a mesmerizing chaos. Absentmindedly Clark felt the old scars on his side. Old wounds from an old war. Though the pain had faded there were still something there. It was largely why he had left the interior for the frontier.

Behind him he heard the footsteps and turned to see Zeke had woken up. He held two fishing poles in his hands, a box of bait precariously balanced. Clark rose to help his son, the sun continuing to rise higher and higher.

Idle Fishing

Tara stumbled out of the narrow tent opening and blinked in the sudden light. She had overslept. Walking over to the cooler she grabbed one of the food bars they had brought along and scarfed it down. Looking for the others she saw them on the pier. She approached them and saw the two had fishing poles extended into the water. The father turned to greet her and hand her a pole. She handed it back to him and explained she didn’t know how to use it. He quickly showed her how to use it, it wasn’t a complicated device. A spool of line, and a handle. He baited the hook for her with a native worm, and then cast it into the water. She took the pole and sat on the pier. Dangling her feet into the water.

After a long while, the sun having noticeably changed position in the sky, Tara spoke up. “I don’t think this is working”

Clark reeled back in his line, examined the worm which was still intact on the hook and cast his line back into the water. “It’s called fishing not catching.”

Zeke groaned.

Home Calls

After some time the three of them had managed to catch 4 fish. Zeke and Tara had each caught two. Clark went about showing Zeke how to prepare one of the fishes, and then Tara took an opportunity to show how her people prepared fish. Sticking the fish on sticks they roasted them over a fire. Some tubers were wrapped in foil and placed in the fire to cook as well. The savory smell was even more gratifying when the three of them thought of the struggle it had been catching them. As they ate Clark perked his head up, hearing something on the wind. Following his eyes Tara saw a vehicle approaching the campsite. Clark rose as the vehicle pulled up to them. For a moment he conversed with the driver. Then he gestured for Tara to come join them.

“Tara there is news about the war.”

“The war?” Tara had almost forgotten.

“Yes, the Ents and Zygaroons are currently in negotiations for a peace treaty. We have a shuttle to take you home. You can go home.”

For some reason Tara hesitated. Here was the opportunity to return home, and she was hesitating. The moment stretched with an undisturbed silence begging to be broken. Tara’s hands fluttered by her sides as she struggled with her indecisiveness. Clark held up his wrist to his face even though there was nothing there.

“You know Tara I had planned to a vacation for three people for three days. That’s a lot of food that would otherwise be wasted.”

He glanced above his wrist to look her in the eye.

“If you wanted to stick around a few more days I’m sure the embassy gentleman wouldn’t mind.”

After a moment Tara found her voice.

“I’m going to need a moment.”

She turned and walked away from them, heading back to the pier where Zeke was skipping stones into the water. Clark turned to the man who seemed perplexed by the alien behavior.

“It won’t be a problem if she decides to stay right?”

“No sir, this is our only assigned task. There is another team going to handle the mediation.”

“I’m not a sir anymore.” Clark chided gently.

“Of course… sir.” The man said, muttering the last word despite himself.

Clark turned to look at Tara who was sat in a meditative pose behind Zeke.

“I think she needs this.”

“Sir?”

“I said to stop calling me sir, my name is Clark.”

“...sorry.”

[casualsreviewanime-blog]

Erased Character Impressions

Favorite Character

Damon

It’s… honestly hard to choose a favorite character. I’m not suddenly turning into Kalena, I swear, it’s just genuinely hard to choose when all are so well fleshed out. Satoru isn’t some broken time traveler, Kenya isn’t some child genius, Kayo isn’t some edgy child, Airi isn’t some airheaded fan service. There’s always something more to each character that humanizes them, makes them relatable.

However...

Looks nervously at the war torn battlefield…

BEST GIRL IS KAYO AND YOU CAN’T STOP M-

Airi is best girl - you can’t change my mind.

     Ben: Dang it Damon you always a sucker for the girl... I personally would go Kayo, though.

     Damon: ...Fight me.  

Ben

My favorite character would have to be Satoru. Damon makes a good point when he said that, “there’s something more to each character.” Even though he is the classic hero archetype, Satoru wasn’t some omniscient being who swooped in and saved everyone.

I liked that he had his own struggles trying to figure out how to save Kayo, Hiromi and Aya from being murdered. Even though Satoru was able to “save” Kayo on March 1st, that didn’t mean that she would ultimately survive. I like watching characters overcome adversities like this. It forces character development, and in my opinion, that of Satoru’s was satisfying. His aloof personality turned into a more trusting and social one, which ultimately helped him identify Yashiro. I genuinely enjoyed watching Satoru’s character develop, and that made him my favorite character.

Least Favorite Character

Damon

I didn’t hate any characters, but I certainly didn’t love them all equally.

Warning! Warning! Trap Alert! TRAP ALERT!

I think this was one anime that definitely could have benefited from more episodes. A lot of people felt like the ending was subpar and not as emotional as the Kayo arc, and I agree. There wasn’t as much of an emotional attachment to the two other victims - Hiromi and Aya - and their story.

Kayo had almost eight full episodes dedicated to her. Hiromi and Aya had two.

It’s completely possible the ‘mystery’ aspect of this anime would be lost with a longer season, but I think it was each characters’ story that really drove this anime forward, not the suspense of figuring out who was the killer.

Ben

Gaku Yashiro is my least favorite character. He begins Episode 10 by talking about how he sees the Spider’s Web connecting sinners to Heaven, and that the ones who are “connected” to the webs are the people he targets. I was caught completely off guard with this abstract idea as part of his motivation to commit murder. It didn’t help that the narrative suddenly switched away from Satoru; I felt it interrupted the flow of the anime.

Does he see these kids as threats to his climb to Heaven? Or maybe Yashiro enjoys playing God in killing those on their ascent to Heaven? I don’t understand how he could commit murder for a reason that feels so unreasonable. This made it incredibly difficult for me to relate to Yashiro, and left me mostly confused.

BONUS RANT : Airi vs. Kayo the World

Damon

Alright alright alright. Before I start I need everyone to know that this is totally my opinion. If you disagree, send me some hate mail (casualsreviewanime@gmail.com).

Airi and Kayo have two distinct relationships with the main character. With the Satoru and Airi, the relationship - regardless of the age gap - is one of equals. Airi even said it during one episode, “You rode on my bike, we’re equals now.” She helps Satoru with escaping the police, and he helps her with escaping the fire. It’s a give-and-take relationship.

Kayo doesn’t have this sort of equal-footing relationship with the main character. Satoru was always the one helping her, and his main motivation in befriending her was for saving his and his mother’s future. Even dialogue wise, Kayo admits in the future that he still “has a silver tongue” even though he’d been in a coma for the past 15 years. And after her confession of thanks, it’s feels like she sees him as a hero rather than an equal.

Personally, I prefer a relationship where the two people see each other as equals, and that’s what puts Airi over Kayo.

TLDR: AIRI WINS BEST GIRL FOR THIS ANIM-

BANG!

Ben: Target eliminated.

[4colorrebellion]

4cr Plays - Banner Saga 3 (Switch)

The Banner Saga - a strategy RPG inspired by Scandinavian mythology - was one of the first huge Kickstarter hits. Unlike some of the other crowdfunding successes, Banner Saga delivered on its promises and went on to become a cult classic. Now, two years after Banner Saga 2, the final chapter of the trilogy has hit download stores on all of the major consoles. 

I’ve been intrigued by the series since it launched. The artwork is beautiful, and I love strategy RPGs like Fire Emblem. Still, for whatever reason, I never got around to trying the series. When offered a chance to play the third installment, I figured - why not? 

Here’s what I thought about it.

Right off the bat, I suspected that I shouldn’t have picked the third game in a trilogy as a starting place. The story picks up immediately where Banner Saga 2 ended, with the cast split in two. The basic motivating factor of the series is that world is being consumed by darkness, the sun is frozen, and the cold and monsters are threatening to wipe out all of civilization. When Banner Saga 3 starts, galf of the cast are encamped in the last human stronghold - Arberrang. Their task is to unite a whole host of warring factions in order to maintain some vague semblance of society. The other half of the cast have headed north, into the darkness, on a desperate mission to fix this entire mess. 

There is a recap video intended to get you up to speed on the highlights, but it doesn’t really explain who any of the characters are. Still, it did get the central themes across, and the genuinely good writing pulled me the rest of the way in. The central storyline is bleak, but fairly compelling, and there are some fairly memorable characters. The story calls on you to make frequent choices, and a few of those actually require some thought - as they feel like the tipping points where you could maintain or lose party unity. If you’ve played the previous games, you can import your save file to bring into account the past decisions you made. 

Of course, there is a game that takes place between these dialogue scenes. Banner Saga 3 is a strategy RPG, reminiscent of games like X-Com or Fire Emblem. The action takes place on a grid, where you take turns moving characters around the battlefield. Each character has a movement range that determines how many spaces they can travel in a turn. When within range of an enemy, you can choose to attack - ending your turn afterwards. Some characters can attack at range, while others must be in an adjacent square. 

One twist over many strategy games is that enemies have both a “strength” value - which represents both the damage they do and their health - an an “armor” value - which determines how much harm they can avoid or absorb on a hit. When you attack, you can choose to target their strength or their armor. You need to lower their strength to kill them, but if their armor is high, they will be able to simply ignore most of your attacks. It is tempting to aim for strength directly, but it is rarely the right move. It’s often far more important to chip away at the armor. 

You character also has a limited amount of willpower that replenishes over time. Willpower can be spent for a variety of actions, including moving additional spaces. It can also be spent to increase the power of an attack.  In addition to strength, armor, and willpower, characters also have an exertion stat that determines how much willpower they can spend to boost actions and a break stat that dictates the amount of damage a character can do to a target’s armor.

Each character has a race and a class, which determines their basic stat distribution and grants a set of special abilities. These abilities can do things like hit enemies with arrows when they move within a targeted area or allow you to perform a sweeping attack that hits a circle of enemies around you. The three core races that form your party are humans, the Varl - a race of giants with great strength - and the Horseborn - centaurs who tend to have high movement range. 

In addition to regular battles, with a fixed set of enemies to defeat, there are also battles where waves of enemies attack. If you can withstand every wave and defeat the boss at the end, you can earn special items. 

The battle system in Banner Saga is fairly deep, with layers of strategy to figure out. Story confusion alone might be enough to warn new players away from starting with the third game. If it isn’t, the gameplay is. Banner Saga 3 has a simple tutorial to teach you combat, but it really is not enough. Many systems are not explained at all, and I had to piece together the rules from trial and error. I’m still not completely clear how every ability or character class works. I don’t know if the earlier games do more to explain what is going on, but I felt like I was thrown in the pool at the deep end without a lifejacket. 

This feeling extended outside of combat too. Between battles and dialogue events, your party is wandering across a barren wasteland. As it turns out, you need to gather supplies to feed your growing armies. This isn’t explained - they just assume you knew this already. I don’t mean to complain too much. I was able to figure pretty much everything out. Still, it is worth mentioning. This is not a game that is intended to bring in new players. If you’re curious, start with the first game instead.

The combat is reasonably satisfying, but eventually got a little stale as the game went on. There is not a huge variety of enemies, and most maps have the same basic layout. Eventually, every battle feels about the same. The game is tough, but this is mainly because a reasonable portion of the cast is too weak to do much. Instead, I felt like I relied on a small portion of the characters - mainly my Varl - to win battles. 

My dissatisfaction with the combat was unfortunate, since the writing and the visuals - my god, the visuals - are so good. This game is gorgeous. The textures and art are hand-drawn, and the general style of the game is incredible. Each character is distinct and memorable. The locations you wander through are bleak, but stunning. This game looks fantastic. As it is mostly two-dimensional, it also performs well on the Switch, with no real technical issues observed during my time with the game. 

Ultimately, Banner Saga 3 was a gorgeous, well-written game that I didn’t love actually playing. The combat isn’t bad, but it didn’t suck me in enough to go back and replay the first two games immediately. It also is not a game that is particularly welcoming to new players. If you’re curious, I’d recommend going back and trying the first game instead - see if this viking-inspired apocalyptic saga grabs you. At some point, I might have to go back and give it another try from the beginning.

A copy of the game was provided by the developer, Stoic, for this review.

Official Website

Nintendo eShop

[red-will]

Grid Logic

Susan Howe’s cut-up histories recombine fragments, lists, and quotations into poems that often resemble visual art. 

BY JOHN VINCLER

There was a time, now more than a decade ago, when I found Susan Howe’s poetry too opaque. The fractured and clipped syntax, and the stuttered sounds, left me searching for a point of entry. Her use of typography, symbols (arrows, brackets, etc.), and idiosyncratic punctuation halted my attempted reading. But then I read My Emily Dickinson (1985), her unclassifiable prose work that created a dialogue between the namesake Amherst poet and the Brontë sisters. It helped me understand how radical art could emerge from something as austere and stultifying as Puritanism. Through a structure more architectural than argumentative, it built an expanse of ideas, traced literary genealogies, and illuminated aspects of American history that previously hadn’t interested me but that in Howe’s framing became urgently alive. After reading the book, it was as if the difficulty, or at least the opacity, I previously experienced with Howe’s poems suddenly fell away. It wasn’t that her work was easier to access—it was that I was willing to go wherever the work took me; what at first felt closed seemed like a series of open doors.

Like her contemporaries Anne Carson and Claudia Rankine, Howe is a radical stylist. An atomistic attention to units of sound and typographical form characterizes her work, which in recent years has extended to her practice of composing poems with tape and scissors from found texts, resulting in photocopied collage works that challenge the limits of legibility through poems increasingly proximate to visual art. (A selection of these compositions was exhibited at the 2014 Whitney Biennial.) Also like Carson’s and Rankine’s poems, Howe’s sometimes look more like essays; she shares Carson’s habit of revivifying the intellectual lives of the past and Rankine’s concern for interrogating American self-mythology. In her essayistic mode, Howe relies extensively on quotation, stitching together brief illuminating anecdotes, lyrical fragments, philosophical observations, lists, and dictionary definitions. Entries from early editions of Noah Webster’s dictionary are used as if to view the origins of American word usage like preserved specimens under a microscope. A rich and expansive set of sources and concerns repeat in her work, most notably centering around the intellectual history of the United States and New England, including Dickinson and Ralph Waldo Emerson’s circle; encompassing the Brontës, the Romantics, and Shakespeare; forward to the high modernism of James Joyce, Gertrude Stein, William Carlos Williams, and Wallace Stevens; and on through to contemporary art and film.

Howe is as interested in theology and the law as she is in art and literature, all of which she brings together in sometimes cacophonous choral dialogue. Although her subjects may seem antiquarian, the means with which she addresses them is starkly avant-garde, doing for early American intellectual history what the philosopher-critic Walter Benjamin did for the 19th-century Parisian shopping arcades in his unfinished Arcades Project. As Benjamin did, Howe composes by collecting quotations, facts, and related observations, which she then arranges as much by rhythm as by theme. Howe has said “my work is a mass of quotations,” and in her work, readers experience an eclectic but judiciously curated personal library that has been cut down and reassembled into stylized, intellectual auto-portraits.

Howe’s techniques for writing cut-up histories are on display in three distinct modes in the three sections—let’s call them long poems—of her latest book, Concordance (New Directions, 2020). The title refers to a list, usually in book form, used for textual analysis and navigation. A concordance, first used to study the Bible, consists of an alphabetical arrangement of principal words in a book or some other body of text (such as the complete works of an author) along with their immediate contexts. Howe’s Concordance asks a question at the hinge of form and content: what is the relation between collage and concordance? Although the latter is formally rigorous and indexical in the way it parses text into an enumerated alphabetical list, the process of collage—from the French “to glue”—is aesthetic and intuitive as it arranges disparate parts into a coherent whole.

The epigraph to Howe’s book comes from the Concordance to the Letters of Emily Dickinson and uses the entry for “Sliver” to show how a concordance functions:

“Sliver (2) 1885 ‘An envious Sliver broke’ was a” Concordance to the Letters of Emily Dickinson _________ To Abbie C. Farley early August 1885. “‘An envious Sliver broke’ was a passage your Uncle peculiarly loved in the drowning Ophelia”

The broken phrase found in the concordance (probably delimited by a fixed number of characters) produces a quality at once constrained and oracular, similar to the syntax of Howe’s shorter poems. The juxtaposition of the clipped entry with the full sentence also illustrates how a fragment that appears opaque may become more transparent with little additional information. With this example, Howe begins a chain of references relating to scenes of drowning that continues throughout the book. The rigor of the concordance and the intuition of collage provide a dynamic tension to the book’s three unfolding movements.

“Since,” the book’s first and most essayistic section, begins, “Ghostly step pre-articulate hop.” How to trace this tentative fragment of a line? Perhaps pre-articulate, like a score awaiting its performance. Or a book read but only silently, internally, unvoiced. I excavate pre-articulate as a phrase Howe has used before, in Spontaneous Particulars: The Telepathy of Archives (2014), her illustrated lecture turned book-length ode to the rare book rooms and special collection libraries where she has researched and incubated her work. She refers to archival objects and manuscripts as “a pre-articulate empty theater where a thought may surprise itself at the instant of seeing. Where a thought may hear itself see.” Spontaneous Particulars explores the wonder of reading manuscripts and archives; Concordance illustrates the way Howe synthesizes this reading and research into poems in which readers might experience surprise at “the instant of seeing.” In “Since,” she describes this process, slantwise, as “microscopic reduplications of desire … pieced together through grid logic.” Howe sets herself up as an intermediary transmitting her sources to readers. She’s a medium not—or not merely—in the sense of a spiritualist (she writes of “mesmerism” in “Since,” the section title an approximate homonym for séance) but in the technological sense. Howe is sensitive to technology’s rigor as well as its potential for error. (“Since” is also a close homonym to sins, another link to error as well as to the Puritan obsession with original sin.) “In order to facilitate phonetic interpretation, I will make up my mouth as if it’s a telegram,” she writes.

Technological references recur throughout Concordance: telegraphs, typewriters, radios, and stereoscopes. The most important technology as it relates to form and method here may be scissors, which she links to the book’s opening phrase: “Always is a reader going on with little and great hops.” Later down the page—“Scissor a stricken rabbit crying out.” The collagist’s scissors cut fragments of text for readers to hop between. Webster’s dictionary entry for “Scissors” follows as does an aphorism by Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (a central figure in the section): “Life is painting a picture not doing a sum.” Perhaps picture is to sum as collage is to concordance? “Concordance can also mean a state of harmony between persons. Or a musical chord with satisfying musical effect,” Howe writes. As the fragments accrue, readers begin to sew connections across them or to listen for harmonic chiming. The distinctions between painting and sum and collage and concordance are not so rigid—they bleed into and complement one another.

Death, real or imagined, looms over Concordance. “I’m so scared of dying without answers,” Howe writes. Born in 1937, she is “a relic of the typewriter generation” who is clear-eyed about the fact she is writing near the end of her life. “Late poems tiptoeing on a philosophical threshold of separation and mourning for an irrevocable past holding to memory ...,” she writes in “Since.” The poem—its various fragments like doors leading each to a room containing a memory—functions much like a concordance, whose fragments point to the whole of the source. Howe quotes a line from Judge Holmes’s memoir: “I’m dead, I’m like a ghost on the battlefield with bullets flying through me,” to which she comically replies “To a certain extent I’m also alive.” (Howe is often funny, as when she writes “What is rabbit light? Is it a fusion of rabbit and light?” in reference to the phrase from Wallace Stevens’s poem “A Rabbit as King of the Ghosts.”) As with the epigraphs, we again see Dickinson pointing us toward Shakespeare and to a source for the title of this first section. In a letter from Dickinson to Judge Otis P. Lord, the poet writes, “Antony’s remark to a friend, ‘since Cleopatra died,’ is said to be the saddest ever lain in Language—That engulfing ‘Since.’” This quote is immediately preceded by a simple dedication: “Emily Dickinson from Judge Otis P. Lord, 1880,” which was transcribed from the flyleaf of Dickinson’s copy of The Complete Concordance to Shakespeare. It was a gift from the judge to Dickinson. Judge Lord later asked Dickinson to marry him following the death of her mother; she declined.

Knowing little about Judge Lord and following Howe’s prodding elsewhere—“Google again for the source of my quotation”—I learned Lord was the “Uncle” referred to in the epigraph’s letter (“’An envious Sliver broke’ was a passage your Uncle peculiarly loved in the drowning Ophelia.”) I also learned the letter was made in reference to the drowning of Mary Farley, Abbie’s cousin, in Walden Pond. This extends the context for the reference to drowning, a motif Howe takes up again in the third section of the book, which centers on the 19th-century writer and women’s rights advocate Margaret Fuller.

By the end of this first section, readers are tangled in a dense, still somewhat mysteriously related web of connections. But I am left with a layered picture: Howe writing at her desk in contemporary Connecticut, not far from where Dickinson sat at her small desk in 19th-century Massachusetts corresponding with her contemporaries and thinking of Shakespeare. Howe accesses Dickinson partly through her copy of the Concordance to the Letters of Emily Dickinson, as Dickinson accessed Shakespeare partly through the concordance of his plays that Judge Lord gave her. I imagine each writer with her tools for studying, analyzing, and collecting the past in writing. In the dense 20 pages of “Since,” it is as if Howe provides readers with a sheaf of notes for better understanding and contextualizing the two sections that follow.

“Concordance,” the second section, is starker. It consists of Howe’s cut, taped, and photocopied collage poems. The poem constructions provide small windows through which only flickers of an obscure whole are visible. I’m reminded of the small windows in the Georgian-style clapboard house in Concord, Massachusetts, on which Nathaniel Hawthorne etched a poem with a diamond in the 1840s, which Howe references elsewhere in her work. (The title Concordance also sounds an allusion to Concord.) If these poems often cannot be read as narrative or even lyric fragments, they do evoke images as concrete poems. They appear variously as squat houses (not unlike Dickinson’s so-called “envelope poems”), as bundles of sticks or channels of running water, as patterned embroidered patches on white linen cloth. A skinny poem without a single legible word is like the toothsome track of a zipper. Others resemble fragments of skulls; another looks distinctly like a ladder; and two or three look like radios, recalling the line “This is radio memory” that appears in “Since.” The word thorough repeats perhaps more than any other. A rare, almost-lengthy phrase is legible: “The eternal note of sadness[es] do wander everywhere.” A stack of words, almost certainly from a concordance, is aligned right on the page in a vertical column that, in part, reads “Retirement, Retires, Retiring, Retort, Retorted, Retreat, Retreated, Retreating, Retrenched, Retribution.” This stack also recalls Dickinson’s habit of creating alternative word choices in columns above or below where they would appear in her draft manuscript poems.

The shift in tone from “Since” to “Concordance,” at first disconcerting, is ultimately reviving as it pulls readers’ attention to different modalities of reading, seeing, and thinking. Concordances, principally the concordance of Dickinson’s correspondence, serve as all, or a substantial portion of, the source material for these recombinant poems. If “Since” reads like an accrual of notes written over months or years within a particular library, then “Concordance” looks like a series of collage works made from the scraps discarded in the recycling bin next to that same library’s photocopier. It is as if these long poems are composed in counterpoint to one another to illustrate two different approaches to the same material. In “Concordance,” Howe demonstrates another means of reworking sources; these are poems from a library dissected using scissors like a scalpel.

In the third and final section, “Space Permitting,” Howe works in a more traditional poetic mode. Each page contains one or two stanzas of no more than eight lines. In these poems, an assortment of water-logged garments washes up on, and are collected from, the shore, as are life preservers; tossed, wrecked planks; and sundry personal effects. The clipped lines feel as though they are sourced from a diary that consists mostly of lists:

Tasseled dress torn by wreck— spike lead color shut tin box Bundle of letters and papers a child’s striped apron fringe

The poem relates the aftereffects of the 1850 shipwreck that drowned Margaret Fuller and the crew of the Elizabeth. As a note at the end of the section explains, the contents of “Space Permitting” are collaged from drafts and notes Henry David Thoreau sent to Emerson and to Fuller’s friends and family in Concord after they sent Thoreau to recover her remains from the shipwreck on Fire Island and the manuscript of her recently completed History of the Italian Revolution, which was ultimately lost at sea. The section’s first of two epigraphs quotes a remark Fuller’s friends made to Emerson: “Well, on the whole, it was not so lamentable, & perhaps it was the best thing that could happen to her. For, had she lived, what could she have done?” The sentiment bluntly underscores that, in the 19th-century United States, the life of a married intellectual woman with a child was seen as impossible, a fate worse than death. The final stanza of the section begins: “I saw many leaves of a large un- / bound Latin book—scattered over the / beach a mile from the wreck …”

The experience of reading Concordance is akin to the work Thoreau set out to do: recollect manuscript pages and understand an ill-fated journey. In this case, the journey is intellectual, and it is heroic rather than ill-fated, rooted in the New England landscape where Howe has spent most of her life. In Concordance, it is as if a manuscript, along with the library used to write it, were both wrecked and then washed ashore, mostly lost, although what remains was carefully recombined and artfully reconstructed into something beautiful, monstrous, and new. In Howe’s poems, writing is a process of collecting. Concordance is a slim volume that documents the late concerns from a lifetime of reading, a life lived in literature and libraries, and it is written with the urgency of being perhaps a final book. “Trusting that as a helpful reader you will respond in your rabbit self. I have composed a careful and on one level truly meant narrative and on another level the Narrative of a Scissor,” Howe writes. You open it, read it. Cut it up if you’d like. Take what you will. It needn’t be difficult.

[whittlebaggett8]

What Colombia Can Teach Us About Afghanistan

Two wars, two peace bargains. One particular has held for a number of yrs, after many years of stalled negotiations. The other is however just a “framework” for peace. We’re referring to Colombia and Afghanistan – two nations around the world riddled with longstanding rural insurgencies, prescription drugs, militias, weak facilities, cross-border sanctuaries, and weak governance. Are there lessons from Colombia that can be used to Afghanistan?

In a new report posted by West Point’s Modern War Institute, we argue that in spite of dissimilarities, there are commonalities. In Afghanistan, the push for a peace deal is admirable and arguably the right training course, but the ability to attain a peace offer and a lasting peace will be specially demanding specified lots of of the situations that produced Colombia ripe for peace are not existing in Afghanistan.

The “framework” in Afghanistan was hashed out amongst Zalmay Khalilzad, an American, and the Taliban. However the Afghan government – arguably the most essential participant in Afghanistan – has been mostly slice out of the system. That is hardly a positive omen for Kabul’s future legitimacy. As President Ashraf Ghani noted a short while ago, “The victims of the war are Afghans. So the initiative of peace must be in the arms of Afghans.”

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By distinction, in Bogota, the peace settlement was largely “owned” by the Colombians. Individuals played a little bit of a position in the peace talks in Havana the language and phrases were being the handiwork of Colombian negotiators. Us citizens also performed a minimal supporting role when it arrived to the provision of security. For each and every five cents we expended there on Program Colombia, the Colombians used 95 cents. To quotation T.E. Lawrence, “Do not try to do way too much with your very own fingers.”

Second, the Taliban ought to be offered a voice in any potential Afghan governing administration. This continues to be a thorny difficulty in Colombia. The FARC command a handful of seats in Colombia’s parliament, which was a massive cause why the peace deal was at first turned down when set to a well-liked referendum. Colombians, primarily (and ironically) people from towns that observed the the very least violence (and presumably experienced less axes to grind), felt like the arrangement was as well lenient.

Nonetheless leniency, however hideous and unjust to some, is a essential component of peace offers. The Taliban rank and file must be presented an off-ramp to re-enter modern society – no matter if via official rehabilitation or reeducation is unclear – provided they disarm, demobilize, and really don’t go again to abusing females as they had in advance of 9/11. This will make the institution of transitional justice a sensitive subject matter and riddled with tripwires. Though transitional justice in Colombia has been much from ideal, we satisfied moms of war victims opening art exhibits as war memorials, pushing for higher land reform, and mobilizing against the country’s entrenched oligarchy. Afghan civil society have to also mobilize and similarly agitate from down below.

Colombia reveals the complications of “disarmament, demobilization, and rehabilitation,” or DDR. Disarming the FARC took 9 months and disabled some 9,000 firearms, though huge weapons caches continue being at massive. Whilst roughly 10,000 ex-combatants had been demobilized, massive figures in no way reintegrated into culture. Like the Afghan Taliban, guerrilla fighters in Colombia have small education and learning, weak family members ties, and showcase delinquent personality attributes, all predictors of recidivism, in accordance to the scholars Oliver Kaplan and Enzo Nussio. Roughly 5 to 10 percent of ex-FARC have rejoined the struggle, several of them mid-position cadres. The will cause are complicated, but primarily it is due to a absence of jobs, the social stigma connected to ex-fighters, and threats they facial area from ex-colleagues who refused to lay down their arms.

Despite some hiccups, the in general procedure of collective DDR in Colombia has gone somewhat efficiently. We achieved previous guerrillas attending college, having benefit of govt-funded healthcare, and placing their violent earlier powering them.

A third important lesson from Colombia, and this may possibly look clear, is that the provision of security is paramount. This necessitates that the ministries of inside and defense, along with civilian companies, enjoy ball jointly, as counterinsurgency in failed states needs an alchemy of affected person detective function along with the administration of violence. The latest terrorist assault towards the Santander police academy in Bogota, allegedly carried out by the National Liberation Military (ELN), highlighted the vulnerabilities on this front.

In Afghanistan, there has been longstanding disparity involving the capability of (and distrust among) Afghanistan’s law enforcement and its armed forces. Both are poorly paid out and experience tremendous pitfalls, as evidenced by a spate of the latest Taliban attacks from military barracks – some 45,000 Afghan law enforcement and soldiers have been killed because 2014 – but without cooperation, protection, primarily in rural provinces, is unattainable.

With regards to stability provision, it is also critical to isolate 3rd-get together “spoilers,” which can include things like armed actors that are non-signatories to the treaty, felony gangs, or exterior nations around the world. In Colombia, many guerrilla teams, which include the ELN, keep on being nevertheless at significant (as evidenced by the recent terrorist attack that struck a law enforcement academy we visited in Bogota talked about previously mentioned). Cocaine however fuels the illicit financial state and structured crime, still drug traffickers have gotten wiser that violence is poor for business enterprise. Like Colombia, a peace agreement in Afghanistan will not possible minimize drug trafficking, and may even lead to greater amounts. Farmers encounter perverse incentives as crop-substitution plans are riddled with moral dangers.

Related to Colombia, whose neighboring international locations delivered refuge for Colombia’s guerrillas, the longevity of any peace deal in Afghanistan hinges on its neighbors, most notably Pakistan. Yet, whether or not it performs along, or seeks to participate in the position of spoiler, the United States holds considerable leverage on this front, and need to isolate probable external spoilers to the peace system if it is to make Afghanistan resemble Colombia and not, say, North Vietnam. 

To be guaranteed, there are some important distinctions among Colombia and Afghanistan. Colombia, when harmful, was never ever a safe and sound haven of violent extremists with an internationalist agenda or overseas fighters. The United States’ primary curiosity in Colombia was curbing the circulation of narcotics, not terrorists. In Afghanistan, it is generally reversed.

In Colombia, moreover, the FARC experienced experienced a collection of humiliating defeats, which include the deaths of various senior users of its getting old leadership and a productive hostage rescue mission. While not defeated on the battlefield, they did not have momentum. Nor did they manage some 40 percent of the region, as the Taliban do in Afghanistan nowadays.

As a result, couple were being optimistic about the sixth spherical of peace talks that happened in Doha in early May.

On the other hand, there is a glimmer of hope that Afghanistan may possibly one particular working day resemble Colombia: A edition of what some scholars contact “unappealing steadiness” – pockets of security interspersed by pockets of violence a fragile condition but not a unsuccessful one particular.

In Colombia, a very low hum of violence carries on to continue to keep the country on edge, but expatriates have returned, tourism dollars and overseas financial investment are pouring in, and the illicit economic climate, though still sturdy, does not outline the region or turn complete cities into war zones.

What need to be the position of the U.S. military? In Colombia, we realized “ugly stability” on the affordable, paying out roughly $10 billion above a 10 years. In Afghanistan our yearly military price range dwarfs that, with arguably less final results to clearly show for our initiatives.

Contrary to Colombia, where by the United States has its 3rd major embassy but usually keeps a little armed service footprint of Specific Functions Forces as advisors to coach and assist, the U.S. army should retain some residual presence in Afghanistan to keep away from the security vacuum that led to 9/11. But Afghanistan ought to not resemble Chilly War West Germany, where by we retained hundreds of countless numbers of troops and sizeable armed forces hardware for many years. Nor really should we expect all good points – peace, stability, governance, and reduction of narco-trafficking – to come together.

Peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan may possibly not be ideal close to the corner. But Colombia delivers an imperfect roadmap for how to obtain equally.

Lionel Beehner, PhD, is an assistant professor at the US Military services Academy at West Point and study director of its Modern day War Institute. He is a 2019-2020 Intercontinental Affairs Fellow at the Council on International Relations. Liam Collins, PhD, is director of the Modern-day War Institute. The views listed here are their very own.

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[ddrkirbyisq]

I guess I've been neglecting this for a while, huh? Christmas came and went, and my Santa duties were a success, minus some minor things like international shipments taking forever, etc.  Work still continues (lol) on Colors of Your World -- I'm 2/3rds of the way done with the "Challenge Mode" levels, which is pretty much the last thing I want to add to the game, and then I also need to write up a short post-mortem.  Hopefully people will bother playing the new version and reading the post-mortem.  =X  I guess I kind of do these things for myself sometimes, but it would feel a bit pointless if no one really even cared.  Anyways, the results for LD came out as well -- we got 27th place, yay! I feel like I had other things to write about but I seem to have mostly forgotten about them, oops.  Certain things in my life are going a lot better than before, which is really nice.  I posted my psychosomatic pain writeup, which I'm glad people actually took the time to read (sorry it was so long).  I've been continuing experiments in sichuan cooking, this time with some more authentic ingredients, and peppercorns that are not way past their prime (lol).  I made some mapo tofu which was pretty alright!  It wasn't super fiery but I also wasn't really trying to make it so (didn't add any extra spice).  More recently I had another go at shui zhu niu rou, which went quite alright, with a nice flavor profile. Helped friends with their table at Sacanime this past weekend, which was fun, and tiring.  Since then I've mostly just been winding down; feels like I don't have a bunch of deadlines and things due, so I'm actually taking it easy for once (!). I think I'm done with Hollow Knight.  I didn't 100% the game...well, actually I'm at 109% completion lol.  I completed the 4th Godmaster boss rush, which concludes with the Pure Vessel fight, so I've unlocked the last Pantheon of the Hallownest boss rush, which...I really don't think I'll do, as it's just a whole ton of fights.  I also didn't do the delicate flower quest, and didn't beat all the bosses in godhome, but...yeah, I'm done with the game.  Overall it was a fun experience, with a neat sense of exploration, especially at the point where the game really opens up and branches out.  I would agree with some other people's comments that the pacing of the game feels a little off.  I think it's partly because of the amount of backtracking involved, but also because the game world is so vast yet there are not that many "key" upgrades that really open things up...or at least that's what it felt like. I guess in Super Metroid you get so many new key upgrades: Morph Ball, High Jump, Space Jump, Screw Attack, Grapple Beam, Speed Booster, Gravity Suit, all the beam upgrades, (Super) Missiles, (Power) Bombs, and for the most part all of these upgrades are "cool new toys", some of which really change the way you can progress around through different spaces.  In Hollow Knight you get: Dash, Double Jump, a dive spell, an attack spell, a Shinespark ability, wallcling/walljump, and some other minor abilities.  I think in the end it seems like you aren't really doing a lot different than what you were doing in the beginning -- your weapon still looks and handles the same (though it does more damage), and a lot of the abilities are a little underwhelming in terms of "wow" factor.  For example there's an upgrade which lets you swim in acidic pools (instead of having them act as spikes), which is cool except it doesn't really provide anything =new= per se -- it allows access to some new areas, for sure, but there was already (non-acidic) water you could swim in before, so it's a very minor-feeling thing.  The dive spell too -- after you collect it, there's one area where you need to use it a bunch to smash through the floor, and some other crumbly floors scattered around the world, but for the most part after I got it it was one of those abilities that you only ever used to get through the associated barriers.  The "shade cloak" is another perfect example of this -- it makes your dash invincible, which is a neat upgrade, but doesn't really feel different.  It lets you traverse a new sort of obstacle, but outside of that obstacle it doesn't really feel different at all. So I think the grand scope of the game ended up feeling really drawn out when considering how little change is involved in the normal experience of walking around and exploring and fighting enemies.  I think the gameplay in the different areas was not vastly different either, which adds to the problem.  Aesthetically I think each area has a very nice and distinctive feel, and the graphics and art really work together to provide a different ambience for each area, however in terms of the actual gameplay I feel like it overall ended up felt too same-y and a bit laborious.  Especially trying to explore every corner of some of the areas (Deepnest), it felt like it just went on forever without providing any real variety. So if anything perhaps there was =too much= exploration, too many collectibles and too many areas and rooms when considering how few real upgrades you got, and I think that is part of what made it tedious.  Hollow Knight really gives you rewards all over the place, but the problem is that those rewards are really small, like a bunch of new charms which you end up not using.  At the end of the game, the way you handle bosses is still exactly the same as before, you slash at them and you dodge by jumping and moving around. All that said, the game had some really nice parts, including the Colloseum of Fools, which I think had really nice pacing and was one of the highlights of the combat system for me.  I wasn't the biggest fan of the combat system, including the "focus" mechanic -- scoring hits accumulates "soul", which you can use to heal yourself, but doing so leaves you vulnerable.  I think it's novel and a nice way of tying health to attacking, and it offers a new strategic challenge in terms of "when is a good opening to restore my health", but I actually didn't like that strategic challenge at all.  In normal exploration it's trivial to find a place to heal, so all it did was slow me down every time after I got hit since I'd have to spend a couple of seconds every time healing (this probably adds to the pacing problem).  In the boss fights, instead of focusing completely on avoiding the boss attacks, I would be trying to fit in heals whenever I could, so sometimes the battles became a really sloppy mess of "try to heal here....oops I got hit!  ok, try to heal again...ok I got it this time..." instead of being this clean fight where you are just dodging and attacking.  In other words, I felt really felt like it was a distraction. Some of the enemies were really nice to learn to fight against, for example the big knights in the City of the Tears have a very precise window of vulnerability and learning how to fight them involves keying into a nice sort of rhythm which is very satisfying to pull off.  I think if more of the combat would feel like that it would have been nice.  I think my approach to boss battle design is that enemy attacks should be consistent and heavily telegraphed, yet hard to avoid until you have practiced to the point where you have a plan for each attack.  I enjoyed the fights against nightmare Grimm and Pure Vessel for this reason (though their attacks could be a bit more telegraphed), whereas bosses such as the White Defender, Hornet, and Broken Vessel give you very little time to react to which attack they are using, which can be frustrating. I think probably my favorite 2D platform adventure boss in quite a long time has been the fight against Spectre Knight in Shovel Knight.  I think it's incredibly well-designed and I really loved everything about it.  There is one platform on either side of the battlefield and Spectre Knight floats left and right near the top of the screen, meaning you can't spam attacks against him (you need to jump on one of the platforms and attack, and he flies faster than you move), which means there's no easy way to just face-tank him and win a brawl -- you need to actually whittle his life down bit by bit and successfully avoid his attacks.  He has several distinct attacks involving his scythe which he throws in slow arcs, which are very difficult to avoid on first attempt, but if you learn to recognize them, you can definitely dodge all of them by utilizing the platforms.  Midway through the battle he raises his hand and the lights go out, which partially obscures him and his scythe, meaning it really tests your knowledge of his attack patterns even more.  It's quite a difficult fight but everything feels really fair in a very dark souls-esque way.  I love it. I got Flinthook for xmas, so I've been playing a bit of that!  I'm still getting the hang of the controls (went back to keyboard+mouse after a brief trial of doing it with gamepad), and it's definitely not a walk in the park, but so far it's a nice thing to play every so often. I finally got around to unlocking all of the characters in Smash Ultimate and am just now trying to give each and every one of them a test run so I can vaguely understand all of them and figure out which ones I'm interested in taking further.  I'm also trying to figure out my control scheme, especially since I'm heavily considering picking up Peach, and some of the float stuff is a bit easier using claw grip or a shoulder button as jump.  So far I'm trying to do a partial claw grip but we'll see how it works out.  I think if I play any character other than Peach, then the normal handhold will probably be fine, but for Peach I think it's more comfortable to do float bairs with claw. A few notes so far: Mario - He seems relatively unexciting, though standard.  I couldn't really seem to get much mileage out of him. DK - Seems actually quite good!  His normals all seem pretty great, his bair still has a bunch of range and upair is great as ever, his tilts have good range too I think, and then cargo throw them off the side or into the stage edge is actually a thing. Link - Is Link, he seems fine I guess, maybe even good, if not my style. Samus/Dark Samus - Feels really weird without a sex kick, and no missile cancelling either, so I don't really know what you're supposed to do with her now. Yoshi - Feels really great, his aerials are all amazing and they work well with the new more-floating double-jump mechanics. Kirby - Is better than in melee but still seems pretty unexciting. Fox - Feels really weird, I guess all he does now is uptilts and upairs and stuff??  The new physics mean he can't just shffl nairs in your face anymore. Pikachu - Has been my de-facto main until now, he has multihit nair fair and bair which means it's super easy to just throw out long-lasting aerial hitboxes.  He has been relatively fun to play, and a strong character too. Luigi - I don't think is for me, he apparently has some pretty broken combos, but meh. Ness - Dunno. Falcon - Falcon is hard enough to play in Melee, it's going to be even harder for me to get used to landing his aerials in this engine.  No thanks. Jigglypuff - Feels fine, but bair is no longer broken, so it kind of feels like she just has less range in general so it feels harder to get in. Peach/Daisy - I'm really interested in them, I think the way that they play neutral with floating feels a bit more natural to me in terms of movement, even though there is a lot of technical stuff to learn with them. Bowser - Feels fine I think.  I didn't play him too much. ICs - I don't really know.  Desyncs are different so I dunno. Sheik - Is weird now because she lost her old fair, so she feels really weird and it's not obvious how you are supposed to kill. Zelda - Using her lighting kicks feels a bit awkward for some reason, maybe the sweet spot is a bit tricky to get.  Her new downB is interesting. Doc - His downB is super strong for some reason??  He seems just like a better mario overall. Pichu - Like pikachu but faster, I'm starting to get why people like Pichu.  He is really fast, he can run in and aerial you, and he has these interesting combos with drag down bair. Falco - His SHL is gone and a bunch of his moves are different so I have no idea what you are supposed to do with him anymore. Marth/Lucina - Feel pretty much as you would expect, with some different physics, but dude, one thing I have to point out, it's like impossible to tell the difference between marth's sweetspot and sourspot hits now.  In melee the different sound cues were really obvious, but I really couldn't hear or tell a difference besides the % being different...I feel like this is another case of bad aesthetic design =( Young Link - I can see why people said he feels like a melee character, he actually feels super natural for some reason, besides his dair feeling a little weird.  Could be fun to play. Ganondorf - Wow he feels really sluggish in terms of fall speed and moving around.  He hits hard though. Mewtwo - WOW his tail became HUGE and now has the range of a sword.  His new fair I'm guessing is a quite potent tool.  I'm not sure how I feel about him, if I was going to play a floaty doublejump character I would probably play yoshi instead. Roy - Seems a lot better now? (again with the whole sweetspot/sourspot issue ugh).  Neutral B seems to take longer to come out which is lame. Overall I'm interested in pichu/pikachu, yoshi, young link, and of course peach.  Though DK seems quite strong lol.